Network Management

PerfStack real-time polling for interface utilization shows incorrect values and spikes in the SolarWinds Platform

Perfstack Real-Time Polling for Interface utilization returns incorrect values with many spikes. To resolve the issue, change the real time poll rate to correspond with the frequency of updating the OID on the device.

First published date

11/29/2018 11:01 PM

Last published date

4/4/2026 4:21 PM

Overview

When you run real-time polling on Interface Utilization in PerfStack, you can see a lot of spikes and incorrect data. 

Product section

Network Performance Monitor

Cause

The device counter OID might be updating every 5 seconds or more, but by default, we poll it every 1 second. It means that the 5-second traffic is reported as 1-second traffic, and the calculated percent utilization is then like 100% instead of 20%.

Resolution

Careful consideration is required before changing the RealTimePollRateSecondsInterface setting.  Polling SNMP counters more frequently may produce misleading spikes and incorrect data.  Polling more frequently will produce zero results and is a limitation of SNMP.

For accurate information, use Wireshark to confirm how often the counter changes.  In most cases, 15 seconds is the standard for multiple devices.

 

  1. Log in to the SolarWinds Platform Web Console.

  2. Go to advanced global settings. To do so, add to the browser address line, after the hostname of your SolarWinds Platform Web Console.
    http://Hostname/Orion/Admin/Advancedconfiguration/Global.aspx

  3. In PerfStack.Settings, change RealtimePollRateSecondsInterfaces to 15 or more (assuming it is an interface poller).

  4. Save.

  5. Restart all SolarWinds Services on all pollers with the SolarWinds Platform Service Manager. Note: If HA has been configured in your environment, please disable High Availability pool before restarting the services to prevent failover.