Manual Chapter : Monitoring Remote Access data

Applies To:

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BIG-IQ Centralized Management

  • 8.3.0, 8.2.0, 8.1.0, 8.0.0, 7.1.0
Manual Chapter

Monitoring Remote Access data

About monitoring remote access data

BIG-IQ Centralized Management offers advanced monitoring and troubleshooting capabilities for connectivity and VPN use cases. You may use the remote access monitoring functionality to gain visibility into the behavior of VPN traffic, as well as to view the log of errors associated with failed connections. With remote access monitoring, you can maintain a high-level visibility for network access requests and session data for all users accessing the network through Access policies.

About the network access summary dashboard

Navigate to
Monitoring
DASHBOARDS
Access
Remote Access
Network Access
Network Access Summary
View data for Network Access usage summary. From this report, you can:
  • Generate a report with a different scope by making a selection from the
    ACCESS GROUP/DEVICE
    or the
    TIMEFRAME
    field, or both
  • Generate reports for any devices regardless of Access group membership, cluster membership, or geographical location. Select
    All Devices
    from the
    ACCESS GROUP/DEVICE
    list and select the devices that interest you.
  • Adjust the time slider across the top of the screen to indicate the time window for which statistics are displayed. This control sets the chart pane focus to a specific window of time within the currently selected time period. Use the sliders at either end of this control to define the window you want to examine. If you adjust the right side of the control, the auto refresh stops, effectively freezing the display so you can focus on a particular data point.
  • Select
    CSV Report
    to download a CSV file of this data to your local machine.
  • Refresh this page by clicking
    Refresh
    or set up automatic refresh by selecting the arrow next to the
    Refresh
    button and selecting how often you would like to refresh the data. You can pick from 1, 5, or 10 minutes.

What is in the Network Access Dashboard pane?

User interface control
Functionality
Active Users
Displays the total number of users actively connected to a session. Click
Active Users
to open the Active Users screen, which displays charts describing the top 1,000 users and the top 1,000 locations.
Active Connections
Displays the total active connections. Click
Active Connections
to open the Active Connections screen, which displays charts describing the top 1,000 users and the top 1,000 locations.
Total Sessions
Displays the total number of sessions established.
Total Reconnects
Displays the number of times users tried to reestablish a session. Click
Total Reconnects
to open the Total Reconnects screen, which displays charts describing reconnects.
Network Access Session Errors
Displays the total number of errors that occurred during network access sessions. Click
Network Access Session Errors
to open the Connectivity Errors screen, which displays a list of connectivity errors. Click
Session ID
to display detailed session details and session variable information.

What is in the Total Reconnects pane?

User interface control
What does this do?
NETWORK ACCESS RECONNECTS OVER TIME
Displays a chart of the network access reconnects over time.
TOP 10 USERS BY RECONNECTS
Displays the top ten users with the most reconnects. Select a user from the bar chart to display detailed information about the user.
RECONNECTS GEO DISTRIBUTION
Displays the geographical locations from which the reconnects originate. Click the locations on the map to display detailed information about the country from which the reconnect originated.
CLIENTS IPS BY RECONNECTS
Displays the IP address of the client devices from which the reconnects originate. Select a client from the bar chart to display the types of client operating systems.

What are the tabs?

User interface control
What does this do?
Sessions
Use this tab to view charts displaying the sessions over time in the network access.
Connections
Use this tab to view charts displaying the connections over time in the network access.
Bytes Transferred
Use this tab to view charts displaying the bytes transferred over time in the network access.

What charts are in the Sessions tab?

Chart
What does this do?
Chart Title
Each chart displays a title that identifies the statistic plotted on that chart.
NETWORK ACCESS SESSIONS OVER TIME
Displays the network access sessions over time.
TOP 10 USERS BY SESSIONS
Displays the users with the most sessions and the number of sessions per user. Select a user from the list to display detailed session information for that user.
TOP 10 USERS BY RECONNECTS
Displays the users with the most reconnects and the number of reconnects per user. Select a user from the list to display detailed reconnect information for that user.
SESSIONS GEO DISTRIBUTION
Displays the geographical locations from which the sessions originate. Click the locations on the map to display detailed information about the country from which the session originated.
TUNNEL TYPES BY SESSIONS
Displays the types of tunnels used by all sessions and the number of tunnels used. Click the ring chart to display detailed information about the tunnel types.
TOP 10 CLIENTS IPS BY SESSIONS
Displays the IP addresses of the top client systems from which the sessions originate and the number of sessions per client. Select a client from the bar chart to display detailed session information for that client.
CLIENT OS BY SESSIONS
Displays the top operating systems used by the client devices and the number of operating systems. Click the ring chart to display detailed information about the client device.

What charts are in the Connections tab?

Chart
What does this do?
Chart Title
Each chart displays a title that identifies the statistic plotted on that chart.
NETWORK ACCESS CONNECTIONS OVER TIME
Displays the network access connections over time.
TOP 10 USERS BY CONNECTIONS
Displays the users with the most connections and the number of connections per user. Select a user from the list to display detailed connections information for that user.
TOP 10 USERS BY RECONNECTS
Displays the users with the most reconnects and the number of reconnects per user. Select a user from the list to display detailed reconnect information for that user.
CONNECTIONS GEO DISTRIBUTION
Displays the geographical locations from which the connections originate. Click the locations on the map to display detailed information about the country from which the connection originated.
TUNNEL TYPES BY CONNECTIONS
Displays the types of tunnels used by all connections and the number of tunnels used. Click the pie chart to display detailed information about the tunnel types.
TOP 10 CLIENTS IPS BY CONNECTIONS
Displays the IP addresses of the top client systems from which the connections originate and the number of connections per client. Select a client from the bar chart to display detailed connection information for that client.
CLIENT OS BY CONNECTIONS
Displays the top operating systems used by the client devices and the number of operating systems. Click the ring chart to display detailed information about the client device.

What charts are in the Bytes Transferred tab?

Chart
Functionality
Chart Title
Each chart displays a title that identifies the statistic plotted on that chart.
NETWORK ACCESS BYTES TRANSFERRED OVER TIME
Displays the bytes transferred over time in the network access.
TOP 10 USERS BY BYTES TRANSFERRED
Displays the users with the most bytes transferred and the size of the transfers. Select a user from the list to display detailed information for that user.
BYTES TRANSFERRED GEO DISTRIBUTION
Displays the geographical locations from which the bytes originate. Click the locations on the map to display detailed information about the country from which the bytes originated.
TOP 10 CLIENTS IPS BY BYTES TRANSFERRED
Displays the IP addresses of the top client systems that transferred bytes of information and the size of the transfers. Select a client from the bar chart to display detailed bytes transferred information for that client.
CLIENT OS BY BYTES TRANSFERRED
Displays the top operating systems used by the client devices and the number of operating systems. Click the ring chart to display detailed information about the client device.

About monitoring network access performance

BIG-IQ Centralized Management allows you to monitor and troubleshoot network access requests by all clients attempting to join your network. You can use the aggregated data on the following page to understand the overall success of network access requests, and to view the amount of VPN traffic at any given moment or over a period of time.
To do so, navigate to
Monitoring
DASHBOARDS
Access
Remote Access
Network Access
Network Access Performance
.
Within BIG-IQ, you can view data for Network Access performance. From this report, you may:
  • Generate a report with a different scope by making a selection from the
    ACCESS GROUP/DEVICE
    or the
    TIMEFRAME
    field, or both.
  • Generate reports for any devices regardless of Access group membership, cluster membership, or geographic location. Select
    All Devices
    from the
    ACCESS GROUP/DEVICE
    list and select the devices that interest you.
  • Adjust the time slider across the top of the screen to indicate the time window for which statistics are displayed. This control sets the chart pane focus to a specific window of time within the currently selected time period. Use the sliders at either end of this control to define the window you want to examine. You can adjust each end of the control. If you adjust the right side of the control, the auto refresh stops, effectively freezing the display so you can focus on a particular data point.
  • Select
    CSV Report
    to download a CSV file of this data to your local machine.
  • Refresh this page by clicking
    Refresh
    or set up automatic refresh by selecting the arrow next to the
    Refresh
    button and selecting how often you would like to refresh the data. You can pick from 1, 5, or 10 minutes.

What charts are in the dashboard?

Term
Definition
THROUGHPUT OVER TIME
Displays the throughput to and from the client over time.
ACTIVE CONNECTIONS OVER TIME
Displays the number of active network access sessions over time by all users.
NEW CONNECTIONS OVER TIME
Displays the new network connections over time from all users.

View network access reconnect details

From BIQ-IQ, you may view a report of all of the reconnections to your network through your VPN. You may use this page to troubleshoot connectivity issues with your VPN or to determine if a connectivity issue lies on the client-side.
To do this, view a report for Network Access reconnections. Access this page at
Monitoring
DASHBOARDS
Remote Access
Network Access
Network Access Recconnect Detail
. From this page, you can:
  • Generate a report with a different scope by making a selection from the
    ACCESS GROUP/DEVICE
    or the
    TIMEFRAME
    field, or both
  • Generate reports for any devices regardless of Access group membership, cluster membership, or geographical location. Select
    All Devices
    from the
    ACCESS GROUP/DEVICE
    list and select the devices that interest you.
  • Adjust the time slider across the top of the screen to indicate the time window for which statistics are displayed. This control sets the chart pane focus to a specific window of time within the currently selected time period. Use the sliders at either end of this control to define the window you want to examine. If you adjust the right side of the control, the auto refresh stops, effectively freezing the display so you can focus on a particular data point.
  • Select
    CSV Report
    to download a CSV file of this data to your local machine.
  • Refresh this page by clicking
    Refresh
    or set up automatic refresh by selecting the arrow next to the
    Refresh
    button and selecting how often you would like to refresh the data. You can pick from 1, 5, or 10 minutes.
  • Add or remove the
    Client Application
    field by clicking the settings icon on the right and selecting or deselecting
    Client Application
    report.
View reconnect detail properties:

What charts are in the dashboard?

User interface control
Functionality
Local Time
Displays the local timestamp when the user reconnected to the network access connection.
Hostname
Displays the BIG-IP system from which the network access connection originates.
Cluster
Displays the BIG-IP APM cluster.
Session ID
Click the session ID to open the Session Details screen, displaying session details and session variables.
User Name
Displays the username of the reconnecting user.
Client IP
Displays the IP address of the client device used for the reconnect.
Client OS
Displays the operating system of the client device used for the reconnect.
Country
Displays the country where the reconnect originates.
State
Displays the geographical state where the reconnect originates.
Continent
Displays the continent where the reconnect originates.

Monitoring network access errors

You may use BIG-IQ Centralized Management to log all error messages received for every failed network access request in order to facilitate troubleshooting efforts for an end-user or to understand trends with connectivity issues and come to a resolution. To do so, navigate to
Monitoring
DASHBOARDS
Access
Remote Access
Network Access
Network Access Errors
View all details for Network Access errors. From this page, you can:
  • Generate a report with a different scope by making a selection from the
    ACCESS GROUP/DEVICE
    or the
    TIMEFRAME
    field, or both.
  • Generate reports for any devices regardless of Access group membership, cluster membership, or geographical location. Select
    All Devices
    from the
    ACCESS GROUP/DEVICE
    list and select the devices that interest you.
  • Adjust the time slider across the top of the screen to indicate the time window for which statistics are displayed. This control sets the chart pane focus to a specific window of time within the currently selected time period. Use the sliders at either end of this control to define the window you want to examine. If you adjust the right side of the control, the auto refresh stops, effectively freezing the display so you can focus on a particular data point.
  • Select
    CSV Report
    to download a CSV file of this data to your local machine.
  • Refresh this page by clicking
    Refresh
    or set up automatic refresh by selecting the arrow next to the
    Refresh
    button and selecting how often you would like to refresh the data. You can pick from 1, 5, or 10 minutes.

What charts are in the dashboard?

Chart title
Functionality
Local Time
Displays the local timestamp when error occurred.
Hostname
Displays the BIG-IP system from which the network access error occurred.
Session ID
Click the session ID to open the Session Details screen, displaying session details and session variables.
Error Message
Displays the error message associated with this network access failure.
User Name
Displays the username of the the user associated with the error.
Client IP
Displays the IP address of the client device where the error occurred.
Client OS
Displays the operating system of the client device where the error occurred.
Country
Displays the country where the error occurred.

Monitoring network access usage

BIG-IQ provides you with the ability to monitor the frequency of network access requests, as well as to drill-down on the data for all of these requests. You may request reports on traffic throughput for a specific user, and you may track the geographical location of all of the network access requests in order to prevent and spot session takeover or unauthorized network access. To do so, navigate to
Monitoring
DASHBOARDS
Access
Remote Access
Network Access
Network Access Usage
.
From this page, you can:
  • Generate a report with a different scope by making a selection from the
    ACCESS GROUP/DEVICE
    or the
    TIMEFRAME
    field, or both
  • Generate reports for any devices regardless of Access group membership, cluster membership, or geographical location. Select
    All Devices
    from the
    ACCESS GROUP/DEVICE
    list and select the devices that interest you.
  • Adjust the time slider across the top of the screen to indicate the time window for which statistics are displayed. This control sets the chart pane focus to a specific window of time within the currently selected time period. Use the sliders at either end of this control to define the window you want to examine. If you adjust the right side of the control, the auto refresh stops, effectively freezing the display so you can focus on a particular data point.
  • Select
    CSV Report
    to download a CSV file of this data to your local machine.
  • Refresh this page by clicking
    Refresh
    or set up automatic refresh by selecting the arrow next to the
    Refresh
    button and selecting how often you would like to refresh the data. You can pick from 1, 5, or 10 minutes.

View network access usage for the top 1000 users

Chart title
Functionality
User Name
Displays the usernames of the top users by usage.
Total Connections
Displays the total number of network access connections.
Total Bytes In
Displays the total number of bytes received by the network access.
Total Bytes Out
Displays the total number of bytes sent out by the network access.
Total Bytes Transferred
Displays the total number of sent and received bytes.
Total Bytes Transferred
Displays the total number of sent and received bytes.
Total Duration
Displays the total duration when the network access connections for a user were active. When the user has multiple active connections at the same time, the total duration is the sum of the duration of those two connections.
Distinct Locations
Displays the number of unique locations from where the network access usage originates.
View network access usage for the top 1000 locations:

What charts are in the dashboard?

Country
Displays the countries from where the network access usage originates.
State
Displays the states in the countries from where the network access usage originates.
Total Connections
Displays the total number of network access connections.
Total Bytes In
Displays the total number of bytes received by the network access.
Total Bytes Out
Displays the total number of bytes sent out by the network access.
Total Bytes Transferred
Displays the total number of sent and received bytes.
Total Duration
Displays the total duration when the network access connections for a user were active. When the user has multiple active connections at the same time, the total duration is the sum of the duration of those two connections.
The date filter is applied on the connection start time. If you select a date range that starts after the network access connection was established, BIG-IQ does not display the connection record because date range selected does not include connection state time.

Monitoring portal access

BIG-IQ allows you to separately monitor portal access network traffic and network access requests that stem from BIG-IP Edge Client. To monitor data on portal access requests and to receive reports on this data, navigate to
Monitoring
DASHBOARDS
Access
Remote Access
Portal Access
.
View data for Portal Access sessions. From this report, you can:
  • Generate a report with a different scope by making a selection from the
    ACCESS GROUP/DEVICE
    or the
    TIMEFRAME
    field, or both
  • Generate reports for any devices regardless of Access group membership, cluster membership, or geographical location. Select
    All Devices
    from the
    ACCESS GROUP/DEVICE
    list and select the devices that interest you.
  • View the number of client requests, cache hits, and cache misses over time in the Portal Access chart.
  • Adjust the time slider across the top of the screen to indicate the time window for which statistics are displayed. This control sets the chart pane focus to a specific window of time within the currently selected time period. Use the sliders at either end of this control to define the window you want to examine. If you adjust the right side of the control, the auto refresh stops, effectively freezing the display so you can focus on a particular data point.
  • Select
    CSV Report
    to download a CSV file of this data to your local machine.
  • Refresh this page by clicking
    Refresh
    or set up automatic refresh by selecting the arrow next to the
    Refresh
    button and selecting how often you would like to refresh the data. You can pick from 1, 5, or 10 minutes.

What information is listed in the columns?

Column Title
Functionality
Local Time
Displays the local timestamp when the system generates a report every ten minutes.
Client Requests / min
Displays the number of client requests per minute.
Cache Hits / min
Displays the number of cache hits per minute.
Cache Misses / min
Displays the number of cache misses per minute.

Monitoring VDI data

You may use BIG-IQ to collect data on virtual desktop sessions in order to troubleshoot connectivity issues and view trends over time or for a certain time period. To do so, navigate to
Monitoring
DASHBOARDS
Access
Remote Access
VDI Summary
.
From this report, you can:
  • Generate reports with a different scope by making a selection from the
    ACCESS GROUP/DEVICE
    or the
    TIMEFRAME
    field, or both
  • Generate reports for any devices regardless of Access group membership, cluster membership, or geographical location. Select
    All Devices
    from the
    ACCESS GROUP/DEVICE
    list and select the devices that interest you.
  • View the number of client requests, cache hits, and cache misses over time in the Portal Access chart.
  • Adjust the time slider across the top of the screen to indicate the time window for which statistics are displayed. This control sets the chart pane focus to a specific window of time within the currently selected time period. Use the sliders at either end of this control to define the window you want to examine. If you adjust the right side of the control, the auto refresh stops, effectively freezing the display so you can focus on a particular data point.
  • Select
    CSV Report
    to download a CSV file of this data to your local machine.
  • Refresh this page by clicking
    Refresh
    or set up automatic refresh by selecting the arrow next to the
    Refresh
    button and selecting how often you would like to refresh the data. You can pick from 1, 5, or 10 minutes.

What data does VDI Summary display?

Chart or list
Functionality
VDI SESSIONS OVERTIME
Displays a chart containing data points for VDI sessions by network users over time.
TOP 10 USED VDI APPLICATIONS
Displays the most frequently used VDI applications for remote access users.
Top 50 VDI Applications by Request count
Displays a list containing the top 50 most requested VDI applications.