Interface stats and monitor-traffic

Every RouterOS interface contains various counters, for example, the number of received and transmitted packets, Fast Path bytes, and link downs. These statistics provide real-time visibility into network utilization and hardware performance across physical and virtual interfaces. To analyze live throughput and packet rates, the monitor-traffic tool offers a continuous stream of data for troubleshooting and bandwidth verification.

Stats

Interface statistics provide real-time monitoring of data flow and hardware performance across all physical and virtual interfaces. Use the stats or stats-detail commands to print the interface counters, which track packet throughput, byte counts, and link stability metrics like uptime and flap counts. The values starting with "fp" indicate the Fast Path counters, while "tx-queue-drop" highlights potential congestion by showing the number of packets dropped by the interface queue.

Monitoring these counters helps identify physical layer issues by tracking the link-downs count and unexpected drops in traffic. It also assists in troubleshooting bandwidth bottlenecks by comparing rx-byte and tx-byte values against the expected throughput of a specific link.

[admin@MikroTik] > /interface/print stats 
Flags: R - RUNNING
Columns: NAME, RX-BYTE, TX-BYTE, RX-PACKET, TX-PACKET, TX-QUEUE-DROP
#   NAME        RX-BYTE      TX-BYTE  RX-PACKET  TX-PACKET  TX-QUEUE-DROP
0 R ether1  205 149 015  147 887 338    158 132    150 015              2
1 R ether2   32 400 148  335 690 764         19    216 509              0
2 R ether3  944 043 040   32 392 350    617 271         17              0
3 R ether4    7 038 417   32 398 973          9          4              0
4 R ether5    7 036 903   32 502 437          5          9              0
5   sfp1              0            0          0          0              0
[admin@MikroTik] > /interface/print stats-detail  
Flags: D - dynamic; X - disabled, R - running; S - slave; P - passthrough 
 0  R   name="ether1" last-link-down-time=2022-07-19 12:37:06 last-link-up-time=2022-07-19 12:37:09 link-downs=2 
        rx-byte=205 164 277 tx-byte=147 977 500 rx-packet=158 254 tx-packet=150 156 tx-queue-drop=2 
        fp-rx-byte=199 271 067 fp-tx-byte=0 fp-rx-packet=1 473 603 fp-tx-packet=0 

 1  R   name="ether2" last-link-down-time=2022-07-19 12:46:06 last-link-up-time=2022-07-19 12:46:07 link-downs=10 
        rx-byte=32 400 148 tx-byte=335 690 764 rx-packet=19 tx-packet=216 509 tx-queue-drop=0 
        fp-rx-byte=33 718 434 fp-tx-byte=67 fp-rx-packet=60 037 fp-tx-packet=1 

 2  R   name="ether3" last-link-down-time=2022-07-19 12:46:06 last-link-up-time=2022-07-19 12:46:08 link-downs=11 
        rx-byte=944 043 040 tx-byte=32 392 350 rx-packet=617 271 tx-packet=17 tx-queue-drop=0 fp-rx-byte=6 860 921 
        fp-tx-byte=0 fp-rx-packet=46 671 fp-tx-packet=0 

 3  R   name="ether4" last-link-down-time=2022-07-19 12:46:06 last-link-up-time=2022-07-19 12:46:07 link-downs=10 
        rx-byte=7 038 417 tx-byte=32 398 973 rx-packet=9 tx-packet=4 tx-queue-drop=0 fp-rx-byte=6 852 283 
        fp-tx-byte=0 fp-rx-packet=46 586 fp-tx-packet=0 

 4  R   name="ether5" last-link-down-time=2022-07-19 12:46:06 last-link-up-time=2022-07-19 12:46:08 link-downs=10 
        rx-byte=7 036 903 tx-byte=32 502 437 rx-packet=5 tx-packet=9 tx-queue-drop=0 fp-rx-byte=6 850 637 
        fp-tx-byte=178 fp-rx-packet=46 568 fp-tx-packet=2 

 5      name="sfp1" link-downs=0 rx-byte=0 tx-byte=0 rx-packet=0 tx-packet=0 tx-queue-drop=0 fp-rx-byte=0 
        fp-tx-byte=0 fp-rx-packet=0 fp-tx-packet=0 

Monitor traffic

The traffic passing through any interface can be monitored using the monitor-traffic command.

This tool provides real-time throughput statistics, including packet rates and bitrates for both received and transmitted data. It is essential for verifying interface activity and identifying high-bandwidth consumers directly from the command line interface.

For example, use this command to troubleshoot a suspected network bottleneck by observing the bits-per-second on a specific WAN interface. It can also be used to confirm that traffic is correctly flowing through a newly configured VLAN or bridge member.

[admin@MikroTik] > /interface/monitor-traffic [find]
                         name:     ether1 ether2 ether3 ether4 ether5 sfp1
        rx-packets-per-second:         19      0      0      0      0    0
           rx-bits-per-second:   27.8kbps   0bps   0bps   0bps   0bps 0bps
     fp-rx-packets-per-second:         29      0      0      0      0    0
        fp-rx-bits-per-second:   26.8kbps   0bps   0bps   0bps   0bps 0bps
        tx-packets-per-second:         21      0      0      0      0    0
           tx-bits-per-second:  149.4kbps   0bps   0bps   0bps   0bps 0bps
     fp-tx-packets-per-second:          0      0      0      0      0    0
        fp-tx-bits-per-second:       0bps   0bps   0bps   0bps   0bps 0bps
    tx-queue-drops-per-second:          0      0      0      0      0    0

info

Additional Ethernet statistics are available in the /interface/ethernet menu.