Nokia 7705 - 5.4.2 Accounting Files; 5.4.3 Design Considerations

System Management Guide Event and Accounting Logs
Edition: 01 3HE 11018 AAAC TQZZA 261
5.4.2 Accounting Files
When a policy has been created and applied to a service or network port, the
accounting file is stored on the compact flash in a compressed XML file format. The
7705 SAR creates two directories on the compact flash to store the files. The
following output displays a directory named act-collect that holds accounting files
that are open and actively collecting statistics, and a directory named act that stores
the files that have been closed and are awaiting retrieval.
ALU-1>file cf3:\# dir act*
12/19/2006 06:08a <DIR> act-collect
12/19/2006 06:08a <DIR> act
ALU-1>file cf3:\act-collect\ # dir
Directory of cf3:\act-collect#
12/23/2006 01:46a <DIR> .
12/23/2006 12:47a <DIR> ..
12/23/2006 01:46a 112 act1111-20031223-014658.xml.gz
12/23/2006 01:38a 197 act1212-20031223-013800.xml.gz
Accounting files always have the prefix act followed by the accounting policy ID, log
ID and timestamp. The accounting log file naming and log file destination properties
(such as rollover and retention) are discussed in more detail in Log Files.
A file ID can only be assigned to either one event log ID or one accounting log.
5.4.3 Design Considerations
The 7705 SAR has ample resources to support large-scale accounting policy
deployments. When preparing for an accounting policy deployment, verify that data
collection, file rollover, and file retention intervals are properly tuned for the amount
of statistics to be collected.
If the accounting policy collection interval is too brief, there may be insufficient time
to store the data from all the services and network interfaces within the specified
interval. If that is the case, some records may be lost or incomplete. Interval time,
record types, and number of services using an accounting policy are all factors that
should be considered when implementing accounting policies.
The rollover and retention intervals on the log files and the frequency of file retrieval
must also be considered when designing accounting policy deployments. The
amount of data stored depends on the type of record collected, the number of
services that are collecting statistics, and the collection interval that is used.