In most production networks, if you need to diagnose a link or a path, it is very handy to send a set packet per second (PPS) rate.

This article demonstrates how to send a semi-static PPS for the purpose of troubleshooting.

To send a semi-static PPS, perform the following steps:

1. From the Command Line Interface, enter the shell.

2. Execute the ping -f *ip address* command. (Note that the " -f " is critical.)

root@qfx5100> start shell
root@qfx5100:RE:0% ping -f 172.26.250.192
PING 172.26.250.192 (172.26.250.192): 56 data bytes   <-- This looks like nothing is being sent, but it is.
..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................^C
--- 172.26.250.192 ping statistics ---
15856 packets transmitted, 15011 packets received, 5% packet loss   <-- Some packet loss is acceptable and does not constitute an error.
round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 0.866/5.883/145.989/9.097 ms

3. Now run the monitor interface traffic command and see the PPS on your interface.

root@qfx5100> monitor interface traffic

Interface     Link    Input packets  (pps)   Output packets   (pps)
xe-0/0/45     Up      0              (0)     37               (0)
xe-0/0/46     Up      0              (0)     37               (0)
xe-0/0/47     Up      0              (0)     37               (0)
et-0/0/48     Up      109546         (523)   66513            (523)
et-0/0/49     Down    782            (0)     27234            (0)
et-0/0/50     Down    404            (0)     27491            (0)

As you can see, the ping -f *ip address* command sends approximately 500 PPS.