Multiprotocol Network Metrics?

[Herbst.ESAE at xerox.com]

How do you decide how to build your network?  Do you have metrics to
assist you in the decision to change a network configuration?  At a
company where building Ethernet networks is a mature technology, we have
traditionally created networks by repeatering a bunch of coax together.
Then we put workstations on it until it's full (or a bit over).  Full
means 1024 devices.  1500 works, too - somewhat, anyway. 

Now, with the introduction of real world machines (read - SPARCstations),
that doesn't work even somewhat.

There are a mass of statistics that one can gather from various sources.
One can gather NFS stats, Ether stats -- the Suns give stats, the Sniffers
give stats, the cisco routers give stats... Which ones matter? Does anyone
use metrics, or is networking these machines an art?  We run everything
over the same networks, and the Sun (and Sun-like) workstations either do
all protocols, or they soon will.  XNS, TCP/IP w/ NFS, Novell IPX, DECNet,
OSI, PUP, etc...

Since this isn't a strictly a sun topic, please send your opinion directly
to me and I'll sumarize.

herbst.esae at xerox.com

thanks - 

Thomas Herbst
Network Consultant
Xerox Corporation, Development and Manufacturing
El Segundo, CA