NetFlow analysis is indispensable tool for network operations staff by identifying network performance bottlenecks and source of service quality problems. Network performance is responsible for a large part of end user experience when remote sites or users connect to the datacenter through VPN or dedicated WAN links. Without proper insight into traffic it is very difficult – and sometimes impossible – to find the cause of slowdowns and increased response times.
PVSR with its native NetFlow support delivers detailed monitoring data about network traffic by visualizing it grouped by application, QoS class or site.
NetFlow analysis
Detailed traffic data – down to individual session information – is kept for days in the system. This enables detailed post mortem analysis of slowdowns and increased response times and pinpointing the application or workstation that caused it.
NetFlow analysis delivers ad-hoc reports about top talking applications, servers, workstations for a given time period. Drill-down is supported down to individual network connection (flow) level visualizing the traffic distribution by time.
What is NetFlow?
NetFlow is a feature developed by Cisco and introduced on its routers for collecting information about IP traffic passing through the device. A network flow (in v5) is a flow of network packets identified by the following matching parameters:
- Source IP address
- Destination IP address
- Source port
- Destination port
- Layer 3 IP protocol
- Ingress interface
- Type of Service (ToS or DSCP)
A NetFlow record (in v5) contains also the following fields:
- Timestamps for the flow start and finish time
- TCP flags
- Output interface
- Routing information
IPFIX (aka NetFlow v10) is the IETF standardized version of NetFlow 9 with several extensions.
Instant benefits:
- Get valuable insight into network traffic during troubleshooting.
- Identify bottlenecks and use as an input for network infrastructure optimization.
- Trend and forecast for capacity planning and purchasing decisions.
- Agentless monitoring is easy to deploy and manage.
Supported flow technologies:
- Cisco NetFlow v5, v9, v10 and ASA
- IETF IPFIX
