NetFlow is a network traffic monitoring technology that provides information about communications flowing through a network.
NetFlow is a network traffic monitoring technology that provides information about communications flowing through a network.
Rather than examining the contents of every packet, flow monitoring summarizes traffic relationships so administrators can understand who is communicating, where traffic is going, which protocols are being used, and how network resources are being consumed.
Monitoring platforms analyze these records to identify traffic patterns.
An interface may show high bandwidth utilization without explaining what is consuming the bandwidth. NetFlow provides additional context.
Administrators may use flow information to determine:
SNMP and NetFlow provide different types of information. SNMP can provide information about the condition and performance of network devices and interfaces. NetFlow provides information about traffic conversations moving through the network.
Used together, they can provide a clearer view of network behavior. For example, SNMP may show that an interface is heavily utilized, while NetFlow can help explain which traffic is contributing to that utilization.
NetFlow summarizes network traffic into flow records. Packet capture records individual packets and can provide much deeper information about specific communications.
Flow monitoring typically requires less data storage and is useful for broader traffic analysis. Packet capture provides greater detail when deep packet-level investigation is required.
FatPipe Constellation incorporates network flow monitoring as part of its broader monitoring and reporting environment. Flow information can help administrators understand traffic behavior alongside device, interface, network health, topology, and other monitoring information.
Yes. NetFlow can help administrators understand which hosts, destinations, protocols, or traffic flows are contributing to bandwidth utilization.
No. NetFlow is one source of network information. A network monitoring platform may combine flow data with SNMP, syslog, device health, interfaces, topology, alerts, and other telemetry.
NetFlow primarily summarizes traffic metadata and relationships rather than storing the complete contents of each packet.