Comparing PRTG's SNMP based monitoring with NetFlow Monitoring and Packet Sniffer based monitoring

With SNMP, Packet Sniffer and NetFlow sensors, PRTG is considerable versatile when monitoring network traffic. The best solution for you depends on your network and on available resources.

SNMP

SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) is the basic means of gathering bandwidth and network usage data. Monitoring the bandwidth usage of routers and switches port-by-port is the most common use of SNMP as well as monitoring device readings like memory, CPU load etc.

• Recommended for most standard situations
• Does not support differentiation of traffic by service/protocol
• Causes the least CPU load

Packet Sniffer

Using the Packet Sniffer PRTG can inspect all network data packets passing the local machine's network card. You can either only monitor the traffic of the machine running PRTG or you must make sure that all network traffic you want to analyze passes it (e.g. by connecting it to the "monitoring" port of a switch).

• Recommended if differentation of traffic by service/protocol is desired
• Creates the highest CPU load on the machine running PRTG
• In PRTG, you can view "Toplists" for data of this sensor type

xFlow (NetFlow/sFlow)

NetFlow can be used with most Cisco routers to measure bandwidth usage. Although being the most complex type it is also the most powerful for high traffic networks.

• Recommended for high traffic networks and for advanced users
• Requires changes in the setup of the Cisco router (you must tell the router to send to the NetFlow packets to the machine running PRTG!)
• In PRTG, you can view "Toplists" for data of this sensor type

See Also

• Infographic: Comparison of SNMP, Packet Sniffing and NetFlow
• Manual: Comparison of Bandwidth Monitoring Sensors
• How do I discern excessive bandwidth usage with PRTG?