PRTG Manual: NetFlow v9 Sensor
The NetFlow v9 sensor receives traffic data from a NetFlow v9-compatible device and shows the traffic by type. This sensor has several filter options to divide traffic into different channels.
Make sure that the sensor matches the NetFlow version that your device exports.
For a detailed list and descriptions of the channels that this sensor can show, see section Channel List.
- Dutch: NetFlow v9
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- Simplified Chinese: NetFlow v9
- Spanish: NetFlow v9
- This sensor has a very high performance impact. We recommend that you use no more than 50 of this sensor on each probe.
- This sensor requires that the NetFlow export of the respective version is enabled on the target system. The target system must send the flow data stream to the IP address of the probe system.
- This sensor does not support cluster probes. You can only set it up on local probes or remote probes.
- This sensor supports IPv6.
- If you clone this sensor to the same probe, PRTG keeps the selected IP addresses on which it listens for Flow (NetFlow, jFlow, sFlow, IPFIX) packets. If you clone this sensor to a different probe, PRTG selects all available IP addresses by default.
- Knowledge Base: What is the Active Flow Timeout in flow sensors?
- Knowledge Base: How can I change the default groups and channels for flow and Packet Sniffer sensors?
You cannot add this sensor to the hosted probe of a PRTG Hosted Monitor instance. If you want to use this sensor, add it to a remote probe device.
Setting |
Description |
---|---|
Sensor Name |
Enter a name to identify the sensor. By default, PRTG shows this name in the device tree, as well as in alarms, logs, notifications, reports, maps, libraries, and tickets.
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Parent Tags |
The tags that the sensor inherits from its parent device, parent group, and parent probe.
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Tags |
Enter one or more tags. Confirm each tag with the Spacebar key, a comma, or the Enter key. You can use tags to group objects and use tag-filtered views later on. Tags are not case-sensitive. Tags are automatically inherited.
The sensor has the following default tags that are automatically predefined in the sensor's settings when you add the sensor:
|
Priority |
Select a priority for the sensor. This setting determines the position of the sensor in lists. The highest priority is at the top of a list. Choose from the lowest priority ( |
Setting |
Description |
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Receive Packets on UDP Port |
Enter the User Datagram Protocol (UDP) port number on which the flow packets are received. It must match the UDP port number in the NetFlow export options of the hardware router device. Enter an integer.
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Sender IP Address |
Enter the IP address of the sending device that you want to receive the NetFlow from. Enter an IP address to only receive data from a specific device or leave the field empty to receive data from any device on the specified port. |
Select the IP addresses on which PRTG listens to NetFlow packets. The list of IP addresses is specific to your setup. To select an IP address, enable a check box in front of the respective line. The IP address that you select must match the IP address in the NetFlow export options of the hardware router device.
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Active Flow Timeout (Minutes) |
Enter a time span in minutes after which the sensor must receive new flow data. If the timeout elapses and the sensor receives no new data during this time, it shows the Unknown status. Enter an integer. The maximum timeout is 60 minutes.
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Sampling Mode |
Define if you want to use the sampling mode:
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Sampling Rate |
This setting is only visible if you select On above. Enter a number that matches the sampling rate in the exporting device. If the number is different, monitoring results will be incorrect. Enter an integer. |
Stream Data Handling |
Define what PRTG does with the stream and packet data:
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Setting |
Description |
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Channel Selection |
Define the categories that the sensor accounts the traffic to:
For each group, you can select how many channels the sensor uses, that is, how detailed the sensor divides the traffic. For each group, choose from:
|
For detailed information, see section Filter Rules.
Setting |
Description |
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Include Filter |
Define if you want to filter any traffic. If you leave this field empty, the sensor includes all traffic. To include specific traffic only, define filters using a special syntax. |
Exclude Filter |
First, the sensor considers the filters in Include Filter. From this subset, you can explicitly exclude traffic, using the same syntax. |
Setting |
Description |
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Primary Channel |
Select a channel from the list to define it as the primary channel. In the device tree, the last value of the primary channel is always displayed below the sensor's name. The available options depend on what channels are available for this sensor.
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Graph Type |
Define how different channels are shown for this sensor:
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Stack Unit |
This setting is only visible if you enable Stack channels on top of each other as Graph Type. Select a unit from the list. All channels with this unit are stacked on top of each other. By default, you cannot exclude single channels from stacking if they use the selected unit. However, there is an advanced procedure to do so. |
Setting |
Description |
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Primary Toplist |
Define which Toplist is the primary Toplist of the sensor:
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By default, all of these settings are inherited from objects that are higher in the hierarchy. We recommend that you change them centrally in the root group settings if necessary. To change a setting for this object only, click under the corresponding setting name to disable the inheritance and to display its options.
For more information, see section Inheritance of Settings.
For more information, see section Root Group Settings, section Scanning Interval.
Schedules, Dependencies, and Maintenance Window
You cannot interrupt the inheritance for schedules, dependencies, and maintenance windows. The corresponding settings from the parent objects are always active. However, you can define additional schedules, dependencies, and maintenance windows. They are active at the same time as the parent objects' settings.
For more information, see section Root Group Settings, section Schedules, Dependencies, and Maintenance Window.
For more information, see section Root Group Settings, section Access Rights.
For more information, see section Root Group Settings, section Channel Unit Configuration.
For all Flow (NetFlow, jFlow, sFlow, IPFIX) and Packet Sniffer sensors, Toplists are available on the sensor's Overview tab. Using Toplists, you can review traffic data for small time periods in great detail.
For more information, see section Toplists.
The following filter rules apply to all Flow (NetFlow, jFlow, sFlow, IPFIX) and Packet Sniffer sensors.
For more information, see section Filter Rules for Flow, IPFIX, and Packet Sniffer Sensors.
Field |
Possible Filter Values |
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IP |
IP address or DNS name |
Port |
Any number |
SourceIP |
IP address or DNS name |
SourcePort |
Any number |
DestinationIP |
IP address or DNS name |
DestinationPort |
Any number |
Protocol |
Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP), Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP), Open Shortest Path First (OSPF), any number |
ToS |
Type of Service (ToS): any number |
DSCP |
Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP): any number |
The following filter rules apply to NetFlow v9 sensors only.
Field |
Possible Filter Values |
---|---|
Interface |
Any number |
ASI |
Any number |
InboundInterface |
Any number |
OutboundInterface |
Any number |
SenderIP |
IP address of the sending device. Use this if you have several devices that send flow data on the same port, and you want to divide the traffic of each device into a different channel. Possible values: IP address or DNS name |
SourceASI |
Any number |
DestinationASI |
Any number |
MAC |
Physical address |
SourceMAC |
Physical address |
DestinationMAC |
Physical address |
Mask |
Mask values represent subnet masks in the form of a single number (number of contiguous bits). |
DestinationMask |
Mask values represent subnet masks in the form of a single number (number of contiguous bits). |
NextHop |
IP address or DNS name |
VLAN |
VLAN values represent a VLAN identifier (any number). |
SourceVLAN |
VLAN values represent a VLAN identifier (any number). |
DestinationVLAN |
VLAN values represent a VLAN identifier (any number). |
Which channels the sensor actually shows might depend on the target device, the available components, and the sensor setup.
Channel |
Description |
---|---|
Chat |
The traffic from chat and instant messaging (IRC, AIM) |
Citrix |
The traffic from Citrix applications |
Downtime |
In the channel table on the Overview tab, this channel never shows any values. PRTG uses this channel in graphs and reports to show the amount of time in which the sensor was in the Down status |
FTP/P2P |
The traffic from file transfer (FTP/P2P) |
Infrastructure |
The traffic from network services (DHCP, DNS, Ident, ICMP, SNMP) |
The internet mail traffic (IMAP, POP3, SMTP) |
|
NetBIOS |
The traffic from NetBIOS communication |
Other |
The traffic from various other protocols (UDP, TCP) |
Remote Control |
The traffic from remote control applications (RDP, SSH, Telnet, VNC) |
Total |
The total traffic
|
Various |
The traffic from various other sources |
WWW |
The traffic from the web (HTTP, HTTPS) |
KNOWLEDGE BASE
What is the Active Flow Timeout in flow sensors?
How can I change the default groups and channels for flow and Packet Sniffer sensors?
What security features does PRTG include?
Where is the volume line in graphs?
PAESSLER TOOLS
NetFlow Tester