I have a question for you marketing folks out there. Why are so many companies renaming their implementation of NetFlow or IPFIX? Here are some examples:

• NetStream is 3Com’s rename of NetFlow
• JFlow is Juniper’s rename of NetFlow
• AppFlow is the Citrix’s rename of IPFIX
• Nortel called it IPFIX when really it was NetFlow

Why not just call it what it is (i.e. NetFlow or IPFIX)? Why do these industry leaders have to rename it? Many of the same companies above support SNMP, why didn’t they rename that? They export syslogs, why didn’t they rename that? I think it is causing confusion in the industry.  Here are some vendors that didn’t change their implementations:

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Since this topic has come up several times over the last few weeks, I’ve decided to blog about creating custom report templates in Denika, our MRTG Performance Trender.

The first request was for monitoring Sensatronics temperature probes.  And then today we received the following request on our forums:

“Are there any way to make denika support mibs of ZTE or Huawei? Can i edit the template by some way, or some other method is available?”

And the answer is Yes, you can create new device and report templates with Denika. For Sensatronics, ZTE, Huawei, and other vendors also.  If they support SNMP, we can monitor them.  All you need is the IP Address, OID string, and the SNMP Credential for the device.
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Why is my NetFlow Analyzer reporting interface use over 100%?

This is a question that comes across the tech support desk all the time.

Let’s take a look at how this can happen.

I am going to start with some of the simple causes first.

Is the bandwidth on the interface burstable?

If it is, the over-utilization could be real.

Is the port speed set on the interface correct? 

Our NetFlow Analysis tool uses SNMP to get the device/interface names and the port speeds of all interfaces. If the port speed is not correct, you can go to Admin Tab/Definitions/Device Details to set a custom port speed.

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A customer called in the other day after they had set up a map in Scrutinizer NetFlow and sFlow Analyzer.  They had some blank connections to devices that didn’t support NetFlow and they were asking if there was anything they could do to make the map more useful for these devices. I asked them if they used our SNMP trender Denika, and they said, “Yes.” So, we set up the integration with Denika and Scrutinizer, then started configuring Denika connections on their Scrutinizer Map.

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Consider this – customer calls in and says that a workstation on his network was scanning their entire corporate network and how can he be alerted on this type of behavior? The behavior wasn’t exactly malicious, but rather that someone had installed an inventory application on their desktop  which scanned their entire network with snmp scans.

So, no, it wasn’t malicious activity, but that sort of network monitoring also was not authorized for that individual on their network.

Using Scrutinizer NetFlow and sFlow Analyzer, he asked how he could detect that sort of network traffic.
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Plixer International, your team of friendly neighborhood NetFlow specialists, has just released the newest version of Flowalyzer, our NetFlow and sFlow configuration tool. In addition to some performance and usability enhancements, version 2.0 adds a new tab to the Flowalyzer interface.

Flowalyzer version 2.0 introduces The Trender

The latest addition to the Flowalyzer tool is the Trender tab, which creates graphs for critical Windows resources, all done in real-time (a configurable update period that defaults to once every second). The Trender uses SNMP information gathered from your compliant gear to measure metrics from interface utilization to CPU or memory consumption. There is no limit to the number of metrics you can trend simultaneously (aside from the obvious limitation of screen real estate).

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As most of us are aware, one of NetFlow’s primary intended uses was for network traffic billing. Although it is largely used for network traffic analysis and baselines, I thought I would take this opportunity to point out how it can be used by service providers interested in our NetFlow billing module. Read more »

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In case you haven’t noticed, NetFlow support for Cisco ASA firewalls is a hot topic around here lately. Since Mike helped you get NetFlow configured using ASDM 6.2 on your Cisco ASA, I thought I might blog about how to configure SNMP on your Cisco ASA using ASDM.

The first order of business is to navigate to the screen shown below:

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When we visit our local doctor, sometimes we don’t always agree with what they have to say. Sure, we didn’t go to medical school and we don’t have a fancy degree on our wall. But heck, it’s our body and once in a while we know something just isn’t right. So what do we do? We get a second opinion. The same concept is important in almost any part of life – even network management. Sometimes something just doesn’t seem right, and we need to get a second opinion before we blindly trust what our hardware and software is telling us.

For years, Plixer (yes, even in our Somix days) has been using an excellent free tool called GetIf for walking MIBs and verifying SNMP information. It allows support technicians and users to verify device settings and configurations. It’s important to have these small, but incredibly useful, tools on hand. Whenever something doesn’t go as planned during setup, the first question to ask is always, “Is it the software or is it the hardware?” When helping customers and evaluators setup Denika Performance Trender to monitor their SNMP enabled devices, GetIf has always been invaluable in helping answer that question.

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OK, let’s say you’ve decided to live a healthier life. You’re exercising regularly, stopped getting drunk every night, and you’re eating healthy. You’ve been eating more salads, almost cut out red meat, and even eating annoyingly healthy desserts, if any. Read more »

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