If you are looking to gain more visibility of your network traffic through your WAN Optimizer, then please read on. In this blog I will take you step by step through the Exinda NetFlow configuration. By the time we are finished, you will have the following reporting options with our Exinda NetFlow Support:
Exinda NetFlow Configuration
To start on the WAN Optimization NetFlow configuration on your Exinda appliance, the first step is to select NetFlow Configuration in the System Setup section of the Exinda Appliance.
The next step is to ‘Add New NetFlow collector’.
- IP Address – Enter your NetFlow collectors IP address here
- Port – This is the UDP port used for the NetFlow exports, UDP Port 2055 is one of the standard, commonly used ports
- Version – This is the NetFlow export version. Version 9 is the latest version of NetFlow supported by the Exinda appliance, so would be the optimal choice.
After all of the fields are filled out, then click the ‘Add NetFlow Collector’ button.
NetFlow Options
The next step is to customize the NetFlow record exports using the NetFlow Options form as shown below.
For detailed information on each of these fields, access the Exinda NetFlow configuration guide at page 53 of the Exinda User Manual.
Some fields to note are:
- Active flow timeout – recommended setting is 1 minute, so that long-lived conversations have flows exported every minute, providing more accurate flow reporting by the NetFlow collector.
- Template Timeout Rate – recommended setting is 1 minute, to allow more timely updates of flow templates
- General Options Timeout Rate – recommended setting is 1 minute, for more timely updates of options templates
V9 Optional Fields allow for export of extended data, such as:
- L7 Application ID
- Policy ID
- Type of Service (TOS)
- VLAN ID
- Min and Max Packet Sizes
- Min and Max TTL
- Flow Direction
- SNMP Input and Output Interfaces
- Output byte and packet counters
- Username details
- VoIP MOS and rFactor
- Hostnames
- Traffic class
V9 Option Fields – Metrics
- RTT
- Network Delay
- Network Jitter
- Server Delay
- Bytes Lost
- APS Score
Combining the flexibility of defining which elements to export in the Exinda flow records with our Advanced NetFlow solution provides even deeper visibility into your network traffic. Applications and Network Delay are just a few examples of this.
So what does this mean for you?
Since Exinda NetFlow support has now taken their NetFlow exports to the next level, an advanced NetFlow reporting solution can then also take the flow reporting for Exinda WAN Optimizers to the next level.
Scott Robertson will be discussing the new Exinda NetFlow reporting available in our Advanced NetFlow reporting solution in an upcoming blog. Don’t miss it.
Did you know that Exinda is not the only WAN Optimizer with NetFlow support? Riverbed, SilverPeak, and Cisco WAAS are others that also support flow exports. For configuration instructions on these devices and others, either visit our Configuring NetFlow, IPFIX & sFlow page, search our blogs, or contact us directly at 207-324-8805 for support with the flow configurations.