Adding a NetFlow monitor

Monitor your network traffic and bandwidth usage in real-time with Site24x7’s NetFlow Analyzer. Get detailed insights into traffic spikes, bandwidth-hungry applications, and top-level conversations. By leveraging flow technologies like NetFlow, sFLow, JFlow, IP Flow Information Export (IPFIX), NetStream, and AppFlow, you can clearly see how bandwidth is being used—and by whom.

Prerequisites

To start monitoring network traffic with Site24x7, make sure you meet the following requirements:

• Install an On-Premise Poller (version 6.4.0 or higher) within the network you wish to monitor.
• Configure your network devices to export flow data to the On-Premise Poller.

System requirements

Check the system requirements for installing the On-Premise Poller and ensuring smooth traffic data collection and analysis.

How network traffic monitoring works

1. Install the On-Premise Poller inside your network environment.
2. Configure your devices (for example, routers, switches, firewalls) to send flow data to the On-Premise Poller.
3. Once Site24x7 starts receiving flows, monitoring will start automatically.

Site24x7 helps you analyze flow data at multiple levels—device, interface, application, and conversation. You’ll gain access to rich visualizations, detailed reports, and customizable dashboards to help track bandwidth consumption and network performance.

Configuring flow exports

You can now configure flow exports as a one-step process in Site24x7.

1. Log in to your Site24x7 account. 
2. Navigate to Admin > Add Monitor > Configure Flow Exports. 
3. Provide the values for the following fields:
   1. Export Flows From: Toggle between Devices or IP Address. If you select Devices, select the device from the drop-down menu in the next field, otherwise provide the value for IP address.
   2. Flow Collector: Select an On-Premise Poller from the drop-down menu. This will be used to monitor the device. 
   3. SNMP Credential: Select the correct credentials for the device from the drop-down menu. Edit an existing credential by using the pencil icon or add a new credential by using the plus icon + beside the field. This ensures that Site24x7 can retrieve detailed information, allowing you to effectively monitor the device's interfaces and its metrics.
   4. Flow Collector IP Address/Port: View the IP address and port of the On-Premise Poller configured as the Flow Collector. This field is non-editable. 
4. Then, click Checks Commands Availability. Now, provide values for the following fields:
   
   1. Device Vendor/Type: Select the vendor or type of the device that is exporting flow data to Site24x7. Click Request for NetFlow Export support beside the field and fill up the form in case the device is not supported. 
   2. Export Commands: Click Copy to Clipboard to copy the commands and execute them on your device to complete configuration. If you have valid SSH credentials, you can execute them on your device from Site24x7. 
5. After completing the flow-export configuration, if the device is already monitored, we will automatically start collecting flow data. If not, please navigate to the Discovered Devices page after a few minutes to add your device for monitoring.