While NetFlow technology has been available for years, many enterprises are reluctant to fully deploy it. This is for good reason. Turning on the NetFlow feature can increase CPU load by 10% or more. In addition, NetFlow is typically programmed manually using a command line interface (CLI). NetFlow also has to be enabled across all of the network switches to get the full benefit. Therefore, the performance degradation and network outage risk associated with this technology has been a barrier to deployment.
This is unfortunate, as NetFlow provides summarized network data that provides many benefits like the following:
- The ability to see network bottlenecks
- Observe denial of service (DOS) attacks
- Determine where to deploy quality of service (QOS) improvements
- Manage resource utilization of network components
Read this solution brief to see how Ixia can solve NetFlow deployment problems so that you can quickly and easily harness the power of the NetFlow feature. In addition to offloading (removing) the CPU load issue as well as the programming issue (as Ixia uses an intuitive GUI interface), Ixia also offers extensive additional capabilities to basic NetFlow features. This includes geolocation, browser type, device type and other information. See how you can take advantage of these features to optimize your network management.
