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  1. Home>
  2. IT Topics>
  3. Performance>
  4. NetFlow Traffic Analyzer
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NetFlow Traffic Analyzer with PRTG

Understand your bandwidth usage with comprehensive NetFlow traffic analysis

  • Get alerts and notifications immediately when network traffic problems arise
  • Quickly identify the root cause of bandwidth and traffic issues
  • Leverage flow data with NetFlow and other flow protocols, including jFlow, sFlow & IPFIX
Free download
product overview

Our users give top ratings for monitoring with Paessler PRTG

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PRTG NetFlow traffic analyzer: What you will find on this page

Table of content
  • Proactively beat bandwidth issues with NetFlow analysis
  • What analyzing NetFlow traffic looks like in PRTG
  • 3 reasons to choose PRTG as your NetFlow traffic analyzer
  • Explore our preconfigured PRTG sensors for NetFlow traffic analysis
  • NetFlow Traffic Analyzer: FAQ

PRTG makes NetFlow traffic analyzer as easy as it gets

Custom alerts and data visualization make it easy to monitor, identify, and prevent bandwidth and other performance issues.

Free download
PRODUCT OVERVIEW

Proactively beat bandwidth issues with NetFlow analysis

Understanding network traffic is not simple. Where are the bottlenecks? Which are the top IP addresses creating the most network traffic? How can you spot potential problems before they cause downtime or annoy users? For Cisco hardware, using the NetFlow protocol is one of the most tried and trusted approaches for understanding traffic flow. And with the NetFlow traffic analyzer capabilities of Paessler PRTG monitoring software, it’s never been easier.

Identify the symptoms of network traffic problems

By monitoring network traffic in real-time with NetFlow, PRTG is designed to identify potential disasters before they occur.

Set thresholds for traffic speed and get alerted when bandwidth flow drops below these values – long before any user has even had a chance to notice.

Know your network with real-time NetFlow monitoring

Generate lists of the top talkers that cause the most bandwidth usage. Analyze traffic patterns to understand metrics like peak usage times. Identify bandwidth hogs.

PRTG’s NetFlow data collection and analysis functionality gives you intimate knowledge of your network and makes optimization and capacity planning easy.

Troubleshoot the root cause of bandwidth issues

When bandwidth usage spikes or traffic slows, you need to find the reason – and fast. Bandwidth monitoring with PRTG alerts you immediately when a problem is detected, and dashboards give you the ability to speedily drill down to find the problem.

You need special visualizations? No problem: just create your custom dashboard via drag and drop.

Detect potential network security warning signs

By analyzing bandwidth and network traffic, you can identify unusual spikes or activity that could indicate potential network security risks.

This allows you to investigate immediately and proactively mitigate malicious network attacks before your colleagues or management even notice.

NetFlow traffic collector & NetFlow traffic analyzer, all in one tool

NetFlow traffic analysis requires collectors and analyzers, and the last thing you need is separate tools doing these things. PRTG brings you all the NetFlow functionality you need, all in one tool.

And with PRTG, you get so much more monitoring tools than just NetFlow. Leverage flow data, for example, with various other flow technologies, including jFlow, sFlow, and IPFIX.

What analyzing NetFlow traffic looks like in PRTG

Diagnose network issues by continuously monitoring and inspecting network flows in detail. Show bandwidth utilization and bottlenecks in real time. Visualize monitoring data in clear graphs and dashboards to identify problems more easily. Gain the overview you need to troubleshoot traffic flow issues and prevent downtime.

PRTG Screenshot device tree view

Device tree view of the complete monitoring setup

Preconfigured NetFlow v9 sensor in PRTG

Preconfigured NetFlow v9 sensor in PRTG

PRTG screenshot map entire it infrastructure

Custom PRTG dashboard for keeping an eye on the entire IT infrastructure

Start flow monitoring with PRTG and see how it can make your network more reliable and your job easier.

Free download
PRODUCT OVERVIEW

IT experts agree: Paessler PRTG is a great solution for IT infrastructure monitoring

PCMag

“All-around winning
 network monitor”

IT Brief

“The real beauty of PRTG is the endless possibilities it offers”

ITPro

“PRTG Network Monitor 
is very hard to beat”

3 reasons to choose PRTG as your NetFlow traffic analyzer

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Out-of-the-box functionality

PRTG features sensors that use NetFlow v5, NetFlow v9, and IPFIX– all preconfigured and ready to use right away. View your network traffic by IP address, protocol, or user at a glance, and deploy several filter options to divide traffic into different channels.

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Visualize your network traffic

Customizable PRTG dashboards give you the ability to visualize your network traffic analysis in the way you and your teams need to see it. You can even publish dashboards on your NOC screen or anywhere you like so that you always have the traffic data at your fingertips.

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More than just NetFlow analysis

With custom sensors and  support for common protocols, you can monitor everything with our fully-featured monitoring tool: from network devices like routers and firewalls through to applications  and cloud infrastructure.

Explore our preconfigured PRTG sensors for NetFlow traffic analyzer

PRTG comes with more than 2250 native sensor types for monitoring your entire on-premises, cloud, and hybrid cloud environment out of the box. Check out some examples below!

NetFlow v5

The NetFlow v5 sensor receives traffic data from a NetFlow v5-compatible device and shows the traffic by type. This sensor has several filter options to divide traffic into different channels. It can show the following and more:

  • Traffic from Citrix applications
  • Traffic from file transfer (FTP/P2P) and various other protocols (UDP, TCP)
  • Traffic from network services (DHCP, DNS, Ident, ICMP, SNMP)
  • Internet mail traffic (IMAP, POP3, SMTP)
  • Traffic from remote control applications (RDP, SSH, Telnet, Virtual Network Computing (VNC))
NetFlow v5
NetFlow v5

NetFlow v9

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. It can show the following and more:

  • Traffic from Citrix applications
  • Traffic from file transfer (FTP/P2P) and various other protocols (UDP, TCP)
  • Traffic from network services (DHCP, DNS, Ident, ICMP, SNMP)
  • Internet mail traffic (IMAP, POP3, SMTP)
  • Traffic from remote control applications (RDP, SSH, Telnet, Virtual Network Computing (VNC))
NetFlow v9
NetFlow v9

IPFIX

The IPFIX sensor receives traffic data from an Internet Protocol Flow Information Export (IPFIX) compatible device and shows traffic by type. It can show the following and more:

  • Traffic from Citrix applications
  • Traffic from file transfer (FTP/P2P) and various other protocols (UDP, TCP)
  • Traffic from network services (DHCP, DNS, Ident, ICMP, SNMP)
  • Internet mail traffic (IMAP, POP3, SMTP)
  • Traffic from remote control applications (RDP, SSH, Telnet, Virtual Network Computing (VNC))
PFIX
PFIX

SNMP Traffic v2

The SNMP Traffic v2 sensor monitors bandwidth and traffic on a device. It can show the following:

  • Number of incoming and outgoing broadcast, multicast, unicast, and non-unicast packets
  • Number of incoming and outgoing discards and errors
  • Total, incoming, and outgoing traffic
  • Number of incoming, unknown protocols
SNMP Traffic v2
SNMP Traffic v2

See the PRTG Manual for a list of all available sensor types.

PRTG is compatible with all major vendors, products, and systems

compatible with all major vendors, products, and systems

PRTG makes NetFlow traffic analyzer as easy as it gets

Custom alerts and data visualization make it easy to monitor, identify, and prevent bandwidth and other performance issues.

Free download
PRODUCT OVERVIEW

“PRTG helps us to keep control of our IT by making issues visible immediately – and everywhere. We always have an eye on the performance and availability of our IT and can react in time if any failures occur. On a long-term perspective, the monitoring data helps us with capacity planning so that we can deliver the required resources for our own systems as well as for our customers, without wasting money on unwarranted redundancies.”

Stein Erik Høybakk, Senior Network Engineer
TAFJORD

“All our production and business processes depend on SAP. But, of course, IT and production systems also play a crucial role in securing these processes. By incorporating SAP, production, and IT into one centralized monitoring system, we can quickly detect critical drops in performance and identify the causes of these issues. In fact, thanks to PRTG and itesys, this couldn’t be any easier.”

Andreas Schmidt, Senior Systems Engineer
Truma

“Any downtime could be detrimental to our customers. We also strive to provide the best possible service to our customers. PRTG allows us to see the health and performance of the network. Using these measurements we can make decisions on how to repair a piece of equipment before it fails and causes a service interruption.”

James Ott Jr., Communications System Technician and IT Administrator
Federal Radio

Your NetFlow traffic analyzer at a glance – even on the go

PRTG is set up in a matter of minutes and can be used on a wide variety of mobile devices.

device overview

Create innovative solutions with Paessler’s IT partners

Partnering with innovative IT vendors, Paessler unleashes synergies to create
new and additional benefits for joined customers.

KnowledgeRiver

KnowledgeRiver

Combining their tools to a powerful solution for advanced analysis and automation, KnowledgeRiver and Paessler enable IT teams to ensure best performance for their infrastructure and networks.

Read more
Lansweeper

Lansweeper

Asset visibility is a big problem for many IT teams. Not having an accurate inventory of tech assets is inefficient, costly and a potential security risk.

Read more
IP Fabric

IP Fabric

Combining PRTG’s broad monitoring feature set with IP Fabric’s automated network assurance creates a new level of network visibility and reliability.

Read more

PRTG makes NetFlow traffic analysis as easy as it gets

Custom alerts and data visualization make it easy to monitor, identify, and prevent bandwidth and other performance issues.

Free download
PRODUCT OVERVIEW
Paessler PRTG

Paessler PRTG

Network Monitoring Software – Version 24.4.102.1351 (November 12th, 2024)

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Hosting

Download for Windows and cloud-based version PRTG Hosted Monitor available

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Languages

English, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese

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Monitor everything

Network devices, bandwidth, servers, applications, virtual environments, remote systems, IoT, and more

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Pricing

Choose the PRTG Network Monitor subscription that's best for you

NetFlow Traffic Analyzer: FAQ

 

What is NetFlow?

NetFlow is a network protocol developed by Cisco Systems that collects and monitors network traffic flow data. It can be used to obtain insights into network traffic flow patterns, bandwidth performance, network usage, performance, network security, and more.

What is a NetFlow traffic collector?

A NetFlow traffic collector collects and saves NetFlow data sent by Cisco devices and makes it available to a NetFlow traffic analyzer for network traffic analysis.

What does a NetFlow traffic analyzer do?

A NetFlow traffic analyzer records the flow of network traffic sent by NetFlow traffic collectors and allows the analysis of bandwidth usage to identify traffic patterns, top talkers (sources of bandwidth usage), bottlenecks, and more in a network.

How does PRTG NetFlow traffic analyzer work?

PRTG functions as both a NetFlow traffic collector and NetFlow traffic analyzer. Using dedicated NetFlow sensors, it monitors NetFlow data sent by network devices to establish which IP addresses, protocols or applications are causing traffic. It also measures how much data is traveling through the network between the source and endpoints. PRTG breaks down network traffic into the top talkers, top connections and top protocols that are using your network bandwidth

What NetFlow versions does PRTG NetFlow traffic analyzer support?

PRTG provides out-of-the-box sensors for NetFlow v5, NetFlow v9, and IPFIX.

What is a sensor in PRTG?

In PRTG, “sensors” are the basic monitoring elements. One sensor usually monitors one measured value in your network, for example the traffic of a switch port, the CPU load of a server, or the free space on a disk drive. On average, you need about 5-10 sensors per device or one sensor per switch port.

We asked: would you recommend PRTG? Over 95% of our customers say yes!

Paessler conducted trials in over 600 IT departments worldwide to tune its network monitoring software closer to the needs of sysadmins. The result of the survey: over 95% of the participants would recommend PRTG – or already have.

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Still not convinced?

Love

More than 500,000 sysadmins love PRTG

Paessler PRTG is used by companies of all sizes. Sysadmins love PRTG because it makes their job a whole lot easier.

PRTG

Monitor your entire IT infrastructure

Bandwidth, servers, virtual environments, websites, VoIP services – PRTG keeps an eye on your entire network.

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Try Paessler PRTG for free

Everyone has different monitoring needs. That’s why we let you try PRTG for free.

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Start analyzing NetFlow traffic with PRTG and see how it can make your network more reliable and your job easier.

Free download
PRODUCT OVERVIEW

Products

  • Paessler PRTG
    Paessler PRTGMonitor your whole IT infrastructure
    • PRTG Network Monitor
    • PRTG Enterprise Monitor
    • PRTG Hosted Monitor
    • PRTG extensions
      Extensions for Paessler PRTGExtend your monitoring to a new level
  • Icon Features
    FeaturesExplore all monitoring features

Monitoring with PRTG

  • Network monitoring
  • Bandwidth monitoring
  • SNMP monitoring
  • Network mapping
  • Wi-Fi monitoring
  • Server monitoring
  • Network traffic analyzer
  • NetFlow monitoring
  • Syslog server

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Thurn-und-Taxis-Str. 14, 
90411 Nuremberg 
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info@paessler.com

+49 911 93775-0

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