sFLOW - sampled flow

What is sFlow?

sFlow (Sampled Flow) is a network monitoring protocol that provides continuous traffic visibility by sampling packets and collecting interface counters from network devices like switches and routers.

Why is sFlow useful?

sFlow is useful because it offers scalable, real-time traffic analysis with low overhead, even in high-speed networks. It enables network administrators to monitor traffic patterns, detect anomalies, and troubleshoot performance issues efficiently.

How it works?

sFlow works by sampling 1 out of every N packets on a network interface and exporting these samples, along with interface counters, to a central sFlow collector. The collector analyzes this data to provide insight into network usage and behavior.

Where is sFlow used?

sFlow is widely used in large-scale enterprise networks, data centers, cloud environments, and service provider networks to monitor bandwidth usage, identify bottlenecks, and support capacity planning and security analysis.

Which OSI layer does this protocol belong to?

sFlow operates at the Application Layer (Layer 7) but collects and analyzes data from various OSI layers, especially Layers 2 through 4 (Ethernet, IP, TCP/UDP).

Is sFlow Windows specific?

No, sFlow is not Windows specific. While sFlow collectors can run on Windows, the protocol is platform-agnostic and implemented in networking hardware.

Is sFlow Linux specific?

No, sFlow is not Linux specific. However, many open-source sFlow collectors and analysis tools are available for Linux systems, and Linux is commonly used in sFlow-based monitoring solutions.

Which Transport Protocol is used by sFlow?

sFlow uses the UDP protocol for transmitting sampled data from agents (network devices) to collectors.

Which Port is used by sFlow?

sFlow typically uses UDP port 6343 for exporting sampled packets and counter data.

Is sFlow using client-server model?

Yes, sFlow follows a client-server model, where the sFlow agent (client) in the network device sends data to the sFlow collector (server) for storage, analysis, and visualization.

Topics in this section,

  • In this section, you are going to learn

  • Terminology

  • Version Info

  • rfc details

  • setup

  • setup

  • packet details

  • usecases

  • features

  • Reference links