The flow sampling (sFlow) feature embedded on this switch, together with a remote sFlow Collector, can provide network administrators with an accurate, detailed and real-time overview of the types and levels of traffic present on their network. The sFlow Agent samples 1 out of n packets from all data traversing the switch, re-encapsulates the samples as sFlow datagrams and transmits them to the sFlow Collector. This sampling occurs at the internal hardware level where all traffic is seen, whereas traditional probes will only have a partial view of traffic as it is sampled at the monitored interface. Moreover, the processor and memory load imposed by the sFlow agent is minimal since local analysis does not take place. The wire-speed transmission characteristic of the switch is thus preserved even at high traffic levels.
As the Collector receives streams from the various sFlow agents (other switches or routers) throughout the network, a timely, network-wide picture of utilization and traffic flows is created. Analysis of the sFlow stream(s) can reveal trends and information that can be leveraged in the following ways:
Detecting, diagnosing, and fixing network problems
Real-time congestion management
Understanding application mix (P2P, Web, DNS, etc.) and changes
Identification and tracing of unauthorized network activity
Usage accounting
Trending and capacity planning
Use the Interface > sFlow (Configure Receiver - Add) page to create an sFlow receiver on the switch.
The name of the receiver. (Range: 1-256 characters; Default: None)
Note: Sampling must be disabled by setting the time out to 0 before these fields can be configured.
The time that the sFlow process will continuously send samples to the Collector before resetting all sFlow port parameters. (Range: 0-10000000 seconds, where 0 indicates no time out)
The sFlow parameters affected by this command include the sampling interval, the receiver’s name, address and UDP port, the time out, maximum header size, and maximum datagram size.
The time that the sFlow process will continuously send samples to the ColleIP address of the sFlow Collector.
Note: Sampling must be disabled by setting the time out to 0 before these fields can be configured.
ipv4-address - IPv4 address of the sFlow collector. Valid IPv4 addresses consist of four decimal numbers, 0 to 255, separated by periods.
ipv6-address - IPv6 address of the sFlow collector. A full IPv6 address including the network prefix and host address bits. An IPv6 address consists of 8 colon-separated 16-bit hexadecimal values. One double colon may be used to indicate the appropriate number of zeros required to fill the undefined fields.
The UDP port on which the sFlow Collector is listening for sFlow streams. (Range: 1-65535)
Note: Sampling must be disabled by setting the time out to 0 before these fields can be configured.
Maximum size of the sFlow datagram payload. (Range: 200-1500 bytes)
Sends either v4 or v5 sFlow datagrams to the receiver.