Open source netflow software collects and reports basic information about visitors to a network, helping administrators monitor and protect against attacks without using much CPU power. It can also help catch hackers attempting a DoS attack.
An open source network streaming program can interpret all incoming network streaming or incoming user information, such as Internet Protocol (IP) address and port numbers. Administrators need this to know who is gaining access to the system and where information is going in the internal network. This helps administrators create firewall rules and track hackers as they attempt to disrupt the network. An open source netflow program is unobtrusive; all it does is collect packet header information and report it to the admin. So little is done that little power is needed for the central processing unit (CPU) to operate the network flow collector.
Visitors, whether internal workers or external guests, will constantly visit a website or network. Without an open source network flow program, these visitors can move around the system with only minimal data collection—not enough to really help administrators protect themselves from attacks. With netflow enabled, the administrator will be able to tell where visitors are going, so he will know which areas need to be monitored; he or she may also discover weaknesses in the system. Administrators can simulate network behavior without a network flow, but it takes a huge amount of resources, doesn’t represent how real visitors will use the system, and will interfere with privacy if the administrator is working for a customer and not for a company.
One of the main ways this protects systems is that netflow helps administrators catch hackers attempting a Denial of Service (DoS) attack. A DoS attack occurs when someone throws waves of fake visitors at your system until it crashes because the network can’t handle the huge number of requests. Administrators will be able to determine if hackers are poking around the system and may be able to block DoS attempts.
The way the open source netflow software works is to collect a packet of information from the visitor. This packet will contain basic information, such as IP address, port number, and router information. A collection system then examines the data and stores it for later inspection. This approach is non-intrusive, because the network stream just quickly looks at the packet, copies the information, and doesn’t interfere with the visitor.
Very little CPU power is required to run an open source netflow program. This is because, compared to other programs, netflow does almost nothing; look at the basic information and then record it. No advanced calculations or memory heavy operations are needed for the netflow program to work. This allows administrators to have netflow software uninterrupted without taking processing power away from other programs.
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