Table of Contents

Network traffic monitoring with NetFlow and sFlow

Introduction to real time network analysis

Pandora FMS uses a tool to analyze the network in real time: NetFlow® and sFlow®. It uses the principle of “listening” over Ethernet continuously and analyzing the traffic to generate statistics.

In order to intercept network traffic and analyze it, it is necessary to have physical access to the network, since the network capture point must be the most appropriate one. To capture such data, traffic must be redirected from one switch port to another port using a port-mirror. Not all network devices allow this (only mid-range/high-end devices). It is also possible to port-mirror some commercial firewalls. It is the simplest way to intercept traffic and does not require additional hardware. By sending all traffic to a port, that port is connected directly to the network analyzer (probe).

These high-end switches and/or firewalls make monitoring easier. This is because these devices send the statistical information of the network flow directly to Pandora FMS collector without the need to use an independent probe. The hardware features should be consulted to find out if it can enable NetFlow and/or sFlow and send the flows to an independent collector (in this case, the Pandora FMS collector).

NetFlow network monitoring

Pandora FMS is able to monitor IP traffic using the NetFlow protocol.

NetFlow® is a network protocol, developed by Cisco Systems® and is currently supported on several platforms in addition to Cisco IOS® and NXOS®, such as devices from manufacturers like Juniper®, Enterasys Switches®, and operating systems like Linux®, FreeBSD®, NetBSD® and OpenBSD®.

NetFlow protocol

NetFlow enabled devices, when they activate this feature, generate “netflow records” consisting of small pieces of information that they send to a central device (a NetFlow server or collector), which receives information from the devices (NetFlow probes) for storage and processing.

This information is transmitted via the NetFlow protocol, based on UDP or SCTP. Each NetFlow record is a small packet containing a minimum amount of information, but in no case does it contain the raw traffic data. In other words, it does not send the payload of the traffic flowing through the collector, only the statistical data.

The traditional Cisco definition is to use a 7-element key:

Over time, manufacturers have designed equivalent systems for their network devices, with different names but similar purpose:

NetFlow Collector

A NetFlow collector is a device (a PC or a Server), embedded in a network to gather all NetFlow information which is sent by routers and switches.

NetFlow generates and collects that information, but if it needs a software that allows to store and analyze said traffic. Pandora FMS uses a specific server for this purpose, that will be started and shut down when Pandora FMS starts. That server's name is nfcapd and it is necessary to install it to be able to use NetFlow monitoring.

NetFlow Probe

The probes (for example in Raspberry) are generally routers with NetFlow enabled, configured, and sending information to the NetFlow collector (which in this case will be Pandora FMS server with the nfcapd daemon enabled).

Installation and requirements

Pandora FMS uses an open-source tool called nfcapd (that belongs to the nfdump package) to process all NetFlow traffic. This daemon is automatically started by Pandora FMS Server. This system stores data in binary files at a specific location. You must install nfcapd on your system before working with NetFlow in Pandora FMS.

Daemon nfcapd listens on port 9995/UDP by default, so keep it in mind if you have firewalls to open this port and when configuring NetFlow probes.

nfcapd installation

Install nfcapd manually, because Pandora FMS will not install it by default. For more information on how to install it, visit the Official NFCAPD Project Page.

Pandora FMS uses the directory “/var/spool/pandora/data_in/netflow” by default to process information, so when it is started nfcapd will use that directory. Avoid changing this location path, unless it is strictly necessary and you are fully aware of it.

Install nfdump version 1.6.8p1 to use it with Pandora FMS.

If you want to check that nfcapd is correctly installed, run the following command to start the foreground process: 

nfcapd -l /var/spool/pandora/data_in/netflow

If everything works, you should see an output similar to this one: 

 Add extension: 2 byte input/output interface index
 Add extension: 4 byte input/output interface index
 Add extension: 2 byte src/dst AS number
 Add extension: 4 byte src/dst AS number
 Add extension: 4 byte output bytes
 Add extension: 8 byte output bytes
 Add extension: NSEL Common block
 Add extension: NSEL xlate ports
 Add extension: NSEL xlate IPv4 addr
 Add extension: NSEL xlate IPv6 addr
 Add extension: NSEL ACL ingress/egress acl ID
 Add extension: NSEL username
 Add extension: NSEL max username
 Add extension: NEL Common block
 Bound to IPv4 host/IP: any, Port: 9995
 Startup.
 Init IPFIX: Max number of IPFIX tags: 62

Keep in mind that Pandora FMS Console (and more specifically the web server that runs it) must have access to those data. In this example they are located at: 

/var/spool/pandora/data_in/netflow

Probe Installation

If a NetFlow-enabled router is not available, but you use a Linux server to route your traffic, you may install a NetFlow software to work as a probe and sends all NetFlow-related information to the collector.

Installing fprobe

fprobe captures traffic and sends it to a NetFlow Server. You may generate NetFlow traffic with it, among all the traffic that goes through its interfaces.

To download the RPM package just run the following command, and then install it: 

wget http://repo.iotti.biz/CentOS/7/x86_64/fprobe-1.1-2.el7.lux.x86_64.rpm
yum install fprobe-1.1-2.el7.lux.x86_64.rpm

For instance, executing this command, all eth0 interface traffic will be sent to the NetFlow collector listening on port 9995 of the IP address 192.168.70.185: 

/usr/sbin/fprobe -i eth0 192.168.70.185:9995

Once the traffic has been generated, you may see its statistics in the NetFlow collector by entering this command: 

nfdump -R /var/spool/pandora/data_in/netflow
Installing pmacct

Experimental.

Among many features of the pmacct probe there is the ability to work with NetFlow v1/v5/v7/v8/v9, sFlow v2/v4/v5 over IPv4 and IPv6.

The source code is hosted at:

https://github.com/pmacct/pmacct

Rocky Linux 8

Install dependencies with administrator rights: 

dnf config-manager --set-enabled powertools
dnf groupinstall 'Development Tools'
dnf install libpcap libpcap-devel

Download pmacct source code (you may use curl instead of wget) and build it: 

cd /tmp
wget -O pmacct-1.7.7.tar.gz "https://github.com/pmacct/pmacct/releases/download/v1.7.7/pmacct-1.7.7.tar.gz"
tar xvzf pmacct-1.7.7.tar.gz
cd pmacct-1.7.7
./autogen.sh
./configure
make && make install

Start pmacct as a NetFlow probe in daemon mode:

For instance, all eth0 interface traffic will be sent to the NetFlow collector listening on port 9995 of the IP address 192.168.70.185: 

cat> pmacctd_probe.conf <<EOF
daemonize: true
pcap_interface: eth0
aggregate: src_host, dst_host, src_port, dst_port, proto, tos
plugins: nfprobe
nfprobe_receiver: 192.168.70.185:9995
nfprobe_version: 9
EOF

# pmacctd -f pmacctd_probe.conf

Working with NetFlow under Pandora FMS

Pandora FMS works along with NetFlow as an auxiliary system, that means it does not store NetFlow data in its database. Pandora FMS shows that information as reports on demand.

Pandora FMS works with NetFlow data by using filters, which are sets of rules that match certain traffic patterns. A rule can be as simple as 'all the traffic from 192.168.70.0/24 network' or a complex pcap filter expression.

Once filters are created, define reports that determine how the information matched by those filters will be displayed (e.g. charts and tables) and the time frame. When defining filters and reports, set that information so that it can be accessed on demand similar to Pandora FMS reports. NetFlow reports appear as “report type” in Pandora FMS custom report section, to be able to add them to Pandora FMS “normal” reports.

There is also a real-time console view to analyze the traffic, creating rules on the spot. It can be very useful to investigate problems or temporarily display charts that do not match a specific filter.

Configuration

Access speed to the hard drive where NetFlow data are stored is usually the key factor for performance limits.

First of all, enable NetFlow so that it becomes accessible from the Operation and Administration menus. In the Configuration section (Management menu) there is an option for globally enabling or disabling NetFlow.

Once activated, a new NetFlow configuration option will appear in the setup section.

This section must be correctly configured so that the nfcapd daemon may be started together with Pandora FMS server:

Once NetFlow is configured in the console, restart Pandora FMS Server so that it starts the nfcapd server. This server must be properly installed before trying to run it. Check server logs in case of doubt.

If you decide to store the NetFlow data on a device other than PFMS server (see nfcapd installation procedure and the distributed configuration) copy the binary file /usr/bin/nfexpire to that device and add the following entry in /etc/crontab: 

0 * * * * root yes 2>/dev/null | /usr/bin/nfexpire -e "/var/spool/pandora/data_in/netflow" -t X_days d

Where x_days is the maximum number of days old of NetFlow data to be retained on that device (in this particular case PFMS Console configuration will have no effect for that field).

Filters

You may access filter creation and edition by clicking on Resources → NetFlow filters. This section contains a list of already created filters which can be modified or deleted.

You may also create a filter right away from the NetFlow live view, saving the active filter as a new one. NetFlow filters can be “basic” or “advanced”. The difference is that the former have fixed filtering fields (source IP, target IP, source port, target port) and the advanced ones are defined by the expression pcap (standard in filtering expressions for network traffic) and use all kinds of tools.

Enable NetFlow monitoring

Version 770 or later.

When creating the filter, filter monitoring can be activated by activating the token Enable NetFlow monitoring.

The parameters are as follows:

Reports

NetFlow reports are integrated withPandora FMS reports.

To create a report item, choose one of the available NetFlow report items.

The following configuration options are available:

There are three types of NetFlow reporting elements:

NetFlow real time view

This view is used to check the history of captured data based on different search filters. Filters and different forms of information display can be used. The way of grouping the displayed information must be defined, as well as the way of obtaining such information in order to start displaying data.

Filters can be viewed in real time from Operation → Monitoring → Network → NetFlow Live View. This tool allows you to visualize the changes made to a filter and save it once the desired result is obtained. It is also possible to load and modify existing filters.

The way to obtain the information can be: source IP address, destination IP address, source port or destination port. If you choose, for example, to display the destination IP address information, the information will be displayed sorted by the IP addresses with the most traffic to the destination from highest to lowest. The same would be done to know the consumption of your network by protocol, choosing by destination port.

The possible ways of display are as follows:

Network traffic maps

It allows you to create dynamic network maps, based on the traffic between nodes. It displays the relationship (connections) between different addresses, showing the N most important connections (by size of data transferred between them).

Distributed configuration

It is possible to locate the Pandora FMS node that collects NetFlow data on a host separate from the console. In environments with a lot of NetFlow data it is more than recommended to place it on a server with fast disks and a fast CPU of at least two cores. In order for Pandora FMS console to retrieve NetFlow data, it will be necessary to modify the default system configuration, following the steps described below:

For its configuration, follow these steps:

Enable the apache user login. In order to do this, modify the line of the apache user in the file /etc/passwd with this configuration: 

apache:x:48:48:Apache:/var/www:/bin/bash

Create the .ssh directory inside the /var/www directory and give it the correct permissions: 

 #mkdir /var/www/.ssh
 #chown apache:apache /var/www/.ssh

Create ssh keys from the apache user and copy them to the server where the NetFlow traffic is hosted. 

#su apache
bash-4.2$ssh-keygen
Generating public/private rsa key pair.
Enter file in which to save the key (/var/www/.ssh/id_rsa):
Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase):
Enter same passphrase again:
Your identification has been saved in /var/www/.ssh/id_rsa.
Your public key has been saved in /var/www/.ssh/id_rsa.pub.
The key fingerprint is:
SHA256:vYvl5V00E4faa14zN08ARzGUQ9IfAQJnMzkaqLAGRHI apache@<server>
The key's randomart image is:
+---[RSA 2048]----+
|+oE     ...*o=B+.|
|.o .   . .oo+o++ |
|  . o .   o o o+o|
|   o .   o   =  +|
|  .     S . . oo.|
|           .   +o|
|          o . o+=|
|         + + + +*|
|        . o . o .|
+----[SHA256]-----+
bash-4.2$ ssh-copy-id root@<netflow_server>

Once shared, it must be verified that it is possible to access the server through the apache user without entering a password: 

bash-4.2$ ssh usuario@<netflow_server>

#!/bin/bash
NFDUMP_PARAMS=$(sed 's/(\(.*\))/\"\(\1\)\"/' <<<"$@");

ssh usuario@<netflow_server> "/usr/bin/nfdump $NFDUMP_PARAMS"

Give the script execution permissions: 

chmod 755 /usr/bin/nfdump

Try executing the script like this: 

/usr/bin/nfdump -V

It should return something similar to: 

nfdump: Version: 1.6.13

Network monitoring with sFlow

From Pandora FMS version 770 onwards, support for sFlow, a network protocol which is an industry standard in hardware manufacturing for data network traffic, is included.

The operation of sFlow in PFMS is similar to the one established with NetFlow. In case both protocols are active, the data will be grouped together; in any case they will always be displayed by accessing the Operation menu in the left sidebar, and then clicking on Network.

sFlow configuration

NG 775 version or later.

Enable sFlow to be accessible from the Operation and Management menus. Under the NetFlow configuration section, there is an option to enable or disable sFlow globally.

A new tab will be enabled specifically for sFlow:

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