IPFIX working group
Internet Draft EDITORS: B. Claise
draft-ietf-ipfix-protocol-00.txt Cisco Systems
Expires: December 2003 Mark Fullmer
OARnet
Paul Calato
Riverstone Networks
Reinaldo Penno
Nortel Networks
June 2003
IPFIX Protocol Specifications
Status of this Memo
This document is an Internet-Draft and is in full conformance with
all provisions of Section 10 of RFC2026.
Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering
Task Force (IETF), its areas, and its working groups. Note that
other groups may also distribute working documents as Internet-
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reference material or to cite them other than as "work in progress."
The list of current Internet-Drafts can be accessed at
http://www.ietf.org/ietf/1id-abstracts.txt
The list of Internet-Draft Shadow Directories can be accessed at
http://www.ietf.org/shadow.html.
Abstract
This document discusses the IPFIX protocol that provides network
administrators with access to IP flows information. This document
focuses on how IPFIX flow record data, options record data and
control information is carried (via a congestion-aware transport
protocol) from IPFIX exporting process to IPFIX collecting process.
Conventions used in this document
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The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
"SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119.
Table of Contents
1. Points of Discussion........................................3
1.1 Open Issues................................................3
1.2 Action Items...............................................4
2. Introduction................................................5
2.1 Overview...................................................5
3. Terminology.................................................5
3.1 IP Traffic Flow............................................5
3.2 Observation Point..........................................6
3.3 Observation Domain.........................................6
3.4 Metering Process...........................................6
3.5 Exporting Process..........................................7
3.6 Collecting Process.........................................7
3.7 Export Packet..............................................7
3.8 Packet Header..............................................8
3.9 FlowSet....................................................8
3.10 FlowSet ID................................................8
3.11 Template Record...........................................8
3.12 Template FlowSet..........................................8
3.13 Template ID...............................................9
3.14 Options Template Record...................................9
3.15 Options Template FlowSet..................................9
3.16 Options Data Record.......................................9
3.17 Flow Data Record..........................................9
3.18 Data FlowSet..............................................9
3.19 Terminology Summary Table................................10
4. The Metering Process.......................................10
4.1 Flow Expiration...........................................10
5. Transport Protocol.........................................11
5.1 TCP.......................................................11
5.2 STCP......................................................11
5.2.1 Congestion Avoidance...................................11
5.2.2 Reliability............................................12
5.2.3 Exporting Process......................................12
5.2.3.1 MTU size..............................................12
5.2.3.2 Source ID.............................................12
5.2.3.3 Association...........................................13
5.2.3.4 Template..............................................13
5.2.3.5 Template..............................................13
5.2.4 Collecting Process.....................................14
5.2.5 SCTP Partially Reliable................................14
6. Failover...................................................15
6.1 Simple Failover based on the transport protocol...........15
6.2 Something else?...........................................15
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7. Packet Layout..............................................15
8. Export Packet Format.......................................17
8.1 Header Format.............................................17
8.2 Template FlowSet Format...................................18
8.3 Data FlowSet Format.......................................20
9. Options....................................................21
9.1 Options Template FlowSet Format...........................21
9.2 Options Data Record Format................................23
10. Variable Length Data Type.................................25
11. Template Management.......................................26
12. The Collecting Process's Side.............................27
13. Examples..................................................28
13.1 Packet Header Example....................................28
13.2 Template FlowSet Example.................................29
13.3 Data FlowSet Example.....................................29
13.4 Options Template FlowSet Example.........................30
13.5 Data FlowSet with Options Data Records Example...........31
14. References................................................32
15. Authors...................................................32
16. Acknowledgments...........................................32
1. Points of Discussion
1.1 Open Issues
This section covers the open issues, still to be resolved/updated in
this draft:
- The proposal on the table is to send a IPFIX Sync (this would be
an Options Data Records) message periodically (periodicity is
configurable), with the following information (aside the standard
IPFix header)
* Number of flow records sent (for each template?)
* Packets and bytes sent (for each template?)
Question: Per observation domain?
Question: Do we need a specific FlowSet ID?
- Template don't need lifetimes with connection oriented protocol.
We guess this is the consensus from the Working Group.
- No periodic retransmission of templates is needed, with a reliable
transport protocol.
Remark: the template management will vary with TCP, SCTP, etcà
Must have both sections updated: transport updated and template
management sections (BTW, this is the same for the failover
section).
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- There seems to be a consensus that having a length field in the
export packet header.
Related question: what about the count field then in the NetFlow
version 9 header? But no consensus yet. So no consensus whether the
current count should simply be replaced by the length or the length
field be added.
- Sub-second timestamps
- Export ID (ie IP address of exporter) sent to the collector. This
can be done once with an options template.
- Metering process stats: for example packets / flows dropped at the
metering process due to resource exhaustion, etcà This can be done
with an options template.
- Error recovery, for example what to do if a collector receives a
message it can't decode. Per protocol issue, ie TCP reset the
session because it's a stream protocol and can't recover.
- If we tackle reliablilty a state diagram is needed.
- Talk a little bit about extensibility, for example make some
decisions now about the reserved template ID's 2-254 for future
work.
1.2 Action Items
This section covers the action items for this draft
- change the abstract: done, to be reviewed
-> Reinaldo
- introduction to be completed: introduction + references to other
drafts + applications for the protocol.
-> Reinaldo
- ôtransport protocolö section to be updated.
-> TCP, Reinaldo
Note: each transport protocol (TCP/SCTP) should have at least the
following subsections: Reliability, Failover, Template Management
- Review the requirements draft to see what we miss!
-> Benoit
- variable length data types
-> Text and packet format to be worked on. Benoit
- field types information -> should we have basic type in the
protocol draft, like Jeff suggested.
-> Mark: will send an abstract
- add references to the IPFIX drafts, when published
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2. Introduction
2.1 Overview
Will be completed.
It will cover an introduction, pointers/explanation towards/of the
other drafts, and the applications for the IPFIX protocol
3. Terminology
The definitions of IP Traffic Flow, Metering Process, Exporting
Process and Collecting Process are the definitions as found in the
IPFIX requirement document [IPFIX-REQ]. Note nevertheless that,
even if the Observation Point definition has been also been
completely copied over from the IPFIX requirement document [IPFIX-
REQ], this definition has been expanded.
3.1 IP Traffic Flow or Flow
There are several definitions of the term 'flow' being used by
the Internet community. Within this document we use the following
one:
A flow is defined as a set of IP packets passing an observation
point in the network during a certain time interval. All packets
belonging to a particular flow have a set of common properties. Each
property is defined as the result of applying a function to the
values of:
1. one or more packet header field (e.g. destination IP
address), transport header field (e.g. destination port number), or
application header field (e.g. RTP header fields [RFC1889])
2. one or more characteristics of the packet itself (e.g.
number of MPLS labels, etc...)
3. one or more of fields derived from packet treatment (e.g.
next hop IP address, the output interface, etc...)
A packet is defined to belong to a flow if it completely
satisfies all the defined properties of the flow.
This definition covers the range from a flow containing all
packets observed at a network interface to a flow consisting of just
a single packet between two applications with a specific sequence
number. Please note that the flow definition does not necessarily
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match a general application-level end-to-end stream. However, an
application may derive properties of application-level streams by
processing measured flow data. Also, please note that although
packet properties may depend on application headers, there is no
requirement defined in this document related to application headers.
3.2 Observation Point
The observation point is a location in the network where IP packets
can be observed. Examples are a line to which a probe is attached,
a shared medium such as an Ethernet-based LAN, a single port of a
router, or a set of interfaces (physical or logical) of a router.
An Observation Domain is associated with every Observation Point.
Note that one observation point may be a superset of several
other observation points. For example one observation point can be
an entire line card. This would be the superset of the
individual observation points at the line card's interfaces.
3.3 Observation Domain
The set of Observation Points, which is the largest aggregatable set
of Flow information at the Metering Process is termed an Observation
Domain. Each Observation Domain presents itself as a unique ID to
the Collecting Process for identifying the Export Packets it
generates.
For example, a router line card composed of several interfaces with
each interface being an Observation Point.
3.4 Metering Process
The metering process generates flow records. Input to the process
are packet headers observed at an observation point and packet
treatment at the observation point, for example the selected output
interface.
The metering process consists of a set of functions that includes
packet header capturing, timestamping, sampling, classifying, and
maintaining flow records.
The maintenance of flow records may include creating new records,
updating existing ones, computing flow statistics, deriving further
flow properties, detecting flow expiration, passing flow records to
the exporting process, and deleting flow records.
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The sampling function and the classifying function may be applied
more than once with different parameters. Figure 1 shows the
sequence in which the functions are applied. Sampling is not
illustrated in the figure, it may be applied before any other
function.
packet header capturing
|
timestamping
|
v
+----->+
| |
| classifying
| |
+------+
|
maintaining flow records
|
v
Figure 1: Functions of the metering process
3.5 Exporting Process
The exporting process sends flow records to one or more collecting
processes. The flow records are generated by one or more metering
processes.
3.6 Collecting Process
The collecting process receives flow records from one or more
exporting processes. The collecting process might store received
flow records or further process them, but these actions are out of
the scope of this document.
3.7 Export Packet
An Export Packet is a packet originating at the Exporting Process
that carries the Flow Records of this Exporting Process and whose
destination is the Collecting Process.
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3.8 Packet Header
The Packet Header is the first part of an Export Packet, which
provides basic information about the packet such as the IPFIX
version, number of records contained within the packet, sequence
numbering, etc.
3.9 FlowSet
FlowSet is a generic term for a collection of records that have a
similar structure. In an Export Packet, one or more FlowSets follow
the Packet Header.
There are three different types of FlowSets: Template FlowSet,
Options Template FlowSet, and Data FlowSet. Options Template FlowSet
and Data FlowSet are identified by the FlowSet IDs. An Export Packet
contains one or more FlowSets, and the three FlowSet types can be
mixed within the same Export Packet.
3.10 FlowSet ID
An ID used to distinguish the different FlowSets.
FlowSet IDs between 0 and 255 are reserved. The Template FlowSet
uses the fixed FlowSet ID of 0, and the Options Template FlowSet
uses the fixed FlowSet ID of 1. Data FlowSets have a FlowSet ID
greater than 255.
3.11 Template Record
A Template Record defines the structure and interpretation of fields
in a data record. Data records that correspond to a template MAY
appear in the same and/or subsequent Export Packets. The template
information is not necessarily carried in every Export Packet. As
such, the Collecting Process MUST store the Template Record to
interpret the corresponding data records that are received in
subsequent data packets.
3.12 Template FlowSet
A Template FlowSet is a collection of one or more Template Records
that have been grouped together in an Export Packet. A well-known
FlowSet ID identifies the Template FlowSet.
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3.13 Template ID
A unique number that distinguishes a Template Record from all other
Template Records produced by the same Observation Domain. A
Collecting Process that receives Export Packets from several
Observation Domains from the same Exporting Process MUST be aware
that the uniqueness of the Template ID is not guaranteed across
Observation Domains.
3.14 Options Template Record
A Template Record that describes the format of the Flow measurement
parameters (for example, the sampling algorithm used, sampling
interval) used at the Exporting Process.
3.15 Options Template FlowSet
An Options Template FlowSet is a collection of one or more Options
Template Records that have been grouped together in an Export
Packet. A well-known FlowSet ID identifies the Options Template
FlowSet.
3.16 Options Data Record
The data record that contains values of the Flow measurement
parameters corresponding to an Options Template Record.
3.17 Flow Data Record
The data record that contains values of the Flow parameters
corresponding to a Template Record. A Flow Data Record contains
information about a specific Flow that was metered at an Observation
Point. A Flow Data Record contains measured properties of the flow
(e.g. the total number of bytes of all packets of the flow) and
usually also characteristic properties of the flow (e.g. source IP
address). In this document, the Flow Data Record is also referred to
as Flow Record.
3.18 Data FlowSet
A Data FlowSet is a collection of one or more Flow or Options Data
Records that are grouped together in an Export Packet. A Data
FlowSet contains records that belong to the same Template ID. Each
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Data FlowSet references a previously transmitted Template ID, which
can be used to parse the data contained within the Flow Records.
3.19 Terminology Summary Table
FlowSet Template Record Data Record
+----------------------------------------------------------------+
| | | Flow Data Record(s) |
| Data FlowSet | / | or |
| | | Options Data Record(s) |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+
| Template FlowSet | Template Record(s) | / |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+
| Options Template | Options Template | / |
| FlowSet | Record(s) | |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+
A Data FlowSet is composed of an Options Data Record(s) or Flow Data
Record(s). No Template Record is included.
The Flow Data Record is linked to a Template Record, and the Options
Data Record is linked to an Options Template Record.
A Template FlowSet is composed of Template Record(s). No Flow or
Options Data Record is included.
An Options Template FlowSet is composed of Options Template
Record(s). No Flow or Options Data Record is included.
4. The Metering Process
The description of the Metering Process (for example, sampled or
not, aggregation or not), which is the way in which Flows are
created from the observed IP packets, is beyond the scope of this
document. Nevertheless, some aspects of the Metering Process have
some influences on the IPFIX protocol
4.1 Flow Expiration
A Flow is considered to be inactive if no packets belonging to the
Flow have been observed at the Observation Point for a given timeout
interval otherwise it is considered as an active flow.
A Flow can be exported under the following conditions:
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1. If the Metering Process can detect the end of a Flow, it
SHOULD export the Flow Records at the end of the Flow. For
example, a Flow generated by TCP [3] type of traffic where the
FIN or RST bits indicate the end of the Flow.
2. If the Flow has been inactive for a certain period of time.
This inactivity timeout SHOULD be configurable, with a minimum
value of 0 for an immediate expiration. For example, a Flow
generated by UDP [2] type of traffic.
3. For long-lasting Flows, the Metering Process SHOULD export the
Flow Records on a regular basis. This periodicity SHOULD be
configurable.
4. If the Metering Process experiences internal constraints, a
Flow MAY be forced to expire prematurely (for example, counters
wrapping or low memory).
5. Transport Protocol
The IPFIX Protocol Specifications have been designed to be transport
protocol independent. It can operate over congestion-aware protocols
such as TCP [3] or SCTP [RFC2960].
Note that the Exporter can export to multiple Collecting Processes,
using independent transport protocols.
5.1 TCP
To be completed.
TCP [3]
5.2 STCP
This section describes how IPFIX can be transported over SCTP
[RFC2960] using traditional reliable mode.
IPFIX can also be transported over the partial reliable or
unreliable mode [PR-SCTP]. These last 2 modes will be briefly
discussed, while waiting for [PR-SCTP] to become a standard.
5.2.1 Congestion Avoidance
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The SCTP transport protocol provides the required level of
congestion avoidance by design.
5.2.2 Reliability
The SCTP transport protocol is by default reliable, but has the
capability to operate in unreliable and partially reliable modes
[PR-SCTP].
Using reliable SCTP streams for the IPFIX export is not in itself a
guarantee that all records are delivered. If there is congestion on
the link from the exporter to the collector, or if a significant
amount of retransmissions are needed, the send queues on the
Exporting Process may fill up. In that case it's up to the Exporting
Process to decide what to do. It may either halt export (buffer the
data until there is space in the send queues again) or just throw
export packets away instead of inserting them into the send queue.
If any data is not inserted into the send queues, the sequence
numbers used for export must reflect the loss of data.
5.2.3 Exporting Process
5.2.3.1 MTU size
Each IPFIX Export Packet should be equal to or less than the local
MTU in size. When an IPFIX Export Packet is transmitted over a
network with an MTU smaller than the local MTU, IP fragmentation may
be used.
5.2.3.2 Source ID
The Export Packet must contain a Packet Header, which includes a
source id (SID). The SID indicates from which Observation Domain the
data is being exported, and should be kept unique for each such
domain.
If a Metering Process consists of a single Observation Domain, a
single SID value must be used for all Export Packets. The Exporting
Process will typically open one association to the collector, but
more are possible, in which one or more streams can be used. The
Exporting Process has the choice of transmitting parts of the export
data in separate streams or all data in one stream.
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If a Metering Process consists of multiple Observation Domains, one
SID value for each Observation Domain must be used. The Exporting
Process will typically open one association, but more are possible,
in which at least one stream per Observation Domain is used.
The Exporting Process has the choice of using more than one stream
per Observation Domain, but data from multiple Observation Domains
should not be transmitted over the same stream.
5.2.3.3 Association
The Exporting Process may create one or more associations
(connection "bundle" in SCTP terminology) to the Collecting Process.
The Collecting Process may not initiate the connection. Inside each
association one or more streams may be requested by the Exporting
Process. If the Collecting Process can not support the requested
number of streams, it may choose to refuse the connection and the
Exporting Process should try to reduce, if possible, the number of
streams needed to perform the export.
5.2.3.4 Template
An Observation Domain must use at least one stream, but may use
multiple streams, to export data records. The Observation Domain
must use the same SID value for all streams used.
An Exporting Process must not transmit packets with different SID
values in one stream, the Collecting Process should however verify
that the SID values are the expected values.
5.2.3.5 Template
Since the SCTP association is connection oriented the available
Template Records must be transmitted from each Observation Domain to
the Collecting Process immediately after the association is
established.
As a minimum the Template Records must be transmitted immediately
after they start to exist on the Metering Process and should
preferably be transmitted before any data, using the new Template
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Record, have been transmitted. The Collecting Process should however
accept data without a Template Record.
When using a reliable mode for Template Record export, or if the
exporter knows that the export packet containing the templates was
positively acknowledged by the SCTP layer, it is not necessary to
periodically export the Template Records.
5.2.4 Collecting Process
The Collecting Process should listen for a new association request
from the Exporting Process. The Collecting Process will request a
number of streams to use for export. If the Collecting Process
doesn't support the number of streams inside the association, the
Collecting Process must refuse the connection and continue listen
for a new request.
When data is received from an association, the Collecting Process
must correlate data, with the same SID value, from multiple streams
into one export flow from an Observation Domain. This allows the
Observation Domain to use separate streams for different types of
information.
The Collecting Process should verify that the received Export
Packets inside one stream does not have diverting SID values. The
Exporting Process must not export packets inside one stream with
multiple SID values. The correlated Flow Records are then treated
like a normal export Flow.
5.2.5 SCTP Partially Reliable
This mode will not be discussed any further until [PR-SCTP] becomes
a standard, even if this mode offers a few advantages:
freedom to use SCTP as a reliable, single stream transport, as well
as multiple streams with different properties, for example in terms
of reliability, carrying different data types dependant on their
importance for the system.
Unreliable or partial reliability may be chosen for one or more
streams inside an association. Unreliable transport may be preferred
where large amount of data is to be exported and keeping send queues
is either an unnecessary overhead or impractical. Partial
reliability may be chosen where a small amount of queuing is
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possible.
Naturally it is better to send templates over a reliable stream and
send the data on an unreliable (or partial reliable) stream. When an
exporter handles data with different properties it might even be
preferable to send them over different streams according to those
properties.
Example: an Exporting Process can use two streams per Observation
Domain. A reliable stream could be used for exporting templates, to
reduce the likelihood of loss and to remove the need for blind
retransmissions, and a partial or unreliable stream for data, to
avoid buffering of large amounts of data.
6. Failover
When to fail over?
How to fail back?
How to ensure stability of the failover mechanism (prevent
oscillations)?
Does the exporter open connections to all the potential collectors
and keep them primed with template info?
6.1 Simple Failover based on the transport protocol
In case the transport protocol is connection oriented.
So in case of TCP [3] or SCTP [RFC2960].
To be completed.
6.2 Something else?
Potentially based on some application level ACK from the exporter?
7. Packet Layout
An Export Packet consists of a Packet Header followed by one or more
FlowSets. The FlowSets can be any of the possible three types:
Template, Data, or Options Template.
Export Packet:
+--------+-------------------------------------------+
| | +----------+ +---------+ +----------+ |
| Packet | | Template | | Data | | Options | |
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| Header | | FlowSet | | FlowSet | | Template | ... |
| | | | | | | FlowSet | |
| | +----------+ +---------+ +----------+ |
+--------+-------------------------------------------+
The possible combinations that can occur in an Export Packet are:
- An Export Packet that consists of interleaved Template, Data, and
Options Template FlowSets.
Export Packet:
+--------+--------------------------------------------------------+
| | +----------+ +---------+ +-----------+ +---------+ |
| Packet | | Template | | Data | | Options | | Data | |
| Header | | FlowSet | | FlowSet | ... | Template | | FlowSet | |
| | | | | | | FlowSet | | | |
| | +----------+ +---------+ +-----------+ +---------+ |
+--------+--------------------------------------------------------+
- An Export Packet consisting entirely of Data FlowSets. After the
appropriate Template Records have been defined and transmitted to
the Collecting Process device, the majority of Export Packets will
consist solely of Data FlowSets.
Export Packet:
+--------+----------------------------------------------+
| | +---------+ +---------+ +---------+ |
| Packet | | Data | ... | Data | ... | Data | |
| Header | | FlowSet | ... | FlowSet | ... | FlowSet | |
| | +---------+ +---------+ +---------+ |
+--------+----------------------------------------------+
- An Export Packet consisting entirely of Template and Options
Template FlowSets. The Exporting Process MAY transmit a packet
containing Template FlowSets ahead of time to help ensure that the
Collecting Process has the correct Template Records before receiving
the first Data FlowSet.
Export Packet:
+--------+-------------------------------------------------+
| | +----------+ +----------+ +----------+ |
| Packet | | Template | | Template | | Options | |
| Header | | FlowSet | ... | FlowSet | ... | Template | |
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| | | | | | | FlowSet | |
| | +----------+ +----------+ +----------+ |
+--------+-------------------------------------------------+
A Template FlowSet provides a description of the fields that would
be present in future Data FlowSets. These Data FlowSets MAY occur
later within the same Export Packet or in subsequent Export Packets.
- An Export Packet consisting entirely of Options Template FlowSets
and Data FlowSets containing Options Data Records, if there is only
options data to be sent.
Export Packet:
+--------+-------------------------------------------------+
| | +----------+ +----------+ +----------+ |
| Packet | | Options | | Data | | Data | |
| Header | | Template | ... | FlowSet | ... | FlowSet | |
| | | FlowSet | | | | | |
| | +----------+ +----------+ +----------+ |
+--------+-------------------------------------------------+
The format of the Template, Data, and Options Template FlowSets will
be discussed later in this document.
8. Export Packet Format
8.1 Header Format
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Version Number | Count |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| sysUpTime |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| UNIX Secs |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Sequence Number |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Source ID |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
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Packet Header Field Descriptions
Version
Version of Flow Record format exported in this packet. The
value of this field is 0x0009 for the current version.
Count
Count is the total number of record in the Export
Packet, which is the sum total of Options FlowSet
records, Template FlowSet records and Data FlowSet
records.
SysUpTime
Time in milliseconds since this device was first booted.
Refer to [1].
UNIX Secs
Seconds since 0000 UTC 1970.
Sequence Number
Incremental sequence counter of all Export Packets sent from
the current Observation Domain by the Exporting Process.
This value will be cumulative, and can be used to identify
whether any Export Packets have been missed.
Source ID
The Source ID field is a 32-bit value that identifies the
Exporting Process Observation Domain. Collecting Process
SHOULD use the combination of the source IP address and the
Source ID field to separate different export streams
originating from the same Exporting Process.
8.2 Template FlowSet Format
One of the essential elements in the IPFIX format is the Template
FlowSet. Templates greatly enhance the flexibility of the Flow
Record format because they allow the Collecting Process to process
Flow Records without necessarily knowing the interpretation of all
the data in the Flow Record.
The format of the Template FlowSet is as follows:
0 1 2 3
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0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| FlowSet ID = 0 | Length |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Template ID 1 | Field Count |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Field Type 1 | Field Length 1 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Field Type 2 | Field Length 2 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| ... | ... |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Field Type N | Field Length N |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Template ID 2 | Field Count |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Field Type 1 | Field Length 1 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Field Type 2 | Field Length 2 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| ... | ... |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Field Type M | Field Length M |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Template FlowSet Field Descriptions
FlowSet ID
FlowSet ID value of 0 is reserved for Template FlowSet.
Length
Total length of this FlowSet. Because an individual Template
FlowSet MAY contain multiple Template Records, the Length
value MUST be used to determine the position of the next
FlowSet record, which could be any type of FlowSet. Length
is the sum total of lengths of FlowSet ID, the Length
itself, and all Template Records within this FlowSet.
Template ID
Each of the newly generated Template Records is given a
unique Template ID. This uniqueness is local to the
Observation Domain that generated the Template ID.
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Template IDs 0-255 are reserved for Template FlowSets,
Options FlowSets, and other reserved FlowSet that would be
created in the future. Template IDs of Data FlowSets are
numbered from 256 to 65535.
Field Count
Number of fields in this Template Record. Because a Template
FlowSet usually contains multiple Template Records, this
field allows the Collecting Process to determine the end of
the current Template Record and the start of the next.
Field Type
A numeric value that represents the type of the field. Refer
to the "Field Type Definitions" section.
Field Length
The length of the corresponding Field Type, in bytes. Refer
to the "Field Type Definitions" section.
8.3 Data FlowSet Format
The format of the Data FlowSet is as follows:
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| FlowSet ID = Template ID | Length |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Record 1 - Field Value 1 | Record 1 - Field Value 2 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Record 1 - Field Value 3 | ... |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Record 2 - Field Value 1 | Record 2 - Field Value 2 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Record 2 - Field Value 3 | ... |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Record 3 - Field Value 1 | ... |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| ... | Padding |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Data FlowSet Field Descriptions
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FlowSet ID = Template ID
Each Data FlowSet is associated with a FlowSet ID. The
FlowSet ID maps to a (previously generated) Template ID. The
Collecting Process MUST use the FlowSet ID to find the
corresponding Template Record and decode the Flow Records
from the FlowSet.
Length
The length of this FlowSet.
Length is the sum total of lengths of FlowSet ID, Length
itself, all Flow Records within this FlowSet, and the
padding bytes, if any.
Record N - Field Value M
The remainder of the Data FlowSet is a collection of Flow
Data Record(s), each containing a set of field types and
values. The Type and Length of the fields have been
previously defined in the Template Record referenced by the
FlowSet ID or Template ID.
Padding
Padding SHOULD be inserted so that subsequent FlowSet starts
at a 4-byte aligned boundary. It is important to note that
the Length field includes the padding bits.
Interpretation of the Data FlowSet format can be done only if the
Template FlowSet corresponding to the Template ID is available at
the Collecting Process.
9. Options
9.1 Options Template FlowSet Format
The Options Template Record (and its corresponding Options Data
Record) is used to supply information about the Metering Process
configuration or Metering Process specific data, rather than
supplying information about IP Flows.
For example, the sample rate of a specific interface, if sampling is
supported, along with the sampling method used.
The format of the Options Template FlowSet is detailed below:
0 1 2 3
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0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| FlowSet ID = 1 | Length |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Template ID | Option Scope Length |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Option Length | Scope 1 Field Type |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Scope 1 Field Length | ... |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Scope N Field Length | Option 1 Field Type |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Option 1 Field Length | ... |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Option M Field Length | Padding |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Options Template FlowSet Field Definitions
FlowSet ID = 1
A FlowSet ID value of 1 is reserved for the Options
Template.
Length
Total length of this FlowSet. Each Options Template FlowSet
MAY contain multiple Options Template Records. Thus, the
Length value MUST be used to determine the position of the
next FlowSet record, which could be either a Template
FlowSet or Data FlowSet.
Length is the sum total of lengths of FlowSet ID, the Length
itself, and all Options Template Records within this FlowSet
Template ID.
Template ID
Template ID of this Options Template. This value is greater
than 255.
Option Scope Length
The length in bytes of any Scope fields definition contained
in the Options Template Record (The use of "Scope" is
described below).
Option Length
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The length (in bytes) of any options field definitions
contained in this Options Template Record.
Scope 1 Field Type
The relevant portion of the Exporting Process/Metering
Process to which the Options Template Record refers.
Currently defined values are:
0x0001 System
0x0002 Interface
0x0003 Line Card
0x0004 Cache
0x0005 Template
For example, the Metering Process can be implemented on a
per-interface basis, so if the Options Template Record were
reporting on how the Metering Process is configured, the
Scope for the report would be 0x0002 (Interface). The
associated interface ID would then be carried in the
associated Options Data FlowSet. The Scope can be limited
further by listing multiple scopes which all have to match
at the same time. Note that the Scope Fields always precede
the Option Fields.
Scope 1 Field Length
The length (in bytes) of the scope field, as it would appear
in an Options Data Record.
Option 1 Field Type
A numeric value that represents the type of field that would
appear in the Options Template Record. Refer to the Field
Type Definitions section.
Option 1 Field Length
The length (in bytes) of the Option Field.
Padding
Padding SHOULD be inserted so that the subsequent FlowSet
starts at a 4-byte aligned boundary. It is important to note
that
the Length field includes the padding bits.
9.2 Options Data Record Format
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The Options Data Records are sent in Data FlowSets, on a regular
basis, but not with every Flow Data Record. How frequently these
Options Data Records are exported is configurable. See the Templates
Management" section for more details.
The format of the Data FlowSet containing Options Data Records is as
follows:
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| FlowSet ID = Template ID | Length |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Record 1 - Scope 1 Value |Record 1 - Option Field 1 Value|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|Record 1 - Option Field 2 Value| ... |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Record 2 - Scope 1 Value |Record 2 - Option Field 1 Value|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|Record 2 - Option Field 2 Value| ... |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Record 3 - Scope 1 Value |Record 3 - Option Field 1 Value|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|Record 3 - Option Field 2 Value| ... |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| ... | Padding |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Options Data Records of the Data FlowSet Field Descriptions
FlowSet ID = Template ID
Each group of Options Data Records within a Data FlowSet is
preceded by a FlowSet ID. The FlowSet ID maps to a
(previously generated) Template ID corresponding to this
Options Template Record. The Collecting Process MUST use the
FlowSet ID to map the appropriate type and length to any
field values that follow.
Length
The length of this FlowSet.
Length is the sum total of lengths of FlowSet ID, Length
itself, all the Options Data Records within this FlowSet,
and the padding bytes, if any.
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Record N - Option Field M Value
The remainder of the Data FlowSet is a collection of Flow
Records each containing a set of field types and values. The
Type and Length of the fields have been previously defined
in the Options Template Record referenced by the FlowSet ID
or Template ID.
Padding
Padding SHOULD be inserted so that the subsequent FlowSet
starts at a 4-byte aligned boundary. It is important to note
that the Length field includes the padding bits.
The Data FlowSet format can be interpreted only if the Options
Template FlowSet corresponding to the Template ID is available at
the Collecting Process.
10. Variable Length Data Type
Note: this section reflects the mailing list ideas but the wording
should be worked on.
In the template Flowset (template definition), let's put FFFF for
the length of the variable length data types. Then, the actual
length is encoded in data Flowset (flow records) as follows:
- if length is < 255 bytes, the length is stored in 1 byte
- if length is >=255 bytes, 255 is stored in the first byte, and the
actual 16 bits length is stored in the next 2 bytes.
The cases of length of >= 255 will be very rear. And even in these
cases, one extra byte will represent <= 1/255-th part of data
record.
Why FFFF and not 0?
The reason for this is that FFFF is a truly invalid value which
should be caught in collectors, by good implementations, today. For
0 this isn't necessary the case as it's meaning is "just" pointless,
but not a course of concern for the collectors.
Basically FFFF should make the Collecting Process (current
implementations) discard the template as being invalid.
Note also that some option templates data types could potentially
have a length of 0.
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So the advantages of this proposal are:
- code the length on 1 byte for most of the cases; in that case, we
use the 8 bits to code the length, so with a max of 254 bytes
(because 255 is reserved)
- if the length is above 254, we use 3 bytes, the last 2 bytes could
transport a length of max 64 k - 7 bytes (in the Data FlowSet, 2 for
the FlowSet ID + 2 for the FlowSet Length + 1 byte for "0xff" + 2
for the variable length)
11. Template Management
The Template IDs must remain constant for the life of the Metering
Process and the Exporting Process. If the Exporting Process or the
Metering Process restarts for any reason, all information about
Templates will be lost and new Template IDs will be created.
Template IDs are thus not guaranteed to be consistent across an
Exporting Process or Metering Process restart.
A newly created Template Record is assigned an unused Template ID
from the Exporting Process. If the template configuration is
changed, the current Template ID is abandoned and not reused until
the Metering Process or Exporting Process restarts.
If a configured Template Record on the Exporting Process is deleted,
and re-configured with exactly the same parameters, the same
Template ID COULD be reused.
The Exporting Process sends the Template FlowSet and Options
Template FlowSet under the following conditions:
1. After a Metering Process restarts, the Exporting Process MUST
NOT send any Data FlowSet without having the corresponding
Template FlowSet and the required Options Template FlowSet sent
out in a previous packet or in the same Export Packet. It MAY
transmit the Template FlowSet and Options Template FlowSet,
without any Data FlowSets, ahead of time to help ensure that the
Collecting Process will have the correct Template Record before
receiving the first Flow or Options Data Record.
2. In the event of configuration changes, the Exporting Process
SHOULD send the incremental changes at an accelerated rate. In
such a case, it MAY transmit the changed Template Record(s) and
Options Template Record(s), without any data, ahead of time to
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help ensure that the Collecting Process will have the correct
template information before receiving the first data.
3. On a regular basis, the Exporting Process MUST send all the
Template Records and Options Template Records to refresh the
Collecting Process. Template IDs have a limited lifetime at the
Collecting Process and MUST be periodically refreshed.
Two approaches are taken to make sure that Templates get
refreshed at the Collecting Process:
* Every N number of Export Packets.
* On a time basis, so every N number of minutes.
Both options MUST be configurable by the user.
When one of these expiry conditions is met, the Exporting
Process MUST send the Template FlowSet and Options Template.
12. The Collecting Process's Side
The Collecting Process will receive Template Records from the
Exporting Process, normally before receiving Flow Data Records (or
Options Data Records). The Flow Data Records (or Options Data
Records) can then be decoded and stored locally on the devices. If
the Template Records have not been received at the time Flow Data
Records (or Options Data Records) are received, the Collecting
Process SHOULD store the Flow Data Records (or Options Data Records)
and decode them after the Template Records are received. A
Collecting Process device MUST NOT assume that the Data FlowSet and
the associated Template FlowSet (or Options Template FlowSet) are
exported in the same Export Packet.
The Collecting Process MUST NOT assume that one and only one
Template FlowSet is present in an Export Packet.
The life of a template at the Collecting Process is limited to a
fixed refresh timeout. Templates not refreshed from the Exporting
Process within the timeout are expired at the Collecting Process.
The Collecting Process MUST NOT attempt to decode the Flow or
Options Data Records with an expired Template. At any given time the
Collecting Process SHOULD maintain the following for all the current
Template Records and Options Template Records: <Exporting Process,
Observation Domain, Template ID, Template Definition, Last Received>
Note that the Observation Domain is identified by the Source ID
field from the Export Packet.
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Template IDs are unique per Exporting Process and per Observation
Domain.
If a new Template Record is received on the Collecting Process (for
example in the case of an Exporting Process restart) it MUST
immediately override the existing Template Record.
13. Examples
Let's consider the example of an Export Packet composed of a
Template FlowSet, a Data FlowSet (which contains three Flow Data
Records), an Options Template FlowSet and a Data FlowSet (which
contains 2 Options Data Records).
Export Packet:
+--------+---------------------------------------------. . .
| | +--------------+ +-----------------------+
| Packet | | Template | | Data |
| Header | | FlowSet | | FlowSet | . . .
| | | (1 Template) | | (3 Flow Data Records) |
| | +--------------+ +-----------------------+
+--------+---------------------------------------------. . .
. . .+-------------------------------------------------+
+------------------+ +--------------------------+ |
| Options | | Data | |
. . .| Template FlowSet | | FlowSet | |
| (1 Template) | | (2 Options Data Records) | |
+------------------+ +--------------------------+ |
. . .--------------------------------------------------+
13.1 Packet Header Example
The Packet Header is composed of:
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Version = 0x0009 | Count = 7 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| sysUpTime |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| UNIX Secs |
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+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Sequence Number |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Source ID |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
13.2 Template FlowSet Example
We want to report the following Field Types:
- The source IP address (IPv4), so the length is 4
- The destination IP address (IPv4), so the length is 4
- The next-hop IP address (IPv4), so the length is 4
- The number of bytes of the Flow
- The number of packets of the Flow
Therefore, the Template FlowSet will be composed of the following:
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| FlowSet ID = 0 | Length = 28 bytes |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Template ID 256 | Field Count = 5 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| IP_SRC_ADDR = 0x0008 | Field Length = 4 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| IP_DST_ADDR = 0x000C | Field Length = 4 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| IP_NEXT_HOP = 0x000F | Field Length = 4 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| IN_PKTS = 0x0002 | Field Length = 4 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| IN_BYTES = 0x0001 | Field Length = 4 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
13.3 Data FlowSet Example
In this example, we report the following three Flow records:
Src IP addr. | Dst IP addr. | Next Hop addr. | Packet | Bytes
| | | Number | Number
---------------------------------------------------------------
198.168.1.12 | 10.5.12.254 | 192.168.1.1 | 5009 | 5344385
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192.168.1.27 | 10.5.12.23 | 192.168.1.1 | 748 | 388934
192.168.1.56 | 10.5.12.65 | 192.168.1.1 | 5 | 6534
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| FlowSet ID = 256 | Length = 64 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| 198.168.1.12 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| 10.5.12.254 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| 192.168.1.1 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| 5009 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| 5344385 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| 192.168.1.27 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| 10.5.12.23 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| 192.168.1.1 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| 748 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| 388934 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| 192.168.1.56 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| 10.5.12.65 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| 192.168.1.1 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| 5 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| 6534 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Note that padding was not necessary in this example.
13.4 Options Template FlowSet Example
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Per line card (the router being composed of two line cards), we want
to report the following Field Types:
- Total number of Export Packets
- Total number of exported Flows
The format of the Options Template FlowSet is as follows:
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| FlowSet ID = 1 | Length = 24 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Template ID 257 | Option Scope Length = 4 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Option Length = 8 | Scope 1 Field Type = 0x0003 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Scope 1 Field Length = 2 | TOTAL_EXP_PKTS_SENT = 41 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Field Length = 4 | TOTAL_FLOWS_EXP = 42 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Field Length = 4 | Padding |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
13.5 Data FlowSet with Options Data Records Example
In this example, we report the following two records:
Line Card ID | Export Packet| Export Flow
------------------------------------------
Line Card 1 | 345 | 10201
Line Card 2 | 690 | 20402
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| FlowSet ID = 257 | Length = 14 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| 1 | 345 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| 10201 | 2 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| 2 | 690 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
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IPFIX Protocol Specifications June 2003
| 20402 | Padding |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
14. References
[1] R. Presuhn et al, "Management Information Base (MIB) for the
Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)" RFC 3418, December 2002
[2] J. Postel, "User Datagram Protocol" RFC 768, August 1980
[3] "TRANSMISSION CONTROL PROTOCOL DARPA INTERNET PROGRAM PROTOCOL
SPECIFICATION" RFC 793, September 1981
[RFC2960] Stewart, R. (ed.) "Stream Control Transmission Protocol",
RFC 2960, October 2000
[PR-SCTP] Stewart, R, "SCTP Partial Reliability Extension", draft-
stewart-tsvwg-prsctp-04.txt
[IPFIX-REQ] J. Quittek, T. Zseby, B. Claise, S. Zander,
"Requirements for IP Flow Information Export" draft-ietf-ipfix-reqs-
10.txt, June 2003
[IPFIX-ARCH] draft-ietf-ipfix-arch-00.txt
[IPFIX-INFO] draft-ietf-ipfix-info-00.txt
[IPFIX-AS] draft-ietf-ipfix-as-00.txt
15. Authors
To be completed.
16. Acknowledgments
To be completed.
Authors Addresses
Benoit Claise
Cisco Systems
De Kleetlaan 6a b1
1831 Diegem
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IPFIX Protocol Specifications June 2003
Belgium
Phone: +32 2 704 5622
E-mail: bclaise@cisco.com
Mark Fullmer
OARnet
2455 North Star Rd.
Columbus, Ohio 43221
Phone: +1 (614) 728-8100
Email: maf@eng.oar.net
Reinaldo Penno
Nortel Networks
2305 Mission College Blvd
Santa Clara, CA 95054
Phone: +1 408.565.3023
Email: rpenno@nortelnetworks.com
Paul Calato
Riverstone Networks, Inc.
5200 Great America Parkway
Santa Clara, CA 95054 USA
Phone: +1 (603) 557-6913
Email: calato@riverstonenet.com
Claise, et. al Standard Track [Page 33]
