Compatibility
DC Netscope needs a source of flows: the virtual switches of your platform, or network devices that export NetFlow, IPFIX or sFlow. The decision graph of the introduction tells you what DC Netscope can show you on your infrastructure. This page details each of its answers, and the equipment known to export flows.
What each answer means
Supported
DC Netscope receives the flows of your virtual switches, and knows your virtual machines through the connector of your platform. It sees every flow of the virtual machines, including the ones between two virtual machines of the same host, which never reach the physical network.
| Platform | Flows | Inventory | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| VMware vSphere | NetFlow from the Distributed vSwitches | vCenter | VMware |
| XCP-ng | NetFlow from Open vSwitch, set on each host | Xen Orchestra | XCP-ng |
| Nutanix AHV (beta) | IPFIX, set up by DC Netscope | Prism | Nutanix |
On VMware, the standard vSwitches cannot export NetFlow: only the Distributed vSwitches can.
Partially supported
DC Netscope receives the flows of your network devices only. It sees the flows that cross these devices: the traffic between two virtual machines of the same host, or of the same network behind the device, may be invisible to them, and to DC Netscope.
How much of it you see depends on how your network is built. Virtual machines of different VLANs or subnets usually talk through the router or the firewall that routes between them, even when they run on the same host: this traffic crosses the device, and DC Netscope sees it. The traffic between virtual machines of the same VLAN on the same host does not leave the host.
The connector of your platform still names your virtual machines. On another platform, or for physical servers, the flows show IP addresses, which you can name in the External IPs view.
Not possible yet
Without virtual switches exporting flows nor network devices exporting them, DC Netscope has nothing to show. Contact us: we will look at your infrastructure with you.
In every case
The flows of your network devices can be added to the flows of your platform, to see the traffic of your physical servers, of your firewalls or between your sites as well.
Point their export to DC Netscope, on the ports listed in Ports to open. See also Other sources of flows on the installation overview.
Supported equipment
DC Netscope does not depend on a brand: any device that exports NetFlow (v5, v9), IPFIX or sFlow to it can be a source of flows. The table below lists the protocols the usual equipment can export. Whether a given model exports them depends on its range, its OS version and sometimes its license: check its documentation.
| Equipment | NetFlow / IPFIX | sFlow | Tested with DC Netscope |
|---|---|---|---|
| VMware Distributed vSwitch | IPFIX | No | Yes, in NetFlow |
| XCP-ng Open vSwitch | NetFlow v5 | Yes | Yes, in NetFlow |
| Nutanix AHV | IPFIX | No | Yes (beta) |
| Fortinet FortiGate | NetFlow v9 | Yes | Yes, in sFlow and NetFlow |
| OPNsense | NetFlow v5, v9 | No | Yes, in Netflow |
| Cisco IOS / IOS XE | NetFlow v9, IPFIX | No | yes, in Netflow |
| Cisco Nexus | Most ranges | Some ranges | To confirm |
| HPE Aruba ArubaOS-Switch | No | Yes | Yes in SFlow |
| HPE Aruba ArubaOS-CX | IPFIX | Yes | Yes in SFlow |
| Dell PowerSwitch (OS10) | No | Yes | Yes in SFlow |
Where to set the export:
- VMware: the NetFlow settings of the Distributed vSwitch, which exports IPFIX: see the VMware guide.
- XCP-ng: the command line of each host: see the XCP-ng guide.
- Nutanix: set up by DC Netscope itself, towards its own IPFIX collector: see the Nutanix guide.
- FortiGate: from its command line, see the FortiGate configuration.
- OPNsense:
Reporting>NetFlow. - Cisco IOS / IOS XE: Flexible NetFlow, with a flow exporter towards DC Netscope.
Point the export of the device to the address of DC Netscope, on the ports listed in Ports to open.
To confirm
The equipment marked "To confirm" has not been tested with DC Netscope yet: its protocols come from the documentation of the vendors. Tell us about your equipment, tested or not, through the support.
NetFlow or sFlow?
A NetFlow or IPFIX exporter accounts for every flow it sees. An sFlow exporter only looks at one packet out of N, and DC Netscope sees the flows of these packets: a short and rare exchange can be missed. Prefer NetFlow or IPFIX when the device offers both, or a low sampling rate in sFlow.