Overview
IP Flow Information Export (IPFIX) is the industry-standard version of Cisco's NetFlow v9. It defines how flow information should be formatted and transferred from an exporter (the network device) to a collector.
Key Features
- Extensibility: Allows for the definition of custom fields (Information Elements).
- Vendor Neutral: Supported by a wide range of networking vendors.
- Variable Length Fields: Efficiently handles data like URLs or application names.
Importance
IPFIX provides a common language for flow-based monitoring, allowing organizations to use a single collector to gather data from a multi-vendor network.