Network Management

NetFlow data from Arista switches

This article briefly discusses NTA support for NetFlow data sent to the collector from Arista switches.

First published date

10/20/2018 7:31 PM

Last published date

3/12/2025 11:22 PM

Overview

This article briefly discusses NTA support for NetFlow data sent to the collector from Arista switches.

Product section

Netflow Traffic Analyzer

Resolution

Arista switches use sFlow technology to export flow data. sFlow sends out two types of samples in the flow data, Flow Samples and Counter Samples. Only Flow Samples contain all necessary information for SolarWinds NTA. The Flow Sample type contains additional Layer 3 information, such as source and destination IP addresses. Counter Samples consist of interface counter information that is not suitable for NTA, so NTA is not using it. There have been some reported instances where most of the flows being exported by the devices are Counter Samples with very few Flow Sample flows. This causes NetFlow graphs to show very little flow data compared to interface utilization. This can be confirmed by performing a Wireshark capture and investigating the flow data. For more information, refer to the Arista switch manual.

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