Many people use PF_RING just as a “better” libpcap. PF_RING is much more than that, as it can significantly simplify the design of network monitoring applications as well better exploit modern multi-core architectures and network adapters. For those willing to dive into PF_RING, I have released an updated user’s guide that can introduce you to […]
Using Hardware Timestamps with PF_RING
Up to some years ago, hardware timestamps were available only on costly FPGA-based NICs. Slowly, NIC manufactures started to consider hw timestamps as an important feature, and they started to introduce them in new cards. As of today Silicom PE2Gi80, Intel 1 Gbit Ethernet Server Adapter i340 (1 Gbit) and Neterion X3110/X3120 (10 Gbit) offer […]
Say hello to NetFlow-Lite (NFLite)
As you all know, NetFlow has been initially designed for routers (or L3 switches if you wish), contrary to sFlow that instead has been deployed mostly on switches. In this view, people use NetFlow just for monitoring internet traffic, as NetFlow is not supported across the product portfolio due to dedicated ASIC required. NetFlow-lite (first […]
Cisco(Live) and ntop
Just like Apple is the computer brand I use since 1985, for me Cisco is the networking company, the one that created the first routers and switches on which the Internet was built. It has been a great surprise when last summer I have been contacted by a Cisco representative, who has asked me whether I […]
PF_RING and transparent_mode
Many PF_RING users know that for avoid patching the Linux kernel, as of PF_RING 4.x packets are received though NAPI. This means that the packet journey is the same used in standard Linux, thus the performance improvement with respect to vanilla Linux is minimal (< 5%) although PF_RING allows to do many more things than […]