Introduction

The IPFIX protocol has been developed for the purpose of exporting IP packet flow information from IP devices such as routers or measurement stations to mediation, accounting, and network management systems. This export includes (a) attributes derived from the IP packet headers and (b) attributes known only to the exporter (e.g., ingress and egress ports, network prefix). The IPFIX protocol defines the data mapping, a way to specify templates for data record definition and a transport mapping to export flow information records across the network from an IPFIX exporter to an IPFIX collector. It is intended for the purposes of Internet research, measurement, attack and intrusion detection, accounting, and billing.