Differences Between SNMP and Netflow

In order for network performance to work well, the effectiveness of network monitoring is important. In terms of network monitoring, SNMP stands for simple network monitoring protocol and NetFlow have different ways of monitoring. Both have their own advantages and disadvantages. What makes them different? This article will discuss the differences between SNMP and NetFlow.

What is SNMP?

SNMP (simple network monitoring protocol) is a protocol for managing equipment connected to an IP (Internet Protocol) network. SNMP can be used for standard network monitoring while NetFlow is specifically designed for monitoring, analyzing and collecting network traffic. To collect bandwidth, monitoring router bandwidth usage, switch port-by-port, device reading and network usage data are the most common uses of SNMP.

What is NetFlow?

An application used to monitor the type of traffic and its size in bytes, either from or to a network router interface. The main functions of NetFlow are source and destination, port type, bandwidth used in a particular network system, sending and receiving time. For network engineers, NetFlow is very useful for analyzing irregularities that occur when traffic passes from or to a router. While in its use, NetFlow is limited to IP traffic only.

Differences between SNMP and NetFlow

1. SNMP can be used for real-time monitoring every second while the time shown by NetFlow is not real even though it provides the start and end times for each flow.
2. To collect CPU and memory usage is something that can be found when using SNMP which cannot be found in NetFlow because it is not yet available.
3. Notifications made by NetFlow about bandwidth usage are too long-winded when compared to SNMP.
4. SNMP is used for standards as explained above while NetFlow is used for higher network traffic.

To choose between SNMP or NetFlow, you should first look at the conditions of your network devices. Both have advantages and disadvantages. So after reading this article, you can conclude and choose which one is right for your needs. If you want to choose the right network monitoring then NetMonk, a network monitoring application and network monitoring services is the right answer for you. To learn more about our products, please request a demo on our main web page or click “try now” below. You can also contact our marketing team to ask for information related to PoC and our products here. Our team is ready to serve you wholeheartedly.