Any Cisco CCIE will tell you they prefer to configure a Cisco router via the CLI. They love the intuitive nature of this interface and often compare it with competitive hardware interfaces when considering a purchase. For this reason, Cisco's CLI has become a standard in the industry, which many hardware vendors copy and promote when trying to get into Cisco accounts (i.e. through the 600,000-plus certified individuals in the Cisco Career Certification Program).
For example, to globally enable NetFlow v9 on an Adtran device, the following commands must be included (i.e. not all shown) with Adtran:
<i>(config)# ip flow export destination <IP Address> <port></i>
<i>(config)# ip flow cache timeout active 1</i>
<i>(config)# ip flow export template timeout-rate 15</i>
Similar to Cisco IOS, it must be enabled per interface with Adtran:
<i>(config)# interface Ethernet 0/1</i>
<i>(config-eth 0/1)# ip flow ingress <ACL></i>
On a Cisco Router, the above can be compared to:
<i>(config)# ip flow-export version 9
(must be specified as Cisco supports version 5 as well)</i>
<i>(config)# ip flow-export destination <IP Address> <port></i>
<i>(config)# ip flow-cache timeout active 1</i>
<i>(config)# ip flow-export template timeout-rate 15</i>
NetFlow with Cisco routers is then enabled per interface:
<i>(config)# interface Ethernet 0/1</i>
<i>(config-if)# ip flow ingress</i>
Further details can be found at http://www.adtran.com
<i>(config)#netflow set interval 1</i>
<i>(config)#netflow set ports all-ports</i>
<i>(config)#netflow source <ip-address></i>
<i>(config)#netflow set collector
<ip-address> flow-destination-port <port></i>
<i>(config)#netflow enable</i>
Further details can be found at http://www.enterasys.com
<i>(config)# ip flow-export destination
<ip-addr> interface <int #></i>
<i>(config)# ip flow-export enable</i>
Further details can be found at http://www.riverbed.com/products/appliances/
With so many vendors supporting Cisco's NetFlow, CCIEs can evaluate several different solutions to manage their Cisco-like hardware. Solutions such as ntop, FlowScan and Scrutinizer can all be used to view the incredible traffic details that NetFlow offers.
Related story:
Terry's Blog | The history of the Cisco CLI |
Have you tried another vendor's NetFlow CLI interface? How does it compare with Cisco's?
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