Configure NetFlow Exports
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Configure NetFlow Exports

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Configure NetFlow Exports

To use a NetFlow collector for analyzing the network traffic ingressing firewall interfaces, perform the following steps to configure NetFlow record exports.
  1. Create a NetFlow server profile.
    The profile defines which NetFlow collectors will receive the exported records and specifies export parameters.
    1. Select DeviceServer ProfilesNetFlow and Add a profile.
    2. Enter a Name to identify the profile.
    3. Specify the rate at which the firewall refreshes NetFlow Templates in Minutes (default is 30) and Packets (exported records—default is 20), according to the requirements of your NetFlow collector. The firewall refreshes the templates after either threshold is passed.
    4. Specify the Active Timeout, which is the frequency in minutes at which the firewall exports records (default is 5).
    5. Select PAN-OS Field Types if you want the firewall to export App-ID and User-ID fields.
    6. Add each NetFlow collector (up to two per profile) that will receive records. For each collector, specify the following:
      • Name to identify the collector.
      • NetFlow Server hostname or IP address.
      • Access Port (default 2055).
    7. Click OK to save the profile.
  2. Assign the NetFlow server profile to the firewall interfaces where traffic you want to analyze is ingressing.
    In this example, you assign the profile to an existing Ethernet interface.
    1. Select NetworkInterfacesEthernet and click an interface name to edit it.
      You can export NetFlow records for Layer 3, Layer 2, virtual wire, tap, VLAN, loopback, and tunnel interfaces. For aggregate Ethernet interfaces, you can export records for the individual sub-interfaces that data flows through within the group.
    2. Select the NetFlow server profile (NetFlow Profile) you configured and click OK.
  3. (Required for PA-7000 Series, PA-5400 Series, and PA-5200 Series firewalls) Configure a service route for the interface that the firewall will use to send NetFlow records.
    You cannot use the management (MGT) interface to send NetFlow records from the PA-7000 Series, PA-5400 Series, and PA-5200 Series firewalls. For other firewall models, a service route is optional. For all firewalls, the interface that sends NetFlow records does not have to be the same as the interface for which the firewall collects the records.
    1. Select DeviceSetupServices.
    2. (Firewall with multiple virtual systems) Select one of the following:
      • Global—Select this option if the service route applies to all virtual systems on the firewall.
      • Virtual Systems—Select this option if the service route applies to a specific virtual system. Set the Location to the virtual system.
    3. Select Service Route Configuration and Customize.
    4. Select the protocol (IPv4 or IPv6) that the interface uses. You can configure the service route for both protocols if necessary.
    5. Click Netflow in the Service column.
    6. Select the Source Interface.
      Any, Use default, and MGT are not valid interface options for sending NetFlow records from PA-7000 Series, PA-5400 Series, or PA-5200 Series firewalls.
    7. Select a Source Address (IP address).
    8. Click OK twice to save your changes.
  4. Commit your changes.
  5. Monitor the firewall traffic in a NetFlow collector.
    Refer to your NetFlow collector documentation.
    When monitoring statistics, you must match the interface indexes in the NetFlow collector with interface names in the firewall web interface. For details, see Firewall Interface Identifiers in SNMP Managers and NetFlow Collectors.
    To troubleshoot NetFlow delivery issues, use the operational CLI command debug log-receiver netflow statistics.