This article explains how to configure and verify sFlow on Dell Networking N Series switches running OS6.
sFlow technology: sFlow is an industry standard technology for monitoring high-speed switched and routed networks. Dell Networking N Series switch software has a integrated sFlow agent that can monitor network traffic on each port and generate sFlow data to an sFlow receiver (also known as a collector).
sFlow defaults in N Series switches:
| Parameter |
Default Value |
| Receiver port |
6343 |
| Receiver Maximum Datagram Size |
1400 bytes |
| Maximum header size |
128 bytes |
To configure sFlow on the switch, input the following commands:
console> enable |
Enter the privilege mode |
console# configure |
Enter the configuration mode |
console(config)# sflow destination |
Configure the address of the sFlow receiver and |
console(config)# sflow destination owner timeout |
Specify the identity string of the receiver and set the |
console(config)# sflow polling |
Enable a new sFlow poller instance on an interface range. |
console(config)# sflow sampling |
Enable a new sFlow sampler instance for the specified |
Below is the example which gives a sample configuration of sFlow on switch with polling and sampling on interfaces from ten gig port 1 to 4.
This example uses the following input values.
IP address of the sFlow receiver -- 192.168.2.1
Owner string -- SFLOW_EXAMPLE
Receiver index -- 1
Polling interval -- 30 (Polling interval: The sFlow instance polling interval. A value of n means that once in n seconds a counter sample is generated. (Range: 0-86400))
Sampling rate -- 1204 (Sampling-rate - The statistical sampling rate for packet sampling from this source. A sampling rate of 1 counts all packets. A value of n means that out of n incoming packets, 1 packet will be sampled. (Range: 1024 - 65536)).
console> enable console# configure console(config)# sflow 1 destination 192.168.2.1 console(config)# sflow 1 destination owner SFLOW_EXAMPLE timeout 10000 console(config)# sflow 1 polling gi1/0/1-4 30 console(config)# sflow 1 sampling gi1/0/1-4 1024
To verify the configuration use the below commands:
console# show sflow 1 destination Receiver Index.................... 1 Owner String...................... SFLOW_EXAMPLE Time out.......................... 10000 IP Address:....................... 192.168.2.1 Address Type...................... 1 Port.............................. 6343 Datagram Version.................. 5 Maximum Datagram Size............. 1400 console# show sflow 1 polling Poller Receiver Poller Data Source Index Interval ----------- ------- ------- Te1/0/1 1 30 Te1/0/2 1 30 Te1/0/3 1 30 Te1/0/4 1 30 console# show sflow 1 sampling Sampler Receiver Packet Max Header Data Source Index Sampling Rate Size ----------- ------- ------------- ---------- Te1/0/1 1 1024 128 Te1/0/2 1 1024 128 Te1/0/3 1 1024 128 Te1/0/4 1 1024 128