Analyzing network flow records

Go with the Flow

© Lead Image © Artur Szydlowski, 123RF.com

© Lead Image © Artur Szydlowski, 123RF.com

Article from Issue 185/2016
Author(s): , Author(s):

Detect operating systems, installed software, and more from easily collected metadata.

What operating systems are installed on your network, and what software is running on them? Questions like these are often posed in IT departments – especially if users are operating their own shadow IT [1] or when documentation, automation, and software distribution need some care and attention. However, you have good reasons to ask these questions: Attackers are also interested in your systems.

Many methods of discovering the current status quo have been developed in recent years; they rely on either actively measuring [2] (e.g., with Nmap) or passively sniffing network traffic [3]. The passive method analyzes all or parts of your network traffic, from which you can draw conclusions. For example, a device that regularly visits the IP address for the domain name update.microsoft.com would lead to the conclusion that the operating system comes from Microsoft.

In this article, we present a new approach based on network traffic analysis that exclusively considers the widespread and often easily available network communication metadata in the form of flow records. Metadata analysis of network connections can offer many benefits: It requires far less memory and computational power than the analysis of complete packets, it is compliant with data protection, and it does not need port mirroring on the router; moreover, it is comparatively fast.

[...]

Use Express-Checkout link below to read the full article (PDF).

Buy this article as PDF

Express-Checkout as PDF
Price $2.95
(incl. VAT)

Buy Linux Magazine

SINGLE ISSUES
 
SUBSCRIPTIONS
 
TABLET & SMARTPHONE APPS
Get it on Google Play

US / Canada

Get it on Google Play

UK / Australia

Related content

  • Skydive

    If you don't speak fluent Ethernet, it sometimes helps to get a graphical view of what your network is doing. Skydive offers visual insights that could reveal complex error patterns.

  • Cute Flow

    The CuteFlow document circulation system supports cross-platform document exchanges. CuteFlow is easy to install and configure but still has a couple of weak areas.

  • OpenFlow

    The OpenFlow protocol and its surrounding technologies are bringing the promise of SDN to real networks – and it might not be long before you see them on your real network.

  • Packet Telemetry with Host-INT

    Inband Network Telemetry and Host-INT can provide valuable insights on network performance – including information on latency and packet drops.

  • WildFire and CyberFlow

    Powerful services like WildFire and FlowScape can help you defend against a new generation of persistent network attacks.

comments powered by Disqus
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters

Support Our Work

Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

Learn More

News