The Flow Collector collects and stores enterprise telemetry types such as NetFlow, IPFIX (Internet Protocol Flow Information Export), NVM, and SYSLOG from existing infrastructure such as routers, switches, firewalls, endpoints, and other network infrastructure devices. The Flow Collector can also collect telemetry from proxy data sources, which can be analyzed by the cloud-based machine learning engine (global threat alerts).
The telemetry data is analyzed to provide a complete picture of network activity. Months or even years of data can be stored, creating an audit trail that can be used to improve forensic investigations and compliance initiatives. The volume of telemetry that can be collected from the network is determined by the total combined capacity of the deployed Flow Collectors. Multiple Flow Collectors can be installed. Flow Collectors are available as hardware appliances or as virtual machines. Table 2 outlines Flow Collector's benefits.