IP Flow Information Accounting and Export Benchmarking Methodology

This document provides a methodology and framework for quantifying the performance impact of the monitoring of IP flows on a network device and the export of this information to a Collector. It identifies the rate at which the IP flows are created, expired, and successfully exported as a new performance metric in combination with traditional throughput. The metric is only applicable to the devices compliant with RFC 5470, "Architecture for IP Flow Information Export". The methodology quantifies the impact of the IP flow monitoring process on the network equipment. This document is not an Internet Standards Track specification; it is published for informational purposes.