UTM 5: ISP Billing Software

Netflow Collector

Developed by Cisco Systems, Netflow is a network protocol intended for collecting IP traffic information. Netflow technology is most likely the best one for capturing network traffic statistics in real time. Basic Module of the ISP billing system "UTM" has a built-in Netflow collector and can be used to calculate network (local and/or Internet) traffic in local area networks in real time. Using high performance Netflow analysis makes traffic accounting powerful and reliable. Thanks to flexible traffic classifier and possibility to create various custom traffic classes, it is possible to set different rates for local traffic, national traffic, foreign traffic, peering traffic, etc. Real-time data processing coupled with remote firewall management capability makes the billing system perfect for ISPs who use prepaid billing model - subscribers are being blocked immediately on exhausting their funds. All detailed network usage data is stored in a database and can be examined by an ISP for resolving subscriber complaints.

ISP billing solutions based on the Netflow technology are perfect for charging per traffic volume and for flat rates with dynamic bandwidth shaping.

The UTM Basic Module maintains up to 100,000 subscribers at a total bandwidth of up to 3 Gb per second (using Netflow technology). It can be used by both small and large ISP companies, as well as by wholesale providers as the primary ISP billing platform.

The scheme below demonstrates how UTM is used in a local area network for traffic accounting using Netflow protocol.

In this example users are connected to the Internet via the router. This can be a hardware router (like Cisco or Huawei), or a PC router. Cisco routers capture all information concerning network traffic and give out detailed data in Netflow packets. A stream of these packets (Netflow stream) is directed to the billing server, where Netflow packets are collected, and network usage data is processed. UTM also supports sFlow, IP accounting and other protocols.

If a router (for example a PC router) does not support network traffic data export via Netflow v5 protocol, it should be installed a Netflow probe. NetUP has developed a special Netflow v5 probe - NDSAD (NetUP Data Stream Accounting Daemon) that can be successfully used along with the ISP billing system for real-time traffic accounting.

Besides Netflow 5, the IP traffic data can be collected via the following data sources:

• RADIUS accounting
• IPDR
• SNMP
• sFlow, IP accounting

Supported equipment for collection of initial traffic data:

• PC-based routers with Linux, or FreeBSD, or Windows NT/2000/XP/2003
• any hardware supporting data export in Netflow v5 format
• any hardware supporting data export in Cisco IP Accounting format
• any hardware providing logs with traffic data

Examples: Cisco, MikroTik, Revolution, Cabletron, Huawei