Network Flow Analysis

Problem Solving with Flow Data

You've explored the usefulness of various flow analysis features throughout this book. Now you'll look at a few case studies of real problems and possible solutions. Some of these I've touched on earlier; others are completely new.

Finding Busted Software

Under normal circumstances, a small percentage of TCP connections break regularly on every network. Software stacks misbehave, clients try to connect to defunct printers, and users who ought to know better install freeware that behaves unspeakably. Perhaps the fastest way to use flow data to improve your network is to check for these broken connections, identify their sources and destinations, and discover what software on the affected machines is causing the problems. ...