Argus

Spec sheet

Purpose

Argus is an open source network audit system that generates flow records from network traffic.Read 8 Oct 2026 · openargus.org

Platforms

The maker says Linux packages are available and mentions source compilation on Mac OS X, Unix, and Cygwin-enabled Windows; endpoint sensor binaries for Windows and macOS are available upon request.Read 8 Oct 2026 · openargus.org

Integrations

The clients can use InterNIC country-code databases and can be configured to use MaxMind GeoIP libraries and databases.Read 7 Oct 2026 · openargus.org

Privacy

The ranonymize client can anonymize network addresses and other fields by default, but the site warns this is not perfect anonymization.Read 7 Oct 2026 · openargus.org

Support

The project provides announcement and development mailing lists and directs users to mailing lists or QoSient for contact.Read 8 Oct 2026 · openargus.org

License

Argus is released under GPLv2, and the maker invites inquiries about other licensing options.Read 8 Oct 2026 · openargus.org

Headquarters

New York, New York, United StatesRead 28 Sep 2026 · openargus.org

Analysis

Argus flow records are used for network security, performance analysis, operations management, forensics, and machine learning.Read 8 Oct 2026 · openargus.org

Anonymization

The ranonymize client can anonymize network addresses and other fields, but the maker cautions that its default protection is not perfect.Read 8 Oct 2026 · openargus.org

Components

The system consists of the Argus packet processing sensor and the argus-clients data processing programs.Read 8 Oct 2026 · openargus.org

Data storage

Argus data can be stored in filesystem archives or MySQL tables, and the maker describes using both together.Read 8 Oct 2026 · openargus.org

Dependency and remote access

Argus source requires libpcap and GNU bison, and the maker says it can be linked with cyrus-sasl for remote access security.Read 8 Oct 2026 · openargus.org

Distribution

The project says it no longer provides general binary distributions; users can build packages from source, and some Linux variants provide maintained packages.Read 7 Oct 2026 · openargus.org

Flow attributes

The maker says Argus data includes over 175 attributes covering network identification, services, resource utilization, and packet dynamics.Read 8 Oct 2026 · openargus.org

Flow data

The site says Argus data has over 175 attributes covering network identification, services, resource utilization, and packet dynamics.Read 7 Oct 2026 · openargus.org

Geolocation

Argus clients support country-code lookup through InterNIC databases and can be configured to use MaxMind GeoIP libraries and databases.Read 8 Oct 2026 · openargus.org

Payload capture

Payload capture in flow records is configurable and disabled by default; the maker says anonymization removes payload data.Read 8 Oct 2026 · openargus.org

Processing

The sensor can process packets on the wire or in captures, and the clients can be combined into real-time data pipelines or used for analytics.Read 7 Oct 2026 · openargus.org

Protocols and formats

The maker describes Argus data as a superset of flow technologies including NetFlow, Jflow, Qflow, Kflow, and IPFIX.Read 8 Oct 2026 · openargus.org

Storage

The site describes storing Argus data in native filesystem archives or MySQL tables, including use of both approaches together.Read 7 Oct 2026 · openargus.org

Supported flow formats

The site describes Argus data as encompassing NetFlow, Jflow, Qflow, Kflow, IPFIX, and historical flow-tools formats.Read 7 Oct 2026 · openargus.org

Uses

The project says Argus data has been used for network security, performance analysis, operations management, machine learning, and network research.Read 7 Oct 2026 · openargus.org

Where Specifiction places it

• Network Traffic Analysis Software#9 of 267.8