FlowViewer vs Noction Flow Analyzer

FlowViewer is free software for analyzing NetFlow data exported by an organization’s network devices. Its interface works with Carnegie Mellon’s SiLK software and also supports the older flow-tools collector. The toolset combines FlowViewer for text reports, FlowGrapher for charts, and FlowMonitor for longer-term traffic monitoring. It supports NetFlow versions 5 and 9, including IPv6, and offers filtering by address, port, interface, autonomous system, TOS, TCP flags, protocol, and next hop. More than 30 reports are available, and reports and filters can be saved. FlowGrapher charts bits, flows, and packets per second over a selected period; FlowMonitor provides RRD graphs for filtered traffic, with views from 24 hours to 3 years. Dashboards can give groups such as Security and Operations separate live views. FlowViewer is listed for Linux and web use and can be installed on a dedicated Unix server or virtual appliance; the software requires a Unix server. The free plan is free. Paid options include hourly support at a price agreed with the maker, router configuration at $500, paid once, training at $500, paid once, and installation at $750, paid once.

Noction Flow Analyzer collects, stores, and presents network-traffic data for monitoring, reporting, capacity planning, and analysis. It supports NetFlow, J-Flow, sFlow, IPFIX, NetStream, SNMP, and BGP. Data Explorer filters flow data, while dashboards provide built-in or user-created visualizations. The software can detect abnormal flow patterns and use BGP FlowSpec to drop, throttle, or redirect attack traffic automatically or with moderation. Alert notifications can go by email, webhook, Slack, or Telegram. NFA runs on x86_64 with RHEL 8 or 9, or Ubuntu 22.04 or 24.04 LTS; a dedicated server is recommended, though a suitably specified virtual machine is supported. Level 3 aggregation is retained for 400 days. The monthly NFA license costs $299 a month and the yearly license $2,990 a year, each covering up to 10,000 flows per second, unlimited devices, interfaces, sites, and users, plus free 24/7 support.