pmacct

pmacct is a cool open-source software that gives you some handy command-line tools for monitoring network traffic. It helps you track and analyze both IPv4 and IPv6 traffic, which is super useful for anyone dealing with networks. The main tools in this package are nfacctd, pmacct, pmacctd, sfacctd, and uacctd.

Features of pmacct

This software has a bunch of awesome features! It supports Cisco NSEL and NEL for CGNAT, lets you inspect tunneled traffic, and even works with MPLS/BGP VPNs according to RFC4364. Plus, it can do GeoIP lookups. If you're into SQL, you'll love that it supports triggers, data pre-processing, and dynamic table naming!

Data Collection Options

You can collect data using the libpcap library or through Netlink/ULOG. It also works with different flow protocols like sFlow (v2/v4/v5), NetFlow (v1/v5/v7/v8/v9), and IPFIX. This makes it very flexible!

Exporting Data Easily

The good news is that pmacct can export data to other utilities like GNUPlot, RRDtool, Net-SNMP, Cacti, and MRTG. It's perfect for environments like IP carriers, ISPs, CDNs, IXPs, hotspots, and data centers.

Your Data Storage Choices

You have lots of options for saving your data too! You can store it in MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, MongoDB, BerkeleyDB, or even flat files. This flexibility makes pmacct a great choice!

More Cool Features

A few extra features include support for BGP ADD-PATHS and logging live BGP messages. You can dump BGP tables too! Want to visualize your internal routes? No problem—this software has you covered!

Installing pmacct on Linux

If you're ready to give it a try on your GNU/Linux system, you can use the Software Center app or download the source package from Softpas.com. Just save it in your Home folder.

Steps to Install from Source Package

If you go the source route: download it and unpack it using an archive manager tool. Open up a terminal emulator app and navigate to where you've extracted the files (like: cd /home/softpedia/pmacct-1.5.0). Run ‘./configure && make’ to set everything up followed by ‘sudo make install’ to install it system-wide.

Getting Started After Installation

Once it's installed, type “--help” with any of the included tools to see their options and examples. It's a great way to learn how they work! Remember that pmacct runs on Linux as well as BSD systems.