The CoralReef Software Suite as a Tool for System and Network Administrators

Abstract

Until now, system administrators have lacked a flexible real-time network traffic flow monitoring package. Such a package must provide a wide range of services but remain exible enough for rapid in-house customization. Existing passive data collection tools are typically narrow in scope, designed for specific tasks from packet capture (tcpdump [1]) to accounting (NeTraMet [2]). In response, CAIDA has created the CoralReef suite designed to provide network administrators and researchers with a consistent interface for a wide range of network analysis applications, from raw capture to ows analysis to real-time report generation. CoralReef provides a convenient set of passive data tools for a diverse audience.