Netflow and Databricks Integration

Input and output integration overview

<p>The Netflow plugin is designed to collect traffic flow data from devices using the Netflow v5, v9 and IPFIX protocols. By capturing detailed flow information, this plugin supports network observability and analysis, enabling administrators to monitor traffic patterns and performance metrics effectively.</p>

<p>Use Telegraf’s HTTP output plugin to push metrics straight into a Databricks Lakehouse by calling the SQL Statement Execution API with a JSON-wrapped INSERT or volume PUT command.</p>

Integration details

Netflow

<p>The Netflow plugin serves as a collector for flow data using protocols such as Netflow v5, Netflow v9, and IPFIX. This plugin allows users to gather important flow metrics from devices that support these protocols, including a variety of operational insights about traffic patterns, source/destination information, and protocol usage. The plugin leverages templates sent by flow devices to decode incoming data correctly, and it supports private enterprise number mappings for vendor-specific information. With features like adjustable service addresses and buffer sizes, the plugin provides flexibility in how it can be deployed within various network architectures, making it an essential tool for network monitoring and analysis.</p>

Databricks

<p>This configuration turns Telegraf into a lightweight ingestion agent for the Databricks Lakehouse. It leverages the Databricks SQL Statement Execution API 2.0, which accepts authenticated POST requests containing a JSON payload with a <code>statement</code> field. Each Telegraf flush dynamically renders a SQL INSERT (or, for file-based workflows, a <code>PUT ... INTO /Volumes/...</code> command) that lands the metrics into a Unity Catalog table or volume governed by Lakehouse security. Under the hood Databricks stores successful inserts as Delta Lake transactions, enabling ACID guarantees, time-travel, and scalable analytics. Operators can point the <code>warehouse_id</code> at any serverless or classic SQL warehouse, and all authentication is handled with a PAT or service-principal token—no agents or JDBC drivers required. Because Telegraf’s HTTP output supports custom headers, batching, TLS, and proxy settings, the same pattern scales from edge IoT gateways to container sidecars, consolidating infrastructure telemetry, application logs, or business KPIs directly into the Lakehouse for BI, ML, and Lakehouse Monitoring. Unity Catalog volumes provide a governed staging layer when file uploads and <code>COPY INTO</code> are preferred, and the approach aligns with Databricks’ recommended ingestion practices for partners and ISVs.</p>

Configuration

Netflow

Databricks

Input and output integration examples

Netflow

<ol> <li> <p><strong>Traffic Analysis and Visualization</strong>: Use the Netflow plugin to collect traffic flow data and visualize it in real-time using an analytics platform. Administrators can create dashboards that display traffic patterns and anomalies, helping them understand bandwidth usage and user behavior.</p> </li> <li> <p><strong>Network Performance Optimization</strong>: Integrate the Netflow plugin with performance monitoring tools to identify bottlenecks and optimize the network. Analyze collected metrics to pinpoint areas where network resources can be improved, enhancing overall system performance.</p> </li> <li> <p><strong>Anomaly Detection for Security</strong>: Leverage the Netflow data for security analysis by feeding it into an anomaly detection system. This can help identify unusual traffic patterns that may indicate potential security threats, enabling quicker responses to prevent breaches.</p> </li> <li> <p><strong>Customized Alerts for Network Events</strong>: Configure threshold-based alerts using the Netflow plugin metrics to notify network administrators of unusual spikes or drops in traffic. This proactive monitoring can help in quickly addressing potential issues before they escalate.</p> </li> </ol>

Databricks

<ol> <li><strong>Edge-to-Lakehouse Telemetry Pipe</strong>: Deploy Telegraf on factory PLCs to sample vibration metrics and post them every second to a serverless SQL warehouse. Delta tables power PowerBI dashboards that alert engineers when thresholds drift.</li> <li><strong>Blue-Green CI/CD Rollout Metrics</strong>: Attach a Telegraf sidecar to each Kubernetes canary pod; it inserts container stats into a Unity Catalog table tagged by <code>deployment_id</code>, letting Databricks SQL compare error-rate percentiles and auto-rollback underperforming versions.</li> <li><strong>SaaS Usage Metering</strong>: Insert per-tenant API-call counters via the HTTP plugin; a nightly Lakehouse query aggregates usage into invoices, eliminating custom metering micro-services.</li> <li><strong>Security Forensics Lake</strong>: Upload JSON batches of Suricata IDS events to a Unity Catalog volume using <code>PUT</code> commands, then run <code>COPY INTO</code> for near-real-time enrichment with Delta Live Tables, producing a searchable threat-intel lake that joins network logs with user session data.</li> </ol>

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