Integrating ElastiFlow and NetBox

Network management teams increasingly seek visibility, control, and deep customizations without the hefty price tag of traditional solutions and their required professional services. Two standout tools, ElastiFlow and NetBox, are quickly becoming the go-to replacement, offering a powerful and flexible alternative. 

Why ElastiFlow and NetBox?

Together, ElastiFlow and NetBox provide the critical functionality users rely on:

• Comprehensive Flow Monitoring: Ingest and analyze NetFlow, IPFIX, and sFlow data to understand traffic patterns.

• Detailed Performance Metrics: Utilize SNMP polling and traps to monitor the health and performance of your devices.

• Centralized Inventory & IPAM: Manage all your devices, IP addresses, and network infrastructure in a single source of truth.

• Automated Configuration & Backups: Leverage powerful APIs to automate device configuration and backup processes.

Their modular, API-driven design sets this duo apart, which fosters seamless integration, powerful automation, and limitless customization.

ElastiFlow: See Your Network in Real-Time

ElastiFlow is a high-performance analytics solution designed for hybrid network telemetry. Built on the foundations of Elasticsearch, Opensearch, Splunk, or Kafka Stacks, it provides:

• Real-Time Traffic Visibility: Gain immediate insight into traffic patterns with support for all major flow formats.

• Device Health Monitoring: Proactively monitor device performance and health through comprehensive SNMP polling and trap collection.

• Rich, Customizable Dashboards: Visualize your network data in stunning detail using Kibana, OpenSearch Dashboards, or Grafana.

• Seamless Data Pipeline Integration: Easily integrate with other tools and systems in your environment.

While flow and SNMP data are powerful, their value is unlocked when enriched with business and network context. That's where the integration with NetBox comes in.

NetBox: The Brain of Your Network Infrastructure

NetBox is the definitive source of truth for your entire network infrastructure. As a modern IPAM and DCIM tool, it allows you to define and manage meticulously:

• Infrastructure: Sites, racks, devices, and interfaces.

• Network Resources: IP addresses, VRFs, and VLANs.

• Operational Data: Custom fields, tags, SNMP credentials, and polling schedules.

• Automation & Integrations: A robust REST API that enables powerful integrations for tasks like configuration backups.

With its comprehensive and extensible nature, NetBox becomes the central hub for all your network automation and management efforts.

The Power of Integration: ElastiFlow + NetBox

The real magic happens when you combine these two platforms. One of the most impactful use cases is leveraging NetBox to drive ElastiFlow's data enrichment and SNMP polling dynamically. The ElastiFlow team has even developed tools to streamline this integration.

How to Enrich Flow Data with NetBox Metadata

Using the NetBox IP Address Tool, you can automatically extract valuable metadata from NetBox—such as site details (address, name, geo-location), device names, roles, and tenants—and use it to enrich your flow records in ElastiFlow. This transforms your dashboards and alerts, providing actual business context to your traffic analysis.

Imagine instantly identifying:

• "Top Talkers" by specific business unit or data center.

• "East-West Traffic" patterns between different sites or security zones.

• "Unrecognized Devices" that are active on your network but not documented in NetBox.

How to Define SNMP Polling Targets Directly from NetBox

With the NetBox SNMP Tool, you can use NetBox as the definitive source for your SNMP polling configurations. Instead of manually maintaining lists of devices to monitor, simply tag them in NetBox. The tool will automatically:

• Generate the necessary polling configurations.

• Assign the correct SNMP credentials based on device role or location.

• Ensure your monitoring is always perfectly aligned with your live inventory.

Example flow enrichment in ElastiFlow defined from Netbox metadata

Closing Thoughts

While ElastiFlow and NetBox are powerful tools, their combination offers a flexible, open, and cost-effective alternative to dated NMS platforms. By integrating them, you can:

• Automate enrichment of your telemetry data with crucial context.

• Dynamically define your monitoring targets from your source of truth.

• Build the exact views and alerts that your team needs to succeed.

Whether you're managing a handful of sites or a sprawling global WAN, this modern stack provides the visibility, control, and freedom you need to operate a truly data-driven network.