Provided by: argus-client_3.0.8.2-5ubuntu1_amd64 bug

NAME

       racluster.conf - racluster flow model definitions.

SYNOPSIS

       racluster.conf

DESCRIPTION

       Programs  that  perform  flexible  aggregation  of  argus  data,  such as racluster(1) and
       radium(8), can be configured to aggregate using arbitrary flow models.  This configuration
       file  provides  a syntax for flow matching and aggregation model assignments on a per flow
       basis, allowing for highly flexible aggregation strategies on a single argus stream.

       The configuration file is structured as  a  set  of  initialization  variables,  and  then
       followed by a collection of filter matching statements and model definitions.  The concept
       is that one identifies specific Argus Flow Activity Records  through  specification  of  a
       Argus  filter,  and  if  the  filter  matches, then that record will be modified using the
       optional racluster aggregation model, and then aggregated with other records that  matched
       the  filter.   If  the  filter  does  not match, racluster will "fall through" to the next
       filter.

       The 'cont' keyword will cause racluster to continue with the current argus record, to  the
       next  configuration  item  in  the fall through configuration.  When the 'cont' keyword is
       used, records will be counted multiple times, so be  cognizant  of  what  your  trying  to
       accomplish.

OPTIONS

       The aggregation clients have a small number of options for controlling specific aspects of
       aggregation function and output.

RACLUSTER_MODEL_NAME

       Racluster configurations can be named.  This is important  for  ra*  aggregation  programs
       that  support  multiple  concurrent models at a time, so you can tell them apart.  This is
       completely optional.

RACLUSTER_REPORT_AGGREGATION

       Racluster, when it merges argus records together, adds a new  aggregation  metric  to  the
       resulting  record,  which  reports  on the number of records that were merged together and
       provides some additional statistical values that provide record  arrival  rates  and  mean
       record  durations.   By  setting this option to "no", you can have racluster() not provide
       this metric.  This is very important if you have multiple aggregatation processes  'piped'
       in  order  to generate complex aggregation reports.  It is also useful when creating full-
       duplex records from half-duplex merging operations.

       RACLUSTER_REPORT_AGGREGATION=yes

RACLUSTER_PRESERVE_FIELDS

       All aggregation clients detect when a flow descriptor object would need to be modified  to
       conform  to  an  aggregation  result.  If you merge two records that have different source
       addresses, the merge process will modify the source addresses.  For all fields  there  are
       specific  algorithms  used  to  perserving  as much data as possible so that the result is
       'PRESERVE'ing.  For IP addresses, the algorithm preserves the longest prefix match.   This
       is valuable information when attempting to discover trends.

       However,  some applications may want the resulting output to completely conform to the new
       flow definitions.  In other words, if you are aggregatating and the source address is  not
       in the key, the algorithm will zero out the source address prior to record merging.

       To  force  racluster()  like  programs  to convert flow descriptions to the new flow model
       descriptors, set this option to "no".

       RACLUSTER_PRESERVE_FIELDS=yes

RACLUSTER_AUTO_CORRECTION

       When aggregating Argus records together, all  aggregation  clients  have  the  ability  to
       autocorrect  the  assignment  of  flow  initiator  and  receiver.   This  is important for
       processing Argus records derived from Cisco Netflow style flow  monitors,  and  for  Argus
       records  that were generated by long lived flows that have extended idle periods.  Because
       it is possible for ra*  aggregation  clients  to  receive  half-duplex  flow  records,  or
       multiple flow records for the same long live flow, autocorrecting the argus records allows
       the client aggregation process to match A -> B and B -> A records that belong to the  same
       flow.

       However,  with  certain  flow  aggregation  models,  the  autocorrection  logic  can cause
       aggregation mis-match, merging dissimilar flow together.  This is especially the case  for
       complex aggregations where fields are ignored only on specific record types.  As a result,
       when providing custom aggregation models, autocorrection is disabled by default.

       If you would like to re-enable the autocorrection function, set this variable to "yes";

       RACLUSTER_AUTO_CORRECTION=no

RACLUSTER_AGG_METRIC

       When aggregating Argus records together, one metric in  the  records  is  accumulated  and
       processed  to  generate 'mean', 'max', 'min', ´sum', and 'stddev' values.  Any metric from
       the list of printable metrics can be provided as the basis for the aggregation statistics.

       Records with different metrics cannot be aggregated together, as the resulting  statistics
       would be meaningless.  If you are in doubt, remember to use the '-M dsrs="-agr"' option to
       ensure that you generate your desired result.

       RACLUSTER_AGG_METRIC=dur

AGGREGATION CONFIGURATION

       An aggregation configuration is composed  of  one  or  more  aggregration  statements.  An
       aggregation  statement  contains,  on a single line, a mandatory filter specification, and
       optionally a model specification, a status timer and/or an idle timer value, a  label  and
       the keyword 'cont'.  Specifications are formated as:

          keyword'='["]value["]

       Valid keywords are:
          filter, model, label, status and idle.

       Filter  specifications  are  standard  ra*  client  filters.   See  ra.1  for  a  complete
       description.

       Model specifications are identical to the -m option support provided by racluster() on the
       command line.

       Labels  are  free  form  meta-data strings, that will be added to records that matched the
       filter statement at this point in the fall through configureation.

       Status and Idle timer values are specified in seconds and are usually not quoted, although
       they can be.

       Argus  record  flow  descriptors  are  compared  to  the filter that matches statements in
       sequential, or "fall through", order, much like existing Access Control  List  definitions
       supported  by  routers, switches and firewalls.  These filters are conventional ra* filter
       statements, with the maxiumum length being 1024 chars.

       The model statement is used to modify the flow  description  of  matching  Argus  records.
       Records  are  aggregated  based on the modified flow descriptor that results from applying
       the flow model, and are only merged with other records  that  also  matched  this  filter,
       which should eliminate problems with a independent

       In  each  flow  descriptor  matching  statement is a TimeOut period, which is how long the
       aggregator will hold the flow cache before reporting it, and an IdleTimeOut period,  which
       is  how  long  the  aggregation  process  will  hold the flow in its cache, if there is no
       activity.

       If a record doesn't match any statement in the configuration, then it is aggregated  based
       on  its unmodified flow descriptor.  This aggregates flow reports from the same long lived
       flow.  Generally, most configurations have a "catch all" filter to  aggregate  flows  that
       don't match any filter expression.

EXAMPLE

       This configuration is not intended to do anything useful, it is designed for demonstration
       purposes, only.  With that said, lets get to it.

 filter="icmp"
 filter="arp" model="proto daddr"
 filter="tcp or udp and dst port lt 1025"  model="saddr daddr proto dport" status=120 label="reserved"
 filter="tcp or udp" model="saddr daddr proto sport dport" status=120 idle=3600
 grep="Video" model="saddr daddr proto dport" status=120 idle=3600
 filter="" model="saddr daddr proto" status=0 idle=3600 label="other flows"

       All records are first tested as 'icmp' flows, then 'arp' and then 'tcp or udp' flows.   If
       the  records do not match these filters, they will match the 4th aggregation statement, as
       it has a null filter, which matches everything.

       If a record matches the 1st statement, it is  aggregated  using  the  default  aggregation
       model,  which is the conventional 5 tuple flow model.  For icmp, this includes the src and
       destination addresses, the proto field and the icmp type and code values.   Because  there
       is  no  status or idle timer values specified, the aggregator will merge records until EOF
       is encountered on the input stream, and output the single record and its stats at the  end
       of the run.

       If  a  record  matches  the  2nd  statement,  i.e. it is an arp flow, then the record flow
       descriptor is modified so that the protocol (arp) and the requestors  source  address  are
       the  only fields preserved.  This would merge all the arp records requesting a specific IP
       addresss, and is useful for reducing arp traffic in the output stream or file.   The  idea
       is that you are interested in the response, not who made the request.

       If a record matches the 3rd statement, i.e. it is a "tcp or udp" flow with the destination
       port less than 1025, the flow model ignores the soure port value, and merges records  that
       match.   The aggregator will generate a 120 second status report on the resulting flow, so
       that when there is activity, the aggregator will generate output that doesn't  exceed  120
       seconds  in  duration.  If the flow is idle for 3600 seconds, the aggregator will ´forget'
       the flow, and release any resources it was using to track the flow.

       This is a very popular service oriented aggregation strategy, as it preserves  the  client
       address  and  the  server  address, along with the service port number, when its less than
       1025, which are the Well Known Ports, or Reserved port number space.

       All flows that match the 3rd statement are labeled, with the free form  meta-data  string,
       "reserved" as these flows use the reserved port range.  If there is already a lobel in the
       flow record, the string is appeneded to the label, separated by a ':', unless  the  string
       is already in the label.

       If  the  flow  is  "udp or tcp" and the dst port is not less than 1025, then the flow will
       match the 4th statement, and the aggregator will use the default  flow  model,  generating
       status records and timeing out.

       The  5th  statement,  the  "catch  all"  statement,  specifies  that the aggregator should
       preserve only the source and destination addresses, and the  protcol  number.   No  status
       records  will  be  generated, but if it times out it will flush the record out.  All flows
       are labeled as "other".

       This configuration strategy should provide support for any type of aggregation methodology
       you can dream up, well at least most that you will want to use.

COPYRIGHT

       Copyright (c) 2000-2016 QoSient. All rights reserved.

SEE ALSO

       racluster(1)