ratop (1) - Linux Manuals
ratop: display and update sorted network flow data
NAME
ratop - display and update sorted network flow dataSYNOPSIS
ratop [raoptions] [-- filter-expression]DESCRIPTION
Ratop reads argus(8) data from an argus-file, or from a remote data source, and periodically displays a sorted list of network flow records. When read from a file, ratop displays the resulting flow caches when the file is completed, updating its status display line with each input. When reading from a live argus data stream, ratop will display data, asynchronously in realtime, as it is received from the source.
Flow data is aggregated as its read, (see racluster.1), resulting in a single line for each network transaction encountered in the data stream. The default sorting key is total packets per flow, but other keys can be used instead. Flow records that have been idle for more than the default 60s are removed. Various output options, such as the specific columns of data to display, the entry idle timeout value, the screen refresh rate, etc ... are all configurable.
ratop uses ncurses and readline.3, when available, to provide a vi.1 look and feel for displaying, navigating and modifying network flow data.
While running ratop a lot of help can be obtained from the on-line
help system, using the ":h" command.
ratop, like all ra based clients, supports a number of ra options
including filtering of input argus records through a terminating filter
expression, and the ability to specify the output style, format and contents
for printing data. See ra(1) for a complete description of ra options.
ratop(1) specific options are:
Flows caches are displayed one per row and are sorted by total pkts,
by default. ratop sorting can be configured using the rarc
variable RA_SORT_ALGORITHMS, or by using the ":P" command.
ratop supports 3 basic filters. Like all other ra* programs, ratop
will send its command line filter to its remote argus data sources, to limit the
load on the wire. This is the "remote" filter. Also, ratop supports
a "local" filter, that is applied to flow record input. Normally this is used
when the remote argus data source doesn't support the syntax of the specific
filter. ratop also support a "display" filter, that is used to select
which flow records are to be displayed. This filter does not have any
impact on the internal flow caches that ratop is tracking, so you
can change the "display" filter at any time and see the current state of
other flows.
When color is enabled ratop will attempt to color IP addresses
to indicate that local host address, and the local network. This is
very helpful in mobile host installations, where you may not know
what IP address has been assigned the localhost. ratop also supports
coloring local addresses based on the RA_LOCAL rarc variable.
See racolor.conf.5.
Read the file argus.file, and display the resulting aggregated and sorted
list of flow records, using the default sorting methods.
OPTIONS
Command line option specifications are processed from left to right.
Options can be specified more than once.
If conflicting options are specified, later specifications override earlier
ones.
This makes it viable to create a shell alias for
ratop
with preferred defaults specified, then override those preferred defaults as
desired on the command line.
DISPLAY
The first several lines of the
ratop
display show global state. The top line shows how ratop is running,
with the list of command line options that are in effect. In the upper
most right corner is the current time. The next line is the column title
line, that labels each column. The bottom line is the command line,
where you will see and prepare ':' commands. The line above the bottom
line is the status line, showing the number of flows that are in the
ratop process queue, display queue, the total number of flows read,
the rate of flow records read, and the current status, whether it is Active,
reading records, or Idle, when all input is complete. This line can be
toggled on or off using ^G.
COLOR
ratop supports color which is configured using the rarc file.
The RA_COLOR_CONFIG file is a fall through specification of flow
filters and field color definitions. For flows that match a filter,
specific fields in the row will be painted the configured color.
Because the filter specification supports the " cont " directive,
a single row can be painted by any number of color definitions.
ARGUS EVENTS
Introduced in argus-3.0.8, ratop supports correlating specific
ARGUS_EVENT data with flow data, which can be turned on through the use
of the RA_CORRELATE_EVENTS rarc variable. ratop will process
argus-lsof event data generated by host bourne argi, and label flow
data with user, pid and process name metadata. While experimental,
it is production level functionality, and can be used with other ra*
programs to enhance flow data with host os process information.
See argus-3.0.8 documentation on ARGUS_EVENTS.
EXAMPLES