Flows Lexicon: Flow, Conversation, and Session

 

These three terms are similar but slightly different:

• A flow is a uni-directional transfer between a pair of (IP Address, Port) using the same layer-3 protocol, type of service, and input interface.
• In InterMapper Flows, a session is a bi-directional transfer between a pair of (IP Address, Port). It is the sum of the flow from A to B, plus the flow from B back to A.
• Other NetFlow products define a conversation different ways, either as a session, in the InterMapper Flows sense, or as a uni-directional flow.