Akvorado
Akvorado is a free network-flow monitoring tool that enriches traffic data and makes it available through a web interface.
What Akvorado is
Akvorado is a free network-flow monitoring tool that enriches traffic data and makes it available through a web interface. It receives NetFlow, IPFIX, and sFlow flows. Its inlet sends data to Kafka, and its outlet parses and enriches the flows before sending them to ClickHouse. SNMP can retrieve exporter and interface details, while IPinfo or MaxMind can add geographic information. Optional BGP routes received through BMP can add AS numbers, AS paths, and communities. A Grafana plugin is available, and the inlet, outlet, orchestrator, and console expose metrics through HTTP endpoints. Akvorado is written in Go and provides its four components in a single binary or Docker image, but it requires Kafka and ClickHouse. Recommended resources are 8 vCPUs, 100 GB of disk, and 16 GB of RAM. The console expects an authenticating proxy to provide user headers; relational data can use SQLite, MySQL, or PostgreSQL. Without a configured database, data is kept in memory and lost on restart. Downgrading is not supported; the software is licensed under AGPLv3.
Good
- Receives NetFlow, IPFIX, and sFlow.
- SNMP and geographic enrichment add flow context.
- Optional BMP routes add AS numbers, paths, and communities.
- Grafana plugin is available.
- Metrics are exposed through HTTP endpoints.
Watch out
- Requires Kafka and ClickHouse.
- Recommended configuration includes 8 vCPUs and 16 GB RAM.
- Downgrading is not supported.
- Without a configured database, data is lost on restart.
Who it suits
Akvorado suits teams that operate network infrastructure and need to explore enriched flow data. It is most appropriate for users able to provide Kafka, ClickHouse, and the recommended system resources.
Verdict
Akvorado provides a free flow-data pipeline with enrichment and web exploration, but deployment requires supporting services and planning for its storage behavior. Review the resource guidance and the no-downgrade limit before adopting it.
The facts
Each one read from Akvorado's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Authentication
- The console expects an authenticating proxy to supply user headers and lists options including Authelia, Authentik, Keycloak, and OAuth2 Proxy.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Data pipeline
- The outlet sends enriched flows to ClickHouse via Kafka.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Deployment
- Akvorado is available as a Docker image or a prebuilt binary; the documented prebuilt binary is for Linux x86-64.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Enrichment
- It uses SNMP for exporter and interface details and supports geographic information from IPinfo or MaxMind.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Flow formats
- It supports NetFlow, IPFIX, and sFlow.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Flow protocols
- It receives NetFlow, IPFIX, and sFlow flows.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Integration
- A Grafana plugin is available for Akvorado.checked 4 Oct 2026
- License
- Akvorado is licensed under AGPLv3.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Metadata
- Akvorado can use SNMP to retrieve exporter and interface details, and can use IPinfo or MaxMind for geographic information.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Monitoring
- The inlet, outlet, orchestrator, and console expose metrics through HTTP endpoints.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Processing pipeline
- Its inlet receives flows and sends them to Kafka; the outlet parses and enriches them before exporting them to ClickHouse.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Akvorado collects network flows, enriches them with metadata, and provides a web interface to explore the data.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Recommended resources
- The recommended configuration is 8 vCPUs, 100 GB of disk, and 16 GB of RAM; AMD64 or ARM64 is listed for the CPU architecture.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Requirements
- Akvorado requires Kafka 1.0 or later, ClickHouse 22.4 or later, and Docker Engine 23 or later for the Docker setup.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Routing data
- It can optionally receive BGP routes through BMP to obtain AS numbers, AS paths, and communities.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Storage options
- The console supports SQLite, MySQL, or PostgreSQL for its relational database; without a configured database, its data is held in memory and lost on restart.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Support
- The project directs users to its documentation and GitHub Discussions for help, and asks them to read troubleshooting guidance before opening a discussion.checked 4 Oct 2026
- System requirements
- The recommended configuration is 8 vCPUs, 100 GB of disk, and 16 GB of RAM.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Upgrade limit
- Downgrading is not supported.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Visualization integration
- A Grafana plugin is available.checked 3 Oct 2026
The company
- License and maker
- Akvorado is developed by Free, a French ISP, and is licensed under AGPLv3.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Maker
- Akvorado is developed by Free, described as a French ISP.checked 3 Oct 2026
Where it runs
- Linux binary
- The installation documentation says prebuilt binaries are provided for Linux x86-64.checked 3 Oct 2026
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