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IPFIX Storage Calculator

Size IPFIX collector storage from template field counts, flow rate, retention and compression.

About IPFIX Storage Calculator

Unlike fixed NetFlow v5, IPFIX record size depends entirely on the template you export, so the record cost is the sum of its information elements plus set overhead. Everything downstream — ingest bandwidth and stored bytes — scales linearly from that figure. Adding a handful of elements to a template looks harmless but multiplies across billions of records: widening a record from 40 to 76 bytes costs nearly double the array.

Formulas

IPFIX Storage

record bytes = information elements × average field width + header, typically landing in the 40–70 byte range.

information elements
IPFIX fields the template exports
average field width
Bytes per element — 4 for IPv4 addresses and counters, 16 for IPv6
header
Per-record set overhead

Retained storage

storage = flows/s × 86400 × record bytes × retention ÷ compression

compression
Collector compression ratio at rest
retention
Days of history kept

Worked example

With the default values below, IPFIX Storage Calculator returns Retained Storage Required of 2 TiB. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Flows per secondminimum 0.1 flows/s
30,000 flows/s
Information elements per recordaccepts 1–200 fields
18 fields
Average bytes per fieldaccepts 1–64 bytes
4 bytes
Per-record header overheadaccepts 0–64 bytes
4 bytes
Retention periodminimum 1 days
60 days
Compression ratioaccepts 1–30 ×
5 ×

Results

Retained Storage Required
2 TiB
Bytes Per Flow Record
76 bytes
Raw Volume Per Day
183 GiB
Collector Ingest Bandwidth
18.24 Mbit/s
Retained Storage Required
2.150 TB

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2IPFIX Storage
  3. 3Retained storage
  4. 4Retained Storage Required= 2,363,904,000,000
  5. 5Bytes Per Flow Record= 76 bytes
  6. 6Raw Volume Per Day= 196,992,000,000
  7. 7Collector Ingest Bandwidth= 18.24 Mbit/s
  8. 8Retained Storage Required= 2.150 TB

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 6 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax or fees or charges into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 3 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is IPFIX Storage calculated?

record bytes = information elements × average field width + header, typically landing in the 40–70 byte range. Unlike fixed NetFlow v5, IPFIX record size depends entirely on the template you export, so the record cost is the sum of its information elements plus set overhead. Everything downstream — ingest bandwidth and stored bytes — scales linearly from that figure.

Why does IPFIX Storage matter?

Adding a handful of elements to a template looks harmless but multiplies across billions of records: widening a record from 40 to 76 bytes costs nearly double the array.

What values do I need to enter?

This calculator takes 6 inputs: Flows per second, Information elements per record, Average bytes per field, Per-record header overhead, Retention period, Compression ratio. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.

Why is IPFIX cheaper on the wire than it looks?

Templates are sent periodically rather than per record, and variable-length elements only carry the bytes they need. The per-record cost is therefore just the data fields, which is why a well-chosen template beats exporting every element available.

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