DDoS detection that actually works
in the cloud
FastNetMon requires dedicated hardware,[1] a BGP router, and breaks in cloud environments.[1] Flowtriq deploys in 5 minutes on any Linux server with no infrastructure dependencies.
Why teams switch
The real cost of running FastNetMon
FastNetMon is a capable tool for ISPs with dedicated router infrastructure, but most modern teams run into the same four walls.
Requires dedicated hardware
FastNetMon Advanced requires a dedicated server with at minimum 16 GB RAM, 150 GB+ SSD storage, and 8 CPU cores (SSE 4.2 required, AVX recommended) — plus 4 additional cores per monitored port in SPAN/mirror mode, where the server receives a full copy of your network traffic. This hardware cost — typically $60-$150/month — is separate from your license fee. [1]
BGP router required for mitigation
FastNetMon's automated mitigation — BGP blackhole (RTBH) and BGP FlowSpec — requires a BGP session with at least one BGP-capable router.[1] Without it, FastNetMon is detection and alerting only; it cannot block traffic. FlowSpec additionally requires FlowSpec-capable routers, which not all hardware supports.[1] FastNetMon also only supports 16-bit ASN numbers in BGP communities.[1]
No meaningful cloud support
Cloud providers (AWS, GCP, Azure) do not expose port mirroring or SPAN to tenants, so FastNetMon's most powerful capture mode is unavailable.[1] AWS VPC Flow Logs are supported, but their 10-15 minute delivery delay makes real-time DDoS response impossible.[1] FastNetMon's license is also bound to a hardware fingerprint and IP address, making auto-scaling and ephemeral cloud instances operationally incompatible.[1]
Community (free) version is limited
FastNetMon's own comparison page states Community offers "a limited set of capabilities that are sufficient only for basic DDoS detection." [2] It has no web UI (you must manually install Grafana and ClickHouse), no native SMTP alerting (script/webhook calls only), no BGP FlowSpec, no per-host thresholds, no REST API, no scrubbing center integration, no Clickhouse support, and no commercial support — only a public mailing list.
Side-by-side comparison
FastNetMon Advanced vs Flowtriq
A factual comparison across deployment, capabilities, cloud support, and operational requirements.
| Capability | Flowtriq | FastNetMon Advanced |
|---|---|---|
| Deployment | ||
| Setup time | 5 minutes (agent install) | Hours to days (server + router + BGP config) [1] |
| Hardware required | None — agent on existing server | Dedicated server (16 GB RAM, 150 GB+ SSD, 8 cores, SSE 4.2/AVX) [1] |
| BGP router required | Optional (BGP integration available) | Required for any automated mitigation [1] |
| License type | SaaS — per node, portable | Tied to hardware fingerprint & IP address [1] |
| Cloud & Infrastructure | ||
| AWS / GCP / Azure | Full support, native Linux agent | Severely limited — no SPAN, VPC Flow Logs only [1] |
| Real-time cloud detection | Sub-2-second detection on any cloud VM | 10-15 min VPC Flow Log delay prevents real-time response [1] |
| Bare metal / VPS | Full support | Full support (primary use case) |
| Auto-scaling / ephemeral instances | Fully supported | License breaks on IP change — requires support contact [1] |
| Detection & Visibility | ||
| Detection method | Kernel-level per-server monitoring | sFlow / NetFlow / IPFIX / SPAN sampling |
| Attack classification | Automatic multi-vector classification | Threshold-based only (no ML/behavioral) [2] |
| PCAP capture | Automatic PCAP on every attack | Not available [2] |
| Per-host thresholds | Per-server dynamic baselines | Advanced only — Community uses global thresholds [2] |
| Alerting & Integrations | ||
| Alert channels | Slack, Discord, PagerDuty, OpsGenie, SMS, email, webhook | Email via custom script only (Community) / webhook (Advanced) [2] |
| Web dashboard | Built-in | Must self-host Grafana + ClickHouse [2] |
| REST API | Full REST API included | Advanced only — Community has basic CLI/gRPC only [2] |
| Prometheus / Grafana | Native Prometheus export | Prometheus is Advanced-only; manual Grafana setup required [2] |
| Pricing | ||
| Starting price | $9.99/node/month ($7.99 annual) or from $19/flow source | $115/month (10G) + $85 activation + separate server cost [3] |
| Multi-site | One plan covers all nodes | Separate license per instance — costs multiply [3] |
| Support | Included on all plans | 1-3 tickets/month on standard; Community mailing list only [3] |
FastNetMon Advanced vs Flowtriq TCO Calculator — Plug in your traffic volume and number of servers to see the true total cost of ownership, including the server hardware FastNetMon requires that is easy to forget.
Calculate →Free vs free
FastNetMon Community vs Flowtriq
FastNetMon Community is open source and free to download. Flowtriq offers a 7-day free trial. Here is what each delivers out of the box.
FastNetMon Community
- No web UI — must install Grafana + ClickHouse manually [2]
- No built-in email alerts — requires custom shell script [2]
- No BGP FlowSpec (Advanced-only feature) [2]
- Global thresholds only — no per-host detection [2]
- No REST API (basic CLI + gRPC only) [2]
- No scrubbing center integration [2]
- No Prometheus support [2]
- Community mailing list only — no commercial support [2]
- FastNetMon: Community offers capabilities "sufficient only for basic DDoS detection" [2]
- sFlow, NetFlow, IPFIX, SPAN detection
- BGP blackhole (RTBH) mitigation
Flowtriq
- Built-in web dashboard — no external tools to configure
- Email, Slack, Discord, PagerDuty, SMS, webhook alerts
- Automatic PCAP capture on every attack
- Per-server dynamic baseline detection
- Full REST API & webhooks
- BGP blackhole integration (optional)
- Prometheus & Grafana native export
- Commercial support included on all plans
- Works on AWS, GCP, Azure, bare metal, VPS
- No dedicated server required
- 5-minute install — one command
Who each tool serves
Different tools for different teams
FastNetMon is purpose-built for a specific infrastructure profile. Flowtriq is built for a wider range of modern deployments.
Flowtriq works well for
Hosting providers, ISPs, cloud-hosted infrastructure, game server hosts, fintech and e-commerce teams, VPS operators, teams on AWS/GCP/Azure, organizations without their own BGP routers, multi-site deployments, and teams that need fast time-to-detection without network engineering expertise.
FastNetMon Advanced works well for
Large ISPs and telcos with existing BGP router infrastructure, carriers operating their own IP prefixes and autonomous systems, network engineers comfortable with BGP operations and FlowSpec configuration, and organizations that need flow-based network-wide monitoring from a dedicated appliance with SPAN/mirror access.
FastNetMon Community struggles with
Production workloads (FastNetMon's compare page describes Community capabilities as "sufficient only for basic DDoS detection" [2]), cloud deployments, teams without dedicated servers, organizations that need alerting without scripting custom integrations, and teams that want a working dashboard without standing up and configuring Grafana and ClickHouse manually.
Use both together
Flowtriq and FastNetMon are complementary. ISPs can run FastNetMon for flow-based network-wide detection while running Flowtriq agents on individual servers for per-host PCAP forensics and granular per-server alerting. The tools operate at different layers and do not conflict.
Common questions
FastNetMon alternatives: FAQ
Migration guide
Switch from FastNetMon
in a few hours
Our migration guide walks you through every step, from installing the Flowtriq agent to decommissioning your FastNetMon instance. Migration support is available from the Flowtriq team, and migration credits may be available if you reach out.