Updated Date: 07/07/2026
IPFIX Templates for AFM DNS Events
The IP Flow Information Export (IPFIX) Protocol is a logging mechanism for IP events. This appendix defines the IPFIX Information Elements (IEs) and Templates used to log F5’s Application Firewall Manager (AFM) DNS events. An IE is the smallest form of useful information in an IPFIX log message, such as an IP address or a timestamp for the event. An IPFIX template is an ordered collection of specific IEs used to record one IP event, such as the denial of a DNS query.
Information Elements (IEs) are individual fields in an IPFIX template. An IPFIX template describes a single Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) DNS event.
IANA maintains a list of standard IPFIX information elements (IEs), each with a unique element identifier. The F5 AFM DNS IPFIX implementation uses a subset of these IEs to publish AFM DNS events. This subset is summarized in the table.
| Information Element (IE) | ID | Size (Bytes) |
|---|---|---|
| destinationIPv4Address | 12 | 4 |
| destinationIPv6Address | 28 | 16 |
| destinationTransportPort | 11 | 2 |
| ingressVRFID | 234 | 4 |
| observationTimeMilliseconds | 323 | 8 |
| sourceIPv4Address | 8 | 4 |
| sourceIPv6Address | 27 | 16 |
| sourceTransportPort | 7 | 2 |
IPFIX provides for enterprises to define their own information elements (IEs). F5 currently uses the following non-standard IEs for AFM DNS events:
| Information Element (IE) | ID | Size (Bytes) |
|---|---|---|
| action | 12276 - 39 | Variable |
| attackEvent | 12276 - 41 | Variable |
| attackId | 12276 - 20 | 4 |
| attackName | 12276 - 21 | Variable |
| bigipHostName | 12276 - 10 | Variable |
| bigipMgmtIPv4Address | 12276 - 5 | 4 |
| bigipMgmtIPv6Address | 12276 - 6 | 16 |
| contextName | 12276 - 9 | Variable |
| deviceProduct | 12276 - 12 | Variable |
| deviceVendor | 12276 - 11 | Variable |
| deviceVersion | 12276 - 13 | Variable |
| dnsQueryType | 12276 - 8 | Variable |
| errdefsMsgNo | 12276 - 4 | 4 |
| flowId | 12276 - 3 | 8 |
| ipfixMsgNo | 12276 - 16 | 4 |
| messageSeverity | 12276 - 1 | 1 |
| msgName | 12276 - 14 | Variable |
| packetsDropped | 12276 - 23 | 4 |
| packetsReceived | 12276 - 22 | 4 |
| partitionName | 12276 - 2 | Variable |
| queryName | 12276 - 7 | Variable |
| vlanName | 12276 - 15 | Variable |
Note: IPFIX, unlike NetFlow v9, supports variable-length IEs, where the length is encoded within the field in the Data Record. NetFlow v9 collectors (and their variants) cannot correctly process variable-length IEs, so they are omitted from logs sent to those collector types.
This section enumerates the IPFIX templates that F5 uses to publish AFM DNS Events.
| Information Element (IE) | ID | Size (Bytes) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| action | 12276 - 39 | Variable | This IE is omitted for NetFlow v9. |
| bigipHostName | 12276 - 10 | Variable | This IE is omitted for NetFlow v9. |
| bigipMgmtIPv4Address | 12276 - 5 | 4 | |
| bigipMgmtIPv6Address | 12276 - 6 | 16 | |
| contextName | 12276 - 9 | Variable | This IE is omitted for NetFlow v9. |
| observationTimeMilliseconds | 323 | 8 | |
| destinationIPv4Address | 12 | 4 | |
| destinationIPv6Address | 28 | 16 | |
| destinationTransportPort | 11 | 2 | |
| deviceProduct | 12276 - 12 | Variable | This IE is omitted for NetFlow v9. |
| deviceVendor | 12276 - 11 | Variable | This IE is omitted for NetFlow v9. |
| deviceVersion | 12276 - 13 | Variable | This IE is omitted for NetFlow v9. |
| queryName | 12276 - 7 | Variable | This IE is omitted for NetFlow v9. |
| dnsQueryType | 12276 - 8 | Variable | This IE is omitted for NetFlow v9. |
| errdefsMsgNo | 12276 - 4 | 4 | |
| flowId | 12276 - 3 | 8 | |
| ipfixMsgNo | 12276 - 16 | 4 | |
| messageSeverity | 12276 - 1 | 1 | |
| partitionName | 12276 - 2 | Variable | This IE is omitted for NetFlow v9. |
| ingressVRFID | 234 | 4 | |
| sourceIPv4Address | 8 | 4 | |
| sourceIPv6Address | 27 | 16 | |
| sourceTransportPort | 7 | 2 | |
| vlanName | 12276 - 15 | Variable | This IE is omitted for NetFlow v9. |
| msgName | 12276 - 14 | Variable | This IE is omitted for NetFlow v9. |
| Information Element (IE) | ID | Size (Bytes) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| action | 12276 - 39 | Variable | This IE is omitted for NetFlow v9. |
| attackEvent | 12276 - 41 | Variable | This IE is omitted for NetFlow v9. |
| attackId | 12276 - 20 | 4 | |
| attackName | 12276 - 21 | Variable | This IE is omitted for NetFlow v9. |
| bigipHostName | 12276 - 10 | Variable | This IE is omitted for NetFlow v9. |
| bigipMgmtIPv4Address | 12276 - 5 | 4 | |
| bigipMgmtIPv6Address | 12276 - 6 | 16 | |
| contextName | 12276 - 9 | Variable | This IE is omitted for NetFlow v9. |
| observationTimeMilliseconds | 323 | 8 | |
| destinationIPv4Address | 12 | 4 | |
| destinationIPv6Address | 28 | 16 | |
| destinationTransportPort | 11 | 2 | |
| deviceProduct | 12276 - 12 | Variable | This IE is omitted for NetFlow v9. |
| deviceVendor | 12276 - 11 | Variable | This IE is omitted for NetFlow v9. |
| deviceVersion | 12276 - 13 | Variable | This IE is omitted for NetFlow v9. |
| queryName | 12276 - 7 | Variable | This IE is omitted for NetFlow v9. |
| dnsQueryType | 12276 - 8 | Variable | This IE is omitted for NetFlow v9. |
| errdefsMsgNo | 12276 - 4 | 4 | |
| flowId | 12276 - 3 | 8 | |
| ipfixMsgNo | 12276 - 16 | 4 | |
| messageSeverity | 12276 - 1 | 1 | |
| partitionName | 12276 - 2 | Variable | This IE is omitted for NetFlow v9. |
| ingressVRFID | 234 | 4 | |
| sourceIPv4Address | 8 | 4 | |
| sourceIPv6Address | 27 | 16 | |
| sourceTransportPort | 7 | 2 | |
| vlanName | 12276 - 15 | Variable | This IE is omitted for NetFlow v9. |
| msgName | 12276 - 14 | Variable | This IE is omitted for NetFlow v9. |
| packetsDropped | 12276 - 23 | 4 | |
| packetsReceived | 12276 - 22 | 4 |