---
description: Definitions for terms used across Network Flow documentation.
title: Glossary
image: https://developers.cloudflare.com/og-docs.png
---

[Skip to content](#main-content)

> Documentation Index  
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://developers.cloudflare.com/network-flow/llms.txt  
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Glossary

Last updated Aug 24, 2026|Copy as Markdown|[View as Markdown](https://docs-durable-objects-instance-replaced-errors.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/network-flow/glossary/index.md)|[Agent setup](https://docs-durable-objects-instance-replaced-errors.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/agent-setup/)

Review the definitions for terms used across Cloudflare's Network Flow (formerly Magic Network Monitoring) documentation.

| Term      | Definition                                                                                                                                |
| --------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| flow data | Represents records of communication between devices. There are a number of flow data protocols, such as NetFlow or sFlow.                 |
| NetFlow   | Network protocol developed by Cisco to collect and monitor network traffic flow data.                                                     |
| sampling  | In the context of Network Flow, sampling is the process of taking samples of packets for a specific period to identify potential attacks. |
| sFlow     | An industry standard packet sampling protocol to monitor network devices.                                                                 |

Was this helpful?

YesNo

## On this page

[![](https://docs-durable-objects-instance-replaced-errors.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/_astro/logo.te5VL_aD.svg)Docs](https://docs-durable-objects-instance-replaced-errors.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/)

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","@id":"https://developers.cloudflare.com/network-flow/glossary/#page","headline":"Glossary · Cloudflare Network Flow docs","description":"Definitions for terms used across Network Flow documentation.","url":"https://developers.cloudflare.com/network-flow/glossary/","inLanguage":"en","image":"https://developers.cloudflare.com/og-docs.png","dateModified":"2026-08-24","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Cloudflare","description":"One platform for your apps, agents, and workforce. Build, secure, and scale without managing infrastructure","url":"https://www.cloudflare.com/","sameAs":["https://github.com/cloudflare","https://www.linkedin.com/company/cloudflare","https://x.com/cloudflare"],"logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://developers.cloudflare.com/logo.svg"},"address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","streetAddress":"101 Townsend St","addressLocality":"San Francisco","addressRegion":"CA","postalCode":"94107","addressCountry":"US"},"contactPoint":[{"@type":"ContactPoint","contactType":"Customer Support","url":"https://support.cloudflare.com/","availableLanguage":["English"]},{"@type":"ContactPoint","contactType":"Sales","url":"https://www.cloudflare.com/contact/","availableLanguage":["English"]}]},"isPartOf":{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://developers.cloudflare.com/#website","name":"Cloudflare Docs","url":"https://developers.cloudflare.com/"}}
```