NetworkFirewall / Client / start_flow_capture

start_flow_capture#

NetworkFirewall.Client.start_flow_capture(**kwargs)#

Begins capturing the flows in a firewall, according to the filters you define. Captures are similar, but not identical to snapshots. Capture operations provide visibility into flows that are not closed and are tracked by a firewall’s flow table. Unlike snapshots, captures are a time-boxed view.

A flow is network traffic that is monitored by a firewall, either by stateful or stateless rules. For traffic to be considered part of a flow, it must share Destination, DestinationPort, Direction, Protocol, Source, and SourcePort.

Note

To avoid encountering operation limits, you should avoid starting captures with broad filters, like wide IP ranges. Instead, we recommend you define more specific criteria with FlowFilters, like narrow IP ranges, ports, or protocols.

See also: AWS API Documentation

Request Syntax

response = client.start_flow_capture(
    FirewallArn='string',
    AvailabilityZone='string',
    MinimumFlowAgeInSeconds=123,
    FlowFilters=[
        {
            'SourceAddress': {
                'AddressDefinition': 'string'
            },
            'DestinationAddress': {
                'AddressDefinition': 'string'
            },
            'SourcePort': 'string',
            'DestinationPort': 'string',
            'Protocols': [
                'string',
            ]
        },
    ]
)
Parameters:

  • FirewallArn (string) –

    [REQUIRED]

    The Amazon Resource Name (ARN) of the firewall.

  • AvailabilityZone (string) –

    The ID of the Availability Zone where the firewall is located. For example, us-east-2a.

    Defines the scope a flow operation. You can use up to 20 filters to configure a single flow operation.

  • MinimumFlowAgeInSeconds (integer) –

    The reqested FlowOperation ignores flows with an age (in seconds) lower than MinimumFlowAgeInSeconds. You provide this for start commands.

    Note

    We recommend setting this value to at least 1 minute (60 seconds) to reduce chance of capturing flows that are not yet established.

  • FlowFilters (list) –

    [REQUIRED]

    Defines the scope a flow operation. You can use up to 20 filters to configure a single flow operation.

    • (dict) –

      Defines the scope a flow operation. You can use up to 20 filters to configure a single flow operation.

      • SourceAddress (dict) –

        A single IP address specification. This is used in the MatchAttributes source and destination specifications.

        • AddressDefinition (string) – [REQUIRED]

          Specify an IP address or a block of IP addresses in Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) notation. Network Firewall supports all address ranges for IPv4 and IPv6.

          Examples:

          • To configure Network Firewall to inspect for the IP address 192.0.2.44, specify 192.0.2.44/32.

          • To configure Network Firewall to inspect for IP addresses from 192.0.2.0 to 192.0.2.255, specify 192.0.2.0/24.

          • To configure Network Firewall to inspect for the IP address 1111:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0111, specify 1111:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0111/128.

          • To configure Network Firewall to inspect for IP addresses from 1111:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000 to 1111:0000:0000:0000:ffff:ffff:ffff:ffff, specify 1111:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000/64.

          For more information about CIDR notation, see the Wikipedia entry Classless Inter-Domain Routing.

      • DestinationAddress (dict) –

        A single IP address specification. This is used in the MatchAttributes source and destination specifications.

        • AddressDefinition (string) – [REQUIRED]

          Specify an IP address or a block of IP addresses in Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) notation. Network Firewall supports all address ranges for IPv4 and IPv6.

          Examples:

          • To configure Network Firewall to inspect for the IP address 192.0.2.44, specify 192.0.2.44/32.

          • To configure Network Firewall to inspect for IP addresses from 192.0.2.0 to 192.0.2.255, specify 192.0.2.0/24.

          • To configure Network Firewall to inspect for the IP address 1111:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0111, specify 1111:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0111/128.

          • To configure Network Firewall to inspect for IP addresses from 1111:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000 to 1111:0000:0000:0000:ffff:ffff:ffff:ffff, specify 1111:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000/64.

          For more information about CIDR notation, see the Wikipedia entry Classless Inter-Domain Routing.

      • SourcePort (string) –

        The source port to inspect for. You can specify an individual port, for example 1994 and you can specify a port range, for example 1990:1994. To match with any port, specify ANY.

      • DestinationPort (string) –

        The destination port to inspect for. You can specify an individual port, for example 1994 and you can specify a port range, for example 1990:1994. To match with any port, specify ANY.

      • Protocols (list) –

        The protocols to inspect for, specified using the assigned internet protocol number (IANA) for each protocol. If not specified, this matches with any protocol.

        • (string) –

Return type:

dict

Returns:

Response Syntax

{
    'FirewallArn': 'string',
    'FlowOperationId': 'string',
    'FlowOperationStatus': 'COMPLETED'|'IN_PROGRESS'|'FAILED'|'COMPLETED_WITH_ERRORS'
}

Response Structure

  • (dict) –

    • FirewallArn (string) –

      The Amazon Resource Name (ARN) of the firewall.

    • FlowOperationId (string) –

      A unique identifier for the flow operation. This ID is returned in the responses to start and list commands. You provide to describe commands.

    • FlowOperationStatus (string) –

      Returns the status of the flow operation. This string is returned in the responses to start, list, and describe commands.

      If the status is COMPLETED_WITH_ERRORS, results may be returned with any number of Flows missing from the response. If the status is FAILED, Flows returned will be empty.

Exceptions