6
Votes

Deep Packet Inspection - Add "Unknown" Traffic Category for Unclassified Network Usage

 
6
Votes

Deep Packet Inspection - Add "Unknown" Traffic Category for Unclassified Network Usage

Deep Packet Inspection - Add "Unknown" Traffic Category for Unclassified Network Usage
Deep Packet Inspection - Add "Unknown" Traffic Category for Unclassified Network Usage
2025-07-07 12:25:03
Tags: #Deep Packet Inspection
Hardware Version:
Firmware Version: 5.15.24.18

Currently, Omada Controller provides a detailed breakdown of categorized network traffic across various application types (e.g., Streaming, Social, Gaming, Business). However, in scenarios where certain traffic types are unclassified — due to encryption, unidentified protocols, new apps, or missing signatures — there is no fallback category for such traffic. This results in potential gaps in network visibility and makes it difficult to account for the total bandwidth used.

 

In comparison, other platforms like UniFi include an "Unknown" traffic bucket to capture any traffic that cannot be classified. This is extremely useful for:

  • Monitoring unidentified or suspicious traffic

  • Understanding gaps in DPI or classification coverage

  • Ensuring total traffic visibility and accountability

 

Suggested Implementation:

  • Introduce an "Unknown" category in the traffic analytics dashboard.

  • Any traffic that doesn't match known application signatures or protocols should be grouped here.
     

This addition will greatly enhance network visibility and make Omada a more robust solution for admins who require complete traffic transparency.

 

(Description generated by ChatGPT 😉)

 

UniFi -> 

 

Omada ->

#1
Options
3 Reply
Re:Deep Packet Inspection - Add "Unknown" Traffic Category for Unclassified Network Usage
2025-07-09 02:43:22

Hi  @di-vin 

Thanks for posting here.

As you can see, our categories are already quite comprehensive.

May I ask what type of traffic you're referring to that isn't covered by these classifications? Please list some examples so we could understand better.

#2
Options
Re:Deep Packet Inspection - Add "Unknown" Traffic Category for Unclassified Network Usage
2025-07-09 04:37:22

Hi  @Vincent-TP

 

Thanks for the response.

 

I agree that Omada SDN already provides a comprehensive DPI classification system. But, I've noticed some traffic is not being captured. For instance, one day router WAN port reported over 80 GB of usage, but the DPI dashboard only showed around 53 GB. On checking, I found that one device was using a WireGuard VPN, and that traffic was completely missing. Similarly, traffic to my work VPN (UniFi Identity Enterprise) is also not visible on DPI dashboard.

 

So, even if the DPI can't categorize the traffic, it would be helpful to see all the Unclassified/Unknown traffic to identify such gap.

#3
Options
Re:Deep Packet Inspection - Add "Unknown" Traffic Category for Unclassified Network Usage
2025-07-09 06:28:39

  @di-vin 

 

Hello, thank you for the explanation. We appreciate all your feedback and feature requests here.

I will log this feature request and pass it along to the relevant team.


Feel free to let us know of any other feature requests you may have; we’d be happy to send them up for you.

#4
Options