Can Your Packet Broker Do This?- Part 3

Posted by Mike Fecher on Mar 5, 2020 12:55:05 PM

This is a continuation of our blog series on the advanced functions for network visibility solutions with fully programmable data pipelines. Read our introduction to the series here.

Another great example of the power behind fully programmable pipelines is the ability to gain insight into the actual visibility solution itself. Solutions such as the MantisNet RFP-NG are able to leverage the processing logic of these pipelines to better visualize what types of events are unfolding on the wire over time and provide metrics related to the rules that are running. Once again, let’s simplify things here for a moment to best understand this concept….

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Tags: network preformance, cyber security, IT operations, Real-Time Monitoring, DNS Monitoring, mantis

Can Your Packet Broker Do This?- Part 2

Posted by Mike Fecher on Mar 5, 2020 12:45:41 PM

This is a continuation of our blog series on the advanced functions for network visibility solutions with fully programmable data pipelines. Read our introduction to the series here.

The biggest elephant in the network visibility room has always been the fact that you don’t know what you are missing. If there are packets with structures that fall outside of your fixed-function ASIC-based chip/solutions capabilities (and trust me, there always are), you are not only going to drop those packets, but you also have zero indication that you just missed a packet. The packets simply fail to parse, and you will not know that you are missing that information. You can’t control, what you can’t see.

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Tags: network preformance, cyber security, IT operations, Real-Time Monitoring, DNS Monitoring, mantis

Can Your Packet Broker Do This?

Posted by Mike Fecher on Feb 24, 2020 1:40:27 PM

This is the first in a series of blog posts that examine the topic of fully programmable data pipelines and their potential to transform the network visibility industry. Within this series we will be discussing what a programmable pipeline actually is, how solutions built with programmable pipelines differ from what has been available on the market, and the advantages organizations stand to gain by adopting such solutions.

Before we begin, it is important to note that programmable pipelines are here today due to a key innovation made in the networking switch world- the development of a programmable ASIC/chip. This new chip, along with the open source language used to program the chip, have allowed a new breed of network visibility solutions to emerge. These solutions are dramatically different than legacy network packet brokers- solutions which are built using static, fixed-function ASICs.

Throughout this blog series we will make sure to cover the differences between these two solutions, as well as highlight the advanced visibility functions that are now available to users for the first time thanks to fully programmable data pipelines.

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Tags: network preformance, cyber security, IT operations, Real-Time Monitoring, DNS Monitoring, mantis

DNS observability and managing DNS workflows the foundation for network monitoring and cyber defense

Posted by Peter Dougherty on Jan 6, 2020 5:04:29 PM

DNS. A necessary mechanism that makes global network communications work, connecting services to the internet or private network, thereby powering our digital lives can also present confounding and problematic engineering challenges with cybersecurity implications. Site not responding, nefarious applications, applications not resolving, broken network connectivity…many initial responses are Is it DNS? it’s DNS, “It’s always DNS”.

DNS, the domain name system, connects domain names to IP addresses that locate and route information and traffic from a source location to a client can be the bane of many network and cybersecurity engineers as they maintain networks or investigate potential threats on the network.

We’ll look at this critical network component, its threat value and how you can make DNS an actionable component

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Tags: network preformance, cyber security, IT operations, Real-Time Monitoring, DNS Monitoring, mantis, cybersecurity

Network Monitoring Step 1: SPAN Ports vs. TAPs

Posted by MantisNet on Oct 4, 2017 7:17:07 PM
While deploying network monitoring tools, IT managers are often faced with questions, such as: "Can we do this and still ensure that we aren't impacting the production network?" or "Can I make sure that I can see 100% of network traffic?" or "What is the best way to get data into my monitoring and test tools?" 
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Tags: network engineering, test/lab automation, network preformance, cyber security, IT operations