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Visibility Solutions

Garland Technology is committed to educating the benefits of having a strong foundation of network visibility and access. By providing this insight we protect the security of data across your network and beyond.

Resources

Garland Technology's resource library offers free use of white papers, eBooks, use cases, infographics, data sheets, video demos and more.

Blog

The TAP into Technology blog provides the latest news and insights on network access and visibility, including: network security, network monitoring and appliance connectivity and guest blogs from Industry experts and technology partners

Partners

Our extensive technology partnership ecosystem solves critical problems when it comes to network security, monitoring, application analysis, forensics and packet inspection.

Company

Garland Technology is dedicated to high standards in quality and reliability, while delivering the greatest economical solutions for enterprise, service providers, and government agencies worldwide.

Contact

Whether you are ready to make a network TAP your foundation of visibility or just have questions, please contact us. Ask us about the Garland Difference!

Unlock the Full Potential
of Your Network Visibility

Discover How the Right Network Access Solution Can
Elevate Your Security and Monitoring Capabilities.

Download Whitepaper

 

Security Challenges

 

Key Solution Benefits

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Garland EdgeLens Solution

Garland’s EdgeLens series is an advanced bypass TAP with built-in packet broker functionality that centralizes network traffic, making network tools more efficient by sharing network traffic with monitoring and security tools. EdgeLens provides visibility for a hybrid configuration of an active, inline network device and out-of-band tools, such as LiveAction. EdgeLens provides identical network traffic streams through the active inline device and to the capture engine of LiveAction LiveWire or LiveCapture. The benefits of both devices seeing the same traffic are:

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Correlated data for real-time monitoring and root cause analysis using network packets.
Historical look back and playback of the network traffic.
Validating and updating network policy changes and spotting anomalies.
Network data recording for compliance and security forensics.
Root cause analysis for application and network related problems.

 

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TAP -> TOOL

Importance of Choosing the Right Access Technology

The foundation of effective network visibility lies in the method used to access traffic data. Two primary technologies dominate this space: Test Access Points (TAPs) and Switched Port Analyzer (SPAN) ports. The choice between TAP and SPAN can significantly impact your network's security posture, performance analysis, and compliance reporting. TAPs are known for providing an unaltered and complete view of network traffic, ensuring that every packet is accounted for, including errors and anomalies. This level of access is crucial for accurate monitoring, analysis, and decision-making. On the other hand, SPAN ports, while convenient and cost-effective, may not capture every packet, especially under high traffic conditions, leading to gaps in visibility and potential security risks. Therefore, selecting the right access technology is not just a technical decision but a strategic one that affects the entirety of your network management and security strategy.

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"The switch treats SPAN data with a lower priority than to-port data...the best strategy is to make decisions based on the traffic levels of the configuration and when in doubt to use the SPAN port only for relatively low-throughput situations."

Cisco

Unlocking Network Visibility: The TAP Advantage

Dive into the essentials of network visibility and discover how Test Access Points (TAPs) elevate your network monitoring and security beyond the limitations of SPAN ports. Understand the critical role TAP technology plays in ensuring complete, real-time visibility into your network traffic, essential for today's security, compliance, and monitoring requirements.

 

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The Power of TAP: Ensuring Comprehensive Network Monitoring

Take a closer look at TAP technology and why it's considered the gold standard in network visibility. From capturing every packet without fail to supporting all network speeds without impacting performance, learn how TAPs provide the reliability, scalability, and security necessary for effective network management.

 

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TAP vs. SPAN: Making the Informed Choice

In this final segment, compare TAP and SPAN technologies side by side to see why TAPs are the superior choice for ensuring network integrity, performance, and security. Discover the limitations of SPAN and how TAPs overcome these challenges, providing 100% accurate data capture and unmatched monitoring capabilities.

 

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Start Improving Your Network Visibility Today

  • Comparison Table
  • key takeaways
  • FAQ: Common Questions

Below is a detailed comparison table that highlights the key differences between Test Access Points (TAPs) and Switched Port Analyzer (SPAN) ports, focusing on several critical aspects of network monitoring and visibility.

Feature TAPs (Test Access Points) SPAN Ports
Data Capture Capture 100% of traffic, including errors and all packet sizes. May miss packets, especially during high traffic.
Impact on Network No impact on network performance as they are passive devices. Can introduce latency and affect switch performance.
Accuracy Provide an exact, unaltered copy of the traffic for accurate monitoring and analysis. Altered data due to processing, leading to potential inaccuracies.
Reliability Highly reliable as they do not depend on the network's state or configuration. Reliability can be affected by switch CPU load or configuration errors.
Security More secure, offering a tamper-proof method of traffic capture. Vulnerable to misconfigurations and potentially accessible by unauthorized users.
Packet Loss No packet loss, ensuring complete visibility into network activities. Possible packet loss under heavy load, leading to gaps in visibility.
Monitoring Impact Passive monitoring without altering traffic flow or timing. May alter packet timing, affecting real-time analysis.
Implementation Requires physical installation, which can be seen as complex and higher initial cost. Configured through software, offering flexibility and lower initial cost.
Scalability Can be perceived as less scalable due to the need for physical devices for each link. Easily scalable within the switch's capacity by reconfiguring ports.
Legal Compliance Forensically sound, making them suitable for compliance and legal investigations. May not provide the level of detail required for legal compliance due to data alteration and potential packet loss.
Visibility into Errors Captures every packet, including error packets, for a comprehensive network assessment. Typically filters out error packets, which can hide potential issues.

 

  • How It Works
  • Bypass TAP Benefits
  • Full PDF Solution Brief
  • How It Works
  • How It Works
  • How It Works

Bypass manages the availability of inline tools, preventing a single point of failure in the network by “bypassing” the device in the event it fails or needs to be updated. Reducing network downtime. Bypass is unique to the other TAP modes, as it is an inline use case not out-of-band.