"It's the Unicorn we've been looking for!"

This was the response I got the other day when I was explaining to a customer the benefits of looking back at packets before and after they pass through an active, inline device and a packet capture or forensics tool.

Simply put, how else will enterprise networks have real-time knowledge of an attempted attack, as well as the ability to look back and see how the packets were altered or dropped?

Historical lookback aka before & after, is solution that uses hybrid bypass TAPs with monitoring ports that allow both security tools, such as next-gen firewalls and intrusion prevention systems to share packets with multiple monitoring tools such as network packet capture, forensics, deep packet inspection, etc.

Generic MPO connectors have been the standard for network architects who require density and strive for shorter install times, as well as simplified cabling infrastructure for their 40G/100G data centers. Multi-mode MPO connectors can pack 12, 24, or 72 fibers into one ferrule, this increased density has bolstered its appeal, especially in the space-restricted data center market.

However, in higher fiber count MPO connectors, an additional loss penalty has come to be expected due to the difficulty in achieving physical contact across all of the fibers.

Learn how US Conec's MTP^® brand connectors boast the lowest dB loss... 

Packets don’t lie – well, most of the time.

They tell the truth unless they have been captured incorrectly. In those cases, packets can tell bold-faced lies.

When digging through trace files, we can come upon symptoms in the packets that may raise an eyebrow. These are events that look strange on the surface and may even divert our troubleshooting focus for a time. In fact, some of these issues have misdirected engineers for hours, if not days, causing them to chase down issues and events that simply did not exist on the wire.

Since I began my career as a network engineer in the mid ‘90s, I have always considered network uptime and security to be the ultimate metrics against which all innovations in the communications industry should be measured.  

In fact, these two principles were the guiding force behind my seminal work designing a network TAP and the reason that Garland Technology today is a successful American enterprise with solutions deployed worldwide.

In a previous blog, we explained what makes Garland TAPs different from the competitors.

In this post, I'll explain why Garland takes extra steps to ensure a quality made and tested network TAP, and the importance of US manufacturing.

In the world of technology, social media is starting to become king. Just think about this for a minute, 15 years ago, there was no Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat.

Now, it seems every American is on one or all of these devices. Social media has become such a fabric in our culture that there isn’t a time when you don’t see someone walking with their head down looking at their phones.

Learn how social engineering is the new gold mine.