The Holidays, like new IT & OT network projects, requires planning to ensure all stakeholders are happy. But often, things don’t as planned. This blog discusses common snags the Garland engineering team hears from customers in the field and highlights potential solutions.
Maximizing the merriment in December requires Santa-like scheduling superpowers. There are friends and family to visit, gifts to buy, cookies to bake, and Hallmark movies to binge.
Likely, there’s also a holiday sweater to dig out and dust off to flaunt your festive self. But, it’s hard to eat, drink, and be merry when you spot a snag or two slowly unraveling your favorite snowman sweater.
Regardless of the level of merrymaking on your calendar, you still have that day job to look after: managing your company’s IT and / or OT network. And, if you’re like me, you’ll take a sweater snag over a snag in a new network deployment every single time. Those little unplanned surprises can get costly quickly.
Have you recently deployed a new NDR, IDS, SIEM, or OT security sensor on your network?
Do any of these snags sound familiar?
These obstacles are not project-enders by any means, but they do introduce delays. Delays are costly and annoying. Good news! Network TAPs can help take the annoyance out of deployment.
Network TAPs are plug-and-play devices that immediately start sending copies of network traffic to out-of-band tools like NDR, IDS, SIEM, or OT security sensor. Using a TAP to connect a new tool ensures the tool receives all of the required network traffic.
TAPs are a proven best practice for feeding packets to tools. SPAN ports can drop packets when oversubscribed, which prevents connected tools from delivering on their promise of performance.
Network TAPs come in a wide variety of types and specifications, so you can overcome unexpected network requirements ... without missing the holiday party. TAPs can be passive or active, and can breakout, aggregate, and regenerate traffic. They’re available in various media types including copper, fiber, SFP, SFP+. TAPs come in various speeds from 10/100/1000M all the way to 100G. Form factors include pocket-size portable, rack mount portable, 1U and 2U modular, and high-density chassis.
TAPs are easy to install and manage. They just need to be connected to the network via the correct media cable. Once turned on, they provide 24/7 access to all of the data at that link in the network. Certain types of TAPs can be configured via dip switches or a user-friendly GUI. SPAN ports on a switch require configuration. They can easily be misconfigured or even accidentally shut off. Alvin!
Hardware Data Diodes and Data Diode TAPs are useful and cost-effective solutions to help provide an additional layer of security in OT networks. There are situations where the use of SPAN/Mirror ports is still needed for visibility in an OT network. In these instances, it is best practice to connect the SPAN/Mirror port to a hardware Data Diode to pass the mirrored data onto the monitoring and security sensors. Using hardware Data Diodes eliminate bidirectional traffic flow ensuring that no data is passed back into the Switch Mirror port.
Should you encounter a snag in your deployment of a new NDR, IDS, SIEM, or OT security sensor don’t sweat it. The versatility and reliability of network TAPs can restart your delayed project, without additional surprises. Be prepared to share some details about your project to help identify the correct TAP solution quickly. For example:
An expert in network TAPs can guide you through the selection process to identify the correct the solution for your deployment.
Garland Technology has the largest portfolio of network TAPs in the industry. There are no license fees or hidden long-term commitments. The majority of our network TAPs are in-stock and ready to ship. Also, Garland Technology’s team of expert Engineers are available to discuss any deployment snags you encounter. Often a 15-minute conversation can get your install back on track, without breaking the budget.
Don’t get your tinsel in a tangle this holiday season. Connect with one of our expert Engineers to ensure your next IT network installation is smooth and snag-free. Join us for a brief network Design-IT evaluation or demo. No obligation - it’s what we love to do.
Operational Technology (OT): Hardware and software controlling and monitoring physical processes in an industrial operation, such as manufacturing.
Network TAP (Terminal Access Point): A network TAP is a purpose-built hardware device that allows you to access and monitor your network traffic by copying packets without impacting or compromising network integrity.
Port Mirroring: Also known as SPAN (Switch Port Analyzer), are designated ports on a network appliance (switch), that are programmed to send a copy of network packets seen on one port (or an entire VLAN) to another port, where the packets can be analyzed.
Hardware Data Diodes: Purpose-built network devices that enforce one-way data flow for Switch Mirror ports with physical hardware separation, ensuring any ethernet packet flows in one direction out the monitoring ports.