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Importance of Network Visibility in Enhancing Business Efficiency and Security

September 7, 2023

Network Visibility Solutions

Summary

Today's organizations depend significantly on IT networks to operate effectively and safely in the increasingly linked digital economy. Network visibility has emerged as a key factor in accomplishing these objectives in recent years. This blog post delves into the significance of network visibility and how it may improve productivity and safety in the workplace. By gaining an in-depth familiarity with what network visibility implies and how it benefits businesses, we can boldly take on the challenges of today's commercial world.

"Network visibility" is no longer just a buzzword in IT; it is now essential to the success of every contemporary organization. This blog post will break down the relevance of network visibility and explain how it plays a key part in making businesses more efficient and secure.

The Essence of Network Visibility

"Network visibility" describes the complete monitoring and analysis of all network activity. This requires collecting, analyzing, and displaying network data so that enterprises may draw useful conclusions. To make educated decisions, network visibility is essential for pinpointing performance bottlenecks, monitoring user activity, and seeing possible security concerns.


Enhancing Business Efficiency

In today's fast-paced business landscape, efficiency is paramount. Here's how network visibility contributes to streamlined operations and optimized resource utilization:

  1. Performance Optimization: With network visibility, companies can keep tabs on their networks in real-time, pinpointing any slowdowns or bottlenecks. With this knowledge, IT departments better configure networks, distribute resources, and guarantee a smooth user experience. E-commerce websites may monitor traffic patterns and adjust resource allocations accordingly to avoid downtime at crucial moments.
  2. Resource Utilization: Network visibility enables the identification of overutilized or underutilized resources. This information aids in making informed decisions about resource allocation, thereby preventing waste and reducing operational costs. By tracking resource utilization patterns, businesses can allocate resources dynamically, ensuring that critical applications receive the necessary computing power while non-essential processes do not drain excess resources.
  3. Troubleshooting and Root Cause Analysis: When issues arise, network visibility provides the necessary data to diagnose problems and identify their root causes swiftly. This minimizes downtime, accelerates issue resolution, and maintains uninterrupted business operations. For example, if an online banking platform experiences intermittent connectivity issues, network visibility tools can pinpoint the specific segment of the network causing the problem, enabling prompt resolution.

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Strengthening Security Measures

In an era where cyber threats loom large, safeguarding sensitive data and maintaining cybersecurity is non-negotiable. Here's how network visibility bolsters security measures:

  1. Threat Detection and Response: Network visibility is a vigilant eye, detecting unusual or malicious activities that might indicate a security breach. Businesses can promptly respond to threats by analyzing traffic patterns and preventing potential data breaches or unauthorized access. For instance, if an organization's network traffic suddenly spikes from an unfamiliar location, network visibility tools can trigger alerts, allowing security teams to investigate and take appropriate action.
  2. Anomaly Detection: With network visibility, businesses can establish baselines of normal network behavior. Deviations from these baselines are flagged as anomalies, potentially signifying security breaches and enabling proactive security measures. Suppose a company's internal network typically has a consistent level of data exchange between departments. In the event of a sudden and unexplained surge in data traffic, network visibility tools can detect this anomaly and alert the security team to investigate potential breaches.
  3. Compliance and Regulatory Requirements: Many industries are subject to strict data protection regulations. Network visibility aids in monitoring and verifying compliance, ensuring that legal standards handle sensitive data. For instance, the healthcare industry must adhere to regulations like HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). Network visibility allows healthcare organizations to monitor the flow of patient data, ensuring it's encrypted and transferred securely to meet compliance standards.


In conclusion, network visibility is an indispensable tool for businesses seeking to thrive in the digital age. Enhancing both efficiency and security empowers enterprises to make informed decisions, detect and mitigate threats, and ensure compliance with regulations. As networks evolve, cultivating a comprehensive understanding of network visibility will be instrumental in achieving enduring success in the competitive business landscape.

Looking to dive deeper into network visibility solutions and their benefits, but not sure where to start? Join us a for a brief network Design-IT consultation or demo. No obligation - it’s what we love to do.

Glossary:

  1. Network Visibility: The ability to monitor, analyze, and understand data traffic flowing across a network, providing insights into network performance, user behavior, and potential security threats.
  2. Performance Optimization: Improving network efficiency and user experiences by identifying and rectifying congestion, latency, and resource allocation issues.
  3. Threat Detection: Identifying potential security breaches or malicious activities within a network, often facilitated by analyzing abnormal traffic patterns.
  4. Anomaly Detection: The practice of recognizing deviations from established patterns of network behavior, which may indicate security breaches or operational irregularities.
  5. Compliance: Adherence to industry-specific regulations and standards regarding data handling, storage, and protection.
  6. Root Cause Analysis: The process of investigating and identifying the underlying reasons behind network issues or incidents to prevent recurrence.

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Heartbeats Packets Inside the Bypass TAP

If the inline security tool goes off-line, the TAP will bypass the tool and automatically keep the link flowing. The Bypass TAP does this by sending heartbeat packets to the inline security tool. As long as the inline security tool is on-line, the heartbeat packets will be returned to the TAP, and the link traffic will continue to flow through the inline security tool.

If the heartbeat packets are not returned to the TAP (indicating that the inline security tool has gone off-line), the TAP will automatically 'bypass' the inline security tool and keep the link traffic flowing. The TAP also removes the heartbeat packets before sending the network traffic back onto the critical link.

While the TAP is in bypass mode, it continues to send heartbeat packets out to the inline security tool so that once the tool is back on-line, it will begin returning the heartbeat packets back to the TAP indicating that the tool is ready to go back to work. The TAP will then direct the network traffic back through the inline security tool along with the heartbeat packets placing the tool back inline.

Some of you may have noticed a flaw in the logic behind this solution!  You say, “What if the TAP should fail because it is also in-line? Then the link will also fail!” The TAP would now be considered a point of failure. That is a good catch – but in our blog on Bypass vs. Failsafe, I explained that if a TAP were to fail or lose power, it must provide failsafe protection to the link it is attached to. So our network TAP will go into Failsafe mode keeping the link flowing.

Glossary

  1. Single point of failure: a risk to an IT network if one part of the system brings down a larger part of the entire system.

  2. Heartbeat packet: a soft detection technology that monitors the health of inline appliances. Read the heartbeat packet blog here.

  3. Critical link: the connection between two or more network devices or appliances that if the connection fails then the network is disrupted.

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