In our new infographic, The Evolution of Network Visibility, we took a trip down melody lane to show readers the events and innovations that sparked the rise of network visibility.
Relax and rewind to some 1990s alternative rock and to the days when the cyber threat landscape emerged, beginning to shape the network visibility narrative.
By 1995, interconnected service providers were routing Internet traffic and the technology we now can’t live without was born. But even as companies like Amazon and Google emerged, hackers grew bolder and more threatening. In 1998, a group of hackers named L0pht was questioned by Congress and they testified that they could shut down the Internet in just 30 minutes—a horrific proposal.
As Pearl Jam contemplated their own coming Undone, it was clear that the Internet needed a better means of network security and visibility to avoid being pushed into everyone’s Rearviewmirror.
The 1990s was the era of the early firewall. Protecting networks at the edge made the most sense. If you could build an impenetrable castle and put a secure gate at the point of entry, you could do business in relative safety. Using SPAN ports for connectivity, visibility into the network at this phase helped fight cyber threats by protecting LANS.
While SPAN ports can provide network visibility, troubleshooting and maintenance meant the network had to come down because appliances were placed in the live wire. Also, any spike in traffic causes SPAN ports to drop packets and render firewalls useless. SPAN ports weren’t going to cut it for evolving visibility needs.
It didn’t seem like anything would be able to heal the Scar Tissue damaged by emerging cyber criminals, but hackers “couldn’t stop” the rise of network bypass TAPs as the leading option for network visibility and security appliance connectivity
In our Evolution of Network Visibility infographic, we cover the chain of events that have led us to the current state of network visibility. Just as the favorite rock bands of the decades have emerged and evolved, so too have network TAPs and security appliances.
Rock on and discover how each decade came to grips with the growing need for network visibility.
Tweet and tell us where your visibility story began #NetworkFlashback.