[Infographic]Tapping to the Music—The Current State of Network TAPs and Beyond

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 enjoy some modern rock and see how far we’ve come in the network visibility narrative—and where we’re headed in the future.

2010’s: A Decade of International and Network Turmoil

2010 started off with some bad news—a horrible earthquake in Haiti. Networks were also shaken by tougher and more malicious attacks, new business, application and cloud demands, and a new wave selection of network products aimed at making things safer and more robust.

Hard core hackers drove the need for better forensics, while terrorists prompted an increased demand for lawful intercept. On another stage, next generation firewalls added greater protection, but were just one more element network managers had to deal with. 

Let’s Get Visible

Dave Grohl may have been learning to fly, but network pros need to learn to see. And what they need to see is traffic. IT needs to see everything—every bit, byte, and packet^®—on the network if they are to avoid a big money wrench. And they need to do proper forensics if they want to be an IT hero.

In short, network visibility isn’t just a wish, but a must-have.

As networks gain complexity, tools such as network TAPs have to grow in function as well if true visibility is to be achieved. The new rage in 2010 was hybrid bypass network TAPs with packet broker capabilities, and using these to connect security and monitoring tools.

What’s on TAP for the future?

Moore’s Law defined how processors would double in power every 18 months. In networking, bandwidth doesn’t increase in such a prescribed rate. We do, however, make leaps that would make David Lee Roth (yes, he can still jump) jealous. Take Ethernet. In the 30 years since it was invented by Bob Metcalf, it has gone from 3Mbps to 100Gps, and did so with many multi-fold increases in speed.

Can appliances made in the last decade keep up the now more common 10Gps, 40Gps, and 100Gps nets of the future?

Like teen rockers looking for Foo Fighter tickets, IT can’t get enough network visibility. And they will line up around the corner for the best security and monitoring tools.

The Evolution of Network Visibility Infographic—Tapping to the Music

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.