<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none;" alt="" src="https://px.ads.linkedin.com/collect/?pid=2975524&amp;fmt=gif">
BLOG

Garland Technology Boosts Security Operations With Update To Cisco Security Solution

December 20, 2019

Buffalo, NY, December 20, 2019 - Garland Technology, a leading provider of network test access point (TAP), packet broker, and cloud visibility solutions, today announced the completion of a technology solution with Cisco, a global leader in telecommunications, security, network infrastructure, and IT applications. As part of the Cisco Solution Partner Program since 2005, Garland Technology provides visibility and access for Cisco security and performance monitoring solutions. 

“The strong relationship between Garland Technology and Cisco spans across a spectrum of supported products ensuring 100% network uptime and visibility,” says Chris Bihary, CEO & Co-founder at Garland Technology. “Our seamless certified solution provides 100% network visibility and access for Cisco’s security and performance monitoring solutions.”

Garland Technology’s Inline Edge Security solutions provide bypass connectivity to allow complete lifecycle management for Cisco Firewalls or Firepower NGIPS, while replicating traffic for use with all out-of-band tools for further analysis. Garland also supports Cisco’s BiDirectional Optical Technology with its unique BiDi design, which enables the flexibility to TAP and load balance data up to 100G over users’ existing cable infrastructure. The solution provides increased resiliency of the network while providing the functionality to expedite troubleshooting and shorten maintenance windows. 

For more information on the Cisco Security and Garland Technology updated joint solution, visit www.garlandtechnology.com/cisco 

See Everything. Secure Everything.

Contact us now to secure and optimized your network operations
Contact Us

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.

NETWORK MANAGEMENT | THE 101 SERIES