Why do you need a “REAL” TAP in today's Security, Performance, and compliance-focused network?

 

We have entered into the era of Data Security Legal Compliance and Lawful Intercept which requires that we must monitor all of the data and not just “sample” the data, with the exception of certain very focused monitoring technologies (e.g., application performance monitoring). These demands will continue to grow since we have become a very digitally-focused society. With the advent of VoIP and digital video we now have revenue-generating data that is connection-oriented and sensitive to bandwidth, loss, and delay. The older methods need reviewing and the aforementioned added complexity requires that we change some of the old habits to allow for “real” 100% Full Duplex real-time access to the critical data.

It's time to evaluate our network access points. If you are still using SPAN ports, you will be neglecting compliance regulations. As we know the top priority for a switch, of course, is to direct network traffic. Therefore, as the switch reaches capacity, packets to the SPAN port will be dropped. This problem is critical because, just as a need for switch traffic analysis presents itself (packets overrunning switch capacity), so does the condition when the SPAN port will not provide accurate switch traffic information.

Even in low utilization environments, there are certain packets such as undersized or error packets that can be filtered on the switch and never make it to the SPAN port. If the analysis requires 100% of packets to be submitted to the appliance, SPAN cannot guarantee such accuracy.

On the other hand, network TAPs (Test Access Points) make an exact copy of all of the traffic that flows between two end-points in a network. This simple device is able to document 100% capture with no packet manipulation. Once the data is copied, it can be used for monitoring, security, and analytic use.

In summary, being able to provide “real” access is not only important for Data Compliance Audits and Lawful Intercept events, it is the law (keeping our bosses out of jail has become a very high priority these days).

CORE-IT PROS- Accelerate The Learning Process

 There is no other way to say it so here it is, you cannot troubleshoot a network proficiently unless you have proper training and practice.

Part of the learning process is to take a course, read, watch others and then adapt any techniques to own style. Most analysts I speak to agree that having someone show you how to do something is the best approach. No time is wasted on the history of networking or topics that don’t apply to your situation or network.

Over the years I’m sure you have found your ‘favorite’ analyst, website, youtube channel, etc where you go to get information and help. Every site and presenter will have their own style that you gravitate to.

For example there are sites that have a lot of background info, footnotes and references for you to go through when explaining a topic. These sites may even have videos that are over 30 minutes long to dig into the nitty gritty. Then there are others that are short and sweet.

One of the unique things about the conference is that attendees will see three different troubleshooting and training approaches. In this video Laura covers this point.

Attend the www.COREITPROS.com conference with Laura Chappell, Mike Pennachi, Tony Fortunato August 22 - 26, 2022

Always check your software

 We all use software and many people assume that the software will update and ‘take care of‘ itself.

I’m sure you have gone to the effort of going to the Help->Check version menu option in your software to check as well.

I can’t tell how many times I take the extra step and manually go to the vendor’s website to find that they have more up to date software or drivers which might address any issues you may be having.

CORE-IT PROS – Mike and his Fire Extinguisher

 One of the highlights of working with Mike Pennachi and Laura Chappell on the Core-It Pros conference is learning new tips, tricks and sharing experiences.

I always find it fascinating that even though Mike, Laura and I have similar backgrounds, we have totally different stories to put a point across. Regardless of the story specifics, we do tend to agree on many of the basic points of troubleshooting and problem analysis. Its just that we have 3 different ways of getting there.

In this video Mike explains why he had a fire extinguisher on his desk.

Attend the www.COREITPROS.com conference with Laura Chappell, Mike Pennachi, Tony Fortunato August 22 - 26, 2022

CORE-IT PROS - Tech Tips - Wireshark Shortcut

 As part of the Core-it Pros conference (www.coreitpros.com) we will have a lot of Tech Tips available for the attendees. These Tech Tips are short tactical videos and written pieces that provide the attendees with more tips, tricks, and techniques that they can add to their toolbox. These Tech Tips, in combination with the Workshops, Labs, Case studies, and General sessions will give the attendees plenty of skills to use when they get back to work.

This video is an example of the Tech Tips you can expect during the event. Tony shows you how to create a shortcut on your desktop.