Probe performs wire-speed gigabit capture-to-disk - up to 8 TB - 24 August 2005

Test & Measurement

Probe performs wire-speed gigabit capture-to-disk - up to 8 TB

24 August 2005 Test & Measurement Information Security

Network Instruments has unveiled its new second generation GigaStor Probe, designed to capture and store massive amounts of gigabit traffic at line rate. The GigaStor Probe includes the Gen2 Capture Card, which allows granular analysis on individual ports or up to four full-duplex gigabit trunked links.

Available in both 4 TB storage and an industry-leading 8 TB storage to meet different requirements for data retention, the GigaStor Probe gives administrators a longer window of time for 'after-the-fact' analysis. The GigaStor Probe also localises processing and decoding to minimise network overhead.

"The GigaStor Probe allows IT professionals to dig into large amounts of data, boost troubleshooting power through its granular analysis, and monitor issues for long periods of time," said Douglas Smith, president of Network Instruments. "Because the GigaStor can capture to disk up to 250 MB per second on full-duplex gigabit links, end users are guaranteed to capture every bit of data that passes through those links."

For example, if an end user is inconsistently losing connection to a server, an administrator can go back through time and determine specifically when the problem occurs and concurrent network conditions. This speeds troubleshooting by eliminating the guesswork, allowing one to actually see the problem playing out as it occurred. In a legal environment, comprehensive data retention is critical for investigations that require network forensics.

The GigaStor helps companies retain all communications on certain digital links, thus complying with industry regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley. The appliance also aids the troubleshooting and network usage policy enforcement by enabling IT professionals to sift through all recent traffic on highly-saturated links. The GigaStor not only shows communications took place, it also saves the actual data behind the transmissions - providing hard evidence such as phone conversations, instant messages, or e-mails. All data processing and decoding occurs at the GigaStor Probe, which means only screen updates are sent to the console, thereby reducing network overhead.

The GigaStor Probe is part of Network Instruments' NI-DNA architecture. The probe works with the company's Expert Observer and Observer Suite consoles to deliver a consistent user experience regardless of which appliance is capturing or analysing the data. It also implements small form-factor pluggable (SFP) technology, which allows for monitoring either optical or copper links as needed.

Share this article:

Categories

Test & Measurement

Probe performs wire-speed gigabit capture-to-disk - up to 8 TB

Further reading:

Publications by Technews