User guide

Overview 11

2 Overview

The SINGLEstream family of products increases network visibility and leverages your investment

in network analyzers, probes, and security equipment by allowing you to simultaneously monitor as

many supported configurable ports as you may need to fit your peripheral network tools. Greater

visibility accelerates problem resolution, reduces downtime and increases enterprise productivity.

The SINGLEstream family of products are compatible with all vendor hardware and can be

controlled by our Command Line Interface (CLI) software which allows you control with a single

interface regardless of what network appliances you choose to deploy.

This User Guide addresses the SINGLEstream family which includes the SS-1200-S, SS-2200-

S and SS-4200-S series of products with specific models within each series.

2.1 LINKprotect™

Many traditional taps prevent the operation of redundant routing and fail over systems because they

keep both sides of the network invisible to the other. The built-in LINKprotect feature eliminates

this point of network failure by continuously monitoring both sides of the tapped network for link

status. If one side of the tap loses link status, LINKprotect will close the other side of the link, so

routers and switches can engage protocols to bypass the failed link.

LINKprotect will also keep monitoring both sides of the link until repaired, where it can then

automatically re-establish the primary link. Timers (polling and recovery) and link re-establishment

settings (manual or auto) are all user configurable on both sides of the link and provide a level of

convenience and flexibility not previously available in copper Gigabit taps.

2.2 SINGLEstream™ Series Summary

The SINGLEstream Link Aggregation Taps provide a superior solution for 24x7 monitoring of

full-duplex Ethernet links. Traditional Ethernet taps enable full-duplex monitoring of all traffic on a

network segment, but they transmit the data to the network tools (e.g. analyzers, IDSs, probes) in

two separate half-duplex streams. This not only requires each network tool to have two network

interface cards (NIC), but also requires that the tool be capable of combining and processing both

streams of data in order to monitor both sides of the conversation. Not all network tools have that

capability. The SINGLEstream Series faultlessly combine the two data streams, allowing any

connected network device/tool to receive a full-duplex stream of data with one NIC.

Additionally, the SINGLEstream Series provide a unique feature to help manage network

resources - multiple input/output ports or Any-to-Any ports. With extra Any-to-Any ports, more

network tools (such as analyzers and intrusion detection devices) can receive the same full-duplex

transmission, so there will never be contention for access to the network segment. Also, these ports

can be configured as more input ports to include more network segments for monitoring.

The SINGLEstream Series are adaptable with hard-wired In-Line taps and Any-to-Any ports

which can be configured with the Command Line Interface (CLI) to be used as input or output

portsto fit your needs and adapt with your ever-changing network.