A recent report produced by Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) and distributed by Research and Markets (Dublin, Ireland) maps out "a new visibility architecture for managing 10G, 40G and 100G networks."
The report's premise is as follows: Convergence is happening across IT, within network infrastructures, at network endpoints, between applications and communications, etc. This list goes on to include most aspects of infrastructure and security management -- except when it comes to visibility tools.
EMA contends that application-aware packet inspection tools are an essential element in network and security operations, and are growing in popularity and number because they deliver highly granular visibility. "And yet," the report points out, "Each time one of these systems is deployed, it requires another access point, more rack space, and in most cases yet another stream-to-disk packet storage array."
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The analysis warns that the while capital and operational costs of this "status quo approach" continues to mount, a major technical hurdle looms. To wit, the mainstream adoption of 10G Ethernet, with even faster 40G and 100G networks not far behind, is causing packet analysis products to either wilt under pressure or require expensive upgrades and retrofits.
The report goes on to examine how convergence can and should be applied to packet-based monitoring. Further, the analysis considers how network visibility tools provider Endace Systems has addressed this challenge, while bringing a scalable and compelling alternative approach to bear.
More information about the report is available here.
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