This document discusses the challenges facing modern networks due to increasing traffic volumes, speeds, and complexity. It identifies four key challenges: 1) managing virtualized and hybrid cloud environments, 2) handling higher network speeds like 100Gbps, 3) preventing security issues, and 4) ensuring accurate performance monitoring. It argues that network packet brokers are needed to provide visibility across networks while maintaining speed and filtering redundant data for monitoring tools. The document recommends using advanced packet brokers like cPacket Networks that can scale from 1Gbps to 100Gbps, provide zero packet loss, and optimize network performance monitoring.

1. The challenges of monitoring networks pervasively at high speed: why
packet brokers need real-time visibility

2. Top challenges facing today’s networks
3
4
1
2
Growth of virtual infrastructures, hybrid cloud
environments and new applications
Increase in traffic, data and adoption of higher network
speeds (100Gbps)
Preventing security issues in the network
Need for accurate network performance monitoring metrics

3. Top challenges facing today’s networks
Growth of virtual infrastructures, hybrid cloud environments and new applications
• Workloads must be continuously monitored during development and production
• Typical cloud monitoring tools lack holistic capabilities that network operators need to
manage performance and service levels
• Many organizations work in hybrid environments and use multiple monitoring tools,
reducing flexibility and increasing costs
Increase in traffic, data and adoption of higher network speeds
• Rapidly growing traffic volumes present visibility challenges for traditional monitoring tools
• Network-based monitoring technologies that were developed for more static, lower-speed
infrastructures may not be able to successfully be deployed in today’s dynamic data centers
• Sheer volume and speed of packets traversing the networks overwhelm most of today’s
network monitoring tools because they were designed to handle lower speeds (1G or 10G)
Hybrid
Private Public

4. Crehan Research states that 25G and 100G are
expected to increase rapidly and comprise over half
of all shipments by 2021
Some factors driving the adoption of 25G and 100G
speeds are:
• Low price premium over comparable 10G and 40G
switches resulting in higher bandwidth discounts
• Higher bandwidth per lane: 25G uses the same
number of lanes as 10G and 100G uses the same
number of lanes as 40G
• Strong interest and higher demand which drives
significant early volumes and reduces costs even
further
The rise of 100G network speeds

5. Top challenges facing today’s networks
Preventing security issues in the network
• Existing security tools are not capable of processing higher volumes of data
• At 100G networks, speed becomes an issue because many security tools struggle to
provide an accurate analysis of all the network traffic
• Companies often make trade-offs between security, cost and performance:
a. some will slow down their networks to allow their security tools to keep up
b. they will turn off essential security tools such as firewalls and/or SSL decryption
c. IT teams may purchase additional security tools which becomes costly in the long
run
Need for accurate network performance monitoring metrics
• Accurate real-time data can prevent network downtime and security threats
• Dashboards don’t always give a clear indication of what to investigate and offer little to
no insight into the data to resolve issues
• The need for an advanced network monitoring solution to provide an intelligent
alerting system that can triggers alerts on deviation from normal performance based
on dynamic baselines calculated from historical data
Tradeoff
Performance

6. Ability to
scale
Provide
visibility at
higher speeds
Removing
repetitive
data
Prevent
security
attacks
As networks expand and speeds increase, network packet brokers (NPB) need to be able to
scale and aggregate traffic across multiple networks (LAN, WAN, Internet, virtual and cloud
environments) while maintaining layer visibility at all times
Network packet brokers with advanced filtering capabilities can organize and streamline data
for monitoring, performance, and security tools. NPBs can assure that firewalls and IPSs see
exactly the right data, all of the time
Network packet brokers will check each packet for redundant data and remove these packets
to prevent monitoring tools from being overloaded
The real challenge lies in efficiently funneling data from the network to each tool that needs
it. An advanced network packet broker can provide 100% visibility for monitoring and
performance at speeds of 10G, 25G, 40G and 100G with zero packet loss
The importance of network packet brokers

7. 5 steps to better network performance monitoring
1. Solve network issues before they become problems: real-time monitoring and setting performance baselines
will help network operators solve problems before they happen
2. Implement advanced security and analytics tools: real-time security and analytics tools are essential for
detecting and preventing network attacks (DDoS, SSL, DNS)
3. Intelligent monitoring tools: getting the right data to the right tool, at the right place, and at the right time
requires sophisticated monitoring tools and a visibility architecture that can access critical data from any
network environment: virtualized, on premise, or in the cloud
4. Consolidate existing tools: invest in a network performance monitoring solution that can reduce the number
of tools you use to monitor and troubleshoot your network, applications, and infrastructure. Remember, less
is more
5. Plan for change: data growth, rise of 100G networks and network infrastructure changes will have an impact
on your business. Your network monitoring tools need to be flexible and scalable to adapt to these changes

8. cPacket Networks: advanced packet broker for today’s enterprises
cPacket Networks provides network monitoring and
packet broker solutions that are:
• Easy to use, deploy and manage
• Scalable in 10G, 40G, and 100G environments
• Zero packet loss for more accurate data
• Ability to run advanced tool features with 100% reliability
and accuracy
• Architected for high performance at speeds up to 100G

9. How does cPacket Networks help enterprises improve ROI
Minimize troubleshooting time Detect security breaches faster Reduces load on security tools
Optimizes network performance Cost efficient

10. cPacket Networks
Always on packet brokering and monitoring 1G
to 100G
Learn more www.cpacket.com