Net Optics and VMware Team Up to Deliver Full Visibility, Automation, Flexibility and Scalability for Comprehensive Moni Enterprises have been utilizing Tap solutions for network traffic access for many years. Traffic capture, analysis, replay, and logging are now part of every well-managed network environment. In recent years, the significant shift to virtualization—with penetration exceeding 50%—is yielding great benefits in efficiency. However, today’s virtualization-based deployments create challenges for network security, compliance, and performance monitoring. This is because Inter-VM traffic is optimized to speed up connections and minimize network utilization. This imposes invisibility on physical tools unable to extend easily into the new environments. Costly new virtualization-specific tools plus training can affect the economic benefits and cost-savings of virtualizing. Currently, many tools suffer from limited throughput, hypervisor incompatibility, and excessive resource utilization.

1. Technology Alliance Partner I Solution Brief
The Net Optics Phantom Virtualization Tap™ captures data passing
between virtual machines (VMs) and sends traffic of interest to
virtual and physical monitoring tools of choice.
Net Optics and VMware
The Virtual Monitoring Challenge
Enterprises have been utilizing Tap solutions for network traffic access for
many years. Traffic capture, analysis, replay, and logging are now part of every
well-managed network environment. In recent years, the significant shift to
virtualization—with penetration exceeding 50%—is yielding great benefits
in efficiency. However, today’s virtualization-based deployments create
challenges for network security, compliance, and performance monitoring.
This is because Inter-VM traffic is optimized to speed up connections and
minimize network utilization. This imposes invisibility on physical tools unable
to extend easily into the new environments. Costly new virtualization-specific
tools plus training can affect the economic benefits and cost-savings of
virtualizing. Currently, many tools suffer from limited throughput, hypervisor
incompatibility, and excessive resource utilization.
Virtual infrastructures use hypervisor technology to deploy multiple
computing environments on a single physical (hardware) server, or across a
group of physical servers. Traditional Taps cannot see the traffic between the
VMs that reside on the same hypervisor, nor can they “follow” specific VMs as
automation moves them from one hypervisor to another to optimize efficiency
and availability.
Visibility is further reduced by the complexity of blade servers: with each blade
running multiple VMs on a hypervisor. Traffic between the blades running on a
dedicated backplane is also invisible to the physical network and its attached
tools.
The Phantom Virtualization Tap Solution
The Phantom suite of software products provides 100% visibility of virtual
network traffic, including the unseen inter-VM traffic on ESXi Stack. This
milestone solution has now expanded to support the industry’s leading
hypervisor. The Phantom Monitor installs in the hypervisor kernel above the
virtual switch. It is a software implementation of a switching mechanism
that manages communications between virtual network devices and works
identically to the physical switch. The Phantom Monitor can replicate all
traffic within the virtual switch, apply smart TapFlow™ filtering, and send
traffic of interest to any monitoring tools of choice. It can even pass the
replicated traffic to a physical port so physical tools can monitor the data.
Virtual traffic is bridged to the physical world in an encapsulated tunnel that
can be terminated by a Net Optics xFilter™, Phantom HD™ or at any capable
termination point of your choosing.
Solution Highlights
· 100 percent visibility of traffic between Virtual
Machines (VMs) and inter-blade visibility
· Installs in hypervisor kernel for full traffic visibility
· Enables visibility and control of network traffic in
VMware vSphere ESX/ESXi Server 4.X/5.X
· Generates Layer 2-4 statistics (packet count,
utilization, etc.)
· TapFlow™ multi-layer L2-4 filtering engine
· Extends monitoring and access into the Inter-VM
networking layer (East-West Traffic)
· Applies existing physical monitoring tools,
processes, and procedures to the virtual network
· No interference with the data stream or VMs (no
agents or services on VMs)
· No modifications needed in VMs
· Replicates Inter-VM traffic to virtual and physical
monitoring tools of choice
· Sends mirrored traffic out physical NICs in
encapsulated tunnels

2. Technology Alliance Partner I Solution Brief
Net Optics and VMware Team Up to Deliver Full Visibility, Automation, Flexibility and Scalability for
Comprehensive Monitoring for Virtual Environments
VM 1
VM 2
VM 3 Phantom
Controller
App
App
App
OS
OS
OS
Phantom™
Virtualization Tap
vSwitch
Unique Capabilities
The Phantom Virtualization Tap provides these unique
capabilities to your VMware virtual
computing environment:
ESXi
Production LAN
• A solution that performs network monitoring at the hypervisor
kernel level providing full view of the traffic flowing between
VMs, regardless of their current physical locations
• Implemented at the kernel; delivers the ability to differentiate
between specific VM instances in replicated environments, and
keep monitoring and logging the VMs even as they are moved
between hypervisors (different physical servers or locations)
• The industry’s only integrated solution for converged (virtual
and physical) environments. Fully hypervisor-agnostic and
virtual switch-agnostic, the Phantom Virtualization Tap works
seamlessly with Net Optics’ Director series of data monitoring
switches
• Net Optics Indigo Pro™—a unified network management
tool­ provides an easy-to-use, Web-based GUI interface
—
Net Optics
VMware
Net Optics is the leading provider of Total Application and Network
Visibility solutions that deliver real-time network intelligence for
peak performance in network monitoring and security. As a result,
businesses achieve the scalable end-to-end visibility they need to
optimize network performance of physical, virtual and private cloud
environments, and remote branch offices. More than 7,500 enterprises,
service providers and government organizations—including 85 percent
of the Fortune 100—trust Net Optics’ comprehensive plug and play
family of application-aware NPM, Network Packet Broker, Virtual/Cloud
and Visibility Management System (VMS) solutions to deliver immediate
results and quick time to value through an easy-to-use interface.
Net Optics maintains a global presence through leading OEM partner
and reseller networks.
VMware (NYSE:VMW), the global leader in virtualization and
cloud infrastructure, delivers customer-proven solutions that
accelerate IT by reducing complexity and enabling more
flexible, agile service delivery. VMware enables enterprises
to adopt a cloud model that addresses their unique business
challenges. VMware’s approach accelerates the transition
to cloud computing while preserving existing investments
and improving security and control. With more than 500,000
customers and 55,000 partners, VMware solutions help
organizations of all sizes lower costs, increase business agility
and ensure freedom of choice.
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www.netoptics.com
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Palo Alto, CA 94304, United States
Main: +1 (877) 486-9273
www.vmware.com
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