XX-Series Network Traffic Aggregators
Aggregation, Replication, Load Balancing, FilteringStreamline your network monitoring
A Network Traffic Aggregator is an entry level Network Packet Broker (NPB) that optimizes traffic flow between TAP and SPAN connections and network monitoring, and security tools. By maintaining a many-to-many (M:M) port mapping of network ports to monitoring ports, they can direct network traffic efficiently. Filters can be applied to optimize bandwidth usage on the network, and load on connected tools, increasing their performance.
Network Traffic Aggregators help you optimize the data flow. They forward data from many inputs to one or several tools for further optimization or analysis. By pre-aggregating network traffic, port utilization on Advanced Network Packet Brokers also becomes more efficient, resulting in fewer consumed ports on the devices.
XX-Series Network Traffic Aggregators
Profitap XX-Series Network Packet Brokers are high density packet brokers, bringing you the power and flexibility of network traffic management with a total throughput of up to 3.2 Tbps in a single 19″ RU. All XX-Series Network Packet Brokers offer powerful features, such as aggregation, replication, filtering, and load balancing.
XX-720G
XX-1800G
Interfaces: 48 x 25G SFP28, 6 x 100G QSFP28
Speeds: 1Gbps, 10Gbps, 40Gbps, 100Gbps
XX-3200G
Network packet broker features
Filtering
XX-Series X2-Series X3-SeriesFiltering ensures only relevant packets are forwarded to monitoring and security tools using rule-defined criteria. This prevents tool overload, reduces bandwidth consumption, and improves overall performance.
How filtering helps
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Reduce bandwidth flow to monitoring tools:
By filtering out unnecessary traffic, only relevant packets are sent, minimizing the load on monitoring infrastructure -
Filter on subnets or VLAN:
Filters can select traffic based on specific VLANs or subnets, ensuring targeted network monitoring -
Filter on a list of IPs:
Filters can also allow or block traffic based on specific IP addresses, ensuring that only traffic from relevant IP addresses reaches the tools.
Non-conflicting rules
Non-conflicting rule creation in Network Packet Brokers ensures that all rules can be active in parallel without interfering with each other. This eliminates the need to manually resolve conflicts between new and existing rules, making the setup process faster and more efficient.
By ensuring that each rule operates independently and without overlap, administrators can implement new policies or filters quickly, reducing the risk of errors and streamlining network traffic management. This results in improved performance, easier configuration, and enhanced reliability in network monitoring and security operations.
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| Flexible configuration with non-conflicting forwarding and filtering rules | Flexible configuration with non-conflicting forwarding and filtering rules | Priority-based rule system |
| Number of filters: | ||
| Up to 512 | Up to 6000 |
Up to 18k TCAM
Up to 10M CPU |
| Filtering capabilities: | ||
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Aggregation
XX-Series X2-Series X3-SeriesAggregation combines traffic from multiple sources into one stream. This helps simplify the monitoring process, allowing tools to analyze all the data together.
Aggregation is helpful in environments with traffic coming from various sources (e.g., multiple TAP or SPAN links). Merging these streams ensures comprehensive monitoring while reducing the complexity of managing multiple separate data feeds.
How do we Aggregate?
- VLAN tag on ingress: Incoming traffic is labeled with a unique VLAN ID as it enters the NPB. This feature is highly beneficial for network monitoring and analysis because it provides a way to categorize and distinguish traffic based on its source.
- VLAN tag on egress: Traffic is labeled with the VLAN ID as the traffic exits the NPB toward the monitoring device. When multiple streams are aggregated onto a single output port, you can use different VLAN IDs to keep them logically separate. This way, the monitoring device (e.g., a packet capture appliance, SIEM, or analysis tool) knows which packets belong to which source or rule set.
- Rule VLAN tagging: Instead of assigning one VLAN ID to all egress traffic on a port, a specific rule is set up in the NPB. Traffic matching each rule (e.g., by IP address range, protocol, port, etc.) is assigned a unique VLAN ID. With the ability to define many rules, you can handle a large number of network segments or services, such as database traffic or email traffic, each labeled with its own VLAN ID.
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| Many-to-any | Many-to-any | Many-to-any |
| Ingress VLAN tagging | Egress/rule VLAN tagging | Ingress/egress/rule VLAN tagging |
| Oversubscription counter displaying packets dropped | Oversubscription counter displaying packets dropped | Oversubscription counter displaying packets dropped |
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Non-blocking:
Oversubscribing one port will not affect the performance of other ports |
Non-blocking:
Oversubscribing one port will not affect the performance of other ports |
Non-blocking:
Oversubscribing one port will not affect the performance of other ports |
Replication
XX-Series X2-Series X3-SeriesReplication is the process of duplicating network traffic and sending identical copies to multiple monitoring or security tools. This allows the same traffic to be analyzed by different systems without affecting the original data flow.
Replication ensures that multiple tools can analyze the same traffic for different purposes, such as performance monitoring, security analysis, data storage, and compliance checks, without interrupting or altering the original traffic. This improves network visibility and ensures comprehensive monitoring across different systems.
How replication helps
- Enables multiple analyses without affecting the original traffic
- Supports security, performance, and compliance monitoring simultaneously
- Increases network visibility by distributing identical traffic to various tools
By replicating traffic, organizations can deploy different monitoring and analysis tools in parallel, ensuring each tool has the data it needs for its specific purpose. This enhances network visibility and troubleshooting capabilities across different departments or functions.
How do we Replicate?
Non-conflicting rule creation ensures that existing rules do not conflict with new rules. This means that traffic is truly replicated for each active rule.
Overlapping/parallel rules
XX-Series and X2-Series network packet brokers run all rules simultaneously. This simplifies
configuration because new rules
will not override existing ones. DROP rules take precedence over ALLOW rules in XX, and with the
X2-Series, you can
configure rule priorities if needed. This parallel approach makes it easy to create scenarios like
forwarding live traffic
and simultaneously sending a copy for analysis without running into rule conflicts.
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| Any-to-many | Any-to-many | Any-to-many |
| Non-conflicting rule creation | Non-conflicting rule creation | Priority based rule creation |
| - | - | Conflicting rule |
Load balancing
XX-Series X2-Series X3-SeriesLoad Balancing is the distribution of network traffic across multiple monitoring or security tools to ensure efficient data processing and prevent overload. Typically, this is done on Layer 3 or Layer 4 of the OSI model.
L3 Load Balancing (Layer 3)
Layer 3 load balancing distributes traffic based on IP addresses (source or destination). It directs
packets to different
tools or devices depending on IP hash values.
L4 Load Balancing (Layer 4)
Layer 4 load balancing also uses port numbers (TCP/UDP), in addition to IP addresses, to distribute
traffic more granularly.
This allows better distribution when multiple sessions or services use the same IP address.
Load balancing relies on hashing techniques to determine how traffic is split. The system computes a hash value based on IP addresses (L3) or port numbers (L4), which it uses to distribute traffic consistently across different monitoring tools or devices. Grouping tools together ensures the load is evenly spread, preventing any tool from becoming overwhelmed.
Why do we have L3 and L4 options?
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L3 Load Balancing is sufficient when traffic flows from various IP addresses, but it can be limited when IPs are fewer or when only specific flows need balancing.
For example, with a TAP placed between a router and a firewall, only two IP addresses (router and firewall) are visible. As a result, L3 load balancing will not work effectively because there is no variation in IP addresses to distribute traffic. If this is the case, Layer 4 load balancing is a better option.
- L4 Load Balancing offers finer control by considering not just IPs but also TCP/UDP port numbers to make more granular traffic distribution decisions. For example, it allows traffic to be divided by application (e.g., web, email) based on port numbers. This is useful when the same IP addresses handle multiple services or sessions.
Key Benefits
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Port-Based Load Balancing:
With L4 load balancing, port numbers are used to distribute traffic more effectively when IP-based balancing is not sufficient, such as between routers and firewalls with only two IPs. -
Optimized Resource Usage:
Ensures tools are not overloaded and resources are used efficiently. -
Increased Redundancy and Reliability:
This prevents system failures by distributing traffic evenly and rerouting traffic in case of tool or network failures. -
Improved Monitoring Efficiency:
Multiple monitoring tools can handle traffic in parallel, improving analysis and detection capabilities.
Round Robin
In Round-Robin mode, traffic is distributed equally across all output ports. This mode is typically
used when creating an
uplink to move traffic between appliances.
Flow Hash
In Flow Hash mode, traffic is distributed based on the selected header fields. This mode is
suggested when multiple tools
are attached and ensures that each one gets consistent traffic to perform flow detection and
monitoring. Note that if Flow
Hash is used with source AND destination options enabled for L3 or L4, the unit will distribute the
traffic, maintaining
flow symmetry and consistency.
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| Flow Hash (L3, L4) | Flow Hash (L3, L4, IP and Source/destination) | Flow Hash (L3, L4) |
| - | Round Robin | Round Robin |
High Availability (HA)
XX-Series X2-Series X3-SeriesHigh Availability (HA) is a system design approach that ensures continuous operational performance by minimizing downtime. In networking, HA ensures that monitoring, security, or operational tools remain operational even during hardware failures or maintenance.
How do we support HA?
Profitap packet brokers support High Availability (HA) deployments by ensuring resilient traffic distribution even when links fail. The XX, X2, and X3 models support dynamic Link Aggregation (LAG), which automatically redistributes traffic to remaining links if one goes down, minimizing data loss and downtime. Additionally, the X3 offers both dynamic and static LAG modes, as well as enhanced port redundancy features for an extra layer of protection. This robust design helps to keep monitoring and security probes continuously fed with critical data, sustaining seamless oversight and protection in any HA environment.
When configured in High Availability (HA), the XX and X2-Series network packet brokers forward mirrored traffic to multiple probes using load balancing to distribute incoming traffic between both probes simultaneously for optimal performance. The NPB monitors the status of each probe in its load balance group. If one probe experiences a failure and its port link goes down, the NPB reconfigures the load balance group so that all traffic is directed to the remaining active probe. By automatically adapting to probe availability, the NPB provides robust and continuous network visibility.
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| Active-Active dynamic load balancing | Active-Active dynamic load balancing | Port Redundancy |
| - | - | Load Balance group redundancy |
| - | - | Load Balance Port Replacement (Cascade Group) |
Efficient traffic aggregation for smarter monitoring
The Profitap XX-Series aggregates traffic coming from TAPs and SPAN connections throughout the network and forwards this data as an optimized stream of data to connected tools. This dramatically reduces the load on connected security and monitoring tools and makes for easy and flexible traffic management and network management.
Profitap XX-Series are designed for aggregation, filtering, and routing of multiple 1/10/25/40/100/400G inputs, used in high sustained bandwidth port monitoring and analysis scenarios. They can be used as standalone or with Profitap X2 and X3 series Network Packet Brokers for advanced traffic intelligence, such as timestamping, deduplication, SSL/TLS decryption, and more.
XX-Series traffic aggregators are best suited as pre-aggregation and traffic distribution solutions, ensuring operational flexibility and optimized port consumption on connected tools.
