What is a Network Packet Broker? A Network Packet Broker (NPB) is an active device that directs selected raw data packets from network interfaces (typically via SPAN or tap points) to specific network service and monitoring devices, and performance management and security applications. What Exactly Does a Network Packet Broker Do? Niagara’s NPB solutions perform a range of crucial functionalities for all types of networks, even those with extremely complex architectures and that is resource-intensive including:

• Total Network Visibility - Identifying known, suspicious, and unknown traffic passing through the network.
• Network robustness - Ensuring data loss prevention and advanced filtering, as well as high availability, stripping, and other special-purpose packet capabilities.
• Network management - Not just knowing how to monitor network traffic, but also knowing what to do with each type of traffic: where to pass known (authorized) data types, and how to handle suspicious and unknown traffic.

Why You Need a Network Packet Broker? In their role as data analyzers, Niagara’s Packet Brokers can also handle the deduplication of redundant (duplicate) packets before they reach analysis or security tools within the network, that are passed along by multiple taps forwarding their data traffic. The NPBs will eliminate those duplicates and make sure network tools do not waste resources on handling redundant data. Basic data packet manipulation schema includes one network link, to one tool (one-to-one), one network link to multiple tools (one-to-many), multiple network links to one tool (many-to-one) and multiple network links to multiple tools (many-to-many) – interlaced and load balanced into a network-wide fabric. Types of Network Packet Brokers Niagara offers 3 types of Network Packet Brokers: Fixed NPB Niagara’s signature FixedBroker is a high density, high performance, NPB series that packs a lot of power into a compact, 1U form factor. FixedBroker supports non-blocking chip-based switching fabric and a range of network interfaces up to 100Gb. Some products offer multiple network interface types for easy aggregation and stacking. All FixedBroker products include Niagara’s pioneering Packet Heartbeat technology and FabricFlow technology for an exhaustive built-in set of packet broker features including replication, aggregation, filtering, load balancing, and more. Modular NPB Niagara provides a modular product series named N2. It provides a single multi-purpose platform that covers all of the visibility adaptation scenarios required in a network. The N2 series can be populated with a wide range of high density, high versatility, processor-accelerated modules. With a modular design, it supports advanced FabricFlow technology, capabilities, and features including network tap, bypass, packet broker and packet processing applications. Available in both a 1U and 2U form factor. Hybrid Packet Broker/Bypass Combined, all-in-one bypass and packet broker. This Packet Broker combines up to 4 full bypass segments (handling 4 network links) with packet broker functionality so that traffic to the inline or monitoring devices can be filtered, aggregated, load-balanced and more.  It has up to 816 multi-purpose, 1/10 Gigabit SFP ports + media for extensive packet filtering, distribution, aggregation and mirroring functionality, which can be assigned to any of the network segments.

Niagara Visibility Controller (NVC) is an Enterprise-wide unified manager for network visibility. Whether you are an administrator looking for an overview of all of your visibility nodes (network packet brokers, network taps, network bypasses) for your virtual data center, or an engineer studying the configuration details, the key to addressing the evolving and dynamic needs of the network visibility layer is best described as being seamless. Features

• Centralized management, monitoring and configuration of multiple visibility nodes.
• Reducing configuration time and errors.SDN architecture - OpenFlow discovery and topology visualization.
• User-friendly and intuitive Fabric Flow creation.
• Easy-to-complete firmware updates and configurations updates of multiple visibility nodes from a single pane-of-glass UI.
• REST API Support for programmability.
• Unified management for network packet brokers, network bypasses, and network taps.
• Ability to see the ‘forest’ and the ‘trees’.
• Seamlessly navigate between three panes of management, from Group view to detailed Device view.
• Available in a self-install Virtual Machine package.User Management, User Roles, and Authentication.