Getting access to your data
A copy of the data is often required for your monitoring, analysis or recording device(s). The first question is which data do I need a copy of and where on the network can I find it. Once this is established the second question is what is the smartest way to get a copy of the data out?
You can choose to program your switch to span or mirror the traffic to a spare port(s). However due to the way switches operate certain errors that you may need to know about will be filtered out in this span/mirror process meaning the data won't in fact be a true copy. And of course you may not have enough spare ports on the switch in the first place
We recommend the smartest method is to use a physical device in line, called a tap. Please click here to learn more.