Healthcare providers rely on critical systems for life support and emergency response. Of essential importance to their IT infrastructure is the right equipment to monitor the network, without which, the privacy, security and performance of the system can not be known or kept track of. A lack of adequate monitoring would invariably produce below expectation results for ROI and other key objectives of the system enhancements. Information availability and redundant infrastructure is impossible to troubleshoot and keep safe without sufficient real time visibility with the right equipment distributed across critical locations.
VSS monitoring through its network taps and distributed solutions ensure that the network monitoring process achieves total visibility stealth and security so as to maximize
While many enterprises and financial institutions require IT services back online within minutes, healthcare providers typically require emergency response immediately. Hence the need for a secure and efficient network that includes redundancy and monitoring where online data is captured in real time in both the production and backup environments. In order to monitor the network effectively and comply with relevant regulations Healthcare organizations implement a combination of the following tools:
IDS Deployments (Intrusion Detection System)
An intrusion detection device enables detection of most types of malicious traffic that cannot normally be detected by firewalls. Traditionally located in the gateway and DMZ, IDS tools are essential for capturing and analyzing signature, protocol and anomaly based attacks where in the past such attacks have wreaked havoc and cost industry billions of dollars. Previously attacks included Code Red, Nimda, DDoS, Super Worms while new threats are continually emerging.
An IDS is most effectively deployed using a network tap where that tap is fail-safe, maintains stealth and ensures maximum visibility to each packet. Real-time detection and being able to take immediate action significantly improves the odds of successfully terminating intrusions as well as tracing intrusion attempts to their source.
As up to 70% of all attacks occur from within the company IDS tools are more often required in various network locations other than just the perimeter. This therefore requires the IT professional to investigate cost effective deployment techniques that do not hinder performance. This is where VSS monitoring's distributed solution creates outstanding value opportunities for the organization - where IT professionals did not before expect possible.
Analyzer Deployments
Analyzers assist the network management process by enabling time sensitive troubleshooting as well as performance measurement of both the network and the information / applications running above it.
Specifically, analyzers or 'sniffers' are used to intercept and decode all packets passing over the network so as to determine problems, network usage, new statistics, reporting and debugging client-server communications.
Having access to patient information 24 hours a day is essential in the healthcare environment. Hence when a system goes down or the network performance suddenly slows to critical levels then being able to speedily point the analyzer to the affected location and troubleshoot the application and/or network performance is an essential tool in maintaining the system upkeep.
VSS monitoring's taps enable expansive coverage of distributed networks to a single analyzer providing unprecedented cost savings in both the deployment as well as operational costs of Analyzers. In addition the VSS Distributed Taps enable immediate response times through simple point and select HTTP controls.
Forensics Deployments
Typical Network Forensics tools enable packet capture and long term storage as well as deep postmortem analysis of traffic patterns. These tools capture and record network traffic to look back-in-time to examine performance, observe traffic trends, isolate anomalies, perform deep packet analysis and generate summary reports.
The resulting benefits include being able to pinpoint the root causes of complex performance problems as well as being able to determine the extent of damage caused by a malicious intrusion. This is not only useful in base-lining the network but is an invaluable tool when trying to recover from a devastating attack
Network Taps & Distributed Solutions
VSS monitoring's distributed data collection tools are changing the architecture of network monitoring. The deployment of these tools enables inline monitoring as well as capture of all available data from span ports throughout the core and distribution networks. This enables a distributed data collection systems that centralizes the monitoring servers creating widespread network visibility while reducing the cost of those server deployments. Analyzers, IDS and Forensics tools are especially expensive when deployed in the distributed architecture suggested by those vendors. These costs are experienced through hardware, software licenses and annual maintenance of each. The VSS monitoring distributed taps enable the convergence and simultaneous usage of these tools while radically reducing their costs.
Considering the extent to which critical systems in the healthcare network need to be fail safe and always secure, the choice of data collection system (VSS network taps) over any other data collection system is of critical importance.
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