Introducing Network VirusWall Enforcer
1-3
Key Concepts
Before proceeding to the succeeding sections of this document, take note of the
following concepts. These concepts are discussed in detail in the
Administrator’s Guide
.
•
Ethernet
—located on the back panel, these ports link to other devices (usually
Layer 2 or Layer 3 devices).
The documentation sometimes refers to
copper ports
as
ports
or
interfaces
on page 1-3). Each port functions as one of the following:
•
Management port
(RJ-45)—dedicated for management purposes. You can
specify only one management port.
•
Mirror port
(RJ-45)—sends all traffic passing the device to a computer to
capture all data. The data can then be used for debugging purposes. You can
specify one mirror port. Using this port type can impact performance.
•
Regular port
(RJ-45)—carries analyzed traffic to and from segments. You can
specify multiple regular ports.
•
Failopen
—a fault-tolerance solution also known as "LAN bypass" that allows the
Network VirusWall Enforcer device to continue to pass traffic even if a software or
hardware failure occurs within the device.
•
Link-state failover—
a port group setting that turns off the working port if only
one port in a port group is left connected. This ensures that switches immediately
recognize the port group failure and can channel traffic to another route.
Device Ports
Network VirusWall Enforcer supports four network ports, with the first two ports (port
1 and 2) providing management functionality. More specifically, these ports can be
configured as management (MGMT) or mirror (MIRR) ports. Ports 3 and 4 are regular
data ports that connect to the network and provide security functionality. The device
applies its protection features to packets that pass through these data ports.
