The key to successful inline security monitoring is to enable traffic inspection and detection without impacting network and application availability. If one of your security tools becomes congested or fails, you need to keep traffic moving, continue monitoring, and prevent a network or application outage. Some organizations deploy their inline security appliances behind the firewall in a serial configuration. With this design, if an appliance becomes congested or fails, traffic stops. Redundant network paths can help avoid this, but they require twice the number of tools. Ensuring both paths can handle the full volume of traffic is expensive and leaves tools on the inactive path underutilized during normal operations.

To address these issues, many organizations are deploying an underlying security architecture that can ensure failsafe operation of key security appliances and solutions, and also help these solutions operate more efficiently. This paper describes key functions of a high-performing security architecture —one that protects network availability and ensures continued inspection of everything crossing your network.