Suggestions for Testing Bypass Switches

I've acquired a number of bypass devices for testing in the TaoSecurity labs. I'd like to know if any of you have requests to know more about these devices. In other words, how would you like me to test them?

The devices in question include the following. Shore Micro SM-2400 Programmable Bypass Switch: This device has TX copper connectors and may support Gigabit Ethernet. Optical Bypass Switch with Heartbeat: This device has SX fiber connectors and supports Gigabit Ethernet. 10/100/1000 Bypass Switch with Heartbeat: This device has TX copper connectors and supports Gigabit Ethernet. Interface Masters Niagara 2295RJ: This device has TX copper connectors and supports Gigabit Ethernet. I find it interesting that it does not require a power supply, but I wonder how it supports a heartbeat without power? Niagara 2282: This is an internal NIC that acts as a bypass switch. It has SX fiber connectors and supports Gigabit Ethernet. Niagara 2280: This is an internal NIC that acts as a bypass switch. It has SX fiber connectors and supports Gigabit Ethernet. I don't see functional differences between this NIC and the previous, but that is a preliminary assessment. So those are the devices. This is how I intend to deploy them for testing.

traffic generator transmitter NIC

 |

bypass switch inbound NIC

bypass switch monitor NIC 1 --> sensor NIC 1

bypass switch monitor NIC 2 --> sensor NIC 2

bypass switch outbound NIC

 |

traffic generator receiver NIC

For the internal devices, I will have the internal NIC in the sensor feeding a second NIC in the same sensor.

At the moment my main goals are to fully understand how each device works, feature-wise. I plan to do some limited testing this week with the equipment on hand. Next week I plan to use commercial load generators to stress the devices.

Let me know as a comment on TaoSecurity Blog or email to richard [at] taosecurity.com if you have ideas regarding what I should do with these systems.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I'd be very interested to see statistics on the latency induced by switching bypass modes, and any packet loss caused by switching modes.
11:11 AM
Anonymous said…
You should add Silicom Ltd with their BSH series to your list.
5:14 PM
Anonymous said…
Net Optics products are the only company that can give you the results you are looking for. They also are a US based company
5:03 PM
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