Packet capture in high-speed and data center networks

www.wildpackets.com © WildPackets, Inc.

Full Speed Ahead Packet Capture in High-Speed and Data

Center Networks

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Jay Botelho

Director of Product Management

WildPackets

[email protected]

Follow me @jaybotelho

© WildPackets, Inc. #wp_highspeed

Administrivia

• All callers are on mute ‒ If you have problems, please let us know via the Chat window

• There will be Q&A at the end ‒ Feel free to type a question at any time

• Slides and recording will be available: ‒ Via a follow-up email

2


Agenda

• Trends in High-Speed Networking

• The New Role of Overlay Networks

• Changing Role of Packet-Based Network Analysis

• Key Monitoring Points for Network Visibility

• About WildPackets

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Trends in High-Speed Networking

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10G – Dispelling the Myth

• According to The Register (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/01/03/2013_not_year_of_10gbe/):

‒ 2013 will NOT be the year for widespread adoption of 10G

‒ Technology is solid – it’s a cost issue

‒ Businesses just don't need 10x the bandwidth and aren't willing

to pay 3x the cost.

• Server migration to 10G underwhelms during 3Q12 (http://www.delloro.com/news/server-migration-to-10-gbps-network-connections-underwhelms-during-

3q12) :

‒ The 10G controller and adapter market results were almost flat

sequentially during the third quarter of 2012

‒ “The price premium for 10G is too wide of a gap” - Sameh

Boujelbene, Senior Analyst, Dell’Oro Group

5

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/01/03/2013_not_year_of_10gbe/

http://www.delloro.com/news/server-migration-to-10-gbps-network-connections-underwhelms-during-3q12




















Optimistic Predictions from Vendors

6

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/switches/ps5718/ps708/white_paper_c11-696667.html


How is 10G Being Utilized?

• Major traffic driver: backup

• Current challenge: 2x and 4x

1G EtherChannel on backup

servers is saturating

• New architecture spec for 10x

1G EtherChannel

• What’s coming: virtualized

server clusters growing – one

has 360 VMs

• Focus now on large, flat 10G

data center fabrics

• Fabric Path/TRILL “standard”

• Nexus 7000 with 32 ports of

10G

• Driving need: constant

demand for 1G aggregation

Slide 7

Example 1: Heavy Mfg Example 2: Network OEM


Migration to 40/100G

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http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/switches/ps5718/ps708/white_paper_c11-696667.html


New Architectures - New Traffic Patterns

• Standalone VM Host

(Virtual Server)

• Coordinated VM

Hosts

• Cloud

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The New Role of Overlay Networks

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Standalone VM Networking

• Multiple guests, single host ‒ One or more vNICs per guest

‒ One or more physical NICs on host

• Switch interfaces ‒ Guest vNICs

‒ Host physical NICs (pNICs)

‒ Possible network separation via multiple L2 vSwitches

• Logically behaves like a TOR or workgroup switch ‒ No transit traffic, leaf network

‒ Usually no L3 (Routing) between VLANs/vSwitches

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Standalone VM Networking

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North/South vs East/West

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Coordinated VM Networking

• Single switch among multiple VM hosts ‒ Each vSwitch per host like a blade switch

‒ Physical network like a backplane, but usually no L3

• Maintains single forwarding table ‒ Inter-VM traffic between hosts sent encapsulated to target host

‒ No need to “learn” VM MAC addresses

• Port profiles per guest ‒ If VM moves, profile moves too

‒ vSwitch forwarding tables automatically updated

‒ Physical switches must learn new host for VM

14


Coordinated VM Networking

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Distributed vSwitch (shared across VM hosts)


Overlay vs. Underlay

16



Cloud

• Software-allocated networking ‒ Network configuration de-coupled from networking hardware

‒ A basic form of SDN

• Focus on connectivity ‒ Get servers up and running

‒ Keep traffic hidden between customers

• Self-service paradox ‒ Cloud allows customers to provision and monitor VMs

‒ Security requires traffic to be hidden between customers

‒ Therefore customers can’t monitor the network

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Cloud Network

18


Changing Roles of

Packet-based Network Analysis

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Strategy for Monitoring 10G Ethernet

0% 20%

40% 60%

Other

All set - our mirroring sol'n converts 10G to 1G

All set - tools already support 10G

Can't afford upgrading tools to 10G

Want to keep 1G tools as long as possible

Our tools don't support 10G

4.1%

14.4%

21.9%

21.9%

32.9%

41.1%

Which of the following apply to your strategy for monitoring 10G

segments? (Select all that apply)

SOURCE: Benchmarking Network and Security Operations: Tools, Processes, and

Enabling Technologies Study, 2009, Enterprise Management Associates. n=124


10G Compromises

• 10G to 1G taps

• Apply pre-capture filters or triggered captures to

selectively stream to disk

• 10G NIC upgrades in architectures designed for

multi-port 1G deployments


Typical Network Analysis Workflow

Let It Roll! Alerts/ Alarms

User Complaints

Problem?

Connect the Analyzer

Start a Trace Reproduce

if Necessary

NO

YES


1Gig Is Easy - Now

• Use almost any NIC

• Use almost any computer

• Capture and analyze all in real-time

• Little or no special hardware needed (taps, etc.)

• Little to no impact on existing network traffic

• “Analysis on the fly” still feasible


10Gig Network Analysis Workflow

Identify Key Analysis Pts

Deploy 24x7 Monitoring

Alarms/ Alerts

Problem?

Rewind Data

Analyze Tune if

Necessary

NO

YES


10G Provides Unique Challenges

• Traditional NICs not up to the task

• Processing power is a limiting factor

• Storage capacity is a limiting factor

• I/O bus and disk write speeds are a limiting factor

• 10G forces clarity in analysis

• At 10G, it truly is looking for a needle in a haystack

• “Line rate” – be wary of that claim!

Importance: Packet-based PM tools remain only truly effective

approach to definitive monitoring and definitive troubleshooting –

Jim Frey, Enterprise Management Associates, Inc., July 2010


10G Network Data Storage

• 1Gbps steady-state traffic assuming no storage

overhead:

7.68 GB/min

460 GB/hr

11 TB/day

2.9 days in a 32TB appliance

• 10Gbps:

76.8GB/min

4.6 TB/hr

110 TB/day

7.0 hours in a 32TB appliance


10G Network Data Capture


10G Network Analysis

• Analyze the essentials

• Be specific when possible

• Know your network – baselines are critical

• Know your limits

• Real-time vs. forensics

• Filter and slice (whenever possible)

• Anticipate hardware resource needs


Key Monitoring Points

for Network Visibility

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Where to Capture

• On the Network

• On the vSwitch

• On a Virtual Tap

• On the VM Guest

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On the Network

• Classical switch SPAN port or tap ‒ View traffic in/out of a Host

• The Good: ‒ Familiar configuration and process

‒ “Easy” if you control the network

• The Bad: ‒ Misses intra-host traffic

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On the Network

32


On the vSwitch

• Span port from virtual switch / hypervisor ‒ Dedicated VM guest to receive packets

‒ Potentially external capture • Use pNIC as target for SPAN

• Also RSPAN/ERSPAN

• The Good: ‒ Visibility of intra-host traffic

‒ Built-in to infrastructure

• The Bad: ‒ Capturing on local VM increases IO of net & disk

‒ Still have to know which host for specific VM guest

‒ May violate separation of customer traffic

33


vSwitch Span Port

34


With a Virtual Tap

• Tap to manage SPAN on distributed vSwitches

• Integrates with VM control system ‒ Reads orchestration info to find which host for VM guest

‒ Auto-configures capture source

• The Good: ‒ Reduced effort, increased visibility

‒ Should auto-filter for customer traffic separation

• The Bad: ‒ May be VM vendor specific, e.g. only VMware

• Examples: NetOptics, Gigamon, BigSwitch

35


Virtual Tap Infrastructure

36


Virtual Tap


Capturing Packets in Cloud

• Private Cloud (In-house) ‒ Under your control

• Functionally similar to distributed VM

‒ If you control the network, you can sniff “anywhere” • Legal concerns for customer-owned guest VMs

• Public Cloud / Private Cloud (3rd Party) ‒ Unlikely that you can negotiate net sniffing rights

‒ IaaS VMs can likely sniff their own traffic • Non-promiscuous sniffing

• Restore visibility on per-VM basis

• You’ll have to re-aggregate traffic among VMs

37


Capturing on VM Guest

38


Summary

• 10G technology is ready – needs to make business

sense

• Data center architectures are evolving quickly –

analysis systems need to keep up

• Plan for 40G, but it’s years away for most

• Faster networking technology and new virtualization

and cloud schemes are challenging conventional

network monitoring and troubleshooting

• Plan ahead for network infrastructure monitoring and

troubleshooting as new solutions are deployed

39


Q&A

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WildPackets Corporate Overview

Optimizing Network and Application Performance


Corporate Background

• Experts in network monitoring, analysis, and troubleshooting

‒ Founded: 1990 / Headquarters: Walnut Creek, CA

‒ Offices throughout the US, EMEA, and APAC

• Customers spanning leading edge organizations

‒ Mid-market and enterprise lines of business

‒ Financial, manufacturing, ISPs, major federal agencies,

state and local governments, universities

‒ Over 7,000 customers / 60+ countries / 80% of Fortune 1,000

• Award-winning solutions that improve network performance

‒ Internet Telephony, Network Magazine, Network Computing awards

‒ United States Patent 5,787,253 issued July 28, 1998 • “Apparatus and Method of Analyzing Internet Activity”


Why Our Customers Need Us

• VoIP, video, cloud, virtualization, and key business

applications are saturating critical network services

• Evolving network technologies create discontinuities ‒ 1 Gig 10 Gig 40 Gig 100 Gig networks

‒ Wireless, BYOD initiatives

• Users and business can not tolerate network

problems for mission critical services

Increasing demand for better real-time network visibility,

network analytics, network forensics, and DPI


How We Create Value

We provide innovative, industry-leading, real-time

network performance management solutions

‒ Easy-to-use, easy-to-learn user interface

‒ Uniquely extensible solutions

‒ Wireless network leadership

‒ Detailed analytics related to network applications

‒ Fastest network traffic capture appliance in its class

‒ Technical superiority at competitive price point

WildPackets has continually advanced its solution to meet the needs of its

customers


Unprecedented Network Visibility

ROOT-CAUSE ANALYSIS

OmniPeek network analyzer performs deep packet inspection

and can reconstruct all network activity, including e-mail and

IM, as well as analyze VoIP and video traffic quality.

PINPOINT NETWORK ISSUES ANYWHERE

Omnipliance Portable can rapidly identify and troubleshoot

issues before they become major problems—wired or

wireless—down the hall or across the globe.

UNDERSTAND END-USER PERFORMANCE TimeLine and Omnipliance network recorders monitor

and analyze performance across critical network

segments, virtual environments, and remote sites.

NETWORK HEALTH

WatchPoint can manage and report on key

device performance and availability across

the entire network, from anywhere on the network.

GLOBAL

DISTRIBUTED

PORTABLE

DPI


A History of Innovation

2003 Distributed real-time

troubleshooting

2001 • First 802.11

wireless analyzer

• First network

analyzer with

automated expert

analysis

2005 Combined distributed

network and VoIP

network analysis

2008 Enterprise-wide

Monitoring and Reporting

2009 Innovative dashboard

with drill-down for VoIP

and video

2012 • Capture, record, and

analyze from 40G

network segments

• First wireless network

analyzer to support

801.11ac, k, r, u, v, w

2011 • Total visibility with

zero packet loss

• First wireless

network analyzer to

support capture and

analysis of 802.11n

3-stream wireless

2010 First to achieve 11 Gbps

sustained capture-to-disk


Product Line Overview


Omni Distributed Analysis Platform

OmniPeek Enterprise Packet Capture, Decode and Analysis

• Ethernet,1/10 Gigabit, 802.11, and voice and video over IP

• Portable capture and OmniEngine console

• Aggregate analysis data across multiple capture points

Omnipliance / TimeLine Distributed Enterprise Network Forensics

• High-performance packet capture and real-time analysis

• Stream-to-disk for forensics analysis

• Integrated OmniAdapter network analysis cards up to 40G

WatchPoint Centralized Enterprise Network Monitoring Appliance

• Aggregation and graphical display of network data

• WildPackets OmniEngines

• NetFlow and sFlow


Omni Distributed Analysis Platform Software and Turnkey Solutions

• Enterprise monitoring and reporting

‒ WatchPoint Server

‒ OmniFlow, NetFlow, and sFlow Collectors

• Software probes and network recorders

‒ Omnipliance network recorders – Edge, Core

‒ TimeLine network recorders

‒ OmniAdapter analysis cards

• Distributed analysis software

‒ OmniPeek – Enterprise, Professional, Basic, Connect

‒ OmniEngine – Enterprise, Desktop, OmniVirtual

• Portable solutions

‒ OmniPeek network analyzer

‒ Omnipliance Portable


Key New Features in v7

• 40G network support

• Analyze issues from end to end:

Multi-Segment Analysis (MSA)

• Collect data from non-technical end users:

OmniPeek Remote Assistant (ORA)

• Single, interactive dashboard for

utilization, top talkers, top protocols,

latency, Experts, flows, and wireless

signal strength

• New wireless specifications

‒ 802.11ac 802.11k

‒ 802.11r 802.11u

‒ 802.11v 802.11w


OmniPeek Network Analyzer

• Distributed analysis manager

– Connect to and configure distributed OmniEngines, Omnipliances,

and TimeLines

• Comprehensive dashboards present network traffic in real-time

– Vital statistics and graphs display trends on network and application

performance

– Visual peer-map shows conversations and protocols

– Intuitive drill-down for root-cause analysis of performance bottlenecks

• Visual Expert diagnosis speeds problem resolution

– Packet and payload visualizers provide business-centric views

• Automated analytics and problem detection 24/7

– Easily create filters, triggers, scripting, advanced alarms, and alerts


Omnipliance Network Recorders

• Captures and analyzes all network traffic 24x7

– Runs WildPackets OmniEngine software probe

– Generates vital statistics on network and application performance

– Intuitive root-cause analysis of performance bottlenecks

• Expert analysis speeds problem resolution

– Fault analysis, statistical analysis, and independent notification

• Multiple issue digital forensics

– Real-time and post capture data mining for compliance and troubleshooting

• Intelligent data transport

– Network data analyzed locally

– Detailed analysis passed to OmniPeek on demand

– Summary statistics sent to WatchPoint for long term trending and reporting

– Efficient use of network bandwidth

• User-extensible platform

– Plug-in architecture and SDK


TimeLine Network Recorder

• Continuous network recording and comprehensive

real-time statistical display — simultaneously ‒ 12Gbps sustained capture with zero packet loss

‒ Network statistics display in TimeLine visualization format

• Rapid, intuitive forensics search and retrieval ‒ Historical network traffic analysis and quick data rewinding

‒ Several pre-defined forensics search templates making

searches easy and fast

• A natural extension to the WildPackets product line

• Turnkey bundled solution ‒ Appliance + OmniEngine, OmniAdapter, OmniPeek Connect


WildPackets Network Recorders Price/Performance Solutions for Every Application

Portable Edge Core TimeLine

Ruggedized

Troubleshooting

Small Networks

Remote Offices

Datacenter Workhorse

Easily Expandable

Enterprise, Highly-

Utilized Networks

Aluminum chassis / 17” LCD 1U rack mountable chassis 3U rack mountable chassis 3U rack mountable chassis

Dual 2.13 GHz Quad-Core Intel

Xeon L5630 "Westmere"

Quad-Core Intel Xeon X3460

2.80Ghz

Dual Intel Xeon Quad Core

E5530 2.4GHz

Dual Intel Xeon Quad Core

X5560 2.8GHz

24GB RAM 4GB RAM 6GB RAM 18GB RAM

2 PCI-E Slots 2 PCI-E Slots 4 PCI-E Slots 4 PCI-E Slots

2 Built-in Ethernet Ports 2 Built-in Ethernet Ports 2 Built-in Ethernet Ports 2 Built-in Ethernet Ports

6TB SATA storage capacity 1TB SATA storage capacity 8/16TB SATA

storage capacity

8/16/32/48TB SATA

storage capacity

4.5Gbps CTD 1.1Gbps CTD 3Gbps CTD 12Gbps CTD


WatchPoint Centralized Monitoring for Distributed Enterprise Networks

• High-level, aggregated

view of all network

segments

– Monitor per campus, per

region, per country

• Wide range of network

data

– NetFlow, sFlow, OmniFlow

• Web-based, customizable

network dashboards

• Flexible detailed reports

• Direct link to detailed,

packet-based analysis


Comprehensive Support and Services

Standard Support

Maintenance and upgrades

Telephone and email contacts

Knowledgebase

MyPeek Portal

Premier Support

24 x 7 x 365

Dedicated escalation manager

2 customer contacts per site

Plug-in reconfiguration assistance

WildPackets Training Academy

Public, web-based, and on-site classes

Complete curriculum: technology and product focused

Practical applications and labs covering network analysis,

wireless, VoIP monitoring and advanced troubleshooting

Consulting and Custom Development Services

Deployment, configuration, and assessment engagement

Systems integration and testing

Application integration, driver, decode, interface development


WildPackets Key Differentiators

• Visual Expert intelligence with intuitive drill-down

– Let computer do the hard work, and return results, real-time

– Packet /payload visualization is faster than packet-per-packet diagnostics

– Experts and analytics can be memorized and automated

• Automated capture analytics

– Filters, triggers, scripting, and advanced alarming system combine to provide

automated network problem detection 24x7

• Multiple issue network forensics

– Can be tracked by one or more people simultaneously

– Real-time or post capture

• User-extensible platform

– Plug-in architecture and SDK

• Aggregated network views and reporting

– NetFlow, sFlow, and OmniFlow


24x7 Network Monitoring,

Analysis, and Troubleshooting


Thank You!

WildPackets, Inc.

1340 Treat Boulevard, Suite 500

Walnut Creek, CA 94597

(925) 937-3200

Documents

Packet capture in high-speed and data center networks