Network Instruments® | Gigabit Probe Appliance

Troubleshoot mission-critical gigabit or 10 GbE links without leaving your desk
Network Instruments’ hardware-based Gigabit and 10 GbE Probe Appliance is specifically designed for administrators that require wire-speed, full-duplex capture. Probes provide a direct, passive link into the data stream, offering an impendent, proven, and trusted view of network traffic. Deploy a Gigabit or 10 GbE Probe Appliance to add gigabit or 10 GbE analysis, statistics, trending, and reporting to any Expert Observer or Observer Suite console.

With an industry-leading 24 GB memory buffer (maximum) and the Gen2 Gigabit Capture Card, the probe appliance is the ideal solution for ensuring complete and accurate captures on your full-duplex links.

Both the Gigabit and the 10 GbE Probe Appliance include a 64-bit core, maximizing analysis with faster processing and larger capture buffers.

Choose Your Configuration

Gigabit Probe Appliance

For full-duplex gigabit links
Monitor up to eight ports
Switch between copper and optical links

10 GbE Probe Appliance

For full-duplex 10 GbE links
Provides real-time Expert analysis
Hardware-based filtering and statistics

Industry-Leading Performance

Ensure full-duplex, wire-speed capture on high utilization links
Capture large amounts without packet loss with up to a 24 GB buffer
Localized processing on the probe minimizes network overhead

Real-Time Analysis

Obtain metrics in real time such as Top Talkers, VLAN analysis, and application statistics
Solve issues immediately with a comprehensive Expert system with nanosecond resolution
Perform packet captures and review statistics that adhere to RMON1/RMON2 and HCRMON
Utilize network trending and reporting features such as comparison reports and web reporting
Manage VoIP communication with an enterprise-strength VoIP expert

Transparency with an nTAP™

Insert and remove the probe without network disruption
Acquire an independent view of data flow
Eliminate dependence on a SPAN or mirror port
Ensure full-duplex, wire-speed passive analysis

Easy to Deploy

4U rack-mountable unit
Fits seamlessly into the Network Instruments Distributed Network Analysis (NI-DNA™) architecture
Reports back to the award-winning Expert Observer and Observer Suite console
Configure as a local console for on-site analysis

Includes an nTAP to Ensure Complete Full-Duplex Captures
The analyser has the ability to perform full-duplex, wire-speed analysis for copper and optical fiber networks. All configurations of the Gigabit Probe Appliance include an internal nTAP that provides a copy of all traffic to the analyser. In case of gigabit over fiber (i.e. optical) networks, the nTAP splits the optical signal, providing one signal to the network and the other signal to the analyser. In the case of gigabit over copper, the nTAP electronically duplicates the gigabit signal—sending one signal to the network, and the other signal to the analyser. With an nTAP the data flow always remains unaltered and uninterrupted. In the case of the 10 GbE Probe Appliance, it can include an internal optical nTAP but copper TAPs are sold separately.

High-Capacity RMON Probe Appliance
The High-Capacity RMON (HCRMON) Probe Appliance from Network Instruments is built for high-capacity full-duplex analysis with any RMON management console or collection facility. This supports the RMON standard, HCRMON, as detailed in RFCs 2577 and 3273. This appliance comes complete with all hardware necessary as a ready-to-go system, including nTAPs and the Gen2 Gigabit Capture Card. The HCRMON system provides network administrators with:

A direct, passive link into the data stream, offering an independent, proven, and trusted view of network traffic
Full adherence to all 21 RMON groups, including HCRMON for complete data collection
Compatibility to any RMON management console or collection facility (i.e. Observer Suite, OpenView, Concord, Micromuse)

Utilize with Expert Observer and Observer Suite
The Gigabit Probe works with the award-winning Expert Observer and Observer Suite console to provide the most comprehensive packet-capture, decode, real-time statistics, expert analysis, network trending and network reporting in the industry.

Observer features include:

Nanosecond resolution for enterprise-level networks
Graphical filter rule editor for creating complex filters effortlessly
Over 550 protocol and countless sub-protocol decodes
Over 570 Expert events to speed troubleshooting
Triggers and Alarms for immediate alerts on activities or errors
Application analysis statistics including response time and total/failed transactions for common applications such as SQL, MS Exchange, Oracle, VoIP, and DNS

Gigabit Technical Specifications

10 GbE Technical Specifications