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    Tap Interfaces
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    Tap Interfaces

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    Tap Interfaces

    A network tap is a device that provides a way to access data flowing across a computer network. Tap mode deployment allows you to passively monitor traffic flows across a network by way of a switch SPAN or mirror port.
    The SPAN or mirror port permits the copying of traffic from other ports on the switch. By dedicating an interface on the firewall as a tap mode interface and connecting it with a switch SPAN port, the switch SPAN port provides the firewall with the mirrored traffic. This provides application visibility within the network without being in the flow of network traffic.
    By deploying the firewall in tap mode, you can get visibility into what applications are running on your network without having to make any changes to your network design. In addition, when in tap mode, the firewall can also identify threats on your network. Keep in mind, however, because the traffic is not running through the firewall when in tap mode it cannot take any action on the traffic, such as blocking traffic with threats or applying QoS traffic control.
    To configure a tap interface and begin monitoring the applications and threats on your network:
    1. Decide which port you want to use as your tap interface and connect it to a switch configured with SPAN/RSPAN or port mirroring.
      You will send your network traffic from the SPAN destination port through the firewall so you can have visibility into the applications and threats on your network.
    2. From the firewall web interface, configure the interface you want to use as your network tap.
      1. Select
        Network
        Interfaces
         and select the interface that corresponds to the port you just cabled.
      2. Select
        Tap
         as the
        Interface Type
        .
      3. On the
        Config
         tab, expand the
        Security Zone
         and select
        New Zone
        .
      4. In the Zone dialog, enter a
        Name
         for new zone, for example TapZone, and then click
        OK
        .
    3. (Optional)
       Create any forwarding profiles you want to use.
    4. Create Security Profiles to scan your network traffic for threats:
      1. Select
        Objects
        Security Profiles
        .
      2. For each security profile type,
        Add
         a new profile and set the action to
        alert
        .
        Because the firewall is not inline with the traffic you cannot use any block or reset actions. By setting the action to alert, you will be able to see any threats the firewall detects in the logs and ACC.
    5. Create a security policy rule to allow the traffic through the tap interface.
      When creating a security policy rule for tap mode, both the source zone and destination zone must be the same.
      1. Select
        Policies
        Security
         and click
        Add
        .
      2. In the
        Source
         tab, set the
        Source Zone
         to the TapZone you just created.
      3. In the
        Destination
         tab, set the
        Destination Zone
         to the TapZone also.
      4. Set the all of the rule match criteria (
        Applications
        ,
        User
        ,
        Service
        ,
        Address
        ) to
        any
        .
      5. In the
        Actions
         tab, set the
        Action Setting
         to
        Allow
        .
      6. Set
        Profile Type
         to
        Profiles
         and select each of the security profiles you created to alert you of threats.
      7. Verify that
        Log at Session End
         is enabled.
      8. Click
        OK
        .
      9. Place the rule at the top of your rulebase.
    6. Commit
       the configuration.
    7. Monitor the firewall logs (
      Monitor
      Logs
      ) and the
      ACC
       for insight into the applications and threats on your network.

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