Active scanning for system inventory information and vulnerability data is a powerful tool that can return great benefits. Active scanning on your network also can return great headaches, however. It can have a high political cost and far-reaching effects on system uptime and reliability. If not done carefully, it can be an ineffective, inefficient way to gather information.
Passive scanning, by its nature, is politically less sensitive and technically a dramatically lighter touch on the network. It provides accurate, up-to-date information as soon as a system appears and starts "talking."
Just by watching a network's traffic flow, passive scanners can deduce a large amount of information about the communicating systems. Just as you can determine the type of cheese by tasting it (an "active" scan), you can also use passive techniques, such as reading the label or taking the aroma as it passes by.
Because passive scanners are limited to looking at existing traffic, they suffer in terms of overall completeness and accuracy. For example, a passive scanner can't detect an application that no one ever uses, and it can be fooled easily by a system intentionally spewing out misinformation and disinformation.
Rss FeedRss Feed
The Leader in Network Knowledge
Partner Content
Blue Stripe Software
www.bluestripe.com/
Improving Application Performance Troubleshooting
Diagnosing why an application is slow is hard, at times taking days or weeks to isolate and resolve. This paper explains the challenges involved using current management tools, provides a 'wish list' for application management and analysis, and explains the need for an application system-wide approach that monitors entire applications, not components.
Download Whitepaper
Virtual Vigilance: Managing Application Performance in Virtual Environments
This paper highlights the impact of virtualization on application performance. "Managing Application Performance in Virtual Environments" states: "Best-in-Class organizations are predominately taking actions around improving visibility across both physical and virtual systems, assessing the business impact of application performance and understanding interdependencies of applications in virtualized environments."
Download Whitepaper
Application Service Requests: The Missing Link for Pragmatic ITSM
Forrester Research analyst Glenn O'Donnell and BlueStripe co-founder Vic Nyman discuss a breakthrough approach to application problem management. Learn the new approach for ITSM problem management, which provides: Rapid isolation of application slow-downs to specific components for quick problem resolution, 24/7 monitoring for proactive notification of potential issues before end users are impacted and much more.
Register for Webcast
Comment