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The GLX4000 switches provide several key IT network security, and infrastructure solutions for Interop and Test labs, Financial Institutions, Hospitals, Data Centers, IT Government installations, and Business Enterprise Networks.
The GLX4000 can provide all of the following services to easily provide the Return on your Investment (ROI) and more importantly the robustness your IT Networks need.
Electronic Patch Panel - For InterOp Labs, Test Labs, or Enterprise users, quick network re-configuring is a main function of the GLX products. Change over networks or move to backup equipment in seconds. Re-configure changes right from your office out to remote sites or just in the next room, all changes can be done with a few mouse clicks.
Electronic patch panel for IT users help eliminate the patch panel wiring mess, more central control, better cable infrastructure management, ability to put switch in secure site that is not accessible, and quick remote control.
Another benefit is the ability to drill-down into your network for trouble shooting - having the ability to reconfigure / reposition a monitoring device in real time to investigate problems.
Programmable Tap - Many security and monitoring appliances require access to the network in a non-intrusive and passive way, which in the past have been done either through Taps or L2 Switch SPAN ports.
The GLX4000 can work in conjunction with Taps or SPAN ports providing for added flexibility and security or offer an alternate with advantages over taps and SPAN ports.
The GLX4000 switch has merit as a programmable tap giving more flexibility to insert network devices when (1) there are not enough SPAN ports, (2) interconnects need to be made on a random on-command requests (3) a more non-intrusive connection needs to be made to allow for Legal Intercept and the addition of Intrusion Detection devices, and (4) use of L2 Switch SPAN ports impact network bandwidth (5) Multiple Taps can decrease the power budget, however the GLX regenerates the output for multiple hop networking, (6) GLX does not expose open Tap connections that offer access to any potential threat.
Rogue Threat Router - In addition to disabling the path of a Rogue Threat on command from an IDS, the GLX can re-route the threat to servers / systems that can analysis the threat or to a secondary honeypot devices.
Media Converter - A useful and important feature of the GLX400 is providing for media conversions. By simply changing the transceivers on any port any specific data transmission can be changed from optical to copper, copper to optical, or to any optical transmission of 850nm, 1310 nm or 1550nm optics.
Media conversation saves cost and adds flexibility to cabling infrastructure. For example, a facility can bring in their main trunk on 1550nm fiber and convert to 850nm fiber and copper.
Additionally there is a cost saving of converting multiple optical fibers to copper right before going into a Cisco Switches. Supporting optical input interfaces on Cisco switches can be very expensive; therefore data centers may run fiber right to the switch area and then make a conversion to copper via the GLX.
Physical Zoning - Physical zoning (Zoning-by-user) is a feature that can add security between network users, by grouping specific users together and only allowing these pre-defined users to interact. However, on administrative command, common equipment can be used or failover programs be enacted sharing multiple pieces of equipment. Some customers refer to this feature as a "Physical VLan” [virtual LAN]. The key is that the switching is done at the physical layer and does not have the inherit problems that software devices have in reference to hacking and manipulation.
Un-hackable Switch - An overriding point for the GLX switch is that it is an Un-Hackable Switch. This phrase was actually coined by a customer after understanding that the switch is purely a physical connection, data passes through the switch without be being read, and the commands to change the port configurations come from an out-of-band signal, not from packets or information in the data stream itself.