In this blog, you will learn when and how to deploy the ExtraHop Packet Forwarder and how to configure it so that you get the desired data feed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let’s start by answering the question: “Why\/when do you deploy a packet forwarder”. Normally you will receive a data feed from a span port\/packet broker\/virtual tab (in the cloud) or via an ERSPAN in VMware. However, there are certain situations where getting that data feed is difficult or from a price point too expensive. Take a remote location with one server and a couple of client devices. Deploying an ExtraHop sensor in such a location might not be economically feasible. You can however deploy an ExtraHop packet Forwarder on the server at this remote location, which will forward all the traffic the server receives\/sends to an ExtraHop Packet Sensor at the central\/main location. This will provide visibility into the behavior of that server without the need to deploy an extra ExtraHop Packet Sensor at that location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another use case is getting visibility into a containerized environment. You can get visibility into that containerized environment by deploying an ExtraHop Packet Forwarder on the server that hosts that containerized services. All of a sudden the ExtraHop Packet Forwarder gave you back that visibility that you lost when you chose for the ease and flexibility of using containers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ExtraHop Packet Forwarder can be deployed on Linux and Windows servers. Details can be found on the ExtraHop website:<\/p>\n\n\n\n