4540 Product - Datasheet
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Overview
The 4540 Packet Broker is a high-performance 100G visibility platform purpose-built for SOC and NOC environments in on-premises and private data center networks, delivering complete traffic visibility, control & optimized tool efficiency.
Key Features

Smart Network Intelligence powered by FabricFlow™ technology, providing advanced traffic filtering, load balancing, and Open Visibility integration - all centrally managed through NVC for maximum agility & control.

Use Cases

Empower SOC and NOC operations with optimized data streams, enhanced traffic insight, and seamless integration of monitoring and security tools across 10/25/100G networks.

FAQ
Read the FAQ to discover common questions and learn more about the product/solution.
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4540 Solution abstract-1

ACCELERATE THE NETWORK INTELLIGENCE LAYER

Enhance visibility and control through high-performance aggregation, filtering, replication, load balancing, and traffic grooming across 10/25/100G interfaces - all powered by a 3.2 Tbps non-blocking architecture that ensures lossless, line-rate delivery of traffic to the right tools.
Intelligent
  • Provides advanced aggregation, replication & multi-level filtering
  • Ensures precise & reliable traffic distribution across tools.
  • Simplifies complex network architectures.
  • Enables seamless traffic flow for performance & security monitoring
  • Enhances the efficiency and accuracy of NOC & SOC tools

 

Scalable Visibility
  • Flow-aware policy enforcement: packet slicing, de-duplication, tunnel awareness
  • Optimize tool utilization & reduce data overhead in hybrid, mixed-speed environments
  • Simplify APM/NPM analytics & reporting
  • Enhance security analytics with efficient, advanced threat inspection
  • Boost tool performance & scalability by minimizing redundant data
Adaptive
  • High-density, pay-as-you-grow architecture with flexible port options
  • Optional Packetron acceleration extends visibility with deep packet inspection, TLS decryption & Layer 7 analytics
ePacketron

ADDING THE PACKETRON INTELLIGENCE ARCHITECTURE TO THE 4540

The Niagara 4540 Packet Broker supports modular acceleration through up to two Packetron line-card modules, enabling advanced packet processing directly within the visibility fabric. Each module connects to the 3.2 Tbps non-blocking FabricFlow™ architecture via dedicated 100G interfaces, allowing any ingress or egress port to benefit from enhanced Layer 2–7 packet intelligence.
The architecture is future-ready, supporting seamless migration to next-generation ePacketron appliances for greater processing power, application awareness, and multi-tenant performance.

Offload and Accelerate

Offload intensive packet processing tasks, such as deduplication, slicing, and SSL/TLS decryption, from monitoring & security tools to the visibility layer.
This improves throughput efficiency, tool performance, and resource utilization across the monitoring infrastructure.

Scale as Capacity Grows

Deploy one or two Packetron modules based on processing requirements, with a clear upgrade path to ePacketron acceleration for extended compute capacity and advanced feature sets.
The modular design enables pay-as-you-grow scalability as network traffic and analysis demands evolve.

Gain Deep Insight

Leverage packet and flow-level visibility up to Layer 7 for advanced analytics, compliance monitoring, and forensic visibility.
Integration with FabricFlow provides precise flow control, dynamic traffic optimization, and consistent performance under heavy load.

From raw network & application data flows to actionable insights

Actionable Intelligence from Every Packet

 

Terabit Visibility Fabric

  • Up to 28 × 40/100Gb and 8 × 1/10/25Gb ports
  • 3.2Tbps non-blocking switching fabric
  • Full any-to-any port connectivity at line rate
  • Supports up to 2 pluggable Packetron modules 
  • 1RU Compact Form Factor 

Scalable & Reliable

  • Stackable via any port for expanded visibility fabrics
  • Compact design with dual hot-swappable power supplies & fans
  • Integrates with external inline bypass for continuous, always-on availability

Intelligent Traffic Control

  • FabricFlow aggregation, replication & filtering (L2–4, UDB)
  • Advanced tunnel handling for ERSPAN, VXLAN, MPLS, GRE, NVGRE, GENEVE and  mobile GTP
  • Flexible load balancing: L2–L4 hashing, utilization-based, or session-sticky modes

Deep Packet Intelligence

  • Packetron acceleration modules for hosting third-party virtual applications and advanced packet intelligence functions up to Layer 7
  • Supports application filtering, de-duplication, packet slicing, header stripping, TLS decryption, data masking, NetFlow/IPFIX generation, REGEX and 3G/4G/5G NSA mobile visibility

Scalable Performance

  • Single-bay packet acceleration module design
  • Supports up to 2 rear Packetron modules (up to 200G processing)
  • Future-ready for external ePacketron expansion

 

De-coupled Software Architecture

  • Modular design based on microservices architecture enables independent software updates for Packetron & associated services.
  • Agile upgrade model for rapid deployment of new network intelligence features

Open Visibility Platform

  • Supports 'open garden' application architecture
  • Enables third-party partner integrations for analytics, security & network intelligence applications Learn more

Future Support for ePacketron

  • Pay-as-you-grow architecture supporting multiple processing profiles
  • Built for high-speed Packet Acceleration and hybrid deployments  Learn more

MADE in the USA

Niagara Networks is among the few companies designing and manufacturing network visibility solutions in the USA, ensuring quality, reliability & security compliance Learn more

4540 + NDR-jpeg

Use Cases

Tool Optimization and Load Balancing

Aggregate, filter, and distribute traffic intelligently across multiple monitoring, performance, and security tools.
Ensure efficient utilization of existing infrastructure by sending only relevant traffic to each tool.

Read the Solution Use Case
Enabling Visibility Intelligence for Optimized SIEM Operations
Niagara Networks Packet Brokers, combined with the Open Visibility Platform, collect, aggregate, and filter traffic across physical and virtual environments to deliver only relevant, optimized data to SIEM and analytics tools.
This integration enables session-aware load balancing, removes duplicate packets, and supports centralized or distributed NFV-based inspection, providing agile, scalable visibility for SecOps and NetOps operations.
Read the Solution Use Case
Enhancing Network Intelligence with Packet Slicing and NetFlow Export
Implement packet slicing to reduce tool load and expose only necessary traffic, while simultaneously exporting NetFlow v9 metadata to multiple collectors - enabling both deep security inspection and distributed traffic analytics from a single visibility node.
Read The Blog
Leveraging Advanced Packet Brokers and NDR for Encrypted Traffic Visibility and Threat Detection
Advanced Packet Brokers extract and filter encrypted sessions or metadata (e.g. JA3, SNI, TLS attributes) and feed them to NDR platforms for behavioral analysis - detecting threats without full decryption while minimizing exposure, reducing tool load, and preserving compliance.
Read The Blog
Modern DDoS defenses for National Networks – combining network visibility in Design and Implementation
A three-stage architecture combining strategic traffic interception (TAPs/packet brokers), flow-metadata generation and high-speed anomaly detection, enabling service-providers and national backbone operators to detect and mitigate multi-vector DDoS attacks (including Tbps-scale) rapidly & automatically.
Read The Blog
Eliminating Packet Duplication to Boost Security Tool Efficiency
Duplicate packets from port-mirroring and multi-tap setups flood monitoring tools, driving up storage demands, false positives and processing overhead. By leveraging flow-aware deduplication in the visibility layer, organizations can offload duplicate removal before data hits security tools - improving SOC/NoC accuracy, reducing resource usage & enabling high-throughput monitoring at scale.
Read The Blog

"We needed an absolutely perfect packet collection system - not just fault-tolerant, but fault-free - and Niagara solution provided that."

- Data Analysts -

 

Continuous monitoring is a core requirement of the NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0, ensuring that adverse events are detected early and acted upon before they escalate. Traditional methods such as SPAN ports or mirroring are no longer sufficient for today’s high-bandwidth and hybrid environments, where blind spots and encrypted traffic can mask threats.
Niagara Networks addresses this challenge by delivering complete, real-time visibility across physical, virtual, and cloud infrastructures.
With advanced capabilities such as inline bypass, TLS decryption, packet slicing, and traffic aggregation, Niagara enables NetOps and SecOps teams to continuously monitor all traffic flows, detect anomalies, and ensure compliance. This visibility directly supports
the Detect (DE.CM) category of NIST CSF 2.0, helping organizations monitor networks, external services, and computing resources
without compromise.

READ the Use Case

4540 Packet Broker – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is the Niagara Networks 4540 Advanced Packet Broker?

What differentiates the 4540 from traditional packet brokers?

How scalable is the 4540 architecture?

What advanced packet processing functions are supported?

Can the 4540 be deployed both inline and out-of-band?

How is the 4540 managed and orchestrated?

What are the primary use cases for the 4540?

How can TLS decryption be configured on the 4540?

Unlock smarter visibility 

Discover how Niagara’s Network Intelligence platform empowers NOC and SOC teams with advanced packet processing, deep traffic insight, and scalable performance across any environment.


Fill out the form and our team will connect with you to explore how our solution can strengthen your network visibility strategy.

 

 

 

Designed, Engineered & Manufactured in the USA

From design to production, our solutions are built to the highest standards of quality, security, and performance, trusted by organizations worldwide and deployed in some of the world’s largest mission-critical networks.

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