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    Request a Bypass Deployment Review

    Plan Your Bypass Deployment

    A network bypass switch provides a controlled traffic path around an inline security appliance during maintenance or a detected failure. The required behavior depends on your security policy and the selected platform and configuration. For a deployment review, share:• Network link speed and copper or fiber media• Inline tools, appliance ports and number of bypass segments• Heartbeat detection and recovery requirements• Fail-open or fail-closed policy for appliance, power and bypass-switch failures• Maintenance, redundancy and change-window requirements Ask Niagara Networks to confirm supported interfaces, failure behavior and recovery timing for your design. Validate the configured behavior in your environment before production deployment.
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    A bypass switch sits between network links and an inline appliance. In normal operation, traffic passes through the appliance. A configured heartbeat can detect an appliance fault and trigger the chosen bypass behavior. Review each failure case separately: appliance failure, scheduled maintenance, loss of power and bypass-switch failure. Decide whether availability or enforced inspection takes priority in each case. Fail-open and fail-closed options, interfaces and recovery behavior depend on the selected model and configuration. Confirm the design with Niagara Networks and test heartbeat thresholds, restoration behavior and maintenance procedures before deployment.
    NN Bypass overview-1

    Inline Bypass -  Advanced Carrier-Grade Bypass Switches

    •  Our signature Bypass offers carrier-grade double-protection bypass technology for all network speeds up to 100Gbps.
    •  Bypass is available in multiple bypass segment options, supporting a range of electrical and optical network interfaces up to 100Gb.
    •  Each Bypass segment comprises two network ports and two appliance ports.  
    •  A fail-safe / fail-open optical/copper relay on network ports, and user-configurable heartbeat-generated packets on appliance ports.
    •  TAP versatility: All Bypass-based products can be user-configured as active network TAPs, providing mirrored traffic for out-of-band monitoring and analysis.
    • Automation ready: Supports API-driven automation and management, enabling integration with orchestration platforms and programmable infrastructure.

    Understanding Bypass Switch

    • Normal Mode
    • Application Failure
    • Bypass Switch Failure

    Normal Mode

     

    NN Bypass In-Line-3

     

    Normal operation of a network bypass:
    The traffic between 2 network elements (ie: router, switch) go through an inline network security tool

    Application Failure

     

    NN Bypass - Bypass-3

     

    In the case of a failure of the inline tool/appliance -
    the bypass makes sure the traffic between the network elements remains up and running

    Bypass Switch Failure

     

    NN Bypass - PowerLoss-3

     

    In the case of power failure of the bypass switch itself,
    the traffic between the network elements continues to flow thanks to optical/copper relay

    Plan for Power and Bypass-Switch Failure

    Relay behavior during loss of power or a bypass-switch fault must match your availability and security policy. Confirm the supported fail-open or fail-closed behavior for the selected model, media and configuration.

    Document the expected traffic path for each failure case, then test it during commissioning. Do not assume that every platform or configuration provides the same behavior.

    NN Bypass - OpticalSwitch

    Heartbeat Protection

    A configured heartbeat monitors the inline appliance path. If the appliance stops responding, the bypass switch can trigger the traffic behavior defined for that deployment.

    Set detection thresholds and restoration behavior to suit the appliance and security policy. Test appliance faults, planned maintenance and return-to-service procedures, and confirm supported functions and recovery timing for the selected platform.

    NN Bypass - Heartbeat-1

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