Cloud Intelligence TAP

Enables 100% visibility of virtual network traffic
for superior monitoring capabilities in private, hybrid & public clouds

CIT - Datasheet

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Overview

A lightweight virtual TAP that delivers full visibility into East-West, inter-VM, and cloud traffic across private, public & hybrid environments - eliminating blind spots and enabling complete monitoring coverage

Key Features

Cloud-native vTAP solution with selective traffic filtering, VXLAN/GRE tunneling, VM-level visibility & unified management through the CIP Controller - centrally orchestrated across VMware, AWS, Azure & GCP environments

Use Cases

Ideal for hybrid cloud visibility, SOC/NOC monitoring, inter-VM traffic inspection, cloud migration analysis, forensic investigations, and extending full packet visibility across multi-cloud & on-prem deployments

FAQ

Read the FAQ to discover common questions & learn more about the solution

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CLOUD-NATIVE VM VISIBILITY, DELIVERED ANYWHERE…

A lightweight virtual TAP that captures, filters, and forwards East-West and inter-VM traffic across private clouds, public clouds, and hybrid environments.

Cloud Intelligence TAP (CIT) is a cloud-native vTAP solution that delivers 100% visibility into virtualized network traffic, eliminating blind spots created by East-West, inter-VM, and mid-plane communication. Designed for VMware, AWS, Azure, and GCP, CIT enables selective traffic filtering, tunnel export (GRE), and scalable visibility across dynamic cloud workloads.

With centralized management through the CIP Controller (CIPC) and seamless integration with Niagara’s physical TAPs, the virtual TAP ensures SOC, NOC, and cloud teams always gain full visibility into the right VM traffic - anywhere workloads run.

A CLOUD-NATIVE VIRTUAL TAP THAT ELIMINATES BLIND SPOTS AND EXTENDS VISIBILITY ACROSS ANY CLOUD

Intelligent

Full visibility into East-West, inter-VM, and mid-plane traffic
Selective multi-layer traffic filtering
GRE-based export to any monitoring or security tool
Enhances troubleshooting, SLA compliance & forensics

Adaptive

Deployed in private, public, and hybrid cloud environments (AWS, Azure, GCP)
Aligns with cloud-native networking models
Supports dynamic, autoscaling workloads where VMs frequently start, stop, or migrate
Works seamlessly with VMware vSphere and cloud VM platforms

Unified

Works across AWS, Azure & GCP
Integrates with private & on-prem virtualization
Flexible policy profiles & unified
control layer

Scalable

High-throughput virtual architecture
Multi-region, multi-VPC visibility
Tool load optimization

vTAP - complete visibility across hybrid cloud

WHY CLOUD INTELLIGENCE TAP (vTAP) IS REQUIRED IN MODERN VIRTUALIZED & CLOUD ENVIRONMENTS?

Traditional visibility tools were designed for physical networks, where traffic flows through predictable switching paths and can be tapped via SPAN ports or physical TAPs.
Modern environments look nothing like that.

Virtualized and cloud-native networks introduce blind spots that traditional TAPs simply cannot reach:

East–West and inter-VM traffic stays inside the hypervisor - never hitting a physical interface
VM-to-VM communication is switched internally through vSwitches
VMs and containers start, stop, and migrate dynamically
Cloud providers encapsulate traffic using VXLAN, GENEVE, and GRE
Native cloud routing and micro-segmentation isolate workloads
Autoscaling and multi-zone designs constantly change traffic paths
Cloud providers often restrict or eliminate access to raw packet data

This means physical TAPs, SPAN ports, and legacy packet brokers cannot see where the traffic actually flows.

Virtual TAP solves this core challenge by bringing lightweight, native visibility directly into virtual and cloud workloads.

Built for Virtual & Cloud-Native Blind Spots

Virtual TAP captures East–West, inter-VM, and mid-plane traffic that never leaves the server or hypervisor.
It eliminates blind spots created by virtualization layers and cloud networking models - delivering 100% visibility into VM traffic across private, public & hybrid clouds.

Close to Workloads

vTAP runs inside the virtualized environment and collects the right traffic at the source, before it is encapsulated or distributed across zones.
VMs can start, stop, and migrate - vTAP follows the workload, ensuring visibility continuity across hypervisors, regions & cloud platforms.

Traffic Reduction Before Sending to SOC/NOC Tools

vTAP reduces overhead and tool load by applying selective, multi-layer filtering:

Removes unnecessary packets
Reduces bandwidth consumption
Sends only relevant monitored flows to collectors

Traffic is exported efficiently using GRE tunneling, enabling integration with any monitoring, security, or analytics tool.

Unified, Scalable Visibility Across Hybrid Clouds

Managed centrally by the CIP Controller, vTAP provides a unified operational model across:

VMware environments
AWS, Azure, and GCP workloads
On-prem data centers
Multi-cloud and hybrid-cloud deployments

Bulk deployment, minimal overhead, and seamless integration with Niagara physical TAPs ensure visibility everywhere - at any scale.

CAPTURE, FILTER, AND FORWARD VIRTUAL TRAFFIC ACROSS CLOUD & VIRTUALIZED ENVIRONMENTS

Cloud Intelligence TAP (CIT) delivers complete visibility into East-West, inter-VM, and cloud-native traffic that traditional TAPs cannot access - ensuring SOC, NOC, and cloud teams receive the right packet data for monitoring, security, and analytics

Cloud-Native VM Visibility

100% visibility into VM, East-West, inter-VM, and mid-plane traffic
Deploys in AWS, Azure, GCP, and private virtualized environments
Supports hybrid and multi-cloud architectures
Continuously tracks VMs as they start, stop, or migrate across hosts and clouds

Selective Traffic Filtering & Tunnel Export

Multi-layer, selective filtering reduces bandwidth and tool load
GRE tunneling support for exporting traffic to any monitoring or security platform
Forward traffic to multiple collectors in cloud or on-prem environments

Smart Integration with Cloud & Virtual Networks

Native compatibility with VMware ESXi, vSS & vDS
Supports IPv6 TAP across AWS, Azure, and GCP
Aligns with cloud-native networking models (VXLAN, GRE)
Complements Niagara physical TAPs for full hybrid visibility

Centralized Management & Automation

Unified administration through the CIP Controller for all vTAPs
Manage traffic policies, deployment, and orchestration from one interface
Enable consistent visibility architectures across private, public, and hybrid clouds

Lightweight, Scalable Virtual Architecture

Minimal hypervisor overhead with efficient VM resource usage
One-touch installation enables fast, bulk deployment
Scales elastically across multi-zone and multi-region cloud environments
Supports high-density deployments with large cloud footprints

Use Cases

Hybrid Cloud Monitoring & Cross-Environment Traffic Collection

Cloud Intelligence virtual TAP enables consistent visibility across private cloud, public cloud, and on-prem data centers, ensuring SOC/NOC teams receive the right packet data regardless of where workloads move.

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Full Visibility for Virtualized & Cloud-Native Workloads

CIT captures East-West, inter-VM, and mid-plane traffic inside VMware, AWS, Azure, and GCP environments - eliminating blind spots that physical TAPs cannot reach.

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Spyware and zero-day attacks are designed to be invisible, but with strong network visibility, they increase the chances of early detection and effective response. Visibility is a foundational layer, but pairing it with effective analysis and rapid response is essential to neutralize threats. By strategically using modern security tools and maintaining comprehensive monitoring, organizations can reduce their vulnerability and defend against today’s most sophisticated cyber threats.a type specimen book.

Read The Blog