Network Appliances

Jump Server

  • A secure server that provides access to a protected or isolated network, often used to manage and administer internal systems remotely. It acts as an intermediate access point to increase security, commonly used in environments with sensitive data or restricted access.

Proxy Server

  • A server that acts as an intermediary between a user and an external network, handling requests and responses on behalf of the user. It improves security, privacy, and performance.
    • NAT (Network Address Translation): A method used to map private IP addresses to a public IP address to conserve public IPs and allow devices on a private network to access external networks.
    • Application Proxies: Proxy servers dedicated to specific applications, such as HTTP proxies for web traffic or SMTP proxies for email traffic.
    • Forward Proxy: A proxy server that forwards client requests to external resources, typically used to control or monitor outbound traffic.
    • Reverse Proxy: A proxy server that handles client requests on behalf of internal servers, often used for load balancing, security, and caching.
    • Open Proxy: A public proxy that anyone can use, often associated with privacy risks as it can be exploited for malicious purposes.

Load Balancer

  • Distributes incoming network or application traffic across multiple servers to ensure high availability, reliability, and optimized performance.
    • Active/Active: All servers are actively serving requests, providing fault tolerance and efficient traffic distribution.
    • Active/Passive: One server actively serves requests while the other remains in standby mode, ready to take over in case the active server fails.

Sensors and Collectors

Sensors

Sensors monitor and gather data from network devices or traffic to detect potential security incidents, performance issues, or network anomalies.

  • Example: Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS), which actively monitor and can block suspicious traffic in real time.
  • Example: Log monitoring systems, which aggregate logs from various network devices to detect patterns or anomalies.

Collectors

Collectors centralize and store data gathered from sensors for further analysis. They are used to aggregate large volumes of network data to improve visibility, reporting, and decision-making.

  • Example: SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) systems, which collect, analyze, and correlate security data from various sources to provide real-time threat detection and incident response.