Invisibly Sniffing 100 MB Ethernet

Problem

You need to record all traffic across a full duplex connection.

Solution

There are two ways to do this. Both require the use of the passive tap constructed in "Invisibly Sniffing Between Two Network Points."

If you have a Snort machine with multiple network interfaces, combine their use into a full duplex dump using either of the ways outlined in "Monitoring Multiple Network Interfaces." If your Snort machine has only one network interface, using the passive tap, run both lines to a small hub. Then from another port of the hub, run a cable to your IDS. This will combine and maybe even buffer the traffic for the IDS and give a full duplex connection.

Discussion

This tap would be useful across an uplink between two switches. It is invisible on the network, as it cannot transmit. This can also be used inline between hosts or between a switch and a host, narrowing down the traffic analyzed to only that going to and from a specific host.

You should also note that a 100 M hub is capable of handling only 100 M, whereas a 100 M switch may well be capable of handling 200 M duplex connections. This wouldn't usually be a problem, as most networks won't run anywhere near capacity, but you should consider the possibility of packet loss.

See Also

Snort online documentation, "IDS Deployment Guides" (http://www.snort.org/docs/)

Sniffing Gigabit Ethernet