In a recent interview, Ariana Lynn, Principal Analyst at The Fast Mode spoke to Robert Schena, Chairman, CEO, and Co-Founder of Rajant Corporation on the impact of traffic visibility on modern IP networks. Robert joins us in a series of discussions with leading networking, analytics and cybersecurity companies, assessing the need for traffic filtering technologies that can deliver real-time, granular application awareness. The series explores how advanced analytics power various network functions amidst the rapid growth in traffic and applications.
Ariana: How do your solutions and products fulfill the demands of today's networks?
Robert: At a time of ever-increasing technological complexities, Rajant Corporation’s suite of products simplifies the complicated with networking and integrated smart devices out-of-the-box ready to deploy. Rajant’s legacy Kinetic Mesh® is unlike other wireless options for its ease of use, no infrastructure required, and the ability to completely mesh and backhaul over any network. Unlike high-risk possibilities, such as private LTE, Rajant is more affordable. With built-in redundancies, extremely low latency, and the ability to scale the network to meet the exact needs of any operation, Rajant Kinetic Mesh® is helping businesses maintain mission-critical operations that depend on reliable and capable continuous connectivity anywhere. With automation becoming pervasive, combined with a demand for mobility and edge computing, administrators need the reassurance that equipment, applications, and personnel will experience minimal downtime and never be out-of-range of a dependable connection. Rajant BreadCrumbs® vary in design from lightweight to rugged to weather-resistant, meeting the demands of whatever environment they’re deployed in.
Through the talents of our encryption team, products like our newly released RiSM make networks secure from bad actors looking to exploit vulnerabilities in communications. Any data deemed critical to your operation can and will be protected at a FIPS level. The RiSM is a commercially available Hardware Security Module (HSM) that allows users to meet the latest NIST standards for encryption (FIPS 140-3) and requirements for protecting Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU) and Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) data. No industry wants the negative headlines or risk associated with a breach or ransom attack. By protecting data with RiSM, users benefit by limiting access to cryptography keys to just crypto officers. Again, RiSM is easier to set up than alternative HSM solutions and more reliable than software solutions requiring a multi-tunnel approach. In addition, encrypting and decrypting data with RiSM instead of a PC or network device frees up processing power on those devices, improving CPU and network speed.
Ariana: What are your views on open-source software for delivering visibility?
Robert: Open-source software is crucial for delivering network traffic visibility. It provides powerful tools and frameworks that enable organizations to monitor, analyze, and manage network traffic effectively. Open-source packet capture tools allow users to isolate and inspect network traffic in real-time. These tools provide detailed insights into packet headers, payloads, and protocols, enabling network administrators to identify potential issues, analyze performance, and troubleshoot network problems.
Open-source network solutions offer comprehensive monitoring capabilities, allowing organizations to track network performance metrics, device status, and traffic patterns. By collecting data from network devices and systems, these tools provide visibility into network health, uptime, and utilization, helping organizations detect anomalies and proactively address issues before they impact operations.
Open-source intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDS/IPS) help organizations detect and mitigate security threats by monitoring network traffic for suspicious activity and known attack signatures. By analyzing packet payloads and traffic flows, these systems can identify and block malicious traffic, helping to enhance network security and protect against cyber threats.
Open-source flow analysis tools also enable organizations to analyze and visualize network flow data, including source and destination IP addresses, ports, protocols, and packet counts. By aggregating and summarizing flow data, these tools provide insights into network usage, traffic patterns, and bandwidth consumption, helping organizations optimize network performance and resource allocation.
In 2001, Robert Schena co-founded Rajant Corporation, the pioneer of Kinetic Mesh® Networks. Schena has successfully grown this once-small startup in Wayne, Pennsylvania, to have a strong international presence in a broad array of markets, including military, industrial, transportation, utilities, and telecommunications. Schena was appointed to the State of Pennsylvania’s Ben Franklin Technology Board by Governor Ridge in 2001, reappointed by Governor Rendell in 2004 and 2008, and reappointed by Governor Wolf in 2016. He serves on the Board of the Methodist Home for Children. In late 2010, Schena was named to Governor Corbett’s Marcellus Shale Transition Team. He sits on the Kentucky EPSCoR Board as well as the Morehead State University Foundation Board. Schena earned a B.A. degree in Business Administration from Temple University and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He has lectured extensively on broadband communications to professional and corporate organizations.
This interview is a part of The Fast Mode's Traffic Visibility segment, featuring leading networking, analytics and cybersecurity companies and their views on the importance of network intelligence and DPI for today's IP networks. A research report on this topic will be published in June 2024 - for more information, visit here.
