Configuring packet capturing for passive security tools
The final aspect of the lab environment we will be discussing is packet capturing. Tools such as Security Onion and SilentDefense use packet capturing technology to search for malicious activities. There are two ways to perform packet capturing in the lab architecture:
- Promiscuous mode on the VMware ESXi vSwitch. Refer to the VMware documentation for details on how to set this up: https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/1004099.
Note that in order to capture network packets, the security appliance needs to have its sniffing interface connected to the vSwitch/virtual port group you configured promiscuous mode for.
- SPAN ports on physical (Cisco 3750) switches. Refer to the Cisco documentation for details on how to set this up: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/switches/lan/catalyst3750x_3560x/software/release/12-2_55_se/configuration/guide/3750xscg/swspan.html.
Note that you need to wire the designated destination port back...