Network Architecture Overview

Table 1. Sites and Components

SitesComponentsDescription
Primary SiteESAESA P1, ESA S1, ESA S2
LTMLTM-1: Manages resiliency within the Primary Site
DR SiteESAESA S3, ESA S4, ESA S5
LTMLTM-2: Manages resiliency within the DR Site
GTMGTMGTM: Manages resiliency between the Primary and DR Sites

Table 2. ESA Compatibility

ESA version Supported ProtectorsSupported Protectors
10.x.x
  • v9.1.0.0 Protectors (Backward Compatibility Mode)
  • v10.0.0 Standard Protectors
  • DSG 3.3.0.0 (Backward Compatibility Mode)

Communication Flows

Below table describes communication flows as depicted in diagrams in Deployment with Default Audit logging flow to ESA and Deployment with Audit logging flow to External SIEM.

Table 3. Communication Flows

FlowRequest InitiatorDestinationPortProtocolFlow SequenceLTM Configuration
Policy Download for v9.1.0.0 Protector
Pepserver in the Protector nodeService Dispatcher in ESA8443TLS
  1. Through GTM.
  2. Through LTM-1 for active flow and LTM-2 for failover flow to Service Dispatcher in ESA.
Primary Active Flow: Active connection to ESA P1 and standby connection to other ESAs
Protector 9.1 -> GTM ->LTM-1->ESA P1
DR Flow: Active connection to ESA S3 and standby connections to other ESAs
Protector 9.1-> GTM ->LTM-2->ESA S3
Package Download for v10.0.0 Standard Protector
RPAgent in the Protector nodeRPP in ESA25400TLS
  1. Through GTM.
  2. Through LTM-1 for active flow and LTM-2 for failover flow to RPP in ESA
Primary Active Flow: Active connection to ESA P1 and standby connection to other ESAs
Protector 10.0.0->GTM ->LTM-1->ESA P1
DR Flow: Active connection to ESA S3 and standby connection other ESAs
Protector 10.0.0->GTM ->LTM-2->ESA S3
Forwarding of Audit Events to ESA
Log Forwarder in the Protector nodeInsight in ESA9200TLS
  1. Through GTM.
  2. Through LTM-1 for active flow and LTM-2 for failover flow to Insight in ESA.
Primary Active Flow: Routed to all ESAs in the Primary Site
Protector 9.1.0.0/10.0.0->GTM ->LTM-1->ESA P1, S1,S2
DR Flow: Routed to all ESAs in the DR Site
Protector 9.1.0.0/10.0.0->GTM ->LTM-2->ESA S3, S4,S5
Forwarding of Audit Events to External SIEM via ESA
Log Forwarder in the Protector nodeTD-Agent in ESA24224/ 24284Non-TLS/TLS
  1. Through GTM.
  2. Through LTM-1 for active flow and LTM-2 for failover flow to Insight in ESA.
Primary Active Flow: Routed to all ESAs in the Primary Site
Protector 9.1.0.0/10.0.0->GTM ->LTM-1->ESA P1, S1,S2-> External SIEM
DR Flow: Routed to all ESAs in the DR Site
Protector 9.1.0.0/10.0.0->GTM ->LTM-2->ESA S3, S4,S5 -> External SIEM

The table below summarizes the key measurements for the recommended model architecture across various dimensions.

Table 4. Key measurements for the recommended model architecture across various dimensions

MeasurementPolicyInsightCriteria summary
ExtensibilityThe current architecture allows easy addition of new features, capabilities, or functionalities without requiring significant changes to the existing architecture.
Vertical ScalabilityThe current architecture allows enabling a node to expand its capacity by adding additional resources such as processing power, memory, or storage.
Horizontal ScalabilityXThe current architecture has the ability to distribute the load among multiple machines to improve the system's reliability and performance through a static consistent routing. But for Policy, it is always recommended to perform authoring and modification only from Primary ESA. Hence, policy does not support horizontal scalability.
High AvailabilityXFor Policy, HA is not supported as there is no real time replication of changes in policy to other ESAs from the Primary ESA. There is a dependency on TAC replication job for replication. For Insight, audit logs are replicated to all the ESAs in a round robin fashion and there are replicas available in each of the ESAs handled by OpenSearch.
Disaster RecoveryThe architecture meets the necessary criteria for disaster recovery, but it is important to understand that an appropriate DR plan is ready and tested by the user. The solution relies on the external SIEM for a complete log retention to be in place.
FederationThe current architecture has the ability to manage policy (monitor nodes), analyse events, and access logs to monitor performance as well as troubleshoot potential issues at the enterprise level (single sheet of glass). This criterion is met due to the use of an external SIEM.

These measurements underscore the importance and effectiveness of adhering to a well-defined model architecture, ensuring resiliency, fault tolerance, scalability, security, and maintainability and adaptable to changes.


Last modified : July 30, 2025