19.1.1 Port Mirroring Overview

Port mirroring is a function that sends a copy of frames sent and received on a specified physical port to a specified physical port. Copying a frame is called mirroring, and the copied frame is called mirroring frame. By using this function, you can monitor and analyze traffic by receiving mirroring frames with an analyzer, etc.

The following figures show the flow of received frames and sent frames when mirroring is used.

Figure 19-1: Mirroring received frames

Figure 19-2: Mirroring of transmitted frames

As shown in these figures, the physical port that monitors traffic is called the monitor port, and the physical port to which mirroring frames are sent is called the mirror port.