A synthetic node is a user-generated construct in the Forward Networks model. It is used to represent a device or portion of the network from which data cannot be collected by the Forward platform. Most often a synthetic node represents a private service provider network (such as a layer-3 VPN) or the public Internet itself. With Forward Networks' synthetic nodes, you can gain deep insights into traffic behavior, security policy compliance, and connectivity without needing actual devices in place.
Key Benefits of Synthetic Nodes
- Extend Network Visibility: Model networks beyond physical limitations by identifying connections between devices, cloud regions, or even hypothetical network expansions. This allows teams to visualize how traffic would behave in different scenarios without deploying new hardware.
- Improve Troubleshooting: Identify potential routing or connectivity issues in a controlled, testable environment without affecting live network traffic. By analyzing network behavior with synthetic nodes, engineers can diagnose problems faster and reduce mean time to resolution (MTTR).
- Reduce Costs: Avoid the expense of deploying physical infrastructure for testing, validation, and network modeling. Instead of purchasing additional hardware or setting up lab environments, synthetic nodes allow teams to test changes in a cost-effective manner.
When to Use Synthetic Nodes
- Cloud Migrations: Simulate cloud regions and connectivity before migration to ensure hybrid and multi-cloud environments function correctly. This helps prevent misconfigurations that could disrupt application performance or introduce security gaps.
- Mergers & Acquisitions: Model how two networks will interact before integration, allowing teams to identify potential routing conflicts, security mismatches, or performance bottlenecks. This helps ensure a seamless transition and minimizes post-merger network disruptions.
- Security Policy Testing: Validate that segmentation and security policies effectively prevent unauthorized access while maintaining necessary connectivity. By identifying different attack vectors and policy changes, security teams can refine configurations to strengthen overall security posture.
- Network Expansion: Test the impact of adding new devices, locations, or services on existing network infrastructure. This allows engineers to optimize network design and capacity planning while avoiding performance issues.
- Compliance Audits: Verify compliance with security frameworks such as NIST, CIS, or PCI DSS by modeling potential vulnerabilities and policy enforcement. Synthetic nodes help simulate real-world traffic scenarios to ensure that security controls are operating as intended.
Getting Started with Synthetic Nodes in Forward Networks
- Define the Use Case: Identify what you want to simulate, such as new cloud regions, security policies, routing scenarios, or disaster recovery configurations. Clearly defining the objective helps ensure accurate modeling .
- Create the Synthetic Node: Use Forward Networks’ interface to add a synthetic node representing the virtual device, application, or service. This node will act as a stand-in for real infrastructure, allowing for a comprehensive network analysis.
- Configure Connections: Link synthetic nodes to existing network elements such as routers, firewalls, or cloud gateways to model behavior accurately. Defining how these nodes interact with real network components ensures better analysis.
- Analyze Results: Review the network insights generated by the platform to validate network changes, detect misconfigurations, and optimize performance. Leveraging synthetic nodes for continuous testing helps improve network reliability and security over time.
By leveraging synthetic nodes, you can make data-driven decisions, reduce risks, and streamline network operations without physical deployments. These virtual models empower networking and security teams to proactively address challenges and maintain a resilient, well-optimized network infrastructure.
Want to learn more? Check out these community articles and discussions on synthetic nodes:
