Data Plane Security
Data plane security can be implemented using the following features:
Access control lists |
Access control lists (ACLs) perform packet filtering to control which packets move through the network and where. |
Antispoofing |
ACLs can be used as an antispoofing mechanism that discards traffic that has an invalid source address. |
Layer 2 security features |
Cisco Catalyst switches have integrated features to help secure the Layer 2 infrastructure. |
ACLs
ACLs are used to secure the data plane in a variety of ways, including the following:
Block unwanted traffic or users |
ACLs can filter incoming or outgoing packets on an interface, controlling access based on source addresses, destination addresses, or user authentication. |
Reduce the chance of DoS attacks |
ACLs can be used to specify whether traffic from hosts, networks, or users can access the network. The TCP intercept feature can also be configured to prevent servers from being flooded with requests for a connection. |
Mitigate spoofing attacks |
ACLs enable security practitioners to implement recommended practices to mitigate spoofing attacks. |
Provide bandwidth control |
ACLs on a slow link can prevent excess traffic. |
Classify traffic to protect other planes |
ACLs can be applied on vty lines (management plane). |
Antispoofing
Implementing the IETF best current practice 38 (BCP38) and RFC 2827 ingress traffic filtering renders the use of invalid source IP addresses ineffective, forcing attacks to be initiated from valid, reachable IP addresses which could be traced to the originator of an attack.
Features such as Unicast Reverse Path Forwarding (uRPF) can be used to complement the antispoofing strategy.
Layer 2 Data Plane Protection
The following are Layer 2 security tools integrated into the Cisco Catalyst switches:
Port security |
Prevents MAC address spoofing and MAC address flooding attacks |
DHCP snooping |
Prevents client attacks on the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server and switch |
Dynamic ARP inspection (DAI) |
Adds security to ARP by using the DHCP snooping table to minimize the impact of ARP poisoning and spoofing attacks |
IP source guard |
Prevents IP spoofing addresses by using the DHCP snooping table |