Bypass protection comes in two forms: logical and physical. Both operate on the principle that traffic must continue, even if it can't be inspected.

Physical bypass is the ability to physically forward packets in the event of a Gigamon visibility node power failure. It also allows you to upgrade your tools without impacting network downtime. Switching to protected mode occurs automatically and without software intervention upon the loss of power.

Logical bypass happens in the event of inline tool failure and forwards traffic either to  other tools or to the network. The system detects failure when the link with that tool breaks down, the inline tool stops responding or during loss of software control, thus enabling you to safely remove or upgrade an inline tool without disrupting the network.