Apparatus and system for aggregating captured network traffic

A method comprising:

• receiving a plurality of sets of captured network traffic from a plurality of geographically disperse sources at a network captured traffic distribution device communicatively coupled to a plurality of network captured network traffic distribution devices arranged in a stacked topology;
• determining, by the network captured network traffic distribution device, a target destination of each set of captured network traffic;
• determining, by the network captured network traffic distribution device, whether any of the sets of captured network traffic have the same target destination;
• aggregating, by the network captured network traffic distribution device, the sets of captured network traffic with the same target destination based on the determination;
• and
• transmitting, by the network captured network traffic distribution device, the aggregated captured network traffic toward the target destination.

A system comprising:

• a source of captured network traffic, wherein the source performs at least one of capturing network traffic transmitted between two devices and receiving captured traffic via a mirror port of a network switch;
• a plurality of stacked network captured traffic distribution devices arranged in a stacked topology such that each network captured traffic distribution device is communicatively coupled via a communication link with at least one additional stacked network captured traffic distribution device and each stacked network captured traffic distribution device automatically exchanges configuration information with at least some of the plurality stacked network captured traffic distribution devices in the stacked topology and aggregates captured network traffic with the same target destination, wherein at least one network captured traffic distribution device of the plurality of network captured traffic distribution devices is configured to receive captured network traffic from the source, and at least one network captured traffic distribution device of the plurality of network captured traffic distribution devices is configured to transmit received captured traffic to an external device via a communication link;
• and
• the external device for receiving captured network traffic from at least one of the stacked network captured traffic distribution devices.