Systems and methods for determining input and out interfaces of a network device and copies of a same packet going through the network device

1. A method performed by a network device that taps to a network having a routing device, comprising:

receiving a first packet tapped from the network;

determining a first information regarding an input interface of the routing device based on a destination address of the first packet by comparing the destination address of the first packet with a source address of a discovery protocol packet, wherein the first information is determined using a processing unit;

receiving a second packet tapped from the network;

determining a second information regarding an output interface of the routing device based on a source address of the second packet, wherein the second information is determined using the processing unit;

determining a first CRC for the first packet;

determining a second CRC for the second packet; and

comparing the first CRC with the second CRC at the network device to determine whether the first packet and the second packet are the same.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the act of determining the first information or the act of determining the second information comprises determining discovery data contained in a discovery protocol packet.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the act of determining the second information regarding the output interface of the routing device comprises comparing the source address of the second packet with a destination address of a discovery protocol packet.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the destination address of the first packet comprises a destination MAC address, and the source address of the second packet comprises a source MAC address.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising running a discovery protocol at the network device.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the discovery protocol comprises a CDP or a LLDP.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first CRC is determined using at least a portion of the first packet.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising dropping the first packet or the second packet if the first CRC and the second CRC are the same.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising storing the first packet or the second packet in a non-transitory medium.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the first packet or the second packet is stored in association with the determined first information regarding the input interface of the routing device, and in association with the determined second information regarding the output interface of the routing device.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the network device comprises a single network appliance.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the network device comprises multiple network appliances.

13. A network device comprising:

one or more ports for receiving a first packet tapped from a network and a second packet tapped from the network, the network comprising a routing device; and

a processing unit configured for determining a first information regarding an input interface of the routing device based on a destination address of the first packet by comparing the destination address of the first packet with a source address of a discovery protocol packet;

determining a second information regarding an output interface of the routing device based on a source address of the second packet;

determining a first CRC for the first packet;

determining a second CRC for the second packet; and

comparing the first CRC with the second CRC at the network device to determine whether the first packet and the second packet are the same.

14. The network device of claim 13 , wherein the processing unit is configured for determining the first information or the second information by determining discovery data contained in a discovery protocol packet.

15. The network device of claim 13 , wherein the processing unit is configured for determining the second information regarding the output interface of the routing device by comparing the source address of the second packet with a destination address of a discovery protocol packet.

16. The network device of claim 13 , wherein the destination address of the first packet comprises a destination MAC address, and the source address of the second packet comprises a source MAC address.

17. The network device of claim 13 , wherein the processing unit is further configured for running a discovery protocol.

18. The network device of claim 17 , wherein the discovery protocol comprises a CDP or a LLDP.

19. The network device of claim 13 , wherein the processing unit is further configured for determining the first CRC using at least a portion of the first packet.

20. The network device of claim 13 , wherein the processing unit is further configured for dropping the first packet or the second packet if the first CRC and the second CRC are the same.

21. The network device of claim 13 , further comprising a non-transitory medium for storing the first packet or the second packet.

22. The network device of claim 21 , wherein the first packet or the second packet is stored in the non-transitory medium in association with the determined first information regarding the input interface of the routing device, and in association with the determined second information regarding the output interface of the routing device.

23. The network device of claim 13 , wherein the network device comprises a single network appliance.

24. The network device of claim 13 , wherein the network device comprises multiple network appliances.