The Cisco Secure Intrusion Detection System (IDS), formerly known as NetRanger, from Cisco Systems is the industry's first enterprise-scale, real-time, network intrusion detection system. As the dynamic security component of the Cisco end-to-end security product line - -which includes firewalls, encryption, and authentication - -the Cisco Secure IDS can operate in both Internet and intranet environments to protect an organization's entire network.The Cisco Secure IDS consists of two components: the Sensor and the Director. Cisco Secure IDS Sensors, which are high-speed network appliances, analyze the content and context of individual packets to determine if traffic is authorized. If a network's data stream exhibits unauthorized or suspicious activity, such as a SATAN attack, a ping sweep, or the transmission of a secret research project code word, Cisco Secure IDS Sensors can detect the policy violation in real time, forward alarms to a Cisco Secure IDS Director management console, and remove the offender from the network. The Cisco Secure IDS Director is a high-performance software-based management system that centrally monitors the activity of multiple Cisco Secure IDS Sensors located on local or remote network segments.