Attaching a PC to multiple LANs

Hi,

I have a requirement to attach a PC to several local area networks at the same time in order monitor a number of servers. All the networks are physically situated in the same building, however, it is very important that data on any of the LANs is NEVER routed to any of the other networks.

My idea is to install multiple NICs into a PC, and then physically attach this PC to all the networks. I would have firewall software installed on the PC, such as Sygate. There would be no internet connection to the PC.

Is my plan to attach the PC simultaneously to multiple networks an "acceptable" way of accomplishing my goal?

Is there a better way of doing this?

I would be grateful for any help or advice.

regards, Ron

There are a number of ways this can be done. An important key is the type of application that needs to be run. Is the information "text only", or is there "pretty pictures"? What operating systems are used?

Depends on how many networks - and how big the computer is. For example I have one system that has three Quad NICs (DFE-580TX), that has a total of 12 networks attached - a hassle, but it works.

It depends on the security classification (or equivalent) and your threat model. If a "bad guy" gains access to the computer, that person has access to all traffic on the network. A slightly more secure mechanism would be to have the "monitor" application on an individual system on each network, and outputting serial data to a terminal application running on the PC. Using a multi-port serial card, you can have as much as 64 serial inputs. A person gaining access to this PC has only access to the data, not the networks.

Define your threat model.

Old guy