Difference between IPS and IDS
IPS –
IPS is an abbreviation for Intrusion Prevention System – a system which inspects traffic flowing through the network and blocks or else remediates flows with malicious traffic.
IPS usually uses a combination of traffic and file signatures and heuristic analysis of flows.
Having said that, you will find solutions with both capabilities of IDS and IPS built-in. IDS can be used initially to see how the system behaves without actually blocking anything.
Then once fine-tuned IPS can be turned on and the system can be deployed inline to provide full protection.
IDS –
IDS is an abbreviation for Intrusion Detection System – a system similar to IPS but does not affect flows in any way – only logs or alerts on malicious traffic to the central management system.
Comparison table: Difference between IPS and IDS
Now that we have a basic understanding of IDS and IPS, let’s enumerate the difference in IDS vs IPS Table –
| PARAMETER | IPS | IDS |
|---|---|---|
| Abbreviation for | Intrusion Prevention System | Intrusion Detection System |
| System Type | Active (monitor & automatically defend) and/ or passive | Passive (monitor and Notify) |
| Detection mechanism | Statistical anomaly based detection Signature detection: * Exploit-facing signatures * Vulnerability-facing signatures | Signature detection: * Exploit-facing signatures |
| Placement | Inline to data communication | Out of band from data communication |
| Anomaly response | Drop, alert or clean malicious traffic | Sends alarm/alert of detecting malicious traffic |
| Network performance impact | Slow down network performance due to delay caused by inline IPS processing | Does not impact network performance due to non-line deployment of IDS. |
| Benefits | Preferred by most organization since detection and prevention are automatically performed | Does not block legitimate traffic which might be blocked by IPS at times. |
Download the comparison table here.
Related – IDS vs IPS vs Firewall
Watch these videos to know more about IDS vs IPS difference –
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I am a biotechnologist by qualification and a Network Enthusiast by interest. I developed interest in networking being in the company of a passionate Network Professional, my husband.
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