Bypass Switch - Disadvantages

Disadvantages

Bypass switches add acquisition cost to the monitoring solution, although they may save cost in the long run by increasing network uptime.

Bypass switches move the single point of failure from the in-line monitoring appliance to the bypass switch itself. This should be a net gain in reliability, because the bypass switch is a simpler device than the monitoring appliance, and because it is designed for fault-tolerance. Nevertheless, reliability is an important criteria when evaluating bypass switch solutions.