Understanding traffic direction
Monitored statistics reference the direction of the flowthe network traffic between network objects and the side of the appliance where the data is collected. It is assumed that the appliance is somewhat close to the edge of your network. Therefore, when installed inlineIn network terminology, an inline device receives packets and forwards them to their intended destination. Routers, firewalls and switches are examples of inline devices. The inline designation also alerts you the device is critical to network function. If the device goes down, network traffic is affected., the appliance is cabled to the LANLocal area network and the WANWide Area Network.
The LAN-side of the appliance is considered internal to your network and the WAN-side of the appliance is considered external to your network. When the traffic flows from the WAN-side to the LAN-side, the traffic is considered inbound. When the traffic is flowing from the LAN-side to the WAN-side, the traffic is considered outbound.