Net Optics PA-CU-AR - Manual (Page 5)

10/100 Port Aggregator Tap
1
Introduction
Net.Optics.10/100.Dual.Port.Aggregator.Taps.with.Active.Response.provide.
ultra-efficient access to critical links with the option to inject an active re-
sponse.into.the.network ..This.pioneering.technology.enables.any.two.devices.
to.simultaneously.monitor.a.full-duplex.link.-.using.only.one.NIC.per.device .
Typically,.full-duplex.monitoring.with.a.network.tap.requires.two.NICs.(or.
a.dual.channel.NIC).–.one.interface.for.each.side.of.the.tapped.full-duplex.
connection ..The.Dual.Port.Aggregator.Tap.combines.and.regenerates.these.
streams,.sending.all.aggregated.data.out.two.separate.passive.monitoring.
ports ..The.best.part.of.this.innovation.is.the.onboard.memory.to.make.sure.
traffic isn’t dropped during bursts.
Response Ready
When active responses to network events are required, the first monitoring
port.can.be.changed.to.an.Active.Response.Port.using.a.hardware.switch ..The.
Active.Response.Port.buffers.and.transmits.into.the.network.link.any.type.
of.Ethernet.packet,.from.a.simple.TCP.reset.to.ICMP.messages ..The.Active.
Response.Port.can.be.easily.switched.back.to.passive.monitoring.via.the.
hardware.switch ..
The.combination.of.active.response.capability.and.passive.monitoring.in.
the.Tap.reduces.the.number.of.devices.and.network.ports.required.for.active.
response.functionality .
Buffering Prevents Lost Data
The.Dual.Port.Aggregator.Tap.with.Active.Response.is.designed.to.handle.the.
combined traffic of a single full-duplex link. Normally, the traffic should be
below.the.receiving.capacity.of.the.NIC,.that.is,.less.than.10.or.100.Mbps .
When the traffic queue exceeds the capacity of the NIC, the Tap buffers the
overflow of up to one megabyte per side of the full-duplex connection. For
your convenience, the buffers clear automatically when the traffic volume falls
below the receiving capacity of the NIC. For example, if there is a traffic burst
and.a.tap.connected.to.a.100.Mbps.network.port.on.a.monitoring.device.is.
now receiving 140 Mbps of traffic, the Tap buffers data until the burst is over.
The.Tap.then.sends.the.buffered.data.to.the.monitoring.device.until.the.buffer.
is.cleared .