Net Optics Taps

Net Optics offers a variety of Taps, switches, and connectivity tools to network administrators that collectively enable them to deploy 3rd party monitoring gear to their network traffic streams in passive or inline scenarios.

The products offered by Net Optics are typically deployed between two network devices, and allow the traffic from those devices to be routed to a separate monitoring device (typically a network performance monitor and/or security inspection device) for subsequent analysis. For Taps, the network traffic is either split or regenerated for distribution to the monitoring gear, depending on the type of link and Tap device, such that the monitoring equipment can analyze the traffic stream without disrupting or delaying it. For the vendor's switches (including the Bypass and Matrix switch lines) the traffic is forwarded inline to the monitoring equipment, as if the monitoring gear itself were physically deployed inline between the two network devices.

Multiple flavors of products are available from the vendor, with each product category itself offering multiple product configurations to cover 10/100, Gig Ethernet, and Fiber (now including 10 Gig) network connectivity. The basic categories of products includes:

- Network Taps, which provide one-to-one links from both the in and outbound sides of the network link to dual NIC networking gear

- Regeneration Taps, which provide the ability to divert a single network link to multiple monitoring devices

- Aggregator Taps, which combine the network traffic from both sides of a link and deliver it to monitoring gear with only a single NIC

- Bypass Switches, which deliver the network traffic inline to the monitoring gear and include heartbeat monitoring and bypass logic such that if the monitoring gear should lose power the network traffic can be automatically passed straight through the Bypass switch with no loss of traffic (the reverse is also possible; when the monitoring gear is once again functioning the traffic will be automatically routed to it)

- Matrix Switches, which provide software controlled NxN traffic redirections for multiple, physically connected links and monitoring tools.

Within these primary categories are specialty items including Converter Taps, which convert specific types of network traffic to a differing medium for deliver to the monitoring gear; and the vendor's iTap (Intelligent Tap) product line, a specialized Aggregation Tap that includes a front panel display with real-time indications of link utilization and traffic statistics, and additionally supports SNMP communications (the devices include an Ethernet management port and can be managed and interoperate with the vendor's own supplied management software, or 3rd party products). Also available from the vendor are general purpose network connectivity tools, including rack-mount accessories for the mounting of smaller Taps and straight converter boxes (without Tap functionality).

The newest entries in the Net Optics product line are the 10 Gig iTaps, which support both aggregation and Tap modes (user selectable) within a single box. Features include support for timestamping and slicing (where only header information is sent to the monitoring gear), and the XFP-based devices are expected to be served in SR, LR, and ER flavors.

The bulk of the Net Optics product line is available now, with pricing generally ranging from $450 (for the low-end 10/100 Taps) to $40,000 (Matrix switches). The new 10 Gig iTaps are expected to debut on June 16, 2008, with pricing ranging from about $12,000 to $18,000.

Visit the Net Optics Web site for current model and configuration details.

product submission by EITPlanet Staff

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