Net Optics iTap Port Aggregator, Manual, Page: 10 / 55

iTap Dual Port Aggregator
1
Chapter 1
Introduction
Overview
Thank you for purchasing the latest innovation in Tap technology – the iTap
GigaBit Dual Port Aggregator. Net Optics' GigaBit Dual Port Aggregator Taps
provide ultra-efficient access to critical GigaBit links using only one NIC on the
monitoring device. Net Optics’ iTap is a port aggregator Tap that gives you a quick
visual reference of link performance. The iTap GigaBit Port Aggregator monitors
and displays link bandwidth utilization on its front panel so you can see exactly
what is happening on both sides of the network link.
Intelligent Tap
TM
The iTap Port Aggregator displays the link utilization level, last peak with time
right on the front panel so you can see real-time utilization on both directions of
the network link. The iTap Port Aggregator is accessible from remote interfaces
that provide information and control from anywhere in the network. The iTap gives
you the information and the access point you need to respond quickly to network
events.
Performance Aggregation
The iTap Port Aggregator combines and regenerates both directions of a full-
duplex stream, sending all aggregated traffic out one or two separate monitoring
ports. Typically, full-duplex monitoring with a network tap requires two NICs (or a
dual channel NIC)–one interface for each side of the full-duplex link. Net Optics’
iTap Port Aggregator enables one or two devices to simultaneously monitor a full-
duplex link using only one NIC per device.
After the traffic has been aggregated to a single flow, it is no longer possible to
distinguish the utilization levels of each side of the bi-directional link. The iTap
Port Aggregator tracks the utilization levels before aggregation, keeping this vital
information easily accessible from its remote and command line interfaces.
Buffers Absorb Bursts
When the traffic levels exceed the capacity of the receiving NIC, the iTap Port
Aggregator stores the overflow traffic in buffer memory. For high-load links, the
iTap Port Aggregator has 1GB (256MB on Gigbit only models) of buffer memory.