4
Figure 1. Fiber TAP signal path illustrations
TAP modules, therefore, must be tested or deployed with channel directionality in mind. The
transmitter (or the meter source) must always be connected to the input of the coupler. Also, the
receiver (or the meter detector) must always be connected to the outputs of the optical coupler.
Connecting in an opposite direction will not affect the main traffic, but will result in a lack of
output from the monitoring channels.
The TAP Ecosystem
The TAP ecosystem mainly consists of the InstaPATCH 360 pre-terminated fiber cables,
InstaPATCH 360 TAP modules, InstaPATCH 360 TAP Fan-out Array Cords, and the monitoring
equipment. The TAP modules, combined with the array cords, provide flexible choices to
network designers for various network configurations. The monitoring equipment is designed
to detect and analyze traffic collected from the TAP.
InstaPATCH 360 TAP Module Family
The optical TAP is a completely passive device integrated in the optical network physical layer
and is invisible to potential intruders. Due to different network application environments, the TAP
family has a variety of different formats, such as number of fibers, fiber type, and split ratio.
Figure 2
shows some examples of the CommScope TAP family, including combinations of
12-fiber or 24-fiber, MMF or Single-mode fiber (SMF), and 70/30 or 50/50 split ratio.
Figure 2. Front and rear views of InstaPATCH 360TM TAP modules
(a)
SMF 12-fiber,
Front view
(b)
SMF 12-fiber,
Rear view
(d)
MMF 24-fiber,
Rear view
(c)
MMF 24-fiber,
Front view
