Ixia Copper Tap Port Aggregator

The Ixia Copper Tap Port Aggregator, TPA2-CU3, 10/100/1000Mbps is a secure, plug and play aggregation device for a single network link. This aggregation tap technology enables two monitoring devices to simultaneously monitor a full-duplex link - using only one port per device. Full-duplex monitoring with a network tap typically requires two NICs- one NIC for each side of the tapped full-duplex connection. The TPA2-CU3 addresses the fact that many monitoring systems only offer a single channel NIC, limiting full-duplex visibility. The Ixia Copper Tap Port Aggregator regenerates the aggregated data stream, and sends all aggregated data out two passive monitoring ports.

Mode switchable, the TPA2-CU3 can run in either Aggregation Mode or Non-Aggregation Mode. In Aggregation Mode the TPA2-CU3 sends copies of the aggregated traffic through two monitoring ports, allowing for a primary and secondary tool. The TPA2- CU3 scans incoming traffic from the network ports on a first-in-first-out basis. The scan rate is optimized to ensure that no packets are dropped, as long as the sum of data rates on the network ports does not exceed the monitoring port capacity of 1 Gb/s.

In Non-Aggregation mode, the TPA2-CU3 operates in half duplex mode, where Monitor Port A will transmit traffic received on Network Port A, and Monitor Port B will transmit traffic received on Network Port B. In non-aggregation mode, the TPA2-CU3 operates at full line rate. The TPA2-CU3 supports Power Over Ethernet (POE) on both Network Ports A and B.

For extra uptime protection, the TPA2-CU3 is supplied with redundant power connections. Should the primary power source fail, the Tap automatically switches to the backup power source. Should both input power sources fail or be removed, the TPA2-CU3 will still pass traffic between its network ports.