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The Risks of Clinging to Portable TAPs

Chris Bihary

Think back to the 1980s and 1990s, the early days of IT, when portable network analyzers were the talk of the town. These massive suitcase-sized analyzers might have been anything but portable, but they represented a simpler time when network analysis was merely temporary.

As network engineers soon realized, traffic demands would require a greater level of visibility, and network design required permanent data center rack solutions.

Forcing Portable TAPs to be Permanent

When the need for permanent network TAP (test access point) solutions emerged, some providers took their existing portable TAPs, stuck screw-on ears onto the box, put it in a rack mount and started calling it a data center solution.

This created a cabling nightmare when taking into account each copper gigabit TAP required two power sources (that's two power bricks for each portable network TAP that might be mounted in the data center). This might be acceptable if there was an isolated need for a TAP, but what about when there was a need to have 10, 20 or even more? Further, supporting numerous power cables resulted in the requirement of a power distribution unit, because plugging it into a Universal Power Supply wasn't an option.

HINT: When paying for a data center on the basis of space, cooling, and power consumption, try to avoid any infrastructure complications, and additional monthly charges.

Forget Portable

Whether you're building a new data center or upgrading an existing one, make certain you ask, "Why are you clinging to a portable network TAP variation or make-shift solution?"

Networking decision makers have relied on the idea of portable network TAPs for so long, they have grown accustomed to coping with make-shift solutions. So, while the mess of cables isn't all network administrators may have to contend with, they might also have to worry about power failure from accidentally unplugging a cable, or maybe even see the use of lithium batteries to ensure the power connectivity, but none of these are solutions, as they each introduce more problems.

It's Time to Forgo the Portable TAP Variations

Whether you're building a new data center or upgrading an existing one, make certain you ask, "Why are you clinging to a portable network TAP variation or make-shift solution?"

Data centers with extensive TAP needs require a chassis solution that can provide multiple TAPs in a 1U or 2U box; a modular chassis solution that can be built specifically for permanent data center placement and eliminates the cabling mess while providing reliable power to copper gigabit network TAPs. 

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The Risks of Clinging to Portable TAPs

Chris Bihary

Think back to the 1980s and 1990s, the early days of IT, when portable network analyzers were the talk of the town. These massive suitcase-sized analyzers might have been anything but portable, but they represented a simpler time when network analysis was merely temporary.

As network engineers soon realized, traffic demands would require a greater level of visibility, and network design required permanent data center rack solutions.

Forcing Portable TAPs to be Permanent

When the need for permanent network TAP (test access point) solutions emerged, some providers took their existing portable TAPs, stuck screw-on ears onto the box, put it in a rack mount and started calling it a data center solution.

This created a cabling nightmare when taking into account each copper gigabit TAP required two power sources (that's two power bricks for each portable network TAP that might be mounted in the data center). This might be acceptable if there was an isolated need for a TAP, but what about when there was a need to have 10, 20 or even more? Further, supporting numerous power cables resulted in the requirement of a power distribution unit, because plugging it into a Universal Power Supply wasn't an option.

HINT: When paying for a data center on the basis of space, cooling, and power consumption, try to avoid any infrastructure complications, and additional monthly charges.

Forget Portable

Whether you're building a new data center or upgrading an existing one, make certain you ask, "Why are you clinging to a portable network TAP variation or make-shift solution?"

Networking decision makers have relied on the idea of portable network TAPs for so long, they have grown accustomed to coping with make-shift solutions. So, while the mess of cables isn't all network administrators may have to contend with, they might also have to worry about power failure from accidentally unplugging a cable, or maybe even see the use of lithium batteries to ensure the power connectivity, but none of these are solutions, as they each introduce more problems.

It's Time to Forgo the Portable TAP Variations

Whether you're building a new data center or upgrading an existing one, make certain you ask, "Why are you clinging to a portable network TAP variation or make-shift solution?"

Data centers with extensive TAP needs require a chassis solution that can provide multiple TAPs in a 1U or 2U box; a modular chassis solution that can be built specifically for permanent data center placement and eliminates the cabling mess while providing reliable power to copper gigabit network TAPs. 

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The Latest

Misaligned architecture can lead to business consequences, with 93% of respondents reporting negative outcomes such as service disruptions, high operational costs and security challenges ...

A Gartner analyst recently suggested that GenAI tools could create 25% time savings for network operational teams. Where might these time savings come from? How are GenAI tools helping NetOps teams today, and what other tasks might they take on in the future as models continue improving? In general, these savings come from automating or streamlining manual NetOps tasks ...

IT and line-of-business teams are increasingly aligned in their efforts to close the data gap and drive greater collaboration to alleviate IT bottlenecks and offload growing demands on IT teams, according to The 2025 Automation Benchmark Report: Insights from IT Leaders on Enterprise Automation & the Future of AI-Driven Businesses from Jitterbit ...

A large majority (86%) of data management and AI decision makers cite protecting data privacy as a top concern, with 76% of respondents citing ROI on data privacy and AI initiatives across their organization, according to a new Harris Poll from Collibra ...

According to Gartner, Inc. the following six trends will shape the future of cloud over the next four years, ultimately resulting in new ways of working that are digital in nature and transformative in impact ...

2020 was the equivalent of a wedding with a top-shelf open bar. As businesses scrambled to adjust to remote work, digital transformation accelerated at breakneck speed. New software categories emerged overnight. Tech stacks ballooned with all sorts of SaaS apps solving ALL the problems — often with little oversight or long-term integration planning, and yes frequently a lot of duplicated functionality ... But now the music's faded. The lights are on. Everyone from the CIO to the CFO is checking the bill. Welcome to the Great SaaS Hangover ...

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An overwhelming majority of IT leaders (95%) believe the upcoming wave of AI-powered digital transformation is set to be the most impactful and intensive seen thus far, according to The Science of Productivity: AI, Adoption, And Employee Experience, a new report from Nexthink ...

Overall outage frequency and the general level of reported severity continue to decline, according to the Outage Analysis 2025 from Uptime Institute. However, cyber security incidents are on the rise and often have severe, lasting impacts ...

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