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7 Reasons Why You Should TAP

Chris Bihary

Many network operations teams question if they need to TAP their networks; perhaps they aren't familiar with test access points (TAPs), or they think there isn't an application that makes sense for them. Over the past decade, industry best-practice revealed that all network infrastructure should utilize a network TAP as the foundation for complete visibility.

The following are the seven most popular applications for TAPs:

1. Options to Prevent Network Downtime

With a Bypass TAP, you avoid network downtime, as the TAP's only functionality is to provide copies of traffic to the active, inline device. Because of the heartbeat packets included in Bypass TAPs, should you have any issues with the tools, you can easily take that active, inline device offline for testing, updates, and changes while the live network data still flows.

A switch, on the other hand, has to focus on its production network while combating anomalies like DDoS attacks, so if there is an issue with an inline device like a NGFW (next-generation firewall), you would have to take the network down.

2. Update Older Tools

Do you have older monitoring tools that are running at 10G and you are considering 40G or 100G? Rather than purchase updated tools, which can be expensive or unavailable, you can utilize a network TAP with a purpose-built packet broker at the access layer for any-to-any configuration of network speeds. 

3. Take Devices Offline Without Network Interruption

A Bypass TAP can provide copies of traffic to the active, inline device, which can then do their job to combat DDoS attacks, and because of the heartbeat packets included in Bypass TAPs, if you have issues with your tools, you can take that active, inline device offline for testing, updates, and changes without taking down your entire network. 

4. Media/Speed Conversion

Do you have a single-mode, long range cable running between buildings, but the analyzer tool you want to connect to is in the same rack in your network room? Rather than buy an expensive transceiver, a network TAP can handle the media conversion for you.

5. Lawful Intercept

Do you need to prove evidentiary chain of custody for a court case? Unlike SPAN ports, a TAP can be used to prove that no packets were dropped during the lawful intercept process, but make certain the network TAPs are CALEA approved to ensure all data arrives at the monitoring or analyzer tool, and that it wasn't hacked.  

6. Connect Multiple Monitoring Tools

Do you have multiple monitoring devices to analyze your network? With an aggregator TAP, 100% full duplex traffic is captured in both directions and sent out of two monitoring ports, enabling the ability to send your traffic from that point in your network to Wireshare and an APM.

7. Visibility In to Your Network

Using a network test access point provides complete visibility into your network, allowing you to see every packet of data flowing in and out of your network. With a visibility point in your network, you can analyze e-commerce and web server traffic, VoIP and real-time communication applications.

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7 Reasons Why You Should TAP

Chris Bihary

Many network operations teams question if they need to TAP their networks; perhaps they aren't familiar with test access points (TAPs), or they think there isn't an application that makes sense for them. Over the past decade, industry best-practice revealed that all network infrastructure should utilize a network TAP as the foundation for complete visibility.

The following are the seven most popular applications for TAPs:

1. Options to Prevent Network Downtime

With a Bypass TAP, you avoid network downtime, as the TAP's only functionality is to provide copies of traffic to the active, inline device. Because of the heartbeat packets included in Bypass TAPs, should you have any issues with the tools, you can easily take that active, inline device offline for testing, updates, and changes while the live network data still flows.

A switch, on the other hand, has to focus on its production network while combating anomalies like DDoS attacks, so if there is an issue with an inline device like a NGFW (next-generation firewall), you would have to take the network down.

2. Update Older Tools

Do you have older monitoring tools that are running at 10G and you are considering 40G or 100G? Rather than purchase updated tools, which can be expensive or unavailable, you can utilize a network TAP with a purpose-built packet broker at the access layer for any-to-any configuration of network speeds. 

3. Take Devices Offline Without Network Interruption

A Bypass TAP can provide copies of traffic to the active, inline device, which can then do their job to combat DDoS attacks, and because of the heartbeat packets included in Bypass TAPs, if you have issues with your tools, you can take that active, inline device offline for testing, updates, and changes without taking down your entire network. 

4. Media/Speed Conversion

Do you have a single-mode, long range cable running between buildings, but the analyzer tool you want to connect to is in the same rack in your network room? Rather than buy an expensive transceiver, a network TAP can handle the media conversion for you.

5. Lawful Intercept

Do you need to prove evidentiary chain of custody for a court case? Unlike SPAN ports, a TAP can be used to prove that no packets were dropped during the lawful intercept process, but make certain the network TAPs are CALEA approved to ensure all data arrives at the monitoring or analyzer tool, and that it wasn't hacked.  

6. Connect Multiple Monitoring Tools

Do you have multiple monitoring devices to analyze your network? With an aggregator TAP, 100% full duplex traffic is captured in both directions and sent out of two monitoring ports, enabling the ability to send your traffic from that point in your network to Wireshare and an APM.

7. Visibility In to Your Network

Using a network test access point provides complete visibility into your network, allowing you to see every packet of data flowing in and out of your network. With a visibility point in your network, you can analyze e-commerce and web server traffic, VoIP and real-time communication applications.

Hot Topics

The Latest

64% of enterprise networking teams use internally developed software or scripts for network automation, but 61% of those teams spend six or more hours per week debugging and maintaining them, according to From Scripts to Platforms: Why Homegrown Tools Dominate Network Automation and How Vendors Can Help, my latest EMA report ...

Cloud computing has transformed how we build and scale software, but it has also quietly introduced one of the most persistent challenges in modern IT: cost visibility and control ... So why, after more than a decade of cloud adoption, are cloud costs still spiraling out of control? The answer lies not in tooling but in culture ...

CEOs are committed to advancing AI solutions across their organization even as they face challenges from accelerating technology adoption, according to the IBM CEO Study. The survey revealed that executive respondents expect the growth rate of AI investments to more than double in the next two years, and 61% confirm they are actively adopting AI agents today and preparing to implement them at scale ...

Image
IBM

 

A major architectural shift is underway across enterprise networks, according to a new global study from Cisco. As AI assistants, agents, and data-driven workloads reshape how work gets done, they're creating faster, more dynamic, more latency-sensitive, and more complex network traffic. Combined with the ubiquity of connected devices, 24/7 uptime demands, and intensifying security threats, these shifts are driving infrastructure to adapt and evolve ...

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The development of banking apps was supposed to provide users with convenience, control and piece of mind. However, for thousands of Halifax customers recently, a major mobile outage caused the exact opposite, leaving customers unable to check balances, or pay bills, sparking widespread frustration. This wasn't an isolated incident ... So why are these failures still happening? ...

Cyber threats are growing more sophisticated every day, and at their forefront are zero-day vulnerabilities. These elusive security gaps are exploited before a fix becomes available, making them among the most dangerous threats in today's digital landscape ... This guide will explore what these vulnerabilities are, how they work, why they pose such a significant threat, and how modern organizations can stay protected ...

The prevention of data center outages continues to be a strategic priority for data center owners and operators. Infrastructure equipment has improved, but the complexity of modern architectures and evolving external threats presents new risks that operators must actively manage, according to the Data Center Outage Analysis 2025 from Uptime Institute ...

As observability engineers, we navigate a sea of telemetry daily. We instrument our applications, configure collectors, and build dashboards, all in pursuit of understanding our complex distributed systems. Yet, amidst this flood of data, a critical question often remains unspoken, or at best, answered by gut feeling: "Is our telemetry actually good?" ... We're inviting you to participate in shaping a foundational element for better observability: the Instrumentation Score ...

We're inching ever closer toward a long-held goal: technology infrastructure that is so automated that it can protect itself. But as IT leaders aggressively employ automation across our enterprises, we need to continuously reassess what AI is ready to manage autonomously and what can not yet be trusted to algorithms ...

Much like a traditional factory turns raw materials into finished products, the AI factory turns vast datasets into actionable business outcomes through advanced models, inferences, and automation. From the earliest data inputs to the final token output, this process must be reliable, repeatable, and scalable. That requires industrializing the way AI is developed, deployed, and managed ...