What if our production switch has no SPAN port?
Then use a network TAPTAP: test access point. A small device that copies the traffic on a network cable for a sensor to watch., or add a managed switch where you need visibility. Unmanaged switches, common in machine cabinets, cannot mirror traffic. A TAP is a small box placed in one cable, for example the link between the line switch and the plant core, that copies the traffic in both directions to a monitoring port without appearing on the network. Many are built to keep the link up if they lose power; check that for the model you buy. Choose the link that carries the traffic you care about most: between office and production, or between the SCADA servers and the controllers. Traffic between two devices on the same unmanaged switch never crosses that link and stays out of view. NetSenX works from either a SPANSPAN: switch port analyser. A switch setting that sends a copy of network traffic to one port, where a sensor can watch it. port or a TAP; one agent on it counts as one device, and the OTOT: operational technology. The computers that run machines, production lines, building systems and utilities. protocols are read from the Pro plan.
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Terms used here
- TAP (test access point)
- A small device that copies the traffic on a network cable for a sensor to watch.
- SPAN (switch port analyser)
- A switch setting that sends a copy of network traffic to one port, where a sensor can watch it.
- OT (operational technology)
- The computers that run machines, production lines, building systems and utilities.