Network tap with integrated circuitry

摘要

A system and method is presented for a network tap having integrated circuitry therein for obtaining statistics about a communication line. The network tap also has a routing node for allowing information to be transmitted back into the communication line from an attached device without disrupting the communication traffic. The routing node coordinates the transmission of device data from an attached device to avoid data collisions with data transmissions already existing in the communication line. The routing node may be an Ethernet switch or field programmable gate array (FPGA). The integrated circuit may be a microprocessor or FPGA. The integrated circuit also controls other components of the network tap. The integrated circuit may also be programmed or upgraded to provide other functions.