Configure TAP Connections

You can configure the TAP-HC1-G10040 module in active mode and disable the port-pair to receive SPAN traffic.

There are two main configuration steps when tapping a link with the TAP-HC0-G100C0 or TAP-HC1-G10040:

■   Set up the Port-Pair
■   Verify End Node Status and Open the Relays
■   Set up Connections/Maps for Both Ports

Set up the Port-Pair

A port-pair is a bidirectional connection in which traffic arriving on one port in the pair is actively regenerated out the other (and vice-versa) as a passthrough TAP. Without a port-pair in place, traffic arriving on one port will not be regenerated out the other. So, the first step in tapping a link is to set up the port-pair. For instructions on how to set up the port pair, refer to Port Pairs.

Note:  By default, the copper TAP ports on the TAP-HC0-G100C0 or TAP-HC1-G10040 module are set to a port type of network.

Notes on Port-Pairs

■   Port-pairs cannot be established between any other ports on the same TAP-HC0-G100C0 or TAP-HC1-G10040 and another TAP-HC0-G100C0 or TAP-HC1-G10040 on the same chassis. Port-pairs can only be established between the same TAP pairs.
■   Port-pairs support link status propagation – when one port goes down, the other port goes down (and vice-versa).

Note:  A port-pair created on a copper TAP has Link Failure Propogation (LFP) enabled by default.

Verify End Node Status and Open the Relays

The next step is to open the relays for the ports used to tap the link. Before doing so, however, check the link status LEDs on both end nodes connected to the port-pair ports to verify that they are operating correctly. The links must be good for failover protection to function properly.

If the link status on the end nodes is not good (LEDs are not green), check the following:

■   Verify that the combined cable length is less than 100 meters.
■   Verify that autonegotiation settings match. Autonegotation is always on and cannot be disabled.
■   Most newer Ethernet interfaces support autosensing (Auto-MDI/MDI-X; part of the 1000BASE-T standard). However, if your equipment does not support this feature (or it is disabled), you may need to use a crossover cable.
■   Open the relays for the ports used to tap the link in the TAP-HC0-G100C0 or TAP-HC1-G10040 using the port <port-list> params taptx active command, followed by a write mem. Once you have opened the relays, verify that the green link LEDs for both ports in the port-pair have illuminated.

Set up Connections/Maps for Both Ports

The configuration steps are as follows:

Step

Refer to...

Enable the required network ports, and then enable the Auto Negotiation on the 1Gb copper ports.

Configure Ports

Set up the port pair between the network ports that you enabled in the previous step so that the traffic received on one port is repeated out the other (and vice-versa).

Port Pairs

Open the relays on both the ports.

 

Once you have set up a port-pair, make sure to logically connect both ports in the port-pair maps to tool ports. Only the receive traffic is forwarded through the maps, so it is important to connect both sides of the port-pair to tool ports to see both sides of the traffic.