What is network taps?

A network tap is a hardware device that allows you to 'tap' into network traffic, creating a copy of the data flowing across a network link without interrupting the original flow. This copied data can then be used for various purposes like network monitoring, intrusion detection, data analysis, and security auditing. Unlike port mirroring (SPAN ports), network taps are passive and do not introduce latency or risk of packet loss. They provide full duplex capture of network traffic, meaning they can capture both incoming and outgoing data simultaneously.