Which term describes a hardware device inserted into a cable run to copy frames for analysis?

Which term describes a hardware device inserted into a cable run to copy frames for analysis?

• A. Sensor
• B. SPAN
• C. Inline
• D. Test access point (TAP)

Answer: (D)

Capturing traffic for analysis is about getting a copy of the frames without disturbing the live flow. A test access point is a passive hardware device inserted between two cable segments that duplicates every frame and sends the copies to a dedicated monitoring port, while the original frames continue to traverse the network unaltered. This makes it ideal for forensics and analysis because you get an accurate, non-intrusive stream of traffic. Other options rely on switch features (port mirroring) or place devices in the traffic path (inline), which can affect latency or reliability, or refer to general sensing rather than a dedicated physical tap. So the term describing a hardware device inserted into a cable run to copy frames for analysis is a TAP.

Capturing traffic for analysis is about getting a copy of the frames without disturbing the live flow. A test access point is a passive hardware device inserted between two cable segments that duplicates every frame and sends the copies to a dedicated monitoring port, while the original frames continue to traverse the network unaltered. This makes it ideal for forensics and analysis because you get an accurate, non-intrusive stream of traffic. Other options rely on switch features (port mirroring) or place devices in the traffic path (inline), which can affect latency or reliability, or refer to general sensing rather than a dedicated physical tap. So the term describing a hardware device inserted into a cable run to copy frames for analysis is a TAP.