Passive network tap for tapping network data

1. A passive full-duplex bidirectional ZPL network tap comprising:

first and second network ports configured to operably connect with first communication cables, the first communication cables configured to carry full duplex bidirectional data signals comprising first and second signal components to and from the network tap device;

a first tap port configured to operably connect with second communication cables;

a signal separator configured to have a first node operably connected to the first network port and a second node operably connected to the second network port, wherein the signal separator is configured to pass through the full duplex bidirectional data signals from the first network port to the second network port and from the second network to the first network port, and wherein the signal separator is further configured to obtain a first signal portion comprising at least the first signal component and to obtain a second signal portion comprising at least the second signal component;

a first receive only physical interface device (Phy) configured to be operably connected to the signal separator and to the first tap port so as to receive the first signal portion from the signal separator and provide the first signal portion to the first tap port;

a second receive only Phy configured to be operably connected to the signal separator and the second network tap port so as to receive the second signal portion from the signal separator and provide the second signal portion to a second tap port;

a first transmit and receive Phy configured to be operably connected to the first receive only Phy so as to receive the first signal portion from the first receive only Phy and provide the first signal portion to the first tap port; and

a second transmit and receive Phy configured to be operably connected to the second receive only Phy so as to receive the second signal portion from the second receive only Phy and provide the second signal portion to the second tap port.

2. The passive full-duplex bidirectional ZPL network tap in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the first and second listen only Phys are configured to ignore auto negotiation between the first and second devices of a communications network and to lock onto the data signals without any external help from the first and second devices of the communications network.

3. The passive full-duplex bidirectional ZPL network tap in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the first and second listen only Phys are configured to be power cycled on and off without network communication being affected.

4. The passive full-duplex bidirectional ZPL network tap in accordance with claim 1 , further comprising:

a signal separation stage configured to substantially remove the second data component from the first signal portion and to substantially remove the first data component from the second signal portion.

5. The passive full-duplex bidirectional ZPL network tap in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the first and second tap ports are configured to be connected via the second communication cables to at least one monitoring device for monitoring the first and second data portions.

6. The passive full-duplex bidirectional ZPL network tap in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the first and second network ports and the first and second tap ports are RJ-45 ports located on the front face of the passive network tap.

7. The passive full-duplex bidirectional ZPL network tap in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the signal separator is a differential bidirectional coupler.

8. The passive full-duplex bidirectional ZPL network tap in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the signal separator is a single-ended single or dual bidirectional coupler.

9. The passive full-duplex bidirectional ZPL network tap in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the passive full-duplex bidirectional ZPL network tap does not affect data being transmitted over a communications network except for normal attenuation.

10. The passive full-duplex bidirectional ZPL network tap in accordance with claim 1 , wherein communication between the first and second devices of a communications network is not lost due to a loss of power or other fault to the passive full-duplex bidirectional ZPL network tap.

11. The passive full-duplex bidirectional ZPL network tap in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the passive full-duplex bidirectional ZPL network tap is configured to monitor and analyze the content of data files, telephone conversations carried using Voice over IP (VoIP) or other protocols, images, video, audio, or other data types.

12. The passive full-duplex bidirectional ZPL network tap in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the passive full-duplex bidirectional ZPL network tap is configured for use in a copper Gigabit Ethernet communications network.

13. A passive full-duplex bidirectional ZPL network tap coupled to the communication path of a copper-based communication network including a first and second network device, the first and second network devices communicating by use of a full-duplex bidirectional data stream including first and a second signal data, the passive full-duplex bidirectional ZPL network tap comprising:

a signal separator configured to separate the first and second signal data from the data stream;

first and second network ports configured to be operably connected to the signal separator and configured to receive the full-duplex bidirectional data stream and provide the data stream to the signal separator;

a first receive only physical interface device (Phy) configured to receive at least the first signal data from signal separator and provide the first signal data to a first monitoring device;

a second receive only Phy configured to receive at least the second signal data from signal separator and provide the second signal data to a second monitoring device; and

first and second transmit and receive Phys operably coupled to the first and second receive only Phys respectively and operably coupled to a first and second tap port respectively, wherein the first and second transmit and receive Phys are further configured to receive the first and second signal data from the first and second receive only Phys and provide the first and second signal data to the first and second tap ports;

wherein the first and second tap ports are configured to be operably connected the monitoring devices.

14. A passive full-duplex bidirectional ZPL network tap in accordance with claim 13 , further comprising:

a signal separation stage operably connected to the signal separator, wherein the signal separation stage is configured to perform a separation operation on the first signal data to substantially remove any portions of the second signal data from the first signal data.

15. A passive full-duplex bidirectional ZPL network tap in accordance with claim 14 , wherein the signal separation stage is further configured to perform a separation operation on the second signal data to substantially remove any portions of the first signal data from the second signal data.

16. A passive full-duplex bidirectional ZPL network tap in accordance with claim 13 , wherein the signal separator is a dual differential bidirectional coupler configured to couple a portion of the first data and provide the coupled portion of the first data to the first receive only Phy and to couple a portion of the second data and provide the coupled portion of the second data to the second receive only Phy.

17. A passive full-duplex bidirectional ZPL network tap in accordance with claim 13 , wherein the signal separator is a singled ended single or dual bidirectional coupler configured to couple a portion of the first data and provide the coupled portion of the first data to the first receive only Phy and to couple a portion of the second data and provide the coupled portion of the second data to the second receive only Phy.

18. A passive full-duplex bidirectional ZPL network tap in accordance with claim 13 , wherein the first and second listen only Phys are configured to be power cycled on and off without network communication being effected and are configured to ignore auto negotiation between the first and second devices of the communications network and to lock onto the data stream without any external help from the first and second devices of the communications network.

19. A passive full-duplex bidirectional ZPL network tap in accordance with claim 13 , wherein the passive full-duplex bidirectional ZPL network tap does not affect data being transmitted over a communications network except for normal attenuation.

20. A passive full-duplex bidirectional ZPL network tap in accordance with claim 13 , wherein communication between the first and second devices of the communications network is not lost due to a loss of power or other fault condition to the passive full-duplex bidirectional ZPL network tap.

21. A passive full-duplex bidirectional ZPL network tap in accordance with claim 13 , wherein passive full-duplex bidirectional ZPL network tap is configured to monitor and analyze the content of data files, telephone conversations carried using Voice over IP (VoIP) or other protocols, images, video, audio, or other data types.

22. In a passive full-duplex bidirectional ZPL network tap coupled to the communication path of a first and second Ethernet device, the first and second Ethernet devices communicating by use of a full-duplex bidirectional first data stream including a first and a second data component, a method for the passive full-duplex bidirectional ZPL network tap to separate the first and second components from the first data stream, the method comprising:

receiving the first data stream;

separating a second data stream from the first data stream comprising a portion of the first data component and a portion of the second data component that is less than the first data component;

determining a reverse coupling characteristic of passive full-duplex bidirectional ZPL network tap; and

applying the reverse coupling characteristic in an operation to remove at least a portion of the second data component from the second data stream while leaving the first data component.

23. The method in accordance with claim 22 further comprising:

separating a third data stream from the first data stream comprising a portion of the second data component and a portion of the first data component that is less than the second data component; and

applying the reverse coupling characteristic in an operation to remove at least a portion of the first data component from the third data stream while leaving the second data component.

24. The method in accordance with claim 23 , wherein the operation to remove the first data component from the second data stream and the operation to remove the first data component from the third data stream is performed by a bidirectional coupler.

25. The method in accordance with claim 23 , wherein the operation to remove the first data component from the second data stream and the operation to remove the first data component from the third data stream is performed by a digital signal processor.

26. The method in accordance with claim 23 , wherein the operation to remove the first data component from the second data stream and the operation to remove the first data component from the third data stream is performed by a processor.