High impedance probe for monitoring fast ethernet LAN links
US6233613A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 18, 1997 |
| Grant date | May 15, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 18, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L1/24
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A high impedance tap for monitoring traffic over a communication link of a fast Ethernet local area network (LAN). The circuit of the present invention is advantageously used for tapping into a fast Ethernet communication link (e.g., bi-directional communication channel) of a LAN using, for instance, 10/100 BaseT Ethernet communication protocol. The novel circuit is particularly useful in point to point communication links (e.g., supporting fast Ethernet communication) where two communication nodes are coupled together using a bi-directional communication link (e.g., two twisted pair cables). Unlike the prior art monitoring probes, the probe of the present invention does not insert itself in series between the communication link, but rather taps onto the communication link in parallel using a high impedance termination circuit thereby leaving the existing communication link undisturbed electrically. By leaving the communication link undisturbed electrically, the probe of the present invention does not introduce latency into the communication link nor does it interrupt the communication link for any reason (e.g., during auto-negotiation sessions or on power down, power interruption,…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.