Overview; Hardware Overview - ProfiTap ProfiShark 100M User Manual

1. Overview

1.1. Hardware Overview

ProfiShark is a portable network traffic capture platform that provides quick packet-level insight anywhere it
is deployed. ProfiShark is designed for high performance and accuracy, delivering high-fidelity traffic
capture regardless of packet rate, high-precision hardware timestamping, and aggregation to a USB output,
while leaving the original network traffic unaltered.
ProfiShark 100M features a fully-passive in-line design, with the network link galvanically separated from
the traffic capture system, making it inherently fail-safe and having the same effect on the network link as a
patch cable.
ProfiShark 1G provides in-line and out-of-band capture of 10M/100M/1G traffic. It manages full-duplex
gigabit traffic capture at wirespeed, which it aggregates and outputs to a USB 3.0 port. It surpasses all
standard NICs in capture mode, as it catches any tags and encapsulation without altering the frames. When
the TAP becomes unpowered, it activates its bypass circuits, connecting the two attached devices directly.
ProfiShark 1G integrates a high-performance fast failover circuit and a proprietary algorithm, reducing the
unavailability of the network path down to approximately 1-2 seconds. A dedicated power adapter can be
used to prevent failover when disconnecting the USB 3.0 port. ProfiShark 1G also features Link Failure
Propagation: if one of the network devices is disconnected, the TAP disconnects the line to the other
attached device, allowing a redundant path to be activated in the network route node.
ProfiShark 10G features two SFP+ cages, for visibility into 1G and 10G, copper and fiber connections,
capturing network traffic in-line or out-of-band. It integrates hardware filters, deep packet inspection and
packet slicing for optimizing captured traffic throughput, so as not to oversubscribe the USB 3.0 output (3.2
Gbps).
ProfiShark 1G+ and ProfiShark 10G+ provide the same features as their respective base models, with the
addition of advanced timestamping capabilities, combining hardware (GPS/GLONASS, PPS) and software
features for greater control over timestamp synchronization (see 1.4. Advanced Timestamping).
5