Network splitter and method for replicating and obtaining data streams therein

Abstract

The present invention discloses a network splitter and a method for copying and obtaining data streams therein, which can be used for a 10Gbps network link. The network splitter includes: four serial transceivers, the differential signal output interface of the first serial transceiver outputs a differential signal as two single-ended signals connected to the differential signal input interfaces of the second serial transceiver and the third serial transceiver respectively, and the differential signal output interface of the second serial transceiver outputs a differential signal as two single-ended signals connected to the differential signal input interfaces of the first serial transceiver and the fourth serial transceiver respectively.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of network communications, and in particular to a network splitter and a method for copying and obtaining data streams therein. Background Art

[0002] A network tap (TAP = Test Access Point) is a network device used to capture data streams on a network link in a data communication network. It is typically used in network fault diagnosis, network performance analysis, network security, or network data storage. Generally, a network tap has two network ports and at least one tap port. The two network ports of a network tap are connected to two network communication devices, such as a computer, network switch, or router. After the two network devices are connected to the network tap, the data stream transmitted between them will not be affected or interfered with by the network tap. At the same time, the network tap sends the data stream transmitted between the two network devices through the tap port to the data stream receiving device connected to the tap port.

[0003] Currently, data communication network technology primarily utilizes Ethernet, standardized by the IEEE International Organization as the IEEE 802.3 standard. IEEE 802.3 defines various Ethernet protocols based on the transmission media and speeds of network links. Ethernet network links can be transmitted using either a network cable consisting of four twisted-pair wires or a fiber-optic cable. Ethernet link speeds include 10 Mbps, 100 Mbps (100M Ethernet), 1 Gbps (Gigabit Ethernet), 10 Gbps (10 Gigabit Ethernet), and even higher speeds such as 28 Gbps, 40 Gbps, and 100 Gbps.

[0004] Therefore, different network splitters are required for Ethernet network links using different transmission media or rates. Figure 1A system diagram of a network splitter 10 based on the prior art is shown. Network splitter 10 has two network ports, a first network port 21 and a second network port 22, and a shunt port 23. First network port 21 is connected to first network device 11, second network port 22 is connected to second network device 12, and shunt port 23 is connected to a data stream receiving device 13. Network splitter 10 also includes a shunt circuit 20, which is internally connected to the two network ports 21 and 22 and shunt port 23. The function of shunt circuit 20 is to capture the data stream transmitted between first network device 11 and second network device 12 without affecting the data stream transmitted between the first network device 11 and the second network device 12, and to transmit the captured data stream to data stream receiving device 13 via shunt port 23.

[0005] Figure 1 The illustrated splitter circuit 20 is an Ethernet switch integrated circuit (IC), such as the Realtek RTL8367 5-port 10 / 100 / 1000Base-T Gigabit Ethernet switch IC. The method utilizes the Ethernet switch IC's three ports as a first network port 21, a second network port 22, and a splitter port 23. The Ethernet switch IC is configured to function as a port mirroring function, which permanently copies and forwards data streams passing through network ports 21 and 22 to splitter port 23. In this way, the first network device 11 and the second network device 12 can send and receive data streams to and from each other through the two network ports 21 and 22 of the network splitter 10. Simultaneously, data streams transmitted between the two network devices 11 and 12 are copied and forwarded to splitter port 23, and then transmitted to the data stream receiving device 13 via splitter port 23.

[0006] For a network splitter used for a 100Mbps / 1Gbps network link, using a 100Mbps / 1Gbps Ethernet switch integrated circuit chip as the split circuit 20 is considered to be a very cost-effective circuit method. This is because 100Mbps / 1Gbps Ethernet switch integrated circuit chips are widely used in Ethernet switch devices in the home and small business markets, making the price of 100Mbps / 1Gbps Ethernet switch integrated circuit chips very low.

[0007] However, for network splitters used in 10Gbps (10Gbps) network links, using 10Gbps Ethernet switch integrated circuit chips may not be a desirable approach. First, because 10Gbps Ethernet switch integrated circuit chips are primarily used in the manufacture of high-end Ethernet switches for large enterprises (such as data centers and large companies), the market demand for these chips is much smaller than that for 100M / 10Gbps Ethernet switch integrated circuit chips. Consequently, the price of 10Gbps switch integrated circuit chips is significantly higher than that of 100M / 10Gbps Ethernet switch IC chips. Second, due to their high operating frequency, 10Gbps Ethernet switch integrated circuit chips generate more heat, requiring more complex heat dissipation measures, such as cooling fans, to prevent overheating. These heat dissipation measures inevitably increase product costs. Furthermore, the long-term high-temperature operation of the 10Gbps Ethernet switch integrated circuit chip reduces its operational reliability, especially when using a cooling fan with even lower reliability. These factors can reduce the reliability of network splitters using 10Gbps Ethernet switch integrated circuit chips as the splitting circuit 20.

[0008] Another disadvantage of using Ethernet switch ICs to implement network splitters is that Ethernet switch ICs typically have a short product lifecycle. Chip manufacturers often discontinue production within a few years and replace them with newer generations of Ethernet switch ICs offering improved performance or more advanced features. Because the pinouts of newer Ethernet switch ICs are often incompatible with those of previous generations, network splitter manufacturers must redesign their network splitter circuits using the new Ethernet switch ICs. This imposes additional burdens and costs on product design and production. Summary of the Invention

[0009] In light of the above, the present invention proposes a novel network splitter circuit structure and implementation method. Advantages of the network splitter include independence from a specific Ethernet switch integrated circuit chip, high reliability, low manufacturing cost, flexible configuration, and capability to operate at 10 Gigabit (10 Gbps) speeds.

[0010] According to one aspect of the present invention, a network splitter is provided for duplicating and acquiring a data stream of a network link between a first network device and a second network device and sending the data stream to a data stream receiving device, comprising:

[0011] a first serial transceiver, the first serial transceiver comprising a network port connectable to the first network device, a differential signal input interface, and a differential signal output interface;

[0012] a second serial transceiver, the second serial transceiver comprising a network port connectable to the second network device, a differential signal input interface, and a differential signal output interface;

[0013] a third serial transceiver, the third serial transceiver comprising a network port and a differential signal input interface connectable to the data stream receiving device;

[0014] a fourth serial transceiver, the fourth serial transceiver comprising a network port and a differential signal input interface connectable to the data stream receiving device;

[0015] The differential signal output interface of the first serial transceiver includes a first signal output terminal and a second signal output terminal, the signal output by the first signal output terminal and the signal output by the second signal output terminal have the same amplitude but opposite polarity, the differential signal input interface of the second serial transceiver is configured to be connected to the first signal output terminal using a first single-ended signal connection wire, and the differential signal input interface of the third serial transceiver is configured to be connected to the second signal output terminal using a second single-ended signal connection wire;

[0016] The differential signal output interface of the second serial transceiver includes a third signal output terminal and a fourth signal output terminal. The signal output by the third signal output terminal and the signal output by the fourth signal output terminal have the same amplitude but opposite polarity. The differential signal input interface of the first serial transceiver is configured to be connected to the third signal output terminal using a third single-ended signal connection wire, and the differential signal input interface of the fourth serial transceiver is configured to be connected to the fourth signal output terminal using a fourth single-ended signal connection wire.

[0017] According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for duplicating and obtaining a data stream in a network tap is provided. The network tap includes a first network port, a second network port, a first tap port, and a second tap port. The network tap receives a first-direction data stream from the first network port and outputs the first-direction data stream from the second network port and the first tap port. The network tap receives a second-direction data stream from the second network port and outputs the second-direction data stream from the first network port and the second tap port. The method includes:

[0018] Converting the first direction data stream into a differential signal through a first serial transceiver, wherein the differential signal includes a first single-ended signal and a second single-ended signal, wherein the first single-ended signal and the second single-ended signal have the same amplitude but opposite polarity;

[0019] converting the first single-ended signal into a first output signal through a second serial transceiver, wherein the first output signal completely represents the first direction data flow, and the first output signal is output from the second network port;

[0020] The second single-ended signal is converted into a second output signal through a third serial transceiver, the second output signal completely represents the first direction data flow, and the second output signal is output from the first shunt port.

[0021] converting the second direction data stream into a differential signal through a second serial transceiver, wherein the differential signal includes a third single-ended signal and a fourth single-ended signal, wherein the third single-ended signal and the fourth single-ended signal have the same amplitude but opposite polarity;

[0022] converting the third single-ended signal into a third output signal through the first serial transceiver, wherein the third output signal completely represents the second direction data flow, and the third output signal is output from the first network port;

[0023] The fourth single-ended signal is converted into a fourth output signal through a fourth serial transceiver, the fourth output signal completely represents the second direction data flow, and the fourth output signal is output from the second shunt port. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] The drawings of the present invention are used to provide further understanding and explanation of the present application and do not constitute an improper limitation of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 1 The present invention is a system diagram of a network splitter according to the prior art.

[0026] Figure 2 is a circuit diagram of a network splitter according to the present invention.

[0027] Figure 3 FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the network splitter is a computer plug-in card of a PCI Express bus. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The following describes and illustrates the device structure and implementation method of the present invention in conjunction with several aspects and embodiments of the present invention. It should be understood that these descriptions and illustrations are merely for the purpose of explaining the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. In some cases, to avoid overly complex descriptions of the present invention, certain well-known structures or methods are not described in detail.

[0029] Reference Figure 2, which shows a circuit diagram of a network splitter 100 according to the present invention. Network splitter 100 includes four serial transceivers 101-104, which are mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB). Each serial transceiver 101-104 has a network port 110 and a serial differential signal interface. This serial differential signal interface includes a differential signal input interface 124 with a positive polarity signal input terminal TD+ and a negative polarity signal input terminal TD-, and a differential signal output interface 128 with a positive polarity signal output terminal RD+ and a negative polarity signal output terminal RD-. The serial transceiver's function is to convert the data stream electrical or optical signal received from network port 110 into a differential electrical signal, which is output from differential signal output interface 128. Conversely, it converts the differential electrical signal representing the network data stream received from differential signal input interface 124 into a corresponding electrical or optical signal representing the data stream, which is output from network port 110.

[0030] In the network splitter 100, the first serial transceiver 101 and the second serial transceiver 102 are connected to each other in the following manner: the positive polarity signal output terminal RD+ of the differential signal output interface 128 of the first serial transceiver 101 is connected to the positive polarity signal input terminal TD+ of the differential signal input interface 124 of the second serial transceiver 102 via a PCB connecting wire 152, and the positive polarity signal output terminal RD+ of the differential signal output interface 128 of the second serial transceiver 102 is connected to the positive polarity signal input terminal TD+ of the differential signal input interface 124 of the first serial transceiver 101 via a PCB connecting wire 153; the negative polarity signal input terminal TD- of the differential signal input interface 124 of the first serial transceiver 101 and the second serial transceiver 102 are each grounded. In addition, the negative polarity signal output terminal RD- of the differential signal output interface 128 of the first serial transceiver 101 is connected to the negative polarity signal input terminal TD- of the differential signal input interface 124 of the third serial transceiver 103 via a PCB connecting wire 151. The negative polarity signal output terminal RD- of the differential signal output interface 128 of the second serial transceiver 102 is connected to the negative polarity signal input terminal TD- of the differential signal input interface 124 of the fourth serial transceiver 104 via a PCB connecting wire 154. The positive polarity signal input terminal TD+ of the differential signal input interface 124 of each of the third and fourth serial transceivers 103, 104 is connected to ground. The differential signal output interfaces 128 of each of the third and fourth serial transceivers 103, 104 are unused and can be terminated with matching resistors (not shown) whose resistance value is equal to the output impedance of the corresponding differential output 128. Typically, the value of this matching resistor is 100 ohms.

[0031] from Figure 2 As can be seen in the figure, in the network splitter 100, the differential signal output from the differential signal output interface 128 of the first serial transceiver 101 is configured or "split" into two single-ended signals. These two single-ended signals are output from the positive polarity signal output terminal RD+ and the negative polarity signal output terminal RD- of the differential signal output interface 128, respectively. The signals output from these two signal output terminals have the same amplitude but opposite polarity. Here, the positive polarity signal output terminal RD+ and the negative polarity signal output terminal RD- of the differential signal output interface 128 are connected to the differential signal input interfaces 124 of the second serial transceiver 102 and the third serial transceiver 103, respectively, via PCB connecting wires 152 and 151 in a "point-to-point" connection. For those skilled in the art, it is easy to understand that because the negative polarity signal input terminal TD- of the differential input interface 124 of the second serial transceiver 102 and the positive polarity signal input terminal TD+ of the differential input interface 124 of the third serial transceiver 103 are grounded, this will ensure that the differential signal input interfaces 124 of the second serial transceiver 102 and the third serial transceiver 102 can correctly receive the corresponding single-ended input signals. In particular, although the signal amplitude of each single-ended signal is halved relative to the amplitude (voltage) of the differential signal, as long as the signal amplitude of the single-ended signal is greater than the minimum input signal amplitude required by the differential signal input interface 124, the single-ended input signal can still be received normally. On the other hand, because the signal amplitudes of the two single-ended signals output from the differential signal output interface 128 of the first serial transceiver 101 are the same but with opposite polarities, Figure 2 The illustrated connection method ensures that the input signals received by the differential signal input interfaces 124 of the second and third serial transceivers 102 and 103 are identical, and therefore the signals output from their corresponding network ports 110 are also identical. This means that the data stream output from the network port 110 of the third serial transceiver 103 replicates the data stream output from the network port 110 of the second serial transceiver 102. Similarly, the data stream output from the network port 110 of the fourth serial transceiver 104 replicates the data stream output from the network port 110 of the first serial transceiver 101.

[0032] In other words, press Figure 2After connecting the four serial Ethernet transceivers 101-104 using the method described above, the data stream received by the network port 110 of the first serial transceiver 101 will be transmitted from the network port 110 of the second serial transceiver 102, and another identical or duplicated data stream will also be transmitted from the network port of the third serial transceiver 103. Similarly, the data stream received by the network port 110 of the second serial transceiver 102 will be transmitted from the network port 110 of the first serial transceiver 101, and another identical or duplicated data stream will also be transmitted from the network port of the fourth serial transceiver 103. Therefore, the network ports 110 of the first serial transceiver 101 and the second serial transceiver 102 correspond to Figure 1 The two network ports 21 and 22 of the network splitter 10 are shown, and the network ports 110 of the third serial transceiver 103 and the fourth serial transceiver 104 are combined to correspond to Figure 1 The tap port 23 is shown in the network tap 10. In addition, it is apparent that the data flow through the network tap 100 is bidirectional.

[0033] It should be noted that the serial Ethernet transceivers 101-104 in the network tap 100 must operate at the same speed. This speed depends on the speed of the network link connected to the network tap 100. For example, if the network link speed is 10 Gbps, the speed of the serial Ethernet transceivers 101-104 in the network tap 100 must also be 10 Gbps.

[0034] like Figure 2 As shown, four serial Ethernet transceivers 101-104 are interconnected via PCB connecting wires 151-154. These PCB connecting wires form a passive shunt circuit, meaning that the circuit does not use any active components and yet functions as a data stream shunt circuit. According to the present invention, the four serial transceivers 101-104 are placed on a printed circuit board (PCB) close enough to each other that the four PCB connecting wires 151-154 are sufficiently short. Furthermore, the two PCB connecting wires 152-153 connecting the first and second serial Ethernet transceivers can be further matched in length. These measures enable the passive shunt circuit to operate at 10 Gbps or higher speeds, allowing the network splitter 100 to be used in 10 Gbps network links. This means that the network splitter 100 can still function properly even when using serial transceivers 101-104 operating at 10 Gbps or higher speeds. Here, normal operation means that when the network splitter 100 is connected to a 10 Gbps network link, the transmission of the data stream on the 10 Gbps network link will not be affected, and the network splitter 100 can correctly copy and obtain the data stream.

[0035] According to the present invention, a clock and data recovery (CDR) circuit may also be provided in each of the first serial transceiver 101 and the second serial transceiver 102. This CDR circuit operates on the data stream signal received by the corresponding serial transceiver network port 110. This CDR circuit is not required, but after being transmitted over a long cable or optical cable, the data stream signal received by the network port 110 may be very weak. This CDR circuit is helpful in correctly receiving signals that have become very weak due to attenuation caused by long-distance transmission.

[0036] As can be seen, the network splitter 100 according to the present invention has many advantages, including not requiring an Ethernet switch integrated circuit chip or other active high-speed integrated circuit devices, such as the 1-to-2 fanout buffer IC chip used in some prior art network splitters to split data streams. Therefore, the network splitter 100 according to the present invention can not only be used for 10 Gbps network links, but also avoids some of the major engineering and manufacturing issues and difficulties previously encountered with prior art network splitters.

[0037] The above detailed description and disclosure Figure 2 The structure and method of the network splitter 100 according to the present invention are shown. The following describes three embodiments according to the present invention to further explain the present invention.

[0038] Example 1: In this example, Figure 2 The four serial transceivers 101-104 in the device utilize standardized small form-factor pluggable (SFP) or SFP+ Ethernet transceiver modules. The SFP and SFP+ standards were developed by the Multi-Source Agreement (MSA), an alliance of optoelectronic device manufacturers and system integrators whose mission is to promote the development of optoelectronic devices by establishing a series of communication protocols and standards. The SFP and SFP+ standards define interchangeable optical modules and corresponding interface specifications, enabling interoperability between devices produced by different manufacturers. SFP is the original standard for Gigabit Ethernet (1GbE) connections, while SFP+ is its upgraded version for 10GbE connections. Because SFP and SFP+ have the same mechanical dimensions and pinout, they are collectively referred to as SFP / SFP+ in the following descriptions.

[0039] In this embodiment, the four SFP / SFP+ Ethernet transceiver modules in the network tap 100 must be able to operate at the same speed, which depends on the speed of the network link to which the network tap 100 is connected.

[0040] Furthermore, in this embodiment, a clock and data recovery (CDR) circuit may be provided in each of the SFP / SFP+ Ethernet transceiver module serving as the first serial transceiver 101 and the SFP / SFP+ Ethernet transceiver module serving as the second serial transceiver 102. This CDR circuit operates on the data stream received by the network port 110 of the corresponding SFP / SFP+ Ethernet transceiver module. While this CDR circuit is not required, the data stream signal received by the network port 110 may be very weak after being transmitted over a long cable or optical cable. This CDR circuit is helpful in accurately receiving signals that have become weak due to attenuation caused by long-distance transmission.

[0041] In this embodiment, the network splitter 100's PCB requires only four fixed metal frames (SFP cages) with SFP / SFP+ sockets soldered onto them for connecting four pluggable SFP / SFP+ Ethernet transceiver modules. Because the network splitter 100's circuitry no longer requires a physical layer (PHY) IC chip to implement the four serial transceivers, the circuit complexity and cost of the network splitter 100 are significantly reduced.

[0042] Another advantage of the network splitter 100 in this embodiment is that it can be flexibly configured using SFP / SFP+ Ethernet transceiver modules that support the Ethernet standard, so that the same network splitter 100 can be used for 100Mbps Ethernet links, 1Gbps Ethernet links, or 10Gbps or even higher Ethernet network links, and these Ethernet network links can be electrical signal network links or optical signal network links.

[0043] For example, the network splitter 100 can be configured with four SFP+ 10 Gigabit (10 Gbps) Ethernet transceiver modules. Two of these SFP+ 10 Gigabit Ethernet transceiver modules support the 10GBase-SR 10 Gbps optical Ethernet protocol in IEEE 802.3 and serve as the first and second serial Ethernet transceivers 101 and 102. Their respective fiber optic network ports are interconnected with two 10 Gigabit fiber optic network devices. The other two SFP+ 10 Gigabit Ethernet transceiver modules support the 10GBase-T 10 Gbps twisted pair Ethernet protocol in IEEE 802.3 and serve as the third and fourth serial Ethernet transceivers 103 and 104. Their respective twisted pair network ports (RJ45) are connected to two 10GBase-T RJ45 ports on the data stream receiver device via two network cables. Here, 10GBase-SR and 10GBase-T are Ethernet protocols specified by IEEE802.3 that use short-distance multimode optical fiber and network cables consisting of four twisted pairs (such as CAT6) to transmit 10Gbps (10Gbps) data rates.

[0044] Another advantage of the network splitter 100 of this embodiment is that the same network splitter 100 can be used for both Ethernet and non-Ethernet network links. For example, when the network splitter 100 is used with four SFP / SFP+ Ethernet transceiver modules, the network splitter 100 can be used for an Ethernet link. When the network splitter 100 is used with four SFP / SFP+ transceiver modules that support the Fibre Channel (FC) standard, the network splitter 100 can be used for a Fibre Channel (FC) link. The Fibre Channel (FC) protocol is a high-speed data transmission protocol used to connect data storage and host computing servers.

[0045] Example 2: See Figure 3. In this embodiment, the network splitter 200 is a computer plug-in card for the PCI Express bus. The PCI Express (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) bus is a standard computer expansion bus used to connect various hardware devices inside the computer, such as Ethernet network cards. It is a high-speed, low-latency serial bus that can provide higher data transmission rates and reliability than traditional PCI buses. In this embodiment, the network splitter 200 as a computer plug-in card includes a dual-port network interface controller NIC (Network Interface Controller) integrated circuit chip 210 and two fixed metal frames with SFP / SFP+ sockets. The two fixed metal frames with SFP / SFP+ sockets are used to connect two pluggable SFP / SFP+ Ethernet transceiver modules, which serve as the first serial transceiver 101 and the second serial transceiver 102 respectively, while the third serial transceiver 103 and the fourth serial transceiver 104 are part of the dual-port network interface controller NIC integrated circuit chip 210 and are located inside the integrated circuit chip. The serial differential signal interfaces of these four serial transceivers are arranged in a manner as shown in FIG. Figure 2 The network ports of the third and fourth serial transceivers are PCI Express bus interfaces, respectively connected to the PCI Express bus switch circuit module 240 within the dual-port network interface controller NIC integrated circuit chip 210. The PCI Express bus switch circuit module 240 is also connected to the PCI Express edge slot connector 220 of the computer card via the PCI Express bus 230. Thus, the PCI Express edge slot connector 220 of the computer card is equivalent to the physical interface of the splitter port of the network splitter 200.

[0046] Embodiment 3: In this embodiment, the network splitter is equipped with two fixed metal frames with SFP / SFP+ sockets for connecting two pluggable SFP / SFP+ Ethernet transceiver modules, which serve as Figure 2 The first serial transceiver 101 and the second serial transceiver 102 are shown, and Figure 2 The third serial transceiver 103 and the fourth serial transceiver 104 are part of an Ethernet network switch integrated circuit chip and are located inside the integrated circuit chip. Figure 2The third serial transceiver 103 and the fourth serial transceiver 104 are connected to each other in the manner shown; the differential signal input interface 124 of the third serial transceiver 103 and the fourth serial transceiver 104 are two ports of the Ethernet network switch integrated circuit chip, and the network ports of the third serial transceiver 103 and the fourth serial transceiver 104 are "mapped" to another one or two ports of the Ethernet network switch integrated circuit chip inside the Ethernet network switch integrated circuit chip as the diversion port of the network diverter.

[0047] The foregoing description is merely a few embodiments of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the present invention is susceptible to various modifications and variations. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, or improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention are intended to be within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A network splitter, configured to copy and obtain a data stream of a network link between a first network device and a second network device and send the data stream to a data stream receiving device, characterized in that: include: a first serial transceiver, the first serial transceiver comprising a network port connectable to the first network device, a differential signal input interface, and a differential signal output interface; a second serial transceiver, the second serial transceiver comprising a network port connectable to the second network device, a differential signal input interface, and a differential signal output interface; a third serial transceiver, the third serial transceiver comprising a network port and a differential signal input interface connectable to the data stream receiving device; a fourth serial transceiver, the fourth serial transceiver comprising a network port and a differential signal input interface connectable to the data stream receiving device; The differential signal output interface of the first serial transceiver includes a first signal output terminal and a second signal output terminal, the signal output by the first signal output terminal and the signal output by the second signal output terminal have the same amplitude but opposite polarity, the differential signal input interface of the second serial transceiver is configured to be connected to the first signal output terminal using a first single-ended signal connection wire, and the differential signal input interface of the third serial transceiver is configured to be connected to the second signal output terminal using a second single-ended signal connection wire; The differential signal output interface of the second serial transceiver includes a third signal output terminal and a fourth signal output terminal. The signal output by the third signal output terminal and the signal output by the fourth signal output terminal have the same amplitude but opposite polarity. The differential signal input interface of the first serial transceiver is configured to be connected to the third signal output terminal using a third single-ended signal connection wire, and the differential signal input interface of the fourth serial transceiver is configured to be connected to the fourth signal output terminal using a fourth single-ended signal connection wire.

2. The network splitter according to claim 1, wherein: The four serial transceivers are pluggable SFP / SFP+ transceiver modules. The four SFP / SFP+ transceiver modules operate at the same rate, which matches the rate of the data stream on the network link.

3. The network splitter according to claim 1, wherein: The first single-ended signal connection wire, the second single-ended signal connection wire, the third single-ended signal connection wire and the fourth single-ended signal connection wire are part of a passive shunt circuit, and the passive shunt circuit is configured to support the network splitter to operate at a rate of at least 10 Gbps.

4. The network splitter according to claim 1, wherein: The first serial transceiver and the second serial transceiver each have a clock and data recovery circuit, and the clock and data recovery circuit acts on the data stream signal received by the network port of the corresponding serial transceiver.

5. The network splitter according to claim 1, wherein: The network splitter can be used for both Ethernet network links and non-Ethernet network links.

6. The network splitter according to claim 1, wherein: The network splitter is a computer plug-in card for a PCI Express bus, which includes a dual-port Ethernet network interface controller integrated circuit chip. The third serial transceiver and the fourth serial transceiver are located inside the dual-port network interface controller integrated circuit chip. The first serial transceiver and the second serial transceiver are pluggable SFP / SFP+ Ethernet transceiver modules.

7. A method for duplicating and obtaining a data stream in a network splitter, wherein the network splitter comprises a first network port, a second network port, a first split port, and a second split port; the network splitter receives a first-direction data stream from the first network port and outputs the first-direction data stream from the second network port and the first split port; the network splitter receives a second-direction data stream from the second network port and outputs the second-direction data stream from the first network port and the second split port; and include: Converting the first direction data stream into a differential signal through a first serial transceiver, wherein the differential signal includes a first single-ended signal and a second single-ended signal, wherein the first single-ended signal and the second single-ended signal have the same amplitude but opposite polarity; converting the first single-ended signal into a first output signal through a second serial transceiver, wherein the first output signal completely represents the first direction data flow, and the first output signal is output from the second network port; converting the second single-ended signal into a second output signal through a third serial transceiver, wherein the second output signal completely represents the first directional data flow, and the second output signal is output from the first shunt port; converting the second direction data stream into a differential signal through a second serial transceiver, wherein the differential signal includes a third single-ended signal and a fourth single-ended signal, wherein the third single-ended signal and the fourth single-ended signal have the same amplitude but opposite polarity; converting the third single-ended signal into a third output signal through the first serial transceiver, wherein the third output signal completely represents the second direction data flow, and the third output signal is output from the first network port; The fourth single-ended signal is converted into a fourth output signal through a fourth serial transceiver, the fourth output signal completely represents the second direction data flow, and the fourth output signal is output from the second shunt port.

8. The method for duplicating and obtaining data stream in a network splitter according to claim 7, wherein: The four serial transceivers are pluggable SFP / SFP+ transceiver modules. The four pluggable SFP / SFP+ transceiver modules operate at the same rate, and the same rate matches the data stream.

9. The method for duplicating and obtaining data stream in a network splitter according to claim 7, wherein: The four serial transceivers are connected to each other in a passive shunt circuit manner, and the passive shunt circuit is configured to support the network shunt to operate at a rate of at least 10 Gbps.

10. The method for duplicating and obtaining data stream in a network splitter according to claim 7, wherein: The network splitter is a computer plug-in card for a PCI Express bus, which includes a dual-port Ethernet network interface controller integrated circuit chip. The third serial transceiver and the fourth serial transceiver are located inside the dual-port Ethernet network interface controller integrated circuit chip, and the first and second serial transceivers are pluggable SFP / SFP+ Ethernet transceiver modules.

Images