According to the Huawei HCIA-Cloud Computing training materials, the statement is TRUE. TAP (Network TAP) is a virtual network kernel device that is part of the standard Linux kernel networking stack.2 It is "independently maintained" because it is a native Linux feature, not a proprietary tool built solely for a specific hypervisor like KVM or Xen. TAP devices operate at the Data Link Layer (Layer 2) of the OSI model, meaning they handle Ethernet frames.3

In a cloud computing environment, TAP devices are fundamental for bridging the gap between virtual machines and the physical network. When a Virtual Machine is created, the hypervisor (CNA in Huawei's case) creates a TAP device on the host. One end of this TAP device is "plugged" into the virtual machine's NIC, while the other end is connected to a virtual switch (like the DVS or Linux Bridge). This allows the VM to send and receive Ethernet frames as if it were connected to a physical switch port.

Linux maintains TAP alongside its counterpartTUN(which operates at Layer 3/Network Layer).4Because TAP carries full Ethernet headers, it is the preferred device for virtual switches, as it allows for features like VLAN tagging and MAC address learning. Huawei’s virtualization technology leverages these standard Linux kernel features to provide a high-performance, stable networking environment. Understanding that TAP is a standard, independent Linux kernel component is vital for candidates, as it explains how open-source foundations are used to build enterprise-grade cloud platforms like FusionCompute.

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