10 Gigabit Ethernet: A Tried and True Backbone Solution

Jan. 11, 2011 - PRLog -- In today's highly competitive environment, you need to extract every possible benefit from Ethernet technology. So why not leverage your network infrastructure to improve your productivity? To optimize productivity, you will need the right tools and techniques to effectively increase operating efficiency and reduce expenditures a convergent network will do just that!

A convergent industrial automation network is constructed around a shared Ethernet-based platform that is not just for data transmissions, but also for the transmission of voice, video, and other mission-critical applications; however, this requires a massive amount of bandwidth. With a 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) core switch solution, bandwidth will no longer be an issue.

The Ethernet movement has evolved into one of the most widely implemented protocols for the industrial automation industry. Initially, Fast Ethernet with a speed of 100 megabits per second (Mbit/s) was plenty sufficient; however, the demands for network information quickly outgrew this speed. This gave way to Gigabit Ethernet, which increased the speed to 1000 Mbit/s. But 1000 Mbit/s is still not fast enough for convergent industrial automation networks. This is where 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) comes in. Superseding both Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet with a phenomenal data rate of 10 Gbit/s, 10GbE is 10 times faster than Gigabit Ethernet.

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Ethernet Backbones: Commercial or Industrial Core Switches?
A convergent industrial Ethernet network is very important, especially for large-scale mission-critical automation applications such as transportation (railway and subway) and oil and gas industries where a massive amount of data, voice, and video needs to be transmitted around the clock. This task calls for a 10 Gigabit Ethernet core switch solution, which has the capability to provide high performance, high port density and bandwidth, and can endure harsh, demanding environments.

While industrial-grade 10GbE core switches can provide all of the aforementioned features, commercial-grade core switches cannot. Commercial switches are made for comfortable IT environments and just cannot survive in harsh industrial environments. In addition, commercial switches are equipped with fans, which can malfunction unexpectedly and also require regular cleaning and replacement. The commercial switches' fault recovery time is measured in seconds, not milliseconds. Furthermore, the installation, integration, and troubleshooting of commercial switches for large-scale industrial automation networks are both complicated and time consuming.

Many people are inclined to choose commercial switches because the initial cost is lower than that of industrial switches. In reality, choosing industrial-grade products from the get-go is actually more cost-efficient since they are made for harsh environments and thus will ensure the reliability and stability of the network. Moreover, industrial switches' maintenance cost is much lower due to their rugged construction. All in all, commercial switches simply do not provide a good price/performance ratio.

Comparison Table:
                               Industrial Switches                                 Commercial Switches
Heat Dissipation                   Fanless                                                          With Fan
Operating Temperature   0 to 60°C or -40 to 75°C                       0 to 45°C
Ring Recovery                  Milliseconds                                                 Seconds
Non-stop Operations    Hot swappable, Redundant power inputs    Unusual
Industrial Ethernet Protocol Support   Modbus/TCP,
Ethernet/IP, ProfiNet, TCP/IP, and more                                           Standard TCP/IP


Industrial 10-Gigabit Ethernet Core Switch Requirements
Now that you have decided to go with an industrial 10GbE core Ethernet switch solution, bear in mind that a stable and reliable solution must include the following:
Industrial-grade features and design: fanless, wide operating temperature, industrial protocol support, and power redundancy
High port density to allow central management of a large quantity of field devices
High performance with multiple 10GbE ports to support a large amount of data and real-time network traffic
Fast recovery time measured in milliseconds for enhanced data availability and system reliability
Modular design that supports hot swappable modules to ensure non-stop operations
Layer 2 and Layer 3 network management functions

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Moxa's ICS series core switches combine a comprehensive assemblage of industrial features/functions and designs to provide the ideal solution for convergent industrial automation networks. These switches are the only fanless 10GbE industrial Ethernet switches on the market, and they are also the only industrial core switches that offer more than three 10GbE ports for high performance uplinks and downlinks. And most important of all, these switches are very competitively priced.

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