The difference between industrial routers and industrial switches

With the rapid development of science and technology in modern society, the development of the Internet has been promoted, and the progress of the Internet of Things has been promoted. In the Internet of Things industry, industrial routers provide the function of 5G/4G/3G network conversion to WiFi, and the front end can be connected to various sensor devices, which meets the requirements of high efficiency and low latency for data transmission in the industrial field. The industrial switch is a network device used for electrical (optical) signal forwarding. It can provide an exclusive electrical signal path for any two network nodes connected to the switch. The most common switch is an Ethernet switch.
So what is the detailed difference between the two?
First, firewall function A
firewall is a relatively isolated protection between the internal and external networks, and is used to protect user data and information security technology. The remote industrial router supports a firewall, which can ensure the safe transmission of data, while the Ethernet switch does not support the firewall function.
There is a big difference between industrial routers and industrial switches, and they are also different when they are used. Therefore, you need to be clear about your needs and choose an industrial router or an industrial switch.
2. Different functions (application scenarios are also different)
Industrial routers: used as an indirect network to connect to different networks.
Ethernet switch: expand the access point of the local area network to allow more terminals to connect to the network
mentioned above, far to the industrial router It is networked through 4G/3G wireless network, and can access terminal equipment through wifi wireless network. Therefore, industrial routers are commonly used in outdoor parking lots, intelligent water conservancy, industrial oil fields and underground monitoring, pollution source on-site monitoring, security wireless video monitoring and other projects.
Industrial switches are networked through wired networks, and the most common ones are Ethernet switches. Therefore, the equipment is usually used in indoor wiring projects. For example, application scenarios such as unattended computer rooms and building distribution boxes.
3. Different working levels
Industrial switches work on the second layer of OSI, while industrial routersWorking in the third layer of OSI. Since the industrial switch works on the second layer of OSI (data link layer), its working principle is relatively simple, while the industrial router works on the third layer of OSI (network layer), which can get more protocol information. Industrial routers Can make more intelligent forwarding decisions.
4. Different processing protocols and supporting protocols
Industrial routers: the network layer supports the "TCP/IP" protocol and addresses IP address addressing.
Ethernet switches: only used to distribute network data and are addressed by the "MAC" address at the relay layer.
V. Differences in hardware
There are 4 LAN ports in the remote industrial router, among which 5 can be customized as the WAN port, and the number of LAN ports in the switch ranges from 4-48. Industrial routers have WAN ports and support mobile phone cards to access the Internet, but switches cannot. Industrial routers have wifi chips, but industrial switches do not.
In addition, because industrial routers can be connected via 5G/4G/3G wireless networks, and reflect wifi signals. Need to expand the coverage of the signal range, the antenna of the industrial router has a full-frequency rod antenna, WIFI uses a high-gain antenna, or you can choose a full-frequency rod antenna for signal external connection, and the signal is more stable. The Ethernet switch is connected via wired network and does not need to be used with an antenna.