Industrial Ethernet switches and commercial switches are basically the same in data exchange functions, but in terms of design and selection of components, the strength and applicability of the product can better meet the needs of industrial sites. In addition, it is more flexible than commercial switches in terms of module expansion: there are a variety of optical ports and electrical ports for selection. It can meet the needs of industrial sites in terms of material selection, product strength, applicability, real-time, interoperability, reliability, anti-interference and intrinsic safety. Next, the editor of Feichang Technology will introduce the difference between industrial Ethernet switches and network switches in detail, let's take a look!
Industrial-grade switches generally meet the design requirements: industrial wide-temperature design, 4-level electromagnetic compatibility design, and redundant AC and DC power input. In addition, PCB boards are generally treated with "three preventions".
Why should an appropriate industrial Ethernet switch be used in the industrial field instead of a cheap commercial switch? We can determine the necessity of choosing industrial Ethernet switches in the industrial field from the following aspects.
1. Determinism
Because the MAC layer protocol of Ethernet is CSMA/CD, this protocol makes conflicts on the network, especially when the network load is too heavy, it is more obvious. For an industrial network, if there are a large number of conflicts, the data must be retransmitted many times, which greatly increases the uncertainty of the communication between the networks. In the industrial control network, this uncertainty from one place to another will inevitably lead to a decrease in system control performance.
2. Real-time
In industrial control systems, real-time can be defined as the measurability of the system's reaction time to an event. In other words, after an event occurs, the system must respond within a time frame that can be accurately foreseen. However, the industry has very strict requirements for real-time data transmission, and data update is often completed within tens of milliseconds. And also because of the CSMA/CD mechanism that exists in Ethernet, when a conflict occurs, the data must be retransmitted, up to 16 attempts can be made. Obviously, this conflict resolution mechanism comes at the cost of time. Moreover, once there is a disconnection, even if it is only a few seconds, it may cause the entire production stoppage or even equipment and personal safety accidents.
3. Reliability
Since Ethernet was designed at the beginning, it was not based on industrial network applications. When it is applied to the industrial site, facing harsh working conditions, serious inter-line interference, etc., these will inevitably cause its reliability to decrease. In the production environment, the industrial network must have good reliability, recoverability, and maintainability. That is to ensure that when any component in a network system fails, it will not cause the application, operating system, or even the network system to crash or paralyze.
Industrial Ethernet switches are designed to take into account the complex conditions of the industrial site, so that they can be more adapted to the industrial environment and play the role of the switch.
The difference between industrial Ethernet switches and ordinary switches is mainly reflected in functions and performance.
The environment of the industrial site is worse than the ordinary environment, at least in terms of vibration, humidity, and temperature. The ordinary switch is not designed to withstand the various situations that occur in the industrial environment, and the ordinary switch cannot be long. Working in such a harsh environment often leads to failures and increases maintenance costs. It is generally not recommended to use commercial switches in an industrial environment. In order to enable the switches to be used in such harsh environments, the production can adapt to this The reliability of environmental switches and industrial-level switches includes power failure, port interruption, relay output alarm, redundant dual DC power input, active circuit protection, automatic circuit protection for overvoltage and undervoltage, (reliability depends on the model Slightly different)
The functional difference mainly refers to: the
industrial Ethernet switch is closer to the industrial network communication in function, such as interconnection with various field buses, equipment redundancy, and equipment real-time, etc.; the performance difference is mainly reflected In adapting to the different environmental parameters. In addition to the harsh industrial environments such as coal mines and ships, there are also environments with special requirements in terms of EMI (electromagnetic compatibility), temperature, humidity, and dust prevention. Among them, the influence of temperature on industrial network equipment is the most extensive.
Well, the above content is the detailed introduction of Feichang Technology on the difference between industrial Ethernet switches and network switches. I hope it can be helpful to everyone! Feichang Technology has been specialized in the R&D, production and sales of industrial communication equipment such as optical transceivers, industrial-grade switches, optical fiber transceivers, and protocol converters for 20 years. Welcome to come to understand and exchange ideas.