We all know that there are commercial-grade and industrial-grade switches. Commercial-grade switches are generally used in homes, small businesses and other places, and industrial-grade switches are often used in industrial environments. So, why can't commercial grade switches be used in an industrial environment? Why do we have to use industrial ring network switches in the industrial field? Next, let's follow the editor of Feichang Technology to take a look!
First of all, the data exchange functions of industrial-grade switches and commercial-grade switches are basically the same. However, in terms of design and selection of components, the strength and applicability of industrial-grade switch products can better meet the needs of industrial sites. In addition, industrial-grade switches are more flexible than commercial-grade switches in terms of module expansion: there are a variety of optical 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.
Secondly, industrial-grade switch design generally meets 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 must the industrial field use industrial ring network switches?
1. The industrial field environment is harsh.
Since Ethernet was designed at the beginning, it was not based on the application of industrial network. 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.
The industrial Ethernet switch is designed with the complex situation of the industrial site in mind, so that it can be more adapted to the industrial environment and play the role of an industrial-grade switch.
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 this 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-grade switches includes power failure, port interruption, relay output alarm, redundant dual DC power input, active circuit protection, automatic overvoltage and undervoltage protection, (reliability depends on different models (Slightly different) The
functional difference mainly refers to: industrial-grade switches are closer to industrial network communication in function, such as interconnection with various fieldbuses, equipment redundancy, and equipment real-time, etc.; and the performance difference It 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.
2. The load of the Ethernet network is heavy.
Because the MAC layer protocol of the 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 an industrial control network, this uncertainty from one place to another will inevitably bring about a reduction in system control performance.
3. The real-time nature of industrial data is strictly
in industrial control systems. Real-time can be defined as the measurability of the system's response time to an event. 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. And 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.
Well, the above content is about why Feichang Technology must use industrial ring network switches in industrial sites? A detailed introduction to this issue, I hope it can be helpful to everyone! Feichang Technology has been engaged in the R&D, production and sales of industrial communication equipment such as optical transceivers, industrial switches, optical fiber transceivers, and protocol converters for 20 years. Welcome to come to understand and exchange ideas.
For more details, please visit Feichang Technology (www.futuretel.com.cn)