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Network Infrastructure Magazine | Wednesday, November 24, 2021
FREMONT, CA: In a world where swift and relatively dependable Ethernet—both wired and wireless—has grown ubiquitous among customers of all ages and technical abilities, it's easy to believe industrial automation systems can be connected to any accessible networking hardware. After all, individuals routinely connect portable gadgets, entertainment equipment, and home automation components to their local network and the cloud, with largely positive consequences.
The qualifier "primarily" refers to the fact that industrial products must be mentioned for industrial solutions. While a networking failure in a consumer environment is typically more of an annoyance than a disaster, industrial systems are continually transacting time-sensitive data, including input/output (I/O) signals in some circumstances, via Ethernet. While these signals are frequently informative and optional to a certain extent, timely I/O and interlock signaling are required to avoid equipment damage, wasted product, and data loss—all while maintaining required worker safety.
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Industrial-grade network switches are commonly available and come in a range of pricing points. They are powered by durable and redundant sources and connected by high-quality media and fittings. However, users must choose between simple unmanaged switches, suitable for some applications, and managed switches, which may provide considerable operational benefits but are more expensive to acquire and configure. There are several circumstances where a managed switch may be essential, including the following:
Keeping the traffic under control: Communication data packets must be transferred from the source to the target device to reduce network delays and increase determinism on any network. Packets sent to locations where they are not needed can delay the processing of vital messages by using resources.
This problem can be alleviated by modern unmanaged switches, which can perform some packet filtering. On the other hand, an unmanaged switch cannot identify and filter out numerous sorts of packets efficiently; therefore, these devices wind up sending unnecessary packets to all connected devices.
Traffic filtering in commercial and industrial environments can be improved with the use of managed switches.
Superior protection: Security is desired in any network, but it is critical in automation networks that control physical equipment and store essential data. While unmanaged switches forward packets, managed switches add an extra layer of safety by providing the following:
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