Ethernet has already penetrated into the industrial environment, and is widely adopted from control rooms to controllers and devices on the shop floor. Industrial Ethernet is not only being used in a wide range of vertical markets, but is also finding uses in different facets of each market. For example, IEC 61850-3 industrial Ethernet networks are applied as the physical medium for power substation automation, which means that a host of legacy field buses must be connected to the Ethernet network. The bottom line is that Industrial Ethernet is becoming the future trend for automation communication.

Different vertical markets require different solutions, which is why Moxa developed two distinct rackmount Ethernet switch product lines. The new PowerTrans PT series IEC 61850-3 rackmount Ethernet switch series and IKS industrial rackmount Ethernet switch series were developed to meet the needs of a variety of applications (see the table at the right).

• The PT-7828 Layer 3 Ethernet switch can divide a large networkinto hierarchical sub-nets. Controlling network traffic on its own subnet can help to improve the performance of the entire network.

• The Layer 2 modular managed Ethernet switches PT-7728, PT-7710, and IKS-6726 support advanced network management and control functions, including VLAN, QoS, IGMP snooping, LACP, and GMRP to optimize and prioritize network communication.

• The Layer 2 unmanaged IKS-6324 series of Ethernet switches are reliable plug-and-play Ethernet communication solutions that give users an easy and economical way to connect with end devices.

Media Redundancy
Managed rackmount Ethernet switches come with the world’s fastest Turbo Ring redundancy (20 ms @ 250 switches), and standard STP or RSTP redundant protocol. In addition to a single ring redundancy structure, Turbo Ring also provides multiple ring-coupling functions, such as “Ring Coupling,” “Dual Homing,” and “Dual Ring.”

Power Input Redundancy
Non-stop operation is the key criterion for mission-critical applications. The PT-7828/7728 and IKS-6726 support dual, isolated, redundant power supplies with different power sources (24/48 VDC or 110/220 VAC/VDC input voltage). For example, you can choose 110/200 VAC/ VDC as your main power source, and 48 VDC from a battery as your back up power source.


Configuration Redundancy
The ABC-01 backup configuration tool can both save and load configurations automatically when connected to a Moxa managed Ethernet switch. This novel management tool helps reduce downtime, and can be used for fast configuration duplication of large-scale networks.

• 19-inch rack-mountable design to meet the installation needs of substation and traffic control rooms.

• To perform flawlessly in the uncontrolled climates found in utility substations and industrial environments, these rackmount Ethernet switches are designed for fan-less operation in a wide temperature range of -40 to 85°C.
  
  -All PT series Ethernet switches are designed for use in a -40 to 85°C wide operating temperature range.
  -All IKS series Ethernet switches are designed for use in a -40 to 75°C wide operating temperature range.

Up to 4 Gigabit Ports for Backbone and Uplink
As industry adopts bandwidth-hungry applications such as video surveillance, there is a greater need for high bandwidth and faulttolerance solutions with Gigabit Ethernet equipment. Demand is growing for applications in industrial networks that comprise multiple, interconnected Gigabit backbones among different network centers. Moxa offers a range of Gigabit managed Ethernet solutions that can be used to form a Gigabit backbone that connects to control centers, video-over-IP servers, Ethernet-enabled devices, or other Ethernet switches. These Gigabit Ethernet switches support fault-tolerant rings with fiber-optic ports, allowing operation in the toughest industrial environments.

Gigabit Ethernet is the trend, and we can already see a lot of work stations, HMA/SCADA equipment, and video monitoring panels that come standard with a Gigabit Ethernet interface in control rooms.

Moxa's modular rackmount Ethernet switches come with up to 4 Gigabit combo ports for the PT-7828/7728 series. Other modular Ethernet switches include the managed PT-7710 Ethernet switch, the IKS-6726 Ethernet switch, the smart PT-7324 Ethernet switch, and the unmanaged IKS-6324 Ethernet switch, all of which support 2 Gigabit combo ports. Any combination of twisted pair and fiber optical ports can be chosen to form a redundant Gigabit Turbo Ring or connected to a Gigabit HMI/SCADA in the control room.

Media Configuration Flexibility
The PT and IKS series modular Ethernet switches support different numbers of Gigabit and fast Ethernet interface modules that allow users to choose from a variety of copper/fiber media combinations.

The modular design benefits users in three ways:
• Higher flexibility for system design and fast network changes
• Easy maintenance and lower cost of spare parts
• Reduced cost of future upgrade

Cabling Flexibility
Moxa’s rackmount Ethernet switches provide two options of cabling direction. Front cabling is ideal for maintenance, whereas rear cabling is neater and results in an arrangement that is safer in the event once a cable gets disconnected.