MOXA's new IEC 61850-3 Compliant Ethernet Switches Deliver Seamless Communications in Substations

Taipei, Taiwan, March 25, 2008—Moxa, a leading provider of industrial device networking solutions, is introducing a new series of IEC 61850-3 and IEEE 1613 compliant Ethernet Switches. The PowerTrans series protects against electrical surges, EMI, and other critical threats in substation environments, and emphasizes the highest level of reliability and availability of substation communications by offering strong EMI immunity, -40 to +85°C operating temperature range, and redundant features for complex and high voltage substations. Maximum flexibility is achieved by modular rackmount design with high optical fiber and Gigabit port density, making the switches well suited for both retrofitting existing stations as well as establishing networks for new substations. Layer 3 routing is supported for better network performance on large-scale substation LANs.

Maintaining a high standard of reliability is essential for protecting against electrical surges and EMI, extreme temperature variations, and other environmental threats found in substation automation applications. IEC 61850-3 specifies environmental and EMI immunity requirements for network equipment in substations. IEEE 1613 is another industry standard that offers error free device operation for challenging substation automation applications. Moxa's PowerTrans series of substation Ethernet switches, which comply fully with IEC 61850-3 and IEEE 1613, are reliable and resilient to data loss when exposed to various EMI conditions—an absolute must for flawless operation in substations subject to temperature extremes. The PowerTrans Ethernet switches are designed for completely fanless operation within a wide temperature range of -40 to +85°C. The PT-7828 and PT-7728 switches feature full-fiber configuration with a maximum of 18+4G fiber ports to support long-haul and EMI immunity communications.

The PT series supports Turbo Ring, which guarantees faster network fault recovery (under 20 milliseconds) and standard STP or RSTP redundant protocols. In addition to a single ring redundancy structure, Turbo Ring also supports multiple ring coupling topologies, such as "Ring coupling," "Dual homing," and "Dual Ring" for flexible configuration. Maximum uptime is enhanced by the use of dual redundant power supplies (24/48 VDC or 110/220 VDC/VAC), and modularity gives users more choices of transmission media and bandwidth to fit specific applications, and in addition makes the implementation of future plant upgrades and expansions easier. The PT series also meets NEMA TS2 requirements for traffic control equipment, which when combined with EN50155 and EN50121-4 compliance makes the switches suitable for railway applications.