Introduction
A recent project involved a major multi-national producer of marine electronics systems for offshore oil and gas operations, merchant marine systems, and for the defense and aerospace industries. With nearly 4000 employees working in 20 countries around the world, the corporation uses industrial Ethernet technology to help ensure optimal and dependable marine operations.

The company's products and systems are used by merchant vessels and offshore installations for positioning, navigation, and automation. The company also provides systems to survey and monitor the seabed, for fishing vessels and fisheries research. As one of the world's major suppliers of high quality marine electronics, their products include chart plotters for yachts, triple-redundant dynamic positioning systems for oil drilling rigs, and sonar and instrument systems for scientific research vessels.

Devices that are used in marine applications must be able to endure the corrosive effects of salt water as well as withstand excessive amounts of vibration and shock. For this reason, the client requires all products and components to be DNV and GL certified, in order to ensure that their systems can meet the high standards required by the maritime industry.

System Description
The client was working on a sonar positioning system that required a high-speed network to connect devices in the hull unit room to devices on the bridge. Aside from marine certifications, speed and redundancy were very important considerations. For this reason, Moxa's managed Ethernet switches were used to form the redundant network that connected the sonar system to the bridge.

For each sonar unit, a transmit transducer array and a receive transducer array were linked to the main transceiver in order to detect underwater objects. Moxa's EDS-518A managed switch was installed in the hull unit room and connected to the different sonar devices. The EDS-510A-1GT2SFP was housed on the bridge and connected to the bridge electronics systems. A redundant gigabit network backbone was formed by connecting the EDS-518A's two gigabit ports to two of the EDS-510A's three gigabit ports. The EDS-510A's third gigabit port was used to send data logs to the operations station, a process that could involve massive amounts of information.

The Ethernet network formed by the two EDS switches allowed real-time transmission of signals from the sonar to the bridge. This is a crucial point for anti-submarine and mine detection applications, since real-time information is essential for the survival of the ship and crew.

Benefits

• Moxa's managed Ethernet switches are DNV and GL certified, ensuring reliable operation in marine and offshore environments.
• Moxa's Turbo Ring topology satisfies the strict redundancy requirements for marine vessels and provides fast fault recovery if the network is disconnected.
• With the EDS-510A and EDS-518A, a redundant gigabit backbone can be established for critical systems communication and for transmitting massive amounts of data to the bridge.
• Both the EDS-510A and EDS-518A offer high port density in a small package, making them ideal for applications with a limited amount of space.
• All Moxa Ethernet switches come with a 5-year warranty and a high MTBF, making them well-suited for industrial applications.

Key Products
EDS-510A	Industrial 7+3G-port Gigabit managed redundant Ethernet switch
EDS-518A	Industrial 16+2G-port Gigabit managed redundant Ethernet switch

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