Many machines are hard wired or use some type of field bus protocol. More and more industrial Ethernet protocols are being used as a replacement for field bus in today's applications. Ethernet based protocols have many advantages including:

  • Speed
  • Using the same network for IT automation
  • More topology options
  • Easier troubleshooting
  • Universal connectivity for different devices
  • Higher price and performance ratio
  • The ability to transmit multiple protocols

Many devices only have one available ethernet port. Even if you had two ports available, your topology would be limited to a linear topology and your network traffic would be too high. Switches help solve this problem.

An Ethernet switch is a piece of networking hardware used to connect multiple Ethernet devices on the same network. It uses what is called packet switching to receive and forward Murrelektronik Managed Switchesdata to destination devices without causing packet collisions. Switches increase the flexibility of network structures by allowing you to create different topology layouts with your wired Ethernet devices. Those topologies include line, star, tree (a combination of both line and star) and ring.

Switches also help you cover longer distances. Switches allow you to go up to 100 meters between ports and add devices in between each other using a standard Ethernet cable. Fiber Optics and wireless transfer will allow you to go even longer distances. Standards which support 10 and 100 megabit per second connections. These connections require four pole cables and typically use RJ45 or decoded M12 or M8 connectors. Gigabit switches support one and 10 gigabit per second connections in addition to 10 and 100 megabit per second connections. They require eight pull cables in typically use RJ45 or x coded M12 connectors.

The connection speed of a switch is always based on the slowest device. If one side supports 10 gigabit transfer, but the other side only supports 10 megabits, the transfer speed will be reduced to 10 megabits per second.

Switches can be divided into two groups, unmanaged and managed. Unmanaged switches are inexpensive, basic devices. They don't require user configuration, so they are often referred to you as plug and play. They are a cost effective, easy to replace solution for simple applications. Their main functionalities include connecting multiple Ethernet devices on the same network, increasing cover distances, and avoiding telegram collisions.

Murrelektronik Unmanaged and Managed Switches 

Managed switches are more expensive than unmanaged switches. They can be configured to perform various tasks including adjusting speed, combining devices into subgroups, monitoring and managing traffic or reporting activity. This type of switch is normally used to improve network performance by:

  • Reducing unnecessary traffic
  • Add troubleshooting options through port mirroring and statistics
  • Add redundancy ring topology
  • Create multiple networks with one switch by using virtual LAN functionality.

Manage switches include a built-in web interface for configuration, they can exchange data with PLCs and be configured through engineering tools such as studio 5000 and TIA portal.

Remember, some managed switches are compliant or certified for a specific industrial Ethernet protocol so choose wisely when building your topology. Light managed switches are managed switches with a limited range of features and configuration possibilities. Therefore, they are less expensive than a true managed switch, but more expensive than an unmanaged one.

Murrelektronik currently offers PROFINET unmanaged and light managed switches in your choice of an IP20 or an IP67 housing. EthernetIP and PROFINET managed switches will be added to the lineup later this year. xelity and xenterra are Murrelektronik’s new families of switches. The first release includes unmanaged 4, 6, 8 and 16 port options.

Tree is another family of switches offered by Murrelektronik. It includes 4, 6, and 8 port  IP20 unmanaged switches, along with 4 and 6 port IP67 unmanaged switches for 100-megabit networks, and 8 or 16 port IP20 unmanaged switches for gigabit networks. Tree also includes 4 or 6 port IP20 and 5 port IP67 light managed switches.