Switch handles demanding industrial Ethernet

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Nov 24, 2005

A new compact eight-port hardened managed Ethernet switch is ideally suited to harsh industrial edge-of-network applications.

GarrettCom Europe has expanded its 6K series of managed Ethernet switches with the launch of the 6K8 - a compact eight-port hardened field device.

Ideally suited to harsh industrial, edge-of-network applications, the 6K8 can accommodate up to eight 10/100Mbit/s copper and fibre ports, or four 100Mbit/s plus a 1Gbit/s uplink port, in a hardened metal package designed specifically for extreme temperatures and challenging environments.

Developed to meet the needs of demanding industrial Ethernet applications, the 6K8 is ideal for building a switched field network infrastructure when used in applications connected to industrial modes, PLCs, IEDs, upstream switches, or routers.

It has been designed and tested for use in industrial applications such as factory floors, power utilities, tariffed carrier facilities, traffic control, transportation and video surveillance systems.

The 6K8 is compliant with NEBS Level 3 and ETSI, IEEE1613, IEC61850, NEMA TS2 and TEES.

The 6K8 is the newest member of the 6K range of managed industrial switches that includes 32-, 25- and 16-port configurable switches in DIN-rail and rack mount packages.

The 6K8 complements the existing products by providing a field-hardened device for remote locations requiring a reduced port count.

The 6K8 switch offers a range of AC and DC power supply options including -48V DC, 24V DC, 125V DC, dual source, or worldwide AC.

For fibre-to-the-premises applications, the 6K8 offers per-port configurability for RJ45 connectors and 10Mbit/s fibre as well as the full range of 100Mbit/s fibre connectors.

DIN-rail mountable, the innovative packaging features an advanced thermal design where the metal casing also operates as a heatsink, significantly reducing the overall package size.

The 6K8 switch has been designed to be easy to install and simple to operate.

A graphical user interface (GUI) simplifies software setup.

Addresses of attached nodes are automatically learned and maintained, adapting the switching services to network changes and expansions, and providing plug-and-play operation.

The switch comes pre-installed with the latest version of GarrettCom's Managed Networks Software (MNS-6K) that offers a complete range of management services, including Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMPv1) monitoring, SNMPv3 manager access authentication and password encryption for mission-critical security.

The software also provides Telnet and TFTP remote management, port mirroring for network troubleshooting, port security for intruder protection, and SNTP network timekeeping.

As with all the switches in the 6K range, the new 6K8 provides redundancy support including STP and RSTP, and features GarrettCom's standards-based S-Ring technology for high-speed fault detection and correction in an average of 0.25s.

The switch also supports link-loss-learn (LLL) for fast ring recovery.