No longer just a network accessory, the industrial Ethernet switch has evolved dramatically from its origins as a simple factory data acquisition device. Today, these switches serve a continually broadening spectrum of applications and end user industries. This evolution includes industrial Ethernet cementing its position as a key platform in both automation and infrastructure architectures, including the core architectures embodied in the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), Industrie 4.0, and IT/OT convergence.
Escalating use in these and other segments continues to drive new product configurations, new supplier entries, and overall expansion beyond the traditional industrial base. Potential switch buyers therefore need a sound roadmap to guide them through the maze of new configuration options.
ARC Advisory Group’s new Industrial Ethernet Switch Selection Guide is designed to help organizations make informed choices when selecting industrial Ethernet switches. Extracted from ARC’s most recent industrial Ethernet switch market update, and drawing on their years of industrial Ethernet switch market coverage, this guide is designed to reduce RFP development time and provide a sound foundation for expediting the product and supplier selection process.
“While the term ‘industrial Ethernet switch’ remains valid due to the need to meet specific environmental, electrical, and other requirements, classic industrial automation accounts for only about one-half of the current market. Numerous suppliers are developing product for important public infrastructure applications whose requirements differ from classic industrial ones. While infrastructure and vertical integration applications seek maximum bandwidth and throughput, factory automation applications may seek to limit network traffic and implement a daisy-chain or ring topology.” according to ARC Vice President Chantal Polsonetti, the author of ARC’s Industrial Ethernet Switch Technology Evaluation and Selection Guide.
Broadening Spectrum of Product Configurations
The traditional industrial Ethernet switch of the past was a DIN rail device with 8 or less ports. As the ARC guide indicates, numerous variations and deviations from that traditional profile currently exist in the marketplace:
- DIN rail, rack mount, embedded
- Extended operating temperature range
- Passive cooling
- Industrially rugged design, especially the case
- Industrial connectors in addition to RJ45
- Higher International Protection (IP) Rating
- Redundant Components (Power Supplies, etc.)
- Marketed via automation equipment channels
- Support for industrial network protocols
- Deployed at the network edge
- Protection from Electromagnetic Interference (EMI)
Industrial customers need to ensure their industrial Ethernet switch configurations, and selected suppliers, are committed to their applications and/or industries. The guide features 2014 market share data by both application and end user industry which, along with strategic supplier profiles, gives potential buyers a fundamental understanding of the product and supplier landscape during the selection process.
For more information on this guide, please visit our Technology Evaluation and Selection section.