Over the past two decades, many industrial operations began building digital backbones into their production platforms. Like their counterparts in office environments, they wanted more data to enhance control and management of their systems. In industrial settings, that meant sensor, PLC and servo drive data.
While some manufacturers went the proprietary route, many built their networks around unmanaged Ethernet switches.
Now, as industrial companies embrace Industry 4.0, operations are being upgraded again with smart devices. Isolated and standalone systems are being connected to Ethernet-based networks and exposed to the Internet. As these industrial Ethernet networks grow in size and complexity, network visibility, control and security need renewed attention. Unmanaged switches can do the job, however, the better choice to manage today's control and risk demands is the managed Ethernet switch.
Durability
The drive to connect makes sense. Networking isolated systems ushers in valuable new data that was previously unattainable. However, gaining access to that data in real time requires a significant investment. Many organizations chose to manage costs by opting for unmanaged Ethernet switches.
What's lost in the balance is technical sophistication. Adapted from Ethernet technology in office networks, unmanaged switches lack security defenses and network visibility, as well as the traffic control needed for industrial networking.
Industrial Ethernet networks are constantly transacting time-sensitive data and vital input/output (I/O) signals. Responsive I/O and interlock signaling play a crucial role in preventing equipment failure, wasted product and data loss.
Managed switches are suited to the task as they are engineered for rugged industrial environments to tolerate high vibration along with their ESD (electrostatic discharge) and surge protection.
Optimizing traffic flow
Another advantage of managed switches involves controlling and optimizing network traffic. As industrial Ethernet networks expand, engineers need to improve the level of determinism on the network to minimize network delays. When data packets are transmitted unnecessarily, resources and bandwidth are wasted and communication can be delayed. Managed switches give automation engineers exceptional control to bypass these shortcomings.
A large machining department, for instance, may have multiple tools networked together, each with its own variable frequency drive (VFD) generating lots of network traffic. While VFD data is useful for preventive maintenance and performance tracking locally, it might not need to be transferred to the work cell PLC.
Managed Ethernet switches let automation engineers carefully define which data transfers from which addresses to allow. This feature can also be used to limit connections to particular uplink ports to help manage traffic on a given work cell or automation network segment, while also securing it.
Plug-and-play
The leading managed switches are also easy to install and configure. Text-based files make it easy to copy the configuration to any new switches added to the network.
When controls engineers lack technical network training, user-friendliness is a major plus. All that's necessary is powering up the switch, adding the device IP address and configuring the password and security protocols for that portion of the network. Newer switches include pre-configured protocols, simple interfaces displaying switch status and diagnostic tools that help identify and solve issues before they cause production downtime.
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