Industrial Ethernet switches for harsh and complicated applications
September 2006
Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
One of the latest products in Advantech's line of industrial Ethernet switches, the EKI-6538, has just been released. The EKI-6538 is equipped with eight 10/100Base-TX Ethernet ports and built-in advanced network management functions, designed to be used in harsh and complicated industrial networks. To maximise network performance, the product supports various network traffic managements to optimise the utilisation of bandwidth. It offers high-security mechanisms to protect networks from the risk of unauthorised access.
Engineered to be used as the pivot of a network, the EKI-6538 has many advanced network management functions to assist in its work. The switch supports quality of service (QoS) for prioritising packets, port trunk for aggregated bandwidths, port mirroring for packet analysis, and monitoring. With efficient traffic control and network management, the product can optimise the utilisation of bandwidths. Compared with general Ethernet switches, the EKI-6538 offers greater value with few added costs.
Network security is a major concern for all, and the EKI-6538 provides solid security mechanisms to empower the shielding of networks. The product supports IEEE 802.1Q tagged virtual LAN (VLAN) to group network clients beyond the limitation of physical connections, and will improve network security by confining intra-group traffic to their segments. Moreover, it supports secure gate controls to deny unauthorised MAC access, and built-in onboard digital input/outputs that can be utilised for field security device connections.
The EKI-6538 also provides quick and easy field diagnosis and troubleshooting. Engineers can simply press the self-diagnosis button of the unit to verify the hardware status of each Ethernet port automatically, and diagnose the status of switches within seconds.
The EKI-6538 is built with 4000 V d.c. ESD protection to Ethernet ports and 3000 V d.c. surge protection to power inputs. Furthermore, the enclosure supports IP30 which can be installed in dirty and dusty environments. With these advanced industrial features, the robust EKI-6538 can endure even the most rigorous industrial environments.
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