Compact, Affordable Industrial Ethernet Switch Saves Time, Space, and Costs
by Design World Staff
Sunday, May 03, 2009
Panel builders and control engineers have a new tool in their arsenal of Ethernet switches with the Siemens Scalance XB Switch.
The Scalance XB, which is an extension of the Scalance X family of
switches from Siemens Energy & Automation, is an unmanaged
industrial Ethernet switch that can be used in a line or star topology.
Key
features of the new Scalance XB switch are its compact size and
affordable price point, making it ideal for space-saving installations
where low-cost port expansion is required. The switches offer
plug-and-play connections and are available with up to eight 10/100
Mbit/s ports.
The new line of switches is constructed with a
durable plastic housing that is easily mounted on standard rails. The
switch packaging provides an IP20 degree of protection in a small,
compact design. Diagnostics available on the switch include power, link
status and traffic data, and are indicated by LEDs.
Fast replacement, easy configuration
A
hallmark of the Siemens Scalance X family of switches is fast
replacement, which reduces downtime costs. As well, the switches offer
easy configuration and fast commissioning, with built-in web management
tools that help reduce cost of ownership. Included are complete
diagnostics via LED and PROFINET I/O and standard redundant
point-to-point connections and power supply.
Other products in the Scalance X family are the:
• Scalance X100 Unmanaged Switch, a compact design with electrical and optical ports with redundant power supply connection and remote diagnostics.
• Scalance X200 Compact Managed Switch, which offers SNMP diagnostics, operates without an enclosure, and may be mounted externally on a machine.
• Scalance X300 Compact Managed Gigabit Switch,
to migrate Fast Ethernet to Gigabit standards, providing the ability to
integrate plant floor networks with enterprise networks via high-speed
backbone.
• Scalance X400 Multi-port Gigabit Managed Switch,
which delivers the attractive office features of VLAN, spanning tree
and web based management, Layer 3 switching (IP routing), SNMP
diagnostics, and IGMP snooping. The switch is easily integrated into
enterprise and plant networks and is scalable up to 26 ports per
switch. A redundant ring manager function enables extremely high speed
Ethernet and gigabit rings with fast redundancy (<0.3 seconds).
For more information on Scalance XB products, please click here.
::Design World::