Recommend a Network Switch

Hi everyone. We are looking to connect some of our PLC's (AB), Remote I/O (AB) and Injection Molding machines to Ignition SCADA. This will also allow us to connect to machines at our desk or home through VPN.

We are planning to do a converged network. Unmanaged switches on the plant floor. They will then get connected to a managed switch. I believe the managed switch has to be a Layer3 switch? The managed switch will connect to the business network.

I am having a hard time selecting unmanaged and managed switches. Let me know what you recommend and what to avoid. Thanks.

I had a similar question for a project 6 years ago. I asked my AB rep and he recommended (IIRC) a Stratix 8000. It was around £800. Cisco Managed. I got one on trial and had a play around with it, but the project never went ahead so can't comment further. 1783-EMS08T

I did a search and from what I saw some users actually used Cisco switches instead of AB's Stratix. The model numbers they used are obsolete units, so I am still at a dead end.

Right now I'm thinking of Ntron 116TX unmanaged switches on the plant floor. All unmanged switches would connect to a Stratix 8300. Stratix 8300 then connects to business network.

A phrase I just heard was "Nobody ever gets fired for spec'ing AB". But, man-o-man do they want your dollars for a managed startix switch. I have a colleague that switched to MOXA for their standard switch because of cost and he says that he really likes them. I haven't used them.

N-Tron is all I ever use.

You can monitor the performance of the Stratix thru RSLogix5000.

We use Hirschman switches. Spider unmanaged rail switches with or without finer, and RS20 and RS30 managed switches also with or without finer ports. There is also the Hirschman hiOPC server so you can monitor the status of switches in tour SCADA system.

Greetings,

In terms of a managed switch with layer 3 functionality, you may want to consider Westermo.

They have an operating system - WeOS that is used across 5 different products, providing continuity of functionality. In addition to the OS, they also have their own network configuration software that is free of charge.

Their products will likely not be the least expensive but are built like tanks.

Your selection will likely depend upon the number and type of ports you will require.

In addition to the switch, you may want to consider Kepware's iSNMP driver for managing your network.

Here are a few links that will provide you with the information.

http://www.eternity-sales.com/Westermo/industrialethernet.htm
http://www.eternity-sales.com/Kepware/snmp.htm
http://www.eternity-sales.com/synergy/Westermo_and_Kepware.htm

All documentation is available through the links provided.

Disclosure - ESI is an authorized distributor for both Westermo and Kepware.

Should you have any additional questions, feel free to post, pm or email.

In my experience, I get the best combination of support, hardware quality, ease-of-use, and price from N-Tron.

This comes from some pretty in-depth work with the other majors: Cisco, Hirschmann, Phoenix, Moxa. I've found bugs in everybody's stuff at one point or another, and N-Tron has been the only one who actually addressed the issues I raised.

I really prefer having diagnostics down at the I/O distribution switch level, so I use 700-series even at the floor level.

N-Tron's OPC server and monitoring software isn't very shiny, but it gets the job done. Their web-based configuration is straightforward and doesn't seem to be very picky about browser and Internet options.

And in my experience, they are nearly bombproof. Bulky and heavy cases, and built that way on purpose.

@ The OP

I concur with Ken Roach that Mnaged switches could prove useful on the machine / IO level also for that I primarily use AB Stratix but thats because we are almost everything AB here.

I have used N-Tron as Ken spoke of and Moxa and they are all pretty solid gear IMHO.

But to your original question you were asking about a coe switch which just means the primary switch that all others connect to.

What you described is converged network but not in a traditional sense. Normall a converged network will have the switch at the machine connect to the nearest buisness network switch and segment traffic by a variety of methods.

From you description it sounds like you want a seperate physical network for all your automation gear and then you wish to give connectivity to that network from your buisness network which is more of a bonded network schema.

Either way you are asking for a core switch so that depends on other needs like how many ports do you need? Copper or Fiber and amount? You asked for layer 3 which makes it a smart switch as it has router functions. Redundant power yes or no? Rackmount yes or No?

I like Cisco switches for almost every application but they shine as core switches. If you ever decide to use stratix at the machine level those are Cisco OS also so the interface is familiar.

Any IT person worth his salt knows Cisco CLI but you can use the ADM if you like a GUI interface or both. Next down from Cisco IMO would be Brocade then HP.

Just as No one ever got fired for spec'ing AB no one ever got fired for Spec'ing Cisco.

Add up your port count, Determine your mounting and make a list of features you want and see what fit's your budget. Use CDW for price and feature comparisons.

I use Cisco 3750 series switches. I believe that these may be out of production at this point. One big plus, and for me this is a very big plus, to using Cisco switches is that Cisco provides Cisco Network Assistant software for free. I can do a lot from the command line in a Cisco, but given the choice I use Network Assistant. You can backup your configurations, setup VLANs, do Inter-VLAN routing configuration, etc from Network Assistant. Also take into consideration what the business network side IT guys are comfortable with using.

Has anyone used Elinx switches from B&B Electronics? It was one of the few options I was finding for industrial, managed, POE, gigabit uplink switches. I have used a few things from B&B in the past and never had a problem, but have never used an ethernet switch from them.
I was interested in using them on the shop floor. I am planning on a Cisco 300 series switch for the core switch. It will be installed in a climate controlled room, so I didn't need "industrial" for that one.

Ken Roach said:

In my experience, I get the best combination of support, hardware quality, ease-of-use, and price from N-Tron.

This comes from some pretty in-depth work with the other majors: Cisco, Hirschmann, Phoenix, Moxa. I've found bugs in everybody's stuff at one point or another, and N-Tron has been the only one who actually addressed the issues I raised.

I really prefer having diagnostics down at the I/O distribution switch level, so I use 700-series even at the floor level.

N-Tron's OPC server and monitoring software isn't very shiny, but it gets the job done. Their web-based configuration is straightforward and doesn't seem to be very picky about browser and Internet options.

And in my experience, they are nearly bombproof. Bulky and heavy cases, and built that way on purpose.

Click to expand...

I just hope it stays that way with N-tron, especially now sine Red Lion bought them. We'll see.

NTron and Moxa are very nice switches. I program only AB but the Stratix managed switches are way over priced and incredibly sloooooow to start up. And the lack of AB quality these days is insane. Your better off with PLC Direct, better quality and way cheaper!