The technote is very short but to the point - something I often struggle to acomplish...
A Stratix switch appliance will operate as normal, within a Logix based integrated architecture, without residing in any existing controller's I/O Configuration. The option to add these switches into the application is purely provided as an auxiliary and convenient method of exposing their data, both diagnostic and configuration, to the end user and application.
In fact, out-of-the-box these switches with neither addition to any I/O Configuration or even basic configuration, such as Express Setup, will begin operating immediately, albeit as unmanaged. They do not even require an IP address to be assigned. As they are essentially running Cisco IOS firmware, they are designed at the basic hardware level to provide data propagation and/or routing capabilities. Configuring them is what indirectly makes them now "managed" and more efficient at handling end device data by customizing port roles, etc.
Yes, the faceplate is for FactoryTalk View ME or SE. You use an AOI which essentially handles the standard messaging to the switch to pull the required data. For third-party HMIs you could still use the AOI to populate the tag data for display but the "RPI" of the AOI is quite slow as it's configured to work with the faceplate which refreshes more infrequently. You could modify the AOI or, alternatively, with the switch in the I/O Configuration, you could access the higher "RPI" module-defined (I/O) tag data for the switch externally for displaying in Ignition. This might be a better solution if you'd prefer not to have anyone actually logging into the Device Manager switch configuration at all via the Ignition web module.
Regards,
George