It features eight (8) 10/100M PoE ports, and two (2) gigabit (1000M) ports with combined RJ45 copper and Small Form-factor Pluggable (SFP) slots for optional fiber connectivity.
PoE, a technology which is popular with enterprise IT allows the transmission of both power and data to Ethernet devices over standard twisted-pair Cat5/5e/6 cables. More formally known as IEEE 802.3af, this standard specifies an output capacity of 48VDC at up to 15.4W per port.
"Originally introduced for connecting and powering IP telephones and wireless access points, PoE is quickly gaining traction in industrial applications", said Paul Wacker, Advantech's Product Manager for Industrial Communication products. "Combined with network attached cameras, we're seeing growing demand in machine vision and plant security applications".
The EKI-7659CI's eight (8) 10/100M Ethernet ports are capable of supplying a full 15.4W per port. Combined with the managed features of this switch, PoE port status and power output may be monitored from a web browser. Additionally, PoE functionality is independently configurable, including the ability to limit output power on a port-by-port basis.
Equipped with SFP fiber transceivers, or utilizing the built-in gigabit (100Mbps) ports, multiple switches can be configured in a self-healing ring, providing a secondary communications path in the event that the primary is interrupted. In addition to open standard Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP), the EKI-7000 family switches also support Advantech's ultra fast X-Ring, which guarantees recovery in less than 10 ms.
Using Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs), a physical network can be subdivided in multiple logical networks, improving performance and enhanced security. With the rising popularity of Ethernet/IP and other industrial protocols that use multicast messaging, IGMP Snooping can direct these messages to only participating devices, without flooding all of the other devices with unnecessary multicast traffic.
Managed switches also offer a variety of built-in diagnostics tools, for quick and easy network troubleshooting and maintenance. Port statistics allows remote monitoring of device connection status and data traffic throughput, and the switch can also pro-actively send an alert when a fault has been detected, minimizing network downtime. Also these switches support Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), for centralized remote management or integration with HMI and SCADA systems.
Ideal for demanding environments, this ruggedized switch has been designed to withstand extreme shock and vibration, extended operating temperatures of -40 to 167°F (-40 to 75°C), and includes redundant 48 VDC power inputs for resiliency. It is packaged in a metal IP30 rated chassis, and includes DIN-rail and direct panel mounts for easy installation.
For more information or to purchase, please contact Advantech directly or your regional Advantech authorized dealer.
Advantech - www.advantech.com/ea
