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Compared with ordinary switches, industrial switches have enhanced functions on the basis of ordinary commercial switches, and the port configuration and product series are more abundant and flexible, which can meet the needs of various industrial fields. Widely used in smart transportation, security monitoring, wind power photovoltaic, coal mine and other fields. In particular, power, transportation, and metallurgy are called the three potential industries for industrial switch applications. Next, let us learn more about the advantages of industrial switches? How to choose an industrial switch?

Part 1: Advantages of Industrial Switches
1. Super anti-interference performance
Industrial switches have strong anti-interference functions, such as high protection levels in lightning protection, waterproofing, anti-corrosion, anti-static, etc., while commercial switches do not have these functions.
2. Using industrial grade components
Industrial switches have high requirements on product components and can withstand the test of harsh environments, so they can better adapt to industrial environments and support industrial applications in various harsh environments.

3. Wide temperature work
Industrial switches generally use metal shells, which have better heat dissipation and stronger protection. They can basically work normally within the temperature range of -45~+75°C, and can adapt to complex temperature and humidity, but the working range of commercial switches is relatively speaking. narrower.
4. Fast ring network redundancy
Industrial switches generally have the functions of fast ring network and redundancy, and the redundancy time is less than 20ms. Although commercial products can also form redundant networks, the healing time is more than 10-30s, which is too long to meet the needs of industrial environments.

5. Redundant power supply design
Power supply is a very important part of industrial switches. Power failure generally accounts for more than 35% of the equipment failure rate. In order to avoid the trouble caused by power failure, the industrial switch adopts dual power supply redundancy design to ensure the stable and reliable operation of the system. Commercial products generally use AC single power supply, which is not suitable for applications in industrial environments.
6. Long service life
Industrial switches use industrial-grade solutions from the shell to the components, so the reliability of the products is higher and the service life is longer, generally more than 10 years, and the service life of ordinary commercial switches is roughly 3-5 years.
Part II: Key Metrics for Choosing an Industrial Switch
1. Reliability
In industrial field environments, reliability is critical. The main factors related to product reliability are: the tolerance of equipment hardware to the working environment: such as operating temperature range, EMC electromagnetic compatibility, lightning protection level, installation and power supply, fanless design, redundancy, fault diagnosis and recovery ability, etc. In the parameter description of the product, there should be a detailed description of the working temperature range, electromagnetic protection, and lightning protection level.
2. Real-time
Network data transmission will generate a certain delay. Therefore, the first thing to consider when selecting an industrial Ethernet switch is the port delay in the process of forwarding data frames by the switch. In a standard factory automation control system, the system can tolerate a response time of less than 20 milliseconds. Therefore, when choosing a switch, it should be noted that the value of the switch port delay should not exceed 20 microseconds.
3. Compatibility
Industrial Ethernet switches and other industrial Ethernet components should be able to communicate using standard TCP/IP protocols. Under no circumstances should there be any incompatibilities between Industrial Ethernet equipment and commercial Ethernet equipment. Corresponding to different industrial field bus solutions, industrial Ethernet devices should have corresponding capabilities to be compatible with them.