Industrial Switches-Core of Industrial Interconnection

"Data" is the core driver of industrial intelligence, including data collection and exchange, integrated processing, modeling analysis, decision optimization, feedback control and other functional modules. It is reflected in the collection and exchange of massive data, the integration and processing of heterogeneous data, edge computing of machine data, the solidification and iterative operation of empirical models, cloud based computing and analysis of big data, and the realization of production site conditions, collaborative enterprise information Precise calculation and complex analysis of market user needs, thus forming management decisions for enterprise operation and control instructions for machine operation, driving intelligence and optimization from machine equipment, operation management to business activities.

Under the tide of the digital economy, the traditional industry is accelerating its integration with the industrial Internet and the Internet of Things, and promoting the digital transformation, so as to further enhance the market demand for networks and Industrial Switches. It is expected that the market size of industrial switches will still maintain a steady growth momentum for a long time in the future.

According to the research report of some institutions, in 2021, the domestic ethernet switch market will reach 5.3 billion US dollars, accounting for about 1/6 of the global scale, with a year-on-year growth of 17.5%. It is expected that the market will exceed 6 billion US dollars in 2022. Among them, in the first half of 2022, the market size of China's industrial switches will reach 2.583 billion US dollars, about 18.459 billion yuan.

Industrial switches are now widely used and are called the core of industrial interconnection in the era of interconnection of everything, so it is necessary for us to have a more comprehensive understanding of industrial switches.

What is an industrial switch?

Industrial switch is a special type of ethernet switch for common switches. In a broad sense, if it supports wide temperature, it can be called an industrial switch, but it is generally called a "fake industrial switch". In a narrow sense, an industrial switch needs to support certain dust-proof and waterproof functions in addition to wide temperature. It also needs to support industrial features such as POE power supply, fanless design, etc. Based on different application scenarios, even an industrial switch sometimes needs to support explosion-proof functions.

Wide temperature is the most basic feature of industrial switches, and ethernet switches without wide temperature capability are definitely not called industrial switches. Wide temperature application scenarios are generally in harsh environments. For example, many outdoor monitoring equipment will use industrial switches. The outdoor temperature changes greatly throughout the year, so the industrial switches must work in this scenario. Generally, the wide temperature range is - 45 to 70 degrees.

In the scene of outdoor monitoring, the industrial switch also needs the POE function. Because the outdoor monitoring industrial switch needs to be connected with an external gun or ball camera, and the environment is limited, it is impossible to install a power supply for these cameras. Therefore, the POE can supply power to the cameras through the network cable, which solves the problem of power supply. Now many safe cities use this industrial switch with POE power supply.

The second most important function is waterproof and dustproof. Waterproof and dust-proof scenes are generally used in dusty or humid outdoor environments. For example, the industrial switches placed in some water conservancy facilities are often in a humid environment. At this time, it is necessary to support IP45 or above.

The subway environment also requires the industrial switch to carry control signals. Because there is no such good condition in the subway pipeline. Some domestic design institutes often require the industrial switch of metro to support fanless design. Because the design with fan will introduce dust through fan cooling, which is very easy to cause equipment failure, so many times the industrial switch requires natural cooling, and no fan.

For some oil and gas scenarios or underground mines, industrial switches also need to support explosion-proof functions. Generally, the industrial switch itself is required to support and pass the relevant certification. Another way is to use the explosion-proof box built-in industrial switch certified by a third party to achieve the relevant functions.

In the future, the future of the industrial switch is unlimited, because the industrial switch is a very important link as the Internet of Things gateway in the era of the interconnection of everything. In the era of interconnection of all things, due to the harsh environment of industrial interconnection, it is impossible to have any dedicated computer room to gather signals, because the use environment of the Internet of Things is not so good. As the gateway of the Internet of Things, the industrial switch can be used in many places, such as corridor communication wells and industrial parks, to gather and process the signals of the Internet of Things.

Combining the characteristics of industrial switch network and equipment, we integrate special functions such as automatic discovery of industrial ring network, identification of backup links, identification of blocking points, backup of equipment configuration files, equipment software upgrade, etc. on the basis of network management functions, to meet the needs of customers for industrial switches to the greatest extent and contribute to the construction of industrial Internet.