Top 8 Benefits Of Using Industrial Switches In Your Operations

One of the biggest challenges faced by industries today is to have a constant network connectivity that is least affected by the climatic conditions.

There industrial switches prove to be extremely useful. They are a strong solution aimed at improving reliability and performance of the systems. Industrial switches are designed for high temperature, shocks and electromagnetic noises completely unlike their commercial counterparts.

They provide continuous communication over industrial networks possessing characteristics like increased durability and security.

Want to know more about them? Keep Reading!

This article outlines the following eight advantages that come with the use of industrial switches in your business.

1. Important of Durability and Reliability

An important aspect of industrial switches is that these switches are more durable than conventional switches. 

Traditional switches are not designed to withstand temperature changes and oscillation, humidity, severe vibrations, dust, or varying electrical currents like industrial switches. 

Therefore, being able to prove their capability of withstanding hard conditions, industrial switches guarantee high performance in demanding industries and help reduce the time and the overall costs of maintenance. 

Special features may be added to industrial switches to meet industrial requirements, such as dust-tight or water-resistant to IP 67. 

This is important to ensure that operations can continue to run uninterruptedly in industries that operate under unfavorable weather conditions, such as manufacturing, mining, and oil and gas industries.

2. Improved Network Performance

Improved Network Performance

Industrial switches are directed towards offering efficient communicational networks. 

They offer high-speed data transfer capabilities to industrial processes that require strict real-time control and communication. Moreover, industrial switches guarantee that priority data packets are never delayed or lost by implementing well-thought-out protocols, such as QoS and low-latency schemes. 

3. Major Security Features

Security is a major challenge in industrial operations, especially with the increase in interconnectivity and integration of industrial networks.

Therefore, added security features are incorporated into industrial switches to protect against cybercriminals and intrusion. These attributes include the following;

• Restrict users and devices through access control lists (ACLs) by users, IP address, and port number.
• As an additional protective measure, network address translation (NAT) conceals internal IP addresses to external networks.
• Use VLANs to split the network into several subnetworks to advance security and, conversely, restrict broadcast traffic.
• Port security also limits the number of devices allowed to be connected to a switch port to prevent illegitimate access.

4. Scalability and Flexibility

Industrial switches are highly scalable and flexible, allowing organizations to extend their networks as needed. They facilitate simple integration with pre-existing infrastructure by supporting a variety of topologies, including star, ring, and mesh. 

As the network expands, additional ports or functionality can be added thanks to the modular architecture found in many industrial switches.

This scalability is especially helpful for companies that are multiplying, or that must change to meet shifting operational needs. 

5. Redundancy and Fault Tolerance

Redundancy and Fault Tolerance

Reliability of the network is essential, especially when it comes to industrial applications. Industrial switches provide reliability to ensure continuity in operation in case of a failure. 

Such attributes include the following:

• Redundant Power Supplies: If one power source fails, the power supplies with two power inputs will still be operational.
• Support for Ring Topology: Uses an alternative path of communication in case of disruption of the primary path.
• Spanning Tree Protocol (STP): Provides fail-over channels and ensures that network loops are not created.

6. Ease of Management and Monitoring

The current industrial switches come with advanced administration and monitoring facilities. They offer the facility for remote configuration and supervision through numerous management interfaces, such as Command-Line Interface (CLI) and Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP).

This is because the software is easy to use, making it easier for network managers to diagnose network issues and rectify them to ensure optimal utilization.

In addition, most industrial switches have friendly GUIs and web interfaces that enable administrators to manage the network even when they have no technical knowledge.

7. Energy Efficiency

From an economic and environmental standpoint, energy efficiency is becoming increasingly important in industrial processes. High performance and low power consumption are features of industrial switches’ energy-efficient design. 

In general, energy savings are increased by features like Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE), which lowers power usage when network activity is low.

Energy-efficient industrial switches allow companies to lower operating expenses and their carbon impact, helping them to meet sustainability targets.

8. Support for Industrial Protocols

In factories and other industrial settings, many communication protocols are frequently utilized.

Ensuring that various systems and equipment can interact with each other by utilizing these protocols is largely dependent on industrial switches. 

Moreover, industrial switches support a wide range of industrial protocols, which facilitate communication between various systems and devices inside a network.

Last Words

There are several advantages to incorporating industrial switches into your business. Indeed, they can significantly enhance the productivity, reliability, and safety of your industrial network.

Moreover, industrial switches are mandatory for today’s industrial systems because they have security measures and provide better network capabilities.

As a result, industrial switches can help businesses improve efficiency and reduce the time taken and costs of production.