Shock-proof switches
15 December 2009
MEN MIKRO has released the first Ethernet switches of the robust, modular MIPIOS family.
As a managed or unmanaged version, in mobile or industrial applications, MEN's MIPIOS switches with their eight Fast Ethernet channels accessible via robust M12 connectors are suitable for every field of application in which safety and reliability have the highest priority.
Ethernet switches are used in almost any imaginable field of application, which means that the demands on this technology are higher than the average and cannot be realised using standard PCs. In the mobile arena, this includes commercial vehicles like agricultural or construction machines, but also trains, buses or cable cars. Robust and safe switches are also needed in the fields of avionics, medical engineering and industrial automation.
MIPIOS is a family of extremely rugged modular computer components such as box computers, Ethernet switches, PSUs and I/O devices. The units were designed for wall mounting or DIN-rail mounting – even in extreme and mobile applications – and communicate with each other using Ethernet. The stainless aluminum enclosure, which all MIPIOS products have in common, is dust-proof and waterproof according to IP67 and protects against violent impacts. With a maximum power dissipation of 10W, MIPIOS products are always fanless; the heat is transported to the outside of the housing via conduction cooling. All electronic components are soldered to withstand shock and vibration and prepared for conformal coating. MIPIOS complies with the EN 50155, class Tx railway standard, and runs in a -40°C to +70°C operating temperature environment.
The MEN MIPIOS switches excel through their robustness. The 220mm x 130mm x 70mm aluminum housing conforms to EN 50155 and IP67, allows solid wall-mounting and protects against violent impacts. This makes it suitable for use in harsh and critical environments.
MIPIOS switches are available as managed and unmanaged versions. They support full and half duplex, fast non-blocking store-and-forward switching and autonegotiation as well as Layer-2 switching. They are fault-tolerant and restore themselves automatically: If a link is temporarily unavailable, it will work again after the disturbance without any restart or reset. Their built-in test mechanisms make these robust Ethernet switches an even more reliable component in the communication system.
The managed version RS1 is equipped with a service port at the front, which is also accessible via an M12 connector. This port provides an easy way to configure all channels individually. An external dongle, a command line interface (via RS232, Telnet or SSH) or SNMP (Version 3) makes maintenance very easy, too, such as when the switch is used in a vehicle or in automation applications. The RS2 is the first unmanaged MIPIOS switch. Both versions conform with the EN 50155 railway standard. This means that all electronic components are specified for an operating temperature range of -40 to +70 °C, soldered to withstand shock and vibration and prepared for conformal coating.
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