DIN Rail, Industrial Ethernet and Low and High Temperature Grade Devices

While racks and standard office temperatures are very common when using an Ethernet Device in your network, the needed specifications for Switches and Mediaconverters for use in industrial applications are different.

DIN rail is a metal rail, usually installed inside an electrical enclosure, which is mainly used in industrial environments. These devices snap right onto the rails, sometimes requiring a set of screws, and are then wired together. The powering here is mostly with any kind of Low Voltage DC Power, ranging from 12 to 48V DC. Main efforts are needed for meeting the temperature demands. These electrical enclosures are seldom heated or cooled. The temperature can vary and can go as low as -40 or as high as +75 degrees Celsius.A standard DIN rail is 35-mm wide with raised-lip edges, according to international standards. Power connections are made with terminal blocks. Industrial and DIN Rail devices are mainly shipped without AC power supplies.

When selecting the needed Industrial Ethernet device you should care that every used component is made for your temperature grade. Black Box is offering a complete portfolio. For meeting your demands for "Real Time Ethernet", which is a commonly used term here, selecting a Device with Management Features is required. A lot can be done through setting your Ethernet switch up correctly to keep latency low and make "Real Time Ethernet" more realistic then the term, checking the technological basic aspects of Ethernet, makes possible.

Industrial customers mainly are frightened by network failures. Many Ethernet switches and converters offer solutions for keeping your network up and running. Redundant Power Inputs are very common and Ring and Redundancy Protocols are very essential for managed Industrial Ethernet devices. Black Box Industrial Ethernet products can cope with equipment from other manufacturers by using Standard Protocols like X-Ring, Spanning Tree and Rapid or Multiple Spanning Tree.