SWITCHES & ROUTERS
Switches and cabling in non-standard environments : Important considerations
In environmentally harsh or non-standard conditions , cable and switch performance may be affected by , for example , extreme temperatures , chemicals , EMI , crushing , flex or moisture , says Nexans ’ business development manager Evgeniy Vlasov .
Most LAN network equipment is designed for indoor use , in a relatively clean , dry and stable setting – simply using a top-of-the-range switch or extra robust coating won ’ t solve these challenges .
First of all , let ’ s define what we mean by a ‘ harsh ’ environment . Basically , this can be anything other than a ‘ normal ’ office or data centre environment . Application areas might include transport , traffic monitoring , oil & gas , smart grids , electrical substations , wind turbines or healthcare environments . In such an environment , switches , cabling and network equipment can be adversely affected by ingress , interference or vibration .
Systems in outside plant , for example , may be exposed to extreme temperature variations . In maritime or petrochemical environments , moisture or chemicals can affect performance .
Mission critical
Because networks in harsh environments are often linked to mission critical applications , switches and structured cabling must function without outage or downtime . After all , in the event of failure , there is a serious risk of damage , even loss of life , in addition to financial loss and an affected reputation . That ’ s why infrastructure and components for mission critical applications need to meet even higher requirements then a standard network for offices . Designs must be compact and robust , equipment should offer high redundancy in areas such as data transmission and power and guarantee high levels of availability and security .
Intelligent switches and easy management
Any issue has to be tracked down and resolved almost instantly . However , manually checking for faults is extremely time consuming , especially across a large network that includes remote , difficult to reach locations . Advanced solutions for ongoing , accurate and accessible monitoring of networks , which often cover large areas , makes it possible to manage and maintain these from one single location . Automated documentation is vital – finding and fixing faulty equipment or bad connections without up to date information wastes time and resources . To help quantify how well equipment will handle harsh environments , NEMA ratings and IP code IEC 60529 are often used . Switches
20 | March 2017