Moxa, a global provider of industrial automation solutions, is proud to announce that its new PowerTrans PT-7528 series, the industry’s first Ethernet switches designed to fulfill IEC 61850-90-4 requirements and equipped with built-in MMS servers, is now available.

The PowerTrans PT-7528 series is designed for power substation automation applications in extremely harsh environments. Taking advantage of Moxa’s newest Noise Guard? technology, the PT-7528 series is not only compliant with IEC 61850 standards, but also has an EMC immunity that exceeds IEEE 1613 Class 2 standards to ensure zero packet loss while transmitting at wire speed. The PT-7528 series also features critical packet prioritization (GOOSE, SMVs, and PTP), a built-in MMS server, and a configuration wizard designed specifically for substation automation. With Gigabit Ethernet, redundant ring, and 110/220 VDC/VAC isolated redundant power supplies, the PT-7528 series further increases the reliability of your communications and saves cabling/wiring costs.

The PT-7528 series includes a wide range of models to provide multi-type port configurations. The modular design of the PT-7528 also makes network planning easy, and allows greater flexibility by letting you install up to 4 modular fiber ports and 24 fixed 10/100BaseT(X) RJ45 ports. Along with the optional front or rear wiring, these features together make the PT-7528 suitable for a variety of industrial applications.

“Support for IEC 61850-90-4 data modeling allows Moxa’s PT-7528 Ethernet switches to be controlled, monitored, and managed via a power SCADA system, which is critical for reliable electrical substation operation and eliminates the need for additional network management software,” stated Dennis Lin, manager of Moxa Power Communication Infrastructure division.

PowerTrans series switches

Rockwell Automation today announced the release of its Industrial Data Center offering, engineered specifically to help manufacturing and production companies take advantage of the benefits of a fully virtualized environment. The Industrial Data Center offering helps reduce costs by decreasing the server footprint, extending application longevity, and improving infrastructure reliability with management and recovery features.

“Although there has been a proliferation of virtualized servers on the plant floor in recent years, moving to a virtualized environment can be costly and time consuming for production businesses,” said Matt Fordenwalt, business manager, consulting services at Rockwell Automation. “The Industrial Data Center offering from Rockwell Automation is a cost-effective way for production companies to more quickly take advantage of this growing trend.”

The standard, pre-configured infrastructure offering represents a complete turnkey solution that includes hardware, software, factory assembly, on-site configuration, documentation and TechConnect support from Rockwell Automation. This offering helps reduce cost of ownership and helps increase realized savings for industrial companies over the lifetime of assets through virtualization. The Industrial Data Center bundle also incorporates industry-leading technology from leading IT providers and Rockwell Automation Strategic Alliance partners, Cisco and Panduit. This packaged solution includes Unified Computing System (UCS) servers and Catalyst switches from Cisco, and is built in accordance with the industrial best practices documented in the Rockwell Automation and Cisco Converged Plantwide Ethernet Architectures. Validation and assembly, led by Panduit, extends convergence to the computing level by combining their expertise in the enterprise and data-center markets with Rockwell Automation industrial expertise.

The Industrial Data Center offering is available in two versions – Essentials and Essentials+. The Essentials model is equipped with two UCS servers – with the ability to expand to 3 to 5 TB of usable storage, VMware vSphere standard virtualization software, 24 rack units, and an operating-system license. The Essentials+ model includes three UCS servers – expandable to 6 to 9 TB of usable storage, 42 rack units and the operating-system license.

Visit the Rockwell Automation Industrial Data Center page

Rockwell Automation is expanding its Allen-Bradley Stratix family of industrial switches and routers, and announcing new wireless and security products designed to meet industrial networking requirements. Expansions include: Stratix 5700 managed industrial Ethernet switch with embedded Network Address Translation; Stratix 5900 services router; and new fiber and Power over Ethernet (PoE) options for the Stratix 5700, Stratix 8000 and Stratix 8300 switches. New products coming in early 2014 include the Allen-Bradley ArmorStratix 5700 switch and Stratix 5100 wireless access point. This major portfolio expansion will help manufacturers build a more cost-effective, unified and secure network infrastructure from the enterprise down to the end devices used in the production environment.

“Manufacturers are migrating to standard EtherNet/IP networks – one reason for this is to better leverage technologies and capabilities, such as big data, cloud computing and virtualization,” said Rachael Conrad, business manager, Networks and Security, Rockwell Automation. “The trend to EtherNet/IP has also increased the recognition of the importance of a secure environment from the enterprise down to the end devices.”

Using the world's leading network infrastructure software – Cisco IOS – the Stratix portfolio helps deliver more secure integration of business-critical services and support from operations to the enterprise.

“We have seen that Industrial Ethernet projects – including the selection and installation of Ethernet switches – are increasingly a shared responsibility between control-system engineers and network engineers,” said Bryan Tantzen, senior director, Internet of Things group, Cisco Systems. “This shared responsibility is one reason why Cisco and Rockwell Automation have partnered to deliver solutions that are designed to meet both controls and network engineers’ requirements. The Stratix portfolio allows them to use the same Cisco and Rockwell Automation tools they are already familiar with for easier management.”

The Stratix family of industrial Ethernet switches will be on display in Booth No. 1205 during the annual Automation Fair event. Stop by to learn more about how these expansions can help operations connect the unconnected in more secure and reliable ways.

For more information: Stratix Family of Industrial Switches and Routers

Moxa, a global provider of innovative industrial Ethernet solutions, recently unveiled a new class of Gigabit Ethernet switches, the EDS E series, for use in large-scale networks to converge field applications in extreme industrial environments. In addition to Level 4 EMS protection, severe shock/vibration resistance, and new thermal fin design that can reduce switch temperatures (5°C or more), the EDS E series has many user-centric features to significantly improve network manageability, and the new hardware designs are engineered to provide an unprecedented level of switch reliability for industrial applications.

“According to recent market studies (IMS report), the global number of industrial Ethernet nodes at supervisory and control levels are growing at an average rate of 15%. However, the number of field-level nodes is growing at a rate of approximately 36%. If industrial Ethernet technology is increasingly being deployed at remote field locations, industrial Ethernet switch reliability will need to be robust enough to handle harsh field site conditions. The new EDS E series is designed to give industrial operators peace of mind with the utmost protection available against high-voltage electrical transients, severe shock and vibration, and extremely high temperatures,” explained Gary Chang, product manager at Moxa’s Industrial Ethernet Infrastructure Division.

The EDS E series offers various copper and fiber slot combinations with up to 16 gigabit Ethernet ports to quickly build a full-gigabit network backbone or add gigabit speed to existing networks. Other key benefits of the EDS E series include an USB interface for fast and easy auto-configuration/backup/restore, and reduced energy consumption of up to 30% with IEEE 802.3az.

Features:

· Superior Level 4 EMS protection against to electromagnetic interference

· Advanced thermal fins designed for maximum heat dissipation

· New DIN-rail mounting kit design resists severe vibration

· Class 1, Div. 2/ATEX Zone 2, DNV, NEMA TS2, EN 50121-4, IEEE 1613 Class 2 compliant

· User-friendly interfaces

· Supports EtherNet/IP, PROFINET and Modbus TCP for SCADA integration

· Configure 100 switches in 12 minutes with Moxa’s MXconfig utility

· Auto configuration/backup/restore is fast and easy with the ABC-02 USB dongle Energy Efficiency

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