The growing importance of Industrial switches

Whether you refer to it as the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) or simply as industrial networking, there is no doubt that connected field systems are becoming increasingly valuable across industries. One of the main components underpinning this connectivity is the Ethernet switch. Once exclusively used in IT environments, these Ethernet switches now find themselves commonly used in harsh rail, marine, industrial and military environments.

According to research firm Gartner, there is expected to be somewhere in the region of 25 billion Internet of Things (IoT) devices globally by 2021. Most of the devices won’t be domestic smart lighting or security systems, however. The majority will be used for field-level performance and diagnostic data processing and sharing across private networks of critical industrial systems or sharing of image data between security and military devices.

In environments such as these, the speed, security and availability of network communication is imperative. As such, managed Ethernet switches are a staple of modern industrial network architectures, able to promptly relay data between connected devices and wider networks in a way that can be physically and virtually secured.

Depending on the industry and application, Ethernet switches — much like all embedded computing components — have specific requirements. As a partner of several leading Ethernet switch manufacturers, Recab UK can recommend and source several switches to meet the requirements of various applications. The first step is understanding the industry and its demands.

Far from being confined to IT environments, Ethernet switches are now present in demanding industrial environments across the globe. Of course, not every switch is suited to every potential environment, which is why it’s important to partner with an embedded expert like Recab UK that can recommend or design the right switch.

As the IIoT and network connectivity extends to more industries and applications, Ethernet switches continue to perform a crucial role for years to come. Although often overlooked, their importance cannot be understated — and nor can the importance of making the right choice.