Switches with NAT routing function combine switching and routing in a single DIN rail device. With Network Address Translation, they allow easy connection to the higher-level network for machines or systems with the same IP address range.
The ports of the NAT switch can be freely used as LAN or WAN ports
The FL NAT 2000 offers a high degree of flexibility, as each of its eight ports can be freely assigned as LAN or WAN ports. This means that you can use the NAT 2000 as a simple NAT switch with one WAN port and seven LAN ports. There is no need for an additional switch in the system.
Alternatively, you can use the NAT switch to connect a machine to multiple higher-level networks, such as production and diagnostics networks. You can choose from various NAT mechanisms: 1:1 NAT, virtual NAT, IP masquerading, and port forwarding.
If identical machines are operated in parallel in a network, each machine must be configured individually. This is the only way to integrate them into the higher-level communication network. Various NAT mechanisms enable you to operate entire production cells with the same IP address space, without having to configure the machines individually.
With 1:1 NAT, each device in the LAN is allocated an IP address from the higher-level network (WAN). The device can then be addressed from the WAN via this assigned address. The advantage: router or gateway configuration is not necessary in the WAN. Communication can be established from both the LAN and the WAN, and is not restricted to dedicated protocols. The disadvantage: an IP address must be reserved in the WAN for each accessible device in the LAN.
Virtual NAT combines 1:1 NAT with a virtual router level. In this router level, the address is mapped from the LAN and is then transferred to the WAN from the virtual intermediate level as with standard routing. The advantage: only one IP address is required from the WAN, for the NAT interface itself. The disadvantage: in the WAN, the route to the (virtual) network must be indicated and the NAT WAN interface entered as the NextHop or gateway address.
With IP masquerading, the NAT device essentially acts as a proxy, so all the LAN devices communicate externally using the NAT WAN interface address. Various TCP/UDP ports are used to differentiate between the different LAN devices. The advantages: no additional WAN addresses are required aside from the address for the NAT device itself. Router or gateway configuration is not necessary in the WAN. The disadvantage: WAN devices can only communicate with LAN devices via port forwarding.
You can access a specific service of a LAN device from the WAN network via port forwarding. To implement forwarding to the desired LAN device, the WAN interface of the NAT device is addressed using a defined TCP/UDP port number.
The FL NAT 2000 supports RSTP and MRP redundancy mechanisms
In order to ensure a high degree of reliability both within the system and when connecting to higher-level networks, FL NAT 2000 switches support redundancy mechanisms on the LAN and WAN side.
For redundant connection to higher-level WAN interfaces, you can integrate the NAT 2000 into an RSTP ring with two WAN ports.
On the LAN side, you can use both RSTP and MRP as the master or client to redundantly connect parts of a machine to the NAT switch.
NAT switches support PROFINET functions
On the LAN side, the NAT 2200 and the NAT 2300 offer full PROFINET integration:
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|---|---|---|---|
| FL NAT 2000 | FL NAT 2200 | FL NAT 2300 | |
| Transmission speed | 10/100 Mbps | 10/100 Mbps | 10/100/1000 Mbps |
| Alarm contact | No | Yes | Yes |
| Temperature range | 0°C ... +55°C | -40°C ... +70°C | -40°C ... +70°C |
| Protection class | IP20 | IP20 | IP20 |
| Supply voltage | 18 ... 32 V DC | 12 ... 57 V DC (redundant) | 12 ... 57 V DC (redundant) |
| NAT functions | 1:1 NAT, virtual NAT, IP masquerading, port forwarding (source/destination) | 1:1 NAT, virtual NAT, IP masquerading, port forwarding (source/destination) | 1:1 NAT, virtual NAT, IP masquerading, port forwarding (source/destination) |
| Routing | Static routing | Static routing | Static routing |
| Filter functions | |||
| Quality of Service | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| VLAN | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Multicast/IGMP snooping | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Redundancy | |||
| Rapid Spanning Tree (RSTP) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| MRP manager/client | No / yes | Yes / yes | Yes / yes |
| Fast Ring Detection (FRD) | No | Yes | Yes |
| Large Tree Support | No | Yes | Yes |
| Extended ring redundancy 15 ms | No | No | No |
| FL NAT 2000 | FL NAT 2200 | FL NAT 2300 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Management functions | |||
| Port configuration, statistics, and utilization | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Address Conflict Detection (ACD) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| DHCP server | Port-based | Pool-based/port-based, option 82 | Pool-based/port-based, option 82 |
| Command Line Interface (CLI) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Automation protocols | |||
| PROFINET conformance class | A | B | B |
| PROFINET device | No | Yes | Yes |
| EtherNet/IP™, extended multicast filtering | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Approvals | - | Maritime approvals, ATEX, IECEx | Maritime approvals, ATEX, IECEx |
| To the product list | To the product list | To the product list |
