IRT Managed Switches

Irrespective of the priority of the data packets, PROFINET packets are processed preferentially, which is done by searching the header file of the incoming packets for a PROFINET ID.

If a PROFINET ID is detected in the header, this data packet is processed with the highest priority. This provides the option of increasing the priority of certain applications, such as video streams, without impairing PROFINET communication.

The system operator no longer needs to consider the prioritization of PROFINET packets. This simplifies network planning, and it is possible to distinguish in detail between the priorities of all non-PROFINET telegrams.

Extremely short latencies are achieved when forwarding packets when transmitting in 100 Mbit operation - thanks to the support of cut-through switching technology. This enables PROFINET packets to quickly reach their destination, even via several switches.

You can fully configure the FL SWITCH IRT via the PROFINET controller – from initial startup including IP address assignment via DCP through to the port configuration.

During operation, the entire diagnostics for the IRT switches can be read out and monitored via the PROFINET device.

Fast device replacement and monitoring of the network topology is realized via the LLDP (Link Layer Discovery Protocol) defined in the PROFINET standard.

Via PROFINET, the FL SWITCH IRT can diagnose fiber optic paths and make the diagnostic data available to the controller.

This allows the quality of the fiber optic path to be continuously monitored. To improve assessment of the fiber optic path, the IRT switches also make the path distances between two devices available to the maintenance engineer.

Thanks to the support of the Media Redundancy Protocol (MRP) ring redundancy mechanism, the FL SWITCH IRT devices safeguard the uninterrupted flow of data traffic in your network. As a part of the IEC 62439 standard, MRP guarantees maximum switch-over times of 200 ms in the event of an interruption.

You can also activate the MRP manager function in your IRT switch with the interchangeable FL MEM PLUG/MRM configuration memory. This function allows the switch to monitor the redundancy function for the entire MRP ring. In addition, you can save the device configuration to the external memory so you can replace a device in just a few seconds.