Industrial Switches: Meet the Cisco IE-2000 Series

Should you migrate to Cisco IE 2000 industrial switches? Read our article on their unique features and expert opinions to help you decide.

Cisco IE-2000 Switches

Cisco brought revolution with its IE-2000 series to industrial sectors with critical infrastructures. The Cisco IE-2000 industrial switches can efficiently handle voice, data, video, and others in an industrial network system. The rugged design and compact size provide the industry standard convergence rate for data across the network using Resilient Ethernet Protocol (REP), a Cisco proprietary. 

Industrial applications, systems, and networks require a ruggedized yet easy-to-manage and secure switching technology. Industrial networks need to deliver outstanding performance regardless of scale and environment. With IE-2000 industrial series Cisco has extended its commonly known Catalyst series platform to industrial networks, previously known to serve enterprise businesses only. 

Why Were Cisco Industrial Switches Developed? 

Traditional enterprise-grade and business network switches did not satisfy industries with critical infrastructure whose services are located in challenging environments. Due to the harsh climate and continuously changing weather conditions, the industries needed a long-term and reliable solution to support business continuity and boost network performance.

Cisco Industrial Switches are the result of long-term research and analysis of the requirements of various industries. Cisco has addressed the industrial sector's reliability, security, flexibility, and scalability concerns with the release of Cisco Industrial Switches.

The industrial switches are an excellent fit for industries' latest IOT and OT needs, where data flow, network security, and performance metrics are the highest priorities.

How Do Cisco Industrial Switches Differ From Their Alternatives?

SG series switches cannot deliver powerful performance in the highly distributed industrial network of IOT and OT devices, whereas:

·  Cisco industrial switches are designed to support and operate in harsh environments, where typical enterprise and business switches lack performance and durability.

·  Their hardware design, interface placement, and power supply are more suited for harsh environments.

·  The updated security features prevent unprecedented cyber-attacks.

·  Cisco industrial switches support industrial protocols and certifications to be up to date and to comply with different industrial compliance regulations.

Forget the location, scale, and industry dependencies

With Cisco industrial switches, industries do not need to worry about location and performance issues. Industrial switches are specially designed to suit, operate, and support business, data flow, traffic management, and protection from cyber threats. 

Today’s OT and IOT needs are ever-changing. Industrial switches offer versatility and flexibility with advanced policy-based automation and optimized performance and security. These switches can be deployed regardless of temperature, dust, and water presence.

So, what are the different types of industries the Cisco industrial switches can serve? Here are some examples:

1. Oil & Gas
2. Railways
3. Power/Electricity
4. Roadway & Tunnel Infrastructure
5. Water Infrastructure
6. Manufacturing industries
7. Study & Research
8. Renewable Energy
9. Transportation
10.  Chemical Industry

Why upgrade/migrate to Cisco industrial switches?

With the rugged design, shock and vibration toleration, and capability to run smoothly in extreme temperatures, industrial switches are the best choice when you want to upgrade your existing network switches. Furthermore, the optimal size, weight, and compact design allow the migration and upgrade capabilities in less time.

Industries operating from harsh environments can now easily place the Cisco industrial switches in their existing network without hassle and downtime.

Cisco Stealthwatch service provides deep security insights, analytics, and traffic visibility which increases control and boosts operations. The Cisco industrial switches come with standard industry certifications like UL/CSA, EN, IEC, IEEE, and IP67 for water resistance protection.

The Cisco DNA center-powered, intent-based networking adds resiliency and reliability to the sensitive industrial networking infrastructure. The Cisco-DNA center feature supports the system, applications, and infrastructure scalability with added security and automated policy provisioning.

Think less, do more with Cisco IE-2000

The Cisco Industrial IE-2000 series is an excellent choice for industrial networks. The zero-touch-provisioning empowers administrators to onboard the IE-2000 into the existing network with an efficient setup process powered by DHCP. The IE-2000 may look like a small box but has a bundle of features like any other series. It delivers a power-packed performance with its robust design and ability to perform L3 routing, NAT, and support for industrial automation protocols. 

With Cisco IE-2000 in your industrial network, you can control and monitor the security and user traffic with more significant insights. The Cisco DNA center integration offers the advanced characteristics of automated management and visibility. The powerful NAT, PoE, routing, and flexibility to enhance the data traffic by inbuilt SFP ports are added advantages. With Cisco IE-2000, industries will have the following capabilities:

● Operational Insights

● Cyber threat detection

● Cisco DNA Integrated

● Scale and automate using Cisco DNA Analytics

● Upto 10G speed supported

● Backplane stacking

● Support for industrial protocols and certifications

Are Cisco IE-2000 switches ideal for Industrial networks? 

Industries' distributed and complex network infrastructure needs a quick voice, video, and data convergence mechanism for higher performance even during the peak hours of production and operations. Cisco IE-2000 industrial switches offer a high convergence rate and security from cyber threats typically targeted at critical industrial networks. From hardware design to functionality, the IE-2000 switches are specially built for industrial networks. They support smooth data transmission, LAN connectivity, and enhanced security.

The real-time challenges of industries should be considered while trying to implement reliable and secure LAN infrastructure. The environment, location, and industry domain are some significant factors that impact the desired or expected performance. Hence Cisco announced its presence and services to offer and match the industry-specific IT & IOT needs. The Ie-2000 switches can be easily deployed using standard configuration and management tools powered by Cisco. 

A harsh environment is one risk factor that risks the entire IT infrastructure for industries operating in such conditions. The ruggedized design and IP67 protection standard of IE-2000 switches protect these ethernet switches from water and dust. The cabinet-free concept and compact size allow industries to mount and place the switches at any location easily. The PoE also enables connection to powered devices such as IP Cameras, Access Points, Biometric Systems, and IP phones. Therefore, it eliminates the need to overhaul the existing electrical layouts. 

Cisco IE-2000 Feature Highlights 

The IE-2000 series has a wide range of features and characteristics, including:

● Fixed DIN rail switch, up to 20 ports

● Wall mount, IP67 rated, up to 24 ports with M12 interfaces (selected models)

● Up to 18 x FE ports, 2 x 1 G combo uplinks (on selected models)

● Layer 2 or Layer 3 options (limited features)

● Up to 4 ports of PoE/PoE+ [power budget up to 120W]

● Conformal coating (on select models)

● Cisco DNA Center management

● Up to 24 fixed ports with a compact form factor

● Up to two 100BASE-T or 1000BASE-T uplinks with SFP or RJ-45 connectors

● Swappable SD flash card (for configuration storage), mini USB connector, RS-232 console port

● CIP, EtherNet/IP, and PROFINETv2

For detailed specifications and to find the best fit, check the OFFICIAL PORTFOLIO. 

Final Thoughts

After analyzing and using it for some time, we say a big yes to the IE-2000 for industrial networks. The Cisco IE-2000 industrial switches add enhanced security and significant features to boost performance and stability. Moreover, Cisco's technical support, regular firmware patches, and long-term reputation in the IT industry make the IE-2000 switches an exceptional choice.

Want to learn more? CONTACT Network Devices for pricing and further queries.