The 14 ports Gigabit Ethernet Consist Switch is a Gigabit/Fast Ethernet layer two managed switch that is EN 50155 compliant, specifically designed for network applications in rolling-stock environments. Besides providing wire speed layer 2 forwarding, it also supports layer three capabilities, allowing IPv4 unicast and multicast routing among different VLANs. Its purpose is to enable the implementation of network topologies in a train.
The Consist Switch has six 1000BASE-T ports and eight 100BASE-TX ports.
Two pairs of Gigabit Ethernet ports can be optionally equipped with bypass function.
Eight Fast Ethernet ports can be optionally equipped with PoE+ capability.
The Consist Switch provides advanced traffic switching capabilities, including support for VLANs, IGMP, Spanning Tree protocols (STP/RSTP) and the possibility to apply quality of service (QoS) policies. Layer three extensions include inter-VLAN routing with packet filtering, together with NAT. OSPF and RIP dynamic protocols are also supported. IPv4 router redundancy can be provided through standard VRRP protocol. The bypass feature makes the device completely transparent to the network in case of power loss or failure, thus avoiding or reducing the impact of possible local dropouts or malfunction on network performance.
Designed to operate in harsh environmental conditions typical of rolling-stock applications, the Consist Switch is fully EN 50155 compliant and provides the highest level of reliability and robustness required by the railway industry.
Besides the standard features provided by this class of devices, the Consist Switch provides advanced software facilities for on-board network discovery and configuration. The device includes a sophisticated programming interface, and is capable of completely auto-configuring itself from an abstract project definition, right after power on. Both these features dramatically ease maintenance activities and provide smart tools for fine-grained control over device operations and configuration.