Therefore, network administrators can monitor the switch's operating status and network operation in real time, either locally or remotely, and manage the overall operating status and mode of all switch ports. So, what are the three main performance indicators of a managed industrial switch? Let's take a closer look with the help of Feichang Technology!
Three key performance indicators of managed switches
1. Backplane bandwidth: This determines the maximum upper limit of the connection bandwidth between each interface template and the switching engine.
Backplane bandwidth is the maximum amount of data that can be processed between the switch's interface processor or interface card and the data bus. Backplane bandwidth indicates the switch's total data switching capacity, measured in Gbps, also known as switching bandwidth. Typical switch backplane bandwidth ranges from a few Gbps to hundreds of Gbps. The higher the backplane bandwidth of a switch, the stronger its data processing capability, but the higher the design cost will also be.
2. Switching capacity: a core indicator
3. Packet forwarding rate: The capacity of a switch to forward data packets.
The three are interconnected; higher backplane bandwidth results in greater switching capacity and higher packet forwarding rate.
Tasks of managed switches
Switches are the most important network connectivity devices in a local area network (LAN), and LAN management often involves switch management.
Managed switches support the SNMP protocol, a simple set of network communication specifications that can perform all basic network management tasks, requires minimal network resources, and includes some security mechanisms. The SNMP protocol works very simply, primarily exchanging network information through various types of messages, known as PDUs (Protocol Data Units). However, managed switches are significantly more expensive than the unmanaged switches described below.
Used for tracking traffic and sessions
Managed switches employ the Embedded Remote Monitoring (RMON) standard to track traffic and sessions, which is highly effective in identifying network bottlenecks and congestion points. The software agent supports four RMON groups (history, statistics, alarms, and events), enhancing traffic management, monitoring, and analysis. Statistics provide general network traffic statistics; history provides network traffic statistics over specific time intervals; alarms can trigger alerts when preset network parameter limits are exceeded; and time represents management events.
Provide policy-based QoS
Managed switches also offer policy-based QoS (Quality of Service). Policies are rules that control switch behavior. Network administrators use policies to allocate bandwidth and priority to application flows and control network access. The focus is on bandwidth management policies required to meet Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and the way these policies are published to the switch. Multi-function LEDs (LEDs) on each port of the switch indicate port status, half-duplex/full-duplex, and 10BaseT/100BaseT, while switch status LEDs indicate system, redundant power supplies (RPS), and bandwidth utilization, forming a comprehensive and convenient visual management system. Most switches below the departmental level are unmanaged; only enterprise-level and a few departmental-level switches support management functions.
Okay, that concludes Feichang Technology's detailed introduction to the three key indicators of managed industrial switches. We hope this information is helpful! Hangzhou Feichang has focused on the R&D, production, and sales of fiber optic communications for 20 years, specializing in optical transceivers, fiber optic transceivers, industrial switches, protocol converters, and more. We provide customized product services to our clients. Welcome to learn more and discuss further.
