• Integrated redundancy manager for constructing Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet ring topologies with high-speed media redundancy. Reliable communication is achieved by closing an optical or electrical line with SCALANCE X-400, X-300 or X-200 switches to form a ring. The redundancy manager (RM) integrated in the SCALANCE XR-300 switch monitors the function of the network. It recognizes the failure of a transmission link or of SCALANCE X switch in the ring and activates the substitute path within a maximum of 0.2 seconds.
• Redundant interfacing to company networks;
  SCALANCE XR-300 switches support the standardized redundancy procedures Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) and Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP). This enables a subnetwork to be connected redundantly to a higher level corporate network with reduced requirements for the reconfiguration time (in the order of seconds). By supporting the Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol (MSTP), a network can also be split into multiple sub-segments.
• Support of virtual networks (VLAN);
  for structuring Industrial Ethernet networks with a fast growing number of users, a physically existing network can be divided into several virtual networks.
• Load limiting when multicast protocols (e.g. video transmission) are used;
  through learning the multicast sources and targets (IGMP Snooping, IGMP Querier), SCALANCE XR-300 switches can also filter multicast data traffic and therefore limit the load in the network. Multicast and broadcast traffic can be limited.
• Time synchronization;
  diagnostic messages (log table entries, e-mails) are time-stamped. The local time is standardized throughout the network by means of synchronization with a SICLOCK time transmitter, SNTP or NTP server or via IEEE1588, thereby simplifying the assignment of diagnostic messages of several devices.
• Fast replacement of devices in event of failure, by means of the C-PLUG switching medium
• Link aggregation (IEEE 802.1q) for bundling data streams
• Quality of Service (IEEE 802.1p) for prioritization of network traffic

Network topology and network configuration

The network topology can easily be adapted to the structure of the plant using SCALANCE XR-300 Industrial Ethernet switches.

The following network structures and combinations of structures can be implemented:

• Fast Ethernet with fast media redundancy;
  to increase network availability, as many as 50 X-200, X-300, X-400 or X-500 switches cascaded in line can be connected into a ring.
• Several rings can be redundantly linked through the standby function
• In addition, SCALANCE XR-300 supports redundant connection of the ring structure to the corporate network with a rapid spanning tree.
• Star topology with SCALANCE XR-300 switches:
  Each SCALANCE XR-300 switch represents a neutral point that can connect up to 24 nodes or subnets with each other electrically.

When configuring the network, it is necessary to observe the following boundary conditions:

• Maximum line length between two modules for multi-mode fiber-optic conductors:
  • 5 km at 100 Mbps
  • 750 m at 1 Gbps
• Maximum line length between two modules for single-mode fiber-optic conductors:
  • 26 km to 70 km at 100 Mbps
  • 10 to 120 km at 1 Gbps
• Maximum cable length of the TP cable between two SCALANCE X switches:
  • Max. 100 m with IE FC Cable 2x2 and IE FC RJ45 Plug 180
  • Max. 100 m at 1 Gbps with IE FC Standard Cable 4x2 (90 m), IE FC RJ45 Modular Outlet and patch cable (10 m)
  • Max. 10 m using patches with TP Cord

Commissioning and diagnostics

Setting options on the device itself:

• Redundancy manager RM;
  to establish a ring, a SCALANCE XR-300 is switched to RM mode. The Gigabit ports (electrical or optical) are preferably used as ring ports. The non-ring ports of the RM can be used freely for the connection of data terminals and networks. If the redundancy procedure MRP standardized by PROFINET is used, the RM is adjusted automatically.
• Signal mask;
  the signal mask is set to the current status of the SCALANCE XR-300 (setpoint) by pushbutton operation. The signal mask defines which ports and which power supplies are to be monitored. The signaling contact only reports an error when a monitored port or a monitored feeder fails (deviation of setpoint/actual status).
• IP address;
  the IP address is assigned via DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol). If there is no corresponding server in the network, the IP address can be assigned using an enclosed software tool.

Diagnostic options on site:

• The following status information is displayed by LEDs on site:
  • Port status
  • Port mode (10/100/1000 Mbps, full/half-duplex)
  • Status of the two power supplies
  • Signaling contact status
  • Signal mask (setpoint status)
  • RM mode
  • Standby mode
• The status of the signaling contact is routed externally by means of floating relay contacts. This enables, for example, the module to be monitored via an input module from a controller.
• Monitoring via the Industrial Ethernet network;
  the following possibilities are available:
  • Remote via standard browser (Web-based management):
    Selection of SCALANCE XR-300 switches via the network from a PC with browser
  • Remote via SNMP V1, V2c, V3:
    Secure integration of SCALANCE XR-300 switches via the network into a network management system, e.g. SINEMA Server
  • Remote via PROFINET IO diagnostics:
    PROFINET diagnostic alarms from SCALANCE X-300 switches can be displayed using the relevant SIMATIC engineering tools and they can also be processed in the controller. The engineering outlay for the PLC and HMI have been drastically reduced due to the complete integration in the SIMATIC concept for system error messages.

Network management

The network management provides the following functions:

• Password-protected dial-up for "Administrator" (read and write authorization) and "User" (read only)
• Read-out of version and status information
• Setting the signal and standby mask and address information
• Fixed parameterization of the ports (data rates, half/full duplex)
• Setting of Spanning/Rapid Spanning Tree parameters
• Parameter assignment for web management services
• Security
  • Ports can be connected or disconnected
  • Port-based network access control according to IEEE 802.1x
  • Authentication in accordance with IEEE 802.1x (available soon)
  • Support of Access Control List (ACL) (available soon)
• Output of statistics information
• Diagnosis of data traffic by means of a parameterizable mirror port with a standard commercial network analyzer
• Loading of new firmware versions or of the configuration data via the network by a TFTP server or directly via HTTP/HTTPS using a Web browser
• Saving the configuration data or log table via the network on a TFTP server

If faults occur in the network, the SCALANCE XR-300 switch can independently send error messages (traps) to a network management system or also e-mails to a predefined network administrator.

Remote monitoring (RMON) provides the following functions:
The SCALANCE XR-300 switch can collect statistics information according to the RMON groups 1 through 4. These include, for example, fault statistics that are kept for each port. This information can be read out through web-based management in the statistics sub-area.