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Industrial Ethernet switch
5 port, 10/100 Mbps | EISK5-100T/H Contemporary Control Systems

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One benefit of switched Ethernet technology is that the switch restricts directed messages to only those ports party to the communication. This improves overall network throughput by not burdening end stations with useless traffic. However, this feature makes protocol debugging difficult because a sniffer (protocol analyser) tool attached to an unused port on the switch cannot observe any directed messages of interest. In the past, the solution was to change out the switching hub with a repeating hub but with the Skorpion Diagnostic Switch this is unnecessary.

The Skorpion Diagnostic Switch retains all the virtues of switched Ethernet technology such as 10/100 Mbps data rates on individual segments, auto-negotiation, Auto-MDIX but with one exception -- no address learning. All messages -- directed, multicast, broadcast -- are flooded to all ports on the switch allowing a sniffer or protocol analyser tool such as Wireshark the ability to observe all traffic on the network. The Skorpion Diagnostic Switch can be permanently installed on an installation or replaced with a regular Skorpion switch once a system is commissioned. This device can also be useful when developing embedded Ethernet devices because you can connect the Skorpion Diagnostic Switch between two embedded Ethernet devices and view their messages using Wireshark.

The EISK5-100T/H can be used for control panel installations where one needs the ability to diagnose problems in the field. It can also be used in a development environment when debugging code. A metal DIN-rail clip attached to the aluminium enclosure can survive the toughest installation.