Synchronised switching [Ethernet switch]
Ø. Holmeide, Tor Skeie · Computing & Control Engineering Journal · 2006
Depending on the network load, data packet size and the number of switches between the server and the client, data transmission inside an Ethernet switch introduces time latency jitter of up to several milliseconds. Precise data analysis needed for process automation then becomes impossible (multi-axle synchronisation in assembly machines, for instance). Time stamping high accuracy Ethernet switches are the solution. This provides a full and exact history of data events. Sophisticated or critical industrial processes, be they in realtime or not, can then be managed with the off-the-shelf SNTP Ethernet protocol. This implies consider able savings in the cost of industrial automation networks for applications such as high-speed data acquisition, high-speed mechanical assemblies and high-voltage or medium-voltage substation automation.