A multinational, knowledge-based corporation that delivers marine electronics solutions is utilizing industrial Ethernet technology to help ensure that operations at sea are dependable and optimal. Based in Europe, the company has nearly 4000 employees working in 20 countries around the world, and produces high-tech systems for offshore oil and gas operations, merchant marine systems, and various applications for the defense and aerospace industries.

The company produces products and systems used by merchant vessels and offshore installations for positioning, navigation, automation, as well as for surveying and monitoring the seabed, and for fishing vessels and fi sheries research. As one of the major suppliers of high quality marine electronics in the world, their products include chart plotters for yachts, triple redundant dynamic positioning systems for oil drilling rigs, and sonar and instrument systems for scientifi c research vessels.

Products used for marine applications must be rugged enough to endure the corrosive effects of salt water, and be able to withstand excessive amounts of vibration and shock. For this reason, the company only uses DNV and GL certified products and components to ensure that their systems can meet the high standards required by the maritime industry.

The sonar positioning system requires a high-speed network to connect devices in the hull unit room to other devices on the bridge. In addition to requiring DNV and GL certifi ed components, speed and redundancy are also critical considerations. For this reason, the sonar positioning system uses Moxa's managed Ethernet switches to form a redundant network between the sonar system in the hull, and electronic devices on the bridge.

Each sonar unit uses one transmit transducer array and one receive transducer array that link to the main transceiver for detecting objects under water. Moxa's EDS-518A Gigabit managed switch is used in the hull unit room to connect to different sonar devices, and the EDS-510A-1GT2SFP Gigabit managed switch is housed on the bridge. Together, the switches create a gigabit redundant ring that connects the sonar system to the bridge. The EDS-518A uses its two gigabit ports connect to the EDS-510A's gigabit ports to form the redundant gigabit backbone. The third gigabit port on the EDS-510A is connected to the operations station for massive amounts of data communication.

Transceivers are installed in different parts of a ship for different types of applications. For anti submarine and mine detection applications for example, the transceiver would be located near the bow of the ship. On the other hand, for commercial and research type vessels, the transceiver would be located near the stern. The Ethernet network allows the system to transmit signals from the sonar to the ship's bridge in real time. This is particularly important for anti-submarine and mine detection applications, since having access to real-time information is essential for the survival of the ship and its crew.

Moxa's Managed Ethernet switches are DNV and GL certified, helping ensure reliable operation in marine and offshore environments.

To satisfy the stringent redundancy requirements for ships, Moxa's Turbo Ring provides fast fault recovery for when the network is disconnected accidentally.

The EDS-510A and EDS-518A gigabit switches form a gigabit redundant backbone to handle the critical communications between the sonar system and the bridge, and the EDS-510A still has one gigabit port for transmitting massive amounts of data to the operator station on the bridge.

The EDS-510A and EDS-518A are compact switches with a high port count, making them ideal for applications in a limited amount of space.

All Moxa Ethernet switches come with a solid 5-year warranty and long MTBF, making them well-suited for industrial applications.