The demand for secure, redundant, hardened high-bandwidth industrial networking capabilities at oil and gas exploration sites, energy field development, production, and transportation facilities is on the rise.
To meet that demand, GarrettCom, is offering a series of hardened Ethernet switches and serial media converters, called Magnum OGP (oil, gas and petrochemicals) products. The Magnum OGP (oil, gas and petrochemicals) products meet both the UL 1604 Class 1 Division 2 certification for use in hazardous environments and IEEE PCIC draft specifications for 14-mil silicone-based conformal coating that protects equipment against even highly corrosive gases such as hydrogen sulphide and benzene.
GarrettCom has received Class 1 Div. 2 certification for five Ethernet industrial networking products: the Magnum 6K8 and newly-announced 6KQ managed Ethernet field switches, the ES42H and P, ESD42H and P Edge Switches (the D indicates dual-homing capability), and the hardened CS14H and P converter switches that combine a 100 Mb fibre media converter and a 10/100 Ethernet switch into a single unit.
Combined with its Class 1 Div. 2 certified links line of RS232 and RS 485 serial copper to fibre link/repeaters, GarrettCom offers a broad range of products that support both mixed-protocol and pure Ethernet SCADA systems for networks in the facilities of the oil, gas and petrochemical industry. The Class 1 Division 2, Groups A, B, C, D certification makes the GarrettCom OGP products UL approved, for use in hazardous environments containing volatile flammable liquids, gases or vapours.
The Magnum 6K8 and 6KQ managed field switches are uniquely flexible and configurable with a wide variety of port modules that allow the user to specify a mix of 10/100/1000 Mb fibre and copper ports (including 10/100 PoE), as well as the complementary DC power supplies. With any other vendor, such flexibility would require custom design and custom pricing.
All Magnum managed switches incorporate MNS-6K software, which provides a complete range of network management services, designed to provide ease-of-use, unmatched security features, and redundant topologies support in a modular package that can be configured to cover any media and bandwidth requirements.
For additional protection against corrosive gases and salt-spray atmospheres, an extra-thick silicone conformal coating is offered as an option on GarrettCom’s OGP products. Where a 5-mil silicone conformal coating is appropriate for high moisture facilities such as water treatment plants, heavy-duty conformal coating (12.5 to 15.8 mil thickness) has been shown to be necessary for more severe and corrosive environments. Military applications and standards such as MIL-I-46058C confirm the efficacy of heavy-duty silicone conformal coating for electronic equipment to protect against highly corrosive gaseous hydrocarbons.
The GarrettCom OGP products have been stellar performers in factory automation, power substations, telecommunications and outdoor video surveillance. By designing products that achieve a Class 1 Division 2 rating and offering the extra-thick conformal coating option, GarrettCom is able to extend the power, ease-of-use, flexibility, and reliability of its industrial networking product line to support its customers with heavy duty networking applications in hazardous environments, such as those typical to oil, gas and petrochemicals processing.
Other benefits GarrettCom brings to industrial networking in hazardous environments include:
Generous 10/100/1000 Mb fibre port availability
High-EMI noise immunity, reliable operation in the presence of interference, compliant with IEC 61850 for power utility substations
Four DC power options: 125V, 110V, 24V, -48V DC, all with a dual-source option for high availability in case of power source failure.
Extended ambient operating temperature range, from -40°C to 75°C
Rugged metal cases for durability and noise immunity