N-TRON Corp.

578 Azalea Road, Suite 105, Mobile,AL 36609

TEL: 251-666-9878; FAX: 251-666-9833

Differences Between Industrial Ethernet

Fiber Optic Backbone, Ring, and Star Topologies

Fiber Optic Backbones

Fiber Optic backbones have been used effectively in industrial Ethernet systems requiring high-
speed communications with excellent noise characteristics. Since the fiber optic cable is
impervious to electric and magnetic fields, all conventional electrically generated cross talk and
interference is eliminated.

In the event that great distances (over 100m) separate nodes, fiber optic backbones can realize
very cost effective Ethernet systems. A diagram of an N-TRON fiber optic backbone
implementation is shown in Figure 1.

HMI

CAT5

N-TRON
FIBER OPTIC PAIR 900B FIBER OPTIC PAIR
N-TRON N-TRON
405FX-ST 908TX 202MC-ST
902FX-ST

CAT5 CAT5 CAT5

CAT5 CAT5

PLC DATA PLC PLC PLC

SERVER

Figure 1.

However, the classic fiber-optic backbone has several limitations:

• A single fiber media failure divides the network into segments that cannot communicate.
• A single switch failure divides the network into segments that cannot communicate.
• Many single points of failure can render a control system inoperable.
• All network traffic is funneled down into the 100Mb/s fiber-optic backbone. Devices must
compete for this party line resource.
 N-TRON Corp.
578 Azalea Road, Suite 105, Mobile,AL 36609
TEL: 251-666-9878; FAX 251-666-9833

Industrial Ethernet Ring Topology

To remove the limitation of media failure, Ethernet switches have been used effectively in ring
topology installations where long fiber distances and low bandwidth were requirements. When the
switches are to be located so far apart that it becomes cost prohibitive to make a “home run” for
each switch, ring topology offers a definite cost saving alternative.

In addition, industrial ring topology offers media redundancy. In the event that the fiber link is
broken, the redundancy manager heals the ring by re-directing traffic. For industrial applications,
the traditional spanning tree algorithm is much to slow to use in control and high-speed data
acquisition applications. This has led to the development of the “higher speed” protocols now
being used by prominent leaders in the industrial network arena. Healing speeds of less than
300ms are achievable. A diagram of an N-TRON Fiber-Optic ring implementation is shown in
Figure 2.

PC PC PC
MMI MMI MMI

CAT5
CAT5 CAT5

CAT5 TO MES

FIBER OPTIC PAIR #7

608MFX #8
RING
MANAGER

#8 #7

#7 FIBER OPTIC PAIR #8 #7 FIBER OPTIC PAIR #8

608MFX 608MFX 608MFX

CAT5 CAT5 CAT5 CAT5 CAT5 CAT5

PLC PC Additional N-TRON PLC PLC DRIVE

LAPTOP 405TX
Ports

608MFX RING TOPOLOGY

Figure 2

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 N-TRON Corp.
578 Azalea Road, Suite 105, Mobile,AL 36609
TEL: 251-666-9878; FAX 251-666-9833

The Industrial Ring Topology still has several shortcomings:

• Many single points of failure can still render the control system inoperable.
• A failed switch can render a control system inoperable.
• The network becomes inoperable with the failure of the redundancy manager.
• Implementation requires costly managed switches.
• Utilizes proprietary high speed healing algorithms that are not 802.3 compliant. Users cannot
use products from different vendors in the ring due to compatibility issues.
• All network traffic is funneled down into the 100Mb/s fiber ring.
• All traffic must flow on the ring, thus hard limiting the bandwidth of the installation to
100Mb/s.

Dual Redundant Fiber Optic Rings

To build a fault tolerant network (no single point of failure) requires two rings. The redundancy
manager is operating with a standby master and standby slave to shadow its operation and step in
and direct traffic in the event of a redundancy manager failure.

This also requires that dual Ethernet ports be installed in the PC’s, and PLC’s to fully utilize the
fault tolerance features (still higher costs). This topology is shown implemented with N-TRON
Products in Figure 3.

Drawbacks of the Redundant Ring Topology include:

• Cost
• Performance (still limited to 100Mbit Fiber-Optic Loop)

The 100Mbit limitation can become quite severe when users start considering the addition of
security cameras and vision systems to their control networks.

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 N-TRON Corp.
578 Azalea Road, Suite 105, Mobile,AL 36609
TEL: 251-666-9878; FAX 251-666-9833

#7
608MFX #8
FIBER OPTIC PAIR
RING
MANAGER

ITP Cable
#8 #7

#8 608MFX #7 #8 608MFX
608MFX #7 FIBER OPTIC PAIR FIBER OPTIC PAIR
Standby Standby
Master Slave
Cat5E Cat5E
#1 #1

#8 #7 #8
608MFX #7 FIBER OPTIC PAIR 608MFX FIBER OPTIC PAIR 608MFX

#1 #1 #7

FIBER OPTIC PAIR #7 608MFX #8

RING
MANAGER

608MFX Network Segment Redundancy

Figure 3

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 N-TRON Corp.
578 Azalea Road, Suite 105, Mobile,AL 36609
TEL: 251-666-9878; FAX 251-666-9833

Star Topology

Star topology networks have been used effectively in data acquisition and control systems.
Because the MTBF of a high quality industrial switch is in excess of 2M hours, the likelihood of a
switch failure, or media failure is indeed remote. All N-TRON switches offer dual power supply
inputs to eliminate the possibility of a single power supply failure bringing the network down.

Star topology also allows for the utilization of lower cost layer 2 switches and an order of
magnitude speed improvement over Ring Topology. N-TRON 900 Series switches utilize a
2.6Gb/s backplane that is over 260 times faster than the 100Mb/s Ring.

Star topology can easily be implemented with fiber or copper, or a combination of both. The
network is also simpler to maintain and troubleshoot, and it is far more open and adheres to 802.3
standards (thus allowing plug and play multi-vendor interoperability). This topology is shown
implemented with N-TRON products in Figure 4.

PC N-TRON PLC
Fiber Pair Fiber Pair
900B
HMI 904FX-ST

Fiber Pair Fiber Pair

Ethernet Drive
I/O

Figure 4.

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 N-TRON Corp.
578 Azalea Road, Suite 105, Mobile,AL 36609
TEL: 251-666-9878; FAX 251-666-9833

Limitations of the Star Topology include:

• No Media Redundancy
• Many single points of failure can still render the control system inoperable.

Redundant Star Topology

To build a fault tolerant star network (no single point of failure) requires dual Ethernet ports be
installed in the PC’s, and PLC’s. Every node would have a “home run” back to dual central high-
density switches. As long as the fiber distances are under 2km in distances, this topology is
superior in cost performance and reliability when compared to ring.

This topology is shown implemented with N-TRON products in Figure 5.

Duplex Fiber Cable Duplex Fiber Cable Duplex Fiber Cable Duplex Fiber Cable

405FX 405FX 405FX 405FX

Device
w/dual ethernet Device Device
w/dual ethernet w/dual ethernet

N-TRON Device
900B w/dual ethernet
908TX
902FX-ST

N-TRON
900B
908TX
902FX-ST

PC with
Dual Ethernet

Figure 5.

In most instances, redundant star with redundant Ethernet devices can be implemented at a lower
cost point than redundant ring topology. This, coupled with an order of magnitude higher
bandwidth, makes it a technically superior (and more open) approach for most industrial
networks. The exception is when the fiber optic runs become very long (> 2km) and the cost of
the fiber (typically $1-2 per foot) is more expensive than the switches.

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