Application Scenarios
A refinery operating a Foxboro I/A Series DCS needed to consolidate traffic from multiple fieldbus module cabinets and remote I/O locations into a single control-room network. Long cable runs, high-voltage switchgear and variable-frequency drives created electrical noise and grounding challenges that made copper-based connections unreliable.
By deploying the Foxboro X440-G2-24fx-GE4 RH102AN managed industrial Ethernet switch, the plant established a fiber-based aggregation layer with 24 dedicated 100BASE-FX ports and four Gigabit SFP uplinks. Fiber connections reduced susceptibility to electromagnetic interference and supported longer cable runs between the control room and field equipment. Redundant power input, ring redundancy and centralized management also improved fault visibility during routine maintenance and plant expansions.
Parameter
| Main Parameters | Value/Description |
|---|---|
| Product Model | X440-G2-24fx-GE4 |
| Order Code / Foxboro Part Number | RH102AN |
| Manufacturer | Foxboro |
| OEM Platform | Extreme Networks X440-G2 / Summit X440-G2 |
| Product Category | Managed industrial Ethernet switch |
| Switching Layer | Layer 2 switching with Layer 3 static routing support |
| Fiber Access Ports | 24 × 100BASE-FX LC fiber ports |
| Uplink Ports | 4 × 1000BASE-X SFP slots |
| Management Ports | 1 × RJ45 console port, 1 × 10/100/1000BASE-T management port |
| Switching Capacity | 12.8 Gbps non-blocking fabric |
| Packet Forwarding Rate | 9.5 Mpps |
| MAC Address Table | 16,000 entries |
| Operating System | ExtremeXOS |
| Power Supply | 100–240 VAC internal supply with redundant power connector |
| Operating Temperature | 0 °C to 60 °C |
| Form Factor | 19-inch 1U rack-mountable |
| Management | CLI, Web GUI, SNMP and sFlow |
| Lifecycle Status | Original production discontinued; available as surplus or replacement stock |
Note: The 12.8 Gbps switching capacity and 9.5 Mpps forwarding rate are consistent with the Extreme Networks X440-G2-24fx-GE4 hardware specification. Some resellers publish higher figures based on alternative configurations; the values above should be used for technical verification.
Technical Principles and Innovative Values
Innovation Point 1: Fiber-centric DCS network aggregation.
The Foxboro X440-G2-24fx-GE4 RH102AN provides 24 fixed 100BASE-FX LC fiber ports. This architecture is well suited to DCS environments where multiple controllers, fieldbus cabinets and remote I/O stations must be connected over longer distances.
Innovation Point 2: Four Gigabit SFP uplinks.
The four 1000BASE-X SFP ports allow the RH102AN to connect to higher-layer switches, server networks or longer-distance single-mode fiber links. This separates access-layer device traffic from control-room and plant-level uplinks.
Innovation Point 3: ExtremeXOS operating system.
The switch runs ExtremeXOS, providing a consistent command-line interface, configuration backup options and support for VLANs, QoS, link aggregation and access control. This simplifies network management across compatible Extreme Networks platforms.
Innovation Point 4: Redundancy and fault containment.
With redundant power-supply support, ring or redundant-link topologies and active port monitoring, the helps limit the impact of a single power or link failure. This is critical in continuous process environments where network interruption can affect operator visibility and control communications.