iES22GF User’s Manual
23
iS5 Communications Inc.
5.2
iChain
5.2.1
Introduction
iChain is a revolutionary network redundancy technology which enhances network redundancy for
any backbone network, providing ease-of-use and maximum fault-recovery times, flexibility,
compatibility, and cost-effectiveness. The self-healing Ethernet technology designed for distributed
and complex industrial networks enables the network to recover in less than 30 milliseconds (in full-
duplex Gigabit operation) or 10 milliseconds (in full-duplex Fast Ethernet operation) for up to 250
switches if at any time a segment of the chain fails.
iChain allows multiple redundant rings of different redundancy protocols to interoperate together as
a large robust network topology. I t can create multiple redundant networks beyond the limitations
of current redundant ring technologies.
When connecting multiple iRings to meet expansion demands; an iChain topology can be created
following the steps below:
1.
Select two switches from the chain (Switch A & B) that you want to connect to the iRing and
connect them to the switches in the ring (Switch C & D).
2.
In correspondence to the ports connected to the ring, configure an edge port for both of the
connected switches in the chain by checking the box in the management page (see
5.2.2
Configurations
).
Once the setting is completed; one of the connections will act as the main path, and the other as
the backup path.
5.2.2
Configurations
