Enterasys Networks today announced immediate availability of the Secure Networks for Industrial Automation solution - the first and only connectivity offering built to withstand the harsh environmental conditions of heavy manufacturing and energy industry facilities, while simultaneously protecting the confidentiality, integrity and availability of these real-time systems without sacrificing performance.
A key component is the new SecureSwitch I-Series, which delivers advanced policy-based security and priority (QOS) features in a rugged industrial Ethernet platform designed for easy serviceability.
"Energy and manufacturing are markets rarely served by enterprise data equipment vendors," said Steven J Schuchart Jr, Principle Analyst at Current Analysis. "By providing a secure and rugged switch for harsh environments, Enterasys is addressing new opportunities to provide the same level of security on the manufacturing floor that is provided in the cubicle today."
The I-Series delivers the industry`s most advanced feature set. Enterasys offers business-oriented, policy-based visibility and control of users, sensors and applications; in contrast to competitive approaches which require technology-oriented manual configuration of access control lists (ACLs) on each device for individual ports and VLANs.
With Enterasys, each user and networked device (sensor, computer, printer, camera, badge access reader, etc.) is authenticated before being granted access to the network with a specific set of authorised privileges based on time and location. Advanced QOS capabilities deliver deterministic control of the proprietary process control applications found in industrial automation environments.
"Extensive use of Enterasys intelligent Ethernet switches in Invensys` award-winning Mesh Control Network for the Foxboro I/A Series automation system has enabled our global customers to take full advantage of Enterasys` advanced technology to significantly improve process control network performance, security, and availability," commented Betty Naylor-McDevitt, Director of Foxboro Automation marketing at Invensys Process Systems.
"We anticipate that - once they have been fully tested and qualified with the I/A Series system - the compact size and rugged packaging of Enterasys` new SecureSwitch I-Series will allow them to be located in more demanding industrial environments."
The SecureSwitch I-Series is the first enterprise-class Ethernet switch with advanced security built to withstand the hot, dusty and explosive gas conditions of the typical manufacturing plant or energy industry facilities. The I-Series achieves an ANSI/ISA Class-1, Division-2 rating with convection cooling; redundant DC power; industrial-grade components; and self-healing, sub-second, rapid-recovery ring topology protocols - ensuring continuous reliability under the harshest conditions.
Serviceability is enhanced through an optional memory configuration card that allows an unskilled attendant to perform a field replacement of a SecureSwitch I-Series unit simply by pulling the configuration card out of the old switch and inserting it into the new one.
Copper and fibre I/O modules deliver 100Mbps Ethernet performance with dual Gigabit Ethernet uplinks to offer up to 24 ports of 100BaseTX, 16 ports of 100BaseFX, or a combination of fibre and copper connectivity with dual industrial-grade SFP optical uplinks.
The other components of the Secure Networks for Industrial Automation solution include NetSight centralised visibility and control policy management software, Enterasys Network Access Control and the Dragon intrusion/detection prevention system and security information manager.
To learn more about Enterasys Secure Networks for Industrial Automation, please download the whitepaper or schedule a live demonstration at www.enterasys.com/demo.
Share
Enterasys Networks - the Secure Networks Company - is owned by a private investor group led by The Gores Group and Tennenbaum Capital Partners. Enterasys` unique Secure Networks solutions secure any network to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, availability and performance of IT services and the business users that rely on them. Thousands of leading companies, government agencies and educational institutions in more than 70 countries rely on Secure Networks solutions to maintain business continuity and protect vital information. The company`s culture is centred on the principle: "There is nothing more important than our customers." Delivering on that commitment, Secure Networks provides granular, policy-based command and control of individual user, application, device, port and flow performance, and security. Enterasys` architectural approach to network security offers a long technology life cycle and significant operational and business benefits, while reducing total cost of ownership. Information about Enterasys` award-winning policy-enabled switches, routers, wireless products, security software, and services is available at www.enterasys.com.