Multiple uplinks

Did you know Westermo ring coupling can support up to four redundant paths per subnetwork?

In some very high resilience network application, there is a need for more than one redundant interconnection between sections of a network. The multiple redundant pathways or uplinks reduce the risk of a section of a network becoming isolated due to multiple failures in the interconnecting media or a power failure on one or more switches in the network. A typical example would be a subsea oil and gas installation. A ship dragging an anchor can cause damage to multiple parts of the installation taking out the primary and secondary uplinks. The damage to the network will lead to the loss of production and costly emergency repairs. Increasing the number of possible uplinks between the subsea network and the surface control system reduces the risk of a total shutdown and allows for repairs to be carried out in a more orderly and cost controlled way.

The protocols supporting the multiple uplinks are media and bandwidth independent, meaning that the uplinks can be over fibre links of different bandwidth or SHDSL running over a copper cable. The protocols managing the uplinks are fast acting meaning that in a large number of cases the system will continue to operate regardless of the topology change. Unlike RSTP or other redundant protocols, there are no limits to the size or number of switches that make up the whole network.