GE Security introduces hardened Ethernet switches

GE Security's Layer 2 Ethernet switches

A subsidiary of General Electric this week unveiled a series of Layer 2 Ethernet switches.

Yep, GE - the same people who bring good things to life and all that - has a wholly owned subsidiary called GE Security that introduced a line of hardened managed Ethernet switches.

The company is pitching the D-GES7600 Series as LAN equipment that can handle multiple cameras and video recorders, and its focus is on surveillance and access control. The switches support virtual LANs for segmenting traffic and Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol for quick recovery from failures.

To continue reading, register here and become an Insider. You'll get free access to premium content from CIO, Computerworld, CSO, InfoWorld, and Network World. See more Insider content or sign in.

A subsidiary of General Electric this week unveiled a series of Layer 2 Ethernet switches.

Yep, GE - the same people who bring good things to life and all that - has a wholly owned subsidiary called GE Security that introduced a line of hardened managed Ethernet switches.

The company is pitching the D-GES7600 Series as LAN equipment that can handle multiple cameras and video recorders, and its focus is on surveillance and access control. The switches support virtual LANs for segmenting traffic and Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol for quick recovery from failures.

There are 12 models in the series, each with nine ports. Those ports consist of various combinations of copper, multimode fiber optics and single-mode fiber. Some models also include a Gigabit Ethernet uplink.

The switches can be managed via a local RS-232 link or via a Web-based interface. They also support SNMP to fit within a larger network management framework.

Interestingly, the switches are designed to continue operating in difficult environments - that is, they're designed to be used outdoors or in factories. GE Security says the switches meet the CALTRANS and NEMA test standards for environmental hardiness. They have a redundant power supply to help with reliability. And they can operate anywhere between -40 degrees Celsius to 74 degrees Celsius.

The company says the VLAN capability will address one of the primary concerns with surveillance and access-control applications: variable delays and network congestion. You can specify a certain amount of bandwidth for each VLAN to make sure that signals get through without delay.

Read more about lans & wans in Network World's LANs & WANs section.