Bi Note that interposing relays are not normally needed with the maxDNA System. The standard relay output card handles 5A at 240 Vdc. If larger AC or DC currents must be switched a heavy duty relay panel is available with 16-10 (150 ~ Vde or 240 Vac) relays. This panel, the size of a card rack, ‘communicates directly over the /O bus with the DPU, maxNET Communication System. ‘The maxNET communication system is a full duplex 100 Mbps switched. Fast Ethemet Network. All interfaces, links, and switches are redundant. All stations (maxSTATIONS, maxLINK, and Network DPUs) are direct connected on a single full duplex redundant 10T base T link to a switched hub mounted in the RPU cabinet. Figure - 3 shows the architecture. No station shares a link, © There are no collisions or delays. Cable breaks or station failures are included to one station only. All ports are active simultaneously. MaxNET supports twisted pair and fibre optic cables. Uses industry standard proven hardware, Standard TCP/IP protocol provides open system Capacity greatly exceeds minimum loading, Uses Ethemet standard cables (100 base ~ T) (100 base - FX). Each cable has transmit and receive ‘conductor. Components are available from many sources world wide. MaxNET is an industry proven highly reliable, secure, ultra fast, flexible ‘communication system that handles data bursts and alarms with ease with out highway overloading maxNET is based upon the Fast Ethernet (100 Mbps) concept which uses switching hubs with wire speed cut through capability. Each station has two Ethernet adapter cards, one for network. A and one for Network B. Each has a unique Media Access Control (MAC), address. The MAC address is embedded in every Ethernet message. The higher level protocol (TCP/IP) is layered on top of Ethernet. The intemet Protocol (IP) is embedded in data sections of an Ethernet frame. Every station has a different IP address, which is assigned by the switch. Unlike historical 10 Base T networks. Fast Ethernet does not permit collisions (CSMA/CD) — which can lead to network delays because each device has its own link and the ‘switches permit simultaneous communication from multiple ports. ‘Switches are intelligent devices with ‘multiple input / output ports. They increase bandwidth (simultaneous duplex communication), conneét 10 Mbps links to 100 Mbps network, and inerease the physical size of the network. The switeh has nothing to do with failover.ea To transfer data, the switch looks at the MAC destination address and stores & forwards the message through the appropriate port to the correct station. It is self learning ( Listen and Learn). Itis plug, and play device. The switch does not understand the message it carries. It only knows enough to determine the destination address in the message. It completes a learning table from the time it is tured on as it learns the addresses as stations respond or transit messages with their addresses embedded. Since the switch knows the network layout it only forwards messages to the proper port. Thus simultaneous conversations are possible through the switch. Any pair of stations can talk, with out being heard by the other stations and with out interfacing with their conversation. No collisions | In addition these are alternate data paths to an RPU cabinet which can be selected by the switch when required. This permits the system to survive multiple fault scenarios. Two identical, but separate networks are used, which have identical switches, Software uses one network but monitors the health of both networks. An alarm is generated and the second network is utilized if a failure is detected.