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years is a long time. During this time, technology will most
certainly advance in amazing ways. Components used inside
SIXNET Ethernet Switches will
be upgraded to take advantage of new technology that offers
higher performance and lower cost. Through all these changes,
many systems that incorporate SIXNET Ethernet switches will
continue to function reliably with no desire to “fix
what isn't broken”. SIXNET customers want to know that
they will be able to maintain their existing systems for a
very long-time,
with product support and replacement parts remaining available.
In response, SIXNET has established a twenty-year product
support policy for our Ethernet Switch products. This page
substantiates our ability to see this policy through.
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Control
and Ownership of Essential Technology
The key to maintaining long-term product support
is to have control over the technologies incorporated into
the product with the ability to adapt as changes are needed.
SIXNET owns
all of the tooling and engineering documentation utilized
in our products. A modular design approach insures that any
element of a SIXNET product may be upgraded in the future
with
full compatibility with the remaining elements of the design.
Also, the use of SIXNET controlled and maintained software
and the durable IPm platform insure the longevity of product
support. |
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Powerful
Firmware
The firmware embedded into SIXNET
Managed Switches is a combination of GPL (General Public
License) software augmented by additional functionality that
SIXNET has created. All of the source code for the firmware
in SIXNET Managed Switches is in our possession and is well
documented in an ISO9001 certified source code control system.
This guarantees that SIXNET has the ability to alter the firmware
as needed. As a SIXNET customer, you have access to the GPL
source code as well.
Our experience in the SCADA marketplace has taught us valuable
lessons in software modularity. For example, the interface
to the Switch hardware itself is a “driver” that
can be replaced or supplemented, in the same manner that I/O
drivers are added to commercial SCADA software. When better
switch technology becomes available, it will be easy to drop
in a new driver and maintain 100% upward compatibility with
our feature-rich firmware.
Note: This is not true of most Ethernet Switch manufacturers,
who have based their products upon the software supplied by
the switch IC supplier. IC suppliers provide firmware to entice
OEMS to buy their chips. The goal of these IC suppliers is
to insure that you must keep using their chips. (The licenses
for their proprietary software demand this.) Good luck to
those switch manufacturers and their customers when the sole-sourced
ICs become obsolete!)
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Linux
Durability
SIXNET IPm-based Switches run on a truly open Linux
platform. This open-source version of Unix has been growing
and strengthening for more than 30 years. Its maturity and
robustness have made it the most popular operating system
for embedded products. Its open source nature insures that
it will survive and thrive for decades to come. More over,
the upward functionality of SIXNET Managed Switches will grow
as our customers and OEM partners develop add-on applications
– in the true spirit of this open source platform.
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Advanced
Hardware Platform
SIXNET Managed Switches utilize a 32-bit PowerPC
processor with 32 Megabytes of memory– way more processing
power than is needed for a Managed Ethernet Switch (way
more processor than you will find in our competitor’s
switches). This abundance of computing resources is SIXNET’s
way of insuring the availability of resources for the requirements
of tomorrow.
As technology advances, even this capable processor will
eventually be upgraded. The migration path of these long-life
switches is assured by the modular nature of their plug
in processor board and the assurance of portability of the
embedded Linux platform in SIXNET Managed Switches. |
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Common
Packaging
SIXNET has designed and owns the plastic molds used
to manufacture our compact Ethernet Switches. In fact, the
Lexan® base is the same molded part used for SIXNET I/O,
industrial modems and controllers – the vast majority
of all SIXNET products. Ownership of the package tooling and
standardization throughout the entire SIXNET family of products
is a strong incentive for SIXNET to continue availability
of drop in replacement packaging. The popularity of DIN rail
mounting is certainly growing and will prevail for a very
long time.
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ISO
9001:2000 Documentation
SIXNET has maintained fully compliant ISO
9001:2000 documentation for more than a decade. These
detailed records and the well-documented procedures used to
maintain archived information are key elements in our ability
to provide extended term product support. |
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A
History of Exceeding the Twenty Year Mark
Long-term product support has been the cornerstone
policy at SIXNET for more than a quarter century. Our first
generation of programmable products was the IOMUX RTU, first
delivered in 1987. Today, 20+ years later we are still delivering
more than 700 of these durable products to OEM customers annually.
Our rolling commitment to provide a minimum of five years
of product support has now brought the life of these products
to its 23rd year – and beyond. In 2005 an IPm-based
replacement for the IOMUX RTU will be presented to these OEM
customers, providing them with a “form, fit, and function”
replacement with huge upgrade potential. These upgrades will
be drop in replacements for the first generation IOMUX controllers
(with some software porting by the OEMs.) This remarkable
commitment by SIXNET will extend the life of the IOMUX and
support for the more than 20,000 installed units well past
the thirty-year mark! |
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