Planning and Designing a Distributed I/O Network within a Quantum EIO System

Introduction

In a Quantum EIO system, you can design an architecture that contains both remote I/O and distributed I/O devices operating on the same Ethernet remote I/O network. Through the use of a distributed I/O head module installed on the and installed on the , you can connect distributed I/O devices to the remote I/O network. The head module scans the distributed I/O devices, and the DRSs control the data flow from distributed I/O devices so that the high priority of remote I/O traffic is maintained.

NOTE: The architectures described in this document have been tested and validated in various scenarios. If you intend to use architectures different than the ones described in this document, test and validate them thoroughly before implementing.

What Is in This Chapter?

This chapter contains the following sections:

local rack

A Quantum rack containing the controller, a power supply, and an Ethernet remote I/O head module. A local rack consists of 1 or 2 racks, the main rack (containing the remote I/O head module) and an optional extended rack. A Quantum Ethernet remote I/O network requires 1 local rack on the main ring.

DRS

(dual-ring switch) A ConneXium extended managed switch with one of several possible predefined configurations downloaded to it so that it can participate in an Ethernet I/O network. A DRS provides 2 RSTP-enabled ring connections, one for the main ring and one for a sub-ring. It also manages QoS, which provides a predictable level of performance for both remote I/O and distributed I/O traffic on the same I/O network.

DRSs require a firmware version 6.0 or later.

remote I/O main ring

The main ring of an Ethernet remote I/O network. The ring contains remote I/O devices and a local rack (containing a controller, a power supply module, and an Ethernet remote I/O head module).