AutomationDirect Expands Networking Hardware With Stride SE3 Series Devices

AutomationDirect’s Stride SE3 series of networking and connectivity products includes hardware designed for Power over Ethernet (PoE), copper and fiber conversions, and other communications needs. 

AutomationDirect has expanded its Stride SE3 product line to include media converters, PoE++ Ethernet switches, and PoE++ injectors. Image used courtesy of AutomationDirect

Power over Ethernet (PoE) Switches

PoE offers flexibility and wiring simplicity by allowing power to transmit over the Ethernet cable. This means extra power cables do not have to be installed, leading to less overhead, troubleshooting, and space requirements for additional hardware. In general, the power requirements for the PoE devices must be low.

AutomationDirect’s new Stride SE3 series PoE++ Ethernet switches can provide up to 240 W of power over the Ethernet cable while still providing Fast or Gigabit Ethernet communication speed. Furthermore, the switches can auto-detect the presence of new PoE devices, speeding up their installation. These switches retail for $579, making them affordable for virtually any automation operation.

Besides the PoE switches, the Stride SE3 line includes a new Small Form Factor Pluggable (SFP) transceiver for adding more copper connections to the system. The SFP features a Cat6A RJ45 Gigabit copper connection and can boost network performance and flexibility.

Stride POE++ Injectors for Ethernet Networks. Image used courtesy of AutomationDirect

PoE Injectors

In PoE systems, especially ones built and expanded upon through multiple iterations, it is easy to “fan out” the power. Fan out is where too many devices are connected to one power source, such that the power to a specific device drops below its threshold. Fan out can be a difficult problem to detect because the device that stops functioning may change depending on different variables.

To combat this problem, AutomationDirect now offers Stride PoE++ Injectors. These injectors boost power so that the possibility of fan out is reduced. Instead of adding a new PoE device, only to find that the whole system suffers from fan out, the PoE++ injectors can deliver an extra 100 W of power to devices when needed. At $259 retail, the PoE++ injectors are affordable enough to purchase with PoE hardware, such as WiFi cameras, additional ports, and other system upgrades.

Stride SE3 series Ethernet media converters. Image used courtesy of AutomationDirect

Media Converters

In general, fiber optic Ethernet connections are preferred over copper wire due to their high transmission speeds, lower noise, and extended transmission range. However, fiber optic cables can be difficult to use in some circumstances and are more costly. Therefore, there are advantages to using fiber for long runs and copper for specific applications. 

AutomationDirect makes media converters that convert from fiber to copper and copper to fiber to make these transitions possible. This conversion is made possible between several fiber standards (SC 100FX, ST 100FX, and Gigabit SFP) and several Ethernet standards (10/100Base-T and 10/100/1000Base-T). The media converters also feature Link Fault Pass (LFP) technology that can prevent data loss during a failed connection between lines.

Stride SE3 Applications

The Stride SE3 series of hardware could be used in virtually any industry or manufacturing facility. The flexibility of this system allows for the easy conversion between copper and fiber and vice versa, meaning they can be integrated into existing automation systems. The low price point of this hardware and the ability to piecewise improve the system's connectivity, allowing for the gradual conversion to fiber or POE.