Taipei, Taiwan, 15 May, 2008 – Ethernet Direct Corporation, a professional and primary provider of industrial networking and communication solutions, offers a reliable Ethernet solution for modern day mining using Industrial Power over Ethernet switches complying with IEEE 802.3af standard. These hardened Power over Ethernet devices are engineered for mission critical PoE applications.

Safety has long been a controversial issue in the mining business especially with sub-surface mining. Due to the geographical location of mining areas, single mode optical fibers are a necessity and with optical redundant fiber ring as means of extensions. Fiber optic technology and RS-232 devices are use to connect automatic and security systems.

Ethernet Direct recently deployed an application of Industrial Power over Ethernet switches in the mining network monitoring Process Automation. In mining, parameters related to safety must be measured and monitored on a real-time basis to avoid tragic accidents that happen in mines. With a production capacity of several hundred thousand metric tons a day, malfunction is not allowed.

Power over Ethernet (PoE) has been standardized with IEEE standard 802.3af describing Ethernet power-sourcing equipment and powered terminals. This specification describes delivering 48 volts of DC power over unshielded twisted-pair wiring. The so-called PoE injects power into an Ethernet cable at the source and receives that power at the destination. Both the injector and receiver are embedded into the device.

The CME-822E Industrial Managed PoE switch is the first managed 10-port density with SFP option and DIN Rail mountable with industrial grade robust housing protection. The switch features PoE on ports 1 to 8, supporting IEEE 802.3af End-point, Alternative B mode and supplies up to 15.4 watts of power per port. CME-822E ensures interoperability among a growing number of proprietary methods of distributing DC power to network devices. While the CUE-411 and CUE-413 Industrial Power over Ethernet Switches come with 4-Port 10/100 TX with built in PoE injectors and one port 100FX uplink port delivering 15.4W power per port. As such, CUE-411 and CUE-413 combines signal and power in one Ethernet cable connection to accommodate Ethernet based control systems. Powering devices such as IP telephones, wireless LAN access points, Network cameras, Ethernet hubs, embedded computers, sensors, card readers as well as transferring data at the remote edges is now made easy by installing a truly industrial standard PoE switch from Ethernet Direct.
Ethernet Direct offers Industrial Power over Ethernet switches supporting various power protection like PoE overload current protection, port to port isolation, PoE over voltage and under-voltage protection, 4000 VDC Ethernet ESD protection and PoE short circuit protection.

For mining applications set up in environments with extreme temperatures, Ethernet Direct switches stand to be the ideal choice, giving you extra assurance that your systems can run reliably and non-stop.

To learn more about the new Industrial PoE switches from Ethernet Direct, please visit www.ethernetdirect-tw.com or www.ethernetdirect.com