HSR/PRP Interoperability Testing in Winterthur

Technology Uncategorized

Altogether 13 companies participated in IEC 62439-3 Ed. 2.0 (HSR and PRP) interoperability testing in Winterthur, Switzerland, during June 4th -22th 2012. The companies were involved in a testing session where the main focus was interoperability of the different implementations of the new IEC 62439-3 Ethernet redundancy protocols.

The test network built in the event is shown in the picture. Network throughput results were measured using Flexibilis HSR and PRP RedBoxes. Calnex Solutions provided their Paragon-X test device that was used for creating Ethernet impairments to the HSR-PRP test network.

Prof. Dr. Hubert Kirrmann, Senior Principal Scientist, ABB, commented: “The interoperability test at Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), Winterthur, Switzerland with 13 companies gave us confidence that the redundancy protocols IEC 62439-3 (PRP and HSR) can be easily implemented and connected. We were pleased that the test ring worked well under the high traffic generated by the test devices. The Flexibilis switches performed perfectly both on PRP and HSR.”

One of the HSR/PRP interoperability testing participants was Flexibilis. “It is great to have such interoperability events where we are able to confirm that our products are compatible with the standard and with other implementations,” said Mr. Timo Koskiahde, CTO, Flexibilis, and continued: “We are also very confident that the HSR and PRP protocols will become widely used standards in redundant Ethernet communication, and Flexibilis is committed to being a key player in this game”.

Flexibilis FES-HSR
Flexibilis Ethernet Switch with High-availability Seamless Redundancy and Parallel Redundancy Protocol support (FES-HSR) is a triple-speed (10Mbps/100Mbps/1Gbps) Ethernet Layer 2 switch IP block designed to be used in programmable System on Chip (SoC) environments. FES-HSR is compatible with IEC 62439-3 Clause 5 ”High-availability Seamless Redundancy (HSR)” and IEC 62439-3 Clause 4 ”Parallel Redundancy Protocol (PRP)”.

FES-HSR standard features include:

  • Compatible with IEC 62439-3 Clause 5 ”High-availability Seamless Redundancy (HSR)”
  • Compatible with IEC 62439-3 Clause 4 ”Parallel Redundancy Protocol (PRP)”
  • HSR RedBox, HSR End-node, HSR QuadBox, PRP RedBox and DANP support
  • Time and frequency synchronization using IEEE1588-2008 Precision Time Protocol
  • Triple-speed, full-duplex operation on all ports
  • Wire-speed packet forwarding

Headquartered in Tampere, Finland, Flexibilis Oy (Inc.) (www.flexibilis.com) is a provider of networking equipment and technologies for wireless and wired applications. Solutions provided by Flexibilis are based on industry standard technologies and protocols, thus enabling compatibility with both the past, and the future. Flexibilis employs high-end technologies, including an extensive use of programmable hardware.