Contemporary Control Systems Compact Managed Switches Software Manual for Web Browser - Manual (Page 46)

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4.4.9.3 RapidRing ®
4.4.9.3.1 Characteristics of RapidRing
RapidRing technology from Contemporary Controls provides high speed redundancy in
Ethernet networks. It allows recovery in under 300 ms.
RapidRing is wired in a simple ring structure (see Figure 36) using the two RapidRing
Ports (RRPs) on each switch. For EICP_M, EISK_M and EISX_M models, these are
ports 7 and 8. For EIDX_M models, these are ports 1 and 2. Every link in the ring must
connect by one RRP of one switch to the alternate RRP on the adjacent switch. Thus,
port 7 ties to port 8 — or for the EIDX_M, port 1 ties to port 2. A properly constructed
ring will never have a link between identical ports of adjacent switches. The ring ports
can be wired with copper or fibre optic cable — depending on the model of switch.
Figure 36 — RapidRing
As shown in Figure 36, one switch must be selected as the “master” that activates the
backup link if a ring failure occurs. For EICP_M, EISK_M and EISX_M models, the
backup link must tie to the master through port 8 which remains inactive during normal
network activity. For EIDX_M models, the backup link of the master is port 2. If a cable
failure is detected, the master will activate its backup port to maintain communications.
NOTE: Upon enabling RapidRing, the switch will automatically reboot.
Fault relays and status LEDs work independent of RapidRing. If RapidRing is enabled
and the RRPs are being monitored, the following applies: When a break occurs, each
switch losing connectivity will flash its Status LED and activate its Fault Relay (and
regardless of port monitoring, it will transmit a link-down SNMP trap). The break is thus
located to the link between the two fault-reporting switches. Once the cable is repaired
by the user, the fault relays will disengage and the status LEDs will glow solid to
indicate the ring network is properly connected.
NOTE: A flashing Status LED and Fault Relay activation do not necessarily indicate a ring failure. If
you are monitoring non-ring ports, the failure report might indicate a non-ring issue. However, ring
failure in a properly constructed ring will be reported by two adjacent ring switches — a situation
that will not occur for non-ring switch issues.