Ballston Lake, N.Y., October 20, 2009 — Sixnet, a manufacturer of industrial and commercial machine-to-machine networking solutions, announces its new Elite EL228 industrial managed Ethernet switch platform. As the newest addition to Sixnet’s full line of industrial switches, the EL228 combines the reliability, redundancy and ruggedness required for demanding industrial environments.

By providing a broad range of high-end networking functionality, the EL228 delivers the capabilities required to enable a new generation of “smart” applications for industries such as power and energy, transportation and oil and gas, delivered in a hardened form factor with proven reliability in environments as extreme as U.S. Navy air traffic control in Antarctica and oil platforms in Oman.

The EL228 is cited to deliver the lowest total cost of ownership of any industrial Ethernet switch in its class. It accomplishes this by providing 24 Fast Ethernet small form-factor pluggable ports that are fully field-configurable. This enables customers to modify configurations as networking requirements change, thus eliminating the “forklift upgrades” required when using typical pre-configured industrial switches. In addition, the EL228 substantially reduces the need to inventory spare switches, since customers can configure the EL228's ports to match the configuration of any switch in their network.

The EL228 is a 28 port (24 + 4G) industrial Ethernet managed switch that provides customers with high flexibility. Its 24 Fast Ethernet SFP ports can be used for any mix of copper RJ45 or fiber transceivers. The EL228 features LEDs, power/ground connections, console ports and bracket positions on both the front and back of the switch, enabling customers to install the unit in front and rear/reverse arrangements as needed.