Optical Bypass Relay

Belden has launched the new OBR40 optical bypass relay from its Hirschmann product range. Suitable for use even in harsh environmental conditions, this relay ensures that optical Ethernet networks, with either ring or line topologies, remain operational after power failures at one or more switches. An internal switch-over mechanism enables data communication to continue seamlessly between neighboring switches. This mechanism even continues to operate when power is cut off to the bypass relay itself. Use of this relay serves to further enhance the availability of Ethernet networks. The relay can also be used to deactivate specific parts of a system, when maintenance work needs to be carried out on individual turbines of a wind farm, for example. The bypass relay is connected to a switch's optical uplink ports via two duplex I/O. These are available for three different fiber types (multi-mode 62.5/125 µm, multi-mode 50/125 µm, single-mode 9/125 µm). In the event of a power failure, the bypass function is activated and the affected switch is bridged. The bypass function can also be specifically activated via a control contact. The switching threshold is adjustable within a range of 1 V to 32 V by means of a DIL switch.