Industrial Ethernet switch latency is the time it takes for a data packet to go from input on one port of an industrial Ethernet switch to output on another port. This performance indicator is crucial for real-time communication and high-performance computing because it directly affects the real-time performance of the network and user experience.
Industrial Ethernet switch delay mainly includes hardware delay and queue delay. Hardware latency is the time it takes to process a packet inside an industrial Ethernet switch, while queue latency is the time it takes a packet to queue while waiting to be sent. These two together determine the total delay of the industrial ethernet switch.
Jitter refers to the variation range of network delay, that is, the time difference between the maximum delay and the minimum delay. Jitter can be used to evaluate the stability of a network. The smaller the jitter, the more stable the network.
Jitter has a significant impact on network performance. In real-time communication applications such as video conferencing, online education, and telemedicine, jitter may cause problems such as audio and video asynchrony and intermittent voice, seriously affecting user experience.
The processing power, forwarding rate, and number and type of ports of an industrial Ethernet switch will affect its delay and jitter performance. An industrial Ethernet switch with insufficient processing power may cause packets to queue up for processing, increasing latency and jitter. Similarly, an industrial ethernet switch with a lower forwarding rate will also increase the transmission time of data packets inside the industrial ethernet switch, thereby increasing latency.
To optimize the latency and jitter performance of an industrial ethernet switch, several measures can be taken. For example, upgrade the industrial ethernet switch hardware to improve processing capacity and forwarding rate; reasonably configure the parameters of the industrial ethernet switch, such as port rate, flow control strategy, etc.; increase the number and type of ports of the industrial ethernet switch to reduce the number of data packets in the industrial ethernet switch. The length of the transmission path inside the Ethernet switch.
When selecting an industrial Ethernet switch, in addition to considering its latency and jitter performance, other factors need to be considered, such as throughput, port speed, QoS mechanism, security features, and scalability. These factors together determine the overall performance and applicability of the industrial ethernet switch.
