Overview
Phoenix Contact's FL SWITCH family spans from the simplest 5-port unmanaged 100 Mbps switches (FL SWITCH 2005) to fully managed Gigabit switches with Parallel Redundancy Protocol (PRP) and High-availability Seamless Redundancy (HSR) — both delivering zero-time recovery with absolutely no packet loss during a network failure. This breadth makes the FL SWITCH family suitable for both budget panel wiring and the most demanding IEC 61850 power-utility and process-safety applications where even 20 ms ring recovery is unacceptable.
The upper-end FL SWITCH 3000G series supports PROFINET Conformance Class C (CC-C), meaning it participates in PROFINET IRT (Isochronous Real-Time) networks with cycle times down to 250 µs and jitter below 1 µs — territory previously limited to specialised IRT-capable switches. This opens isochronous motion control over standard PROFINET infrastructure, reducing the need for dedicated motion network cabling alongside EtherNet/IP or PROFINET RT traffic.
Phoenix Contact's PRONETA Basic and Advanced software provides free topology discovery and configuration management for FL SWITCH networks, similar in concept to Moxa MXview but purpose-built for Phoenix Contact device ecosystems. The web GUI supports SNMP traps, RMON port statistics, and syslog forwarding for integration with enterprise network monitoring platforms.
Key Features
- PRP / HSR — True Zero-Recovery Redundancy — Parallel Redundancy Protocol (IEC 62439-3) sends every frame simultaneously over two independent network paths. The receiver accepts whichever copy arrives first and discards the duplicate — achieving zero packet loss and zero recovery time when one path fails. HSR (High-availability Seamless Redundancy) applies the same principle in ring topologies, eliminating recovery time entirely.
- 22.5 mm Space-Saving DIN-Rail Design — The narrowest FL SWITCH 2005 is just 22.5 mm wide — the same footprint as a standard terminal block. This lets engineers pack eight switches into the same DIN-rail space previously occupied by two conventional switch enclosures, dramatically reducing panel real estate in high-density control cabinets.
- IEEE 1588v2 PTP — Sub-Microsecond Time Sync — The FL SWITCH 3000G series implements IEEE 1588v2 Precision Time Protocol as a boundary clock with hardware timestamping, achieving sub-microsecond clock synchronisation accuracy. This enables simultaneous sampling from distributed sensors for power quality analysis, disturbance recording, and synchronised motion across multi-axis machines.
- Broad Product Range — Unmanaged to Managed — A single vendor family covers the entire network from the field level (unmanaged 5-port FL SWITCH 2005) through cell level (8-port managed FL SWITCH 3008T) to site backbone (Gigabit PRP/HSR FL SWITCH 3000G). Mixed topologies use the same PRONETA configuration tool regardless of model, simplifying commissioning and spare-part stocking.
Technical Specifications
| Model / Feature | FL SWITCH 2005 | FL SWITCH 3008T | FL SWITCH 3000G-8TX/2FX |
|---|---|---|---|
| Port Count | 5× 100 Mbps | 8× 100 Mbps | 8× GbE + 2× SFP |
| Management | Unmanaged | Managed | Managed |
| Redundancy | — | MRP, RSTP | MRP, PRP, HSR, RSTP |
| PROFINET | Pass-through | CC-B | CC-C (IRT) |
| PTP / IEEE 1588 | — | — | v2 Boundary Clock |
| VLAN | — | IEEE 802.1Q | IEEE 802.1Q, Q-in-Q |
| Operating Temp | −40°C to +70°C | −40°C to +70°C | −40°C to +70°C |
| Supply Voltage | 24 V DC | 24 V DC (dual) | 24–48 V DC (dual) |
| Width (DIN Rail) | 22.5 mm | 45 mm | 100 mm |
| Certifications | UL, CE, ATEX Zone 2 | UL, CE, ATEX, IECEx | UL, CE, IEC 61850-3, DNV GL |
Application Areas
- IEC 61850 substation automation and protection relay networks (PRP/HSR)
- PROFINET IRT high-speed motion and robotics (CC-C, Gigabit)
- Panel-mounted device-level networks (unmanaged 5-port, 22.5 mm)
- Process industry DCS field device networks (−40°C rated)
- Marine and offshore classification-certified networks (DNV GL)
Sources & References
- Phoenix Contact, FL SWITCH Product Selection Guide (2024)
- IEC 62439-3:2016 — Industrial Communication Networks, PRP and HSR
- IEEE 1588-2019 — IEEE Standard for a Precision Clock Synchronization Protocol
- PROFIBUS & PROFINET International, PROFINET Conformance Class C Specification