The field of industrial automation has been witnessing a rapidly evolving scenario, as newer innovations are being made with the help of advanced inventions and product developments to make practices easier for enterprises across the globe.

The Crimson 3.0 configuration software by Red Lion Controls, a provider of communication, monitoring and control for industrial automation and networking offerings, has successfully been integrated with N-Tron’s N-View server software solution. It will enable enterprises in analyzing and running all the N-Tron and Sixnet (News - Alert) industrial Ethernet switches right from within a Red Lion G3 operator interface itself.

Companies will now be able to leverage the Red Lion operator interfaces as visible dashboards that will offer latest statuses of the network through the N-Tron and Sixnet industrial Ethernet switches.

For the first time, such a seamless cross-compatibility between an HMI and Ethernet switch has been achieved within the market sector.

“We are pleased to announce this cross-product compatibility as we launch our new ‘better. together.’ campaign to introduce our Ethernet and cellular networking products,” commented Jesse Benefiel, vice president of product management at Red Lion Controls. “Crimson’s integration of N-View support underscores our unwavering commitment to take best practices from each acquired business to create not just a bigger Red Lion company, but a better one with more comprehensive product offerings that benefit our customers.”

Enterprises equipped with the N-Tron switches can benefit from this integration between Crimson 3.0 and N-View as their plant managers and IT staff can now use a single dashboard to carry out a close assessment of various network parameters. Some of these parameters are data collisions, received packets, dropped packets and alignment errors.

Similarly, the companies relying upon Sixnet switches will be able to monitor the network through Modbus, which also enables them to collect and review network performance history through enhanced data logging features.

In order to inform remotely located network professionals regarding the issues, the ability to send notifications through e-mail and SMS has also been incorporated within the solution.

“Customers need an easy-to-use solution to monitor their networks,” said Jeff Thornton, director of product management at Red Lion Controls. “By integrating Crimson 3.0 with N-View, our customers can now manage their automation devices as well as their networking components from a single HMI dashboard. Automated checks on network health can be set to notify personnel via email or text message at the first sign of trouble. These proactive notifications help to reduce process downtime by ensuring the network is always functioning at an optimum level.”

In October 2012, Red Lion Controls unveiled more products as a part of its industrial Ethernet switching solutions portfolio. New products include N-Tron 716M12 and Sixnet SLX-5EG, SLX-3EG and SLX-3ES switches and media converters. 

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