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Delta v smart switches

Yesterday we replaced cisco switches with emerson smart switches.  About 6 hours later the new smart switches started randomly rebooting, about every 1 or 2 hours.  They are powered from the same power as the old switches.  This is happening on both the primary and secondary switches.  We are on version 11.3.1.   We are calling GCS , but I was wondering if anyone has seen anything like this?  

3 Replies

  • First thing to check is if you still have any other switch type (like Cisco) on the same network where you installed new Smart Switches. If the DeltaV Smart Switches detect duplex or speed mismatch on any of its ports, the switches will attempt to reset the affected ports a couple of times and then go through a switch reset to attempt to heal the connectivity issue. Copper ports on Smart Switches are set to auto-detect but fiber are hard-set to a full-duplex and either 100 or 1,000 Mbps depending on the port type. If these settings are not the same across the network (this would likely happen with a mix of switch types on the network) then the resetting issue may occur. Note that all Smart Switches are compatible with each other and they can be plugged to the network without need for further configuration to allow access to the networks so it is important that all the network is using compatible and supported Smart Switches.

    If this is your case then the easiest method to fix this is to ensure all switches are Smart Switches on the network before proceeding any further. You can potentially try to troubleshoot link by link by configuring any remaining Cisco switches in the network to match the DeltaV Smart Switches configuration but that will be a more complex endeavor and we don't provide support for a hybrid network with a mix of Cisco and Smart Switches on the same network.

    Also, make sure you are running version 9.0.15 firmware on all DeltaV Smart Switches.

    Of course, the GSC will be able to assist you further but the point listed above is essential to ensure your network is properly set.
  • In reply to Alexandre Peixoto:

    Thanks for the quick reply. I am always impressed by the level of expertise dedicated to answering this blog.

    We have eliminated the issue by moving the cat6 cable that had the issue from a media converter and plugging it in directly a cat6 port on the cisco.

    We have a lot of cisco switches on our network. We also have some other DV smart switches installed as well. That existing mix of cisco and Emerson smart switches was installed as part of implementations of new Delta V systems over the last 5 years or so.

    Why does the smart switch chose to reset the whole switch rather than disabling the problem port? That was our expectation, that a port would protect itself as cisco does, not for the entire switch to reboot.

    We are now concerned as well that with the installation of the new smart switches we introduced into our network a device that is less robust than the one we replaced. The new switches were purchased as part of installation of wireless gateways.

    As for replacing our cisco switches, we are working with our local Emerson business partner pursuing a project to upgrade our version from 11.3.1 and to upgrade our switches. That will be a significant capital expense.
  • In reply to doug bray:

    It is not that Smart Switches are less robust, it's just that they have their own way of attempting to self-heal due to port settings mismatch. Again, these devices are not supposed to be mixed up or you will need to configure the Cisco switches temporarily to accommodate for the settings required to work OK with Smart Switches.