News and Product Updates

1+1 Hitless: A New Redundancy Feature for JumboSwitch Products

08/06/2024

We have begun the rollout of “1+1 hitless” as an advanced redundancy feature for JumboSwitch® interface cards. This feature has already been added to the TC3846-6 4W E&M 600 Ohm and Dry Contact-over-IP Gateway and will continue to be rolled out with other JumboSwitch models.

The advantage of using 1+1 hitless for redundancy is that it provides true zero downtime with zero data loss in the event of a link failure in ring-based networks. This is in comparison to 1-to-1 protection and 1+1 protection, which result in varying amounts of downtime as the network re-routes the path.

1+1 hitless protection achieves zero downtime by utilizing (similarly to 1+1 protection) both the working channel and the protection channel simultaneously. However, unlike 1-to-1 and 1+1 protection, which use nodes to block the redundant path until a link failure occurs, 1+1 hitless protection utilizes both paths simultaneously without blocking the redundant path.

Instead, the receiving node transmits all packets of data to the receiving interface card, meaning that the interface card receives information from the other interface card twice: once through the working channel and once through the protection channel. The interface card then ensures that it utilizes only one set of data packets. This method eliminates any downtime, making it the most reliable and convenient of the three redundancy options.

The diagram below illustrates how two TC3846-6 interface cards can communicate within a ring-based network even in the event of a link failure by utilizing 1+1 hitless protection for redundancy:

1+1 Hitless Protection Using Two TC3846-6 Cards
1+1 Hitless Protection Showing Link Failure

In the event of a link failure, 1+1 hitless enables operation to continue at 100% by guaranteeing that the receiving interface card has at least one copy (if not both) of any data packet sent from the other interface card.

Learn more about the TC3846-6’s 1+1 hitless protection feature in our Application Note.

Watch our 1+1 Hitless video for a more visual representation:

To stay current on our other JumboSwitch product updates, follow the links below.

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