Schneider / ConneXium

TCSESU is unmanaged and TCSESM is managed. One letter, and it decides whether the switch can take part in a redundant ring, appear in the network diagnostics, or carry a VLAN. The two look identical in a panel photo.

ConneXium is the Schneider industrial networking range: Ethernet switches, Modbus gateways, firewalls and media converters. Much of it is now discontinued, and it is still carrying Modicon plant right across New Zealand water, wastewater and process sites.

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Reading a ConneXium reference

Long numbers, but the front of them tells you most of what matters.

The digits after the prefix are the port count

So a TCSESU083 is an eight port unmanaged switch and a TCSESM163 is a sixteen port managed one.

The characters after that carry the port media mix, the temperature rating and the software version. That is where two switches with the same port count stop being the same part, so send the whole reference rather than the first eight characters.

Managed against unmanaged

The decision that most often goes wrong on a like-for-like order, because an unmanaged switch is cheaper and physically similar.

A ring built from managed switches with one unmanaged unit substituted in still passes traffic. It simply stops being redundant, and nobody finds out until a cable is cut or a cabinet loses power.

That is a particularly unhappy outcome on a water or wastewater network, where the ring is often the whole reason the topology was specified.

If the switch had an IP address on the network drawing, it is managed. That is the quickest test when the label is unreadable.

The configuration adapter

The most useful thing to know about maintaining managed ConneXium, and the thing most sites do not use.

Managed ConneXium switches accept a plug-in auto-configuration adapter that holds the switch configuration outside the switch. IP address, ring role, VLAN setup and port settings all live on it.

Same principle as the C-PLUG on Siemens SCALANCE, covered on our SCALANCE page. It turns a network outage from a specialist call-out into a swap.

Two things worth doing. Take a configuration copy off each running switch before you need it, and if you are stripping a panel, pull the adapter and label it.

ConneXium managed switches share their lineage with Hirschmann

Worth knowing, because it explains a good deal about the range.

The managed ConneXium switches come from the Hirschmann industrial networking line. The web interface, the command set, the ring protocols and the configuration adapter concept all trace back to it.

It does not mean the parts are interchangeable in a Schneider parts list, and a Modicon project may reference the Schneider part specifically. But when a site is stuck on a configuration problem it is a useful place to look.

Ring redundancy

ConneXium managed switches support ring redundancy so a single cable break does not take a segment down.

Two ring managers in one ring is as broken as none. If a replacement switch was configured from a backup taken off a different unit, that is a way to get there.

Tell us whether the switch sits in a ring and what role it held.

Fibre ports

The fibre fit is in the suffix of the reference, not in the port count. Two sixteen port managed switches can be all copper, or copper with two fibre uplinks, and the base number does not distinguish them.

Fibre matters more on this range than most, because ConneXium is heavily used across water and wastewater sites where runs go between buildings and reservoirs. Send the run length and the fibre type.

Modbus gateways

A significant part of the ConneXium range and frequently the part that fails.

These bridge Modbus serial devices onto Modbus TCP, so an older RS485 instrument, meter or drive appears to the PLC or SCADA as an Ethernet device.

So the configuration backup is worth more than the hardware. If a gateway is still running, take a copy of its settings now.

And a practical point: a gateway that stops passing data has usually not failed. Check the serial wiring, the termination and the slave device before ordering a replacement.

Firewalls

The TCSEFEA range separates a control network from a plant or corporate network.

These carry rule sets and are configured devices. A replacement is a configuration job, and the rules matter more than the box.

They are also the part most likely to be undocumented, because they were often installed by an integrator during a security project and never touched again. If there is a firewall on the network, find out who holds its configuration before it fails.

Power and the fault contact

ConneXium switches run on 24 V DC and most carry two supply inputs so they can be fed redundantly, plus a signalling contact that changes state on a fault including the loss of one supply.

If only one input is wired, the redundancy is not there whatever the switch supports. And if the fault contact is wired to the PLC, a single supply failure raises an alarm while the switch keeps running, which is the point of it.

Worth checking on any panel where a switch has been replaced in a hurry.

Temperature

Extended temperature variants exist across the range and look identical to standard ones.

Relevant in New Zealand for unheated pump stations, reservoir kiosks, roadside cabinets and packhouses. A standard switch in place of an extended temperature one works, and fails years earlier, usually in the first hot summer or the first hard frost.

The rating is in the suffix. Check the label rather than the appearance.

Before ordering a replacement

What to send us

The full TCS reference off the label. The suffix carries the media, temperature and software version.

Whether it is managed or unmanaged, if the label is unreadable. An IP address on the drawing means managed.

Whether it sits in a redundant ring, and what role it held.

Whether you have the configuration adapter or a backup.

For fibre, the mode, the connector and the run length.

For a gateway, the serial standard and parameters, and whether you have the slave mapping.

What we can supply

Switches. TCSESU unmanaged and TCSESM managed across the port counts, in copper and fibre variants, standard and extended temperature.

Gateways. Modbus serial to Ethernet and protocol conversion units.

Firewalls. The TCSEFEA range.

Accessories. Configuration adapters, transceivers, cordsets and mounting.

Much of ConneXium is discontinued, so this is new old stock, surplus and tested used. That is frequently the only way to keep an existing network topology and its documentation unchanged.

Why used matters on this range

Worth stating plainly for anyone weighing a replacement against a network upgrade.

A like-for-like ConneXium switch keeps the ring, the addressing and the as-built drawings exactly as they are. A current switch from another brand is a documentation change, a configuration change and often a firmware compatibility question across the rest of the ring.

On a water or wastewater site with a maintained asset record, that difference is substantial. Supply of the discontinued references thins out and does not improve, so if a network has years left in it the spare is worth buying while it exists.

We buy ConneXium

ConneXium hardware holds value with the plants still running it, because a like-for-like switch avoids touching a working network.

Keep the configuration adapter with its switch, and keep transceivers with the chassis. Gateways and firewalls are worth more with their configuration backups. See Sell To Us.

Common questions

Can you get a part that is not listed on your site?
Usually. The site shows what we hold, not what we can source.

Is an unmanaged switch a valid replacement?
Only if the original was unmanaged. Rings, VLANs and diagnostics all need a managed device.

Can I use a switch from another brand?
Electrically, often. It changes the documentation, the configuration method and possibly the ring behaviour. On a standalone star segment it is usually fine; in a ring it needs thinking about.

Do I need the configuration adapter?
Only on managed switches, and only if you want the replacement to arrive configured. It is almost always worth it.

Do you supply used equipment?
Yes, where new is not available, tested and clearly described.

What is the lead time?
Ex stock items ship the next working day within New Zealand. We give you a firm lead time with the quote.

Do you quote in NZD?
Yes, in NZD including GST for New Zealand customers.

Related

Schneider overview, Modicon M340 and M580, Modicon Quantum and Modicon Momentum.

For industrial networking from other brands see Siemens SCALANCE, Allen-Bradley Stratix, Phoenix Contact Factoryline and Beckhoff junctions and switches.

Send us your references

TCSESU or TCSESM is the first thing we need, and the suffix is the rest of it. Tell us whether the switch sits in a ring and whether you have its configuration. Quotes in NZD including GST.

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Industech is an independent supplier of new, surplus and used industrial automation equipment. We are not an authorised distributor of, approved by, sanctioned by, or affiliated with Schneider Electric. Schneider Electric, ConneXium, Modicon and Modbus are trademarks of Schneider Electric. Hirschmann is a trademark of Belden. All trademarks, brand names and references are the property of their respective owners and are used here for identification purposes only.