Siemens SCALANCE Industrial Ethernet Switches, New Zealand

Siemens / SCALANCE

A managed SCALANCE keeps its configuration on a removable C-PLUG. Move the plug into the replacement and the new switch comes up as the old one. Without it, a switch swap is a configuration job that needs someone who knows the network.

SCALANCE is the Siemens industrial networking range: Ethernet switches, wireless, routers and security appliances. It sits under a great deal of New Zealand plant, usually alongside S7 PLCs and PROFINET.

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The families

Letter	Product
X	Industrial Ethernet switches, managed and unmanaged
XB, XC, XF, XP	Current generation compact switches
XM, XR	Modular and 19 inch rack switches
W	Industrial WLAN, access points and clients
S, SC	Security appliances and firewalls
M	Routers, including cellular and DSL
SC-600	Current generation security, replacing S6xx

Article numbers across the whole range begin 6GK5. If the label starts 6GK5, it is a SCALANCE.

Reading an X series number

More systematic than it first looks, and once you can read it you can size a replacement from the number alone.

Part of the number	Meaning
First digit after X	The series. 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Next two digits	Electrical RJ45 ports
Digit after the dash	Optical ports
Trailing letters	Capability and environment

Example	Reads as
X208	200 series, 8 electrical, no optical
X206-1	200 series, 6 electrical, 1 optical
X204-2	200 series, 4 electrical, 2 optical
X212-2	200 series, 12 electrical, 2 optical
X308-2	300 series, 8 electrical, 2 optical

So the port count you need is readable off the number, and a switch with fewer ports than the one it replaces will leave cables loose.

What the series digit actually buys you

Series	Type	Notes
X-000	Unmanaged	X005, X008. Plug in and go
X-100	Unmanaged	X101-1, X106-1, X108, X112-2, X116, X124
X-200	Managed, Layer 2	X202-2, X204-2, X206-1, X208, X212-2, X216, X224
X-300	Managed, Gigabit, Layer 3 with licence	X307-3, X308-2, X308-2M, X310, X320-1FE
X-400	Modular managed, Layer 3	X404-2, X408-2, X414-3E
X-500	Managed Layer 3, higher performance	X508-2, X524-8C

The current generation

Family	Position	Examples
XB-000	Unmanaged, basic	XB005, XB008
XB-200	Managed, entry	XB205-3, XB208, XB216
XC-200	Managed, harsh environment	XC206-2, XC208, XC216
XF-200	Managed, flat mounting	XF204, XF206-1, XF208
XP-200	IP65, mounts outside the cabinet	XP208, XP216
XM-400	Modular, media module slots	XM408-4C, XM416-4C
XR-300, XR-500	19 inch rack	XR324-4M, XR526-8C, XR552-12M

XB, XC, XF and XP are largely the same electronics in different housings and temperature ratings. The choice was made by where the switch had to live, not by what it had to do.

The suffix letters

Suffix	Meaning
IRT	PROFINET Isochronous Real-Time support
PRO	IP65 housing, mounts outside a cabinet
EEC	Extended environmental conditions, wider temperature
LD	Long distance optical ports
M	Media module slots, as in X308-2M
C	Combo ports, RJ45 or SFP in the same socket
POE, PoE	Power over Ethernet on the ports
FE, GE	Fast Ethernet or Gigabit uplink
P	Additional PROFINET function, as in X201-3P IRT

IRT is the one that catches people

A standard X-200 handles PROFINET RT. Only the IRT variants handle Isochronous Real-Time.

IRT is what synchronised motion runs on. Dropping a non-IRT switch into an IRT segment does not fail obviously. Standard I/O keeps working and the synchronised axes lose their timing, which presents as a motion fault rather than a network fault.

So if the failed switch says IRT on the label, the replacement must too. Send us the label rather than the port count.

The C-PLUG, and why it matters more than the switch

The single most useful thing to know about maintaining SCALANCE.

A managed SCALANCE stores its configuration on a removable C-PLUG rather than inside the device. The plug carries the IP address, VLAN setup, port settings and redundancy role.

Scenario	What happens
Switch fails, C-PLUG moved across	The replacement comes up as the old switch. No laptop, no software
Switch fails, no C-PLUG	Replacement arrives at factory defaults. Someone has to configure it
C-PLUG left in a scrapped switch	The configuration goes to the skip with it

That turns a network outage from a specialist call-out into a five minute swap, and it is the reason a shelf SCALANCE is genuinely useful where a shelf managed switch from most brands is not.

Two practical consequences worth acting on:

If you are stripping a panel, take the C-PLUG out and keep it labelled.

And if you are buying a used managed switch, ask whether a plug is fitted. A plug carrying somebody else's configuration is not a blank one, and it will bring their IP address onto your network.

The KEY-PLUG is a different thing

Same form factor, and people confuse the two.

Plug	Carries
C-PLUG	Configuration only
KEY-PLUG	Configuration plus a licence that unlocks functions in the device

Layer 3 routing on an X-300, and the additional wireless functions on a SCALANCE W, are enabled by a KEY-PLUG. Pull it out and the device keeps running but loses the licensed capability.

So a switch that was routing between subnets and now is not may simply have had its plug removed. Check the slot before diagnosing anything else.

Managed against unmanaged, and the ring trap

The decision that most often goes wrong on a like-for-like order.

An unmanaged switch is cheaper and looks identical in a panel photo. But an unmanaged switch cannot take part in a redundant ring.

Function	Unmanaged	Managed
Pass traffic	Yes	Yes
MRP ring redundancy	No	Yes
VLANs	No	Yes
Appears in the PROFINET topology as a device	No	Yes
Diagnostics to the PLC	No	Yes

A ring built from managed switches with one unmanaged switch substituted in will still pass traffic. It will simply stop being redundant, and nobody finds out until a cable is cut.

The same applies to the PROFINET project. A managed switch is a configured device in the topology; swapping in an unmanaged one leaves a hole where the engineering tool expects a station.

Power and the fault contact

Most SCALANCE switches run on 24 V DC and carry two supply inputs so they can be fed redundantly from two sources.

They also carry a signalling contact that changes state on a fault, including loss of one of the two supplies.

Two things follow. If only one input is wired, the redundancy is not there, whatever the switch supports. And if the fault contact is wired into 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 by someone in a hurry.

Temperature and where the switch lives

Variant	Suited to
Standard X and XB	Inside a controlled cabinet
XC and EEC variants	Wide temperature. Unheated buildings, outdoor cabinets, cold store
XP and PRO variants	IP65. Mounted on the machine, no cabinet at all

A standard switch in place of an extended temperature one looks identical and works. It fails years earlier, in summer or in a cold snap, and nobody connects the two events.

Relevant across New Zealand for coolstores, packhouses, dairy sheds and any outdoor cabinet. Check the label rather than the appearance.

Modular switches and media modules

On the XM-400 and XR-500 families, and the X308-2M, the port arrangement is set by plug-in media modules rather than being fixed.

So two switches with the same base part number can have completely different port fits.

Media modules are separate order lines, and SFP transceivers on combo ports are separate again. A switch quoted without its optics is not a working switch.

Tell us the module fit and the fibre type, and we will quote the set.

Optical ports are not generic

Check	Why
Multimode or singlemode	Different optics entirely
Connector type	SC, LC or ST
Distance	LD variants reach considerably further
Fixed optics or SFP	Decides whether transceivers are separate parts

An optical port with the wrong optics on it does not link at all, which at least fails cleanly. A singlemode transceiver driving a multimode fibre may link and then behave badly over distance, which does not.

The rest of the range

SCALANCE W, wireless

Access points and client modules for AGVs, cranes, rotating equipment and anywhere a cable cannot go. W700 and W1700 families, in cabinet and IP65 forms.

An access point and a client module are different roles. Some devices do both and are set by configuration, which lives on the C-PLUG or KEY-PLUG. Additional functions such as fast roaming are licensed by KEY-PLUG.

SCALANCE S and SC, security

Firewalls and VPN appliances separating a machine network from the plant network. S602, S612, S623 and S627-2M in the earlier generation, SC-600 current.

These are configured devices carrying firewall rules and certificates. A replacement is not a plug-in job, and the configuration backup matters more than the hardware.

SCALANCE M, routers

Remote access and cellular routers. M812, M816, M826, M874 and M876, covering DSL, cellular and SHDSL.

Cellular models are band-specific. A router sourced for another market may not work on New Zealand networks. Tell us it is going onto a local network and we will check the variant.

Before ordering a replacement

Symptom	Check first
Switch lost its settings after a swap	The C-PLUG. It may still be in the old unit
Routing stopped working	The KEY-PLUG slot
Ring no longer redundant	Whether a managed switch was replaced with an unmanaged one
Motion faults after a network repair	Whether the new switch is an IRT variant
Fault relay chattering	One of the two 24 V supply inputs
Fibre link will not come up	Multimode against singlemode, and the transceiver type
Switch failing in summer only	Whether the original was an EEC or XC variant

What to send us

The full 6GK5 article number off the label. It carries the port fit, the optics and the environmental rating.

Whether the switch is managed or unmanaged, if the label is unreadable.

Whether it sits in a redundant ring.

Whether IRT is in use.

Whether you need a C-PLUG, and whether the old one survived.

For fibre, the mode, connector and distance.

A photo of the switch and the cabling. Siemens labels the front and one photo usually identifies the whole thing.

What we can supply

Current production. XB, XC, XF, XP, XM and XR switches, SCALANCE W wireless, SC-600 security and M routers, plus C-PLUGs, KEY-PLUGs, media modules and SFP transceivers. Quoted with a delivered lead time.

Discontinued. X-000, X-100, X-200, X-300 and X-400 switches, earlier SCALANCE W, and the S602 through S627 security range. Surplus and tested used, which is often the only way to keep an existing PROFINET topology unchanged.

Accessories. C-PLUGs and KEY-PLUGs, media modules, transceivers, and the small parts that get left off an order.

A sensible SCALANCE spares holding

Item	Why
One switch of each type you run	With the C-PLUG method, a swap is minutes
Spare C-PLUGs	Cheap, and they let you back up a configuration before you need it
Spare SFP transceivers	The part that is never in the store when a fibre link drops

The spare C-PLUG is the one worth doing now. Taking a configuration copy off a running switch costs almost nothing and removes the specialist from a future failure.

We buy SCALANCE

SCALANCE hardware holds real value, because a like-for-like switch keeps an existing PROFINET topology and its engineering project unchanged.

If you are stripping a panel, keep the C-PLUG with its switch, and keep media modules and transceivers with the chassis. Matched sets are worth more. 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.

Will a newer XB208 replace an old X208?
Often, for the port count. It is not a drop-in for the configuration, and the PROFINET project may need updating. Tell us the application and we will say.

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

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

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.

Send us your part numbers

The 6GK5 number carries the port fit, the optics and the temperature rating. Tell us whether the switch sits in a ring and whether you have the C-PLUG. 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 Siemens. Siemens, SCALANCE, SIMATIC, PROFINET and C-PLUG are trademarks of Siemens AG. All trademarks, brand names and part numbers are the property of their respective owners and are used here for identification purposes only.