The Hirschmann BOBCAT BRS20-4TX/2FX-HL is the standard-temperature hazardous location variant of Hirschmann’s compact 6-port managed Fast Ethernet fiber switch, certified to ISA12.12.01 for deployment within or adjacent to Ex-classified zones in oil and gas processing facilities, offshore platforms, petrochemical plants, and chemical manufacturing environments. Manufactured by Hirschmann, a Belden brand, it combines 4x 10/100BASE-TX RJ45 copper ports with two 100BASE-FX multimode SC fiber uplinks supporting 50/125 µm fiber to 5,000 m and 62.5/125 µm fiber to 4,000 m, enabling long-distance inter-unit backbone connectivity from classified area field positions without additional media conversion equipment. The switch is housed in a 57 mm wide fanless PC-ABS DIN rail enclosure rated to IP30 and 0 to +60°C, consuming just 7 W — well suited to Ex-zone panel installations where heat dissipation and power are constrained. TSN 802.1Qbv support across interfaces 1/1 to 1/3 delivers deterministic real-time Ethernet, and PROFINET, EtherNet/IP, Modbus TCP, and IEC61850 protocol support provides direct compatibility with DCS, PLC, and SCADA platforms used across the process industries. Redundancy features span HIPER-Ring, MRP (IEC62439-2) as both client and manager, RSTP, LACP, Link Backup, and Redundant Network Coupling. Security capabilities include Secure Boot, signed firmware, 802.1X port access control, RADIUS authentication, VLAN-based ACLs, and DoS prevention. With an MTBF of approximately 2.64 million hours and a 60-month guarantee, the BRS20-4TX/2FX-HL delivers the reliability required for long-lifecycle process industry field installations. Available from Recab, your Nordic partner for Hirschmann industrial switch solutions.
