Fault-tolerant transceivers

A family of transceivers that keep critical equipment on the network when a link fails. Each unit connects a device to two independent network paths — primary and secondary — and watches the active one for trouble; if the link drops or data stops flowing, traffic switches to the backup automatically, and returns once the primary recovers.

Advantages & key features

• Fails over on loss of link or loss of data — a live cable that has gone silent still triggers the switch
• Transparent to the connected equipment: no drivers, no configuration, no software
• Fail-safe bypass holds the main-to-primary path together even if the transceiver itself loses power
• The family spans 10 Mbps to gigabit, in standalone and rack-mount formats
• Deployed in medical, banking, industrial-control, telecom, and defense networks

What we did

We assisted EtherCom Corporation with development across the family: hardware selection and feedback, schematic review, firmware, and testing.

Products

• EFTS1025 ↗ — 10/100 three-port transceiver whose fail-safe bypass preserves the primary path even through a power failure.
• ERMGT350 ↗ — Gigabit (10/100/1000) rack-mount unit for the ERM21C chassis, with link-only and hunting failover modes.
• ETP1020N ↗ — 10BaseT workhorse with redundant power inputs and selectable hunt speed, built for harsh environments.