Glossary · Industrial communication
Managed switch
Also known as: Managed Ethernet switch, Configurable switch
German: Managed Switch
In networking, a managed switch is an Ethernet switch that can be configured and monitored, for example to set up VLANs, prioritize traffic, run redundancy protocols, disable unused ports and report diagnostics via SNMP or a web interface.
- Industrial communication
- OT security
In one sentence
A managed switch is a configurable Ethernet switch supporting VLANs, prioritization, redundancy protocols and diagnostics.
Example
Managed switches in the cabinet separate the drive network and the camera network into different VLANs and report a broken ring link to the SCADA system.
How it applies
- Engineering: Managed switches support VLANs for Network segmentation, Quality of service (QoS) for real-time traffic, IGMP snooping for multicast-heavy protocols, and ring redundancy such as Media Redundancy Protocol (MRP).
- Security: Port security, disabling unused ports and secure management access (no default passwords, encrypted protocols) reduce the attack surface. Switch configurations belong in backup and change control.
- Maintenance: A replaced managed switch must receive the correct configuration; some systems restore it automatically from a controller or a memory card.
- Documentation: The documentation team records switch configurations (VLANs, port assignments, redundancy role), management access and the restore procedure.
Managed switch vs. unmanaged switch
An Unmanaged switch works out of the box but offers no configuration, no diagnostics and no segmentation. Managed switches need configuration, but give the control and visibility that larger or security-relevant networks require.