Case Study

Forense-Industrial save time for industrial Ethernet

customers with new troubleshooting tools

Industrial Ethernet specialist Forense-Industrial has transformed its troubleshooting and network testing

processes, saving several hours on every job and reducing equipment costs.

Founded six years ago in Vilanova i la Geltru, Spain, Forense-Industrial specialises in industrial Ethernet. The

company provides consultation, troubleshooting services and the supply of hardware to some of Europe’s

biggest manufacturers such as BAYER-ELIX Polymers, TetraPak, Casa Tarradellas, FIBERPACHS-IVECO, TAVIL,

Freixenet and DAMM. It also provides network design, supply and ongoing support services for large-scale

infrastructure projects, such as the Gdansk tunnel in Poland.

Working with large international companies and on such sizable projects, fixing communications problems

quickly is critical. Forense-Industrial is always under pressure to minimise downtime for customers, even

during what is often complex testing, configuration and troubleshooting on industrial networks.

“The usual method of network troubleshooting, by isolating devices one by one using a PC and software, is

simply far too time consuming, especially for customers with a large number of devices on their network,”

says Jorge Comas, Founder of Forense-Industrial.

“In my experience, carrying a laptop to jobs can also be inconvenient and cumbersome,” he continues. “Plus,

setting up and using a laptop to conduct testing and troubleshooting in a small or busy area, is often very

difficult.”

To address these issues and transform the company’s troubleshooting capabilities, Jorge opted to use

LanXPLORER Pro from IDEAL Networks. Compact and handheld, LanXPLORER Pro quickly finds and diagnoses

problems in networks, cabling and Ethernet devices using copper, fibre and Wi-Fi interfaces and has helped

Forense-Industrial save hours on every troubleshooting job.

“With LanXPLORER Pro we can take a snapshot of the entire network once commissioned using the NETMAP

feature - this has transformed our network troubleshooting processes,” explains Jorge. “This original

NETMAP provides a reference point, so when troubleshooting is required at a later date, we can simply take

a new snapshot, and then compare the two.”

The new process ensures that Forense Industrial can easily identify faulty or missing devices. Compared to

traditional troubleshooting methods using PCs and software, this simple process also saves time, and can be

done in a few minutes, rather than taking 1 – 2 hours.

Testing of the physical layer can also be carried out quickly with LanXPLORER Pro. Forense-Industrial uses

features such as Wiremap, for miswires, split pairs, opens and shorts, and PoE (Power over Ethernet)

detection and load testing. This makes it easy to understand what has caused devices to malfunction and

exactly where those problems are within the network.

Wire map images

PoE image

A further issue when working with industrial Ethernet is avoiding duplicate IP addresses, as industrial

Ethernet requires any device on the network to have a static IP address. To overcome this, Forense-

Industrial use the Top 10 bandwidth talkers and listeners feature of the LanXPLORER Pro.

“This function provides us with a simple way to scan and review the range of IP addresses so that we can

select a free IP address to connect to the network,” says Jorge. “This helps avoid lost production time and

can be done quickly and easily using just one handheld device.”

Monitor PoE power consumption in-line

Another challenge faced by Forense-Industrial is the sheer scale of some large infrastructure jobs. For

example, the company was recently tasked with the planned installation of 72 IP cameras on a network in

the Gdansk tunnel. With the tunnel stretching over 1km and incorporating 40 switches connected by over

3km of single-mode fibre, network testing on site would be both challenging and time consuming.

To overcome this, Forense-Industrial used the SignalTEK NT network transmission tester from IDEAL

Networks. Prior to installation in the Gdansk Tunnel, the IP camera network was assembled and configured

in their workshop. The SignalTEK NT tester was then used to simulate the traffic of the IP cameras. This

ensured that all the hardware was functioning correctly and to the customer’s specification.

“Problem solving over such a large area as the Gdansk tunnel would have been both difficult and time

consuming,” says Jorge. “This way we were able to find and correct any issues prior to installation on site.”

SignalTEK NT also enabled Forense-Industrial to confirm that the level of network traffic was as intended and

that the system was not overloaded by faulty devices or incorrect configuration. In addition, the company

was able to provide a report to the customer which proved that the system could support the required

bandwidth.

After jobs, such as the Gdansk tunnel roll out, have been completed, Forense-Industrial also use SignalTEK

NT to ensure network performance is the same as when the network was assembled and tested in the

workshop. The compact device is also used to test the installed fibre links.

“Optical testing is easy with the SignalTEK NT because it uses standard SFP modules and does not need

calibration,” says Jorge.

A cost-effective option, SignalTEK NT costs up to 30% less than comparable equipment. As it tests both

copper and fibre cable, only one compact device is needed. This has helped Forense-Industrial to keep costs

under control and reduce the amount of equipment that technicians and installers need to transport to the

work site.

Gdansk Tunnel picture

With a range of testing and troubleshooting features that allow networks to be configured and tested

quickly to client specifications, LanXPLORER Pro and SignalTEK NT are an essential part of the operations at

Forense Industrial. In their workshop, the company is able to use the devices for a wide range of tests,

whether as a traffic simulator, to verify copper or fibre bandwidth, or for testing QoS and VLAN in industrial

switches.

Jorge concludes “We are using SignalTEK NT and LanXPLORER Pro more every day as companies make the

migration from serial protocols to using Ethernet as standard.”

For more information visit www.idealnetworks.net or http://forense-industrial.com/.

© IDEAL Networks 2017

A subsidiary of IDEAL INDUSTRIES INC.