A recent article in Control Engineering by Mark T. Hoske concludes:

“Companies with capital cost constraints no longer have to choose lower-cost commercial products that are less rugged, suggests Larry Winchester, business development manager, Ethernet Direct. “Many companies are using commercial switches or unmanaged industrial switches due the high price of industrial managed switches. Ethernet Direct has lowered the cost of Industrial Ethernet products up to 40% compared to other industrial brands without sacrificing quality, reliability, and performance,” Winchester says, by automating comparison, selection, quotation, and ordering. Online support and extensive industrial Ethernet reference libraries provide a high level of support, he adds.”