NETWORK COMPRISING REDUNDANCY FEATURES AND NETWORK NODE, ESPECIALLY A FIELD DEVICE FOR SUCH A NETWORK

摘要

The invention relates to a network, especially an Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, or Gigabit Ethernet network, comprising redundancy features. At least two rows constructed of a number of network nodes (100 ... 107; 110 ... 117) are connected to one another via at least two communication channels of which only a first is active and the second is deactivated. The communication channels are realized by connecting ports of the network nodes. A network node of the second communication channel monitors the first communication channel for the possibility of interruption and places the second communication channel into the active state in the instance that the first communication channel is interrupted. As a result, the provision of additional coupling devices between the rows is rendered unnecessary.