Is SwitchBlox Suitable for Simultaneous Internet + Local Ethernet Traffic in Drone Setup

BotBlox Hardware
1

– Copied from customer email –

I just want to run the following application with you. In advance, thank you so much for your help in the matter.

We are currently integrating the SwitchBlox for Ardupilot into our drone platform and would like to confirm its suitability for a new specific network topology. The setup includes the following components:

  • Starlink Ethernet Adapter (providing Internet access)
  • ARK Autopilot (requires Internet access and Ethernet communication)
  • TRIP 6 Camera System (communicates with the ARK autopilot over Ethernet)

All devices will be connected to the SwitchBlox, and all Ethernet ports will be in use simultaneously during operation. The ARK requires real-time, reliable internet access via Starlink while maintaining continuous communication with the TRIP 6.

Could you please confirm:

  1. Whether the SwitchBlox can handle simultaneous Ethernet traffic across all ports reliably at 10/100 Mbps?
  2. If there are any known issues or recommendations when routing internet + local communication traffic through the switch in such an embedded application?

We appreciate your help in verifying that SwitchBlox is the right fit for this application.

2

Sure, happy to help, please see my responses inline.

  1. Whether the SwitchBlox can handle simultaneous Ethernet traffic across all ports reliably at 10/100 Mbps?

Yes, it can. This is known in the ethernet field as “non-blocking”. In other words, the ethernet fabric can handle maximum theoretical data rate on all ports simultaneously. All our products are non-blocking.

  1. If there are any known issues or recommendations when routing internet + local communication traffic through the switch in such an embedded application?

Ethernet is hugely powerful in terms of features, and managed ethernet switches allow you to achieve such features. One very commonly used feature is VLANs. It allows you to control which devices can “see” each other on a network, by segregating a network into separate parts. This is often useful for security.

You might, for example, want to prevent anything on the wider internet (from the Starling Ethernet Adapter) from having direct access to the TRIP 6 camera system; instead you’d want anything on the wider internet to only be able to access the ARK Autopilot (which could then decide whether to pass traffic from the camera to the wider internet.

To do something like that, you’d want to segregate your network into two parts, ie, two VLANs. VLAN1 would contain the Starlink Ethernet Adapter + ARK Autopilot, while VLAN2 would contain the TRIP 6 Camera + ARK Autopilot. Note that the Ark Autopilot has access to both VLANs.

Of course, this is entirely optional and you don’t need to do this. The product you’ve purchased (SwitchBlox for Ardupilot) can’t achieve VLANs anyway, (you’d need something like this or this).

There’s many other features you can do with Ethernet, like QoS, which gives you the ability to prioritise one stream over another.

In your case, since you’re just getting started with ethernet, I wouldn’t recommend implementing these features unless you need them. The truth is you probably don’t need them yet. In your case, SwitchBlox for Ardupilot will give you a reliable connection between all three devices, and should work out the box for what you need.

Let me know if that makes sense.