High availability networking device

1 . A networking device, comprising:

a primary network switch circuit;

a secondary network switch circuit;

a first physical layer circuit connected to the primary network switch circuit;

a second physical layer circuit connected to the secondary network switch circuit;

a first communication port connectable to a first field device;

a second communication port connectable to a second field device;

a first output control circuit connected to the first communication port, the first physical layer circuit, and the second physical layer circuit, the first output control circuit configured to selectively connect the first communication port to either the first physical layer circuit or the second physical layer circuit;

a second output control circuit connected to the second communication port; and

a controller connected to the primary network switch circuit, the secondary network switch circuit, the first output control circuit, and the second output control circuit, the controller comprising circuitry configured to:

determine that a failure associated with the first physical layer circuit has occurred; and

responsive to determining that the failure has occurred, operate the first output control circuit to route data between the first field device and the second physical layer circuit instead of the first physical layer circuit without disconnecting the first field device from the first communication port.

2 . The networking device of claim 1 , further comprising a third physical layer circuit connected to the second output control circuit and to the primary network switch circuit, and a fourth physical layer circuit connected to the second output control circuit and to the secondary network switch circuit.

3 . The networking device of claim 2 , wherein the circuitry of the controller is configured to:

determine that a second failure associated with the third physical layer circuit has occurred; and

responsive to determining that the second failure has occurred, operate the second first output control circuit to route data between the second field device and the fourth physical layer circuit instead of the third physical layer circuit without disconnecting the second field device from the second communication port.

4 . The networking device of claim 1 , further comprising a communication bus that connects the controller, the primary network switch circuit, the secondary network switch circuit, the first output control circuit, and the second output control circuit, wherein the first communication port and the second communication port are advanced physical layer ports.

5 . The networking device of claim 1 , wherein the circuitry of the controller is further configured to route data received from the first field device to an edge gateway device in communication with one or more remote servers, and to route data received from the edge gateway device to the first field device.

6 . The networking device of claim 1 , further comprising a power supply circuit, the power supply circuit comprising a primary power source and a secondary power source, the power supply circuit coupled to the first communication port and the second communication port and configured to provide power to the first field device via the first communication port and to the second field device via the second communication port.

7 . The networking device of claim 6 , the power supply circuit further comprising a first diode connected to the primary power source and a second diode connected to the secondary power source.

8 . The networking device of claim 1 , wherein the secondary network switch circuit is configured to route data received from the first field device to a second networking device.

9 . The networking device of claim 8 , further comprising a third communication port connectable to the second networking device, wherein the secondary network switch circuit is configured to route the data received from the first field device to the second networking device via the third communication port.

10 . The networking device of claim 9 , wherein the secondary network switch circuit is configured to send a signal to the second networking device via the third communication port, the signal indicating that the networking device is operating in a degraded mode responsive to determining that the failure has occurred.

11 . The networking device of claim 1 , wherein the circuitry of the controller is configured to determine that the failure has occurred by reading a status register of the primary network switch circuit.

12 . A method, comprising:

establishing, via a communication port of a first networking device, a first connection between a field device and a first physical layer circuit that is connected to a primary network switch circuit of the first networking device;

receiving, via the communication port of the first networking device, first data from the field device;

routing, by the first networking device via the primary network switch circuit, the first data received from the field device to a second networking device;

determining, by a processor of the first networking device, that a failure associated with the first connection between the field device and the first physical layer circuit of the first networking device has occurred;

establishing, via the communication port of the first networking device, a second connection between the field device and a second physical layer circuit that is connected to a secondary network switch circuit of the first networking device responsive to determining that the failure has occurred;

receiving, via the communication port of the first networking device, second data from the field device; and

routing, by the first networking device via the secondary network switch circuit, the second data received from the field device to the second networking device.

13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein determining, by the processor of the first networking device, that the failure associated with the first connection has occurred comprises reading a status register of the primary network switch circuit.

14 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising, responsive to determining that the failure associated with the first connection has occurred, sending a signal to the second networking device via the secondary network switch circuit, the signal indicating that the first networking device is operating in a degraded mode.

15 . A networking device, comprising:

a primary network switch circuit;

a secondary network switch circuit;

a first physical layer circuit connected to the primary network switch circuit;

a second physical layer circuit connected to the secondary network switch circuit;

a communication port connectable to a field device;

an output control circuit connected to the communication port, the first physical layer circuit, and the second physical layer circuit, the output control circuit configured to selectively connect the communication port to either the first physical layer circuit or the second physical layer circuit; and

a controller connected to the primary network switch circuit, the secondary network switch circuit, and the output control circuit, the controller comprising circuitry configured to:

determine that a failure associated with the first physical layer circuit has occurred; and

responsive to determining that the failure has occurred, operate the output control circuit to route data between the field device and the second physical layer circuit without disconnecting the field device from the communication port.

16 . The networking device of claim 15 , further comprising:

a second communication port connectable to a second field device;

a third physical layer circuit connected to the primary network switch circuit;

a fourth physical layer circuit connected to the secondary network switch circuit; and

a second output control circuit connected to the second communication port, the third physical layer circuit, and the fourth physical layer circuit, the second output control circuit configured to selectively connect the second communication port to either the third physical layer circuit or the fourth physical layer circuit;

wherein the circuitry of the controller is configured to:

determine that a second failure associated with the third physical layer circuit has occurred; and

responsive to determining that the second failure has occurred, operate the second output control circuit to route data between the second field device and the fourth physical layer circuit without disconnecting the second field device from the second communication port.

17 . The networking device of claim 15 , wherein;

the networking device is incorporated into a backplane having a plurality of module bays coupled to a power supply circuit, a primary backplane microcontroller, and a secondary backplane microcontroller; and

the networking device is receivable in one of the module bays to receive power from the power supply circuit.

18 . The networking device of claim 15 , wherein, responsive to determining that the failure has occurred, the secondary network switch circuit is configured to send a signal to a second networking device indicating that the networking device is operating in a degraded state.

19 . The networking device of claim 18 , wherein the secondary network switch circuit is configured to route data received from the second networking device to the field device.

20 . The networking device of claim 15 , wherein the circuitry of the controller is configured to determine that the failure has occurred by reading a status register of the primary network switch circuit.