Industrial routers are networking devices designed to be deployed in harsh environments like factories, warehouses, and other industrial facilities. Unlike consumer grade routers, industrial routers are built to withstand high temperatures, vibration, dust, moisture and electrical noise. They provide reliable and secure wired and wireless connectivity to industrial control systems, machines, sensors and other devices in an industrial network.

Industrial routers play a critical role in industrial automation systems and Industry 4.0 initiatives. They enable the collection of data from industrial equipment and allow remote monitoring and control. With embedded firewalls and VPN capabilities, they securely connect machines and controls to corporate networks and the internet. They support various industrial networking protocols like Profinet, EtherNet/IP and Modbus for seamless integration with PLCs, sensors and HMIs.

Major vendors offering ruggedized industrial routers suitable for factory environments include Cisco, Juniper, Hirschmann, Moxa and Belden. Key features include redundant power supplies, security protections like deep packet inspection, rugged enclosures, wide operating temperature range (-40°C to 75°C), DIN rail or panel mounting options, and certification for use in hazardous locations. With IIoT and Industry 4.0 continuing to drive automation, they will play a key enabling role in smart manufacturing.