In-Depth Application of Industrial Switche in Agricultural IoT: The Breakthrough Solution for Humidity and Temperature Sensor Data Transmission

In the wave of agricultural modernization, IoT technology is reshaping traditional agriculture with its disruptive power. From soil moisture monitoring to intelligent irrigation, from pest and disease early warning to environmental regulation, each breakthrough relies on the real-time collection and precise transmission of massive amounts of data. However, when farmland coverage expands to tens of thousands of acres and the number of sensors exceeds the thousands, traditional agricultural monitoring systems frequently expose fatal pain points such as signal interruptions, data delays, and device disconnections. How to build a stable, efficient, and scalable agricultural IoT communication network has become the core bottleneck restricting the development of smart agriculture.

1. Communication Dilemmas in Agricultural IoT: When Sensors Encounter "Signal Deserts"

1.1 Communication Challenges in Complex Environments

At a 10,000-acre corn planting base in Inner Mongolia, technicians once encountered the following dilemmas: Among the 300 humidity and temperature sensors deployed in the fields, 40% experienced data loss due to signal attenuation; during the rainy season, groundwater level sensors frequently generated false alarms due to electromagnetic interference; in low-temperature winter environments, some devices directly "lost connection" due to degraded battery performance. These scenarios reflect three major communication challenges in agricultural IoT:

• Environmental interference: Complex electromagnetic environments are formed by soil moisture, metal agricultural machinery, and high-voltage power lines.
• Distance limitations: Traditional LoRa devices have a communication distance of only 1-2 kilometers, making it difficult to cover large farms.
• Power supply dilemmas: Field sensors rely on battery power, resulting in high maintenance costs.

1.2 Limitations of Traditional Solutions

An agricultural technology company once attempted to adopt a hybrid networking solution combining "ZigBee + 4G routers," only to find that:

• The ZigBee network experienced a 60% signal attenuation when crop heights exceeded 1.5 meters.
• The monthly data traffic costs for 4G routers in remote areas reached as high as 3,000 yuan.
• Network topology adjustments required on-site operations by professional engineers, leading to a surge in maintenance costs.
  These cases reveal a harsh reality: Traditional agricultural IoT solutions face severe challenges in terms of stability, economy, and maintainability when applied on a large scale.

2. Industrial Switches Building the "Nerve Center" of Agricultural IoT

2.1 Core Value of Industrial Switches

In agricultural scenarios, industrial switches are no longer simple data forwarding devices but have evolved into IoT hubs with three core capabilities:

• Environmental adaptability:
  • Wide operating temperature range of -40°C to 85°C, adapting to the scorching heat of the Gobi Desert in Xinjiang and the severe cold of the black soil in Northeast China.
  • IP40 protection rating to withstand field dust and rain erosion.
  • Lightning protection and anti-interference design, certified by IEC61000-4-5 standards.
• Network reliability:
  • ERPS ring network protocol enables 50ms-level fault self-healing.
  • Dual power supply redundancy design ensures 7×24-hour uninterrupted operation.
  • PoE power supply function directly powers cameras and sensors, reducing wiring costs.
• Management intelligence:
  • WEB interface supports VLAN division, port speed limiting, and ACL access control.
  • SNMP protocol enables remote device management.
  • Port mirroring function aids in network fault diagnosis.

2.2 Analysis of Typical Application Scenarios

Scenario 1: Large-scale farm environmental monitoring network
At a 20,000-acre vegetable base in Shandong, a fiber optic backbone ring network was built using USR-ISG208S-SFP:

• Eight Gigabit electrical ports connect humidity and temperature, light, and CO₂ sensors.
• Two SFP optical ports enable lossless transmission over a distance of 3 kilometers.
• The ring network structure ensures that single-point failures do not affect the overall network.
  In actual operation, the data transmission delay is <10ms, and the packet loss rate is <0.01%.

Scenario 2: Livestock breeding environmental regulation system
A 10,000-head pig farm in Inner Mongolia faced challenges in ammonia concentration monitoring:

• USR-ISG1204S-SFP supports simultaneous access by 12 sensors.
• VLAN division isolates data transmission from different pigsties.
• In conjunction with an intelligent ventilation system, automatic regulation of ammonia concentration is achieved.
  After the system was implemented, the incidence of respiratory diseases in pigs decreased by 37%.

Scenario 3: Agricultural facility remote management system
The greenhouse cluster monitoring solution at a flower planting base in Yunnan:

• USR-ISGX424-SFP serves as the core switch, aggregating 24 video streams.
• Optical ports connect field meteorological stations, and electrical ports access supplemental lighting control systems.
• Remote management by the headquarters is achieved through VPN tunnels.
  Annual savings in manual inspection costs amount to 200,000 yuan.

3. Revolutionary Breakthroughs in Humidity and Temperature Sensor Data Transmission

3.1 Limitations of Traditional Transmission Methods

Currently, humidity and temperature sensors mainly adopt four transmission methods:

3.2 Upgrade of Transmission Solutions Driven by Industrial Switches

Solution 1: Wired + Wireless Hybrid Networking
At a rice-shrimp co-cultivation base in Jiangsu, a "fiber optic backbone network + wireless Mesh" solution was adopted:

• USR-ISG series switches build a fiber optic ring network.
• Wireless APs powered by PoE extend signal coverage.
• Humidity and temperature sensor data is aggregated by the switches and uploaded to the cloud platform.
  Actual tests show that the data transmission stability within a 10-kilometer range reaches 99.97%.

Solution 2: All-fiber Long-distance Transmission
The solution for a cotton planting base in Xinjiang:

• USR-ISG1008 switches support 8-way fiber optic direct connections.
• Single-mode fiber optic transmission distance reaches 20 kilometers.
• Industrial-grade fiber optic transceivers are used for signal relay.
  The system has not experienced any data interruptions in three years of operation.

Solution 3: Multi-protocol Fusion Transmission
An innovative practice at a tea plantation in Sichuan:

• The switch simultaneously supports RS-485, Modbus TCP, and MQTT protocols.
• It is compatible with sensor devices from different manufacturers.
• VLAN division enables classified data transmission.
  Device compatibility has increased by 60%, and maintenance costs have decreased by 45%.

4. USR-ISG Series: The "Communication Foundation" of Agricultural IoT

4.1 Core Advantages of the Product

• Environmental adaptability:
  • Wide temperature design: Passed high and low-temperature tests ranging from -40°C to 85°C.
  • Protection rating: IP40 dust and water resistance, adapting to harsh field environments.
  • Anti-interference capability: Certified by EMC Industrial Grade IV.
• Network performance:
  • Backplane bandwidth: Up to 36Gbps, supporting Gigabit to the desktop.
  • Packet forwarding rate: Millions of pps, ensuring data real-time performance.
  • Ring network recovery: <50ms fault self-healing time.
• Management functions:
  • WEB management: Visual configuration of VLAN, QoS, and port mirroring.
  • Remote maintenance: Supports SNMP, Telnet, and SSH protocols.
  • Security protection: 802.1X authentication and ACL access control.

4.2 Typical Application Cases

Case 1: Northeast Black Land Protection Project
At a national black land protection monitoring station in Heilongjiang:

• USR-ISG1208-SFP switches were deployed to build a monitoring network.
• Soil humidity and temperature, pH value, and nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium sensors are connected.
• Real-time data is uploaded to the monitoring platform of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
  The system has been in operation for two years, with a data integrity rate of 99.8%.

Case 2: Hainan Tropical Fruit Planting Base
At a mango plantation in Sanya:

• A fiber optic ring network was built using USR-ISG208S-SFP.
• Humidity and temperature, light, and wind speed sensors are connected.
• In conjunction with an intelligent irrigation system, precise water control is achieved.
  Water savings have increased by 35%, and the sweetness of mangoes has increased by 2 degrees.

Case 3: Yellow River Delta Saline-alkali Land Improvement
At a saline-alkali land improvement project in Dongying:

• USR-ISGX424-SFP serves as the core switch.
• Soil electrical conductivity data from 24 monitoring points is aggregated.
• Data support is provided for improvement plans.
  The rate of decrease in soil salt content has increased by 40%.

5. Five Suggestions for Building an Agricultural IoT Communication Network

5.1 Principles of Network Topology Design

• Hierarchical architecture: Adopt a three-tier architecture of "core layer - aggregation layer - access layer."
• Redundancy design: Key nodes adopt dual-link backups.
• Protocol unification: Prioritize standard protocols (such as Modbus TCP and MQTT).
• Power supply planning: Reasonably layout PoE power supply nodes.
• Expansion reservation: Reserve more than 20% of ports for future expansion.

5.2 Key Indicators for Equipment Selection

5.3 Implementation Roadmap

• Requirement analysis: Clarify monitoring parameters, coverage range, and transmission frequency.
• Solution design: Select wired/wireless transmission methods and plan network topologies.
• Equipment selection: Choose appropriate switch models based on environmental conditions.
• System integration: Complete the对接 (docking) of sensors, switches, and cloud platforms.
• Testing and acceptance: Conduct stress tests and fault simulation tests.
• Operation and maintenance support: Establish regular inspection and fault response mechanisms.

6. The Next Step Towards Smart Agriculture: Take Action Now

As you read this, over 1,200 agricultural projects across the country have achieved digital transformation through industrial switche. The practices of these pioneers have proven that a stable and reliable communication network can increase the return on investment in agricultural monitoring systems by more than 300%.
By taking action now, you will receive:

• Free access to the "White Paper on Agricultural IoT Communication Network Design."
• One-on-one solution design services from dedicated engineers.
• Priority access to trial use of new USR-ISG series products.
• Entry into an agricultural IoT technology exchange community.