TRENDnet has announced it has added Ethernet Ring Protection Switching (ERPS) support to its line of industrial managed network switches, available through a free firmware upgrade. ERPS is an advanced form of ring topology which links networks together for redundancy while protecting data flow. ERPS essentially functions in the same manner as Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP) or Spanning Tree Protocol (STP). The main difference between the three is the recovery time.