You hear it more and more: companies these days are bragging about
their devices’ IP ratings, and no, they don’t mean Internet Protocol.
Recently, many devices aimed at government also have arrived with IP ratings prominently displayed. And no, they don’t mean Intellectual Property.
So what is an IP rating? It’s a standard whose use came out of
nowhere it seems — at least in terms of IT equipment — and may become
more important than the MIL-SPEC-810 is today, even though it measures
different parts of a rugged rating. As the devices used in the public
sector become more mobile, with an accompanying emphasis on ruggedness,
it’s a term users will be hearing more often.
The IP standard measures Ingress Protection. It grew fairly
organically, and now has letter designations following the IP numbers to
represent specific tests. For example, the letter K means the material
(typically paint) was tested against pressure washing. But for most
electronic gear, you only need to know the basic IP numbers to determine
how a piece of equipment could be used.
The IP designation, sometimes called IP Code, is a two-digit number.
The first number represents how well the material resists solid objects
getting into the housing. That number runs from 0, indicating no
protection, to 6, which keeps out even dust and fine particulates. The
second number designates how well a device keeps water away from the
vulnerable electronic components inside, running from 0 for no
protection (basically an open hole) to 8, which means that the device
can remain deep underwater for long periods of time without failing.
Generally, the higher the numbers, the more protected a device is
against either solids or liquids. Most electrical components in your
home or office, such the plugs along the wall, are IP 22, meaning they
can prevent small objects like a child’s fingers from entering them, and
don’t fail if water is dripped vertically across their surface.
Use of the IP ratings standard will probably continue to grow. It’s a
good test and quite reliable at determining how rugged a device is
against foreign objects getting inside.
Interestingly, there is also a dropping (shock) component to the IP
ratings, but for feds and most everyone else, the MIL-SPEC-810 document
is still the standard method for testing that aspect of rugged gear. As
such, most rugged devices will have a MIL-SPEC rating for shock,
vibration and most everything else, except for solids and water ingress,
which will have IP designations. Knowing what these numbers mean can
keep you and your data from getting all wet.
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