Performance comparison on traffic control methods for in-vehicle ethernet networks

Ethernet is by now the most adopted bus for fast digital communications in many environments, from household entertainment, to PLC robotics in industrial assembly lines. Even in avionic applications, new standards are fixing research results. In a similar way in automotive industry, the interest in this technology is increasingly growing, pushed forward by much research and basically by the need of high throughput, that high dynamics distributed control requests. In the world of heavy-duty machines various needs suggest to investigate for a possible Ethernet Network implementation for both real time control and services. On the other hand Bosch proposes the FlexCAN, CAN Flexible rate, but it seems a short term solution for today's congested networks. Conversely, high speed cameras for assisted and indirect vision, virtual fencing systems, cooperative machines control suites, fleet management, task control aspects integration, and real time controls, are just some of the useful functions that could gain from a Ethernet based distributed control in heavy duty machines. This paper deals with architectural and technological aspects of advanced Ethernet networks in order to provide a high-throughput deterministic network for in-vehicle distribution control. Copyright © 2013 SAE International.