How to implement Time Sensitive Networking to ensure deterministic communication
programmable real- time unit and industrial communication subsystem Gigabit (PRU_ICSSG)
(DMSC) subsystem. Additionally, the dual Cortex-R5F MCU subsystem is available for general purpose use as two individual cores, or the cores can be used in lockstep for functional safety applications. MCU with CC-Link IE TSN stack NXP’s i.MX RT1170 crossover MCUs, like the MIMXRT1176DVMAA, have a dual-core architecture with a high-performance Cortex-M7 core (running up to 1 GHz) and a power-efficient Cortex-M4 core (running up to 400 MHz). This
dual-core architecture helps enable applications to run in parallel and supports power consumption optimization by turning off individual cores as necessary. These MCUs deliver a full CC-Link IE TSN communication stack and are optimized to support real-time operations and deliver a 12 ns interrupt response time. To speed the development of machine learning (ML) applications, real-time motor control, advanced human machine interfaces (HMI) like facial recognition, and other Industry 4.0 applications, NXP offers the MIMXRT1170- EVKB evaluation kit (Figure 4). This eval kit is built on a 6-layer printed circuit board (PCB) with through hole design for better electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) performance and it includes two Ethernet ports for development of TSN connectivity. MCU and starter kit for TSN The RZ/N2L family of MCUs, like the R9A07G084M04GBG#AC0,
Figure 2: The AM652x Sitara processors include six ports that can be used for TSN and other industrial Ethernet protocols. Image source: Texas Instruments
from Renesas are designed to simplify the implementation of industrial Ethernet and TSN in Industry 4.0 applications. They enable deterministic communications through a 3-port Gigabit Ethernet switch that supports TSN, EtherCAT, PROFINET, EtherNet/IP, and OPC UA. Renesas also offers the RTK9RZN2L0S00000BE Starter Kit+ for RZ/N2L MCUs. This starter kit
subsystems that can be used to provide up to six ports of industrial Ethernet including TSN, PROFINET, EtherCAT, and other protocols, or they can be used for standard Gigabit Ethernet connectivity (Figure 2). The AM652x family of MCUs includes secure boot and cryptographic acceleration in addition to granular firewalls managed by the device management and security control
MCU with up to 6 TSN ports
Designers of Industry 4.0 embedded devices that need TSN connectivity can turn to the AM652x Sitara processors from Texas Instruments like the AM6528BACDXEA. These MCUs combine two Arm Cortex-A53 cores with a dual Cortex-R5F and three
Figure 5: The RTK9RZN2L0S00000BE Starter Kit+ includes the necessary hardware and software, plus application examples, to support development of deterministic networking. Image source: Renesas
includes extensive peripheral functions suitable for industrial applications and supports the evaluation of industrial Ethernet and TSN (Figure 7). The kit includes all the needed hardware and software: ■ Hardware ■ CPU board with RZ/N2L MCU and on-board emulator ■ Power supply USB cable (Type C to Type C) ■ On-board emulator connection USB cable (Type A to Type Micro B) ■ PC terminal debugging USB cable (Type A to Type Mini B) ■ Software ■ The development environment, sample code, and application
Summary
TSN has been added to the IEEE 802.1 Ethernet standards to support the development of deterministic communications. TSN defines layer-2 communications functions and is compatible with higher level protocols such as EtherCAT, PROFINET, EtherNet/IP, and others. It will soon be embodied in an international standard, IEC/IEEE 60802, TSN Profile for Industrial Automation. Suppliers have already begun integrating TSN into MCUs and related development platforms to help designers rapidly integrate deterministic communications into the next generation of Industry 4.0 devices.
notes are available on the web which also includes a software support package with peripheral drivers and numerous application examples for rapid evaluation and prototyping
Figure 3: The i.MX RT1170 MCUs from NXP include a dedicated TSN functional block (inside the black oval). Image source: NXP
Figure 4: NXP’s MIMXRT1170-EVKB evaluation kit. Image source: NXP
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