The IEEE 802.1DP™ / SAE AS6675 standard enables high-bandwidth communication networks for aerospace and defense platforms by leveraging Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) over standard Ethernet.
Standard IEEE 802.3™ Ethernet has proven to be an efficient and cost-effective technology for decades. Its success is driven by economies of scale and a deep knowledge base developed across industries in the networking community. Since inception, Ethernet has continually evolved to meet the industry’s growing needs.
As part of this evolution, IEEE 802.1™ Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) was introduced to support time- and/or mission-critical applications. TSN extends the usability of Ethernet networks to aerospace, automotive, industrial automation, and professional audio/video deployments. In addition to the base standards specifying the technology, TSN profile specifications have been introduced to facilitate interoperability, deployment, and use in specific application areas. IEEE 802.1DP / SAE AS6675 is a profile specification targeting aerospace and defense applications.
Modern aircraft depend on real-time onboard communications to perform critical vehicle and mission functions. The aerospace industry recognizes a need for an open, standards-based, high-performance networking solution to interconnect an increasing number of digital components, including sensors, actuators, controllers, processors, displays, and data concentrators. IEEE 802.1 TSN provides a standard Ethernet-based deterministic solution to not only enable higher Quality of Service (QoS), but also lower the size, weight, and power consumption with a converged zonal network architecture. TSN meets the modularity and open-systems requirements essential to the evolution of the data-distribution digital backbone in modern aerospace platforms.
To address the use of TSN for aerospace applications, the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE SA) and SAE International established a joint project that developed the IEEE 802.1DP / SAE AS6675 “IEEE/SAE Standard for Local and Metropolitan Area Networks—Time-Sensitive Networking for Aerospace Onboard Ethernet Communications” profile specification. This joint project brought together the aerospace industry and networking experts to define a TSN profile that meets the unique requirements of aerospace applications and enables interoperability across implementations. By selecting TSN features, defaults, and a common configuration scheme, the recently published IEEE 802.1DP / SAE AS6675 standard will benefit the developers of TSN products, OEMs integrating TSN in aerospace and defense platforms, and ultimately the users of such platforms.
IEEE 802.1DP / SAE AS6675 provides a Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) profile specification for designers and implementers of aerospace IEEE 802.3 Ethernet networks, supporting a wide range of aerospace applications. Because IEEE 802.1 standards are intentionally broad and intended for use in a variety of environments, this standard selects the features from IEEE 802.1 standards that are directly applicable to aerospace onboard networks, specifies how to use these features as part of a set of well-defined interoperable profiles, and provides guidance on configuration, management, and monitoring. In so doing, this standard facilitates communications within aerospace platforms to meet the reliability, bandwidth, latency, and synchronization needs of aerospace applications. It also provides necessary and valuable information to airframers, system integrators, and suppliers to help with the design of aerospace systems with standard IEEE 802.3 Ethernet onboard networks.
“The approval of the IEEE 802.1DP / SAE AS6675 Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) aerospace standard is a major step forward for the future of aircraft systems,” said Jim Hvizd, Computing & Networking Leader for GE Aerospace. “This new standard gives the aerospace industry a clear, shared way to use high-bandwidth TSN Ethernet networking on airplanes, replacing custom, one-off network designs with a common, open approach. GE Aerospace is proud to have contributed to this standard, and we look forward to working with our customers to bring it into their next-generation platforms.”
IEEE 802.1DP / SAE AS6675 is available for purchase at the IEEE Standards Store and at IEEE Xplore.
