Belden Inc. has made significant progress in bringing standardized, real-time communication to industrial applications through Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN). In addition to the significant contributions to the IEEE 802.1 TSN standardization process made by engineers from its Hirschmann brand, Belden continues to realize TSN by integrating emerging standards into industrial networking equipment.

With the ability to transmit routine data and critical control information simultaneously, TSN and emerging standards offer many benefits, including:
• Guaranteed on-demand delivery for essential and time-sensitive applications.
• Interoperability between vendors to create an integrated ecosystem that can evolve.
• Flexibility for manufacturers to adapt quickly and leverage technological innovations.

“Ethernet is a widely accepted communication technology and an indispensable part of industrial automation. However, there is one application that standard Ethernet has struggled to achieve: network communication with stringent real-time requirements,” said Dr. Oliver Kleineberg, Advanced Development Manager for Belden’s Hirschmann brand. “Through our contributions to the IEEE 802.1 TSN working group, we have made significant progress in helping to define and achieve a level of determinism that meets the real-time needs of modern and future control networks; and this technology is available to leverage right now.”.

Belden recently showcased TSN in action with a live demonstration at the 2016 Hanover Fair in Germany. Using Hirschmann's RSP series of Ethernet switches, Belden demonstrated how TSN standards enable the simultaneous transmission of critical messages and background traffic, and the benefits this offers to industrial networks.

“With the specific challenges presented by the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and Industry 4.0, critical networks must provide high bandwidth and the ability to support communications with different quality of service on the same network. TSN makes exactly that possible through a standardized solution for real-time Ethernet communications,” added Kleineberg.
 
“As we showcased at the Hanover Fair, we can already incorporate TSN into our standard products through firmware updates. Over time, TSN will be integrated into the chips and software solutions of most, if not all, of our switches.”

Belden and its Hirschmann brand continue to help guide the evolution of TSN standardization through their participation in the IEEE 802.1 committee, aiming to define a standard solution and offer customers a complete industrial networking ecosystem that includes TSN functionality. Standardization will ensure interoperability between different vendors, scalability with future Ethernet speed increases, and investment security.

“From small motion control applications to the smart automation networks of the future, TSN is the fundamental technology that integrates everything and enables the IIoT,” Kleineberg added. “With TSN’s unprecedented frame delivery accuracy and low latency, it surpasses all the possibilities offered by standardized IEEE 802.1 technology.”.

More information about IEEE 802.1 and Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN)