Promwad Is Ready to Support IEC/IEEE 60802 TSN Joint Profile for Industrial Automation (TSN-IA)

The Promwad engineering team is ready to develop software and design hardware for device manufacturers supporting the new IEC/IEEE 60802 Time Sensitive Networking for industrial automation. The work on TSN-IA is ongoing; the next working group session is scheduled for January 2023. And in the meantime, we are ready to share with you the features and benefits of this new profile.

IEC/IEEE 60802 is a new standard that defines time-sensitive networking profiles for industrial automation. The TSN-IA profiles will describe configurations, protocols, features, options, defaults, and procedures of end stations, bridges, and LANs for industrial automation networks.

What TSN-IA is used for

Data transmission over Ethernet can be delayed or fragmented. The receiving device assembles a single file from disparate parts of an array of data that may not arrive in the correct order. It is not a critical problem in some industries. Still, industrial automation is an area where even minor delays in data transmission (a few hundredths of a second) can cause systems to fail.

Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN), a list of standards for various industries responsible for real-time data transmission, solves this problem. And the TSN-IA profile is being developed specifically for industrial automation (IA).

IEC/IEEE 60802 TSN Joint Profile is a common standard for layer 2 of the OSI model, describing communication with PLCs and other equipment.

Several industry-leading companies are developing the standard: Schneider Electric, Siemens, B&R, Beckhoff, Ericsson, Rockwell Automation, Nokia, ABB, and Bosch Rexroth.

The objectives of each phase of the IEC/IEEE 60802 TSN Joint Profile work are shown below:

Outline of the work on the new IEC/IEEE 60802 TSN Joint Profile

^{Outline of the work on the new IEC/IEEE 60802 TSN Joint Profile:
where the changes will take place and what the goals of each stage are. Source: ieee802.org.}

Advantages of the TSN-IA profile

The new TSN profile for industrial automation will solve two crucial tasks for industrial networks: to transmit data in real-time without errors and to ensure the security and reliability of the transmission process. Here are the features of TSN-IA that will make it possible:

Traffic shaping: several types of traffic with different bandwidths and latency requirements can pass through the same network.
Reservation of traffic lanes for certain types of communication.
Ensure time synchronisation when transmitting data from different devices and applications.
Low-priority frames are interrupted and resumed when the traffic ends.

The main advantage of using the TSN-IA profile in industrial automation is the unification of the data link layer or OSI model layer 2, which enables data to be transmitted across the physical layer between nodes in a network segment.

Why the TSN-IA profile is not a substitution for industrial networks

With all the benefits of the new profile, TSN will not replace industrial networks that operate on technologies from the PI Group, ODVA, and CC-Link.

TSN operates at layer 2 of the OSI model and is the underlying technology for communication standards such as PROFINET TSN, EtherNet/IP TSN, Sercos III TSN or CC-Link IE TSN.

The TSN-IA profile ensures that data is transferred from one point to another. All further data processing takes place at higher levels.

As with EtherCAT, TSN profiles are used for general-purpose networks with no specific hardware limitations and features.

TSN protocol at layer 2 of the OSI model

^{TSN protocol at layer 2 of the OSI model. Source: us.profinet.com}

PI Group technologies

PROFINET standards enable important processes in factory automation: cyclic and acyclic data transmission, alarms and diagnostics, and parameterisation. TSN-IA will not be able to implement these functions.

EtherNet/IP from ODVA, standards development organisation

TSN-IA performs the function of communication between switch equipment and field equipment like PLCs and higher-level systems. These are just some of the functions that EtherNet/IP will be able to realise when interfacing with TSN-IA:

support for isochronous control loops and cyclic control loops with bounded latency;
ensuring a sequence of events;
adjustment machine to machine/controller to controller communication (M2M/C2C);
safety.

CC-Link IE TSN protocol

CC-Link IE TSN is the first network to utilise gigabit Ethernet bandwidth and TSN technology. It operates at layers 3–7 of the OSI model, using TSN from layer 2 as the base. This enables openness, high data rates, increased functionality and easier use of IP devices.

Therefore, TSN-IA will not be a substitute but an addition to the industrial networks we have analysed above, as it will extend the functions of OSI layer 2: performance, security, and real-time data transmission.

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Promwad is monitoring the development of IEC/IEEE 60802 for time-sensitive networking, which will run on industrial protocols PROFINET, Modbus, EtherNet/Ip, Sercos III, VARAN, MECHATROlink III. Feel free to contact us to discuss the development of your software or hardware solution with TSN-IA support.