Automotive Networking

(EC2341-1)

UNIT – III
Variants of Ethernet PHY used in Automobiles

Dr. Bommegowda K. B.
Assistant Professor Grade-III
Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering
 UNIT - III
Variants of Ethernet PHY used in Automobiles:
The variants of Ethernet PHY used in automobiles: 100 M
bit/s Ethernet in automobiles, Automotive Ethernet at 1
Gbit/s, multi-Giga Ethernet in automobiles, Automotive
Ethernet at 10 Mbit/s, Power over Ethernet - PoE IEEE
802.3bu, Deterministic, real-time, and automotive Ethernet.

16 Hours

TEXTBOOK:
T1. Dominique Paret and Hassina Rebaine, “Autonomous and Connected Vehicles
Network Architectures from Legacy Networks to Automotive Ethernet”, Wiley, 2022.
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 Background
• A LAN is a data communication n/w connecting various
terminals or computers within a building or limited
geographical area.

• The connection b/w the devices could be wired or

wireless.

• Example:
➢ Ethernet
➢ Token rings
➢ Wireless LAN

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 Ethernet

• It is the most widely used LAN technology & is defined

under IEEE standards 802.3.

• The reason behind its wide usability is that it is easy to

understand, implement, and maintain.

• It offers flexibility in terms of the topologies that are

allowed (bus topology).

• Ethernet operates in two layers of the OSI model,

the physical layer and the data link layer.

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Key Features of Ethernet
1. Speed: supporting speeds of up to 100 Gbps.

2. Flexibility: wide range of devices and operating systems.

3. Reliability: uses error-correction techniques.

4. Cost-effectiveness: It is relatively low-maintenance, requiring minimal ongoing support.

5. Interoperability: allows devices from different manufacturers to communicate with each other
seamlessly.

6. Security: It includes built-in security features.

7. Manageability: These networks are easily managed.

8. Compatibility: It is compatible with a wide range of other networking technologies.

9. Simplicity: Ethernet is a simple technology that is easy to understand and use.

12. Scalability: It can easily accommodate the addition of new devices, users, and applications.

13. Broad compatibility: Ethernet is compatible with a wide range of protocols and technologies.

14. Ease of integration: Ethernet can be easily integrated with other networking technologies.

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Advantages of Ethernet

1. Speed:
When compared to a wireless connection, Ethernet
provides significantly more speed.

2. Efficiency:
It consumes less electricity, even less than a Wi-Fi
connection. As a result, these ethernet cables are thought
to be the most energy-efficient.

3. Good data transfer quality:

Because it is resistant to noise, the information
transferred is of high quality.

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 Ethernet v/s Automotive Ethernet

• Standard Ethernet, widely used in LAN & WAN since its 1980 launch
and 1983 IEEE standardization, was initially unsuitable for
automotive applications due to its susceptibility to noise &
interference.

• The key difference b/w standard Ethernet & Automotive Ethernet

lies in their physical layers.

• Automotive Ethernet utilizes single twisted pair cables for full duplex
communication, which are lighter & can be either shielded or
unshielded.

• This adaptation results in a 30% weight reduction compared to

traditional CAN/LIN harnesses & is less prone to automotive
environmental challenges.

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The variants of Ethernet PHY used in automobiles

PHY (Physical Layer)

It refers to the component responsible for converting data
into electrical signals that can be transmitted over physical
wires.

Ethernet PHY used in automobiles is designed to meet the

stringent requirements of automotive networks, including
robustness, low latency, & EMC.

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The main variants of automotive Ethernet PHY include:

Multi-Gig
Variant 100BASE-T1 1000BASE-T1 10BASE-T1S 10BASE-T1L Automotive
Ethernet (2.5G,
5G, 10GBASE-
Parameter T1)
Speed 100 Mbps 1 Gbps 10 Mbps 10 Mbps 2.5G, 5G, 10G

Cable Single twisted Single twisted Single twisted Single twisted Single twisted
pair pair pair pair pair

Standard IEEE 802.3bw IEEE 802.3bp IEEE 802.3cg IEEE 802.3cg IEEE 802.3ch

Use Case In-vehicle High-speed Low-cost, multi- Long-distance High-bandwidth

networking automotive drop bus communication, applications
(IVN) for applications, networks typically for such as
cameras, radar, ADAS replacing CAN industrial or autonomous
and ECUs and LIN in commercial driving, AI-
sensor and vehicle based
control applications processing
applications

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 100 Mbit/s Ethernet in automobiles (100BASE-T1)

Key Features of 100BASE-T1

• Speed: 100 Mbps (Full Duplex)

• Cable: Single twisted pair (Unshielded or Shielded)
• Standard: IEEE 802.3bw (approved in 2016)
• Topology: Point-to-point connection
• Encoding: 3B2T (Three Bits to Two Ternary symbols)
• Distance: Up to 15 meters (can be extended with repeaters)
• EMC Performance: Designed for automotive environments with high
noise immunity

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Advantages of 100BASE-T1 in Automotive Applications

Lightweight and Cost-Effective: Uses a single twisted pair, reducing

cabling weight compared to traditional Ethernet or CAN networks.
High Data Rate: Provides 100 Mbps, which is significantly faster than
legacy automotive protocols like CAN, LIN, and FlexRay.
Low Latency: Ensures fast communication, critical for real-time automotive
applications such as ADAS (Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems).
Automotive-Grade Reliability: Designed to withstand temperature
variations, vibrations, and electromagnetic interference.
Compatibility with AVB (Audio Video Bridging) and TSN (Time-
Sensitive Networking): Ensures synchronized data transmission for
infotainment and real-time control systems.

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Applications of 100BASE-T1 in Vehicles
Camera Systems: High-resolution surround-view, rear-view, and
driver-monitoring cameras.

Radar and LiDAR Sensors: Used for ADAS features such as collision
avoidance and adaptive cruise control.

ECU-to-ECU Communication: Connecting different electronic

control units (ECUs) in the vehicle.

Infotainment Systems: Connecting displays, head units, and media

controllers.

Gateway Modules: Bridging different in-vehicle communication

protocols.

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 Physical layer in 100BASE-T1

• Uses a medium access control (MAC) system and management information

base (MIB)
• Operates, point to point, on a single balanced twisted pair.
• The data encoding technique 4B/3B is used by 100BASE-T1 in converting the
4-bit (4B) nibbles from the MII, with a clock at 25 MHz.
• MII (medium-independent interface)
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BroadR-Reach is an automotive Ethernet technology developed
by Broadcom to enable high-speed, full-duplex communication
over a single twisted pair cable. It later became the foundation for
100BASE-T1 in the IEEE 802.3bw standard.

BroadR-Reach Ethernet offers

• Low cost
• Longer cables
• Ethernet connection up to 500 m at 100 Mbit/s
• Transmission of Ethernet frames in full-duplex mode, with
unshielded twisted pairs

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Physical layer in BroadR-Reach
Transmission Medium
•Single twisted pair cable reduces weight and cost compared to standard Ethernet
•Length: Typically, up to 15 meters (can be extended using repeaters)
•High immunity to electromagnetic interference (EMI)

MDI-Medium Dependent Interface [electrical interface b/w the

physical layer transceiver chip (PHY) & the transmission medium]

Transmitter (TX) Receiver (RX)

•Converts digital data (100 Mbps) into an •Receives the PAM-3 encoded signal from the
analog PAM-3 signal twisted pair cable
•Uses 3B2T encoding to convert 3-bit groups •Converts the analog signal back into a 100
into 2 ternary symbols Mbps digital stream
•Ensures synchronization and equalization •Uses echo cancellation and adaptive
for signal integrity equalization to reduce signal degradation
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Main applications of 100 Mbits BroadR-Reach

The main applications of BroadR-Reach are based on ADAS. ADASs

can be passive or active:

● A passive ADAS simply provides drivers with alerts or warnings.

Ex: Lane departure warning
Reversing camera applications

● An active ADAS goes further than warnings and takes control to

apply corrective action.
Ex: an assisted parking ADAS

At a data rate of 100 Mbps, BroadR-Reach is most suitable for Passive ADAS
applications, because active ADASs require lossless video, for the image
recognition algorithms to function properly.
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Automotive Ethernet at 1 Gbit/s (1000BASE-T1)

• Automotive Ethernet at 1 Gbit/s (Gigabit Ethernet, also

called 1000BASE-T1) is a high-speed communication
standard designed specifically for modern vehicles.

• It enables fast & reliable data transfer b/w various ECUs,

sensors, cameras, & other automotive components.

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 Key Features of 1 Gbit/s Automotive Ethernet (1000BASE-T1)

• Single Twisted Pair Cable – Uses a single UTP cable for cost efficiency
and reduced weight.

• Full-Duplex Operation – Supports simultaneous two-way data

transmission.

• Deterministic Latency – Ensures predictable communication for

safety-critical applications.

• Robust Against Noise & Interference – Designed for the harsh

automotive environment.

• Reduced Power Consumption – Optimized for energy-efficient

operation in vehicles.

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Applications of 1 Gbit/s Automotive Ethernet
(1000BASE-T1) in Vehicles

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) – High-speed data

transfer for cameras, LiDAR, and radar.

Infotainment & Connectivity – Supports high-definition video

streaming and internet-based services.

V2X Communication – Enables vehicle-to-everything (V2X)

communication for enhanced safety.

Autonomous Driving – Facilitates real-time data exchange between

AI processors and sensors.

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Physical layer of 1 Gbit/s Ethernet

• PCS (Physical Coding Sublayer) uses a transmission code to improve the

transmission characteristics of the data.
• 80B/81B encoders need an overhead of 1 extra bit in addition to the useable
data
A single “0” at the start of the packet labels it as a data packet
A single “1” at the start of the packet labels it as a control packet
• There must be an effective way of encoding the bitstream into PAM-3 symbols
(encode the 3 binary data bits (in 8 possible combinations)) 20
 Multi-Giga Ethernet in Automobiles

• Multi-Giga Automotive Ethernet PHY group is in charge of the

transport of Ethernet frames at data rates over 1 Gbit/s in a vehicle.

• IEEE 802.3 (Standard for Ethernet Physical for Greater than 1 Gb/s Automotive Ethernet)

• Applications:
➢ in connected vehicles
➢ ADAS
➢ onboard infotainment equipment

• This standard uses the specification of

➢ medium access control (MAC)
➢ management information base (MIB)
➢ carrier sense multiple access with collision detection (CSMA/CD)
protocol
➢ medium-independent interfaces (MIIs)
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 Automotive Ethernet at 10 Mbit/s
• IEEE 802.3 has produced a 10 Mbit/s

• Ethernet technology called 10SPE (10 Mbps single pair Ethernet)

10BASE-T1S – IEEE 802.3cg

• Part of the 10BASE-T1 family of standards, IEEE 802.3cg is divided

into

➢ 10BASE-T1L: 10 Mbps transmission on a single balanced pair, up

to a distance of 1 km
➢ 10BASE-T1S: short-range 10 Mbps transmission on a single
balanced pair.

• These technologies are designed to offer a collision-free system, &

deterministic transmission on a multi-point network, which allows for
the use of a single pair to connect the sensors & ECUs.
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The primary characteristics are

• 10 Mbps, 12.5 MBauds, 4B/5B, DME signal encoding, PAM 2.

• Limited to 8 nodes over 15–25 m.
• Stub length limited to 10 cm.
• Collision avoidance layer, facilitating the use of the full bandwidth of
10 Mbit/s.
• Arbitration using a round-robin procedure, ensuring each node has
medium access in deterministic time.

Differential Manchester encoding (DME) is a technique similar to Manchester

encoding used to convert digital data into a format suitable for transmission

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Power over Ethernet – PoE IEEE 802.3bu

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