The CC-Link Partner Association, the organization promoting the Ethernet-based integrated network CC-Link IE, has announced the completion of the specification for “CC-Link IE TSN.” According to the organization it is a next generation network based on the current CC-Link IE. CC-Link IE TSN was developed to meet future market demands and has added Time Sensitive Networking (TSN) technology, which are additional standards related to IEEE Ethernet, to integrate OT and IT while further strengthening performance and functionality. Also, with the diversification of development methods, it has enabled flexible implementation for various types of equipment and also achieved mixed usage of information communications by utilizing Internet Protocol (IP) and control communication technology. It is expected that these will improve efficiency and reduce time for the construction of smart factories utilizing the IIoT. More details of the CC-Link IE TSN specification will be published on the CLPA Members Site.
CC-Link IE TSN features adopts TSN Ethernet communication technology as a time sharing method and enables collection of information from end devices by IP communication while securing real-time control communication. It also aims to have faster time to market and reduced downtime through easier network diagnosis by using general purpose Ethernet diagnostic tools compliant with SNMP. Further productivity improvement through the improvement of communication performance, CC-Link IE TSN can offer a motion control operation cycle time better than 31.25µs through segregation of high and low performance device communication, leading to optimized performance for all network stations and the system as a whole. Finally, it includes diversification of development methods, which allows it to offers hardware (ASIC and other device based) and software (protocol stack) development methods and it supports both 1Gbps and 100Mbps.
The detailed specification of CC-Link IE TSN will be released to CLPA partner companies. Those partners who were involved in formulating specifications are considering product development and compatible products are expected to be released from 2019.
