In-vehicle networks and ECU testing

Automotive Ethernet and other bus systems

Inside a typical car, you will find over 100 electronic control units (ECU) controlling everything from brakes, transmission, engine, A/C, steering, cameras, radar, acoustic sensors to the non-cellular and cellular wireless communications.

ECUs talk to each other via car buses, including controller area network (CAN), media oriented systems transport (MOST), local interconnect network (LIN) and FlexRay.

Automotive OEMs and Tier 1s are moving away from mixing so many different bus types to something more uniform, enabling higher data throughput, lower latency and less weight in order to reduce complexibility and increase cost-efficiency.

Features of Rohde & Schwarz automotive Ethernet testing solutions:

Trigger and decode capability for CAN, CAN-FD, LIN, FlexRay, CXPI, SENT, 100BASE-T1 and 1000BASE-T1
Compliance tests for automotive Ethernet (10BASE-T1S, 100BASE-T1, 1000BASE-T1, 2.5/5/10GBASE-T1 ) in accordance with standards such as 802.3cg, 802.3bw, 802.3bp, 802.3ch
Channel and Connector testing (100BASE-T1, 1000BASE-T1, 2.5/5/10GBASE-T1) according to OPEN Alliance TC9
EMI debugging, IVN signal & power integrity verification and analysis

Automotive Ethernet and other bus systems solutions

Related resources for In-vehicle networks and ECU testing

Application video: 1000BASE-T1 interoperability test

In this video we show how to perform the Signal Quality Indicator (SQI) test requirement for the OPEN Alliance TC12 Interoperability test with 1000BASE-T1.

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Webinar: How to ensure MultiGigabit automotive Ethernet compliance

Join this webinar to learn about the newest updates to OPEN Alliance TC9 & TC15 and receive an in-depth analysis of different MultiGigabit test modes with solutions from Rohde & Schwarz.

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Poster: Evolution of in-vehicle networks

Developments in Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS) are creating a new approach to In-Vehicle Network (IVN) architecture design. This poster graphically represents the development of IVNs over time and provides guidance on how to test them.

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Webinar: Domain controllers and high performance CPUs for automotive

Testing and debugging Automotive domain controllers / high performance CPUs on their in-vehicle network interfaces, their performance and interoperability.

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Our experts

Dr. Nik Dimitrakopoulos, Market Segment Manager Automotive

"Modern cars typically have more than 100 electronic control units (ECU) connected via different in-vehicle bus networks. These buses are used to exchange information and coordinate control. Autonomous driving technology creates a demand for much higher data rate traffic within in-vehicle communication systems. Today, we are talking about 100/1000BASE-T1. Tomorrow, it will be multi-gig speeds. To verify the functionality and quality of these data streams, automotive engineers need to be able to search for specific signals, trigger, decode, measure crosstalk and perform compliance testing."

Dr. Ernst Flemming, Director of Product Management for oscilloscopes, Rohde & Schwarz

"Automotive Ethernet is now widely introduced in cars. In the OPEN Alliance, the industry has defined specific compliance tests. We offer a complete compliance test solution for 100BASE-T1 and 1000BASE-T1 that is widely accepted by OEMs, Tier 1s and test houses. With the new triggering and decoding solution for 100BASE-T1, automotive Ethernet can now be debugged the same way as the traditional CAN bus."