Since January 1, 2020, TenAsys and TSEP have been working together in a cooperation with the aim of porting the IEEE 1588 PTP stack from TSEP to the real-time operating system INtime from TenAsys and working together to create a complete TSN solution.
The combination of a real-time operating system such as INtime from TenAsys and TSEP’s own IEEE 1588 PTP stack is always indispensable when several applications have to interact across devices in order to process time-critical tasks. Thanks to the precise common understanding of time, tasks planned in advance can be processed synchronously on all devices or data can be provided with a time stamp. Due to the high accuracy of the IEEE 1588 PTP stack of 20 nanoseconds, the deterministic behavior of the real-time operating system is essential, as this is the only way to guarantee the exact processing of the outstanding task at the scheduled time. The waiting times between two tasks, which are absolutely necessary to minimize disruptive interactions, can be optimized. Ultimately, this combination leads to an increased cycle time for tasks, increased productivity and less wear and tear on equipment and machines.
IEEE 1588 is also the basis for the new standard IEEE 802.1AS TSN, or Time-Sensitive Networking, which defines time-critical transmissions via a deterministic Ethernet network. Only if all TSN participants have as congruent an understanding of time as possible can scheduling, traffic shaping and the selection and reservation of communication values take place optimally. The IEEE 1588 PTP standard is a suitable protocol for the most accurate possible time synchronization via Ethernet in a distributed system. The aim of the cooperation is to further develop TSEP’s own IEEE 1588 PTP stack into a holistic TSN solution and integrate it into TenAsys’ INtime real-time operating system.
