High availability in Controller Area Networks

The Controller Area Network (CAN) fieldbus is a popular technology for distributed embedded system networking. Its usage spans several domains, ranging from home automation to factory control. There are, however, restrictions to its application in a specific domain: highly dependable applications. A crucial step towards CAN-based dependable systems was taken by the CAN Enhanced Layer (CANELy) architecture. This architecture provided the analytic models of CAN operation. Based on these models, it defines both the hardware and software mechanisms for dependable and timely CAN-based network service provision. This paper provides the materialization of CANELy network availability mechanisms. The mapping of the error monitoring and fault-confinement mechanisms defined by CANELy into hardware has proven to be resource-effective, allowing their integration in an inexpensive Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) device. This opens room for cost-effective high dependability CAN-based solutions in several domains, e.g. the aerospace industry.