A simulation approach to a Real-Time Ethernet protocol: EtherCAT

In the last years the use of Ethernet as the communication technology for automation systems has been sensibly increasing. In particular, real-time Ethernet networks have become widely adopted. In this paper we consider one of the most popular Real-Time Ethernet networks, namely EtherCAT. We firstly provide a short outline of the protocol, along with a description of a simulation model we have developed. Subsequently, we focus on some typical network configurations and provide some insights on their performance by means of both theoretical analysis and numerical simulations.