IEEE 802.3cg-compliant controller brings Ethernet to the edge of factory networks
The NCN26010 Ethernet controller from onsemi offers high noise immunity, maintaining reliable connectivity over a long range even in noisy industrial environments, and offers multiple node support to reduce the cost of installation.
Factories today commonly use Ethernet networks for supervisory control and station management, but still rely on legacy fieldbus solutions to communicate with field instrumentation. Such legacy protocols need to be replaced and modernized with low-cost, single unshielded-pair Ethernet solutions which will allow factories to run data over Ethernet seamlessly from the cloud to the edge.
The IEEE 802.3cg standard provides a specification for the technology to overcome the gap in industrial Ethernet systems, offering low-cost communication to field devices at a data rate of 10 Mbits/s using two new physical layers:
- 10BASE-T1L for long-range, point-to-point communication over a range of up to 1,000 m
- 10BASE-T1S for multi-point communication over a range up to 25 m
The NCN26010 from onsemi, one of the first 802.3cg-compliant Ethernet controllers, provides a reliable way to take advantage of the benefits of single-pair Ethernet technology.
The NCN26010’s noise immunity is far higher than is specified in the 10BASE-T1S standard: a proprietary enhanced noise immunity feature provides robust signal detection in noisy industrial environments, and can extend the network range to up to 50 m.
The NCN26010 also offers very low line capacitance, enabling it to support five times the node requirement of the IEEE 802.3cg standard, up to 40 nodes on a 25 m segment. This helps factory operators to save more on the cost of wiring and installation.
Multi-drop Ethernet offers a way to reduce the wiring and installation costs which typically dominate the networking budget in many factories: a network can be completed with up to 70% fewer cables while reducing installation costs by as much as 80%. 10BASE-T1S also offers the flexibility to repurpose nodes after the initial installation.
Additional benefits include:
- Eliminates the need for large switches, gateways, or protocol translators, and the additional wiring and power they require
- Lowers software maintenance costs as multiple networking technologies no longer need to be maintained, legacy point-to-point and multi-point standards, such as
RS-485, CAN, FlexRay, RS-232, or HART may be replaced by 10BASE-T1S Ethernet - Enables greater data throughput over existing cables, eliminating the need to run new cables, which is often the highest contributor to costs in a networking installation