Driven by the need for higher bandwidth, advanced features, enhanced security and standardisation, automotive OEMs are transitioning to ethernet solutions. Automotive ethernet provides the necessary infrastructure to support software-defined networking by centralising control, enabling flexible configurations and real-time data transfer. To provide OEMs with comprehensive ethernet solutions, Microchip Technology has launched a new family of LAN969x multi-Gigabit ethernet switches and VelocityDRIVE™ software platform (SP), which is a turnkey ethernet switch software solution and configuration tool (CT) based on standardised YANG models. YANG is a data modelling language used to model configuration data, state data, remote procedure calls and notifications for network management protocols.
The combination of LAN969x devices and VelocityDRIVE SP, the industry’s first integration of CORECONF YANG, offers an innovative industry-standard network configuration solution. The CORECONF YANG standard aims to empower designers by separating software development from the hardware network layer. This reduces complexity and costs and accelerates the time to market.
The high-performance LAN969x Ethernet switches are powered by a 1 GHz single-core Arm® Cortex®-A53 CPU and feature multi-gigabit capabilities with scalable bandwidths from 46 Gbps to 102 Gbps. Advanced time-sensitive networking (TSN) is designed to meet precise timing and reliability requirements of applications like advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).
“The introduction of the VelocityDRIVE software platform provides the automotive industry with a turnkey software switch solution and configuration tool to easily manage in-vehicle ethernet networking,” said Charlie Forni, vice president of Microchip’s USB and networking group. “The use of the standards-based YANG configuration protocol enables software to be developed independently and reused across multi-vendor ethernet switches.”
The LAN969x switch family is designed to support ASIL B functional safety and AEC-Q100 automotive qualification standards, offering high reliability and safety for automotive applications. The devices are optimised for systems with a small embedded-memory footprint and feature secure and fast boot capabilities using integrated ECC SRAM for code execution, which eliminates the need for expensive external DDR memory.
As in-vehicle networking continues to increase, software solutions like VelocityDRIVE SP are necessary for customers to configure and manage their networking systems. The LAN969x switch family joins Microchip’s portfolio of automotive ethernet solutions, which includes 10 Mbps to 1 000 Mbps PHY transceivers, controllers, switches and endpoints.
