IEEE has announced the formation of an IEEE 802.3 “Standard for Ethernet” study group to explore the requirements for network latency and real-time control in industries such as industrial automation and automotive. The new "IEEE 802.3 Distinguished Minimum Latency Traffic in a Converged Traffic Environment Study Group" will look at additional opportunities to expand the overall Ethernet market and their associated technology requirements.

According to a press release, the purpose of the new IEEE 802.3 study group is "to look at the promise of simultaneous support for undisturbed distinguished real-time control traffic and best-effort traffic (e.g., audio and video data) on a single [converged] Ethernet network, maximizing bandwidth usage while retaining the network's real-time capabilities to support operations in automotive control, industrial automation and other applications."

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“Companies are eager to efficiently converge all network services -- scheduled, streaming and priority-based, and best-effort traffic -- onto the same LAN," comments Ludwig Winkel, chair of the new IEEE 802.3 study group and a fieldbus standards manager at Siemens Industry Automation Division. "But for this to occur, particularly in certain market segments such as industrial automation and automotive, lower end-to-end latency and real-time control are required in support of scheduled traffic in time-sensitive LANs."

Interested individuals are invited to contribute to the new study group, which is scheduled to meet 17-22 March 2013 at the Caribe Royale in Orlando, Fla., as part of the IEEE 802 plenary session. Visit www.ieee802.org/meeting/index.html for more information.

Learn more about the IEEE's 802.3 Ethernet Working Group.

See also: How to measure Ethernet switch latency