The use of these standards ensures that high-priority traffic- precisely what is required in automated operations – is delivered with both bounded latency and minimal jitter, regardless of the immense volume of data potentially flowing within the same network. 

TSN achieves this through key mechanisms such as time synchronization, traffic shaping, and resource management, which work together to create deterministic network behaviour. TSN capabilities enable real-time communication across sectors by segmenting traffic into scheduled time slots and prioritizing critical data flows. These capabilities make it an essential foundation for modern connected systems where reliability and precision are paramount.

Interoperability is the priority for adopting automation and converged networks - crucial for ensuring that diverse devices can communicate effectively, maintaining precise timing and low-latency requirements. As industries increasingly adopt automation and interconnected systems, TSN is key to enhancing the reliability and predictability needed to support complex, high-performance networking environments. But how can we make TSN more commonplace across all industries? The answer is community-driven standards, testing and certification.

The importance of certification

Certification programs typically involve rigorous testing in accredited laboratories to ensure that products from different manufacturers can work together seamlessly within a given networking framework. Subsequently, manufacturers, device vendors, technology developers and end users can all define current and future TSN conformance requirements, interoperability testing, and certification programs to enable converged networks.

Certification ensures that components from multiple suppliers, potentially addressing multiple markets, comply with the core TSN standards. We now have a certification program that validates capabilities across a range of TSN standards and profiles, like the 802.1AS (timing and synchronisation) and EST (enhancements for scheduled traffic) TSN components and the Switch certification based on the 802.1BA (Bridge) profile.

The level of testing required to achieve certification ensures devices from a range of manufacturers and applications can interoperate and coexist on a shared, open network designed for the benefit of all. As more certified products hit the market, we can expect to see more converged networks using TSN-capable devices.

Looking ahead

2025 will no doubt prove to be a pivotal year to advance converged networking and TSN adoption as more specifications and capabilities are defined. Significant progress is already underway between key industry players on the TIACC (TSN Industrial Automation Conformance Collaboration) unified test specification for the IEC/IEEE 60802 TSN profile for industrial automation.

Certain sectors are expected to see vast growth in converged networking and TSN. The aerospace sector is at the top of the list, with the massive surge in data demands causing manufacturers to act fast. Isolated network islands need to be reduced and converged within aircrafts to facilitate shared data across devices, and converged networking will form the foundations of this going forward. Additional test specifications and certification capabilities are being built to address the upcoming 802.1DP TSN profile for aerospace, which is very close to completion.

The automotive industry is also experiencing a similar transition. Modern vehicles rely on real-time data exchange for critical functions such as advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), autonomous driving, and in-vehicle infotainment. As with aerospace, TSN has a role to play in the next generation of software-defined vehicle architectures. Avnu has long been part of the Automotive TSN ecosystem by offering an automotive-focused certification program. Expect to see big developments across these sectors soon.

The future of data delivery