Deterministic Ethernet Using a Network Traffic Oscillator

This chapter discusses the structure of deterministic Ethernet which helps to improve the security and accessibility of services in a time critical communication system. Frame switching is the method of connecting frames to their destination. A disorganised frame switching network increases the fluctuation of application response times and creates weakness in a sensitive network. Dynamic frame traffic oscillation allows the frame workload to be more organised and manageable for networking by isolating external influences that disrupt network service. This concept, which we term Critical Networking, organises networks and reduces network resource wastage, such as overheads, thereby reducing application network frame delay by carefully planning the type of frame transmission and the available network resource. The frame traffic is handled by a network traffic oscillator (NTO), which creates deterministic time response in frame transmission. Both concepts when combined remove the need to assign arbitrary priority numbers in frames, and overheads for consecutive application transmissions and hides sensitive overhead information within every frame. The concept is illustrated using a simulation of real-time traffic in an airfield scenario.