Timing verification of real-time automotive Ethernet networks: what can we expect from simulation?

Switched Ethernet is a technology that may profoundly reshape automotive communication architectures as it did in other application domains such as avionics with the use of AFDX backbones. Ethernet is meant in vehicles not only for the support of infotainment applications but also to transmit time-sensitive data used for the real-time control of the vehicle and ADAS functions. In such use-cases, the temporal behavior of the communication architecture must be carefully validated. Early stage timing verification of critical embedded networks typically relies on simulation and worst-case schedulability analysis, which basically consists in building a mathematical model of the worst possible situations that can be encountered at run-time. The two basic questions that we aim to study here is what can we expect from simulation? And how to use it properly? This empirical study explores these questions and provides methodological guidelines for the use of simulation in the design of switched Ethernet networks. A broader objective of the study is to compare the outcomes of schedulability analyses and simulation, and conclude about the scope of usability of simulation in the design of critical Ethernet networks.