Time Sensitive Networking (TSN) news kept reporters and analysts busy a few years ago. Then the news stream slowed to a trickle. TSN is still an important networking technology for a number of use cases—especially in the audio/visual realm. That is the area of the Avnu Alliance. This month, its working group released a white paper exploring expected capabilities and network design.
“Time sensitive networking feature sets and profiles are still evolving,” says Dave Cavalcanti, chair of Avnu’s Wireless TSN (WTSN) working group and principal engineer at Intel. “No network or device, wired or wireless, implements every single TSN feature. With this white paper, the WTSN Working Group is aiming to offer a first look at the application requirements and expected wireless networking capabilities to meet those needs. It is intended to facilitate both discussion and alignment in the industry in this early phase of technology development, trials and testing.”
Created with input from TSN market leaders including Intel, L-Acoustics, Cisco, and Keysight, the new paper identifies the capabilities that wireless TSN-capable networks must implement, including features to enable time synchronization, bounded latency, reliability, security and efficiency. It also offers estimated KPIs for these capabilities by vertical market, including industrial automation, professional audio and video, and AR/VR (Augmented and Virtual Reality).
“It was critical for us to understand how the needs and network configurations will differ across markets,” says Genio Kronauer, executive director of electronics and network technologies at L-Acoustics and one of the paper’s contributing authors. “Live sound and industrial automation talk about their networking needs differently, so it was fascinating to see the synergies across markets. Through collaboration and certification, WTSN is going to be able to serve a wide range of industries.”
For network managers, the white paper also provides models for various WTSN configurations including Wi-Fi, 5G, and hybrid networks across wired and wireless TSN segments.
“This white paper is an important next step towards an ecosystem,” says Greg Schlechter, president of the Avnu Alliance and technology manager at Intel. “It begins to form a roadmap for the industry, including makers of devices and network components, to meet the market expectations for time sensitive networking applications that require wired and wireless mediums.”
The white paper, Wireless TSN: Market Expectations, Capabilities & Certification, is now available for download via the Avnu website.
