Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) enhances standard Ethernet with determinism and synchronization, making it suitable for use across converged infrastructure networks. TSN operates in Layer 2 of the OSI model, making it a data link technology that can be adapted for use with different network configurations and higher-level protocols. But as TSN continues to evolve, organizations looking to capitalize on its benefits today must enlist technical experts who understand its nuances and how to deploy it for specific use case requirements.
Most users are only concerned that TSN delivers the features necessary to create, deploy, and manage new deterministic applications and services. While highly specialized experts can accomplish this, needing one just to configure TSN endpoints and applications is a barrier to adoption. For TSN to reach critical mass, industry needs an abstraction layer that simplifies the configuration of time-sensitive applications and endpoints to make TSN accessible to all.
This paper considers ways to abstract the complexity of TSN applications and endpoints through a single pane of glass—the TenAsys TSN RTOS, INtime®️. From there, the potential of TSN in a software-defined manufacturing facility comprised of workload-consolidated virtual PLCs (vPLCs) is reviewed. The paper concludes by demonstrating how today’s complex mix of industrial hardware and networking technologies can be consolidated and unified to help industry realize the benefits of true IT/OT convergence.
