December 2007Lattice and Oregano Systems partner to deliver clock synchronization solution.
The use of industrial Ethernet is about to expand rapidly due to standards like the IEEE 1588. Standard Ethernet cannot be used in many industrial applications due to its inability to synchronize actions across a network in real time. Ethernet was designed for communication of office equipment, not for industrial applications, like robotic assembly, high-speed printers, packaging machinery, process controls, etc. All of these applications require close time synchronization. They need to be networked together, and standard Ethernet devices and protocols cannot do this. Today, investment in the Link layer of Ethernet is high and there is much interest in expanding Ethernet hardware and software to these industrial applications.
IEEE 1588 standard to the rescue. This standard is used by a number of Industrial Ethernet protocols for synchronizing the clocks, and therefore the operations, between different automation devices in a network. This exact timing capability ensures that an assembly line of robotic machinery, for example, can operate in harmony. Some industrial Ethernet protocols such as Powerlink, PROFINET and Ethernet/IP build on top of IEEE 1588. Other protocols, like SERCOS and EtherCAT, define their own time synchronization schemes. But even these protocols are reported to be planning future integration with IEEE 1588.
IEEE 1588 ensures that different nodes in a network have synchronized clocks, so industrial devices operate in harmony.
Enter Oregano Systems Design and Consulting, of Austria, the latest to join the Lattice ispLeverCORE Connections IP Partners Program. Oregano Systems Design and Consulting Ltd. was founded in 2001 as a spin-off from the Vienna University of Technology, where the basic technology for highly accurate and fault tolerant clock synchronization via Ethernet networks has been developed. Oregano Systems offers both IP cores and design services for FPGAs and embedded systems focused primarily, but not exclusively, on industrial electronics and telecom applications.
Oregano has demonstrated the SYN1588® IP, its IEEE 1588 solution, in silicon. The SYN1588 IP has been integrated into a network processor from Hyperstone® and in two Lattice FPGA device families, the LatticeXP and LatticeXP2. The IEEE 1588 solution can be implemented in software only, or with hardware assistance. A software-only solution can synchronize clocks to an order of 100 µs resolution. With hardware assist, like Oregano’s SYN1588 IP, clock synchronization can be resolved to an order of 100 ns resolution.
The plot below illustrates actual operation of the Oregano SYN1588 IP cores on two nodes running a PTP stack. One IP core is implemented on a LatticeXP FPGA device, the other on a LatticeXP2 FPGA device. This plot illustrates a reference clock against the two nodes with about a 100 ns synchronization window.
Clock synchronization with Oregano IEEE 1588 IP on LatticeXP and LatticeXP2 devices.
Oregano offers three SYN1588 IP cores and all are bundled with the respective PTP-stack and driver software. This enables users to easily integrate the cores into their designs. The three IP cores differ with respect to interfaces (serial vs. parallel) and application level features (number of highly accurate trigger inputs and clock outputs). All cores are verified with 100% code coverage. The SYN1588 IP cores are available immediately from Oregano Systems.
The first ports of the SYN1588 core are available on LatticeXP and LatticeXP2 devices. These devices, which have on-chip Flash, allow for small footprint solutions. With instant-on capability, the LatticeXP2 can also be up and running in an industrial setting in around 1 ms. With the LatticeXP and LatticeXP2 devices, a Lattice IP partner can make their IP, such as the SYN1588 core, available preloaded onto the FPGA and sold as an ASSP.
For more information about the IEEE 1588 IP core, visit the Lattice IP web pages or the Oregano website and ask for Nikolaus Kerö. Or, contact your local Lattice sales representative to discuss your Industrial Ethernet IEEE 1588 needs.
© Lattice Semiconductor Corporation 2012
