Ethernet Switch Packet Mirroring for Automotive Service Visibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
In automotive vehicle networks, distributed service-oriented communications systems face challenges in providing full visibility of service information without incurring additional costs, complexity, or generating new traffic, making it difficult to monitor and access service information across all networked components.
Innovation Solution
A centralized data collection system using classifiers at electronic control units to identify and mirror service-oriented traffic messages, allowing for non-intrusive monitoring and extraction of specified data for storage in a centralized database, leveraging the SOME/IP protocol to classify and route messages without generating new traffic.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If a dedicated service is created to subscribe to all service information in the network, then full visibility of service information is achieved, but network traffic increases and utilization decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies packet mirroring technology to create a copy of network traffic flow for monitoring purposes. The Ethernet switch creates a copy of packets destined for the monitoring ECU without duplicating the original traffic, allowing full visibility of service information while maintaining network efficiency and avoiding additional traffic overhead.
2Loss of information
If a centralized gateway is used for all communications, then full visibility of service information is achieved, but device complexity and overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the existing Ethernet switch perform multiple functions: it continues to handle normal packet routing while simultaneously mirroring traffic to the monitoring ECU. This eliminates the need for separate dedicated monitoring hardware, reducing overall system complexity while achieving full network visibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The monitoring ECU leverages the existing network infrastructure (Ethernet switch) to perform monitoring functions without requiring separate dedicated monitoring hardware. The system uses its own resources and existing components to achieve self-monitoring capability, reducing additional complexity.
3Loss of information
If additional monitoring services are added to the network, then service information visibility improves, but network utilization decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses packet mirroring to create copies of traffic for monitoring without duplicating the original data transmission. This allows the monitoring ECU to receive full service information visibility while the original network traffic continues uninterrupted, maintaining high network utilization efficiency.
Data Source
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AI summary
A system, method, apparatus and electronic control unit are provided for centralized data collection at a single controller device (110) in a distributed service-oriented system (100) by applying one or more classifiers (102-104, 114) to a message traffic packet (1) received at the Ethernet switch (101) of the single controller device to selectively identify service update information from service-oriented traffic messages in the message traffic packet without generating additional message traffic packets on the network system bus, and by mirroring each message traffic packet (3) containing service update information to a processing element (111) in the single controller to identify and extract specified data from the identified service update information for storage in a centralized database which is updated as services publish new information on the network system bus.