Kvaser Ethercan

The most important advantages of CAN

Distributed control systems

The CAN protocol is a good basis for designing distributed control systems. The CAN arbitration method ensures that each CAN node only has to deal with the messages that are relevant to that node. A distributed control system can be described as a system where the processor capacity is distributed across all nodes in a system. The opposite of this is a system with a central processor and local I/O units.

Hardware implementation

The CAN protocol is implemented in silicon. This makes it possible to combine the error handling and error limiting capabilities of CAN with a high transmission speed. The method of distributing the messages to the correct recipients contributes to good utilization of the available bandwidth.

Simple transmission medium

A common transmission medium is a twisted pair of wires. A CAN system can also work with only one line. For some applications, other types of connections, optical connections or radio connections, are more suitable. Although there is a standard for the transmission hardware (twisted pair), it is not uncommon to use different transmission solutions depending on the system requirements.

Excellent error handling

CAN error handling is one of the really big advantages of the protocol. The error detection mechanisms are extensive and the algorithms for error limitation are well developed. Error handling and retransmission of messages is done automatically by the CAN hardware.

Impressive error containment

A faulty node within a system can ruin the transmission of an entire system, for example by taking up all the available bandwidth. The CAN protocol has a built-in function that prevents a faulty node from blocking the system. A faulty node is eventually excluded from further transmission on the CAN bus.

Mature standard

The CAN protocol has been around for almost 30 years (since 1986). There are now a large number of CAN products and tools on the open market.

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