Many groups are interested in IEEE1588

The biggest interest in determinist Ethernet currently is found in automation; especially motion control applications. Many drive manufactures are equipping their devices with Ethernet interfaces, but now have problems synchronizing all connected drives as precisely as possible over the network.

Several groups of this industrial sector have decided to use this protocol in their Ethernet based field busses. The ODVA has decided to use IEEE1588 for CIPSync, the real-time extension for Ethernet/IP - CIP. Siemens is working on a modification of IEEE1588 for Profinet V3. Also solutions by Beckhoff and Jetter are being developed to ensure time synchronization with this protocol or a similar approach. Likewise the EPSG (Ethernet Powerlink Standardization Group) has planned this protocol as a firm component of the version 3 of their specification.

But interest is not only coming from the automation industry. Increasing demand is growing out of test and measurement; the origin of this protocol. Also initial projects have been started to use IEEE1588 for military applications. Other groups which show interest are coming from telecommunications and electrical power distribution (IEC61850 -Communication networks and systems in substations).

Before we focus on initial results, a short overview of the function of this protocol is given.