Elektrobit launches Automotive Ethernet switch firmware for secure, high-performance, in-vehicle communications
Elektrobit (EB) announced Automotive Ethernet switch firmware enabling secure, high-performance communications for in-vehicle networks. Available for switches from leading hardware vendors and already on the road in production electric vehicles (EVs), the EB zoneo SwitchCore will make it easier for carmakers and their suppliers to develop the advanced, high-bandwidth communications systems required by next-generation vehicles.
Every car maker is challenged to develop electronics networks that support the high-bandwidth communications and faster data throughput required for routing data from sensors, controls and interfaces in EVs, advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and self-driving vehicles. Automotive Ethernet switches are the backbone of these new systems. Switches play a key and growing role in the electronic control units of these networks, from today’s highly centralized architectures powered by a handful of high-performance computers to tomorrow’s more distributed, zonal architectures.
EB zoneo SwitchCore is a firmware that adds a layer of intelligence to Automotive Ethernet switches that enables them to handle the ever-increasing network functions required to enhance the scalability, safety and security of vehicles. EB zoneo SwitchCore provides advanced network management and network security functions such as routing, gateways, firewalls and network intrusion detection and prevention systems.
EB zoneo SwitchCore is available for switches from leading manufacturers including Marvell and other leading hardware manufacturers. Although new to the market, the Elektrobit firmware is used in the architecture for a prominent line of production vehicles, which was implemented with Marvell switches.
“Working with Elektrobit to enhance our switches with their smart firmware provides car makers with a complete solution that gives them a big advantage in accelerating their time to market,” said Will Chu, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Automotive Business Unit, Marvell. “Our collaboration with Elektrobit will benefit the automotive industry where the cloud, carrier and vehicle networks work seamlessly together to enable the proliferation of smart, software-defined vehicles.”
“Our new EB zoneo product line addresses a key pain point for car makers. Adding innovative software to the advanced features in today’s Automotive Ethernet switches gives our customers the highest performance and widest range of functionality. Together, with our hardware partners, we’re ushering a new era of smart switches,” said Michael Robertson, Head of Product and Strategy Management, Elektrobit.
Associated with this news, Elektrobit also unveiled EB zoneo VSwitch, which enables the virtualization of switch functionality inside of ECUs, maximizing high-speed local communication. EB zoneo VSwitch efficiently connects multiple virtual machines/processor cores with each other and to a shared, single automotive Ethernet switch port. By reducing the overall consumption of computational resources, EB zoneo VSwitch frees up processing power for additional applications.
