Automotive Networking
Automotive Networking
Every link in your zonal vehicle network has a job, and the job picks the bus. Silvaco’s automotive networking IP covers four: CAN FD for high-throughput traffic, MultiCAN for gateways, FlexRay for deterministic control and LIN at the low-cost edge. The CAN controllers comply with ISO 11898-1. All four are functional-safety ready under ISO 26262, and more than a billion units have shipped.
Match the controller to the link
A vehicle network mixes buses by what each link has to carry. Start there, not with the part number.
High-throughput CAN traffic on FlexCAN
CAN 2.0B and CAN FD in one controller, with CAN FD frames reaching 8 Mbit/s and 64-byte payloads. Idle nodes sleep in a low-power mode until the bus goes active or a matching frame arrives.
Gateways between CAN buses with MultiCAN
Up to six CAN 2.0B nodes in one controller, each running to 1 Mbit/s. Set up as a gateway, MultiCAN forwards frames from one CAN bus to another automatically. TTCAN adds time-triggered messaging.
Deterministic control on FlexRay
FlexRay 2.1 over AMBA AHB, for control traffic that has to arrive on a fixed schedule. Need bandwidth? Two independent channels carry 20 Mbit/s. Need fault tolerance? Run the pair redundant at 10 Mbit/s each.
Low-cost edge nodes on LINFlexD
LINFlexD runs LIN 1.3 to 2.2 as master or slave, up to 20 kbit/s. Use it for actuators, switches and buttons that don’t justify a CAN node.
Controllers by network role
Configuration moves you through each gate range: FlexRay spans about 77k gates at 4 message buffers to 141k at 252.
| NETWORK ROLE | CONTROLLER | PROTOCOL AND INTERFACE | ISO 26262 | GATE COUNT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High-throughput CAN traffic | FlexCAN, 70017 | CAN 2.0B, Full-CAN with CAN FD, IPS / APB | Proven in Use | 25k–61k |
| Gateways between CAN buses | MultiCAN, 70034 | CAN 2.0B, Full-CAN, Twin CAN, TTCAN, IPS / APB | Proven in Use | 34k–87k |
| Deterministic control | FlexRay, 70018 | FlexRay 2.1, AMBA AHB | Proven in Use | 76k–141k |
| Low-cost edge nodes | LINFlexD, 70052 | LIN 1.3, 2.0, 2.1 and 2.2, IPS / APB | Proven in Use | 22k–23k |
Under ISO 26262 Part 8, all four carry Proven in Use status. It rests on hundreds of millions of units in production vehicle platforms.
Vehicle functions it's built for
Steer-by-wire, brake-by-wire and chassis control
ASIL-B functions where communication has to survive a fault
CAN and CAN FD networks
FlexCAN and MultiCAN, built to ISO 11898-1
Zonal and distributed E/E designs
MultiCAN gateways pass frames between the CAN buses each zone runs
Actuators, switches and buttons
LINFlexD nodes on LIN 2.x, where cost decides the bus
Mixed data-rate traffic
FlexCAN optimizes traffic by running classic and CAN FD frames on one bus
Scope the network before tape-out
Which buses does your SoC join, and at what ASIL level? Start with those two answers. You’ll
sort out the ISO 26262 safety documentation, the evaluation and the license for your
automotive networking IP with one team.
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