Avnu Alliance, the industry forum help to drive deterministic capabilities into open, standards-based networking, hosted its first European plugfest in recent years at one of its Registered Test Facilities, GRL Laboratories in Karlsruhe, Germany this past May where 12 member companies came together to further develop and test TSN products and devices, along with new devices now able to be certified under the Advanced Milan Certification Program.
During the plugfest Avnu members continued work on the integration and validation of IEEE 802.1AS time synchronization test development, with the certification program targeted to open for members this year. This work will is intended to lay the framework for time distribution, including media specific support for Ethernet and Wi-Fi. Plugfest testing also included the introduction of initial Wireless TSN test development over Wi-Fi, as well as the introduction of initial 802.1Qbv/.3br wired test for bounded latency through traffic shaping and scheduling with the certification program targeted to open for members by the end of this year. Data from the event will be used to refine these test plans.
This plugfest was the first since the Milan Advanced Certification Program opened certification testing for bridged end stations, pro audio end devices with a small bridge that meet Milan specifications. Avnu members with those devices were welcomed to participate with their devices and will be invited to future plugfests.
“Our most recent plugfest demonstrates Avnu’s continued momentum and growth in making pre-certification and certification testing easier and faster for member companies,” says Ed Agis, certification work group co-chair. “We are committed to helping manufacturers who are implementing TSN ensure interoperability.”
Avnu’s next plugfest is planned for July 2022.
“As a company we get a lot of benefits from the plugfests,” states Morten Lave of Adamson Systems Engineering. “This latest one was no exception and GRL did an excellent job hosting. We will definitely participate in future events.”
“Certification for compliance is very important for users to know that devices will ‘just work out of the box.’ Plugfests allow an easy way to quickly find rare edge cases before customers discover them. And they are a way to share ideas and solutions within the open standards community,” adds Richard Bugg, digital products solutions architect, Meyer Sound.
