4 Automotive Ethernet Converters & Network Adapters from our CruEther Product Family

Automotive Ethernet is becoming increasingly important in the automotive industry. The focus of validation and testing is shifting towards this technology. We have 4 small products that will make the heart of every test engineer and tinkerer beat faster. In this blog post, we introduce you to our CruEther product family, what features they have, where they are used and what ideas we have for future CruEther models.

Written by Danny Meyer

Where does the name CruEther come from?

Many of you have probably wondered where the name CruEther comes from and how it is pronounced. The name of the product family goes back to “cruiser”, a term that is often used for a certain motorcycle category. They are characterized by a quiet yet powerful riding style. In terms of their external appearance, they are often highly individualized and offer a wide range of accessories. We think cruisers and their features are great, which is why we have used their name as the basis for the name of a new product family.

But that’s not all. If you take a closer look, there is another component hidden in the name: “Ethernet”. And because we are talking about Automotive Ethernet Media Converters & Network Adapters, we merged the two parts to create “CruEther”. So that you don’t get a knot in your tongue, the product name is pronounced [ˈkɹuzə˞ ] like the cruiser motorcycles.

What are CruEthers used for?

Our new products are designed for maximum simplicity in analyzing, accessing, calibrating, diagnosing and updating Automotive Ethernet vehicle data. The CruEther product family includes media converters and network adapters. These small pluggable products aim to convert automotive Ethernet to standard Ethernet or can be connected as network adapters via USB to commercially available laptops/PCs where software tools such as CANoe run for further processing.

How does the CruEther product family look like?

If there is one key feature within the CruEther product family, it is its compact size and ease of use. But let’s take a deeper look at how the CruEther Media Converters differ from the Network Adapters.

1. CruEther Media Converter

We currently have two CruEther Media Converters on offer, a multigigabit variant up to 10 Gbps and a variant up to 1 Gbps. Both have the typical look of familiar SFP transceiver modules and fulfill the requirements of SFF.

Pocket Size Design

Many Automotive Ethernet Converters available on the market have a large form factor. Our CruEther models fit in every trouser pocket, which was very important to us. As a result, the devices take up hardly any space and can be seamlessly integrated into existing systems, also to comply with SFF requirements (SFF-8432, SFF-8472).

Configurability

The CruEther 10G SFP & CruEther 1G SFP have a DIP switch (dual in-line package) on the underside to make changes to the basic settings, such as speed grade or the operation mode (master/slave).

Network Security

The devices comply with IEEE 802.1AE, also known as MACsec (Media Access Control security). This standard enables network participants to authenticate themselves and encrypt data packets.

Sleep & Wake-up

Both devices, the CruEther 10G SFP and the CruEther 1G SFP, support the sleep and wake-up requirements according to the Automotive Ethernet Standard TC10 of the OPEN Alliance. This specification defines a controlled shutdown of the connection and a fast global wake-up within an Automotive Ethernet network. Network management can thus realize partial networking, in which only selected parts of a network are active. This is enormously important in the automotive sector, where power consumption is a major consideration.

2. CruEther Network Adapter

With our CruEther Network Adapters, it was also important to us that they could be easily integrated into existing systems thanks to their small size. This also makes them look much nicer, even when used at a desk and plugged into a laptop.

Pocket Size Design

An important rule we follow in our CruEther product family is that all devices are small enough to fit in your pocket. For this reason, the CruEther Network Adapters are not much bigger than a typical USB stick.

Configurability

The CruEther 100M USB & CruEther 1G USB also have the option of being configured via a switch on the underside to make changes to the basic settings. This allows both devices to be configured in the operating mode (master/slave).

Compatibility

All CruEther network adapters comply with the OPEN Alliance SIG to meet the industrial requirements of the automotive industry. Since the devices use a standard LAN78xx drivers network interface, they are automatically recognized by Windows and Linux when using a standard USB3.1 port on your laptop/PC. Many of our customers use the devices together with powerful software tools such as CANoe. You can find out how this works in our application notes, which are available on our Download Center.

Outlook

We are constantly evaluating new technologies and consolidating the market in order to be able to offer our customers the right products. Of course, this also applies to the CruEther product family. We are currently investigating other Single Pair Ethernet (SPE) standards according to IEEE 802.3 such as 10BASE-T1S and 10BASE-T1L, both with a transmission rate of 10 Mbps.

We are also evaluating new industrial connectors in accordance with the IEC 63171 standard and the possibility of supplying power to end devices such as sensors, actuators and ECUs via Power over Data Line (PoDL). So stay tuned to see what’s coming next and check out our LinkedIn and youtube channel or follow our blog posts.