Can vs. Ethernet in Automotive Systems

Summary

This video delves into the comparison between CAN (Controller Area Network) and Ethernet in automotive systems, exploring their roles as layer 1 & 2 network protocols responsible for node-to-node communication and error checking. Initially developed by Bosch in the 1980s, CAN was tailored for the increasing amount of car computers, whereas Ethernet was more suited for offices back then. However, Ethernet is now prevalent in modern vehicles, especially for high-bandwidth systems such as infotainment and ADAS. The video highlights their differences across five aspects: physical wires and data rates, network flow and congestion control, network addressing, prioritization and quality of service, and security and application development. CAN stands out for its real-time performance and reliability, while Ethernet offers superior bandwidth and security features—measures crucial for autonomous driving and infotainment.

Highlights

• Cars utilize both CAN and Ethernet for inter-device communication, with unique roles and efficiencies. 🚘🔗
• CAN operates with a single twisted pair wire and up to 15 Mbps data rate with CAN-FD, whereas Ethernet, using more wires, offers higher data rates. 📶📡
• Ethernet supports full-duplex communications and excellent congestion control across automotive networks. 🚥🔛
• CAN and Ethernet differ in addressing: CAN uses message IDs for priority, and Ethernet uses MAC addresses for direct device communication. 🛠️🖧
• Ethernet outperforms CAN in bandwidth and security, ideal for high-demand systems like ADAS and infotainment. 🌐🔍

Key Takeaways

• CAN and Ethernet both ensure communication in automotive systems but differ in style and capacity. 🚗💻
• CAN reaches 1 Mbps while Ethernet can hit data rates up to 10 Gbps, making Ethernet essential for high-bandwidth systems. 📈🔌
• Where CAN uses message priority and broadcasting, Ethernet leverages MAC addresses for device communication. 🔄
• Ethernet provides robust security protocols, unlike CAN, catering to networks needing higher protective measures. 🔐
• Overall, CAN is favored for reliability and real-time response, whereas Ethernet is chosen for data-heavy services. ⚡🚀

Overview

In the dynamic realm of automotive systems, CAN (Controller Area Network) and Ethernet offer distinct yet pivotal roles within vehicle communication networks. Initially developed by Bosch, CAN primarily supports low-data-rate yet high-reliability environments, being a stalwart in real-time performance demands. On the other hand, Ethernet's evolution allows it to handle high-bandwidth needs, pivotal for modern infotainment and advanced driver-assisted systems, making it an increasingly common choice in today's cars.

CAN and Ethernet differ in how they tackle various networking elements like physical wiring and data rates. CAN typically utilizes a single twisted pair operating at up to 1 Mbps, upgraded with CAN-FD to reach 15 Mbps, while Ethernet employs more wires to achieve breathtaking speeds up to 10 Gbps. Additionally, Ethernet supports full-duplex communications alongside sophisticated congestion control mechanisms, ensuring smoother data flow and network efficiency in comparison to CAN.

Security-wise, Ethernet holds an upper hand with robust protocols covering encryption, authentication, and access control, crucial for modern automotive cyber defense. These secure measures starkly contrast with CAN's limited built-in protections, tailored more for essential real-time functions than for handling extensive data-driven tasks. Ultimately, CAN shines in providing reliable communications for immediate responses, whereas Ethernet's ample bandwidth makes it indispensable for data-intensive applications.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction to CAN and Ethernet This chapter compares CAN (Controller Area Network) and Ethernet, highlighting their roles in automotive, medical systems, and industrial automation. Both protocols facilitate inter-device communication and are layer 1 & 2 network protocols, responsible for data transfer and error checking. CAN was developed by Bosch in the 1980s.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Historical Context and Evolution The chapter "Historical Context and Evolution" discusses the adaptation and integration of Ethernet technology into automotive systems. Initially designed for office and computing environments, Ethernet was not suited for automotive use. However, over time, it has been adapted to support the increasing number of computers within cars. Ethernet is becoming more prevalent in modern cars, particularly for applications requiring high bandwidth, such as infotainment systems and advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS). The chapter concludes with a comparison of the strengths and weaknesses of CAN (Controller Area Network) and Ethernet in the automotive domain.
• 01:00 - 01:30: Strengths and Weaknesses in Automotive This chapter discusses the strengths and weaknesses of different automotive communication technologies. It begins with a comparison of the CAN (Controller Area Network) and Ethernet communication standards, focusing on their physical wire configurations and data transmission rates. The CAN standard uses a single twisted pair of wires and achieves speeds up to 1 megabit per second, with its newer version, CAN-FD, reaching up to 15 megabits per second. On the other hand, Ethernet, which may also utilize a single pair of wires, typically uses four or eight wires. With four wires, Ethernet can support speeds up to 100 megabits per second, while eight wires can achieve data rates as high as 10 gigabytes per second.
• 01:30 - 02:00: Physical Wire and Data Rates The chapter discusses network communication types and their limitations, focusing on half-duplex communication which only allows a device to send or receive at a given time, but not both simultaneously. It also touches upon the absence of congestion control in certain network protocols, meaning there's no mechanism to manage network congestion when capacity is exceeded. Ethernet's support for full-duplex flow control is briefly mentioned.
• 02:00 - 02:30: Network Flow and Congestion Control Chapter Title: Network Flow and Congestion Control Summary: This chapter discusses the abilities of devices to send and receive data simultaneously within Ethernet networks. It highlights Ethernet's advanced congestion control mechanisms, including collision detection and carrier sense multiple access, which allow devices to determine when the communication line is free and to pause transmission if necessary. Additionally, the chapter touches on the differences between CAN and Ethernet in terms of network communication, particularly focusing on how CAN leverages identifiers for message priority and purpose.
• 02:30 - 03:00: Network Addressing Network Addressing: This chapter discusses the different methods of addressing devices in a network. It starts with a basic approach where no specific identifier is used for devices, and messages are broadcasted on the network. Each receiver filters the messages to focus on IDs they care about. It also covers Ethernet addressing, where each device is uniquely identified by a MAC address. This method allows for both broadcasting and direct communication to specific devices. It concludes with a brief mention of prioritization and quality of service in network communication.
• 03:00 - 04:00: Prioritization and Quality of Service The chapter covers the concept of prioritization and Quality of Service in CAN (Controller Area Network) systems. It explains that CAN is optimized for short messages that require real-time performance. In CAN, message priority is determined by the message ID field, where lower numerical values have higher priorities. This prioritization ensures that when two nodes try to communicate simultaneously, the node with the lower identifier wins the arbitration and continues to send its data. It mentions the standard data frame size in CAN is up to 8 bytes, with CAN-FD allowing up to 64 bytes.
• 04:00 - 05:00: Security and Application Development The chapter discusses the differences and capabilities of network communications, particularly focusing on the default byte sizes they can handle. Ethernet frames, unlike CAN messages, can carry up to 1500 bytes and even more with jumbo frames. The chapter delves into IEEE 802.1Q for handling prioritization and quality of service, which involves VLAN tagging and priority fields. Additionally, the Ethernet's ability to meet real-time guarantees through Time Sensitive Networking is highlighted.
• 05:00 - 06:00: TLDR and Conclusion This chapter discusses the advantages of smaller message sizes in CAN systems, which minimize the time each message occupies on the network bus and reduce overall delays. It contrasts this with Ethernet, where larger frames allow for the transmission of more data at once, which is advantageous for data-heavy applications.

Can vs. Ethernet in Automotive Systems Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 You probably know Ethernet, and might have heard cars use something called CAN, but do you know how they compare? Both CAN, the Controller Area Network protocol, and Ethernet are found in settings such as automotive, medical systems, and industrial automation. They both achieve essentially the same goal: interconnecting different devices and enabling those devices to communicate. Both are also layer 1 & 2 network protocols responsible for node-to-node data transfer and error checking. Bosch developed CAN in the 1980s
• 00:30 - 01:00 specifically to support the growing number of computers in a car. At the time, Ethernet was primarily suited to office and computing environments and was not yet adapted to meet the specific needs of automotive systems. Over the years, however, Ethernet technology has evolved, and is becoming more prominent in modern cars, particularly for systems that require higher bandwidth like infotainment systems and advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS). Let’s compare five different strengths and weaknesses of CAN and ethernet in automotive.
• 01:00 - 01:30 One. The physical wire and data rates. CAN uses a single twisted pair of wires, and can operate at speeds up to 1 megabit per second. A newer extension called CAN-FD extends that up to 15 megabits per second. Ethernet can also use a single pair of wires, but typically uses four or eight wires instead. Four wires supports up to 100 megabits per second and 8 wires supports all the way up to 10 gigabytes
• 01:30 - 02:00 per second. Two. Network flow and congestion control CAN comes with half-duplex communication and no real congestion control. Half-duplex means that a device can either send or receive, but can’t do both simultaneously. No congestion control means there is no way to manage or mitigate the impact of network traffic congestion once the network’s capacity is exceeded. Ethernet supports full-duplex flow control,
• 02:00 - 02:30 so devices can both send and receive simultaneously. Ethernet includes superior congestion control, including collision detection and carrier sense multiple access so that devices know when the line is free, and even the ability to ask neighboring devices to pause transmission. Three. Network Addressing CAN and Ethernet differ on how different devices on the network communicate with each other. CAN uses identifiers that describe the message priority and purpose,
• 02:30 - 03:00 but there is no specific identifier for a device. A sender essentially adds a message ID and broadcasts the message on the bus, while receivers filter all bus messages to only those IDs they care about. Ethernet uniquely identifies each device on the network with a MAC address, enabling both broadcast and the ability to directly send data to a specific recipient. Four. Prioritization and quality of service.
• 03:00 - 03:30 CAN shines when you have a short message and need real-time performance. In CAN, data frames can be up to 8 bytes, with the new CAN-FD extensions allowing up to 64 bytes. The message priority is encoded directly in the message ID field, where lower numerical values correspond to higher priorities. That means if two nodes begin communicating at the same time, the node with the lowest identifier has the highest priority and will win the arbitration and continue to send,
• 03:30 - 04:00 while the other backs off. Ethernet frames, however, can carry a whopping 1500 bytes by default, and even more if jumbo frames are enabled. Prioritization and quality of service is handled through IEEE 802.1Q, which introduces VLAN tagging and priority fields in messages. Ethernet can also meet real-time guarantees through the Time Sensitive Networking standard. Overall, CAN messages are relatively short,
• 04:00 - 04:30 and that short size minimizes the time each message occupies on the bus and reduces overall delays before other messages can be sent. Ethernet’s larger frames allow packets to carry more information, which is better for information-heavy services. Five. Security and Application development. CAN requires special network support drivers and libraries on most OSes. On Linux, a popular library choice is the `vcan` kernel module
• 04:30 - 05:00 and the SocketCAN library. SocketCan allows applications to send and receive data over a normal unix RAW socket. Now it’s important to note that CAN-oriented development does not assume or typically include the presence of higher-level protocols like TCP/IP, and provides no built-in security, so if you need reliable communications or built-in security features CAN isn’t the best choice. Ethernet boasts high interoperability and compatibility
• 05:00 - 05:30 across a vast range of operating systems and networking environments. In addition, ethernet assumes the utility and integration with higher level protocols like TCP/IP, and developers typically use those higher level protocols to read and write data rather than dealing with raw ethernet frames or sockets directly. Unlike CAN, ethernet supports a wide range of security protocols at various layers, including encryption, authentication, and network access control, and it also enables better security
• 05:30 - 06:00 at the application level as well. The TLDR is CAN provides inherent real-time capabilities with its arbitration and error handling features, making it ideal for low-data-rate, high-reliability environments where immediate response is crucial. These environments typically also use weaker embedded devices with single purpose-built software like deploying an airbag. Ethernet has much higher data rates with reasonable real-time performance, making it especially attractive
• 06:00 - 06:30 for modern, high-bandwidth services like autonomous driving and infotainment. These environments typically also need faster, modern computers running a full-blown operating system and software stack. So there you have it: CAN versus ethernet. Now, at ForAllSecure, whether you're using the CAN bus or you’re using the ethernet network, our job is to help you protect the software that runs on top. We build tools that help you build more reliable software, get better coverage, and find those new zero day vulnerabilities with zero false positives
• 06:30 - 07:00 before attackers do. Try us out by going to mayhem.security.