A power and data center (PDC) can serve as a combined data concentrator and power distributor that delivers scalable and affordable network/power redundancy into an automotive electrical/electronic architecture (E/EA) that supports partially or fully autonomous vehicles. In some embodiments, a vehicle that includes the smart E/EA is divided into zones, where each zone includes one or more PDCs and one or more sensors, actuators, controllers, loudspeakers or other devices that are coupled to and powered by their zone PDC(s). Each PDC collects and processes (or passes through) raw or pre-processed sensor data from the one or more sensors in its zone. The sensors provide their data to the PDC by way of cost efficient, short-range data links. In some embodiments, one or more actuators in each zone are coupled to their respective zone PDC, and receive their control data from the PDC over a high-speed data bus or data link.

A method is described for identifying communication-ready data bus subscribers connected to a local bus. The method comprises receiving, at a local bus master, at least one data packet transmitted via the local bus, wherein the at least one data packet received at the local bus master comprises an address of a communication-ready data bus subscriber among a plurality of communication-ready data bus subscribers in the local bus, wherein the communication-ready data bus subscriber is in a sequence of communication-ready data bus subscribers, and mapping of the received address by the local bus master to a relative position of the communication-ready data bus subscriber in the sequence of communication-ready data bus subscribers in the local bus. In addition, a local bus master of the local bus is described.

A method for operating a local bus, in particular a ring bus, including data bus participants, as well as a local bus master are described. The method comprises transmitting a first identifier of a cycle frame, the first identifier defining the beginning of the cycle frame; transmitting process data and management data over the local bus, the process data and management data being transmitted within the cycle frame, at least one isochronous data packet containing the process data being transmitted in a first time interval for the first identifier, and, if management data is transmitted within the cycle frame, this management data is transmitted separately from the process data.

A device for coupling a fieldbus to a local bus for connection to at least one data bus subscriber, the device comprising a first unit that is connectable to the fieldbus and is adapted for sending and receiving data via the fieldbus; a second unit that is connectable to the local bus and is adapted for sending and receiving data via the local bus in at least one data packet; a data management unit that is connected to the first unit and the second unit, wherein the data management unit is adapted for transferring first symbols from data received via said first unit to said second unit in a sequence-dependent manner; and wherein the second unit is adapted to send at least one data packet including the first symbols on the local bus. In addition, a corresponding method for transferring data is described.

A method and a data bus subscriber are described for processing process data in a local bus, in particular a ring bus, the method including receiving a first symbol during a first number of working cycles, with the first symbol comprising first process data; loading at least one first instruction from an instruction list during the first number of working cycles, receiving a second symbol during a second number of working cycles, with the second symbol comprising second process data, processing the first process data contained in the first symbol with the at least one loaded first instruction during the second number of working cycles, and loading at least one second instruction for processing the second process data of the second symbol during the second number of working cycles.

A data bus subscriber and a method for processing data, wherein the data bus subscriber can be connected to a local bus, particularly a ring bus, and the data bus subscriber has an input interface, which can be connected to the local bus, for receiving first local bus data, an output interface, which can be connected to the local bus, for transmitting second local bus data, a processing component for synchronous processing of the first local bus data and/or data stored in a memory and for output of at least one control signal, a logic unit, which is adapted in order to modify a quantity of received first local bus data based on the control signal in order to generate the second local bus data to be transmitted, wherein the logic unit is further adapted for synchronous, delayed transmitting of the second local bus data via the output interface.

Embodiments of the present disclosure disclose a method for transmitting a clock packet. The method includes: a first network element generates a first clock packet, where the first clock packet includes a first source identity and first clock information, and the first source identity is used to indicate a device that provides the first clock information. The first network element sends the first clock packet to a second network element forming a ring network with the first network element. The first network element receives a second clock packet sent by the second network element, where the second clock packet includes a second source identity and second clock information, and the second source identity is used to indicate a device that provides the second clock information. The first network element skips tracking the second clock information after determining that the second source identity is the same as the first source identity.

Techniques are described for detecting egress network devices of a point-to-multipoint (P2MP) label switched path (LSP). For example, a network device may include one or more processors configured to identify a P2MP LSP for receiving multicast traffic from a multicast source for a specific multicast group for which the network device has an interested receiver, wherein the network device is to be an egress network device of the P2MP LSP; and send, to an ingress network device of the P2MP LSP, a P2MP egress identification message to add the network device as an egress network device of the P2MP LSP, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to output the P2MP egress identification message into a multipoint-to-point (MP2P) ring LSP for which the ingress network device of the P2MP LSP is a sole egress network device of the MP2P ring LSP.

A device for coupling a fieldbus to a local bus for connection to at least one data bus subscriber, the device comprising a first unit that is connectable to the fieldbus and is adapted for sending and receiving data via the fieldbus; a second unit that is connectable to the local bus and is adapted for sending and receiving data via the local bus in at least one data packet; a data management unit that is connected to the first unit and the second unit, wherein the data management unit is adapted for transferring first symbols from data received via said first unit to said second unit in a sequence-dependent manner; and wherein the second unit is adapted to send at least one data packet including the first symbols on the local bus. In addition, a corresponding method for transferring data is described.

Techniques are described for detecting egress network devices of a point-to-multipoint (P2MP) label switched path (LSP). For example, a network device may include one or more processors configured to identify a P2MP LSP for receiving multicast traffic from a multicast source for a specific multicast group for which the network device has an interested receiver, wherein the network device is to be an egress network device of the P2MP LSP; and send, to an ingress network device of the P2MP LSP, a P2MP egress identification message to add the network device as an egress network device of the P2MP LSP, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to output the P2MP egress identification message into a multipoint-to-point (MP2P) ring LSP for which the ingress network device of the P2MP LSP is a sole egress network device of the MP2P ring LSP.