As streaming of audio-visual data is becoming more prevalent, it is being adopted for automotive infotainment use, replacing the MOST proprietary bus which is a single source with limited bandwidth, says Micrel. The KSZ84xx Ethernet ICs use EtherSynch which integrates IEEE 1588v2 distributed synchronisation, Ethernet switching, and Precision GPIO. The ICs are claimed to be the most energy efficient IEEE 1588v2 10/100 switch available, supporting both centralised and distributed network topologies. The three switches are particularly suited to distributed network topologies which are preferred for industrial Ethernet networks. There is a three-port switch, the KSZ8463, with MII/RMII interface; the KSX8462, three-port switch with generic host interface for distributed topologies and the single-port KSX8441. The company will also offer a timing protocol software stack, integrated with the driver.
