Enabling Network Diagnostics in Time-Sensitive Networking: Protocol, Algorithm, and Hardware

Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) is foreseen as a foundational technology that enables Industry 4.0. It offers deterministic data transmission over Ethernet for critical applications such as industrial control and automotive systems. However, TSN is susceptible to hardware and software errors, necessitating an effective diagnostic system. Traditional network diagnostic tools are inadequate for TSN fault localization due to the unique characteristics of TSN. In response, this paper presents TSNCard, a cross-cycle postcard-based diagnostic system tailored for TSN. TSNCard introduces a novel telemetry protocol that leverages the cyclical nature of TSN networks for data collection at each node. This protocol, coupled with dedicated analytic algorithms and hardware innovations within switches, forms a comprehensive system for TSN monitoring and fault localization. Extensive experiments on both simulation and physical testbeds show that TSNCard can 100% localize the root cause of the TSN misbehavior while adhering to industrial bandwidth restrictions. TSNCard not only bridges the gap in the TSN protocol stack, but also serves as a versatile toolkit for time-synchronized network analysis, paving the way for future research.