SPRT769 December   2023 AM2431 , AM2432 , AM2434 , AM6421 , AM6422 , AM6441 , AM6442

 

  1.   1
  2.   Abstract
  3. 1 Introduction
  4. 2 Industrial Communications Terminology
  5. 3 Industrial Communication Feature Support
  6. 4 Industrial Communications Device Support
  7. 5 Industrial Communications Controller Support
  8. 6 PRP Support
  9. 7 HSR Support
  10. 8 TSN Support
  11. 9 Summary
  12. 10Additional Resources

3 Industrial Communication Feature Support

The AM243x MCU and AM64x processor series include a number of different configurations that support a broad range of application and performance requirements. The number of processing CPU cores, industrial communication support, peripheral mix, and functional safety support vary based on the device option selected.

The level of industrial communication support for a given AM243x MCU or AM64x processor is indicated by the feature code of the device, which is the ninth digit of the part number. There are four levels of support indicated by the letters C, D, E, and F. For example, the "F" in the part number AM6442BSFGHAALV indicates that the device supports industrial communication protocols and includes TI's industrial communication software stacks.

Table 3-1 lists the industrial communication feature options and associated hardware and software support available for the AM243x and AM64x series.

Table 3-1 Industrial Communication Product Feature Options

Feature Option

FeatureComment
C2 × programmable real-time unit subsystems

Up to 80 real-time GPIOs with 3-ns toggles and 6-ns ISR. Direct connect to ADCs or other devices eliminating the need for small FPGAs. Industrial communication protocols, standard Ethernet and motor control features are not enabled but the CPSW Ethernet switch is enabled.

DOption C + hardware support for industrial communication protocols

Adds support for the ICSSG industrial communication feature set which includes support for industrial communications via 4 × ICSSG 10/100/1000 Ethernet MAC ports (MII and RGMII interfaces), 36 × sigma delta decimation filters, and 12 × multiprotocol encoder interfaces (HDSL, EnDAT 2.2, Tamagawa, and so forth)

Note:

ICSSG feature set support is dependent on how the device is configured and corresponding availability of pins and pin MUX options.

EOption D + EtherCAT and CAN-FD supportAdds EtherCAT Device hardware accelerator and CAN-FD support; EtherCAT Device and CAN-FD licenses are included in purchase price. Feature option E or F is required to run the EtherCAT Device protocol
FOption E + TI industrial communication protocol softwareIncludes EtherNet/IP, EtherCAT, PROFINET RT and IRT Device, and IO-Link Controller certified industrial networking software stacks (R5F binaries)

The following definitions are provided for reference:

    CPSWStands for Common Platform SWitch. The CPSW supports up to 2 × independent 10/100/1000Mbps Ethernet MACs or a single 3-port 10/100/1000Mbps Ethernet switch (2 external + 1 internal port). The CPSW module supports TSN.
    ICSSGStands for Industrial Communication SubSystem Gigabit. The ICSSG is a software programmable real-time processing module with Ethernet and industrial communication hardware accelerators. The ICSSG supports 10/100/1000Mbps Ethernet and industrial communication Device protocols. Each ICSSG module can support up to 2 × independent Ethernet ports or a single 3-port Ethernet switch (2 external + 1 internal port). TI provides ICSSG firmware binaries for many industrial communication protocols in the Software Development Kit (SDK) which can be run on device feature option F. The ICSSG module supports TSN.

Figure 3-1 shows the key functional blocks of the AM64x processor that support industrial communication protocols. The AM243x MCU is identical to the AM64x processor, except the AM243x does not have the Arm® Cortex® -A53 CPU cores and therefore cannot support Linux®-based protocol software stacks.

GUID-20231113-SS0I-6CMB-BTTZ-0V2HT2ZHT8T5-low.svgFigure 3-1 AM64x Block Diagram

The AM64x block diagram is described in the following list:

  • AM64x, AM243x support up to 5 × 1Gbps Ethernet ports (There are 6 Ethernet MACs but due to pin MUX limitations only 5 external ports can be supported)
  • PRU-ICSSG is a firmware-based module that supports 1Gbps Device, Controller, TSN, and standard Ethernet. Can be configured as a 3-port switch (2 × external + 1 × internal port) or 2 independent ports.
  • CPSW is a hard IP Ethernet module that supports1Gbps Controller, TSN, and standard Ethernet. Can be configured as 3-port switch (2 × external + 1 × internal port) or 2 independent ports.
  • Industrial Communication Device protocols run on the R5Fs
  • Industrial Communication Controller protocols run on either A53s or R5Fs
  • 1Gbps HSR and PRP only runs on the PRU-ICSSG and A53
  • When configured as a switch, both the PRU-ICSSG and CPSW support cut-through switching.