Stochastic network calculus for end-to-end delays distribution evaluation on an avionics switched Ethernet

AFDX (avionics full duplex switched Ethernet, AR-INC 664) used for modern aircraft such as Airbus A380 represents a major upgrade in both bandwidth and capability for aircraft data networks. Its reliance on Ethernet technology helps to lower some of the implementation costs, though the requirement for guaranteed service does present challenges to system designers. Thus, the problem is to prove that no frame will be lost by the network (no switch queue will overflow) and to evaluate the end-to-end transfer delay through the network. Several approaches have been proposed for this evaluation. Deterministic network calculus gives a guaranteed upper bound on end-to-end delays, while simulation produces more accurate results on a given set of scenarios. In this paper, we propose a stochastic network calculus approach in order to evaluate the distribution of end-to-end delays. We evaluate the pessimism of the results on some typical AFDX flows, as described by virtual links.