Guaranteed real-time services over standard switched Ethernet

In this paper, we contribute with an approach to support guaranteed real-time services over standard switched Ethernet without additional hardware or software modification of the switch and the underlying standard. In our proposal, the traffic differentiation mechanism introduced by the IEEE 802.1D/Q standard and the standard hardware-implemented first come first served (FCFS) priority queuing are used in the switch and the source nodes. We have derived a feasibility analysis algorithm that can be used to ensure that the real-time requirements can be met. The algorithm also gives, as a sub-result, the needed buffer space in the end nodes and the switch. Moreover, our feasibility analysis supports variable-sized frames and switches with different bit-rates ports. The simulation analysis verifies our feasibility analysis