Renesas Electronics RZN series of microprocessors ：accelerate the develpment of industrial network application

Supports Real-Time Industrial Network Protocols and Network Redundancy Protocols on a Single Chip to Meet Industry 4.0 Specifications

Renesas Electronics (China) Co., Ltd. ("Renesas Electronics"), a subsidiary of Renesas Electronics Corp., a leading global semiconductor solution provider, today announced the release of the new RZ / N Series Industrial Networking Communication Microprocessor ) To simplify web-based application development. The RZ / N series is ideal for industrial network equipment such as network switches, gateways, programmable logic controllers (PLCs), operator terminals and remote I / O units.
RZ / N combines multiple industrial networking technologies in a single chip, enabling system builders to develop systems that support a wide range of industrial networking protocols and network redundancy protocols in less time. Renesas Electronics also offers a wealth of ecosystem support to facilitate software development for system builders by providing a common application programming interface (API), in addition to the compiler and operating system environment, Uniform support is provided by the network protocol stack implemented by the industry-leading Renesas Electronics partner. The RZ / N family includes three scalable product groups: RZ / N1D for high-end applications, RZ / N1S for mid-range applications, and RZ / N1L for low-end applications.
With the recent introduction of factory network connectivity improvements in Industry 4.0, there is a growing need for network devices capable of supporting real-time processing, protocol gateway functionality, protected network functions, and industrial network protocols that support network redundancy protocols to ensure high reliability And efficient communication.

Due to factors such as time constraints and network control technologies, existing plant networks consist of on-site networks that enable communication between control devices and other devices and control networks that enable communication between control devices and other control devices. Field networks require real-time control and use real-time industrial network protocols such as EtherCAT®, EtherNet / IP ™, ETHERNETPowerlink®, PROFINET®, Sercos® and CANopen®. In contrast, priority-aware control networks use network redundancy protocols such as Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP), Parallel Redundancy Protocol (PRP), and High Availability Seamless Redundancy Protocol (HSR).

So far, there has been almost no progress towards unifying these two types of networks, which means that it is necessary to use components that support one or another of the available protocols when developing network equipment.

The new RZ / N series was developed for this situation as a single-chip solution that will greatly simplify the development of industrial networking equipment by supporting live network real-time protocols and controlling network redundancy protocols.

The main features of the new RZ / N series:

Multi-core ARM architecture with integrated R-IN engine (Note 1) and 5-port Gigabit Ethernet switch for single-chip support for leading industrial networking protocols and network redundancy protocols

The new RZ / N Series integrates an R-IN engine with Arm® Cortex®-M3 processor and a five-port Ethernet switch with advanced network management capabilities for real-time processing of communication data and operation of redundant protocols. The R-IN engine increases power consumption and throughput, reduces jitter and is successfully implemented in existing products and will be further developed in the future. RZ / N series Renesas microcontrollers support a variety of industrial network protocols and network redundancy protocols.

Ecosystems that support efficient software development

To assist system builders in their evaluation, Renesas Electronics is preparing to install the new RZ / N series of CPU modules, boards with various peripheral functions, and a configured solution suite including operating systems from Renesas Electronics partners And protocol stack sample software.

In addition, to facilitate the implementation of industrial network protocols such as EtherCAT®, EtherNet / IP ™, Ethernet POWERLINK®, PROFINET®, Sercos® and CANopen® (Note 2) on new equipment, Renesas Electronics is working with industry-leading protocol providers Collaboration provides system developers with protocol stacks such as PORT GmbH, TMG Technologie und Engineering GmbH, CANNON-Automata and Net Module.

Renesas Electronics provides unified support for a variety of industrial network protocols by providing a common abstraction layer API without compromise on performance. With this API, system developers can combine supported protocols as needed to minimize the impact on applications and reduce development time for industrial network devices by up to 50%. In addition, system developers will be able to leverage the IAR Embedded Workbench® and OS environments from IAR Systems®, including Linux® from Wind River®, VxWorks®, and ThreadLogic® from Express Logic (Note 4), to support the development of complex applications.

Series includes three product groups that range from high-end to low-end

The new RZ / N series enables scalability by providing a unified architecture that supports multiple capabilities. System manufacturers can choose the processor that can easily reuse the knowledge of existing software resources to meet the specific needs of the application.

The RZ / N1D team features dual ARM® Cortex®-A7 cores for high-end applications such as network switches, PLCs and gateways. The RZ / N1S group uses a single Arm® Cortex®-A7 core for mid-range applications such as Nano PLCs and operator terminals. Finally, the RZ / N1L group is primarily intended for use with slave devices such as industrial equipment communication modules or remote I / O units to enable system developers to develop more compact, low cost devices.

Renesas Electronics is using the new RZ / N Series as a single-chip solution to support leading industrial networking protocols and the latest network redundancy protocols used in the factory network.

Availability

The sample and solution package for the RZ / N1D will begin shipping in November 2017. Samples and solution kits for the RZ / N1S and RZ / N1L groups are expected to be available in the first half of 2018. Sample software and protocol stacks will also be provided with the evaluation board. The Renesas Electronics Software Partner's protocol stack will also begin shipping in November 2017. (Delivery schedules will vary by country, and are subject to change without notice.)

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  Author ：Brittany Antonia — WIN SOURCE ELECTRONICS 

 （The author of article owns the copyright.）