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Safety-Critical Ethernet/AFDX® Network

Whitepapers, Avionics & Defense

"Avionics Full-Duplex Switched Ethernet" (AFDX), is a specification for a deterministic aircraft data network bus for Aeronautical, Railway and Military systems. The network is based on standard IEEE 802.3 Ethernet technology.

The benefits from using commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) Ethernet components include reduced overall costs, faster system development and less-costly maintenance for the system network. Hardware components, cables and test equipment for Ethernet are field-proven and much more affordable than “built-to-spec” Avionics solutions.

Standard commercial grade Ethernet won’t meet Avionics network requirements. Therefore, AFDX extends the Ethernet standard by adding Quality of Service (QoS) and deterministic behaviour with a guaranteed dedicated bandwidth.

AFDX technology is currently used in the Airbus A380, A350 and A400M as well as in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.


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