Real-time On-Chip traffic monitoring in an automotive network device
A network device, for use in an automotive network, includes a semiconductor die, network-device circuitry and an on-chip traffic monitor. The network-device circuitry is disposed on the die and is configured to transfer traffic of the automotive network. The on-chip traffic monitor is disposed on the die and is configured to monitor the traffic traversing the network-device circuitry from one or more sources in the automotive network to one or more destinations in the automotive network, and to detect a performance degradation in the network-device circuitry by analyzing the monitored traffic.
1 . A network device for use in an automotive network, the network device comprising:
a semiconductor die;
network-device circuitry, disposed on the die and configured to transfer traffic of the automotive network; and
an on-chip traffic monitor, disposed on the die and configured to monitor the traffic traversing the network-device circuitry from one or more sources in the automotive network to one or more destinations in the automotive network, and to detect a performance degradation in the network-device circuitry by analyzing the monitored traffic.
2 . The network device according to claim 1 , wherein the on-chip traffic monitor is configured to select a traffic flow from within the traffic, and to detect the performance degradation in the selected traffic flow.
3 . The network device according to claim 1 , wherein the network-device circuitry comprises:
multiple port circuits, disposed on the die and configured to transmit receive packets over the automotive network;
a switch fabric, disposed on the die and configured to forward the packets between the port circuits; and
interconnection circuitry, disposed on the die and configured to connect the switch fabric to a host via a peripheral bus,
wherein the on-chip traffic monitor is coupled to the interconnection circuitry.
4 . The network device according to claim 3 , wherein the on-chip traffic monitor is configured to identify, in the traffic, a traffic flow associated with a given bus function of the peripheral bus, and to detect the performance degradation by analyzing the identified traffic flow separately from one or more other traffic flows.
5 . The network device according to claim 3 , wherein the interconnection circuitry comprises a plurality of Direct Memory Access (DMA) engines, and wherein the on-chip traffic monitor is configured to identify, in the traffic, a traffic flow associated with a given DMA engine in the plurality, and to detect the performance degradation by analyzing the identified traffic flow separately from one or more other traffic flows.
6 . The network device according to claim 1 , wherein the on-chip traffic monitor is configured to:
identify, in the traffic, a traffic flow associated with one of (i) a virtual circuit, (ii) a port circuit among the port circuits, (iii) Time-Sensitive Network (TSN) traffic, (i) a defined memory region in a memory of the host, and (v) Message-Signaled Interrupt (MSI) traffic; and
detect the performance degradation by analyzing the identified traffic flow separately from one or more other traffic flows.
7 . The network device according to claim 1 , wherein the on-chip traffic monitor comprises one or more hardware counters, the on-chip traffic monitor configured to assign a hardware counter among the hardware counters for measuring a traffic throughput of a selected traffic flow within the traffic.
8 . The network device according to claim 7 , wherein the on-chip traffic monitor is configured to measure the traffic throughput by counting, using the hardware counter, a traffic volume of the selected traffic flow over a defined measurement period.
9 . The network device according to claim 1 , wherein the on-chip traffic monitor is configured to notify a host in response to detecting the performance degradation.
10 . The network device according to claim 9 , wherein the on-chip traffic monitor is configured to notify the host of the performance degradation within less than 100 microseconds from occurrence of the performance degradation.
11 . The network device according to claim 1 , wherein the on-chip traffic monitor is configured to detect the performance degradation by analyzing one or more of latencies, changes to intra-packet spacing, dropped packets, data corruption and traffic throughput exhibited in the monitored traffic.
12 . A method of traffic monitoring in a network device of an automotive network, the method comprising:
using network-device circuitry disposed on a semiconductor die, transferring traffic of the automotive network; and
using an on-chip traffic monitor disposed on the semiconductor die, monitoring the traffic traversing the network-device circuitry from one or more sources in the automotive network to one or more destinations in the automotive network, and detecting a performance degradation in the network-device circuitry by analyzing the monitored traffic.
13 . The method of traffic monitoring according to claim 12 , wherein detecting the performance degradation comprises selecting a traffic flow from within the traffic, and detecting the performance degradation in the selected traffic flow.
14 . The method of traffic monitoring according to claim 12 , wherein:
transferring the traffic comprises (i) transmitting and receiving packets over the automotive network using multiple port circuits disposed on the die, (ii) forwarding the packets between the port circuits using a switch fabric disposed on the die, and (iii) using interconnection circuitry disposed on the die, connecting the switch fabric to a host via a peripheral bus; and
monitoring the traffic comprises monitoring the traffic traversing the interconnection circuitry.
15 . The method of traffic monitoring according to claim 14 , wherein detecting the performance degradation comprises identifying, in the traffic, a traffic flow associated with a given bus function of the peripheral bus, and detecting the performance degradation by analyzing the identified traffic flow separately from one or more other traffic flows.
16 . The method of traffic monitoring according to claim 14 , wherein the interconnection circuitry includes a plurality of Direct Memory Access (DMA) engines, and wherein detecting the performance degradation comprises identifying, in the traffic, a traffic flow associated with a given DMA engine in the plurality, and detecting the performance degradation by analyzing the identified traffic flow separately from one or more other traffic flows.
17 . The method of traffic monitoring according to claim 12 , wherein detecting the performance degradation comprises:
identifying, in the traffic, a traffic flow associated with one of (i) a virtual circuit, (ii) a port circuit among the port circuits, (iii) Time-Sensitive Network (TSN) traffic, (i) a defined memory region in a memory of the host, and (v) Message-Signaled Interrupt (MSI) traffic; and
detecting the performance degradation by analyzing the identified traffic flow separately from one or more other traffic flows.
18 . The method of traffic monitoring according to claim 12 , wherein monitoring the traffic comprises assigning a hardware counter, from among one or more hardware counters, for measuring a traffic throughput of a selected traffic flow within the traffic.
19 . The method of traffic monitoring according to claim 18 , wherein monitoring the traffic comprises measuring the traffic throughput by counting, using the hardware counter, a traffic volume of the selected traffic flow over a defined measurement period.
20 . The method of traffic monitoring according to claim 12 , wherein detecting the performance degradation comprises analyzing one or more of latencies, changes to intra-packet spacing, dropped packets, data corruption and traffic throughput exhibited in the monitored traffic.