A Turning point for mass adoption? Also talk about single pair Ethernet
Single pair Ethernet (SPE) technology has been mentioned more and more frequently in recent years. At this year’s Hannover MESse, companies and organizations showcased a range of the latest SPE-related technologies and products. As an open, cost-effective, and future-proof technology, single-pair Ethernet appears to have reached a turning point in terms of standards development, supporting organizations, and compatible products.
What is single pair Ethernet?
The so-called single pair Ethernet, as the name suggests, is that compared with the previous need for two pairs of twisted pair data transmission fast Ethernet or four pairs of twisted pair gigabit Ethernet, single pair Ethernet data transmission only requires a pair of twisted pair (single pair), and even support through the data line (PoDL) power supply, that is, only two cables can provide data and power transmission. This opens up new opportunities for the wiring of compact devices, sensors and actuators in the field layer.
This thin, lightweight yet powerful connectivity solution enables industry to digitize at the field level and is therefore considered an infrastructure for the Industrial Internet of Things.
In fact, SPE is not a very new technology, it originated from Broadcom’s Broad Reach technology. More than a decade ago, the Controller Local Area network (CAN) bus used by the automotive industry was unable to meet the requirements of software-defined and connected vehicles due to its relatively low bandwidth and limited scalability, so automakers began to turn to SPE technology.
But for a longer period of time, SPE was not well known outside the automotive industry, and then the industrial field looked at it, well, this technology is very much to our appetite, and almost meets all the requirements of industrial communications in the context of digital transformation. As a result, more and more industrial enterprises began to adopt and promote this technology.
It’s not hard to see why. In the era of industrial digitalization, with the development of the industrial Internet of Things, it is becoming more and more difficult for equipment using bus technology at the previous field layer to meet the requirements of big data transmission, and it also requires a variety of protocol conversion equipment to access the upper industrial Ethernet, which not only increases the complexity of the network, but also increases the workload and cost of system integration. The SPE only needs a single pair of cables to achieve long-distance data transmission and power over Ethernet, extending the Ethernet coverage to the industrial site, realizing the full connection of devices, and building a truly unified industrial network.
SPE is based on IEEE 802.3 Ethernet, the gateway less IP protocol and communication architecture that is now the standard. By enabling seamless connectivity of all communication participants based on the same protocol language and unified interface, SPE is an enabler of the Industrial Internet of Things and Industry 4.0, offering many advantages over traditional Ethernet solutions:
More cost effective
Widely used in the industry
Compact, easy to install and future-proof
Data and power are transmitted via a pair of cables
Can be easily integrated into existing systems
Flexible transmission speed and cable length
Connect from the network edge to the cloud
…
The development of technology is inseparable from the development of international standards, SPE has been strongly supported by the International Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), IEEE 802.3 defines the SPE standard, which describes the technical framework for Ethernet data transmission through a single pair of wires, the difference in data transmission rate and distance, to suit different application scenarios.