Real-time industrial network protocols and network redundancy protocols on a single chip

Renesas Electronics has announced the new RZ/N Series of industrial networking communication MPUs that simplifies network-based application development. The series is ideal for use in industrial network devices such as network switches, gateways, PLCs, operator terminals, and remote I/O units. The series brings together multiple industrial networking technologies within a single chip, enabling system manufacturers to develop systems supporting a variety of industrial network protocols and network redundancy protocols in less time. The company also delivers broad ecosystem support to facilitate system manufacturers’ software development by offering a general API that provides a unified support for network protocol stacks implemented by industry-leading partners, in addition to compiler and OS environments. The lineup comprises three product groups for scalability: the RZ/N1D Group for high-end applications, the RZ/N1S Group for mid-range applications, and the RZ/N1L Group for low-end applications. With the recent advancement of Industry 4.0 to implement network connections in factories for increased efficiency, there are growing demands for network devices with support for industrial network protocols enabling real-time processing, protocol gateway functionality, protected networking functionality, and support for network redundancy protocols to ensure highly reliable and efficient communication. The new series was developed in response to this situation as a single-chip solution that will greatly simplify the development of industrial network devices by providing support for both field network real time protocols and control network redundancy protocols.