Simulation based Timing Analysis of FlexRay Communication at System Level

In modern cars the communication infrastructure consists of different application specific bus systems that are interconnected with each other. Due to the growing complexity of the communication infrastructure, the corresponding timing analysis at system level is currently a hot topic in the automotive industry. FlexRay is a state-of-the-art fieldbus for cars. While FlexRay simulations below system level are already established in automotive tool chains, FlexRay system level simulation is not yet common. This paper focuses on simulation-based timing analyses for FlexRay communication. Based on different scenarios the practical relevance is shown. The performance results promise that our simulation approach is a good building block for the simulation of heterogeneous communication consisting of several bus systems and technologies. An evaluation of the simulation results in comparison with the CANoe network simulator proves the conformance of the implementation with the FlexRay specification.