Volcano Network Architect (VNA)

Volcano Network Architect (VNA) is a CAN and LIN communication design tool that supports system engineering development processes. VNA is a standalone tool suitable for integration in legacy design processes, as well as the ideal foundation for building a system engineering-based communication design process. VNA connects easily to other tools, e.g., enterprise-wide communication databases.

Features

Design Features

  • Automatic and/or manual creation of the communication matrix based on signal timing requirements.
  • Automatic and/or manual gateway definitions
  • Automatic and/or manual schedule table definitions
  • Definition of “fixed” nodes to facilitate handling of “carry over” ECU designs.

Connectivity and General Features

  • Connect to other tools through its import/export interface supporting FIBEX XML, LIN Node Capability File, .dbc
  • Version and variant management of ECUs, signals etc.

Analysis Features

  • Verify that timing requirements of individual signals and/or complete frames are fulfilled by the network design
  • Special support for “framebased” timing to support legacy ECUs where no signal timing information is available.
  • End-to-end timing analysis for data, over several gateways if required.
  • Detects if there is risk for dataloss, like frame being overwritten at the receiver or transmitter.
  • Consistency checks of the communication system

Datasheet

Toolbox

Contact Mentor Graphics

AUTOSAR Solutions

Mentor Graphics is a premium member of AUTOSAR, the standards organization working to create an open standard for automotive engineering architecture. Learn More About AUTOSAR

Highlights

Requirements capturing

  • Store communication requirements for signals, nodes, functions

Automated communication design

  • Signal packing
  • Frame identifier assignment
  • Gateway routing

Timing analysis

  • Guaranteed message latencies, even for gatewayed signals over any number of gateways

Consistency checking

  • Ensures errors are captured as early as possible in the process

Measures architecture's feasibility

  • Bus utilization
  • Timing requirements
  • Implications of adding carry-over ECUs

Increasing productivity and improving quality

VNA enables an increase in the productivity of communication design and testing processes, while at the same time improving end-result quality.

  • High level requirement-capturing in the early design phase
  • Implemented timing model to obtain guaranteed message latencies
  • Automatically maps signals into frames for better use of network bandwidth
  • Perfect filtering of frame IDs to lower the interrupt load of the CPU
  • Automatic and seamless gatewaying to minimize interrupt load of certain ECUs

In the end, the above points result in a more robust design of the communication system, improving quality of the end product while at the same time improving the efficiency of the design and testing process.

LIN Network Architect (LNA) for LIN only networks

  • LIN 2.0 compliant
  • Generates standardized LIN description files
  • Automatic or manual schedule table generation
  • Fibex XML-based import and export functionality