Integrating mixed transmission and practical limitations with the worst-case response-time analysis for Controller Area Network

The existing worst-case response-time analysis for Controller Area Network (CAN) calculates upper bounds on the response times of messages that are queued for transmission either periodically or sporadically. However, it does not support the analysis of mixed messages. These messages do not exhibit a periodic activation pattern and can be queued for transmission both periodically and sporadically. They are implemented by several higher-level protocols based on CAN that are used in the automotive industry. We extend the existing analysis to support worst-case response-time calculations for periodic and sporadic as well as mixed messages. Moreover, we integrate the effect of hardware and software limitations in the CAN controllers and device drivers such as abortable and non-abortable transmit buffers with the extended analysis. The extended analysis is applicable to any higher-level protocol for CAN that uses periodic, sporadic and mixed transmission modes.