Extended Frame Format
- A New Option of the CAN Protocol
Hans-Christian Reuss
HAI/AN 92 002
93-05-04
9
Report No :
Date :
Pages :
CAN Protocol Specification Vers. 2.0 A+B, Standard Frame Format, Extended Frame Format, Compatibility, Bus
Performance, Products
Keywords
Application Note
Product Concept & Application Laboratory Hamburg, F. R. Germany
Philips Export B.V.
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Philips Semiconductors
Summary:Summary:
In addition to the CAN "standard frame format", which is specified with an 11 bit identifier, Bosch
introduced in 1991 the CAN "extended frame format", which operates with a 29 bit identifier. This paper
contains a description and a comparison of both frame formats. The result of the comparison shows, that
both formats have their own advantages; the advantage of the extended frame format is the higher number
of different message types, the advantage of the standard frame format are the lower bus access time, the
higher bus throughput and the availability of products. Therefore it is recommended to use only standard
frames, as long as the network communication can be managed with 2032 different message types.
Revision history:
92-12-15: 1st release
93-05-04: 2nd release: pages 0,8(,9) revised
HAI/AN 92 002
Philips Semiconductors Application Note
Table of Contents:
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2. History of the CAN specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
3. Standard and Extended Frame Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
4. Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
5. Compatibility Aspects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
6. Available Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
7. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
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1. Introduction
Once specified by Bosch, CAN (’Controller Area Network’) is an advanced serial communication
protocol, which efficiently supports distributed real-time control and multiplexing with a very high safety
level. Typical applications of CAN-based networks can be found in automotive and industrial environ-
ments.
Originally CAN message frames have contained 11 bit identifiers. With the CAN protocol specification
vers. 2.0 Bosch has introduced in 1991 a second CAN message frame format: the extended frame format,
which is based on a 29 bit identifier increasing the number of different identifiers considerably. This new
format is only optional, that means that message frames with the 11 bit identifier will stay the ’standard
message frames’.
The objective of this paper is the comparison of the standard and the extended frame format with their
advantages and disadvantages. Criterions being considered for this comparison are the bus access time,
the bus throughput, the CPU-load, and the available products.
The reader should be familiar with CAN fundamentals. Information is available e.g. in the CAN protocol
specification vers. 2.0 /1/ and in the Philips application notes and data sheets.
In accordance to the CAN protocol specification vers. 2.0 frames with the number of 11 identifier bits are
denoted with standard frame, and frames with the number of 29 identifier bits are denoted with extended
frame.
2. History of the CAN specifications
Since 1985, when the CAN protocol specification was published first, it has become the basis for several
integrated circuits being produced by the semiconductor manufacturers. Table 1 shows the history of the
CAN protocol specification with all versions being provided until today. It is important to mention that
every new version is compatible to all older ones (not vice versa).
Version Year Changes
1.0 1985
1.1 1987 Respecification of bit timing requirements
1.2 1990 Increased oscillator tolerance
2.0 1991 Part A - Equal to vers. 1.2
Part B - Introduction of opti onal se con d format "ex te nded
frame" for data and remote frames
Tabl e 1 CAN Pr otocol Spec ificat ion Versi ons
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Between version 1.0 and 1.2 only slight modifications have been implemented: in version 1.1 the bit timing
requirements have been respecified in order to increase the performance and the understandability; in
version 1.2 few modifications at the interpretation of dominant bits during intermission or during the
error/overload delimiters have been introduced, thus the oscillator tolerance has been increased and the
use of ceramic oscillators instead of crystal driven ones has been allowed.
Version 2.0 consists of two parts: 2.0 A is equal to 1.2, and 2.0 B is again the same specification but it
supports also the new optional extended frame format. The reason for the introduction of the extended
frame format was to adapt CAN to the requirements of the American car-manufacturers on class C
networks (≥ 100 Kbit/s). With the 29 bit identifier a message strategy can be realized, which is similar to
the J1850-protocol published by the American Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) as a recommended
practice for class A and B networks (< 100 Kbit/s). Consequently the SAE-J1939 committee (bus & trucks)
voted for CAN as network for busses, trucks, agriculture and construction vehicles (class C, 250 Kbit/s).
J1939 has made use of the advantage, that the extended frame format with its huge addressing space eases
the standardization of the message identifiers.
Nevertheless the majority of all CAN applications will continue to work with standard frames only due to
some reasons presented in the following chapters.
3. Standard and Extended Frame Format
Fig. 1 CAN Data Frame Types
Fig. 1 gives an overview of the different CAN data frame types: All CAN messages start with the identifier
(arbitration) field. There are one or three control bits coming along with the identifier. These bits define,
11-bit Identifier0 000
SOF RTR
{
res
DLC data, CRC, ACKN, EOF
11-bit Identifier0 000
SOF res
DLC data, CRC, ACKN, EOF
11-bit Identifier
011 0
SOF
{
res
DLC data, CRC, ACKN, EOF00
I
D
E
I
D
E
R
T
R
R
T
R
S
R
R
18-bit Identifier
Version 2.0B (Standard Frame Format) (b)
Versions 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 2.0A(a)
Version 2.0B (Extended Frame Format)(c)
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whether it is a standard or an extended frame and whether it is a data or a remote frame. Fig. 1 (a) shows
the data frame format, how it is specified in the CAN protocol specification versions 1.0, 1.1, 1.2 and 2.0
A. Fully compatible to that is the standard data format (Fig. 1 (b)), how it is specified in version 2.0 B. In
contrast to that Fig. 1 (c) describes the extended data format with the 11+18=29 bit identifier (version 2.0
B). The meaning of the three control bits is as follows:
RTR bit - Remote Transmit Request
The RTR bit differentiates between data and remote frames. In data frames this bit is dominant (’0’), in
remote frames this bit is recessive (’1’).
SRR bit - Substitute Remote Request
The SRR bit is a recessive bit. It is transmitted in extended frames at the position of the RTR bit of standard
frames.
IDE bit - Identifier Extension
The IDE bit differentiates between standard and extended frames. In standard frames this bit is dominant,
whereas in extended frames this bit is recessive.
Similar to Fig. 1 showing the standard and extended frame formats of CAN data messages, Fig. 2 shows
the frame formats of CAN remote messages. Here the RTR bit is set to recessive (’1’).
Fig . 2 CAN Re mote Fr ame T ypes
11-bit Identifier0 100
SOF RTR
{
res
DLC CRC, ACKN, EOF
11-bit Identifier0100
SOF res
DLC CRC, ACKN, EOF
11-bit Identifier
011 0
SOF
{
res
DLC CRC, ACKN, EOF01
I
D
E
I
D
E
R
T
R
R
T
R
S
R
R
18-bit Identifier
Version 2.0B (Standard Frame Format)(b)
Version 2.0B (Extended Frame Format)(c)
Versions 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 2.0A(a)
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In case that several nodes within one system start a simultaneous transmission of message frames with the
same identifier, the following rules are valid: Data frames have a higher priority than remote frames, and
standard frames have a higher priority than extended frames. That means that e.g. a standard remote frame
wins arbitration against an extended data frame, if the 11 most significant bits of the identifiers are equal.
4. Comparison
Number of message identifiers
Since the identifier of the standard frame is 11 bits wide, 2048 different message types are possible. Due
to implementation reasons only 2032 of them can be used. The 29 bit identifier of the extended frame
however supports more than 500 million different message types.
Bus access time
In worst case a message gets bus access after the completion of the preceding message, if its priority is
high enough. When using a transfer rate of 1 Mbit/s, the maximum bus access time at standard frames is
110/134 µs, whereas the max. bus access time at extended frames is 130/159 µs (without/with stuff bits).
In Table 2 the formulas are given how to calculate the number of bit times of CAN message frames.
Number of bits per message
Condition Standa rd Frame Form at Extended Frame Format
No Stuff Bits 47 + 8 ⋅ DLC *) 67 + 8 ⋅ DLC *)
Max. number of
Stuff Bits 55 + 10 ⋅ DLC *) 80 + 10 ⋅ DLC *)
*) DLC: Data Length Code
Tab. 2 CA N Mess age Len gth (incl. 3 Bits for Inte rmission)
Bus throughput
The maximum data rate of CAN is specified at 1 Mbit/s. This results in a max. duration of a standard frame
of 111 us and a max. duration of an extended frame of 131 µs (without stuff bits). If these message are
transmitted cyclicly, max. net transfer rates of 577 kbit/s (standard frame) and 488 kbit/s (extended frame)
can be reached. Fig. 3 shows a diagram, where the max. net transfer rates when using standard and extended
frames are shown as a function of the DLC (Data Length Code, that is the number of transmitted data bytes
per message).
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Philips Semiconductors Application Note
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Fig. 3 Net Bus Throu ghput of Stand ard (SFF) and Exten ded Frames (EFF) at a Data Rate of 1 Mbit/s
The reason why extended frames have been introduced is, that a much bigger number of different identifiers
are at the user’s disposal. An alternative approach is, to use standard frames and to claim one or two data
bytes in order to extend the identifier. That is as far possible as not all of the 8 data bytes are used for the
application. At arbitration however only the 11 bit identifier is regarded. In Fig. 3 the max. bus throughput
of messages, at which one (SFF-19) or two (SFF-27) data bytes are used for the purpose to increase the
identifier, are sketched additionally.
CPU-load caused by CAN
All Controller Area Networks contain at least one node, which is microcontroller driven. Since at CAN
the OSI-layers 1 and 2 are realized almost completely by hardware, the microcontroller is only responsible
to provide messages for transmission, to process messages being received, and to handle parts of the
network management (e.g. initialization). Comparing now standard and extended frames, the length of the
identifier has only a very small impact to the CPU-load, if the following conditions are fulfilled:
˚ optimal distribution of the message identifiers within the system and
˚ optimal programming of the acceptance filters.
All CAN controllers available today have any kind of acceptance filter, which has the function to reject
messages not being interesting for the certain node. Thus the CPU-load at reception can be reduced
considerably. For the next CAN controller generation, which will be able to handle also extended frames,
enhanced acceptance filters are announced. These filters will compensate a possibly higher CPU-load at
the reception of extended frames by additional features. These features are a better programming flexibility
100
200
300
400
500
600
12345678
max.
net bus
Throughput
(kbit/s)
DLC
1 Mbit/s
SFF
EFF
SFF-19
SFF-27
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and a higher number of acceptance mask and code entries. In addition increased memory buffers will
reduce the CPU peak burden caused by message bursts.
Summarizing it can be said that at optimal use of the acceptance filter there is hardly any difference between
standard and extended frames concerning the CPU-load. For more details please refer to /2/.
5. Compatibility Aspects
As a matter of principle, standard and extended frames coexist in the same network. Error handling and
fault confinement work in an uniform way for both formats. As mentioned above the arbitration priorities
of standard and extended identifiers are well defined.
All CAN controllers support the standard frame format. Thus new CAN controllers, which support the
extended frame format, can communicate with today’s CAN controllers, when they use standard frames.
Concerning the compatibility of standard and extended frames three types of CAN controllers exist:
˚ CAN controllers according to CAN protocol specification vers. 2.0 A, which are able to receive
and transmit standard frames
˚ CAN controllers according to CAN protocol specification vers. 2.0 B, which are able to receive
and transmit standard frames and to tolerate extended frames without detecting an error
(’extended frame passive’)
˚ CAN controllers according to CAN protocol specification vers. 2.0 B, which are able to receive
and transmit standard and extended frames (’extended frame active’).
In Tab. 3 a standard/extended frame compatibility matrix is shown. An error is only detected, if a CAN
controller, which does not tolerate extended frames, meets an extended frame at its bus terminals.
Receiver Spec. 2.0
Part A
Standard Frame
Spec 2.0
Part B
"Extended Frame
Passive"
Spec. 2.0
Part B
"Extended Frame
Active"
Transmitter
Spec. 2.0
Part A
Standard Frame Compatible Compatible Compatible
Spec. 2.0
Part B
Standard Frame Compatible Compatible Compatible
Spec. 2.0
Part B
Extended Frame
not
Compatible Compatible Compatible
Tab. 3 Sta ndard/Extende d F rame Compatibilit y Mat rix
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6. Available Products
If standard frames are used exclusively in an application, then both kinds of CAN controllers - those
according to version 2.0 B ("passive" or "active") as well as those according to version 2.0 A (or even
older versions) - can be used. That means that for these CAN networks the full range of available CAN
controllers can be used. All future CAN products will still perform standard frame communication.
When extended frames are used in a CAN network, the number of usable products is only an extract of
the full range of available CAN controllers. Because of the aim to offer very cheap CAN controllers, it
is likely that even some future CAN controllers will be created which do not support extended frame
"actively". For most applications the cheaper price will be more beneficial than the additional feature of
extended frame communication.
7. Conclusion
Tab. 4 tries a summarizing valuation of the standard and extended frame formats regarding the number of
different identifiers, the bus access time, the bus throughput, the CPU-load, the availability of products
and the chip size/cost. The result is, that it is advantageous to use the standard frame format as long as the
application allows to do so. From today’s point of view only the american automotive manufacturers have
applications needing extended frames. Therefore it should be recommended for all other applications to
use only standard frames.
Standard Frame
Format
(SFF)
Extended Frame
Format
(EFF)
Number of IDs o +
Bus Access Time + o
Bus Throughput + o
CPU - Load + +
Availability of Products + -
Chip size / Cost + o
+ better than average
o average
- below average
Tab.4 Comparison of CAN S tandard and Ext ended Frame Prod uct s
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References
/1/ CAN Specification Version 2.0, Philips Semiconductors, 1991
/2/ Application of the P8xC592 Microcontroller with CAN-Interface, Application Note HKI/AN
91014, Philips Semiconductors Hamburg, 1992
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