Timely Survey of Time-Sensitive Networking: Past and Future Directions

Abstract

Time-sensitive networking (TSN) is a next generation local area network technology for the coexistence of information and operation technology, targeted to industrial automation, in-vehicle networks, and avionic networks in the industrial Internet of Things. This paper presents an up-to-date survey of the research efforts in TSN over the past few years, including the latest efforts in standardization by the IEEE. We review more than 170 TSN-related academic research papers published by major academic publishers and categorize these studies according to the topic, purpose, and methodology, analyzing research trends in TSN. The TSN core function deals with the functional and internal perspective to achieve ultra-low latency/jitter and ultra-reliability. Network management includes work with macroscopic and external views, such as configuration, management, and maintenance of TSN-enabled networks. In particular, we analyze the characteristics of existing studies that have evaluated the TSN network and propose future directions to advance the limits of TSN for real-world deployment. We aim this study to be a cornerstone for fellow and new researchers.