ISO 21111-3:2020

Overview

ISO 21111-3:2020 specifies supplemental physical-layer requirements and a conformance test plan for optical 1‑Gbit/s in-vehicle Ethernet over plastic optical fibre (GEPOF). It is intended specifically for communications inside road vehicles and supplements ISO/IEC/IEEE 8802-3:2017/Amd 9:2018 (considered indispensable). The document defines wake-up and synchronised link sleep functionality, sublayers, service interfaces, state diagrams and a Protocol Implementation Conformance Statement (PICS) proforma. Note: optical component requirements and optical test methods for 1‑Gbit/s transmission are outside the scope.

Key Topics and Requirements

• Physical entity (PHY) supplemental specifications for 1 Gbit/s transmission over plastic optical fibre (GEPOF).
• Power management features: wake-up and synchronised link sleep behaviors to support vehicle low-power operation.
• Sublayers and service interfaces: PHY service, neighbour PHY, conciliation, FFME and WUSME interfaces are defined with signals and events.
• State diagrams and variables to specify state transitions (power states, link monitor, TX/RX control).
• Protocol Implementation Conformance Statement (PICS): complete PICS combining ISO/IEC/IEEE 8802-3:2017/Amd 9:2018 and this part to describe GEPOF physical entity functionality.
• Conformance test plan: structured test architecture including:
  • Block 1: test modes and loopback tests (e.g., loopback control, GMII, PMD).
  • Block 2: PCS, PMA, PMD and MDI mandatory functionality tests (alignment, payload, power scaling, state-diagram validation).
  • Block 3: EEE, OAM and wake-up/synchronised link sleep tests.
• Test setups and cases: multiple test setups (TS_BASE, TS_EXTEND, TS_SIGPOW, etc.) and detailed test cases to validate compliance.

Practical Applications and Users

Who uses ISO 21111-3:

• Automotive OEMs and system architects designing in-vehicle Ethernet topologies over plastic optical fibre.
• PHY and transceiver designers implementing GEPOF physical entities.
• Tier‑1 suppliers integrating optical cabling and network devices.
• Test houses and certification labs performing conformance testing and PICS validation.
• Software/firmware engineers implementing power-management features (wake-up/sync sleep) and link-state handling.

Why it matters:

• Ensures interoperability and predictable behavior of in-vehicle optical Ethernet components.
• Provides a testable conformance path to validate PHY functionality, link management and power-saving features critical for vehicle networks.
• Supports safety- and power-sensitive automotive applications that require robust, low-latency 1‑Gbit/s links.

Related Standards

• ISO/IEC/IEEE 8802-3:2017/Amd 9:2018 (indispensable normative reference)
• ISO 21111 series (other parts of the in-vehicle Ethernet family)
• IEEE 802.3 (Ethernet physical-layer framework)

Keywords: in-vehicle Ethernet, GEPOF, optical 1-Gbit/s, plastic optical fibre, conformance test plan, wake-up, synchronised link sleep, PHY, PICS.