Overview
Audio Video Bridging (AVB) supports the deployment of professional quality audio and/or video
(AV) over standard Ethernet while coexisting with other "legacy" (or non-AV) Ethernet traffic.
This supports "Network Convergence," or using one simple standard Ethernet network for all
communication needs.
To support AV applications, it is necessary for AVB systems to provide time
synchronization and QoS.
Time Synchronization is needed so that multiple streams may be synchronized with respect to
each other. For example:
- Voice and video
- Multiple audio streams for a multi-digital speaker deployment in a large
venue
- Multiple Video streams in a security surveillance application
QoS is needed to ensure:
- Bandwidth guarantees sufficient for each application
- Worst Case Delay Bounds, particularly for interactive applications
- Traffic shaping to limit traffic burstiness and reduce buffering
requirements
The time synchronization and QoS requirements for AVB systems are defined in the following set
of IEEE Standards:
- IEEE 802.1AS: Timing and Synchronization for Time-Sensitive Applications in Bridged Local
Area Networks (gPTP)
- IEEE 802.1Q
- Clause 10: Multiple Registration Protocol (MRP) and Multiple MAC Registration Protocol
(MMRP)
- Clause 11: VLAN Topology Management
(MVRP)
- Clause 34: Forwarding and Queuing for Time-Sensitive Streams (FQTSS)
- Clause 35: Stream Reservation Protocol (SRP)
- IEEE 802.1BA: Audio Video Bridging (AVB) Systems
