2. Introduction and Overview

2.1. Introduction

Thank you for purchasing an Intrepid Control Systems RAD-Galaxy multi active tap and media converter for Automotive Ethernet (AE). The RAD-Galaxy allows you to seamlessly monitor communications between 6 IEEE 802.3 100BASE-T1 Ethernet nodes and a switch, or between 6 pairs of nodes. In its media converter mode, it can instead act as an interface between 12 independent nodes or switch ports and a PC, allowing the PC to talk to all nodes simultaneously. The RAD-Galaxy communicates at up to 1 Gb/s over its standard Gigabit Ethernet link, and also has a second Ethernet port for Diagnostics over IP (DoIP) operations with a connected vehicle.

In addition to its powerful Automotive Ethernet capabilities, the RAD-Galaxy can also be used to interface with standard vehicle networks. It includes support for 8 CAN channels with CAN FD support, 2 of which can be switched between Dual Wire CAN and Single Wire CAN. Support for one LIN channel and multiple channels of analog and/or PWM input/output are built into the hardware. The RAD-Galaxy can be used either attached to a PC or as a standalone logger. It also comes with a license for the full professional version of Intrepid’s powerful Vehicle Spy software, providing a wide range of vehicle network analysis and simulation capabilities.

2.1.1. Summary of Key Features

The RAD-Galaxy is one of the most powerful vehicle networking tools ever developed, providing extensive analysis and simulation options for both conventional and Automotive Ethernet networks. To give you an idea of how much you can do with the RAD-Galaxy, here’s a summary of the device’s most important design, construction, operational and performance features.

Construction, Controls and Cabling

Compact design: 10.6” x 4.5” x 1.6” (27 x 11 x 4 cm).
Light weight: about 1.4 lb (645 g).
Solid anodized aluminum case.
Thick rubber end boots for shock protection.
Ruggedized metal connectors.
Cable interfaces on sides for easier connections.
Multiple LEDs for status output.
Included cables and connector contacts for vehicle network interfacing, including Automotive Ethernet, DoIP, CAN and CAN FD.

Power and Performance

Fourth-generation neoVI architecture, offering over ten times the performance of earlier devices.
Field-upgradeable firmware.
Support for 5V to 40V input power.
Lower power consumption than earlier generation tools.
Battery-backed real time clock (RTC).
64-bit timestamping with 10 ns accuracy on all Ethernet, CAN and LIN networks.
Transmit message double-buffering to allow back-to-back message transmission.

Automotive Ethernet Interfaces and Features

Custom-designed, high-speed FPGA processor.
12 100 BASE-T1 (BroadR-Reach) Automotive Ethernet PHYs.
Two 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet PHYs with industry standard RJ-45 jacks for PC interface and DoIP applications.
Switchable between 6 active taps or 12 media converter ports, with hybrid operation possible.
Full-duplex support for simultaneous data transmission and reception across all PHYs. Conventional Network Interfaces and Features
6 dedicated Dual Wire (DW) CAN channels (ISO 11898-2).
2 selectable CAN channels: 2 additional DW CAN or 2 Single Wire (SW) CAN.
All DW CAN channels have CAN FD support.
Software-programmable CAN termination.
Listen-only mode support.
High Speed Mode, Test Tool Resistor, and High Voltage Wakeup support for SW CAN.
1 LIN channel
1 Analog Out channel
1 differential Analog In channel or 2x GPIO/PWM channels

PC Interface and SD Card Support

All data communicated to the PC over standard Gigabit Ethernet connection.
Support for removable, full-sized SD cards up to 128 GB in size.
Download speeds of up to 3.2 MB/s.
SD card protection cover.
Firmware-based SD card presence and card door detector.

Standalone Logging Support

Capable of fully independent operation within a vehicle.
Log Automotive Ethernet at a rate up to 150 Mb/s, using filters to avoid capturing high bandwidth or unwanted traffic.
Logged data quantity limited only by the size of the installed SD card.

2.2. Operational Overview

The RAD-Galaxy has a multitude of capabilities and can perform a number of different functions, many of them simultaneously. The device can function as an Automotive Ethernet multi active tap or media converter, or both at once. At the same time it can also act as an interface to conventional vehicle networks such as CAN and CAN FD, with support for LIN and analog or PWM I/O lines.

2.2.1. Operation as an Active Tap

Due to the high performance and complexity of 100BASE-T1, typical approaches for interfacing to a network (such as attaching a probe to the bus) do not work. This problem is resolved by interposing a device called an active tap within an Automotive Ethernet network.

The RAD-Galaxy contains 12 100BASE-T1 transceiver chips (PHYs) configured into 6 pairs to create 6 active taps. These can be interposed between 6 pairs of BroadR-Reach nodes, or 6 nodes and 6 switch ports. The Gigabit Ethernet port of the RAD-Galaxy is connected to a laptop PC or similar conventional Ethernet device.

Note

The term “tap” has a dual meaning: it refers to the act of tapping into a network (such as used in the phrase “wire tap”). It also is sometimes considered an acronym for “test access point”, since a tap does indeed act as an access point for testing, though you can do much more than that with the RAD-Galaxy. For simplicity, in this document we will just use the word “tap”.

Once configuration is complete, the RAD-Galaxy is set up as a “middle man” in the network, managed by a custom-designed processor within the unit. When a node or switch port transmits, the RAD-Galaxy receives the message and retransmits it to the device that the sending node or port was formerly directly connected to, with only a minor delay for processing. The processor also sends a copy of the message over the Gigabit Ethernet connection to the PC, so it can be viewed and analyzed within Vehicle Spy.

The interface provided by the RAD-Galaxy is full-duplex and bidirectional. This means that in addition to using the PC to monitor messages sent by the Automotive Ethernet nodes attached to it, you can create and send custom messages from the PC to the nodes as well. This allows you to query, test, configure and manage these nodes using Vehicle Spy.

Figure 2 depicts how the RAD-Galaxy functions when inserted into a typical Automotive Ethernet network with 6 AE nodes connected to a switch. (Note that in the diagram, 3 node connections are omitted for greater clarity).

Figure 2: Using the RAD-Galaxy as an Active Tap Between AE Nodes and Switch. Before inserting the RAD-Galaxy, Automotive Ethernet nodes 1 to 6 were directly connected to the switch at top left. Each connection was broken and the pairs connected to the appropriate ports on the RAD-Galaxy (black lines). Every transmission continues to be sent to its prior destination (blue arrow lines following the physical connections and the “virtual” internal connections shown in gray within the device). In addition, copies of each message are transmitted by the RAD-Galaxy to the attached PC (dashed lines). Optionally, messages from the PC may also be sent to any switch port or ECU (red arrow lines).

Figure 3 shows a similar setup to that of Figure 2, except with the RAD-Galaxy interposed between 6 pairs of Automotive Ethernet nodes, rather than between nodes and a switch. Note that the RAD-Galaxy has 12 connections, which are arranged into the following pairs: 1+2, 3+4, 5+8, 7+6, 9+10 and 11+12. This is explained further in Section 3.2.

Figure 3: Using the RAD-Galaxy as an Active Tap Between AE Node Pairs. In this application, 12 nodes were formerly connected to each other in pairs: Node 1 to Node 2, Node 3 to Node 4, and so on. The RAD-Galaxy has been inserted between each pair, allowing the pair connections to continue in virtual fashion (gray connecting lines) while allowing all traffic to be monitored by the PC, and additional messages from the PC to be sent to the nodes. The RAD-Galaxy connection pairs are 1+2, 3+4, 5+8, 7+6, 9+10 and 11+12.

2.2.2. Operation as a Media Converter

Instead of being placed between 6 100BASE-T1 connections, the RAD-Galaxy can be configured to interface to 12 nodes independently. Any traffic received by a node will be converted from Automotive Ethernet to standard Ethernet and sent to the PC. Conversely, traffic from the PC will be converted from standard Ethernet to 100BASE-T1 and sent to the appropriate node. Since in this operating mode the RAD-Galaxy is converting between two Ethernet media (Automotive Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet), it is said to be acting as a media converter. Figure 4 depicts the logical operation of the RAD-Galaxy when used in this manner.

Figure 4: Using the RAD-Galaxy as a Media Converter. The RAD-Galaxy allows a PC to interact with up to 12 Automotive Ethernet nodes. Each node can send to the PC, and vice-versa, simultaneously.

2.2.3. Mixed Topology Operation

If the RAD-Galaxy is in active tap configuration, it is possible to connect a node to only one of the two connections of any of its six pairs. With only one device in the pair, the node will only be able to send and receive to and from the PC, effectively operating in media converter mode. This allows you to “mix and match” how you use the 6 pairs in the device: for example, you can use 5 pairs as active taps, and attach an addition device to the 6th pair by itself for use as a media converter. This is depicted in Figure 5, which is just a slight variation on Figure 3.

Any combination of 6 active taps and 6 media converter connections is possible in this manner. If you want to use the RAD-Galaxy as a media converter for more than 6 devices you must set it into media converter mode as described earlier, which precludes using it as an active tap at the same time.

Figure 5: Using the RAD-Galaxy as Both an Active Tap and Media Converter. In this variation on the configuration shown in Figure 3, we have removed AE Node 2. This leaves Node 1 as the only node on that pair, so it only talks to the PC, effectively now operating as if connected through a media converter. Meanwhile Nodes 3+4, 5+8, 7+6, 9+10 and 11+12 remain in pairs functioning in active tap mode.

2.2.4. Timestamping and Frame Wrapping

The RAD-Galaxy records the time that each message is received on any of its Automotive Ethernet ports. This hardware-level timestamp is then transmitted in a special wrapper frame over its conventional Ethernet links, encapsulating the original message. The wrapper frame contains its own Ethernet header and Frame Check Sequence (FCS) field, along with an extra header containing information specific to the RAD-Galaxy.

Ethernet controllers normally discard any frames received for which an error has been detected, and strip the FCS error-detection field even on valid frames. The RAD-Galaxy’s special wrapping mechanism allows it to capture BroadR-Reach frames in their entirety, including the FCS field, and ensures that error frames are preserved so they can be analyzed.

2.2.5. Conventional Vehicle Network Interfacing

In addition to its Automotive Ethernet capabilities, the RAD-Galaxy can act as an interface to conventional vehicle networks. It includes hardware for 8 CAN channels, with CAN FD support, 2 of which can be switched between dual wire and single wire operation. All channels are captured simultaneously, and are hardware time-stamped with great accuracy. Non-Ethernet messages are encapsulated into Ethernet frames and transmitted to the PC over the same Ethernet connection used for BroadR-Reach data, where they are decoded and displayed by Vehicle Spy. The RAD-Galaxy also has hardware support for one LIN channel, which will be enabled in a future firmware update.

2.2.6. Simulation and Scripting

You can write intelligent scripts that implement arbitrary logic, and compile them into CoreMinis that run within the RAD-Galaxy itself. This functionality allows you to create specialized test scenarios, and to simulate devices such as ECUs.

2.2.7. Standalone Logging

The RAD-Galaxy can be used both as a bench tool and as a standalone logger. Vehicle Spy’s powerful logging features allow you to easily describe exactly what data you want to record, and then automatically generate the appropriate CoreMini scripts for download to the RADGalaxy. You can install the device in a vehicle for independent capture and filtering of up to 128 GB of data, which can later be reviewed and analyzed within Vehicle Spy.

2.2.8. Diagnostics over IP (DoIP)

The RAD-Galaxy includes support for Ethernet-based DoIP applications. DoIP can be implemented either using a direct connection via a standard Ethernet cable terminated with RJ-45 plugs, or through OBD-II.

2.3. Block Diagram

Figure 6 shows a simple block diagram of the RAD-Galaxy. All operations are controlled by the central processor, which is implemented as a custom System-on-a-Chip (SoC) integrated circuit. The various physical layer chips and network-specific controllers connect to the appropriate connectors on the device for attachment to vehicle networks.

Figure 6: RAD-Galaxy Block Diagram.

2.4. Package Contents

2.4.1. Hardware

Your RAD-Galaxy package includes the following:

The RAD-Galaxy device.
One RAD-Galaxy Ethernet Cable Adapter (HD-26F to HD-26M + DB-9F + RJ-45F).
One neoVI FIRE 2 Ethernet Cable Adapter (HD-26F to DB-25M + DB-9M + RJ-45F).
Two standard four-pair 3’ (~1m) Ethernet cables.
Two TE Connectivity Nano MQS female plug housings and 28 TE Connectivity Nano MQS crimp contacts, for connecting to the BroadR-Reach network. (Section 2.4 provides details on the use of these components.)
An Intrepid OBD cable of your choice, selected from these options:
neoVI-OBD-1 (primarily for General Motors vehicles)
neoVI-OBD-MULTI (for most vehicles)
neoVI-OBD-MULTI Right Angle (for vehicles where an angled connector is required)
neoVI FIRE/RED J1939 (for commercial vehicles)
neoVI FIRE 2 OBD Cable with DoIP Support (for DoIP through an OBD connector)

Figure 1: Contents of the RAD-Galaxy Package. Top, various cables in plastic wrappers; lower left, the Nano MQS plug housings and contacts in bubble wrap; lower center, the RAD-Galaxy device and software/driver CD.

Upon receipt of the RAD-Galaxy package, please remove, unwrap and inspect all of its contents. If anything is missing or damaged, please contact Intrepid for prompt assistance, using the information at the end of this guide. Later in the document you will find detailed instructions for creating 100BASE-T1 cables and connecting them and the other included cables to the RAD-Galaxy and your vehicle networks.

2.4.2. Software

Intrepid’s Vehicle Spy (often abbreviated as VSpy) is the “Swiss army knife” of automotive networking tools. It allows you to easily monitor and transmit on multiple vehicle networks, and includes capabilities for ECU simulation, data acquisition, scripting, diagnostics, data analysis and much more.

The RAD-Galaxy and Vehicle Spy are designed to work together hand in hand, and a license for the full Professional version is included with your hardware purchase. It is also possible to control the RAD-Galaxy from within other software using the Intrepid API supported by the device.

Unless physical media was specifically requested, your box should contain a reference card with instructions on where to download the device drivers and any other purchased software. If your media or reference card cannot be located, please contact Customer Support.

2.5. Hardware and Software Requirements

You will need a small amount of support hardware to make use of your RAD-Galaxy:

A vehicle network, either within an actual vehicle or in a test bench environment.
A DC power supply capable of providing 5V to 40V of DC power, with a nominal current of 1.5A at 12V. Your network setup must include wiring capable of providing this power on pin 25 of a female DB-25 connector; see Chapter 6 for pinout details.
A PC with an available Gigabit Ethernet port. Note that backward compatibility to slower Ethernet ports is supported, but 100 Mb/s Ethernet does not provide sufficient capacity for transmitting and receiving high-speed BroadR-Reach traffic on multiple links.
Cables and/or connectors to connect to the BroadR-Reach nodes in your Automotive Ethernet network.
A crimping tool to attach wires to the provided crimp contacts and secure them within the Nano MQS plug housings. See Chapter 3 for more details.

Additional cables may also be needed, depending on the nature of the network to which the RAD-Galaxy is being connected.

The only software needed to make full use of your RAD-Galaxy is Intrepid’s Vehicle Spy Professional, which is included with the product. Installation instructions can be found in Chapter 3.

Please refer to the Vehicle Spy documentation for its more specific PC hardware and operating system requirements and recommendations. Note, however, that Vehicle Spy will run on most modern Windows-based PCs.

It is also possible to use Vehicle Spy with third-party or custom software, via the Intrepid API. The necessary drivers can also be set up using the API kit installer. All of this software comes with the RAD-Galaxy, or if necessary, can be downloaded from the Intrepid web site at https://intrepidcs.com. Installation instructions can be found later in this guide.