CAN Bus

Overview
The CAN bus is an ISO standard bus for vehicles. It manages the Chassis Electrical System Control and is responsible for critical activities like engine electrical, and skid control. This system is also used to provide vehicle diagnostic information for maintenance. A multi-star configuration seems typical of this bus with a primary bus line that branches into sub bus lines at its extremities then attaches to multiple device nodes. Differential voltage is applied over twisted pair at 1.5 to 2.5V and 2.5 to 3.5V for noise resistant signaling. Bit rates up to 1 Mbit/s are possible at network lengths below 40 m. Decreasing the bit rate allows longer network distances (e.g., 500 m at 125 kbit/s).

(Jeremiah J. Flerchinger [[media:avc-lan.pdf|Source]])

additional information can be found at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAN_bus

CAN Support in Linux
The Linux kernel supports CAN with the SocketCAN framework.


 * SocketCAN Documentation
 * mailing list for Linux Kernel CAN development
 * linux-can git repository
 * Berlios Project Page (obsolete)

SocketCAN Supported Controllers

 * Microchip MCP251x
 * Atmel AT91 SoCs
 * ESD 331 CAN Cards
 * Philips SJA1000
 * Freescale MPC52xx SoCs
 * Bosch CC770
 * Intel AN82527
 * TIs SoCs
 * Serial/network devices utilizing ASCII protocol (slcan driver)