Partial Networking is a mechanism that enables selective ECU wake-up instead of activating the entire vehicle network. In traditional architectures, waking one ECU often results in the whole network becoming active, leading to unnecessary power consumption. With Partial Networking, only the ECUs that are actually required for a given function or vehicle state are awakened, while the rest remain in a low-power mode.

A key benefit of this approach is improved energy efficiency. By keeping nonessential ECUs asleep during idle or low-power vehicle states, power consumption is significantly reduced, which is particularly important in modern vehicles with many networked ECUs that remain connected even when the vehicle is not fully active.

The concept is supported by standardized AUTOSAR modules, which ensures compatibility across different OEMs and suppliers. This standardization allows automotive suppliers to implement Partial Networking in a consistent, scalable way across multiple platforms.
From an implementation perspective, Partial Networking relies on the configuration of wake-up patterns, CAN frames, and dedicated hardware support in CAN transceivers. These elements work together so that only specific ECUs respond to defined wake-up signals on the bus.

Energy efficiency in vehicles

By powering only essential ECUs during low-power vehicle states, Partial Networking reduces battery drain and supports better energy management, which is especially relevant for vehicles with advanced comfort, infotainment, and connectivity functions.

Support for connected features

Connected vehicle features such as remote diagnostics and over-the-air updates can be supported without waking the entire network. Selected ECUs can wake up, communicate, and then return to a low-power state while other ECUs remain asleep.
Improved system reliability
Reducing unnecessary ECU activity lowers thermal stress and component wear, which contributes to higher long-term reliability and durability of electronic systems.

Efficiency in ADAS architectures

In Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), only the modules relevant for a particular function or operating mode need to be activated. This targeted activation helps balance performance and energy usage in increasingly complex ADAS architectures.

Partial Networking requires ISO 11898 6 selective wake CAN transceivers, which detect special remote wake up frames, not arbitrary CAN frames. PN-capable transceivers evaluate incoming frames and recognize configured wake-up patterns, so only ECUs belonging to the relevant partial network react.

CAN transceivers with selective wake or Partial Networking support are central to this behavior. They filter bus traffic in low-power modes and trigger ECU wake-up only when a valid wake-up pattern or frame is received, allowing the rest of the time to be spent in low-power operation even while other traffic is present on the bus.

On the software side, AUTOSAR modules manage network communication and ECU state transitions to ensure correct behavior during wake-up and sleep phases. Partial Networking configurations are typically organized into clusters (often called Partial Network Clusters), with each cluster assigned specific wake-up frames to ensure coordinated activation of all ECUs that must operate together.

From a scalability perspective, the concept fits well into evolving multi-bus architectures and can be combined with other power-saving and network management strategies on protocols such as Ethernet and FlexRay, even though the most mature standard support for Partial Networking today is on CAN and CAN-FD.

Several AUTOSAR Basic Software modules cooperate to realize Partial Networking:

• CAN Interface (CanIf): Provides frame handling and filtering capabilities, interfacing between the CAN driver and higher communication layers, and supporting PN-related filtering configuration.
• CAN Network Management (CanNm): Manages network management communication, state changes, and NM PDUs, including support for Partial Networking information used to decide whether an ECU participates in communication.
• Communication Manager (ComM): Controls ECU communication modes and coordinates transitions between full communication, silent communication, and no communication based on user requests and network management information.
• ECU State Manager (EcuM): Oversees ECU states such as sleep and wake-up, ensuring that transitions are handled correctly when Partial Networking is used.
• MCAL CAN Driver and CAN Transceiver: The CAN driver provides low-level access to the bus, while PN-capable CAN transceivers implement frame filtering and wake detection in hardware to enable reliable, low-power behavior.

Partial Networking in AUTOSAR enables selective ECU wake-up on CAN networks, which significantly reduces battery drain and optimizes energy usage in vehicles. By limiting unnecessary ECU activity, it improves system reliability, reduces thermal stress, and allows advanced connected features such as remote diagnostics and software updates without bringing the entire vehicle network online.

As vehicle network architectures continue to evolve, combining Partial Networking concepts with modern communication protocols and energy-saving mechanisms will further enhance automotive network performance and sustainability.

Implementing Partial Networking requires deep expertise in both AUTOSAR stack configuration and hardware selection. Let the experts at APAGCoSyst help you bridge the gap between energy efficiency and high-performance connectivity.

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