This SAE Recommended Practice establishes the requirements for a Class B Data Communication Network Interface applicable to all On and Off-Road Land Based Vehicles. It defines a minimum set of data communication requirements such that the resulting network is cost effective for simple applications and flexible enough to use in complex applications. Taken in total, the requirements contained in this document specify a data communications network that satisfies the needs of automotive manufacturers.

This specification describes two specific implementations of the network, based on media/Physical Layer differences. One Physical Layer is optimized for a data rate of 10.4 Kbps while the other Physical Layer is optimized for a data rate of 41.6 Kbps. Additionally, this document outlines one Physical Layer alternative to the two fully defined implementations that may allow the network to operate at a 125 Kbps data rate.

Although devices may be constructed that can be configured to operate in either of the two primary implementations defined herein, it is expected that most manufacturers will focus specifically on either the 10.4 Kbps implementation or the 41.6 Kbps implementation depending on their specific application and corporate philosophy toward network usage. However, low volume users of network interface devices are expected to find it more effective to use a generic interface capable of handling either of the primary implementations specified in this document.

While two implementations are fully characterized here (i.e., 10.4 Kbps and 41.6 Kbps), one other implementation is being pursued and will be proposed in a future version of this document. This implementation may be generally characterized as 125 Kbps, with possibly different bit encoding, drive type, media, and redundancy characteristics than the current two implementations.

This SAE document is under the control and maintenance of the Vehicle Networks for Multiplexing and Data Communications (Multiplex) Committee. This committee will periodically review and update this document as needs dictate.