Real time Ethernet (RTE) protocol suites are commonly operated within an exclusively allocated Ethernet based network that is used to exchange data for a distributed real time application. In practice, RTE protocol stack implementations interlace the maintenance of their data objects on the (standardised and loosely coupled) application layer with the task of traffic fitting. The latter includes the egress and ingress of application data over the underlying layers but also the coordination (scheduling) of the same. The set of time sensitive networking (TSN) IEEE standards is an addendum to common Ethernet (IEEE 802.3*). It has the aim to provide technologies to implement deterministic Ethernet networks. In factory automation RTE, an ongoing establishment of such technologies is observed. They lay the ground for various possibilities to shift the mechanisms for scheduling data transmissions towards networking juncture elements, e.g. Ethernet switch. This work intends to fabricate a stronger separation between the application layer and the tasks concerning traffic fitting. A demonstration setup is developed. It consists of an Ethernet switch (partly TSN capable), two programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and one input/output (I/O) device. Simultaneous operation of two unsimilar RTE protocol suites within the same network is shown. Possible optimisations applied to RTE application components, which target a higher level of determinism, are presented. Measurements underpin the chosen optimisations
