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Timestamp in TCP/UDP packets

Posted: Wed 3. Dec 2025, 17:02
by Ferrino
Hello everybody,
I’m using two PCAN-Ethernet Gateway DR devices that are converting CAN frames and sending them over TCP/UDP to a local server.

I noticed that each CAN message inside the Ethernet packet includes a timestamp, but I haven’t been able to understand how it is encoded and what reference time it represents (absolute time, time since boot, time since last message, etc.).

Could somebody clarify:

What does the timestamp represent?

In which unit is it expressed?

Is there documentation that explains the timestamp format and how to properly decode it on the receiving side?

Thank you in advance! 🙂

Re: Timestamp in TCP/UDP packets

Posted: Thu 4. Dec 2025, 08:52
by S.Michaelsen
Hi.

The timestamps are in micro seconds. In principle they should only be used as time relative between the messages. If no time source is available it's the time since boot. It is documented in developer documentation.

BR,
Stephan