Communication management unit with configurable interface

A communication system comprising:

• at least one memory to store an interface configuration table, the interface configuration table including communication operating parameters for select communication protocols;
• a plurality of communication links;
• and
• a communication management unit including:
• a plurality of configuration communication interfaces, each configuration communication interface configured to interface signals between an associated communication link of the plurality of communication links and the communication management unit using a select communication protocol, and
• a communication controller to control communication operations of the communication management unit, the communication controller configured to determine a type of communication protocol used in a communication link coupled to the at least one configurable communication interface, the communication controller further configured to configure each configurable communication interface with communication operating parameters stored in the configuration table associated with the determined type of communication protocol, wherein the same at least one configurable interface is selectively configured to communicate using different communication protocols.

A method of operating a vehicle communication management unit with a plurality of configurable communication interfaces, the method comprising:

• identifying a communication type associated with a message;
• retrieving configuration information associated with the communication type from a configuration interface table;
• configuring a configurable communication interface of the plurality of configurable communication interfaces based on the retrieved configuration information, wherein the configurable interface is a generic interface that is selectively configured to communicate using different communication protocols;
• and
• interfacing communications through the configurable communication interface.