In automation and control, it is commonly stated that ethernet can't be used as a bus because it is not real time capable due to packet collisions. If important control packets collide, they often can't keep the hard real time conditions needed for control.

But what if I have a single point to point connection with Ethernet, no switch in between? To be more precise, I have an FPGA board with a giga-Ethernet port that is connected directly to my control PC. I think the benefits of giga Ethernet over CAN or USB for a p2p connection are huge, especially for high sampling rates and lots of data generation on the FPGA board.

Am I correct that with a point to point connection there can't be any packet collisions and therefore a real time environment is given even with ethernet?

Thanks in advance! ~fsb