Media Oriented Systems Transport

MOST (Media Oriented Systems Transport) is a high-speed multimedia network technology optimized by the automotive industry. It can be used for applications inside or outside the car. The serial MOST bus uses a daisy-chain topology or ring topology and synchronous data communication to transport audio, video, voice and data signals via plastic optical fiber (POF) (MOST25, MOST150) or electrical conductor (MOST50, MOST150) physical layers.

MOST technology is used in almost every car brand worldwide, including Audi, BMW, General Motors, Hyundai, Jaguar, Lancia, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Toyota, Volkswagen, SAAB, SKODA, SEAT and Volvo. SMSC and MOST are registered trademarks of Standard Microsystems Corporation (“SMSC”), now owned by Microchip Technology.

The MOST specification defines the physical and the data link layer as well as all seven layers of the ISO/OSI-Model of data communication. Standardized interfaces simplify the MOST protocol integration in multimedia devices. For the system developer, MOST is primarily a protocol definition. It provides the user with a standardized interface (API) to access device functionality. The communication functionality is provided by driver software known as MOST Network Services. MOST Network Services include Basic Layer System Services (Layer 3, 4, 5) and Application Socket Services (Layer 6). They process the MOST protocol between a MOST Network Interface Controller (NIC), which is based on the physical layer, and the API (Layer 7).

...
Wikipedia