A common timestamp will also be beneficial to you when you are using the network to record analog or digital inputs. A common timestamp will make it easier synchronize or correlate events on one network with measurements made on another. Dalstra said that timing is an important consideration when you are setting up a gateway between two vehicle networks. Typically, the networks will operate at different speeds. A slower network will simply not be able to handle the traffic generated by the faster network.
Timing is also important if the networks have different ways of encoding data.
Now consider the arrival of a J1850 message on the CAN network. You must decide if you must immediately translate the data and send the CAN message or wait until more J1850 messages arrive. You also might wait for a short time waiting for more J1850 messages, and if one or more arrives, pack it with the first. If not, you can simply send the message with only one parameter. These considerations are important because when you can, you want to minimize the amount of traffic on the CAN network.