NMEA 2000 is the marine version of the CAN networks found in every modern car. NMEA 2000 allows marine electronic devices from different manufacturers to talk to each other
NMEA 2000 is a standard set of data messages, protocols and connectors that all NMEA 2000 devices must use*
* Note –   Some manufacturers have created their own “flavours” of NMEA 2000 with different connectors and cabling; Raymarine’s “SeaTalkNG” and Simrad’s “SimNet” are two examples and both need proprietary adaptor cables to connect to standard NMEA 2000 networks.