CN113746586B

CN113746586B - Method and device for managing clock source

Info

Publication number: CN113746586B
Application number: CN202010466876.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 强鹂; 余芳; 李永翠
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-05-28
Filing date: 2020-05-28
Publication date: 2022-12-06
Anticipated expiration: 2040-05-28
Also published as: CN113746586A; WO2021238377A1

Abstract

The application provides a method and a device for clock source management, wherein the method comprises the following steps: the method comprises the steps that first equipment maintains a clock source list, wherein identification information of each clock source in at least one clock source is recorded in the clock source list, and the identification information of the clock source is used for indicating the clock source; receiving a first time synchronization message, wherein the first time synchronization message comprises identification information of a first clock source; if the identification information of the first clock source does not belong to the identification information recorded in the clock source list, recording the identification information of the first clock source in the clock source list and sending first information, wherein the first information comprises attribute information of the first clock source. Therefore, the efficiency of discovering the clock source can be improved, and the cost and the time delay of discovering the clock source can be reduced.

Description

Method and device for managing clock source

Technical Field

The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communications, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for clock source management.

Background

Time synchronization is a basis for realizing communication reliability and accuracy, and a technology is known at present, in which two communication parties perform time synchronization based on a message (i.e., a time synchronization message) carrying information of a same clock source, for example, a Master timing clock source (GM).

With the development of communication technology, communication services are diversified, and different services have different requirements on time synchronization precision, so that various clock sources with different precisions can be provided by clock sources other than a main time service clock source, such as a clock source of an external system, and how to enable network equipment to timely sense the clock sources becomes a problem to be solved in the industry.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a method and a device for managing a clock source, which can improve the efficiency of discovering the clock source and reduce the cost and time delay of discovering the clock source.

In a first aspect, a method for clock source management is provided, where the method includes: the method comprises the steps that first equipment maintains a clock source list, wherein identification information of each clock source in at least one clock source is recorded in the clock source list, and the identification information of the clock source is used for indicating the clock source; receiving a first time synchronization message, wherein the first time synchronization message comprises identification information of a first clock source; and if the identification information of the first clock source does not belong to the identification information recorded in the clock source list, sending first information, wherein the first information comprises attribute information of the first clock source.

The first time synchronization packet is a time synchronization packet corresponding to the first clock source, that is, the first time synchronization packet is used to carry and transmit time information of the first clock source.

And, the clock source recorded by the clock source list includes the clock source of which the network device (for example, the session management functional entity or the network capability opening functional entity, etc.) has obtained the attribute information.

Or, the clock source management device (e.g., a session management functional entity or a network capability openness functional entity, etc.) has obtained the attribute information of the clock source recorded in the clock source list.

The first device comprises a device capable of receiving the time synchronization message and detecting the time synchronization message.

For example, the first device includes any one of: the device comprises terminal equipment, user plane function UPF equipment, an equipment side delay sensitive network translator and a network side delay sensitive network translator.

According to the scheme of the application, the clock source list recording the identification information of the clock source is configured in the receiving equipment of the time synchronization message, and the identification information of the clock source corresponding to the time synchronization message is carried in the time synchronization message, so that the first equipment can judge whether the clock source corresponding to the received time synchronization message is a newly found clock source according to the clock source list, and further can send the attribute information of the newly found clock source to the network equipment for managing the clock source under the condition of judging yes, thereby improving the efficiency of clock source discovery, and reducing the cost and time delay of clock source discovery.

Optionally, the first information further includes a first identifier, where the first identifier is used to indicate that the first clock source is a newly discovered clock source.

Or, the first identifier is used to indicate that the identification information of the first clock source is not recorded in the clock source list.

Or, the first identifier is used to indicate that the identification information of the first clock source is added in the clock source list.

Optionally, the identification information includes at least one of the following information: clock domain number, clock identification, or clock accuracy.

Optionally, the attribute information of the first clock source includes at least one of the following information: the device identifier of the first device, the port number of the first port, the identifier of the first protocol data unit PDU session, the clock domain number of the first clock source, the clock identifier of the first clock source, or the clock accuracy of the first clock source, where the first port is a port for transmitting the first time synchronization packet, and the first PDU session is a PDU session for transmitting the first time synchronization packet.

By way of example and not limitation, when the first device comprises a terminal device, the device identifier of the first device may include, but is not limited to, a mobile phone number of the terminal device, a device identifier of the terminal device, an internet protocol address of the terminal device, and the like.

Optionally, the clock source list further includes the recorded attribute information of the clock source.

It should be noted that, in the present application, the attribute information of the clock source and the identification information of the clock source may have an intersection, that is, some of the above listed attribute information may be used as the identification information of the clock source. Also, some of the above-listed identification information may serve as identification information of the clock source.

Optionally, the method further comprises: after receiving the first time synchronization message, starting a first timer; and said sending first information, comprising: and if a second time synchronization message is received before the first timer expires, sending the first information, wherein the second time synchronization message comprises identification information of the first clock source.

By sending the attribute information of the first clock source after determining that the time synchronization message of the first clock source can be stably and reliably received periodically, the reliability and the practicability of the scheme of the application can be further improved.

Optionally, the method further comprises: and recording the identification information of the first clock source in the clock source list.

Optionally, each clock source in the plurality of clock sources recorded in the clock source list corresponds to a timer.

Optionally, the method further comprises: and if the time synchronization message of a second clock source is received, starting or resetting a timer corresponding to the second clock source, wherein the second clock source is one of the plurality of clock sources recorded in the clock source list.

Optionally, the method further comprises: and if the time synchronization message of the second clock source is not received before the timer corresponding to the second clock source expires, deleting the identification information of the second clock source from the clock source list.

Optionally, the method further comprises: and if the time synchronization message of the second clock source is not received before the timer corresponding to the second clock source expires, sending second information, where the second information includes identification information and a second identifier of the second clock source, and the second identifier is used to indicate that the second clock source is expired (or otherwise failed).

Therefore, the clock source management equipment can determine whether the discovered clock source is out of date in time, and the accuracy of the reliability of communication can be further improved.

Optionally, the clock source recorded in the clock source list includes a clock source of an external system.

Optionally, the first clock source comprises a clock source of an external system.

The external system may be understood as a system other than the communication system in which the terminal device currently resides.

Optionally, the first clock source includes a clock source of a delay sensitive network TSN.

Optionally, the clock source recorded in the clock source list includes a clock source of a TSN

It should be understood that the above listed first clock source is only an exemplary one, and the present application is not limited thereto, and clock sources of other systems are all within the scope of the present application.

Optionally, the time synchronization packet of the first clock source includes a generic precise time protocol, gPTP, packet.

Optionally, the time synchronization packet of the first clock source includes a precision time protocol PTP packet.

The time synchronization message may be modified as appropriate according to the system to which the present application is applied, and the present application is not particularly limited.

In a second aspect, a method of clock source management is provided, the method comprising: the method comprises the steps that a clock management device receives first information from a first device, wherein the first information comprises attribute information of a first clock source; and managing the first clock source according to the first information.

The first information is sent when the identification information of the first clock source does not belong to a clock source list stored in the first device, the clock source list records the identification information of each clock source in at least one clock source, and the identification information of the clock source is used for indicating the clock source.

For example, the clock source management device includes, but is not limited to, a Session Management Function (SMF) entity, a Policy Control Function (PCF) entity, a Unified Data Management (UDM) entity, or a network capability openness function entity.

Optionally, the attribute information of the first clock source includes at least one of the following information: the device identifier of the first device, the port number of the first port, the identifier of the first protocol data unit PDU session, the clock domain number of the first clock source, the clock identifier of the first clock source, or the clock accuracy of the first clock source, where the first port is a port used to transmit the first time synchronization packet, and the first PDU session is a PDU session used to transmit the first time synchronization packet.

Optionally, the method further comprises: and receiving second information from the first equipment, wherein the second information comprises identification information and a second identification of a second clock source, and the second identification is used for indicating that the second clock source is expired.

Wherein each clock source of the plurality of clock sources recorded in the clock source list corresponds to a timer, and the second information is sent when a time synchronization packet of the second clock source is not received before the timer corresponding to the second clock source expires

Optionally, the method further comprises: and sending the attribute information of the first clock source to network capability openness function equipment.

Optionally, the clock source list further includes attribute information of the recorded clock source.

In a third aspect, a method for clock source management is provided, where the method includes: the method comprises the steps that first equipment obtains a clock source list, wherein the clock source list records identification information of each clock source in a plurality of clock sources, the identification information of the clock sources is used for indicating the clock sources, and each clock source in the plurality of clock sources recorded in the clock source list corresponds to a timer; if a time synchronization message of a second clock source is received, starting or resetting a timer corresponding to the second clock source, wherein the second clock source is one of a plurality of clock sources recorded in the clock source list; if the time synchronization message of the second clock source is not received before the timer corresponding to the second clock source expires, deleting the identification information of the second clock source from the clock source list; and/or if the time synchronization message of the second clock source is not received before the timer corresponding to the second clock source expires, sending second information, where the second information includes identification information and a second identifier of the second clock source, and the second identifier is used to indicate that the second clock source is expired.

Optionally, the identification information includes at least one of the following information: clock domain number, clock identification and clock precision.

Optionally, the first device includes a terminal device or a user plane function UPF device.

The clock source management device includes but is not limited to a session management functional entity or a network capability opening functional entity, etc.

And the attribute information of the first clock source includes at least one of the following information: the device identifier of the first device, the port number of the first port, the identifier of the first protocol data unit PDU session, the clock domain number of the first clock source, the clock identifier of the first clock source, or the clock accuracy of the first clock source, where the first port is a port for transmitting the first time synchronization packet, and the first PDU session is a PDU session for transmitting the first time synchronization packet.

In a fourth aspect, a method for clock source management is provided, the method comprising: the clock source management equipment receives second information from first equipment, wherein the second information comprises identification information and a second identification of a second clock source, and the second identification is used for indicating that the second clock source is expired; and managing the second clock source according to the second information.

The first device stores a clock source list, where the clock source list records identification information of each of a plurality of clock sources, where the identification information of the clock sources is used to indicate the clock sources, each of the plurality of clock sources recorded in the clock source list corresponds to a timer, and the second information is sent when a time synchronization packet of the second clock source is not received before the timer corresponding to the second clock source expires.

The clock source management device includes, but is not limited to, a session management function entity, a policy control function entity, a unified data management entity, or a network capability openness function entity, and the like.

The method comprises the steps that clock management equipment receives first information from first equipment, wherein the first information comprises attribute information of a first clock source, the first information is sent when identification information of the first clock source does not belong to a clock source list stored in the first equipment, the clock source list records identification information of each clock source in at least one clock source, and the identification information of the clock source is used for indicating the clock source; and managing the first clock source according to the first information.

For example, the clock source management device includes, but is not limited to, a session management function entity or a network capability openness function entity.

And the attribute information of the first clock source includes at least one of the following information: the device identifier of the first device, the port number of the first port, the identifier of the first protocol data unit PDU session, the clock domain number of the first clock source, the clock identifier of the first clock source, or the clock accuracy of the first clock source, where the first port is a port used to transmit the first time synchronization packet, and the first PDU session is a PDU session used to transmit the first time synchronization packet.

In a fifth aspect, there is provided a clock source management apparatus, wherein each unit in the apparatus is configured to perform each step of the communication method in the first aspect or the third aspect and any implementation manner thereof.

In one design, the device is a communication chip that may include an input circuit or interface for sending information or data and an output circuit or interface for receiving information or data.

In another design, the apparatus is a communication device that may include a transmitter to transmit information or data and a receiver to receive information or data.

A sixth aspect provides a clock source management apparatus, wherein each unit in the apparatus is configured to perform each step of the communication method in the second aspect or the fourth aspect and any one of the foregoing implementation manners.

In a seventh aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes a processor and a memory, where the memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor is used to call and run the computer program from the memory, so that the communication device executes the communication method in any one of the first aspect to the fourth aspect and various implementations thereof.

Optionally, the number of the processors is one or more, and the number of the memories is one or more.

Alternatively, the memory may be integral to the processor or provided separately from the processor.

Optionally, the terminal device further comprises a transmitter (transmitter) and a receiver (receiver).

In an eighth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes the communication device provided in the seventh aspect.

In a possible design, the communication system may further include other devices that interact with the communication device in the solution provided in the embodiment of the present application.

In a ninth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes the above network device and terminal device.

The terminal device is configured to indicate a method of each implementation manner in the first aspect or the third aspect, and the network device is configured to execute a method of each implementation manner in the second aspect or the fourth aspect.

In a possible design, the communication system may further include other devices that interact with the network device or the terminal device in the solution provided in this embodiment.

In a tenth aspect, there is provided a computer program product comprising: a computer program (which may also be referred to as code, or instructions), which when executed, causes a computer to perform the method of any of the first to fourth aspects and possible implementations thereof described above.

In an eleventh aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided, which stores a computer program (which may also be referred to as code, or instructions) that, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of any of the first to fourth aspects and possible implementations thereof.

In a twelfth aspect, a chip system is provided, which includes a memory for storing a computer program and a processor for calling and running the computer program from the memory, so that a communication device in which the chip system is installed executes the method in any of the first to fourth aspects and possible implementation manners thereof.

The system-on-chip may include, among other things, input circuitry or interfaces for transmitting information or data, and output circuitry or interfaces for receiving information or data.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an example of a communication system according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of another example of the communication system of the present application.

Fig. 3 is a schematic interaction diagram of an example of the clock source management process of the present application.

Fig. 4 is a schematic interaction diagram of another example of the clock source management process of the present application.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of an example of an apparatus for processing a time synchronization packet according to the present application.

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of an example of an apparatus for processing a time synchronization packet according to the present application.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of an example of a terminal device according to the present application.

Detailed Description

The technical solution in the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The technical scheme of the embodiment of the application can be applied to various communication systems, for example: a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, an LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, an LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) system, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), a future fifth generation (5 g) system, a New Radio (NR), or the like.

The configuration of the communication system of the present application will be described below with reference to fig. 1.

As shown in fig. 1, the communication system includes, but is not limited to, the following network elements:

1. terminal device

The terminal device in the embodiment of the present application may also be referred to as: user Equipment (UE), mobile Station (MS), mobile Terminal (MT), access terminal, subscriber unit, subscriber station, mobile station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, wireless communication device, user agent, or user device, etc.

The terminal device may be a device providing voice/data connectivity to a user, e.g. a handheld device, a vehicle mounted device, etc. with wireless connectivity. Currently, some examples of terminals are: mobile phone (mobile phone), tablet computer, notebook computer, palm computer, mobile Internet Device (MID), wearable device, virtual Reality (VR) device, augmented Reality (AR) device, wireless terminal in industrial control (industrial control), wireless terminal in unmanned driving (self driving), wireless terminal in remote surgery (remote medical supply), wireless terminal in smart grid (smart grid), wireless terminal in transportation security (transportation security), wireless terminal in city (smart city), wireless terminal in home (smart home), cellular phone, cordless phone, smart session initiation protocol (session initiation protocol), SIP) phone, wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, personal Digital Assistant (PDA), handheld device with wireless communication function, computing device or other processing device connected to wireless modem, vehicle-mounted device, wearable device, terminal device in future 5G network or terminal device in future evolved Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), etc., which is not limited by the embodiments of the present application.

By way of example and not limitation, in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device may also be a wearable device. Wearable equipment can also be called wearable intelligent equipment, is the general term of applying wearable technique to carry out intelligent design, develop the equipment that can dress to daily wearing, like glasses, gloves, wrist-watch, dress and shoes etc.. A wearable device is a portable device that is worn directly on the body or integrated into the clothing or accessories of the user. The wearable device is not only a hardware device, but also realizes powerful functions through software support, data interaction and cloud interaction. The generalized wearable smart device includes full functionality, large size, and can implement full or partial functionality without relying on a smart phone, such as: smart watches or smart glasses and the like, and only focus on a certain type of application function, and need to be matched with other equipment such as a smart phone for use, such as various smart bracelets for physical sign monitoring, smart jewelry and the like.

In addition, in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device may also be a terminal device in an internet of things (IoT) system, where IoT is an important component of future information technology development, and a main technical feature of the present application is to connect an article with a network through a communication technology, so as to implement an intelligent network with interconnected human-computer and interconnected objects.

In the embodiment of the present application, the IOT technology may achieve massive connection, deep coverage, and power saving for the terminal through, for example, a Narrowband (NB) technology. For example, the NB may include one Resource Block (RB), i.e., the bandwidth of the NB is only 180KB. The communication method according to the embodiment of the application can effectively solve the problem of congestion of the IOT technology mass terminals when the mass terminals access the network through the NB.

In addition, in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device may also communicate with terminal devices of other communication systems, for example, inter-device communication. For example, the terminal device may also perform transmission (e.g., sending and/or receiving) of the time synchronization message with terminal devices of other communication systems.

2. Access device

In addition, the access device in this embodiment may be a device for communicating with a terminal device, and the access device may also be referred to as an access network device or a radio access network device, for example, the access device may be an evolved NodeB (eNB or eNodeB) in an LTE system, and may also be a wireless controller in a Cloud Radio Access Network (CRAN) scenario, or the access device may be an access device in a relay station, an access point, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, and a future 5G network or an access device in a future evolved PLMN network, and may be an Access Point (AP) in a WLAN, and may be a gNB in a new radio system (NR) system.

In addition, in this embodiment, the access device is a device in the RAN, or in other words, a RAN node that accesses the terminal device to the wireless network. For example, by way of example and not limitation, as the access device, there may be mentioned: a gbb, a Transmission Reception Point (TRP), an evolved Node B (eNB), a Radio Network Controller (RNC), a Node B (NB), a Base Station Controller (BSC), a Base Transceiver Station (BTS), a home base station (e.g., home evolved Node B, or home Node B, HNB), a Base Band Unit (BBU), or a wireless fidelity (Wifi) access point (access point, AP), etc. In one network configuration, a network device may include a Centralized Unit (CU) node, or a Distributed Unit (DU) node, or a RAN device including a CU node and a DU node, or a control plane CU node (CU-CP node) and a user plane CU node (CU-UP node), and a RAN device of a DU node.

An access device provides service for a cell, and a terminal device communicates with the access device through a transmission resource (for example, a frequency domain resource or a spectrum resource) used by the cell, where the cell may be a cell corresponding to the access device (for example, a base station), the cell may belong to a macro base station, and may also belong to a base station corresponding to a small cell (small cell), where the small cell may include: urban cells (metro cells), micro cells (pico cells), femto cells (pico cells), and the like, and these small cells have the characteristics of small coverage area and low transmission power, and are suitable for providing high-rate data transmission services.

In addition, multiple cells can simultaneously work at the same frequency on a carrier in an LTE system or a 5G system, and under some special scenes, the concepts of the carrier and the cells can also be considered to be equivalent. For example, in a Carrier Aggregation (CA) scenario, when a secondary carrier is configured for a UE, a carrier index of the secondary carrier and a Cell identification (Cell ID) of a secondary Cell operating on the secondary carrier are carried at the same time, and in this case, it may be considered that the concepts of the carrier and the Cell are equivalent, for example, it is equivalent that a terminal device accesses one carrier and one Cell.

The communication system of the present application may also be applicable to vehicle to electrical (V2X) technology, i.e., the terminal device of the present application may also be an automobile, for example, an intelligent automobile or an autonomous driving automobile.

"X" in V2X represents a different communication target, and V2X may include, but is not limited to: vehicle to vehicle (V2V), vehicle to road sign (V2I), vehicle to network (V2N), and vehicle to pedestrian (V2P).

In V2X, an access device may configure a "zone" for a UE. Wherein the area may also be referred to as a geographical area. When a region is configured, the world will be divided into a number of regions defined by reference points, length, and width. When the UE determines the area Identity (ID), the remaining operations are performed using the length, the width, the number of areas above the length, the number of areas above the width, and the reference point. The above information may be configured by the access device.

3. Access management function entity

The access management functional entity is mainly used for mobility management, access management, and the like, and may be used to implement other functions, such as functions of lawful interception, access authorization/authentication, and the like, in addition to session management in a Mobility Management Entity (MME) function in the LTE system.

In a 5G communication system, the access management network element may be an access and mobility management function (AMF) entity.

In future communication systems, the access management function entity may still be an AMF entity, or may also have another name, which is not limited in this application.

4. Session management function entity

The Session Management Function (SMF) entity is mainly used for session management, internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management of a terminal device, selection of a terminal node that can manage a user plane function and a policy control and charging function interface, and downlink data notification.

In future communication systems, the session management network element may still be an SMF entity, or may also have another name, which is not limited in this application.

5. Application function entity

The Application Function (AF) entity is used to perform data routing affected by the application, access the network capability openness function entity, perform policy control with the policy framework interaction, and the like.

In future communication systems, the application function entity may still be an AF entity, or may also have another name, which is not limited in this application.

6. Network capability open function entity

A Network capability Exposure Function (NEF) entity is used to securely expose various capabilities of the system to the outside for use by third-party applications.

For example, in the present application, the NEF may open the time synchronization capability of a communication system (e.g., 5G system) for supporting application services such as professional audio-video, industrial control, and the like.

In future communication systems, the network capability openness function entity may still be the NEF entity, or may also have other names, which is not limited in this application.

7. User plane functional entity

A User Plane Function (UPF) entity is used for packet routing and forwarding, quality of service (QoS) processing of user plane data, and the like.

In future communication systems, the user plane functional entity may still be a UPF entity, or may also have another name, which is not limited in this application.

8. Data network

Data Networks (DNs) are used to provide networks for transferring data.

9. Policy control function entity

The Policy Control Function (PCF) entity supports a unified Policy framework to manage network behavior, provides Policy rules to the network entity to implement execution, and accesses subscription information of a Unified Data Repository (UDR).

It should be noted that the above "entity" may also be referred to as a network element, an apparatus, a device, a module, or the like, and the application is not particularly limited. In the present application, for convenience of understanding and explanation, a description of "entity" is omitted in some descriptions, for example, an SMF entity is abbreviated as SMF, in which case the "SMF" should be understood as an SMF network element or an SMF entity, and explanation of the same or similar cases is omitted below.

It is to be understood that the above entities or functions can be network elements in a hardware device, software functions running on dedicated hardware, or virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform).

It should be understood that the network elements or entities included in the above-listed communication system are only exemplary and are not particularly limited in this application.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating another example of the present application, and as shown in fig. 2, the communication system of the present application may support a Time Sensitive Network (TSN). Specifically, the TSN system sends time service information to the TSN node through a communication system (specifically, a communication system in which the terminal device resides), for example, a 5G system, so as to achieve the purpose of achieving clock synchronization between TSN nodes in the same time domain, which is colloquially speaking, the clock time of each TSN node is consistent. The 5G system deploys the function modules on the terminal equipment: a device side TSN converter (DS-TT) deploys a function module on a User Plane Function (UPF): a network side TSN translator (NW-TT) to adapt to an external TSN system.

The TSN system sends time service information through the TSN nodes so as to achieve the purpose of clock synchronization of the TSN nodes in the same time domain, and in popular terms, the clock time of each TSN node is consistent. The wireless communication system is characterized in that the wireless communication system deploys the functional modules on the terminal equipment: DS-TT, deploying the function module in UPF: NW-TT, to adapt to external TSN systems. As shown in fig. 2. When the 5G system is used as a TSN Bridge (TSN Bridge), it can be referred to as a 5GS Virtual TSN Bridge (5 GS Virtual TSN Bridge).

The embodiment of the present application does not particularly limit a specific structure of an execution subject of the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, as long as the execution subject can communicate according to the method provided by the embodiment of the present application by running a program recorded with a code of the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, for example, the execution subject of the method provided by the embodiment of the present application may be a terminal device or a network device, or a functional module capable of calling a program and executing the program in the terminal device or the network device; or a component (e.g., a chip or a circuit) that may be used in a terminal device or a network device.

In addition, various aspects or features of the present application may be implemented as a method, apparatus, or article of manufacture using standard programming and/or engineering techniques. The term "article of manufacture" as used herein is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device, carrier, or media. For example, computer-readable media can include but are not limited to magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strips, etc.), optical disks (e.g., compact Disk (CD), digital Versatile Disk (DVD), etc.), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), card, stick, or key drive, etc.). In addition, various storage media described herein can represent one or more devices and/or other machine-readable media for storing information. The term "machine-readable medium" can include, without being limited to, wireless channels and various other media capable of storing, containing, and/or carrying instruction(s) and/or data.

In the communication system of the present application, various time synchronization capabilities may be provided (or, alternatively, various clock sources, such as GM, may be used) to provide various degrees of accuracy in time synchronization.

For example, time synchronization capabilities may include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. the ability to synchronize based on a clock source (e.g., 5G GM) internal to the system (e.g., 5G system);

2. the ability to synchronize based on a TSN-based clock source (e.g., TSN GM);

3. based on the ability to synchronize on other types of clock sources possible in the future.

In addition, with the same type of time synchronization capability, there may be multiple different clock sources. For example, in the time synchronization type of TSN, the synchronization may be performed based on the TSN clock source 1 (TSN GM 1) in the clock domain where the TSN node 1 is located in fig. 2, or the synchronization may be performed based on the TSN clock source 2 (TSN GM 2) in the clock domain where the TSN node 2 is located in fig. 2. Different clock sources may have different synchronization accuracies. For example, the accuracy of 5G GM may be 0.1 milliseconds (ms), the accuracy of TSN GM1 may be 0.001ms, and the accuracy of TSN GM2 may be 0.001ms.

For example, the scheme provided by the application can support the time synchronization capability based on three clock sources of two types, for example, the synchronization of the clock source (5G GM) based on a 5G system and the synchronization of the clock source (TSN GM1 and TSN GM 2) based on a TSN master clock source.

The three clock sources provide different time synchronization accuracy, and are exposed to a third-party application through the NEF. Different applications may choose to use 1 (or more) time synchronization capability depending on different application requirements.

For example, the video surveillance application may choose to use TSN GM1 based time synchronization, the production control application may also choose to use TSN GM1 based time synchronization, and the video conferencing application may choose to use 5G GM based time synchronization.

In the present application, time information may be carried and transmitted between devices (including between devices in a system or between a device in a system and a device outside the system) through a Time synchronization message, for example, a general Precision Time Protocol (gPTP) message (or a message).

Therefore, the devices inside the system, for example, the network elements such as UE and UPF inside the 5G system, and the UE or network device outside the 5G system, can perform time synchronization according to the time information in the received gPTP message.

By way of example and not limitation, the time information may include, but is not limited to, a transmission time of the time synchronization packet, a time offset, and the like.

It should be understood that the specific contents of the time information and the time synchronization message listed above are only exemplary, and the present application is not particularly limited, and the time synchronization message of the present application may be the same as or similar to the message used in the time synchronization process in the prior art, and the time information of the present application may be the same as or similar to the information used in the time synchronization process in the prior art, or the information carried by the time synchronization message in the prior art.

Next, the method of clock source management according to the present application will be described in detail with reference to fig. 3 and 4.

Fig. 3 shows an interaction procedure between device # a (i.e., an example of the first device) and SMF (i.e., an example of the clock source management device) when discovering a new clock source. The device # a may be a device capable of receiving a time synchronization packet in a communication system, for example, the device # a may include a UE, a UPF, a DS-TT, or an NW-TT.

It should be understood that the above SMF is only one example of the clock source management device, and other devices capable of communicating with device # a and managing clock sources all fall within the scope of the present application.

As shown in fig. 3, at S110, the device # a acquires the clock source list # a (i.e., an example of the clock source list).

The clock source list # a records therein identification information of at least one clock source.

In this application, the identification information of the clock source is used to indicate (or distinguish) the clock source.

By way of example and not limitation, the identification information may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following:

A. clock domain Number (clock domain Number)

Specifically, the clock domain number is used to indicate (or distinguish) the clock domain, and the clock domain of a clock refers to the active area of the clock.

The clock domain number may also be referred to as a clock domain identification (clock domain ID).

B. Clock identification (clock ID)

In particular, the clock identification is used to indicate (or otherwise distinguish) the clock (or, clock source).

C. Clock precision (clock Accuracy)

It should be understood that the above listed parameters or information as the identification information of the clock source are only exemplary, and the present application is not limited thereto, and other information capable of indicating or distinguishing the clock source falls within the protection scope of the present application.

Table 1 below shows an example of the clock source list # a of the present application.

TABLE 1

Clock source	Identification information
		Clock source #1	Identification information #1
Clock source #2	Identification information #2
		……	……
Clock source # N	Identification information # N

By way of example and not limitation, in the present application, the identification information may include information that is carried in a time packet in the prior art and can implement a function (or an action) of the identification information, so that modification of an existing time synchronization packet can be avoided, and thus compatibility of the present application is improved.

It should be understood that the identification information may also be information that is not carried in an existing time packet, and the present application is not particularly limited, that is, in this case, the time synchronization packet of the present application is different from the time synchronization packet of the prior art because the time synchronization packet needs to carry the identification information, and the position of the identification information in the time synchronization packet is not particularly limited as long as it is ensured that the receiving device of the time synchronization packet can obtain the identification information from the time synchronization packet.

In a possible implementation manner, the clock source list # a further records attribute information (or parameter information) of at least one clock source.

In the present application, attribute information of a clock source is used to indicate an attribute or a feature of the clock source.

The attribute or characteristic of a certain clock source may be used to determine whether the clock source is suitable for the needs of a certain service.

By way of example and not limitation, the attribute information may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following:

1. clock domain Number (clock domain Number)

Specifically, a clock domain number is used to indicate (or distinguish) a clock domain, and a clock domain of a clock refers to the active area of the clock.

2. Clock identification (clock ID)

Specifically, the clock identification is used to indicate (or to distinguish) the clock (or clock source).

3. Clock precision (clock Accuracy)

4. And the equipment identifier of the receiving equipment of the time synchronization message corresponding to the clock source.

5. And the clock source corresponds to the port number of the receiving port of the time synchronization message.

6. An identifier (PDU Session ID) of a Protocol Data Unit Session (PDU Session) in which a time synchronization packet corresponding to the clock source is carried.

It should be understood that the above listed parameters or information as the attribute information of the clock source are only exemplary, and the present application is not limited thereto, and other information capable of determining whether the clock source is suitable for the requirement of a certain service falls within the scope of the present application.

Table 2 below shows another example of the clock source list # a of the present application.

TABLE 2

Clock source	Identification information	Attribute information
			Clock source #1	Identification information #1	Attribute information #1
Clock source #2	Identification information #2	Attribute information #2
			……	……	……
Clock source # N	Identification information # N	Attribute information # N

In a possible implementation manner, the identification information of part or all of the clock sources recorded in the clock source list # a may be issued by the clock management device to the device # a.

In another possible implementation manner, identification information of some or all clock sources recorded in the clock source list # a may be recorded in the clock source list # a by the device # a when determining that one clock source is a newly discovered clock source.

It should be noted that, in the present application, the clock source recorded in the clock source list may be an internal clock source or an external clock source, and the present application is not particularly limited.

The internal clock source may be understood as a clock source of a communication system in which the device # a currently resides, for example, when the device # a is a terminal device, the internal system is a communication system in which the internal system currently resides, and when the device # a is a UPF device, the internal system is a communication system to which the UPF device belongs. For example, the internal clock source may include, but is not limited to, a clock source of a fifth generation 5G or sixth generation 6G system.

The external clock source may be understood as a clock source of a system other than the communication system in which the device # a is currently located, for example, the external clock source may include, but is not limited to, a clock source of the delay-sensitive network TSN.

The following describes the process of determining whether a clock source is a newly discovered clock source in detail.

At S120, the device # a receives the time synchronization message # a (e.g., gPTP).

It should be noted that, in the present application, a clock source (denoted as clock source # a) corresponding to the time synchronization packet # a may be an internal clock source or an external clock source, and the present application is not particularly limited.

For example, as shown in fig. 3, the time synchronization packet # a may be a time synchronization packet, e.g., TSN, sent by an external device.

And, the device # a may parse the time synchronization packet # a to obtain the identification information # a carried in the time synchronization packet # a (i.e., the identification information of the clock source # a).

At S130, the device # a may determine whether the identification information # a is recorded in the clock source list # a.

Case 1. The determination result is that the identification information # a is recorded in the clock source list # a

In this case, the device # a determines that the clock source # a indicated by the identification information # a is the discovered clock source according to the determination result.

Case 2. The judgment result is that the identification information # A is not recorded in the clock source list # A

In this case, the device # a determines that the clock source # a indicated by the identification information # a is a newly found clock source according to the determination result, and then proceeds to S1140.

Specifically, at S140, the device # a may acquire attribute information of the clock source # a (or, the time sync packet # a).

For example, the device # a may use information such as a clock domain number, a clock identifier, or clock accuracy carried in the time synchronization packet # a (e.g., time information carried in the time synchronization packet # a) as the attribute information of the clock source # a.

For another example, the device # a may use a port number of a receiving port of the time synchronization packet # a, identification information of the device # a, or a PDU Session ID of a Session carried by the time synchronization packet # a as the attribute information of the clock source # a.

And, the device # a may directly transmit the attribute information of the clock source # a to the SMF.

Specifically, the device # a may transmit a clock management message # a (i.e., an example of the first information) carrying attribute information of the clock source # a to the SMF.

In one implementation, the clock management message # a may also carry identification information of the clock source # a.

In another implementation manner, the clock management message # a may further carry a new clock source discovery identifier (i.e., an example of the first identifier), where the new clock source discovery identifier is used to indicate that the clock source carried by the clock management message # a is a newly discovered clock source, or the new clock source discovery identifier is used to indicate that the clock source to which the attribute information carried by the clock management message # a belongs is a newly discovered clock source.

It should be noted that, the new clock source discovery flag and a clock source expiration flag described later may share the same flag (or bit), and the new clock source discovery flag and the clock source expiration flag correspond to different bit values.

For example, the bit corresponding to the new clock discovery flag is set to "1", and the bit corresponding to the clock expiration flag is set to "0".

Thus, when a device discovers a new clock source, it can identify location 1; this may be identified as location 0 when the device determines that the clock source is expired.

Therefore, the SMF may determine, according to the new clock source discovery identifier, that the clock source (i.e., the clock source # a) to which the attribute information carried in the clock management message # a belongs is the newly discovered clock source, and further store the attribute information of the clock source # a.

For example, when determining that the attribute information of the clock source # a meets the requirement of a certain service, control may be performed so that a terminal device that needs to access the service can receive the time synchronization packet of the clock source # a.

For another example, the SMF may send the attribute information of the clock source # a to the NEF, so that the NEF may expose the attribute information of the clock source # a as a time synchronization capability of the system to the outside for use by a third party application.

In one implementation, the device # a may directly send the clock management message # a after determining that the clock source # a indicated by the identification information # a is a newly discovered clock source.

In another implementation, the device # a may further start a timer (note, timer # a) after determining that the clock source # a indicated by the identification information # a is a newly discovered clock source. The time length of the timer # a may be defined by a communication system or a communication protocol, or the time length of the timer # a may be set by an administrator device, which is not particularly limited in this application.

Also, the device # a may determine whether or not to receive the time synchronization packet of the clock source # a again before the timer # a expires.

If the determination result is yes, the device # a may transmit the clock management message # a.

If the determination is negative, the device # A stops (or, inhibits or does not) transmitting the clock management message # A.

In another implementation, multiple reporting periods may be divided in the time domain, and assuming that the device # a receives the time synchronization packet # a at the time # a, or the device # a obtains a determination result that the clock source # a indicated by the identification information # a is a newly found clock source at the time # a, the device # a may send the clock management message # a in the reporting period where the time # a is located; alternatively, the device # a may transmit the clock management message # a in a tth reporting period after the reporting period in which the time # a is located, where a value of T greater than or equal to 1,t may be specified by the communication coordination or the communication protocol, or the value of T may also be specified by the administrator device, which is not particularly limited in this application.

In addition, the clock management message # a may only carry the attribute information of the clock source # a, or the clock relationship message may also carry the attribute information of a plurality of clock sources (for example, found in the same reporting period).

Further, the device # a can also record identification information and attribute information of the clock source # a and the like in the clock source list # a.

According to the scheme of the application, the clock source list recording the identification information of the clock source is configured in the device # A, and the identification information of the clock source corresponding to the time synchronization message is carried in the time synchronization message, so that the device # A can judge whether the clock source corresponding to the received time synchronization message is a newly found clock source according to the clock source list, and further can send the attribute information of the newly found clock source to network equipment for managing the clock source such as SMF (simple message format) and the like under the condition of judging yes, thereby improving the efficiency of clock source discovery and reducing the cost and time delay of clock source discovery.

In a possible implementation manner, after recording the identification information and the attribute information of the clock source # a in the clock source list # a, a customizer (note, timer # B) corresponding to the clock source # a may be started, where the timer # a and the timer # B may be the same timer (or the same timing duration), or the timer # a and the timer # B may be different timers (or different timing durations), and the present application is not particularly limited.

And, if the device # a receives the time synchronization packet of the clock source # a before the timer # B expires, the device # a resets the timer # B.

If the device # a does not receive the time synchronization packet of the clock source # a until the timer # B is reset (or started) for the last time before the timer # B arrives, the device # a may delete the identification information of the clock source # a from the clock source list # a.

Furthermore, the device # a may further send a clock management message # B (i.e., an example of the second information) to the SMF, where the clock management message # B may further carry identification information and/or attribute information of the clock source # a.

In addition, the clock management message # B may also carry a clock source expiration identifier (i.e., an example of the second identifier), where the clock source expiration identifier is used to indicate that the clock source # a is an expired clock source.

As described above, the clock source expiration flag and the new clock source discovery flag may share the same flag (or bit), and the new clock source discovery flag and the clock source expiration flag correspond to different bit values.

Therefore, the SMF may determine that the clock source (i.e., the clock source # a) to which the attribute information carried in the clock management message # B belongs is expired according to the expiration identifier of the clock source, and then delete the attribute information of the clock source # a.

For example, SMF may inform NEF that the clock source #1 is expired, so that NEF can no longer expose the attribute information of the clock source # a to the outside as a kind of time synchronization capability of the system.

Fig. 4 shows an interaction procedure between device #1 (i.e., an example of the first device) and the SMF (i.e., an example of the clock source management device) when discovering a new clock source. The device #1 may be a device capable of receiving a time synchronization packet in a communication system, for example, the device #1 may include a UE, a UPF, a DS-TT, or an NW-TT.

It should be understood that the above SMF is only one example of the clock source management device, and other devices capable of communicating with device #1 and managing clock sources all fall within the scope of the present application.

As shown in fig. 4, at S210, the device #1 acquires the clock source list #1 (i.e., an example of the clock source list).

The clock source list #1 records therein identification information of at least one clock source.

The function and effect of the identification information are similar to those of the identification information described in the process shown in fig. 3, and detailed description thereof is omitted to avoid redundancy.

In a possible implementation manner, the clock source list #1 further records attribute information (or parameter information) of at least one clock source.

The function and effect of the attribute information are similar to those of the attribute information described in the process shown in fig. 3, and detailed description thereof is omitted to avoid redundancy.

The following describes the process of determining whether a clock source is expired.

In this application, each clock source recorded in the clock source list #1 corresponds to a timer, where a timing duration of the timer may be specified by a communication system or a communication protocol, or the timing duration of the timer may also be set by an administrator device, which is not particularly limited in this application.

In addition, in this application, the timing durations of the timers corresponding to any two clock sources may be the same or different, and this application is not particularly limited.

Hereinafter, a process when one clock source (referred to as clock source # 1) described in the clock source list #1 expires will be described as an example.

At S220, the device #1 may start a timer (denoted as timer # 1) corresponding to the clock source #1.

For example, device #1 may start timer #1 based on an indication of a network device (e.g., UPF, SMF, AMF, or the like).

Alternatively, the device #1 may start the timer #1 when receiving the time synchronization packet of the clock source #1 for the first time.

And, if the device #1 receives the time sync message of the clock source #1 before the timer #1 expires, the device #1 resets the timer #1.

If the device #1 does not receive the time synchronization packet of the clock source #1 from the time when the timer #1 is reset (or started) for the last time to the time when the timer #1 arrives, in S230, the device #1 sends a clock management message #1 (i.e., an example of the second information) to the SMF, where the clock management message #1 may also carry the identification information and/or the attribute information of the clock source #1.

In addition, the clock management message #1 may further carry a clock source expiration identifier (i.e., an example of the second identifier), where the clock source expiration identifier is used to indicate that the clock source carried by the clock management message #1 is an expired clock source, or the clock source expiration identifier is used to indicate that the clock source to which the attribute information carried by the clock management message #1 belongs is an expired clock source, or the clock source expiration identifier is used to indicate that the clock source indicated by the identification information carried by the clock management message #1 is an expired clock source.

Therefore, the SMF may determine, according to the expiration identifier of the clock source, that the clock source (i.e., the clock source # 1) to which the attribute information carried in the clock management message #1 belongs is expired, and further process the expired clock source.

For example, the SMF may notify NEF that the clock source #1 is expired, so that NEF can no longer expose the attribute information of the clock source #1 as a kind of time synchronization capability of the system to the outside.

According to the scheme of the application, a clock source list for recording identification information of a clock source is configured in the device #1, each clock source can correspond to one timer, and the identification information of the clock source corresponding to the time synchronization message is carried in the time synchronization message, so that the device #1 can judge whether the clock source is expired according to the timer corresponding to each clock source, and further can report the expired clock source to network equipment for managing the clock source such as SMF (simple message format) under the condition that the judgment result is yes, thereby enabling the clock source management equipment to timely determine whether the discovered clock source is expired, and further improving the accuracy of the reliability of communication.

It should be noted that, the processes described in fig. 3 and fig. 4 may be executed separately or jointly, that is, the apparatus # a and the apparatus #1 may be the same apparatus or different apparatuses, and the present application is not limited in particular.

The clock management message # a and the clock management message #1 may be the same message or different messages, and the present application is not particularly limited.

It should be noted that, when the clock management message # a and the clock management message #1 are the same message, it indicates that the same clock relationship message, that is, the message carries the new clock source discovery identifier and also carries the clock source expiration identifier, in this case, the positional relationship between the attribute information (and/or the identification information) of the newly found clock source and the new clock source discovery identifier (specifically, the relationship between the carrying positions in the clock relationship message) needs to satisfy a preset first relationship, and the positional relationship between the attribute information (and/or the identification information) of the expired clock source and the clock source expiration identifier satisfies a preset second relationship, where the first relationship and the second relationship may be specified by a communication system or a communication protocol, or may also be determined by negotiation between the device # a (or, device # 1) and the SMF, so that the SMF can accurately determine which clock sources are newly found and which are expired.

Further, the device #1 may also delete the identification information and the attribute information of the clock source #1 and the like from the clock source list #1.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus 300 for processing a time synchronization packet according to the foregoing method.

The apparatus 300 may be a terminal device, or may be a chip or a circuit, for example, a chip or a circuit that may be disposed on a terminal device.

The apparatus 300 may include a processing unit 310 (i.e., an example of a processing unit) and, optionally, a storage unit 320. The storage unit 320 is used to store instructions.

In a possible manner, the processing unit 310 is configured to execute the instructions stored by the storage unit 320, so as to enable the apparatus 300 to implement the steps performed by the terminal device in the method as described above.

Further, the apparatus 300 may further include an input port 330 (i.e., one example of a communication unit) and an output port 340 (i.e., another example of a transceiver unit). Further, the processing unit 310, the memory unit 320, the input port 330 and the output port 340 may communicate with each other via internal connection paths to transmit control and/or data signals. The storage unit 320 is used for storing a computer program, and the processing unit 310 may be used for calling and running the computing program from the storage unit 320, so as to complete the steps of the terminal device in the above method. The storage unit 320 may be integrated in the processing unit 310 or may be provided separately from the processing unit 310.

Alternatively, the input port 330 may be a receiver and the output port 340 may be a transmitter, in one possible manner. Wherein the receiver and the transmitter may be the same or different physical entities. When the same physical entity, may be collectively referred to as a transceiver.

Alternatively, in one possible approach, the input port 330 is an input interface and the output port 340 is an output interface.

As an implementation manner, the functions of the input port 330 and the output port 340 may be realized by a transceiver circuit or a dedicated chip for transceiving. The processing unit 310 may be considered to be implemented by a dedicated processing chip, a processing circuit, a processing unit or a general-purpose chip.

As another implementation manner, a terminal device provided in this embodiment of the present application may be implemented by using a general-purpose computer. Program codes that implement the functions of the processing unit 310, the input port 330, and the output port 340 are stored in the storage unit 320, and a general-purpose processing unit implements the functions of the processing unit 310, the input port 330, and the output port 340 by executing the codes in the storage unit 320.

In an implementation manner, the input port 330 is configured to obtain a clock source list, where the clock source list records identification information of each clock source in at least one clock source, where the identification information of the clock source is used to indicate the clock source and is used to receive a first time synchronization packet, and the first time synchronization packet includes identification information of a first clock source;

if the identification information of the first clock source does not belong to the identification information recorded in the clock source list, the processing unit 310 is configured to control the output port 340 to send the first information, where the first information includes attribute information of the first clock source.

Optionally, the attribute information of the first clock source includes at least one of the following information: a device identification of the first device, a port number of the first port, an identification of a first protocol data unit, PDU, session, a clock domain number of the first clock source, a clock identification of the first clock source, or a clock accuracy of the first clock source,

the first port is a port for transmitting the first time synchronization packet, and the first PDU session is a PDU session for transmitting the first time synchronization packet.

Optionally, the processing unit 310 is configured to start a first timer after the input port 330 receives the first time synchronization packet; and, if the input port 330 receives a second time synchronization message before the first timer expires, the control output port 340 sends the first information, where the second time synchronization message includes identification information of the first clock source.

Optionally, the processing unit 310 is configured to record the identification information of the first clock source in the clock source list.

Optionally, each clock source in the plurality of clock sources recorded in the clock source list corresponds to a timer, an

Optionally, the processing unit 310 is configured to start or reset a timer corresponding to a second clock source if the input port 330 receives a time synchronization packet of the second clock source, where the second clock source is one of the plurality of clock sources recorded in the clock source list.

Optionally, the processing unit 310 is configured to delete the identification information of the second clock source from the clock source list if the input port 330 does not receive the time synchronization packet of the second clock source before the expiration of the timer corresponding to the second clock source.

Optionally, the processing unit 310 is configured to control the output port 340 to send second information if the time synchronization packet of the second clock source is not received by the input port 330 before the time of the timer corresponding to the second clock source arrives, where the second information includes identification information and a second identifier of the second clock source, and the second identifier is used to indicate that the second clock source is expired.

Optionally, the first device comprises any one of: the device comprises terminal equipment, user plane function UPF equipment, an equipment side delay sensitive network translator and a network side delay sensitive network translator.

In another implementation manner, the input port 330 is configured to obtain a clock source list, where the clock source list records identification information of each clock source in multiple clock sources, where the identification information of the clock source is used to indicate the clock source, and each clock source in the multiple clock sources recorded in the clock source list corresponds to one timer; if the input port 330 receives a time synchronization packet of a second clock source, the processing unit 310 starts or resets a timer corresponding to the second clock source, where the second clock source is one of the plurality of clock sources recorded in the clock source list; if the input port 330 does not receive the time synchronization packet of the second clock source before the time of the timer corresponding to the second clock source expires, the processing unit 310 deletes the identification information of the second clock source from the clock source list; and/or if the input port 330 does not receive the time synchronization packet of the second clock source before the timer corresponding to the second clock source expires, the processing unit 310 controls the output port 340 to send second information, where the second information includes identification information and a second identifier of the second clock source, and the second identifier is used to indicate that the second clock source is expired.

The above-listed functions and actions of the modules or units in the apparatus 300 are only exemplary, and when the apparatus 300 is configured or is itself a receiving device of the time synchronization packet, the modules or units in the apparatus 300 may be configured to perform the actions or processes performed by the receiving device of the time synchronization packet (e.g., device # a or device # 1) in the above-described method. Here, detailed description thereof is omitted in order to avoid redundancy.

For the concepts, explanations, details and other steps related to the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application related to the apparatus 300, reference is made to the descriptions of the foregoing methods or other embodiments, which are not repeated herein.

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus 400 for processing a time synchronization packet according to the foregoing method.

The apparatus 400 may be a network device, or may be a chip or a circuit, such as a chip or a circuit that may be disposed in a clock management device (e.g., SMF).

The apparatus 400 may include a processing unit 410 (i.e., an example of a processing unit) and, optionally, a storage unit 420. The storage unit 420 is used to store instructions.

In a possible manner, the processing unit 410 is configured to execute the instructions stored by the storage unit 420, so as to enable the apparatus 400 to implement the steps performed by the network device in the method as described above.

Further, the apparatus 400 may further include an input port 430 (i.e., one example of a communication unit) and an output port 440 (i.e., another example of a transceiver unit). Further, the processing unit 410, the memory unit 420, the input port 430 and the output port 440 may communicate with each other via internal connection paths, passing control and/or data signals. The storage unit 420 is used for storing a computer program, and the processing unit 410 may be used for calling and running the computing program from the storage unit 420 to complete the steps of the network device in the above method. The storage unit 420 may be integrated into the processing unit 410 or may be provided separately from the processing unit 410.

Alternatively, in one possible approach, the input port 430 may be a receiver and the output port 440 may be a transmitter. Wherein the receiver and the transmitter may be the same or different physical entities. When the same physical entity, may be collectively referred to as a transceiver.

Alternatively, in one possible approach, the input port 430 is an input interface and the output port 440 is an output interface.

As an implementation, the functions of the input port 430 and the output port 440 may be implemented by a transceiver circuit or a dedicated chip for transceiving. The processing unit 410 may be considered to be implemented by a dedicated processing chip, a processing circuit, a processing unit or a general purpose chip.

As another implementation manner, a manner of using a general-purpose computer to implement the network device provided in the embodiment of the present application may be considered. Program codes that implement the functions of processing unit 410, input port 430 and output port 440 are stored in memory unit 420, and a general purpose processing unit implements the functions of processing unit 410, input port 430 and output port 440 by executing the codes in memory unit 420.

When the apparatus 400 is configured as or is a time management device, each module or unit in the apparatus 400 may be configured to perform each action or process performed by the time management device (e.g., SMF) in the above method. Here, a detailed description thereof is omitted in order to avoid redundancy.

For the concepts, explanations, and details of the technical solutions provided in the embodiment of the present application and other steps related to the apparatus 400, reference is made to the foregoing methods or descriptions related to these contents in other embodiments, which are not repeated herein.

Fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal device 500 provided in the present application. The apparatus 300 may be configured in the terminal device 500, or the apparatus 300 itself may be the terminal device 500. Alternatively, the terminal device 500 may perform the actions performed by the receiving device (e.g., device #1 or device # a) of the time sync packet in the above-described method.

For convenience of explanation, fig. 7 shows only main components of the terminal device. As shown in fig. 7, the terminal apparatus 500 includes a processor, a memory, a control circuit, an antenna, and an input-output device.

The processor is mainly configured to process a communication protocol and communication data, control the entire terminal device, execute a software program, and process data of the software program, for example, to support the terminal device to perform the actions described in the above embodiment of the method for instructing a transmission precoding matrix. The memory is mainly used for storing software programs and data, for example, the codebook described in the above embodiments. The control circuit is mainly used for converting baseband signals and radio frequency signals and processing the radio frequency signals. The control circuit and the antenna together, which may also be called a transceiver, are mainly used for transceiving radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input and output devices, such as touch screens, display screens, keyboards, etc., are mainly used for receiving data input by users and outputting data to the users.

When the terminal device is turned on, the processor can read the software program in the storage unit, interpret and execute the instruction of the software program, and process the data of the software program. When data needs to be sent wirelessly, the processor outputs a baseband signal to the radio frequency circuit after performing baseband processing on the data to be sent, and the radio frequency circuit performs radio frequency processing on the baseband signal and sends the radio frequency signal outwards in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is transmitted to the terminal equipment, the radio frequency circuit receives radio frequency signals through the antenna, converts the radio frequency signals into baseband signals and outputs the baseband signals to the processor, and the processor converts the baseband signals into the data and processes the data.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that fig. 7 shows only one memory and processor for the sake of illustration. In an actual terminal device, there may be multiple processors and memories. The memory may also be referred to as a storage medium or a storage device, and the like, which is not limited in this application.

For example, the processor may include a baseband processor and a central processing unit, the baseband processor is mainly used for processing the communication protocol and the communication data, and the central processing unit is mainly used for controlling the whole terminal device, executing the software program, and processing the data of the software program. The processor in fig. 7 integrates the functions of the baseband processor and the central processing unit, and those skilled in the art will understand that the baseband processor and the central processing unit may also be independent processors, and are interconnected through a bus or the like. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the terminal device may include a plurality of baseband processors to accommodate different network formats, the terminal device may include a plurality of central processors to enhance its processing capability, and various components of the terminal device may be connected by various buses. The baseband processor can also be expressed as a baseband processing circuit or a baseband processing chip. The central processing unit can also be expressed as a central processing circuit or a central processing chip. The function of processing the communication protocol and the communication data may be built in the processor, or may be stored in the storage unit in the form of a software program, and the processor executes the software program to realize the baseband processing function.

For example, in the embodiment of the present application, the antenna and the control circuit with transceiving functions may be regarded as the transceiving unit 510 of the terminal device 500, and the processor with processing function may be regarded as the processing unit 520 of the terminal device 500. As shown in fig. 7, the terminal device 500 includes a transceiving unit 510 and a processing unit 520. A transceiver unit may also be referred to as a transceiver, a transceiving device, etc. Alternatively, a device for implementing a receiving function in the transceiving unit 510 may be regarded as a receiving unit, and a device for implementing a transmitting function in the transceiving unit 510 may be regarded as a transmitting unit, that is, the transceiving unit includes a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. For example, the receiving unit may also be referred to as a receiver, a receiving circuit, etc., and the sending unit may be referred to as a transmitter, a transmitting circuit, etc.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, which includes one or more of the foregoing terminal device and network device.

It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the processor may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), and the processor may also be other general-purpose processors, digital Signal Processors (DSPs), application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, and the like. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like.

It will also be appreciated that the memory in the embodiments of the subject application can be either volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, or can include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. The non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a Programmable ROM (PROM), an Erasable PROM (EPROM), an electrically Erasable EPROM (EEPROM), or a flash memory. Volatile memory can be Random Access Memory (RAM), which acts as external cache memory. By way of example, but not limitation, many forms of Random Access Memory (RAM) are available, such as Static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct bus RAM (DR RAM).

The above embodiments may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, the above-described embodiments may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions or computer programs. The procedures or functions according to the embodiments of the present application are wholly or partially generated when the computer instructions or the computer program are loaded or executed on a computer. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a network of computers, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another computer readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center by wire (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. that contains one or more collections of available media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium. The semiconductor medium may be a solid state disk.

It should be understood that the term "and/or" herein is only one kind of association relationship describing the association object, and means that there may be three kinds of relationships, for example, a and/or B, and may mean: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. In addition, the character "/" herein generally indicates that the former and latter related objects are in an "or" relationship.

It should be understood that, in the various embodiments of the present application, the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes do not imply any order of execution, and the order of execution of the processes should be determined by their functions and inherent logic, and should not constitute any limitation to the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, or combinations of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the implementation. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application. It can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art that, for convenience and simplicity of description, the specific working processes of the above-described systems, apparatuses and units may refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and are not described herein again. In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus and method may be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described apparatus embodiments are merely illustrative, and for example, the division of the units is only one logical division, and other divisions may be realized in practice, for example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted, or not executed. In addition, the shown or discussed mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection may be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, and may be in an electrical, mechanical or other form.

The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of the embodiment. In addition, functional units in the embodiments of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit. The functions, if implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as a stand-alone product, may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present application or portions thereof that substantially contribute to the prior art may be embodied in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium and including instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to execute all or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present application. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: u disk, removable hard disk, read only memory, random access memory, magnetic or optical disk, etc. for storing program codes.

The above description is only for the specific embodiments of the present application, but the scope of the present application is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of the changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present application, and shall be covered by the scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method of clock source management, the method comprising:

the method comprises the steps that first equipment maintains a clock source list, wherein identification information of each clock source in at least one clock source is recorded in the clock source list, and the identification information of the clock source is used for indicating the clock source;

receiving a first time synchronization message, wherein the first time synchronization message comprises identification information of a first clock source;

and if the identification information of the first clock source does not belong to the identification information recorded in the clock source list, sending first information, wherein the first information comprises attribute information of the first clock source.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first information further comprises a first identifier indicating that the first clock source is a newly discovered clock source.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the identification information comprises at least one of the following information: clock domain number, clock identification, or clock accuracy.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the attribute information of the first clock source comprises at least one of the following information: a device identification of the first device, a port number of the first port, an identification of a first protocol data unit, PDU, session, a clock domain number of the first clock source, a clock identification of the first clock source, or a clock accuracy of the first clock source,

5. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the method further comprises:

after receiving the first time synchronization message, starting a first timer; and

the sending the first information includes:

and if a second time synchronization message is received before the first timer is up, sending the first information, wherein the second time synchronization message comprises the identification information of the first clock source.

6. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the method further comprises:

and recording the identification information of the first clock source in the clock source list.

7. A method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein there is one timer for each of the plurality of clock sources recorded in the clock source list, and

the method further comprises the following steps:

if a time synchronization message of a second clock source is received, starting or resetting a timer corresponding to the second clock source, wherein the second clock source is one of a plurality of clock sources recorded in the clock source list;

if the time synchronization message of the second clock source is not received before the timer corresponding to the second clock source expires, deleting the identification information of the second clock source from the clock source list; and/or

And if the time synchronization message of the second clock source is not received before the timer corresponding to the second clock source expires, sending second information, wherein the second information includes identification information and a second identification of the second clock source, and the second identification is used for indicating that the second clock source is expired.

8. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first device comprises any one of: the device comprises terminal equipment, user plane function UPF equipment, an equipment side delay sensitive network translator and a network side delay sensitive network translator.

9. A method of clock source management, the method comprising:

the method comprises the steps that clock source management equipment receives first information from first equipment, wherein the first information comprises attribute information of a first clock source;

managing the first clock source according to the first information;

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first information further comprises a first identifier indicating that the first clock source is a newly discovered clock source.

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the first information further comprises identification information of the first clock source, the identification information comprising at least one of: clock domain number, clock identification, or clock accuracy.

12. The method according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the attribute information of the first clock source comprises at least one of the following information: a device identification of the first device, a port number of the first port, an identification of a first protocol data unit, PDU, session, a clock domain number of the first clock source, a clock identification of the first clock source, or a clock accuracy of the first clock source,

the first port is a port for transmitting a first time synchronization packet, and the first PDU session is a PDU session for transmitting the first time synchronization packet.

13. The method according to claim 9 or 10, further comprising:

and receiving second information from the first equipment, wherein the second information comprises identification information and a second identification of a second clock source, and the second identification is used for indicating that the second clock source is expired.

14. The method according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that the method further comprises:

and sending the attribute information of the first clock source to the network capability openness function device.

15. An apparatus for clock source management, the apparatus comprising:

the receiving and sending unit is used for receiving a first time synchronization message, and the first time synchronization message comprises identification information of a first clock source;

a processing unit, configured to control the transceiver unit to send first information if the identification information of the first clock source does not belong to identification information recorded in a clock source list, where the first information includes attribute information of the first clock source, the clock source list records identification information of each clock source in at least one clock source, and the identification information of the clock source is used to indicate the clock source.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the first information further comprises a first identifier indicating that the first clock source is a newly discovered clock source.

17. The apparatus according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the identification information comprises at least one of the following information: clock domain number, clock identification, or clock accuracy.

18. The apparatus according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the attribute information of the first clock source comprises at least one of the following information: a device identification of the apparatus, a port number of the first port, an identification of a first protocol data unit, PDU, session, a clock domain number of the first clock source, a clock identification of the first clock source, or a clock accuracy of the first clock source,

19. The apparatus according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the processing unit is further configured to start a first timer after the transceiver unit receives the first time synchronization packet, and send the first information if a second time synchronization packet is received before the first timer expires, where the second time synchronization packet includes identification information of a first clock source.

20. The apparatus according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the processing unit is further configured to record identification information of the first clock source in the clock source list.

21. An apparatus according to claim 15 or 16, wherein each of the plurality of clock sources recorded in the clock source list corresponds to a timer, and wherein an

The processing unit is further configured to start or reset a timer corresponding to a second clock source if the transceiving unit receives a time synchronization packet of the second clock source, where the second clock source is one of the plurality of clock sources recorded in the clock source list,

And if the time synchronization message of the second clock source is not received before the timer corresponding to the second clock source expires, controlling the transceiver unit to transmit second information, where the second information includes identification information and a second identifier of the second clock source, and the second identifier is used to indicate that the second clock source is expired.

22. The apparatus according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that the apparatus comprises any one of the following devices: the device comprises terminal equipment, user plane function UPF equipment, an equipment side delay sensitive network translator and a network side delay sensitive network translator.

23. An apparatus for clock source management, the apparatus comprising:

a transceiving unit, configured to receive first information from a first device, where the first information includes attribute information of a first clock source;

the processing unit is used for managing the first clock source according to the first information;

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the first information further comprises a first identifier indicating that the first clock source is a newly discovered clock source.

25. The apparatus of claim 23 or 24, wherein the first information further comprises identification information of the first clock source, the identification information comprising at least one of: clock domain number, clock identification, or clock accuracy.

26. The apparatus according to claim 23 or 24, wherein the attribute information of the first clock source comprises at least one of the following information: a device identification of the first device, a port number of the first port, an identification of a first protocol data unit, PDU, session, a clock domain number of the first clock source, a clock identification of the first clock source, or a clock accuracy of the first clock source,

27. The apparatus according to claim 23 or 24, wherein the transceiving unit is further configured to receive second information from the first device, where the second information includes identification information of a second clock source and a second identification, and the second identification is used to indicate that the second clock source is expired.

28. The apparatus according to claim 23 or 24, wherein the transceiving unit is further configured to send attribute information of the first clock source to a network capability openfunction device.

29. An apparatus of wireless communication, comprising:

means for implementing the method of any one of claims 1 to 8; or

Means for implementing the method of any one of claims 9 to 14.

30. A computer-readable storage medium, having stored thereon a computer program which, when executed,

cause an apparatus to perform a method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, or

Causing an apparatus to perform the method of any one of claims 9 to 14.

31. A chip system, comprising: a processor for calling and running the computer program from the memory,

causing a communication device on which the chip system is mounted to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 8; or

Causing a communication device on which the chip system is mounted to perform the method of any one of claims 9 to 14.