CN118044137A

CN118044137A - Protocol for increased precision timestamping interworking over high speed ethernet links

Info

Publication number: CN118044137A
Application number: CN202280065341.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: M·约翰逊; U·帕克霍姆
Original assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
Current assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
Priority date: 2021-09-27
Filing date: 2022-09-14
Publication date: 2024-05-14

Abstract

The first network node is adapted to generate a first advertisement indicating a time stamping capability of the first network node. The first network node is further adapted to send a first advertisement to the second network node.

Description

Protocol for increased precision timestamping interworking over high speed ethernet links

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to time stamping for high speed ethernet link communications.

Background

For high-speed ethernet interfaces of 25Gbps and faster, the time stamping of ethernet frames can be operationally complex when high accuracy is required. To manage bit error rates, IEEE 802.3 uses a Forward Error Correction (FEC) sub-layer that can change the time that frames pass between a reference plane and a generic coordination sub-layer (gRS) layer, where TSSI enables time stamping to be performed. When FEC operation is defined in IEEE 802.3-2018 version, time stamping delay management is not considered.

For higher-order PHY functions with multiple channels, processing is done in the working group called ieee802.3cx and is planned to be addressed in the fall of 2021.

Disclosure of Invention

Different ethernet component suppliers have now implemented time stamping with unique proprietary operations for high-speed interfaces. When two ethernet network nodes communicate using different time stamping operations, the difference in proprietary time stamping operations may result in a time stamping error of about 100ns or more.

Various embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to a first network node configured to generate a first advertisement indicating a time stamping capability of the first network node, and to send the first advertisement to a second network node.

In some further embodiments, the first network node receives a second advertisement from the second network node indicating a timestamping capability of the second network node and compares the timestamping capabilities of the first and second network nodes. Based on the comparison, the first network node may communicate with the second network node to negotiate which of the corresponding timestamping capabilities is to be used for timestamping communications between the first and second network nodes.

By advertising the respective time stamping capabilities of the first and second network nodes, the first and second network nodes may negotiate to use time stamping operations that reduce time stamping errors at interworking and/or may enable one or both of the network nodes to estimate time stamping errors that may occur at interworking.

These embodiments and further embodiments are described in detail below.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate certain non-limiting embodiments of the inventive concepts. In the figure:

fig. 1 illustrates a system overview of a first network node and a second network node advertising their respective time stamping capabilities over an ethernet network, in accordance with some embodiments of the inventive concepts;

fig. 2 illustrates OSI reference model layers and further ethernet layers that can be configured to operate in accordance with some embodiments of the inventive concepts;

FIG. 3 is a table showing the magnitudes of potential timestamp accuracy impairments that may be reduced through operation in accordance with some embodiments of the inventive concept;

FIG. 4 illustrates the impact of transcoding on timestamping errors that may be reduced by operation according to some embodiments of the inventive concepts;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of transmit and receive operation blocks that may be configured to operate in accordance with some embodiments of the inventive concept;

Fig. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a wireless communication device or other User Equipment (UE) in accordance with some embodiments of the inventive concepts;

Fig. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a radio access network, RAN, node (e.g., base station, eNB/gNB) in accordance with some embodiments of the inventive concepts;

Fig. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a core network CN node (e.g., AMF node, SMF node, etc.) according to some embodiments of the inventive concepts;

Fig. 9-11 illustrate flowcharts of operations and associated methods of a first network node according to some embodiments of the inventive concepts;

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of a communication system according to some embodiments of the inventive concepts;

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a user device according to some embodiments of the inventive concepts;

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a network node according to some embodiments of the inventive concepts;

FIG. 15 is a block diagram of a host computer in communication with a user device in accordance with some embodiments of the inventive concept;

FIG. 16 is a block diagram of a virtualized environment in accordance with some embodiments of the inventive concepts; and

Fig. 17 is a block diagram of a host computer in communication with user equipment via a base station over a partial wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments of the inventive concept.

Detailed Description

Some embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art, wherein examples of embodiments of the inventive concepts are shown. The inventive concept may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the inventive concept to those skilled in the art. It should also be noted that these embodiments are not mutually exclusive. Components from one embodiment may be present/used in another embodiment by default.

As described above, different ethernet component suppliers have implemented time stamping with unique proprietary operations for high-speed interfaces. Existing network nodes are not adapted to learn from another network node which of a number of different time stamping has been selected for use by the other network node, which results in unpredictable time stamping errors and can result in time sensitive applications failing in operation. Examples of time sensitive applications include new air interface (NR) Time Division Duplexing (TDD), long Term Evolution (LTE) TDD, NR carrier aggregation, LTE carrier aggregation, positioning, and the like.

To improve timestamping accuracy and interworking, various embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a protocol by which a network node advertises its timestamping to another network node and can further negotiate with the other network node which of the respective timestamping capabilities is to be used for interworking and/or determine a timestamping error that may occur upon interworking.

The network node may be operable to advertise to another network node a list of timestamping capabilities that the network node is operationally supporting, and may further advertise which timestamping capabilities are selected for use in communicating with the other network node. The timestamping capability information may be advertised (shared) on and/or using out-of-band communications over link layer protocols, such as the slow protocol, PTP protocol. Alternatively or additionally, the network node may be manually configured with the timestamping capabilities of other network nodes at installation time.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure relate to three operational steps: (1) defining supported timestamping capabilities; (2) advertising a time stamping capability to another network node; and (3) selecting a timestamping capability capable of reducing timestamping errors when communicating with the other network node.

The time stamping errors caused by time stamping incompatibilities between network node (also referred to as devices) interoperability can be reduced from hundreds of ns to unit number ns. In the event that it is not possible to reduce the timestamping error to the unit number ns, the operation may make the node aware of the timestamping incompatibility and/or estimate the timestamping error, and it may be used to record an event or alarm indicating to the operator of the network the likelihood of additional timestamping errors being caused by incompatible nodes in the network.

The term "network node" refers broadly to any type of device that performs a time stamping operation in communication with another network node. The two network nodes may be located on a common semiconductor substrate, a common circuit board, different circuit boards connected by a backplane network, and/or networking devices spaced apart at distances of meters, kilometers, or more.

Some embodiments may become particularly important in the near future as IEEE 802.cx is implemented and deployed on a larger scale with an already installed foundation without IEEE 802.3CX implementation (based on a priority implementation of IEEE 802.3-2018 or IEEE 802.3-2015, with changes to the interface with the FEC sublayer).

Various embodiments of the present disclosure may be performed using the Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP). LLDP is a vendor-neutral link layer protocol that network devices use to advertise their identity, function, and neighbors on a local area network based on IEEE 802 technology (mainly wired ethernet). LLDP enables ethernet network devices to transmit and/or receive descriptive information and store learned such information about other devices. For LLDP, TLV and TLV PTP protocols may be used instead of the Ethernet Synchronization Message Channel (ESMC) protocol or the newly defined protocol. The TLVs added to the link layer discovery protocol may have some advantages over the TLVs defining the attachment to the PTP advertisement message. The assignment and merging of 40G and 100G PCS channels with TLVs may also improve accuracy. Thus, a network node may send an advertisement to another network node indicating the network node's timestamping capabilities using a TLV added to LLDP.

In some embodiments, sending 902 the first advertisement to the second network node comprises sending the first advertisement to the second network node using LLDP.

In some embodiments, sending 902 the first advertisement to the second network node further comprises embedding the first advertisement in a TLV field attached to a Link Layer Discovery (LLD) message.

In some embodiments, the first advertisement embedded in the TLV field is attached to the egress LLD message.

In some embodiments, the first advertisement is embedded in a data field (DATAFIELD) of the TLV field.

In some embodiments, the operations further comprise receiving a LLD message from the second network node, the LLD message having an attached TLV field that provides a second advertisement indicating a time stamping capability of the second network node. The operations further include extracting a second advertisement from the TLV field indicating a time stamping capability of the second network node. The operations further include generating a new message comprising a second advertisement indicating a timestamping capability of the second network node. The operations further comprise forwarding the new message to the third network node.

However, the TLV and TLV PTP protocols may be implemented in any protocol, including both current protocols and newly defined protocols.

Fig. 1 illustrates a system overview of a first network node and a second network node advertising their respective time stamping capabilities over an ethernet network, according to some embodiments of the inventive concepts.

A potential advantage of enabling a network node to advertise its timestamping capability to another network node is to negotiate which timestamping operations are used for communication in order to reduce timestamping errors and/or to allow estimation of timestamping errors that may occur in a timestamped communication. Since the time stamping operations of the network nodes can be implemented in silicon, these operations can be difficult to change retrospectively without replacing hardware components. Thus, the operation of selecting which may advertise and may further negotiate a timestamping capability may make the network node more resilient to interworking with different timestamping capabilities, be able to identify incompatibilities, and be able to estimate timestamping errors that may occur during interworking. Making network nodes aware of each other's timestamping capabilities may enable their timestamping operations to be adapted to reduce timestamping errors.

In order to reduce or minimize the time stamping errors caused by the different operations of the different network nodes implementing the time stamping of the ethernet frames, the network nodes may be configured (adapted) to advertise their time stamping capabilities by means of exchanged information messages. A network node that receives an information message identifying the timestamping capabilities of another network node may select among its available timestamping capabilities and/or adjust how it performs timestamping when communicating with the other network node to reduce or minimize timestamping errors.

The network node may inform the other network node which timestamping capability it has selected to use and/or indicate its adaptation to the timestamping capability in an outgoing timestamping capability information message.

The timestamping capabilities of the network nodes may be exchanged based on using existing protocols.

The PTP protocol enables the network node to attach additional information to the PTP message by using type, length, value (TLV) fields. According to some embodiments, a PTP capable network node uses TLV fields to indicate its time stamping capabilities. The TLV field is adapted to indicate the time stamping capability of the PTP network node and may be attached to all PTP messages or only to a subset of PTP messages sent by the PTP network node.

Fig. 9 illustrates a flow chart of operations and associated methods of a first network node according to some embodiments of the inventive concepts.

Referring to fig. 9, a first network node generates 900 a first advertisement indicating a time stamping capability of the first network node. The first network node sends 902 a first advertisement to the second network node.

Fig. 10 illustrates a further flow chart of operations and associated methods of a first network node according to some embodiments of the inventive concepts.

Referring to fig. 10, the first network node also receives 1000 a second advertisement from the second network node indicating a time stamping capability of the second network node. The first network node compares 1002 the timestamping capabilities of the first and second network nodes.

In some further embodiments, the first network node communicates 1100 with the second network node to negotiate which of the respective timestamping capabilities is to be used for timestamping communications between the first and second network nodes based on the comparison 1002.

Fig. 11 illustrates a flow chart of operations and associated methods of a first network node according to some embodiments of the inventive concepts.

Referring to fig. 11, the first network node negotiating which of the respective timestamping capabilities is to be used for communication between the first and second network nodes includes selecting 1102 which of the timestamping capabilities of the first and second network nodes will provide the smallest timestamping error relative to the other timestamping capability when used for timestamped communication between the first and second network nodes. The negotiation of which of the respective timestamping capabilities is to be used for communication between the first and second network nodes includes configuring 1104 the first network node to use the selected timestamping capability for the first network node. The negotiating further comprises sending 1106 an indication of the selected timestamping capability for the second network node to the second network node.

In some further embodiments, sending 902 the first advertisement to the second network node includes embedding the first advertisement in a type, length, value (TLV) field attached to a Precision Time Protocol (PTP) message. The first advertisement embedded in the TLV field may be attached to the egress PTP message. Alternatively, the first advertisement may be embedded in a data field of the TLV field.

In some embodiments, the timestamping capabilities indicated in the TLV field received with the incoming PTP message are not forwarded by the first PTP network node, e.g., the timestamping capabilities indicated in the TLV field are at least removed from the incoming PTP message before being forwarded by the first PTP network node. As described above, the received TLV field indicates the time stamping capability of the second PTP network node that sent the incoming PTP message. Thus, in some embodiments, the first PTP network node removes the TLV field from the incoming PTP message before forwarding the modified PTP message to a third PTP network node (e.g., a PTP network node other than the second PTP network node). Thus, the modified PTP message does not include an indication of the time stamping capabilities of the second PTP network node that sent the original incoming PTP message.

Thus, in some embodiments, the first network node receives 1000 a PTP message from the second network node having an attached TLV field that provides a second announcement indicating the timestamping capability of the second network node. The first network node removes the TLV field from the PTP message and then forwards the PTP message to the third network node.

In some embodiments, the TLV field indicating the time stamping capability is sent only between PTP network nodes directly connected by ethernet links. Thus, in some embodiments, based on determining that a PTP message is to be communicated using an ethernet protocol, the PTP network node selectively operates to indicate its timestamping capability using TLV fields attached to the PTP message.

In some embodiments, embedding the first advertisement in a TLV field attached to the PTP message includes performing embedding the first advertisement in a TLV field attached to the PTP message based on determining that the PTP message is to be sent to the second network node using an ethernet protocol.

PTP generates master-slave relationships between PTPs.

According to some embodiments, for the primary port of the PTP network node that is to send an egress PTP message to the ethernet link, a TLV field indicating the time stamping capability may be attached to a PTP advertisement message, PTP synchronization message, PTP follow-up message, or PTP delay request message. The primary port may correspond to a port of a local link of a network node through which a router OS (RouterOS) will pass time stamping capabilities to other ports of one or more other network nodes.

In some corresponding embodiments, in response to when the first advertisement will be sent 902 to the second network node through the primary port of the first network node, the first advertisement embedded in the TLV field is attached to one of the following messages: an egress PTP message, PTP synchronization message, PTP follow-up message, or PTP delay request message.

In some embodiments, for a PTP port in a slave state that is to send an egress PTP message to an ethernet link, a TLV field indicating a time stamping capability may be attached to the PTP delay request message. The "master" and "slave" ports may be defined as IEEE 1588-2019/2008.

In some embodiments, the first advertisement embedded in the TLV field is attached to the PTP delay request message in response to when the first advertisement is to be sent 902 through the slave port of the first network node to the second network node.

According to some embodiments, for PTP network nodes implementing a peer to peer delay mechanism PTP that will send an egress PTP message to an ethernet link, a TLV field indicating a time stamping capability may be attached to the PTP PDELAY _request message, the pdelay_resp message or the pdelay_resp_foil_up message.

In some corresponding embodiments, the first advertisement embedded in the TLV field is attached to the PTP delay request message in response to when the first advertisement is to be sent 902 through the slave port of the first network node to the second network node.

In some other embodiments, a TLV field indicating time stamping capability is attached to the PTP signaling message.

In some embodiments, the operation of generating 900 the first advertisement includes indicating whether the first network node considered a Physical Coding Sublayer (PCS) multichannel distribution in determining the time stamping of the message.

In some other embodiments, a TLV field indicating the time stamping capability is attached to the PTP management message.

In some embodiments, the generation 900 of the first advertisement includes indicating whether to measure the transmission path data delay from the beginning of the start frame delimiter.

Alternatively, the timestamping capability may be transferred to another PTP device by using a new ethernet slow protocol.

In some embodiments, sending 902 the first advertisement to the second network node comprises sending the first advertisement using an ethernet slow protocol.

Alternatively, the timestamping capability may be transmitted to another PTP device by using a TLV configured to carry the timestamping capability information in an existing slow protocol (specified in ITU-T g.8234 "Distribution of timing information through packet networks") that conveys the ESMC message.

In some embodiments, sending 902 the first advertisement to the second network node includes sending the first advertisement using an Ethernet Synchronization Message Channel (ESMC) Protocol Data Unit (PDU).

Fig. 2 illustrates OSI reference model layers and further ethernet layers that can be configured to operate in accordance with some embodiments of the inventive concepts. The TimeSync capability requires measurement of data delays in the transmit and receive paths as shown in figure 2. The transmission path data delay is measured from the start of the SFD at the xMII input to the start of the SFD at the MDI output. The receive path data delay is measured from the start of the SFD at the MDI input to the start of the SFD at the xMII output.

Fig. 3 is a table illustrating the magnitude of potential timestamp accuracy impairments that may be reduced through operation in accordance with some embodiments of the inventive concept. In fig. 3, the ethernet rate is the data transmission rate over ethernet. The unmatched message timestamp point announces that the network node supports using the timestamp point at the last bit of the message preamble or the first bit of the message payload. The values shown merely illustrate the time between two message timestamp point options when they are adjacent. Idle insertion/removal may announce rate compensation. Idle compensation will inject idle packets between payload packets to maintain the line rate. The IEEE 802.3 standard does not specify whether an idle packet should be inserted before or after the time stamping point is inserted into the message. The values shown correspond to the effect of a single idle insert/remove. The path data delay of TimeSync messages is only affected when the message coincides with an Alignment Mark (AM), codeword mark (CWM) or idle insert/delete event.

In some embodiments, the first advertisement includes an indication of whether the first network node supports inserting a time stamping point into the message before or after inserting any idle packets into the message for rate compensation.

In some embodiments, the generation 900 of the first advertisement includes indicating where the first network node inserts an AM for Forward Error Correction (FEC) of the message.

In some embodiments, the generation 900 of the first advertisement includes indicating whether the first network node considered to remove AM from the message in determining the location of the time stamped point in the message.

In some embodiments, the generation 900 of the first advertisement includes indicating whether the first network node considered a Physical Coding Sublayer (PCS) multichannel distribution in determining the time stamping of the message.

The AM/CWM inserts/removes a tag of the mobile shift data.

Physical Coding Sublayer (PCS) channel allocation/merging may announce whether a network node considers multiple channels when performing time stamping.

The following table shows the PTP organization specific TLVs.

In some example embodiments, the network node's timestamping capabilities may be indicated through the use of an organization specific TLV that uses one or more of the groups of bits shown in the table above.

The TLV may be attached to any PTP message, and for this example, it is attached to a PTP announcement message. The timestamping capability may be contained in the data fields shown in the table below. The following table shows the PTP organization specific TLV data field description.

Fig. 4 illustrates the effect of shifting the position of bits on the receiver or transmitter side, with or without consideration, according to some embodiments of the inventive concepts. If transcoding is included, there is a difference in the time of reception. This is then exemplified by the start of a packet in three different positions shown by the spacing between the apparent and actual transcoded positions.

Fig. 5 is a block diagram of Transmit (TX) and Receive (RX) operational blocks that may be configured to operate in accordance with some embodiments of the inventive concepts. In case the TX and RX operation blocks are locked, the effect of the above transcoding is cancelled, since the RX and TX procedure is identical except for the symbol. A problem may occur if one of the RX or TX operating blocks is implemented according to IEEE 802.3 clause 90.7 and the other of the RX or TX operating blocks is implemented according to IEEE 802.3-2018 clause 90.7.

Fig. 6 is a block diagram illustrating elements of a communication device UE 600 (also referred to as a mobile terminal, mobile communication terminal, wireless device, wireless communication device, wireless terminal, mobile device, wireless communication terminal, user device, UE, user device node/terminal/device, etc.) configured to provide wireless communication in accordance with an embodiment of the inventive concept. (e.g., communication device 600 may be provided as discussed below with respect to wireless device UE 1212A, UE B and wired or wireless device UE 1212C, UE 1212D of fig. 12, UE 1300 of fig. 13, virtualization hardware 1604 and virtual machines 1608A, 1608B of fig. 16, and UE 1706 of fig. 17, all of which, unless otherwise noted, should be considered interchangeable in the examples and embodiments described herein, and are within the intended scope of the present disclosure.) as shown, the communication device UE may include one or more antennas (e.g., corresponding to antenna 1322 of fig. 13) and transceiver circuitry 601 (also referred to as a transceiver, e.g., corresponding to interface 1312 of fig. 13 with transmitter 1318 and receiver 1320), the transceiver circuitry 601 including a transmitter and receiver configured to provide uplink and downlink communication with one or more base stations of the radio access network (e.g., corresponding to network nodes 1210A, 1210B of fig. 12, network node 1400 of fig. 14, and network node 1400 of fig. 17, also referred to as RAN). The communication device UE may also include processing circuitry 603 (also referred to as a processor, e.g., corresponding to processing circuitry 1302 of fig. 13 and control system 1612 of fig. 16) coupled to the transceiver circuitry, and memory circuitry 605 (also referred to as memory, e.g., corresponding to memory 1310 of fig. 12) coupled to the processing circuitry. The memory circuit 605 may include computer readable program code that, when executed by the processing circuit 603, causes the processing circuit to perform operations in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein. According to other embodiments, the processing circuitry 603 may be defined to include memory, such that no separate memory circuitry is required. The communication device UE may also include an interface (e.g., a user interface) coupled with the processing circuitry 603, and/or the communication device UE may be incorporated in a vehicle.

As discussed herein, the operations of the communication device UE may be performed by the processing circuitry 603 and/or the transceiver circuitry 601. For example, the processing circuitry 603 may control the transceiver circuitry 601 to transmit communications over a radio interface to a radio access network node (also referred to as a base station) through the transceiver circuitry 601 and/or to receive communications over a radio interface from a RAN node through the transceiver circuitry 601. Further, modules may be stored in the memory circuit 605 and these modules may provide instructions such that when the processing circuit 603 executes the instructions of the modules, the processing circuit 603 performs corresponding operations (e.g., operations discussed below with respect to example embodiments of the wireless communication device and wireless communication network node). According to some embodiments, the communication device UE 600 and/or one or more elements/one or more functions thereof may be embodied as one or more virtual nodes and/or one or more virtual machines. Various operations of a UE according to embodiments of the present disclosure may be performed by discrete logic such as an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), which may include a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a Neural Processing Unit (NPU), etc., or may be performed by a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), a line card, etc. The UE may include a network node (e.g., PTP node) configured to operate according to one or more embodiments disclosed herein, e.g., according to any of the flowcharts of fig. 9-11.

Fig. 7 is a block diagram illustrating elements of a radio access network, RAN, node 700 (also referred to as a network node, base station, eNodeB/eNB, gndeb/gNB, etc.) configured to provide a Radio Access Network (RAN) of cellular communications according to an embodiment of the inventive concept. (e.g., the RAN node 700 may be provided as discussed below with respect to network nodes 1210A, 1210B of fig. 12, network node 1400 of fig. 14, hardware 1604 or virtual machines 1608A, 1608B of fig. 16, and/or base station 1704 of fig. 17, all of which should be considered interchangeable in the examples and embodiments described herein unless otherwise noted, and within the intended scope of the present disclosure.) as shown, the RAN node may include a transceiver circuit 701 (also referred to as a transceiver, e.g., corresponding to portions of RF transceiver circuit 1412 and radio front-end circuit 1418 of fig. 14) that includes a transmitter that transmits through one or more antennas 640 (e.g., multiple antennas of a MIMO configuration) and a receiver configured to provide uplink and downlink radio communications with a mobile terminal. The RAN node may comprise a network interface circuit 707 (also referred to as a network interface, e.g. corresponding to part of the communication interface 1406 of fig. 14), which network interface circuit 707 is configured to provide communication with the RAN and/or other nodes of the core network CN (e.g. with other base stations). The network node may also include a processing circuit 703 (also referred to as a processor, e.g., corresponding to processing circuit 1404 of fig. 14) coupled to the transceiver circuit and a memory circuit 705 (also referred to as a memory, e.g., corresponding to memory 1404 of fig. 14) coupled to the processing circuit. The memory circuit 605 may include computer readable program code that, when executed by the processing circuit 603, causes the processing circuit to perform operations in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein. According to other embodiments, the processing circuitry 703 may be defined to include memory, such that no separate memory circuitry is required. Various operations performed by RAN nodes according to embodiments of the present disclosure may be performed by discrete logic, such as an FPGA. The RAN node may comprise a network node (e.g., PTP node) configured to operate in accordance with one or more embodiments disclosed herein, e.g., in accordance with any of the flowcharts of fig. 9-11.

As discussed herein, the operations of the RAN node may be performed by the processing circuitry 703, the network interface 707, and/or the transceiver 701. For example, the processing circuitry 703 may control the transceiver 701 to transmit downlink communications over a radio interface to one or more mobile terminals UE through the transceiver 701 and/or to receive uplink communications over a radio interface from one or more mobile terminals UE through the transceiver 701. Similarly, the processing circuitry 703 may control the network interface 707 to communicate communications to and/or receive communications from one or more other network nodes over the network interface 707. Further, modules may be stored in the memory 705, and these modules may provide instructions such that when the processing circuitry 703 executes the instructions of the modules, the processing circuitry 703 performs corresponding operations (e.g., operations discussed below with respect to example embodiments of RAN nodes). According to some embodiments, the RAN node 700 and/or one or more elements/one or more functions thereof may be embodied as one or more virtual nodes and/or one or more virtual machines.

According to some other embodiments, the network node may be implemented as a core network CN node without a transceiver. In such embodiments, the transmission to the wireless communication device UE may be initiated by the network node, thereby providing the transmission to the wireless communication device UE through the network node (e.g., through a base station or RAN node) including the transceiver. According to an embodiment where the network node is a RAN node comprising a transceiver, initiating the transmission may comprise transmitting through the transceiver.

Fig. 8 is a block diagram illustrating elements of a Core Network (CN) node 800 (e.g., an SMF (session management function) node, an AMF (access and mobility management function) node, etc.) of a communication network configured to provide cellular communication, according to an embodiment of the inventive concept. (for example, the CN node 800 may be provided as discussed below with respect to the core network node 1208 of fig. 12, the hardware 1604 of fig. 16, or the virtual machines 1608A, 1608B, all of which should be considered interchangeable in the examples and embodiments described herein, unless otherwise noted, and within the intended scope of the present disclosure.) as shown, the CN node may include a network interface circuit 807 configured to provide communication with other nodes of the core network and/or the radio access network RAN. The CN node may also include a processing circuit 803 (also referred to as a processor) coupled to the network interface circuit, and a memory circuit 805 (also referred to as a memory) coupled to the processing circuit. The memory circuit 805 may include computer readable program code that, when executed by the processing circuit 803, causes the processing circuit to perform operations in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein. According to other embodiments, the processing circuitry 803 may be defined to include memory such that no separate memory circuitry is required.

As discussed herein, the operations of the CN node 800 may be performed by the processing circuitry 803 and/or the network interface circuitry 807. For example, the processing circuitry 803 may control the network interface circuitry 807 to transmit communications to and/or receive communications from one or more other network nodes via the network interface circuitry 807. Further, modules may be stored in the memory 805, and these modules may provide instructions such that when the processing circuitry 803 executes the instructions of the modules, the processing circuitry 803 performs the corresponding operations (e.g., operations discussed below with respect to example embodiments of core network nodes). According to some embodiments, the CN node 800 and/or one or more elements/one or more functions thereof may be embodied as one or more virtual nodes and/or one or more virtual machines. Various operations of the CN node 800 according to the present disclosure may be performed by discrete logic such as an FPGA. The CN node 800 may comprise a PTP network node configured to operate in accordance with one or more embodiments disclosed herein, e.g., in accordance with any of the flowcharts of fig. 9-11.

In the description herein, although the communication device may be any of communication device 600, wireless devices 1212A, 1212B, wired or wireless device UE 1212C, UE 1212D, UE 1300, virtualization hardware 1604, virtual machines 1608A, 1608B, or UE 1706, the communication device should be used to describe the functionality of the operation of the communication device. According to some embodiments of the inventive concept, the operation of the communication device may be implemented according to one or more of the flowcharts of fig. 9-11. For example, modules may be stored in the memory 605 of fig. 6, and these modules may provide instructions such that when the instructions of the modules are executed by the respective communication device processing circuits 603, the processing circuits 603 perform the respective operations of the flow diagrams. Alternatively or additionally, the operations may be implemented in an FPGA or other digital logic device.

In the description herein, although the network node may be any one of the RAN node 700, the network nodes 1210A, 1210B, 1400, 1706, the hardware 1604, or the virtual machines 1608A, 1608B, the RAN node 700 should be used to describe the functionality of the operation of the network node. According to some embodiments of the inventive concept, the operations of the RAN node 700 may be implemented according to one or more of the flowcharts of fig. 9-11. For example, modules may be stored in the memory 705 of fig. 7, and these modules may provide instructions such that when the instructions of the modules are executed by the respective RAN node processing circuits 703, the processing circuits 703 perform the respective operations of the flowcharts. Alternatively or additionally, the operations may be implemented in an FPGA or other digital logic device.

In the description herein, the core network node 800 should be used to describe the functionality of the operation of the network node, although the core network node may be any one of the core network node 800, the core network node 1208, the hardware 1604, or the virtual machines 1608A, 1608B. According to some embodiments of the inventive concept, the operation of the core network CN node 800 may be implemented according to one or more of the flowcharts of fig. 9-11. For example, modules may be stored in the memory 805 of fig. 8, and these modules may provide instructions such that when the instructions of the modules are executed by the respective CN node processing circuits 803, the processing circuits 803 perform the respective operations of the flow diagrams. Alternatively or additionally, the operations may be implemented in an FPGA or other digital logic device.

Fig. 12 illustrates an example of a communication system 1200 in accordance with some embodiments.

In this example, the communication system 1200 includes a telecommunications network 1202 and a core network 1206, the telecommunications network 1202 including an access network 1204, such as a Radio Access Network (RAN), the core network 1206 including one or more core network nodes 1208. The access network 1204 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 1210a and 1210b (one or more of which may be generically referred to as network node 1210), or any other similar third generation partnership project (3 GPP) access nodes or non-3 GPP access points. Network node 1210 facilitates direct or indirect connection of User Equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 1212a, 1212b, 1212c, and 1212d (one or more of which may be referred to generally as UE 1212) to core network 1206 over one or more wireless connections.

Example wireless communications over wireless connections include transmitting and/or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and/or other types of signals suitable for transmitting information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Further, in different embodiments, the communication system 1200 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and/or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and/or signals, whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 1200 may include and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunications, data, cellular, radio network, and/or other similar type of system.

UE 1212 may be any of a variety of communication devices including a wireless device arranged, configured, and/or operable to wirelessly communicate with network node 1210 and other communication devices. Similarly, network node 1210 is arranged, capable, configured and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with UE 1212 and/or with other network nodes or devices in telecommunications network 1202 to enable and/or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and/or to perform other functions, such as management in telecommunications network 1202.

In the depicted example, core network 1206 connects network node 1210 to one or more hosts, such as host 1216. These connections may be direct connections or indirect connections via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, the network node may be directly coupled to the host. The core network 1206 includes one or more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 1208) constructed with hardware and software components. The features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UE, network node, and/or host, such that their description generally applies to the corresponding components of the core network node 1208. Example core network nodes include functionality of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), a Mobility Management Entity (MME), a Home Subscriber Server (HSS), an access and mobility management function (AMF), a Session Management Function (SMF), an authentication server function (AUSF), a subscription identifier de-hiding function (SIDF), a Unified Data Management (UDM), a Secure Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), a Network Exposure Function (NEF), and/or a User Plane Function (UPF).

The host 1216 may be under ownership or control of, and may be operated by, or on behalf of, a service provider other than the operator or provider of the access network 1204 and/or the telecommunications network 1202. Host 1216 may host various applications to provide one or more services. Examples of such applications include real-time and pre-recorded audio/video content, data collection services (e.g., retrieving and compiling data of various environmental conditions detected by multiple UEs), analytics functionality, social media, functionality for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functionality for alerting and monitoring centers, or any other such functionality performed by a server.

As a whole, the communication system 1200 of fig. 12 enables connections between UEs, network nodes and hosts. In this sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific criteria including, but not limited to: global system for mobile communications (GSM); universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); long Term Evolution (LTE), and/or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any suitable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) standards, such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard (WiFi); and/or any other suitable wireless communication standard, such as worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMax), bluetooth, Z-Wave, near Field Communication (NFC), zigBee, liFi, and/or any Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) standard such as LoRa and Sigfox.

In some examples, the telecommunications network 1202 is a cellular network implementing 3GPP standardization features. Thus, the telecommunications network 1202 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices connected to the telecommunications network 1201. For example, the telecommunications network 1202 may provide ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) services to some UEs while providing enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and/or large-scale machine-type communication (mMTC)/large-scale IoT services to still other UEs.

In some examples, UE 1212 is configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, the UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 1204 on a predetermined schedule upon triggering by an internal or external event or in response to a request from the access network 1204. Further, the UE may be configured to operate in a single RAT or multiple RATs or multiple standard modes. For example, the UE may operate using any one or a combination of Wi-Fi, NR (new air interface) and LTE, i.e. configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (evolved UMTS terrestrial radio access network) new air interface-dual connectivity (EN-DC).

In this example, the hub 1214 communicates with the access network 1204 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UEs 1212c and/or 1212 d) and a network node (e.g., network node 1210 b). In some examples, the hub 1214 may be a controller, router, content source and analysis, or any other communication device described herein with respect to the UE. For example, the hub 1214 may be a broadband router that enables the UE to access the core network 1206. As another example, the hub 1214 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UE. The commands or instructions may be received from the UE, the network node 1210, or through executable code, scripts, procedures, or other instructions in the hub 1214. As another example, the hub 1214 may be a data collector that serves as a temporary storage device for UE data, and in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 1214 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, speaker, or other media transmission device, the hub 1214 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to the sensed information via the network node, and then the hub 1214 provides it directly to the UE after performing the local processing and/or to the UE after adding additional local content. In yet another example, the hub 1214 acts as a proxy server or coordinator for the UE, particularly if one or more UEs are low energy IoT devices.

The hub 1214 may have a constant/persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 1210 b. The hub 1214 may also allow for different communication schemes and/or schedules between the hub 1214 and UEs (e.g., UEs 1212c and/or 1212 d) and between the hub 1214 and the core network 1206. In other examples, the hub 1214 is connected to the core network 1206 and/or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Further, the hub 1214 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider through the access network 1204 and/or to connect to another UE through a direct connection. In some scenarios, the UE may establish a wireless connection with the network node 1210 while still connecting via a wired or wireless connection via the hub 1214. In some embodiments, the hub 1214 may be a dedicated hub, that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications from the network node 1210b to the UE/from the UE to the network node 1210. In other embodiments, the hub 1214 may be a non-dedicated hub, that is, a device that is operable to route communications between the UE and the network node 1210b, but that is also operable as a communication start and/or end point for certain data channels.

Fig. 13 illustrates a UE 1300 according to some embodiments. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable of, configured, arranged, and/or operable to wirelessly communicate with a network node and/or other UEs. Examples of UEs include, but are not limited to, smart phones, mobile phones, cellular phones, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, desktop computers, personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), wireless cameras, game consoles or devices, music storage devices, playback appliances, wearable terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, tablet computers, laptop computer-embedded devices (LEEs), laptop computer-installed devices (LMEs), smart devices, wireless Customer Premise Equipment (CPE), in-vehicle or in-vehicle embedded/integrated wireless devices, and the like. Other examples include any UE identified by the third generation partnership project (3 GPP), including narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT) UEs, machine Type Communication (MTC) UEs, and/or enhanced MTC (eMTC) UEs.

The UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example, by implementing 3GPP standards for side-chain communication, dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, the UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user owning and/or operating the relevant device. Conversely, the UE may represent a device intended to be sold to or operated by a human user, but the device may not be associated with a particular human user, or may not be initially associated with a particular human user (e.g., an intelligent sprinkler head controller). Alternatively, the UE may represent a device that is not intended to be sold to or operated by an end user, but may be associated with or operated for the benefit of the user (e.g., a smart meter).

The UE 1300 includes processing circuitry 1302 operably coupled to an input/output interface 1306, a power supply 1308, a memory 1310, a communication interface 1312, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof, via a bus 1304. Some UEs may use all or a subset of the components shown in fig. 13. The level of integration between components may vary from UE to UE. Further, some UEs may contain multiple instances of components, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, and so forth.

The processing circuit 1302 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operable to execute instructions stored as a machine-readable computer program in the memory 1310. The processing circuit 1302 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc.); programmable logic and appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, a general-purpose processor, such as a microprocessor or Digital Signal Processor (DSP), and suitable software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuit 1302 may include a plurality of Central Processing Units (CPUs).

In this example, input/output interface 1306 may be configured to provide one or more interfaces to an input device, an output device, or one or more input and/or output devices. Examples of output devices include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, a transmitter, a smart card, another output device, or any combination thereof. The input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 1300. Examples of input devices include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., digital still camera, digital video camera, webcam, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smart card, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. The sensor may be, for example, an accelerometer, gyroscope, tilt sensor, force sensor, magnetometer, optical sensor, proximity sensor, biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. The output device may use the same type of interface port as the input device. For example, universal Serial Bus (USB) ports may be used to provide input devices and output devices.

In some embodiments, the power source 1308 is configured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources may be used, such as external power sources (e.g., power outlets), photovoltaic devices, or power cells. The power supply 1308 may also include power circuitry for delivering power from the power supply 1308 itself and/or an external power supply to various portions of the UE 1300 via input circuitry or an interface, such as a power cable. The delivered power may be used, for example, to charge the power source 1308. The power circuitry may perform any formatting, conversion, or other modification of the power from the power source 1308 to adapt the power to the corresponding components of the powered UE 1300.

Memory 1310 may be or be configured to include memory such as Random Access Memory (RAM), read Only Memory (ROM), programmable Read Only Memory (PROM), erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM), electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM), magnetic disk, optical disk, hard disk, removable cartridge, flash drive, and so forth. In one example, memory 1310 includes one or more application programs 1314, such as an operating system, a web browser application, a gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 1316. Memory 1310 may store any of a variety of operating systems or combinations of operating systems for use by UE 1300.

Memory 1310 may be configured to include a plurality of physical drive units, such as Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drives, external hard disk drives, thumb drives, pen drives, key drives, high-density digital versatile disk (HD-DVD) optical drives, internal hard disk drives, blu-ray disc drives, holographic Digital Data Storage (HDDS) optical drives, external mini-dual in-line memory modules (DIMMs), synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), external mini DIMM SDRAM, tamper resistant modules in the form of smart card memory (e.g., universal Integrated Circuit Cards (UICC), including one or more Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs), such as USIM and/or ISIM), other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may be, for example, an embedded UICC (eUICC), an integrated UICC (eUICC), or a removable UICC commonly referred to as a "SIM card". Memory 1310 may allow UE 1300 to access instructions, applications, etc. stored on a temporary or non-temporary memory medium to offload data or upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system, may be tangibly embodied as memory 1310 or in memory 1310, memory 1310 may be or include a device readable storage medium.

The processing circuit 1302 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using a communication interface 1312. The communication interface 1312 may include one or more communication subsystems and may include an antenna 1322 or be communicatively coupled to the antenna 1322. The communication interface 1312 may include one or more transceivers for communicating, e.g., by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or network node in an access network). Each transceiver can include a transmitter 1318 and/or a receiver 1320 that can be adapted to provide network communication (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocation, etc.). Further, the transmitter 1318 and receiver 1320 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 1322) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

In the illustrated embodiment, the communication functionality of the communication interface 1312 may include cellular communication, wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communication such as bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as using a Global Positioning System (GPS) to determine location, another similar communication functionality, or any combination thereof. Communication may be implemented in accordance with one or more communication protocols and/or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, new air interface (NR), UMTS, wiMax, ethernet, transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP), synchronous Optical Network (SONET), asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

Regardless of the type of sensor, the UE may provide output of data captured by its sensor via its communication interface 1312 via a wireless connection to the network node. Data captured by the sensors of the UE may be transmitted to the network node via another UE over a wireless connection. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports a sensed temperature), random (e.g., to load balance the reporting from multiple sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., sending an alarm when moisture is detected), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or continuous flow (e.g., a real-time video feed of the patient).

As another example, the UE includes an actuator, motor, or switch related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input, the state of the actuator, motor, or switch may change. For example, the UE may include a motor that adjusts a control surface or rotor of the in-flight drone based on the received inputs, or adjusts a robotic arm that performs the medical procedure based on the received inputs.

When in the form of an internet of things (IoT) device, the UE may be a device for one or more application domains including, but not limited to, urban wearable technology, extended industrial applications, and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such IoT devices are or embed the following: connected refrigerators or freezers, TVs, connected lighting devices, electricity meters, robotic cleaners, voice-controlled intelligent speakers, home security cameras, motion detectors, thermostats, smoke detectors, door/window sensors, flood/humidity sensors, electric door locks, connected doorbell, air conditioning systems like heat pumps, autopilot vehicles, monitoring systems, weather monitoring devices, vehicle parking monitoring devices, electric car charging stations, smart watches, fitness trackers, head mounted displays for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), wearable devices for haptic or sensory enhancement, sprinklers, animal or item tracking devices, sensors for monitoring plants or animals, industrial robots, unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), and any type of medical device, such as heart rate monitors or teleoperated robots. The UE in the form of an IoT device includes circuitry and/or software that depends on the intended application of the IoT device, as well as other components described with respect to the UE 1300 shown in fig. 13.

As yet another specific example, in an IoT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and/or measurements, and transmit the results of such monitoring and/or measurements to another UE and/or network node. In this case, the UE may be an M2M device, which may be referred to as an MTC device in a 3GPP context. As one particular example, a UE may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, the UE may represent a vehicle such as a car, bus, truck, boat, and airplane, or other device capable of monitoring and/or reporting its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, the first UE may be a drone or integrated in a drone, and provides speed information of the drone (obtained by a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When a user makes a change from the remote control, the first UE may adjust a throttle valve on the drone (e.g., by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the speed of the drone. The first and/or second UE may also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, the UE may include sensors and actuators, and process data communications of both the speed sensor and the actuator.

Fig. 14 illustrates a network node 1400 according to some embodiments. As used herein, a network node refers to a device capable of, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and/or with other network nodes or devices in a telecommunications network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access Points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base Stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, node BS, evolved Node BS (enbs), and NR Node BS (gnbs)).

Base stations may be classified based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, based on their transmission power levels), and thus, depending on the amount of coverage provided, base stations may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. The base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling the relay. The network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station, such as a centralized digital unit and/or a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), sometimes referred to as a Remote Radio Head (RRH). Such a remote radio unit may or may not be integrated with the antenna as an antenna-integrated radio. The portion of the distributed radio base station may also be referred to as a node in a Distributed Antenna System (DAS).

Other examples of network nodes include a multi-transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access node, a multi-standard radio (MSR) device such as an MSR BS, a network controller such as a Radio Network Controller (RNC) or a Base Station Controller (BSC), a Base Transceiver Station (BTS), a transmission point, a transmission node, a multi-cell/Multicast Coordination Entity (MCE), an operation and maintenance (O & M) node, an Operation Support System (OSS) node, a self-organizing network (SON) node, a positioning node (e.g., an evolved serving mobile location center (E-SMLC)), and/or a Minimization of Drive Test (MDT).

Network node 1400 includes processing circuitry 1402, memory 1404, communication interface 1406, and power source 1408. The network node 1400 may be comprised of a plurality of physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and an RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), each of which may have their own respective components. In certain scenarios where network node 1400 includes multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple nodebs. In this case, each unique NodeB and RNC pair may be considered as a single, individual network node in some instances. In some embodiments, the network node 1400 may be configured to support multiple Radio Access Technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 1404 for different RATs), and some components may be reused (e.g., the same antenna 1410 may be shared by different RATs). Network node 1400 may also include various components shown in sets of different wireless technologies for integration into network node 1400, such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, wiFi, zigbee, Z-wave, loRaWAN, radio Frequency Identification (RFID), or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or chipsets and other components within network node 1400.

The processing circuitry 1402 may include a combination of one or more of the following: microprocessors, controllers, microcontrollers, central processing units, digital signal processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software, and/or encoded logic, alone or in combination with other network node 1400 components, such as memory 1404, to provide the functionality of network node 1400.

In some embodiments, processing circuitry 1402 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, processing circuitry 1402 includes one or more of Radio Frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1412 and baseband processing circuitry 1414. In some embodiments, the Radio Frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1412 and baseband processing circuitry 1414 may be on separate chips (or chipsets), boards, or units such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the RF transceiver circuitry 1412 and baseband processing circuitry 1414 may be on the same chip or chipset, board, or unit.

Memory 1404 may include any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, but not limited to, persistent memory, solid state memory, remote-mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random Access Memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (e.g., hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., flash drive, compact Disk (CD) or Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and/or computer-executable storage device that stores information, data, and/or instructions that may be used by processing circuit 1402. Memory 1404 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including computer programs, software, applications including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and/or other instructions capable of being executed by processing circuitry 1402 and used by network node 1400. Memory 1404 may be used to store any calculations made by processing circuit 1402 and/or any data received via communication interface 1406. In some embodiments, processing circuit 1402 and memory 1404 are integrated.

The communication interface 1406 is used for wired or wireless communication of signaling and/or data between network nodes, access networks, and/or UEs. As shown, the communication interface 1406 includes one or more ports/one or more terminals 1416 for sending data to and receiving data from a network, such as through a wired connection. Communication interface 1406 also includes radio front-end circuitry 1418 that may be coupled to antenna 1410 or, in some embodiments, be part of antenna 1410. The radio front-end circuit 1418 includes a filter 1420 and an amplifier 1422. Radio front-end circuitry 1418 may be connected to antenna 1410 and processing circuitry 1402. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna 1410 and the processing circuitry 1402. The radio front-end circuitry 1418 may receive digital data to be sent to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuit 1418 may use a combination of filters 1420 and/or amplifiers 1422 to convert digital data to radio signals having appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters. The radio signal may then be transmitted via antenna 1410. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 1410 may collect radio signals, which are then converted to digital data by the radio front-end circuit 1418. The digital data may be passed to processing circuitry 1402. In other embodiments, the communication interface may include different components and/or include different combinations of components.

In certain alternative embodiments, network node 1400 does not include a separate radio front-end circuit 1418, rather processing circuit 1402 includes a radio front-end circuit and is connected to antenna 1410. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 1412 are part of the communication interface 1406. In yet other embodiments, communication interface 1406 includes one or more ports or terminals 1416 as part of a radio unit (not shown), radio front-end circuitry 1418, and RF transceiver circuitry 1412, and communication interface 1404 communicates with baseband processing circuitry 1414, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

The antenna 1410 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to transmit and/or receive wireless signals. The antenna 1410 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 1418 and may be any type of antenna capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data and/or signals. In some embodiments, antenna 1410 is separate from network node 1400 and may be connected to network node 1400 through an interface or port.

The antenna 1410, the communication interface 1406, and/or the processing circuitry 1402 may be configured to perform any of the receiving operations and/or some of the obtaining operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from the UE, another network node and/or any other network device. Similarly, antenna 1410, communication interface 1406, and/or processing circuitry 1402 may be configured to perform any of the transmission operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be transmitted to the UE, another network node and/or any other network device.

The power supply 1408 provides power to the various components of the network node 1400 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at the voltage and current levels required by each respective component). The power supply 1408 may further include or be coupled to power management circuitry to provide power to components of the network node 1400 for performing the functionality described herein. For example, network node 1400 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., a power grid, a power outlet) via an input circuit or interface, such as a cable, whereby the external power source provides power to the power circuit of power supply 1408. As a further example, the power supply 1408 may include a power supply in the form of a battery or battery pack connected to or integrated in a power supply circuit. The battery may provide backup power if the external power source fails.

Embodiments of network node 1400 may include additional components to those shown in fig. 14 for providing certain aspects of network node functionality, including any functionality described herein and/or any functionality required to support the subject matter described herein. For example, network node 1400 may include a user interface device to allow information to be input into network node 1400 and to allow information to be output from network node 1400. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other management functions of network node 1400.

Fig. 15 is a block diagram of a host 1500, which host 1500 may be an embodiment of host 1216 of fig. 12, in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, host 1500 may be or include various combinations of hardware and/or software, including stand-alone servers, blade servers, cloud-implemented servers, distributed servers, virtual machines, containers, or processing resources in a server farm. Host 1500 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

The host 1500 includes a processing circuit 1502 that is operably coupled to an input/output interface 1506, a network interface 1508, a power source 1510, and a memory 1512 via a bus 1504. Other components may be included in other embodiments. The features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the devices of the previous figures (e.g., fig. 13 and 14), such that the description thereof generally applies to the corresponding components of host 1500.

Memory 1512 may include one or more computer programs, including one or more host applications 1514 and data 1516, and data 1516 may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for host 1500 or data generated by host 1500 for a UE. Embodiments of host 1500 may use only a subset or all of the components shown. Host application 1514 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., general purpose video coding (VVC), high Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), advanced Video Coding (AVC), MPEG, VP 9) and audio codecs (e.g., FLAC, advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, g.711), including transcoding for UEs of a number of different categories, types or implementations (e.g., cell phones, desktop computers, wearable display systems, heads-up display systems). The host application 1514 may also provide user authentication and permission checks and may periodically report health, routing, and content availability to a central node, such as a device in the core network or on the edge of the core network. Thus, host 1500 may select and/or indicate a different host for an over-the-top service for a UE. The host application 1514 may support various protocols, such as the HTTP real-time streaming (HLS) protocol, the real-time messaging protocol (RTMP), the real-time streaming protocol (RTSP), the HTTP-based dynamic adaptive streaming (MPEG-DASH), and so forth.

Fig. 16 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualized environment 1600 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualization means creating a virtual version of an apparatus or device, which may include virtualized hardware platforms, storage devices, and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization may apply to any device or component thereof described herein, and relates to implementations in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functionality described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more Virtual Machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 1600 hosted by one or more hardware nodes (e.g., hardware computing devices operating as network nodes, UEs, core network nodes, or hosts). Furthermore, in embodiments where a virtual node does not require a radio connection (e.g., a core network node or host), the node may be fully virtualized.

An application 1602 (which may alternatively be referred to as a software instance, virtual facility, network function, virtual node, virtual network function, etc.) runs in a virtualized environment 1600 to implement some features, functions, and/or benefits of some embodiments disclosed herein.

Hardware 1604 includes processing circuitry, memory storing software and/or instructions executable by the hardware processing circuitry, and/or other hardware devices described herein, such as network interfaces, input/output interfaces, etc. The software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 1606 (also referred to as a hypervisor or Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM)), provide VMs 1608a and 1608b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VM 1608), and/or perform any of the functions, features, and/or benefits described with respect to some embodiments described herein. Virtualization layer 1606 may present virtual operating platforms to VM 1608 that look like networking hardware.

VM 1608 includes virtual processes, virtual memory, virtual networking or interfaces, and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1606. Different embodiments of instances of virtual device 1602 may be implemented on one or more VMs 1608 and may be implemented in different ways. Virtualization of hardware is referred to in some contexts as Network Function Virtualization (NFV). NFV can be used to integrate many network device types onto industry standard mass server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage devices that can be located in data centers and customer premises equipment.

In the context of NFV, VM 1608 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 1608 and the portion of the hardware 1604 executing the VM, whether hardware dedicated to the VM and/or hardware shared by the VM with other VMs, form separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, virtual network functions are responsible for handling specific network functions running in one or more VMs 1608 on top of hardware 1604 and corresponding to applications 1602.

Hardware 1604 may be implemented in a stand-alone network node with general-purpose or specific components. Hardware 1604 may implement some functionality via virtualization. Alternatively, the hardware 1604 may be part of a larger hardware cluster (e.g., such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 1610, where management and orchestration includes lifecycle management of the monitoring application 1602, among other things. In some embodiments, hardware 1604 is coupled to one or more radios, each radio including one or more transmitters and one or more receivers, which may be coupled to one or more antennas. The radio unit may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more suitable network interfaces and may be used in combination with virtual components to provide wireless capabilities to the virtual nodes, such as radio access nodes or base stations. In some embodiments, some signaling may be provided using a control system 1612, and the control system 1612 may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

Fig. 17 illustrates a communication diagram of a host 1702 communicating with a UE 1706 via a network node 1704 over a portion of a wireless connection according to some embodiments. An example implementation of a UE (e.g., UE 1212a of fig. 12 and/or UE 1300 of fig. 13), a network node (e.g., network node 1210a of fig. 12 and/or network node 1400 of fig. 14), and a host (e.g., host 1216 of fig. 12 and/or host 1500 of fig. 15) discussed in the preceding paragraphs according to various embodiments will now be described with reference to fig. 17.

Similar to host 1500, embodiments of host 1702 include hardware, such as communication interfaces, processing circuitry, and memory. Host 1702 also includes software stored in host 1702 or accessible to host 1702 and executable by processing circuitry. The software includes a host application that may be operable to provide services to remote users, such as UE 1706 connected via an Over The Top (OTT) connection 1750 extending between UE 1706 and host 1702. In providing services to remote users, the host application may provide user data that is transferred using OTT connection 1750.

The network node 1704 includes hardware that enables it to communicate with the host 1702 and the UE 1706. The connection 1760 may be direct or through a core network (e.g., core network 1206 of fig. 12) and/or one or more other intermediate networks, such as one or more public, private, or hosted networks. For example, the intermediate network may be a backbone network or the internet.

The UE 1706 includes hardware and software that is stored in the UE 1706 or accessible to the UE 1706 and executable by the processing circuitry of the UE. The software includes a client application, such as a web browser or operator specific "app," that may be operable to provide services to human or non-human users via the UE 1706 with the support of the host 1702. In host 1702, the executing host application may communicate with the executing client application via OTT connection 1750 terminating at UE 1706 and host 1702. In providing services to a user, a client application of the UE may receive request data from a host application of a host and provide user data in response to the request data. OTT connection 1750 may transmit both request data and user data. The client application of the UE may interact with the user to generate user data that it provides to the host application over OTT connection 1750.

OTT connection 1750 may extend via connection 1760 between host 1702 and network node 1704 and via wireless connection 1770 between network node 1704 and UE 1706 to provide a connection between host 1702 and UE 1706. The connection 1760 and wireless connection 1770 through which the OTT connection 1750 may be provided have been abstractly drawn to illustrate communications between the host 1702 and the UE 1706 via the network node 1704 without explicitly referencing any intermediate devices and the precise routing of messages via those devices.

As an example of transmitting data via OTT connection 1750, host 1702 provides user data in step 1708, which may be performed by executing a host application. In some embodiments, the user data is associated with a particular human user interacting with the UE 1706. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with the UE 1706, and the UE 1706 shares data with the host 1702 without explicit human interaction. In step 1710, the host 1702 initiates a transfer to the UE 1706 carrying user data. The host 1702 may initiate the transmission in response to a request by the UE 1706 for transmission. The request may be caused by human interaction with the UE 1706 or by operation of a client application executing on the UE 1706. Transmissions may be through the network node 1704 according to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Thus, in step 1712, the network node 1704 transmits user data carried in the host 1702 initiated transmission to the UE 1706 according to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure. In step 1714, the UE 1706 receives user data carried in a transmission that may be performed by a client application executing on the UE 1706, the client application being associated with a host application executed by the host 1702.

In some examples, the UE 1706 executes a client application that provides user data to the host 1702. User data may be provided in response to or in response to data received from host 1702. Thus, in step 1716, the UE 1706 may provide user data, which may be performed by executing a client application. In providing user data, the client application may further consider user input received from a user via an input/output interface of the UE 1706. Regardless of the particular manner in which the user data is provided, in step 1718, the UE 1706 initiates transmission of the user data to the host 1702 via the network node 1704. In step 1720, the network node 1704 receives user data from the UE 1706 and initiates transmission of the received user data to the host 1702 according to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure. In step 1722, host 1702 receives user data carried in a UE 1706 initiated transfer.

In an example scenario, the host 1702 may collect and analyze plant status information. As another example, host 1702 may process audio and video data that may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating a map. As another example, the host 1702 may collect and analyze real-time data to help control vehicle congestion (e.g., control traffic lights). As another example, the host 1702 may store the surveillance video uploaded by the UE. As another example, host 1702 may store or control access to media content, such as video, audio, VR, or AR, which may be broadcast, multicast, or unicast to UEs. As other examples, host 1702 may be used for energy pricing, remote control of non-time critical electrical loads to balance power generation requirements, location services, presentation services (e.g., compiling charts from data collected from remote devices, etc.), or any other function that collects, retrieves, stores, analyzes, and/or communicates data.

In some examples, the measurement process may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, delay, and other factors that may improve one or more embodiments. There may also be optional network functionality for reconfiguring OTT connection 1750 between host 1702 and UE 1706 in response to a change in measurement. The measurement procedures and/or network functionality for reconfiguring OTT connections may be implemented in software and hardware of host 1702 and/or UE 1706. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or associated with other devices through which OTT connection 1750 passes; the sensor may participate in the measurement process by providing a value of the monitored quantity as exemplified above or other physical quantity from which software may calculate or estimate the monitored quantity. Reconfiguration of OTT connection 1750 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing, etc.; reconfiguration does not require a direct change in the operation of the network node 1704. Such processes and functionality may be known and practiced in the art. In some embodiments, the measurements may involve dedicated UE signaling that facilitates measurements of throughput, propagation time, delay, etc. by the host 1702. The measurement may be achieved by: the software enables the use of OTT connection 1750 to transmit messages, particularly null or "dummy" messages, while monitoring propagation time, errors, etc.

Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UE, network node, host) may include a combination of the hardware components shown, other embodiments may include computing devices having different combinations of components. It should be understood that these computing devices may include any suitable combination of hardware and/or software necessary to perform the tasks, features, functions, and methods disclosed herein. The determining, calculating, obtaining or the like described herein may be performed by a processing circuit that may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or the converted information with information stored in a network node, and/or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or the converted information, and as a result of the processing. Furthermore, while components are described as being located within a single block of a larger block, or nested within multiple blocks, in practice, a computing device may include multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and the functionality may be divided among the individual components. For example, the communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and/or the functionality of these components may be divided between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, the non-computationally intensive functions of any such component may be implemented in software or firmware, and the computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored in memory, which in certain implementations may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by processing circuitry without executing instructions stored, for example, in a hardwired manner on separate or discrete device-readable storage media. In any of those particular embodiments, the processing circuitry, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or not, may be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry itself or other components of the computing device, but are generally enjoyed by the computing device as a whole and/or by end users and wireless networks.

Further definitions and embodiments are discussed below.

In the foregoing description of various embodiments of the inventive concept, it should be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the inventive concept. Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this inventive concept belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the present specification and relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

When an element is referred to as being "connected," "coupled," "responsive" or a variation thereof to another element, it can be directly connected, coupled or responsive to the other element or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being "directly connected," "directly coupled," "indirectly responsive," or variations thereof to another element, there are no intervening elements present. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. Further, "coupled," "connected," "responsive," or variations thereof as used herein may include wirelessly coupled, connected, or responsive. As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Well-known functions or constructions may not be described in detail for brevity and/or clarity. The term "and/or" (abbreviated "/") includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements/operations, these elements/operations should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element/operation from another element/operation. Thus, a first element/operation in some embodiments could be termed a second element/operation in other embodiments without departing from the teachings of the present inventive concept. Throughout the specification, the same reference numerals or the same reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements.

As used herein, the terms "comprises," "comprising," "includes," "including," "having," "has," "with (have, has, having)", or variations thereof, are open-ended and include one or more of the stated features, integers, elements, steps, components, or functions, but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, elements, steps, components, functions or groups thereof. Furthermore, as used herein, the generic abbreviation "e.g." from the latin phrase "example gratia" may be used to introduce or designate one or more general examples of the aforementioned items, and is not intended to limit such items. The common abbreviation "i.e. (i.e." originates from the latin phrase "id est") may be used to designate a particular item in a more general description.

Example embodiments are described herein with reference to block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations of computer implemented methods, apparatus (systems and/or devices) and/or computer program products. It will be understood that blocks of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations, can be implemented by computer program instructions executed by one or more computer circuits. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor circuit of a general purpose computer circuit, special purpose computer circuit, and/or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer and/or other programmable data processing apparatus, transform and control the transistors, values stored in memory locations, and other hardware components within such circuits to implement the functions/acts specified in the block diagrams and/or flowchart block or blocks, and thereby create means (functionality) and/or structure for implementing the functions/acts specified in the block or block diagrams.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a tangible computer-readable medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored on the computer-readable medium produce an article of manufacture including instructions which implement the function/act specified in the block diagrams and/or flowchart block or blocks. Thus, embodiments of the inventive concept may be embodied in hardware and/or in software (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) that runs on a processor, such as a digital signal processor, which may all be referred to as a "circuit," "module," or variants thereof.

It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions/acts noted in the blocks may occur out of the order noted in the flowcharts. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality/acts involved. Furthermore, the functionality of a given block of the flowcharts and/or block diagrams may be separated into multiple blocks, and/or the functionality of two or more blocks of the flowcharts or block diagrams may be at least partially integrated. Finally, other blocks may be added/inserted between the blocks shown, and/or blocks/operations may be omitted, without departing from the scope of the inventive concepts. Further, although some of the figures include arrows on communication paths to illustrate a primary direction of communication, it should be understood that communication may occur in a direction opposite to the depicted arrows.

Many variations and modifications may be made to the embodiments without substantially departing from the principles of the present inventive concept. All such variations and modifications are intended to be included herein within the scope of the present inventive concepts. Accordingly, the above-disclosed subject matter is to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive, and the examples of embodiments are intended to cover all such modifications, enhancements, and other embodiments, which fall within the spirit and scope of the present inventive concepts. Thus, to the maximum extent allowed by law, the scope of the inventive concept is to be determined by the broadest permissible interpretation of the present disclosure, including examples of embodiments and their equivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited by the foregoing detailed description.

A list of example embodiments of the present disclosure is provided below:

1. a method performed by a first network node, the method comprising:

-generating (900) a first advertisement indicating a time stamping capability of the first network node; and

-Sending (902) the first advertisement to a second network node.

2. The method according to embodiment 1, further comprising:

-receiving (1000) a second announcement from the second network node indicating a time stamping capability of the second network node; and comparing (1002) the timestamping capabilities of the first network node and the second network node.

3. The method of embodiment 2, further comprising:

Based on the comparison (1002), communicating (1100) with the second network node to negotiate which of the respective timestamping capabilities is to be used for timestamping communications between the first network node and the second network node.

4. The method of embodiment 3, wherein to negotiate which of the respective timestamping capabilities is to be used for communication between the first network node and the second network node, the method comprises:

Selecting (1102) which of the first network node and the second network node's timestamping capabilities will provide the smallest timestamping error relative to the other timestamping capability when used for timestamped communications between the first network node and the second network node;

Configuring (1104) the first network node to use the selected timestamping capability for the first network node; and sending (1106) an indication of the selected timestamping capability for the second network node to the second network node.

5. The method according to any of embodiments 1-4, wherein sending (902) the first advertisement to the second network node comprises:

The first advertisement is embedded in a type, length, value TLV field attached to a precision time protocol, PTP, message.

6. The method of embodiment 5 wherein the first advertisement embedded in the TLV field is attached to an egress PTP message.

7. The method according to any one of embodiments 5-6, wherein the first advertisement is embedded in a data field of the TLV field.

8. The method of any one of embodiments 5 to 7, further comprising:

Receiving (1000) a PTP message from the second network node having an attached TLV field providing a second announcement indicating a time stamping capability of the second network node;

Removing the TLV field from the PTP message; and

Forwarding the PTP message to a third network node.

9. The method of any one of embodiments 5-8, wherein embedding the first advertisement in the TLV field attached to the PTP message comprises:

The embedding of the first advertisement is performed in the TLV field attached to the PTP message based on determining that the PTP message is to be sent to the second network node using an ethernet protocol.

10. The method according to any of embodiments 5-9, wherein, when sending (902) the first advertisement to the second network node to be passed through a primary port of the first network node, the first advertisement embedded in the TLV field is attached to one of the following messages: an egress PTP message, PTP synchronization message, PTP follow-up message, or PTP delay request message.

11. The method according to any of embodiments 5-9, wherein the first advertisement embedded in the TLV field is attached to a PTP delay request message when sending (902) the first advertisement to the second network node to be through a slave port of the first network node.

12. The method according to any of embodiments 5-11, wherein, when sending (902) the first advertisement to the second network node is to be implemented using a peer-to-peer delay mechanism, PTP, that will send an egress PTP message of the first network node, the first advertisement embedded in the TLV field is attached to one of: PTP PDELAY request message, pdelay_resp message, or pdelay_resp_follow_up message.

13. The method according to any one of embodiments 5-12, wherein the first advertisement embedded in the TLV field is attached to a PTP signaling message.

14. The method according to any one of embodiments 5-13, wherein the first advertisement embedded in the TLV field is attached to a PTP management message.

15. The method of any of embodiments 1-14, wherein the generating (900) of the first advertisement comprises: indicating whether the first network node supports the use of the last bit of a message preamble and/or a time stamping point at the first bit of a message payload.

16. The method of any of embodiments 1-15, wherein the generating (900) of the first advertisement comprises: indicating whether the first network node supports inserting a time stamping point into a message before or after inserting any idle packets into the message for rate compensation.

17. The method of any of embodiments 1-16, wherein the generating (900) of the first advertisement comprises: indicating whether the first network node supports timestamping capabilities according to IEEE 802.3 CX.

18. The method according to any of embodiments 1-17, wherein sending (902) the first advertisement to the second network node comprises:

the first advertisement is sent to the second network node using a link layer discovery protocol LLDP.

19. The method of embodiment 18, wherein sending (902) the first advertisement to the second network node comprises:

the first advertisement is embedded in a type, length, value TLV field attached to the LLD message.

20. The method of embodiment 19, wherein the first advertisement embedded in the TLV field is attached to an egress LLD message.

21. The method according to any one of embodiments 19-20, wherein the first advertisement is embedded in a data field of the TLV field.

22. The method of any one of embodiments 19 to 21, further comprising:

Receiving a LLD message from the second network node having an attached TLV field providing a second advertisement indicating a timestamping capability of the second network node;

extracting the second advertisement indicating time stamping capabilities of the second network node from the TLV field;

generating a new message comprising the second advertisement indicating a time stamping capability of the second network node; and forwarding the new message to a third network node.

23. The method of any of embodiments 1-22, wherein the generating (900) of the first advertisement comprises: an alignment mark AM indicating where the first network node inserts forward error correction FEC for messages.

24. The method of any of embodiments 1-23, wherein the generating (900) of the first advertisement comprises: indicating whether the first network node considers removing the alignment mark AM from the message when determining the location of the time stamped point in the message.

25. The method of any of embodiments 1-24, wherein the generating (900) of the first advertisement comprises: indicating whether the first network node considers a physical coding sublayer PCS multi-channel distribution in determining the time stamping of the message.

26. The method of any of embodiments 1-25, wherein the generating (900) of the first advertisement comprises:

Indicating whether the transmission path data delay is measured from the beginning of the start frame delimiter.

27. The method according to any of embodiments 1-26, wherein sending (902) the first advertisement to the second network node comprises:

The first advertisement is sent using an ethernet slow protocol.

28. The method according to any of embodiments 1-27, wherein sending (902) the first advertisement to the second network node comprises:

the first advertisement is sent using an ethernet synchronization message channel, ESMC, protocol data unit, PDU.

29. An application specific integrated circuit of a first network node adapted to perform the operations according to any of embodiments 1 to 28.

30. A computer program comprising program code to be executed by a processing circuit of a first network node, whereby execution of the program code causes the first network node to perform the operations of any one of embodiments 1 to 28.

31. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory storage medium comprising program code to be executed by a processing circuit of a first network node, whereby execution of the program code causes the first network node to perform operations according to any one of embodiments 1 to 28.

32. A first network node adapted to:

Generating a first advertisement indicating a time stamping capability of the first network node; and

The first advertisement is sent to a second network node.

33. The first network node of embodiment 32, further adapted to:

Receiving a second advertisement from the second network node indicating a time stamping capability of the second network node; and

The timestamping capabilities of the first network node and the second network node are compared.

34. The first network node of embodiment 32, further comprising:

Communicate with the second network node based on the comparison to negotiate which of the corresponding timestamping capabilities is to be used for timestamping communications between the first network node and the second network node.

35. The first network node of embodiment 34, wherein to negotiate which of the respective timestamping capabilities is to be used for communication between the first network node and the second network node, the method comprises:

Selecting which of the first network node and the second network node's timestamping capabilities will provide a minimum timestamping error relative to the other timestamping capability when used for timestamped communications between the first network node and the second network node;

Configuring the first network node to use the selected time stamping capability for the first network node; and sending an indication of the selected timestamping capability for the second network node to the second network node.

36. The first network node according to any of embodiments 32-35, wherein sending the first advertisement to the second network node comprises:

37. The first network node of embodiment 36, wherein the first advertisement embedded in the TLV field is attached to an egress PTP message.

38. The first network node according to any of embodiments 36-37, wherein the first advertisement is embedded in a data field of the TLV field.

39. The first network node according to any of embodiments 32-38, wherein the generating of the first advertisement comprises: indicating whether the first network node supports the use of the last bit of a message preamble and/or a time stamping point at the first bit of a message payload.

40. The first network node according to any of embodiments 32-39, wherein the generating of the first advertisement comprises: indicating whether the first network node supports inserting a time stamping point into a message before or after inserting any idle packets into the message for rate compensation.

41. The first network node according to any of embodiments 32-40, wherein the generating of the first advertisement comprises: indicating whether the first network node supports timestamping capabilities according to IEEE 802.3 CX.

42. The first network node according to any of embodiments 32-42, wherein sending (902) the first advertisement to the second network node comprises:

43. The first network node of embodiment 42, wherein sending the first advertisement to the second network node comprises:

44. The first network node of embodiment 43, wherein the first advertisement embedded in the TLV field is attached to an egress LLD message.

45. The first network node according to any of embodiments 43-44, wherein the first advertisement is embedded in a data field of the TLV field.

46. The first network node according to any of embodiments 43-45, further comprising:

47. The first network node of any of embodiments 32 to 46, wherein the generation of the first advertisement comprises: an alignment mark AM indicating where the first network node inserts forward error correction FEC for messages.

48. The first network node according to any of embodiments 32-47, wherein the generating of the first advertisement comprises: indicating whether the first network node considers removing the alignment mark AM from the message when determining the location of the time stamped point in the message.

49. The first network node according to any of embodiments 32-48, wherein the generating of the first advertisement comprises: indicating whether the first network node considers a physical coding sublayer PCS multi-channel distribution in determining the time stamping of the message.

50. The first network node according to any of embodiments 32-49, wherein the generating of the first advertisement comprises: indicating whether the transmission path data delay is measured from the beginning of the start frame delimiter.

51. The first network node according to any of embodiments 32-40, wherein sending the first advertisement to the second network node comprises:

The first advertisement is sent using an ethernet slow protocol.

52. The first network node according to any of embodiments 32-51, wherein sending the first advertisement to the second network node comprises:

53. An application specific integrated circuit of a first network node adapted to perform the operations of any one of embodiments 32 to 52.

Claims

1. A method performed by a first network node, the method comprising:

-Sending (902) the first advertisement to a second network node.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

-receiving (1000) a second announcement from the second network node indicating a time stamping capability of the second network node; and

-Comparing (1002) the timestamping capabilities of the first network node and the second network node.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein, to negotiate which of the respective timestamping capabilities is to be used for communication between the first network node and the second network node, the method comprises:

Configuring (1104) the first network node to use the selected timestamping capability for the first network node; and

-Sending (1106) an indication of the selected timestamping capability for the second network node to the second network node.

5. The method of any of claims 1-4, wherein sending (902) the first advertisement to the second network node comprises:

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the first advertisement embedded in the TLV field is attached to an egress PTP message.

7. The method of any of claims 5-6, wherein the first advertisement is embedded in a data field of the TLV field.

8. The method of any of claims 5 to 7, further comprising:

Removing the TLV field from the PTP message; and

Forwarding the PTP message to a third network node.

9. The method of any of claims 5-8, wherein embedding the first advertisement in the TLV field attached to the PTP message comprises:

10. The method according to any of claims 5 to 9, wherein, when sending (902) the first advertisement to the second network node to be passed through a primary port of the first network node, the first advertisement embedded in the TLV field is attached to one of: an egress PTP message, PTP synchronization message, PTP follow-up message, or PTP delay request message.

11. The method according to any of claims 5 to 9, wherein the first advertisement embedded in the TLV field is attached to a PTP delay request message when sending (902) the first advertisement to the second network node to be passed through a slave port of the first network node.

12. The method according to any of claims 5 to 11, wherein, when sending (902) the first advertisement to the second network node is to be implemented using a peer-to-peer delay mechanism, PTP, that will send an egress PTP message of the first network node, the first advertisement embedded in the TLV field is attached to one of: PTP PDELAY request message, pdelay_resp message, or pdelay_resp_follow_up message.

13. The method of any of claims 5 to 12, wherein the first advertisement embedded in the TLV field is attached to a PTP signaling message.

14. The method of any of claims 5 to 13, wherein the first advertisement embedded in the TLV field is attached to a PTP management message.

15. The method of any of claims 1-14, wherein the generating (900) of the first advertisement comprises: indicating whether the first network node supports the use of the last bit of a message preamble and/or a time stamping point at the first bit of a message payload.

16. The method of any of claims 1-15, wherein the generating (900) of the first advertisement comprises: indicating whether the first network node supports inserting a time stamping point into a message before or after inserting any idle packets into the message for rate compensation.

17. The method of any of claims 1-16, wherein the generating (900) of the first advertisement comprises: indicating whether the first network node supports timestamping capabilities according to IEEE 802.3 CX.

18. The method of any of claims 1-17, wherein sending (902) the first advertisement to the second network node comprises:

19. The method of claim 18, wherein sending (902) the first advertisement to the second network node comprises:

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the first advertisement embedded in the TLV field is attached to an egress LLD message.

21. The method of any one of claims 19 to 20, wherein the first advertisement is embedded in a data field of the TLV field.

22. The method of any of claims 19 to 21, further comprising:

Generating a new message comprising the second advertisement indicating a time stamping capability of the second network node; and

Forwarding the new message to a third network node.

23. The method of any of claims 1-22, wherein the generating (900) of the first advertisement comprises: an alignment mark AM indicating where the first network node inserts forward error correction FEC for messages.

24. The method of any of claims 1-23, wherein the generating (900) of the first advertisement comprises: indicating whether the first network node considers removing the alignment mark AM from the message when determining the location of the time stamped point in the message.

25. The method of any of claims 1-24, wherein the generating (900) of the first advertisement comprises: indicating whether the first network node considers a physical coding sublayer PCS multi-channel distribution in determining the time stamping of the message.

26. The method of any of claims 1-25, wherein the generating (900) of the first advertisement comprises: indicating whether the transmission path data delay is measured from the beginning of the start frame delimiter.

27. The method of any of claims 1-26, wherein sending (902) the first advertisement to the second network node comprises:

The first advertisement is sent using an ethernet slow protocol.

28. The method of any of claims 1-27, wherein sending (902) the first advertisement to the second network node comprises:

29. An application specific integrated circuit of a first network node adapted to perform operations according to any of claims 1 to 28.

30. A computer program comprising program code to be executed by processing circuitry of a first network node, whereby execution of the program code causes the first network node to perform operations according to any of claims 1 to 28.

31. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory storage medium comprising program code to be executed by processing circuitry of a first network node, whereby execution of the program code causes the first network node to perform operations according to any one of claims 1 to 28.

32. A first network node (700, 800) adapted to:

The first advertisement is sent to a second network node.

33. The first network node of claim 32, further adapted to:

34. The first network node of claim 32, further adapted to:

35. The first network node of claim 34, wherein to negotiate which of the respective timestamping capabilities is to be used for communication between the first network node and the second network node, the first network node is further adapted to:

Configuring the first network node to use the selected time stamping capability for the first network node; and

An indication of the selected timestamping capability for the second network node is sent to the second network node.

36. The first network node of any of claims 32 to 35, wherein sending the first advertisement to the second network node comprises:

37. The first network node of claim 36, wherein the first advertisement embedded in the TLV field is attached to an egress PTP message.

38. The first network node of any of claims 36-37, wherein the first advertisement is embedded in a data field of the TLV field.

39. The first network node of any of claims 32 to 38, wherein the generation of the first advertisement comprises:

Indicating whether the first network node supports the use of the last bit of a message preamble and/or a time stamping point at the first bit of a message payload.

40. The first network node of any of claims 32 to 39, wherein the generation of the first advertisement comprises:

Indicating whether the first network node supports inserting a time stamping point into a message before or after inserting any idle packets into the message for rate compensation.

41. The first network node of any of claims 32 to 40, wherein the generation of the first advertisement comprises:

Indicating whether the first network node supports timestamping capabilities according to IEEE 802.3 CX.

42. The first network node of any of claims 32 to 42, wherein sending the first advertisement to the second network node comprises:

43. The first network node of claim 42, wherein sending the first advertisement to the second network node comprises:

44. The first network node of claim 43, wherein the first advertisement embedded in the TLV field is attached to an egress LLD message.

45. The first network node of any of claims 43-44, wherein the first advertisement is embedded in a data field of the TLV field.

46. The first network node of any of claims 43 to 45, further adapted to:

Forwarding the new message to a third network node.

47. The first network node of any of claims 32 to 46, wherein the generation of the first advertisement comprises:

An alignment mark AM indicating where the first network node inserts forward error correction FEC for messages.

48. The first network node of any of claims 32 to 47, wherein the generation of the first advertisement comprises:

Indicating whether the first network node considers removing the alignment mark AM from the message when determining the location of the time stamped point in the message.

49. The first network node of any of claims 32 to 48, wherein the generation of the first advertisement comprises:

Indicating whether the first network node considers a physical coding sublayer PCS multi-channel distribution in determining the time stamping of the message.

50. The first network node of any of claims 32 to 49, wherein the generation of the first advertisement comprises:

51. The first network node of any of claims 32 to 40, wherein sending the first advertisement to the second network node comprises:

The first advertisement is sent using an ethernet slow protocol.

52. The first network node of any of claims 32 to 51, wherein sending the first advertisement to the second network node comprises:

53. An application specific integrated circuit of a first network node adapted to perform operations according to any of claims 32 to 52.