KR20170103439A - Node unit comprising queuing engine for multitasking ethernet data and distributed antenna system comprising for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

According to an embodiment by a technical idea of the present invention, a node unit connected to a plurality of lower nodes comprises: a queuing engine interfacing Ethernet data between an MAC module and the plurality of lower nodes. The queuing engine includes a buffer for multitasking Ethernet data received from the MAC module to the plurality of lower nodes, transferring Ethernet data received from the plurality of lower nodes to the MAC module, and buffering and outputting the Ethernet data received from the plurality of lower nodes.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a node unit including a queuing engine for multicasting Ethernet data, and a distributed antenna system including the queuing engine. [0002]

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a distributed antenna system, and more particularly to a node unit including a queuing engine for multicasting Ethernet data and a distributed antenna system including the same. .

Distributed antenna system has mainly played a role of relaying macro base station signal of mobile communication service provider. Recently, LTE / 3G small cell and WiFi have been added as an additional function. It supports the function of an acceptable backhaul transmission network while using the Ethernet protocol. In addition, a distributed antenna system with a high system complexity uses an Ethernet protocol having high throughput and reliability as an interface of a C & M (Control & Management) channel. Thus, the use of Ethernet in distributed antenna systems is becoming increasingly common.

The distributed antenna system provides an Ethernet interface between a master unit and dozens of remote units and between cascaded remote units and is equipped with an L2 switch (Layer 2 Switch) to control the path of Ethernet data.

However, even though the clock and control signals are excluded, the Ethernet interface with dozens of links has 10 pin assignments for MII (Media Independent Interface) and 18 pin assignments for GMII (Gigabit MII) ) Is required, which is difficult to implement in hardware.

A node unit including a queuing engine for multicasting Ethernet data according to the technical idea of the present invention and a distributed antenna system including the node unit effectively provide an Ethernet interface in a distributed antenna system And to simplify the hardware of the digital board.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a node unit connected to a plurality of child nodes, the node unit comprising: a Media Access Control (MAC) module; And a queuing engine for interfacing Ethernet data between the MAC module and the plurality of lower nodes, wherein the queuing engine multicasts the Ethernet data received from the MAC module to the plurality of lower nodes, And a buffer for transmitting the Ethernet data received from the lower nodes of the plurality of lower nodes to the MAC module and for buffering the Ethernet data received from the lower nodes and outputting the buffered Ethernet data to the MAC module.

According to an embodiment, the queuing engine may be implemented in an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) constituting a digital part of the node unit.

According to an embodiment, the buffer may be a first-in first-out (FIFO) buffer.

According to an embodiment, the FIFO buffer may have a size of twice or more the full frame length of the Ethernet data.

According to an embodiment, the Ethernet data may be a control / management signal transmitted from or to an external management device connected to the node unit.

According to an embodiment, the queuing engine may further include signal control logic for determining that Ethernet data received from the MAC module is valid when the TX_EN signal is at a first level, and for dropping invalid Ethernet data.

According to an embodiment, the queuing engine may further comprise signal control logic for determining that Ethernet data received from the plurality of lower nodes is valid when the RX_DV signal is at the first level, and for dropping invalid Ethernet data .

According to an embodiment, the queuing engine further includes a scheduler for determining whether the Ethernet data is valid when the Ethernet data is input from the buffer, and outputting the Ethernet data determined to be valid to the MAC module .

According to an embodiment, the scheduler may determine that the Ethernet data received from the MAC module is valid when the TX_EN signal is at the first level, and may drop invalid Ethernet data.

According to an embodiment, the scheduler may determine that the Ethernet data received from the plurality of lower nodes is valid when the RX_DV signal is at the first level, and may drop invalid Ethernet data when the RX_DV signal is at the first level.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a node unit cascade-connected with an upper node and a lower node, the node unit comprising: a Media Access Control (MAC) module; And a queuing engine for interfacing Ethernet data between the MAC module, the upper node, and the lower node, wherein the queuing engine multicasts Ethernet data received from the upper node to the MAC module and the lower node Multicasts the Ethernet data received from the lower node to the MAC module and the upper node, multicasts the Ethernet data received from the MAC module to the upper node and the lower node, A first buffer for buffering Ethernet data received from the node and outputting the buffered Ethernet data to the MAC module, a second buffer for buffering Ethernet data received from the upper node or the MAC module and outputting the buffered data to the lower node, The Ethernet data received from the MAC module is buffered It characterized in that it comprises a third buffer for output to the parent node.

According to an embodiment, the queuing engine may be implemented in an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) constituting a digital part of the node unit.

According to an embodiment, the buffer may be a first-in first-out (FIFO) buffer.

According to an embodiment, the FIFO buffer may have a size of twice or more the full frame length of the Ethernet data.

According to an embodiment, the Ethernet data may be a control / management signal transmitted from or to an external management device connected to the node unit.

According to an embodiment, the queuing engine may further include a first scheduler for determining whether the Ethernet data input from the first buffer is valid and outputting the Ethernet data determined to be valid to the MAC module have.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the queuing engine may further include a second scheduler for determining whether the Ethernet data input from the second buffer is valid and outputting the Ethernet data determined to be valid to the lower node have.

According to an embodiment, the queuing engine may further include a third scheduler for determining whether the Ethernet data input from the third buffer is valid and outputting the Ethernet data determined to be valid to the superordinate node have.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a distributed antenna system comprising: a master unit; And a plurality of remote units connected to the master unit, wherein at least a part of the plurality of remote units includes a remote unit cascade-connected to an upper remote unit and a lower remote unit, And a master unit queuing engine for interfacing Ethernet data between the master unit MAC module and the plurality of remote units, wherein the master unit queuing engine comprises: And transmits the Ethernet data received from the plurality of remote units to the master unit MAC module, buffers the Ethernet data received from the plurality of remote units, and transmits the Ethernet data to the master unit MAC module And a buffer for outputting , The cascade-connected remote unit includes a remote unit MAC module and a remote unit queuing engine for interfacing Ethernet data between the remote unit MAC module, the upper remote unit and the lower remote unit, and the remote unit queuing engine Multicasts the Ethernet data received from the upper remote unit to the remote unit MAC module and the lower remote unit and multicasts the Ethernet data received from the lower remote unit to the remote unit MAC module and the upper remote unit , Multicasts the Ethernet data received from the remote unit MAC module to the upper remote unit and the lower node remote unit, buffers the Ethernet data received from the upper remote unit or the lower remote unit, A second buffer for buffering Ethernet data received from the upper remote unit or the remote unit MAC module and outputting the buffered Ethernet data to the lower remote unit; and a second buffer for buffering Ethernet data received from the upper remote unit or the remote unit MAC And a third buffer for buffering Ethernet data received from the module and outputting the buffered Ethernet data to the upper remote unit.

According to the embodiments of the present invention, since a queuing engine for multicasting Ethernet data is used without referring to a destination address field, an Ethernet interface is provided in the distributed antenna system And it is possible to simplify the hardware of the digital board and to reduce the cost of using an external device such as the L2 switch.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A brief description of each drawing is provided to more fully understand the drawings recited in the description of the invention.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a topology of a distributed antenna system as one form of a signal distribution transmission system to which the technical idea of the present invention can be applied.
2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a master unit in a distributed antenna system to which the technical idea of the present invention may be applied.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a spinning example in which signal control logic is additionally applied to the master unit of FIG. 2;
4 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a remote unit in a distributed antenna system to which the technical idea of the present invention can be applied.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. However, it should be understood that the technical idea of the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments but includes all changes, equivalents, and alternatives included in the technical idea of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [0027] In the following description of the present invention, a detailed description of known technologies will be omitted when it is determined that the technical idea of the present invention may be unnecessarily obscured. In addition, numerals (e.g., first, second, etc.) used in the description of the present invention are merely an identifier for distinguishing one component from another.

Also, in this specification, when an element is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" with another element, the element may be directly connected or directly connected to the other element, It should be understood that, unless an opposite description is present, it may be connected or connected via another element in the middle.

It should be noted that the terms such as " unit, "" to, "and" to module ", as used herein, mean units for processing at least one function or operation, Or a combination of hardware and software.

It is to be clarified that the division of constituent parts in this specification is merely a division by each main function of each constituent part. That is, two or more constituent parts to be described below may be combined into one constituent part, or one constituent part may be divided into two or more functions according to functions that are more subdivided. In addition, each of the constituent units described below may additionally perform some or all of the functions of other constituent units in addition to the main functions of the constituent units themselves, and that some of the main functions, And may be carried out in a dedicated manner.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a topology of a distributed antenna system as one form of a signal distribution transmission system to which the technical idea of the present invention can be applied.

1, a Distributed Antenna System (DAS) 1 includes a Base Station Interface Unit (BIU) 100 constituting a headend node of a distributed antenna system, A master unit (MU) 200, a hub 300 that is an extension node, a plurality of remote units (RUs) 400 disposed at remote service locations, .

This distributed antenna system 1 may be implemented as an analog DAS or a digital DAS, and in some cases may be implemented as a mixed type (i.e., some nodes perform analog processing and some other nodes perform digital processing).

1 shows an example of a topology of a distributed antenna system 1 and a distributed antenna system 1 is shown in an installation area and an application field (for example, an in-building, a subway, a hospital, (Hospital, stadium, etc.), the topology can be varied. In this regard, the number of the base station interface unit 100, the master unit 200, the hub 300, the number of the remote units 400, and the connection relationship of the upper / lower ends thereof may differ from those of FIG.

 In the distributed antenna system 1, the hub 200 is utilized when the number of branches to be branched from the master unit 200 to the STAR structure is limited compared to the number of the remote units 400 requiring installation. do. Therefore, when a single master unit 200 alone can sufficiently accommodate the number of remote units 400 that need to be installed, or when a plurality of master units 200 are installed, the hub 200 is connected to the distributed antenna system 1 ).

Hereinafter, the nodes and their functions in the distributed antenna system 1 to which the present invention can be applied will be sequentially described with reference to the topology of FIG.

The base station interface unit 100 serves as an interface between a BTS (Basestation Transceiver System) such as a base station and a master unit 200 in the distributed antenna system 1. [ Although FIG. 1 shows a case where a plurality of BTSs are connected to a single base station interface unit 100, the base station interface unit 100 may be separately provided for each service provider, each frequency band, and each sector.

Generally, since the RF signal transmitted from the BTS is a high-power signal, the base station interface unit 100 is generally suitable for processing the RF signal of high power in the master unit 200 And transmits the RF signal to the master unit 200.

1, the base station interface unit 100 receives signals of mobile communication services for each frequency band (or for each service provider, sector), combines them To the master unit (200).

When the base station interface unit 100 lowers the high power signal of the BTS to low power and then combines the respective mobile communication service signals and transmits them to the master unit 200, the master unit 200 transmits the combined mobile communication service signal (Hereinafter, referred to as a relay signal) for each branch. In this case, when the distributed antenna system 1 is implemented as a digital DAS, the base station interface unit 100 includes a unit that performs a function of converting a high-power RF signal of the BTS into a low-power RF signal, Intermediate Frequency signal), and then combines the signal with digital signal processing. Unlike the above, if the base station interface unit 100 performs only a function of converting the high power RF signal of the BTS into the low power RF signal, the master unit 200 combines the transmitted relay signals and distributes the relay signals for each branch Can be performed. The specific functional configuration of the master unit 200 will be described later in detail with reference to FIG.

As described above, the combined relay signal distributed from the master unit 200 is transmitted through the hub 300 or directly to the branch 300 (see Branch # 1, ..., Branch # k, ..., Branch # To the remote unit (400).

Each of the remote units 400 separates the received combined relay signal by frequency band and performs signal processing (analog signal processing in the case of analog DAS and digital signal processing in the case of digital DAS).

Accordingly, each remote unit 400 transmits a relay signal to a user terminal in its service coverage through a service antenna. The concrete functional configuration of the remote unit 400 will be described in detail later with reference to FIG.

1, an RF cable is connected between the BTS and the base station interface unit 100 and between the base station interface unit 100 and the master unit 200, and all of the master unit 200 to the lower end thereof are connected by an optical cable However, the signal transmission medium between each node can be variously modified. For example, the base station interface unit 100 and the master unit 200 may be connected through an RF cable, or may be connected through an optical cable or a digital interface. As another example, an optical cable is connected between the master unit 200 and the hub 300 and a remote unit 400 directly connected to the master unit 200, and an RF cable, Twisted cable, UTP cable or the like. As another example, the remote unit 400 directly connected to the master unit 200 may be connected through an RF cable, a twisted cable, a UTP cable, or the like.

However, the following description will be made with reference to Fig. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the master unit 200, the hub 300, and the remote unit 400 may include an optical transceiver module for electro-optical conversion / photoelectric conversion, and when interconnected by a single optical cable And a WDM (Wavelength Division Multiplexing) element.

1, the administrator can remotely access the distributed antenna system 1 via the NMS by connecting each node of the distributed antenna system 1 to the network The control / management signal for controlling the operation of each node can be monitored through a high throughput and high reliability Ethernet protocol (Ethernet The distributed antenna system 1 may be used for relaying signals of a base station of a mobile communication service provider and may be a backhaul capable of accommodating LTE / 3G small cells and WiFi backhaul) transmission network while supporting the Ethernet protocol.

2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a master unit in a distributed antenna system to which the technical idea of the present invention may be applied.

The block diagram of FIG. 2 illustrates one implementation of the master unit 200 in the digital DAS in which the inter-node connection is via an optical cable.

A queuing engine for Ethernet data transmission according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied to the master unit 200 of FIG. The queuing engine according to the embodiment of the present invention may be embodied in the digital part of the master unit 200. When a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) is applied to configure the digital part of the master unit 200, the queuing engine can be implemented in the FPGA.

2, the master unit 200 includes a MAC (Media Access Control) module 210, an FPGA 220 that constitutes a digital part, and a plurality of E / O converters 230 do.

The MAC module 210 performs addressing and channel access control functions.

The FPGA 220 includes a plurality of framers / deserters 222 connected to a queuing engine 221 and a queuing engine 221. The queuing engine 221 interfaces Ethernet data between the MAC module 210 and a plurality of framers / deserts 222. The plurality of framers / deserts 222 may be configured to correspond to a plurality of remote units 400 constituting lower nodes of the master unit 200. That is, a plurality of framers / deserts 222 may exist by branch (see FIG. 1).

When receiving Ethernet data from the MAC module 210, the queuing engine 221 transmits the Ethernet data received from the MAC module 210 (without decoding the Ethernet data and referring to the Destination Address field) To the framer / sender 222. [ The framer / sender 222 formats the Ethernet data received from the queuing engine 221 into a format suitable for digital transmission, and converts the parallel digital signal into a serial digital signal. The optical / electrical converter 230 converts the digital signal received from the framer / sender 222 into an optical signal and transmits the optical signal to the remote unit 400 through the optical cable.

Ethernet data received from the MAC module 210 of the master unit 200 is multicast to a plurality of remote units 400 constituting a lower node but each remote unit 400 receives a destination address It is not accommodated by itself, so that there is no problem of lowering the throughput.

When receiving Ethernet data from the remote unit 400 as a lower node, each optical / electrical converter 230 converts the optical signal received from the remote unit 400 to a digital signal via an optical cable, (222). The framer / sender 222 converts the serial digital signal into a parallel digital signal and reformats it into a format suitable for processing by frequency band. The queuing engine 221 delivers the Ethernet data received from each framer / sender 222 to the MAC module 210.

The remote unit 400 transmits the Ethernet data to the upper node when responding to the request of the master unit 200 or when there is alarm information when there is an error, It is not necessary to guarantee a dedicated link for transmitting Ethernet data between each framer / sender 222 and the MAC module 210

The queuing engine 221 determines the validity of the data received from the framer / sender 222 when the link for transferring the Ethernet data between the framer / sender 222 and the MAC module 210 is already occupied, And outputting valid data to the MAC module 210 in order. The queuing engine 221 may include one or more receive buffers 221-2 and a scheduler 221-1. The reception buffer 221-2 can input the Ethernet data received from the remote unit 400 of the lower node to the scheduler 221-1. The scheduler 221-1 can determine the validity of the data received from one or more receiving buffers (RX BUFFER) 221-2 and output valid data to the MAC module 210. [ The operation of the scheduler 221-1 to determine the validity of the received data will be described later with reference to FIG. The scheduler 221-1 may include a first-in first-out (FIFO) buffer and output the data received from the receiving buffer 221-2 to the MAC module 210 according to the input order. However, The embodiment by technological thought is not limited thereto.

On the other hand, if the link between the queuing engine 221 and the MAC module 210 is already occupied and the buffer included in the scheduler 221-1 is insufficient for full storage space, Ethernet data may be lost , And the reception buffer 221-2 may also be configured as a FIFO buffer. For example, the reception buffer 221-2 may be composed of a FIFO buffer having a sufficient size of at least twice the full frame length of the Ethernet data. Also, even if the Ethernet data is lost, the Ethernet data is retransmitted through the random backoff in the Best Effort transmission characteristic of the Ethernet protocol, so that the reception buffer 221-2 is appropriate for the required throughput Size FIFO buffer.

Although FIG. 2 shows a case where the framer and the desdes are configured as a single unit, the framer and the desdes may be separately configured as respective units as necessary.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a spinning example in which signal control logic is additionally applied to the master unit of FIG. 2;

Referring to FIG. 3, the queuing engine 221 may include a signal control logic 221-3. The signal control logic 221-3 may be a separately provided component in the queuing engine 221 or a component implemented in the scheduler 221-1 described in FIG. The signal control logic 221-3 determines whether the Ethernet data received from the MAC module 210 or from the framer / sender 222 is valid data, multicasts it to the framer / sender 222 if it is valid data To the MAC module 210. The signal control logic 221-3 may determine that the TX_EN signal from the MAC module 210 is at a first level (e.g., high) and / or that the TX_EN signal from the framer / It is possible to determine that the Ethernet data is valid only when the RX_DV signal (receive data valid signal) of the first level is the first level. If it is not valid Ethernet data, the signal control logic 221-3 drops the received Ethernet data and does not multicast to the next stage framer / sender 222 or forward it to the MAC module 210 .

Although FIG. 3 shows a case where the signal control logic 221-3 is configured at the transmitting end and the receiving end of the queuing engine 221, the signal control logic 221-3 may be composed of a single logic connected to the transmitting end and the receiving end, if necessary. The control logic 221-3 may be configured in the scheduler 221-1 as described above.

4 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a remote unit in a distributed antenna system to which the technical idea of the present invention can be applied.

The block diagram of FIG. 4 illustrates one implementation of a remote unit 400 in a digital DAS in which the inter-node connection is via an optical cable. Particularly, the block diagram of FIG. 4 illustrates a remote unit 400 connected in cascade with a remote unit at an upper stage and a remote unit at a lower stage.

A queuing engine for Ethernet data transmission according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied to the remote unit 400 of FIG. The queuing engine applied to the remote unit 400 in the middle stage of Fig. 4 can be equally applied to the remote unit in the upper stage and / or the remote unit in the lower stage.

The queuing engine according to the embodiment of the present invention can be implemented in the digital part of the remote unit 400. [ When an FPGA is applied to configure the digital part of the remote unit 400, the queuing engine can be implemented in the FPGA.

4, the remote unit 400 includes a Media Access Control (MAC) module 410, a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) 420 constituting a digital part, a plurality of E / O converters (430, 440). Reference numerals 430 and 440 denote an optical / electrical converter connected to a remote unit (Upper RU) at an upper end and an optical / electrical converter connected to a lower remote unit (lower RU).

The MAC module 410 performs addressing and channel access control functions.

The FPGA 420 includes a plurality of framers / deserters 422 and 423 connected to a queuing engine 421 and a queuing engine 421. The queuing engine 421 interfaces Ethernet data between the MAC module 410 and a plurality of framers / deserials 422 and 423. The framer / sender 422 is configured to correspond to a remote unit (Upper RU) constituting an upper node of the remote unit 400. The framer / sender 423 constitutes a lower node of the remote unit 400 And may be configured corresponding to a remote unit (Lower RU).

When the Ethernet data is received from the remote unit of the upper node, the optical / electrical converter 440 converts the optical signal received from the remote unit of the upper node to a digital signal via the optical cable and transmits the digital signal to the framer / do. The framer / sender 422 converts the serial digital signal into a parallel digital signal and reformats it into a format suitable for processing by frequency band.

The queuing engine 421 multicasts the Ethernet data received from the framer / sender 422 to the MAC module 410 and to the remote unit of the lower node.

The framer / sender 423 formats the Ethernet data received from the queuing engine 421 into a format suitable for digital transmission, and converts the parallel digital signal into a serial digital signal. The optical / electrical converter 430 converts the digital signal received from the framer / sender 423 into an optical signal and transmits the optical signal to the remote unit of the lower node through the optical cable.

When the Ethernet data is received from the remote unit of the lower node, the optical / electrical converter 430 converts the optical signal received from the remote unit of the lower node through the optical cable into a digital signal and transmits it to the framer / do. The framer / sender 423 converts the serial digital signal into a parallel digital signal, and reformats it into a format suitable for processing by frequency band.

The queuing engine 421 multicasts the Ethernet data received from the framer / sender 423 to the MAC module 410 and the remote unit of the upper node.

The framer / sender 422 formats the Ethernet data received from the queuing engine 421 into a format suitable for digital transmission, and converts the parallel digital signal into a serial digital signal. The optical to electrical converter 440 converts the digital signal received from the framer / sender 422 into an optical signal and transmits the optical signal to the remote unit of the upper node through the optical cable.

When receiving the Ethernet data from the MAC module 410, the queuing engine 421 multicasts the received Ethernet data to the remote unit of the upper node and / or the remote unit of the lower node.

The framer / sender 422 formats the Ethernet data received from the queuing engine 421 into a format suitable for digital transmission, and converts the parallel digital signal into a serial digital signal. The optical to electrical converter 440 converts the digital signal received from the framer / sender 422 into an optical signal and transmits the optical signal to the remote unit of the upper node through the optical cable.

The framer / sender 423 formats the Ethernet data received from the queuing engine 421 into a format suitable for digital transmission, and converts the parallel digital signal into a serial digital signal. The optical / electrical converter 430 converts the digital signal received from the framer / sender 423 into an optical signal and transmits the optical signal to the remote unit of the lower node through the optical cable.

The queuing engine 421 is operable to receive the Ethernet data from the framer / deserials 422 and 423 when the link for transferring Ethernet data between the MAC module 410 and the plurality of framers / deserts 422 and 423 is already occupied. And a configuration for determining the validity of the data and outputting valid data to the MAC module 410 in order. The queuing engine 421 may include schedulers 421-1, 421-2, and 421-3, a local buffer 421-4, a receive buffer 421-5, and a send buffer 421-6. The schedulers 421-1, 421-2 and 421-3 are connected to a local scheduler 421-1, a Tx Scheduler 421-2, a Rx Scheduler, (421-3).

The schedulers 421-1, 421-2, and 421-3 determine the validity of the data received from the connected one or more buffers 421-4, 421-5, and / or 421-6, have. For example, the local scheduler 421-1 can determine the validity of data received from the local buffer 421-4 and output valid data to the MAC module 410. [ Likewise, the originating scheduler 421-2 can determine the validity of the data received from the source buffer 421-6 and output valid data to the framer / deserializer 423. The operation of the schedulers 421-1, 421-2, and 421-3 to determine the validity of the received data is the same as or similar to the operation described with reference to FIG. 3, and thus the detailed description thereof will be omitted. The schedulers 421-1, 421-2 and 421-3 are connected to one or more buffers 421-4, 421-5 and / or 421-6 connected thereto including a first-in first-out (FIFO) Data can be output to the MAC module 210 according to the input order, but the embodiment according to the technical idea of the present invention is not limited thereto.

In addition, the local buffer 421-4, the reception buffer 421-5 and / or the transmission buffer 421-6 may be configured as a first-in first-out (FIFO) buffer. However, The present invention is not limited thereto. Similar to the scheduler 221-1 and the reception buffer 221-2 of the master unit 200 described with reference to Fig. 2, the elements 421-1, 421-2, 421-3 , 421-4, 421-5, and 421-6 may include a plurality of FIFO buffers of sufficient size to prevent loss of Ethernet data.

For convenience of description, the local scheduler 421-1 will be described as an example. The local buffer 421-4 can output Ethernet data received from the connected upper and / or lower remote units to the local scheduler 421-1 And the local scheduler 421-1 can output the received Ethernet data to the MAC module 410. [ At this time, the local scheduler 421-1 and / or the local buffer 421-4 may be configured as a FIFO buffer, but the embodiment according to the technical idea of the present invention is not limited thereto. Similarly, the source buffer 421-6 may output the Ethernet data received from the connected upper node and / or the MAC module 410 to the originating scheduler 421-2, and the originating scheduler 421-2 may output the received Ethernet data Data can be output to the lower node. The receiving buffer 421-5 may also output the Ethernet data received from the connected lower node and / or the MAC module 410 to the receiving scheduler 421-3, and the receiving scheduler 421-3 may receive Ethernet data can be output to an upper node.

In addition, the buffers included in each of the components 421-1, 421-2, 421-3, 421-4, 421-5, and 421-6 may include a FIFO buffer of an appropriate size according to the required throughput .

The queuing engine 421 may input the Ethernet data received from the remote unit of the upper node to the local scheduler 421-1 and / or the origination scheduler 421-2. At this time, the Ethernet data received from the remote unit of the upper node can be input to the local scheduler 421-1 through the local buffer 421-4, and transmitted to the origination scheduler 421-2 through the origination buffer 421-6 ). The local buffer 421-4 sequentially outputs the input Ethernet data to the local scheduler 421-1.

Then, the queuing engine 421 can input the Ethernet data received from the remote unit of the lower node to the local scheduler 421-1 and / or the reception scheduler 421-3. At this time, the Ethernet data received from the remote unit of the lower node may be input to the local scheduler 421-1 through the local buffer 421-4 and the reception scheduler 421-3 via the reception buffer 421-5. As shown in FIG. The transmission buffer 421-6 sequentially outputs the input Ethernet data to the originating scheduler 421-2.

Then, the queuing engine 421 may input the Ethernet data received from the MAC module 410 to the origination scheduler 421-2 and / or the reception scheduler 421-3. At this time, the Ethernet data received from the MAC module 410 may be input to the reception scheduler 421-3 through the reception buffer 421-5, and transmitted to the transmission scheduler 421-2 through the transmission buffer 421-6 ). The reception buffer 421-5 sequentially outputs the input Ethernet data to the reception scheduler 421-3.

When the Ethernet data is input, the local scheduler 421-1 determines the validity of the data, and sequentially outputs valid data to the MAC module 410. [ When the Ethernet data is input, the originating scheduler 421-2 determines the validity of the data, and outputs valid data sequentially to the framer / sender 423 corresponding to the remote unit of the lower node. When the Ethernet data is input, the reception scheduler 421-3 determines validity of the data, and outputs valid data sequentially to the framer / sender 422 corresponding to the remote unit of the upper node.

As described above, the queuing engine 421 of the remote unit 400 has the first configuration (the local scheduler 421-1 and the local scheduler 422-1) for buffering the Ethernet data received from the upper node or the lower node and outputting the buffered data to the MAC module 400. [ Buffer 421-4). The queuing engine 421 of the remote unit 400 also has a second configuration in which Ethernet data received from an upper node or the MAC module 400 is buffered and output to a lower node (an originating scheduler 421-2 and an originating buffer 421-6). The queuing engine 421 of the remote unit 400 also has a third configuration (a reception scheduler 421-3 and a reception buffer 421-3) for buffering the Ethernet data received from the lower node or the MAC module 400 and outputting the buffered data to an upper node -5).

Although FIG. 4 shows a case in which the framer and the desdes are configured as a single unit, the framer and the desdes may be separately configured into the respective units as necessary.

The remote unit 400 of FIG. 4 provides a service signal to a terminal in a service area, and a digital / analog converter (DAC), an up converter, a PAU A power amplifier unit, an LNA (Low Noise Amplifier), a down converter, and an analog-to-digital converter (ADC).

On the other hand, FIG. 2 illustrates a case where the queuing engine 221 of the master unit 200 includes only the reception buffer 221-2 and does not include a transmission buffer. However, when a plurality of master units 200 are included in the distributed antenna system 1 and a plurality of master units 200 are connected to each other to transmit and receive Ethernet data, the queuing engine 221 of the master unit 200 The same or similar configuration as the queuing engine 421 of the remote unit 400 (described with reference to Fig. 4). This is because the master unit 200 can be operated similarly to the remote unit 400 in this case. In this case, any of the master units 200 of the plurality of master units 200 may be operated as a lower node or an upper node to the other master unit 200.

In addition, although not shown in the embodiment of the present invention, the hub 300 may include a queuing engine. The queuing engine included in the hub 300 may include the same or similar configuration as the queuing engine 421 of the remote unit 400 (described with reference to Fig. 4).

When the remote unit 400 is set not to transmit NMS data (data received from the NMS) to the lower node, the queuing engine 421 of the remote unit 400 has a configuration for transmitting NMS data to the lower node Can be omitted. In other words, in this case, the queuing engine 421 of the remote unit 400 receives the Ethernet data from the MAC module 410, the sending buffer 421-6, the sending scheduler 421-2, The receiving local buffer 421-4, and the like.

Further, the remote unit 400 can be designed to allow additional installation of an Ethernet port. In this case, the queuing engine 421 of the remote unit 400 may include a plurality of framers / deserts 423 corresponding to lower nodes. The queuing engine 421 of the remote unit 400 may include a plurality of local buffers 421-4 and / or reception buffers 421-5 corresponding to the respective framers / deserts 423. In this case, the queuing engine 421 of the remote unit 400 may include a plurality of framers / deserts 422 corresponding to an upper node. The queuing engine 421 of the remote unit 400 may include a plurality of local buffers 421-4 and / or a sending buffer 421-6 corresponding to each framer / deserial 422.

As described above, each constituent element of the distributed antenna system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention can include a different queuing engine configuration depending on the situation.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, Various modifications and variations are possible.

1: Distributed antenna system
100: base station interface unit
200: Master unit
210: master unit MAC module
220: Master unit FPGA
221: Master unit queuing engine

Claims (19)

A node unit connected to a plurality of lower nodes,
A Media Access Control (MAC) module; And
And a queuing engine for interfacing Ethernet data between the MAC module and the plurality of lower nodes,
The queuing engine includes:
Multicasting the Ethernet data received from the MAC module to the plurality of lower nodes, transmitting the Ethernet data received from the plurality of lower nodes to the MAC module, buffering the Ethernet data received from the lower nodes A buffer for outputting to the MAC module;
. ≪ / RTI >
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the queuing engine is implemented in an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) constituting a digital part of the node unit.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the buffer is a first-in first-out (FIFO) buffer.
The method of claim 3,
Wherein the FIFO buffer has a size of at least twice the full frame length of the Ethernet data.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the Ethernet data is a control / management signal transmitted from an external management apparatus connected to the node unit or to the external management apparatus.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the queuing engine comprises: signal control logic for determining that the Ethernet data received from the MAC module is valid when the TX_EN signal is at a first level, and for dropping invalid Ethernet data;
Further comprising:
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the queuing engine further comprises signal control logic for determining that Ethernet data received from the plurality of lower nodes is valid when the RX_DV signal is at a first level and for dropping invalid Ethernet data. .
The method according to claim 1,
The queuing engine includes:
A scheduler for determining whether the Ethernet data is valid when the Ethernet data is input from the buffer and outputting the Ethernet data determined to be valid to the MAC module;
≪ / RTI >
9. The method of claim 8,
Wherein the scheduler determines that the Ethernet data received from the MAC module is valid when the TX_EN signal is at the first level and drops invalid Ethernet data.
9. The method of claim 8,
Wherein the scheduling engine determines that the Ethernet data received from the plurality of lower nodes when the RX_DV signal is at the first level is valid and drops invalid Ethernet data when the RX_DV signal is at the first level.
A node unit cascaded with an upper node and a lower node,
A Media Access Control (MAC) module; And
And a queuing engine for interfacing Ethernet data between the MAC module, the superordinate node and the lower node,
The queuing engine includes:
Multicasting the Ethernet data received from the upper node to the MAC module and the lower node, multicasting the Ethernet data received from the lower node to the MAC module and the upper node, and transmitting the Ethernet data received from the MAC module Multicast to the upper node and the lower node,
A first buffer for buffering Ethernet data received from the upper node or the lower node and outputting the buffered Ethernet data to the MAC module;
A second buffer for buffering Ethernet data received from the upper node or the MAC module and outputting the buffered Ethernet data to the lower node;
And a third buffer for buffering the Ethernet data received from the lower node or the MAC module and outputting the buffered data to the upper node.
12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein the queuing engine is implemented in an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) constituting a digital part of the node unit.
12. The method of claim 11,
Characterized in that the buffer is a first-in first-out (FIFO) buffer.
14. The method of claim 13,
Wherein the FIFO buffer has a size at least twice the full frame length of the Ethernet data.
12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein the Ethernet data is a control / management signal transmitted from an external management apparatus connected to the node unit or to the external management apparatus.
The method of claim 11, wherein
The queuing engine includes:
A first scheduler for determining whether the Ethernet data input from the first buffer is valid and outputting the Ethernet data determined to be valid to the MAC module;
≪ / RTI >
The method of claim 11, wherein
The queuing engine includes:
A second scheduler for determining whether the Ethernet data input from the second buffer is valid and outputting the Ethernet data determined to be valid to the lower node;
≪ / RTI >
The method of claim 11, wherein
The queuing engine includes:
A third scheduler for determining whether the Ethernet data input from the third buffer is valid and outputting the Ethernet data determined to be valid to the superordinate node;
≪ / RTI >
A master unit; And
And a plurality of remote units connected to the master unit,
At least a part of the plurality of remote units includes a remote unit cascade-connected to the upper remote unit and the lower remote unit,
The master unit includes:
A master unit MAC (Media Access Control) module,
And a master unit queuing engine for interfacing Ethernet data between the master unit MAC module and the plurality of remote units,
The master unit queuing engine includes:
Multicasting the Ethernet data received from the master unit MAC module to the plurality of remote units, transmitting the Ethernet data received from the plurality of remote units to the master unit MAC module,
And a buffer for buffering Ethernet data received from the plurality of remote units and outputting the buffered Ethernet data to the master unit MAC module,
The cascade-connected remote unit includes:
A remote unit MAC module,
And a remote unit queuing engine for interfacing Ethernet data between the remote unit MAC module, the upper remote unit, and the lower remote unit,
The remote unit queuing engine includes:
Multicasting the Ethernet data received from the upper remote unit to the remote unit MAC module and the lower remote unit, multicasting the Ethernet data received from the lower remote unit to the remote unit MAC module and the upper remote unit, Multicasting the Ethernet data received from the remote unit MAC module to the upper remote unit and the lower node remote unit,
A first buffer for buffering Ethernet data received from the upper remote unit or the lower remote unit and outputting the buffered Ethernet data to the remote unit MAC module;
A second buffer for buffering Ethernet data received from the upper remote unit or the remote unit MAC module and outputting the buffered Ethernet data to the lower remote unit;
And a third buffer for buffering Ethernet data received from the lower remote unit or the remote unit MAC module and outputting the buffered Ethernet data to the upper remote unit.

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