WO2016108640A1

WO2016108640A1 - Node unit comprising queuing engine for multicasting ethernet data, and distributed antenna system comprising same

Info

Publication number: WO2016108640A1
Application number: PCT/KR2015/014514
Authority: WO
Inventors: 김도윤
Original assignee: 주식회사 쏠리드
Priority date: 2014-12-30
Filing date: 2015-12-30
Publication date: 2016-07-07

Abstract

Provided are a node unit comprising a queuing engine for multicasting Ethernet data, and a distributed antenna system comprising the same. The node unit is a node unit which is branch-connected to a plurality of sub-nodes, and comprises: a media access control (MAC) module; and a queuing engine for interfacing Ethernet data between the MAC module and the plurality of branch-connected sub-nodes, wherein the queuing engine comprises a buffer for multicasting Ethernet data received from the MAC module to the plurality of branch-connected sub-nodes, transferring Ethernet data received from the plurality of branch-connected sub-nodes to the MAC module, buffering Ethernet data received from the plurality of branch-connected sub-nodes, and outputting the buffered Ethernet data to the MAC module.

Description

Node unit including queuing engine for multicasting Ethernet data and distributed antenna system including the same

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.

A distributed antenna system mainly plays a role of relaying a macro radio base station signal of a mobile communication service provider, but recently, one of additional functions is LTE / 3G small cell and Wi-Fi. The Ethernet protocol is used, supporting the functionality of an acceptable backhaul transport network. In addition, the distributed antenna system with high system complexity uses the Ethernet protocol with high throughput and reliability as an interface of the C & M channel. As such, the use of Ethernet in distributed antenna systems is becoming increasingly common.

The distributed antenna system provides an Ethernet interface between the Master Unit and dozens of Remote Units, and between cascaded remote units, and L2 switches outside of the Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). You use a device such as Layer 2 Switch to control the path of Ethernet data.

However, Ethernet interfaces with dozens of links have 10 pin assigns for Media Independent Interface (MII) and 18 pin assigns for Gigabit MII (GMII), even if clock and control signals are excluded. There is a problem that is difficult to implement in hardware, such as).

The present invention provides a node unit including a queuing engine (QUEUING ENGINE) for multicasting Ethernet data, which efficiently provides an Ethernet interface in a distributed antenna system and enables hardware simplification of a digital board, and a distributed antenna system including the same. I would like to.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a node unit connected to a plurality of lower nodes, 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 configured to transmit Ethernet data received from a lower node of the buffer to the MAC module, and to buffer the Ethernet data received from the plurality of lower nodes and output the buffered Ethernet data to the MAC module.

According to an embodiment, the queuing engine may be implemented in a field programmable gate array (FPGA) constituting a digital part of the node unit.

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

According to an embodiment, the FIFO buffer may have a size larger than twice 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 that determines that Ethernet data received from the MAC module is valid when the TX_EN signal is at the first level, and drops invalid Ethernet data.

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

According to an embodiment, the queuing engine may further include a scheduler configured to determine whether the Ethernet data is valid when the Ethernet data is input from the buffer, and to output the Ethernet data determined to be valid to the MAC module. Can be.

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 drop the 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 drop the invalid Ethernet data.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a node unit cascaded with an upper node and a lower node, 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 the Ethernet data received from the upper node to the MAC module and the lower node. And multicast the Ethernet data received from the lower node to the MAC module and the upper node, multicast the Ethernet data received from the MAC module to the upper node and the lower node, and the upper node or the lower node. A first buffer for buffering and outputting Ethernet data received from a node to the MAC module, a second buffer for buffering and outputting Ethernet data received from the upper node or the MAC module to the lower node, the lower node or Buffer the Ethernet data received from the MAC module The, the node unit comprising: a third buffer for output to the parent node is provided.

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

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

According to an embodiment, the queuing engine may further include a second scheduler that determines whether the Ethernet data input from the second buffer is valid and outputs 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 that determines whether the Ethernet data input from the third buffer is valid and outputs the Ethernet data determined to be valid to the upper node. have.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the master unit; And a plurality of remote units connected to the master unit, wherein at least some of the plurality of remote units include a remote unit cascaded with an upper remote unit and a lower remote unit, wherein 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, wherein the master unit queuing engine is an Ethernet received from the master unit MAC module. Multicasting data to the plurality of remote units, transferring Ethernet data received from the plurality of remote units to the master unit MAC module, and buffering Ethernet data received from the plurality of remote units to the master unit MAC module Contains the buffer to be written to The cascaded 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. Multicasting the Ethernet data received from the upper remote unit to the remote unit MAC module and the lower remote unit, and multicasting the Ethernet data received from the lower remote unit to the remote unit MAC module and the upper remote unit. And multicasting the Ethernet data received from the remote unit MAC module to the upper remote unit and the lower node remote unit, and buffering the Ethernet data received from the upper remote unit or the lower remote unit. A first buffer for outputting to the unit MAC module, a second buffer for buffering and outputting Ethernet data received from the upper remote unit or the remote unit MAC module to the lower remote unit, and the lower remote unit or the remote unit MAC There is provided a distributed antenna system including a third buffer buffering Ethernet data received from a module and outputting the buffer to the upper remote unit.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, since a queuing engine for multicasting Ethernet data is used without referring to a destination address field, an Ethernet interface can be efficiently provided in a distributed antenna system. The cost savings are due to the hardware simplification of the digital board and the absence of external devices such as L2 switches.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a topology of a distributed antenna system as one type of a signal distributed transmission system to which the present invention may be applied.

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

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

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

As the invention allows for various changes and numerous embodiments, particular embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the written description. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, it should be understood to include all transformations, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention.

In describing the present invention, when it is determined that the detailed description of the related known technology may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted. In addition, numerals (eg, first, second, etc.) used in the description process of the present specification are merely identification symbols for distinguishing one component from another component.

In addition, in the present specification, when one component is referred to as "connected" or "connected" with another component, the one component may be directly connected or directly connected to the other component, but in particular It is to be understood that, unless there is an opposite substrate, it may be connected or connected via another component in the middle.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Hereinafter will be described with reference to a distributed antenna system as an application example to which the embodiment of the present invention can be applied. However, the embodiment of the present invention may be similarly or similarly applied to other signal distributed transmission systems such as a base station distributed system in addition to a distributed antenna system.

Referring to FIG. 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, an extension node (HUB) 300, and a plurality of remote units (RU) 400 disposed at respective service locations of the remote. It includes.

The distributed antenna system 1 may be implemented as an analog DAS or a digital DAS, and in some cases, may be implemented as a hybrid thereof (that is, some nodes perform analog processing and other nodes perform digital processing).

FIG. 1 shows an example of a topology of a distributed antenna system 1, where the distributed antenna system 1 has an installation area and application fields (eg, in-building, subway, hospital). (Hospital, Stadium, etc.) can be modified in various ways in consideration of the specificity. For this purpose, the number of the base station interface unit 100, the master unit 200, the hub 300, the remote unit 400 and the connection relationship between the upper and lower ends may be different from FIG.

In addition, 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 remote units 400 that need to be installed. do. Therefore, when the single master unit 200 alone can sufficiently cover the number of remote units 400 that need to be installed, or when a plurality of master units 200 are installed, the hub 200 may include a distributed antenna system 1. May be omitted.

Hereinafter, each node and its function in the distributed antenna system 1 to which the present invention can be applied will be described in turn centering on the topology of FIG. 1.

The base station interface unit 100 serves as an interface between the BTS (Basestation Transceiver System) such as a base station and the master unit 200 in the distributed antenna system 1. Although FIG. 1 illustrates 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 provided separately for each operator, for each frequency band, and for each sector.

In general, since the RF signal (Radio Frequency signal) transmitted from the BTS is a high power signal, the base station interface unit 100 is generally suitable for processing such a high power RF signal in the master unit 200. It converts the power into an RF signal and delivers it to the master unit 200.

In addition, the base station interface unit 100, according to the implementation method, after receiving the signal of the mobile communication service for each frequency band (or for each operator, sector) as shown in Figure 1 and combine (combine) The transfer to the master unit 200 may also be performed.

When the base station interface unit 100 lowers the high power signal of the BTS to low power, and then combines each mobile communication service signal to the master unit 200, the master unit 200 is combined and transmitted mobile communication service signal. It plays a role of distributing (hereinafter referred to as relay signal) by branch. In this case, when the distributed antenna system 1 is implemented as a digital DAS, the base station interface unit 100 may convert a high power RF signal of a BTS into a low power RF signal, and a low power RF signal to an IF signal ( After converting into an intermediate frequency signal, a digital signal may be processed and separated into units that combine them. 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 a low power RF signal, the master unit 200 combines each relayed signal and distributes it for each branch. Can be performed. A detailed functional configuration of the master unit 200 will be described later in detail with reference to FIG. 2.

As described above, the combined relay signal distributed from the master unit 200 is directly or through the hub 300 to branch stars (see Branch 1, ... Branch k, ... Branch N in FIG. 1). It is delivered to the remote unit 400.

Each remote unit 400 separates the received combined relay signal for each 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 the user terminal in its service coverage through the service antenna. A detailed functional configuration of the remote unit 400 will be described later in detail with reference to FIG. 4.

In the case of 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 from the master unit 200 to the lower end thereof, all with an optical cable. Although connected, the signal transport medium between each node (signal transport medium) can be various other variations. For example, the base station interface unit 100 and the master unit 200 may be connected through an RF cable, but may also 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 the remote unit 400 directly connected to the master unit 200, and an RF cable between the cascade connected remote units 400 is provided. Connection may be via twisted cable, UTP cable, or the like. As another example, the remote unit 400 directly connected to the master unit 200 may also be connected through an RF cable, a twist cable, a UTP cable, or the like.

However, hereinafter, it will be described 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 all-optical conversion / photoelectric conversion, and when connected between nodes with a single optical cable A Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) device may be included.

The distributed antenna system 1 may be connected to an external management device (network management server or system (NMS) of FIG. 1) through a network, so that an administrator may remotely access each node of the distributed antenna system 1 through the NMS. It is possible to monitor the status and problem of each node and to control the operation of each node remotely, in which the control / management signals for controlling the operation of each node are high throughput and high reliability Ethernet protocol (Ethernet). In addition, the distributed antenna system 1 may not only serve to relay a wireless base station signal of a mobile communication service provider, but also a backhaul that may accommodate LTE / 3G small cell and Wi-Fi. Ethernet protocol can be used while supporting the function of backhaul) transport network.

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

In the master unit 200 of FIG. 2, a queuing engine for transmitting Ethernet data according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. The queuing engine according to the embodiment of the present invention may be implemented 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 may be implemented in the FPGA.

2, the master unit 200 includes a Media Access Control (MAC) module 210, an FPGA 220 constituting 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 queuing engine 221 and a plurality of framers / serdes 222 connected to the queuing engine 221. The queuing engine 221 serves to interface Ethernet data between the MAC module 210 and the plurality of framers / susdes 222. The plurality of framers / surdess 222 may be configured to correspond to the plurality of remote units 400 constituting lower nodes of the master unit 200. That is, the plurality of framers / sudes 222 may exist as branch stars (see FIG. 1).

When receiving the Ethernet data from the MAC module 210, the queuing engine 221 stores a plurality of Ethernet data received from the MAC module 210 (without decoding the Ethernet data and referring to a destination address field). Broadcast to the framer / surdes 222. The framer / surdes 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 / electric converter 230 converts the digital signal received from the framer / surdes 222 into an optical signal and transmits the optical signal to the remote unit 400 through the optical cable.

Accordingly, although the Ethernet data received from the MAC module 210 of the master unit 200 is multicast to the plurality of remote units 400 constituting the lower node, each remote unit 400 is a destination address of the Ethernet data. Does not accept it unless it is itself, so there is no problem of reduced throughput.

When receiving Ethernet data from the remote unit 400, which is a lower node, each optoelectric converter 230 converts an optical signal received from the remote unit 400 through an optical cable into a digital signal, thereby converting the framer / surface. To 222. The framer / surdes 222 converts the serial digital signal into a parallel digital signal and reformats it into a format suitable for processing according to frequency bands. The queuing engine 221 transfers the Ethernet data received from each framer / surface 222 to the MAC module 210.

Since the remote unit 400 transmits Ethernet data to the upper node when responding to the request of the master unit 200 or when there is alarm information when an abnormality occurs, the remote unit 400 corresponds to each remote unit 400. There is no need to guarantee a dedicated link for carrying Ethernet data between each framer / sudth 222 and the MAC module 210.

The queuing engine 221 may determine the validity of the data received from the framer / surdes 222 when a link for transferring Ethernet data between the framer / surface 222 and the MAC module 210 is already occupied. It may include a configuration for outputting valid data to the MAC module 210 in order. The queuing engine 221 may include one or more receiving buffers 221-2 and a scheduler 221-1. The reception buffer 221-2 may input Ethernet data received from the remote unit 400 of the lower node to the scheduler 221-1. The scheduler 221-1 may determine validity of data received from one or more RX BUFFERs 221-2, and output valid data to the MAC module 210. The operation of determining the validity of the received data by the scheduler 221-1 will be described later with reference to FIG. 3. The scheduler 221-1 may output the data received from the reception buffer 221-2 to the MAC module 210 according to an input order, including a first-in first-out (FIFO) buffer. The embodiment 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 full (full state) and there is insufficient storage space, Ethernet data may be lost. The reception buffer 221-2 may also be configured as a FIFO buffer. For example, the reception buffer 221-2 may be configured as a FIFO buffer having a sufficient size more than twice the full frame length of the Ethernet data. In addition, even if the Ethernet data is lost, since the Ethernet data is retransmitted through random backoff due to the Best Effort transmission characteristic of the Ethernet protocol, the reception buffer 221-2 is appropriate according to the required throughput. It may also consist of a FIFO buffer of size.

2 illustrates a case in which the framer and the sudes are configured as a single unit, but the framer and the sudes may be separately configured in each unit as necessary.

Referring to FIG. 3, the queuing engine 221 may include signal control logic 221-3. The signal control logic 221-3 may be a component provided separately in the queuing engine 221 or a component implemented in the scheduler 221-1 described with reference to FIG. 2. The signal control logic 221-3 determines whether the Ethernet data received from the MAC module 210 or from the framer / surface 222 is valid data, and if it is valid, multicasts to the framer / surface 222. It may transfer to the MAC module 210. The signal control logic 221-3 may be configured such that the TX_EN signal from the MAC module 210 is at a first level (eg, high), and / or from the framer / susdes 222. Only when the RX_DV signal (receive data valid signal) of the first level can be determined to be valid Ethernet data. 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 framer / surface 222 or pass it to the MAC module 210. .

In FIG. 3, the signal control logic 221-3 is configured in the transmitting end and the receiving end of the queuing engine 221, respectively, but may be configured as a single logic connected to the transmitting end and the receiving end as necessary. As described above, the control logic 221-3 may be configured in the scheduler 221-1.

The block diagram of FIG. 4 illustrates one implementation of a remote unit 400 in a digital DAS where the node-to-node connection is via an optical cable. In particular, the block diagram of FIG. 4 illustrates a remote unit 400 cascaded with a remote unit at a higher stage and a remote unit at a lower stage.

In the remote unit 400 of FIG. 4, a queuing engine for transmitting Ethernet data according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. The queuing engine applied to the remote unit 400 of the middle stage of FIG. 4 may be equally applied to the remote unit of the upper stage and / or the remote unit of the lower stage.

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

Referring to FIG. 4, the remote unit 400 includes a media access control (MAC) module 410, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) 420 constituting a digital part, and a plurality of photoelectric converters. 430, 440.

Reference numerals

430 and 440 are used to distinguish between the opto-electric converter connected to the remote unit (Upper RU) of the upper stage and the opto-electric converter connected to the remote unit (Lower RU) of the lower stage.

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

The FPGA 420 includes a queuing engine 421 and a plurality of framer /

serdes

422 and 423 connected to the queuing engine 421. The queuing engine 421 serves to interface Ethernet data between the MAC module 410 and the plurality of framers /

surdes

422 and 423. The framer / surface 422 is configured to correspond to a remote unit (Upper RU) constituting an upper node of the remote unit 400, and the framer / surface 423 constitutes a lower node of the remote unit 400. It may be configured to correspond to the remote unit (Lower RU).

When receiving Ethernet data from the remote unit of the upper node, the optical / electric converter 440 converts the optical signal received from the remote unit of the upper node through the optical cable into a digital signal and transmits the digital signal to the framer / surde 422. do. The framer / surdes 422 converts the serial digital signal into a parallel digital signal and reformats it into a format suitable for processing according to frequency bands.

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

The framer / surdes 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 opto-electric converter 430 converts the digital signal received from the framer / surdes 423 into an optical signal and transmits the digital signal to the remote unit of the lower node through the optical cable.

When receiving Ethernet data from the remote unit of the lower node, the optical / electric 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 the digital signal to the framer / surde 423. do. The framer / surdes 423 converts the serial digital signal into a parallel digital signal and reformats it into a format suitable for processing according to frequency bands.

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

The framer / surdes 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 / electric converter 440 converts the digital signal received from the framer / surface 422 into an optical signal and transmits the optical signal to the remote unit of the upper node through the optical cable.

When receiving 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 queuing engine 421 receives a message received from the framer /

therdes

422 and 423 when a link for transferring Ethernet data between the MAC module 410 and the plurality of framers /

therdes

422 and 423 is already occupied. It may include a configuration for determining the validity of the data, and outputs the 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 an outgoing buffer 421-6. The schedulers 421-1, 421-2, and 421-3 may be configured as local schedulers 421-1, Tx schedulers 421-2, and Rx schedulers according to the link direction. 421-3 may be separated.

The schedulers 421-1, 421-2, and 421-3 may determine validity of data received from the connected one or more buffers 421-4, 421-5, and / or 421-6, and output valid data. have. For example, the local scheduler 421-1 may determine the validity of data received from the local buffer 421-4 and output valid data to the MAC module 410. Similarly, the originating scheduler 421-2 may determine validity of the data received from the originating buffer 421-6, and output valid data to the framer / surface 423. The operation of determining the validity of the received data by the schedulers 421-1, 421-2, and 421-3 is the same as or similar to the operation described with reference to FIG. 3, and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted. The schedulers 421-1, 421-2, and 421-3 are received from one or more buffers 421-4, 421-5 and / or 421-6 that are connected, including first-in first-out buffers. Data may be output to the MAC module 210 in the order of input, but embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto.

In addition, the local buffer 421-4, the reception buffer 421-5, and / or the outgoing buffer 421-6 may be configured as first-in first-out (FIFO) buffers. It is not limited. Similar to the scheduler 221-1 and the reception buffer 221-2 of the master unit 200 described with reference to FIG. 2, the components 421-1 and 421-2. 421-3 of the queuing engine 421. , 421-4, 421-5, and 421-6 may include a plurality of and / or sufficient sized FIFO buffers to prevent loss of Ethernet data.

For convenience of explanation, 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. The local scheduler 421-1 may output the received Ethernet data to the MAC module 410. In this case, the local scheduler 421-1 and / or the local buffer 421-4 may be configured as a FIFO buffer, but embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto. Similarly, the originating 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 receive the received Ethernet. Data can be output to lower nodes. In addition, the reception buffer 421-5 may output the Ethernet data received from the connected lower node and / or the MAC module 410 to the reception scheduler 421-3, and the reception scheduler 421-3 may receive the received data. Ethernet data can be output to the parent node.

In addition, the buffer included in each of the elements 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 originating scheduler 421-2. At this time, the Ethernet data received from the remote unit of the upper node may be input to the local scheduler 421-1 through the local buffer 421-4, and the originating scheduler 421-2 through the originating buffer 421-6. ) Can be entered. The local buffer 421-4 may sequentially output the input Ethernet data and transmit it to the local scheduler 421-1.

The queuing engine 421 may 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 receive scheduler 421-3 through the receive buffer 421-5. Can be entered. The transmission buffer 421-6 may sequentially output the input Ethernet data and transmit it to the transmission scheduler 421-2.

The queuing engine 421 may input the Ethernet data received from the MAC module 410 to the transmission 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 the source scheduler 421-2 through the transmission buffer 421-6. ) Can be entered. The reception buffer 421-5 may sequentially output the input Ethernet data and transmit it to the reception scheduler 421-3.

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

As described above, the queuing engine 421 of the remote unit 400 buffers the Ethernet data received from the upper node or the lower node and outputs the buffered data to the MAC module 400 (local scheduler 421-1 and local). Buffer 421-4). In addition, the queuing engine 421 of the remote unit 400 buffers the Ethernet data received from the upper node or the MAC module 400 and outputs the second configuration (sending scheduler 421-2 and the outgoing buffer) to the lower node. 421-6)). In addition, the queuing engine 421 of the remote unit 400 buffers and outputs Ethernet data received from the lower node or the MAC module 400 to the upper node (receive scheduler 421-3 and receive buffer 421). -5)).

Although FIG. 4 illustrates a case in which the framer and the sudes are configured as a single unit, the framer and the sudes may be separately configured in each unit as necessary.

The remote unit 400 of FIG. 4 provides a service signal to a terminal in a service area and processes a terminal signal received from a terminal in the service area, a digital-to-analog converter (DAC), an up converter, a PAU ( The apparatus may further include components such as a power amplification unit (LNA), a low noise amplifier (LNA), a down converter, and an analog / digital converter (ADC).

2 illustrates a case in which the queuing engine 221 of the master unit 200 includes only the reception buffer 221-2 and does not include the transmission buffer. However, when the plurality of master units 200 are included in the distributed antenna system 1, and the plurality of master units 200 are connected to each other to exchange Ethernet data, the queuing engine 221 of the master unit 200 is ( The configuration may be the same as or similar to that of the queuing engine 421 of the remote unit 400 (described with reference to FIG. 4). In this case, the master unit 200 may operate similarly to the remote unit 400. In this case, any master unit 200 of the plurality of master units 200 may be operated as if it is a lower node or a higher node to the other master unit 200.

In addition, although not shown in the above-described embodiment of the present invention, the hub 300 may also 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).

In addition, 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 the NMS data to the lower node. May be omitted. In other words, in this case, the queuing engine 421 of the remote unit 400 inputs the Ethernet data from the originating buffer 421-6, the originating scheduler 421-2, and the lower node that receives the Ethernet data from the MAC module 410. The receiving local buffer 421-4 may not be included.

In addition, the remote unit 400 may be designed to enable additional installation of the Ethernet port. In this case, the queuing engine 421 of the remote unit 400 may include a plurality of framers / surdes 423 corresponding to lower nodes. In addition, the queuing engine 421 of the remote unit 400 may include a plurality of local buffers 421-4 and / or a reception buffer 421-5 corresponding to each framer / sudes 423. In this case, the queuing engine 421 of the remote unit 400 may include a plurality of framers / surdes 422 corresponding to higher nodes. In addition, the queuing engine 421 of the remote unit 400 may include a plurality of local buffers 421-4 and / or originating buffers 421-6 corresponding to each framer / sudes 422.

As described above, each component constituting the distributed antenna system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a different queuing engine configuration according to the situation.

Although the above has been described with reference to embodiments of the present invention, those skilled in the art may variously modify the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the claims below. And can be changed easily.

Claims

A node unit connected to a plurality of subordinate 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,

Multicasting the Ethernet data received from the MAC module to the plurality of lower nodes, transferring the Ethernet data received from the plurality of lower nodes to the MAC module, and buffering the Ethernet data received from the plurality of lower nodes A buffer output to the MAC module;

The node unit comprising a.
The method of claim 1,

And the queuing engine is implemented in a field programmable gate array (FPGA) constituting a digital part of the node unit.
The method of claim 1,

And wherein said buffer is a first-in first-out buffer.
The method of claim 3,

And the FIFO buffer is at least twice as large as the full frame length of the Ethernet data.
The method of claim 1,

And the Ethernet data is a control / management signal transmitted from or to an external management device connected to the node unit.
The method of claim 1,

The queuing engine determines that Ethernet data received from the MAC module is valid when the TX_EN signal is at a first level and drops invalid Ethernet data;

The node unit further comprises.
The method of claim 1,

The queuing engine further comprises a 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 dropping invalid Ethernet data. .
The method of claim 1,

The queuing engine,

A scheduler for determining whether the Ethernet data is valid when the Ethernet data is input from the buffer, and outputting the determined Ethernet data to the MAC module;

The node unit further comprises.
The method of claim 8,

And 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.
The method of claim 8,

And the scheduler determines that the queuing engine determines that Ethernet data received from the plurality of lower nodes is valid when the RX_DV signal is at a first level, and drops invalid Ethernet data.
A node unit cascaded with an upper node and a lower node.

A media access control (MAC) module; And

And a queuing engine that interfaces Ethernet data between the MAC module, the upper node, and the lower node.

The queuing engine,

Ethernet data received from the upper node is multicasted to the MAC module and the lower node, Ethernet data received from the lower node is multicasted to the MAC module and the higher node, and Ethernet data received from the MAC module Multicasting to the upper node and the lower node,

A first buffer for buffering and outputting Ethernet data received from the upper node or the lower node to the MAC module;

A second buffer configured to buffer and output Ethernet data received from the upper node or the MAC module to the lower node;

And a third buffer for buffering and outputting the Ethernet data received from the lower node or the MAC module to the upper node.
The method of claim 11,

And the queuing engine is implemented in a field programmable gate array (FPGA) constituting a digital part of the node unit.
The method of claim 11,

And said buffer is a first-in first-out buffer.
The method of claim 13,

And the FIFO buffer has a size greater than or equal to twice the full frame length of the Ethernet data.
The method of claim 11,

And the Ethernet data is a control / management signal transmitted from or to an external management device connected to the node unit.
The method of claim 11,

The queuing engine,

A first scheduler for determining whether the Ethernet data input from the first buffer is valid and outputting the determined Ethernet data to the MAC module;

The node unit further comprises.
The method of claim 11,

The queuing engine,

A second scheduler which determines whether the Ethernet data input from the second buffer is valid and outputs the Ethernet data determined to be valid to the lower node;

The node unit further comprises.
The method of claim 11,

The queuing engine,

A third scheduler which determines whether the Ethernet data input from the third buffer is valid and outputs the Ethernet data determined to be valid to the upper node;

The node unit further comprises.
Master unit; And

And a plurality of remote units connected to the master unit,

At least some of the plurality of remote units includes a remote unit cascaded with an upper remote unit and a lower remote unit,

The master unit,

A master unit MAC (Media Access Control) module,

A master unit queuing engine that interfaces Ethernet data between the master unit MAC module and the plurality of remote units,

The master unit queuing engine,

Multicasting the Ethernet data received from the master unit MAC module to the plurality of remote units, transferring the Ethernet data received from the plurality of remote units to the master unit MAC module,

A buffer for buffering the Ethernet data received from the plurality of remote units and outputting the buffer to the master unit MAC module;

The cascaded remote unit,

A remote unit MAC module,

A remote unit queuing engine that interfaces Ethernet data between the remote unit MAC module, the upper remote unit, and the lower remote unit,

The remote unit queuing engine,

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 the Ethernet data received from the upper remote unit or the lower remote unit and outputting the buffer to the remote unit MAC module;

A second buffer for buffering and outputting Ethernet data received from the upper remote unit or the remote unit MAC module to the lower remote unit;

And a third buffer configured to buffer and output the Ethernet data received from the lower remote unit or the remote unit MAC module to the upper remote unit.