WO2023168690A1

WO2023168690A1 - Method and apparatus for radio over ethernet

Info

Publication number: WO2023168690A1
Application number: PCT/CN2022/080336
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jun Deng; Daiying LIU
Original assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ)
Priority date: 2022-03-11
Filing date: 2022-03-11
Publication date: 2023-09-14

Abstract

Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for radio over Ethernet (RoE). According to the method, a first RoE device may detect traffic loss on RoE sessions between the first RoE device and a second RoE device, when a link for at least part of the RoE sessions is failed. When the traffic loss is detected on at least one of the RoE sessions, the first RoE device may stop RoE traffics on one or more RoE sessions in the RoE sessions according to priorities of the RoE sessions, until no traffic loss is detected on a rest of the RoE sessions. In an embodiment, the first RoE device may transmit, to the second RoE device, one or more messages instructing the second RoE device to stop the RoE traffics on the one or more RoE sessions.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR RADIO OVER ETHERNET

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure generally relates to communication networks, and more specifically, to a method and apparatus for radio over Ethernet (RoE) .

BACKGROUND

This section introduces aspects that may facilitate a better understanding of the disclosure. Accordingly, the statements of this section are to be read in this light and are not to be understood as admissions about what is in the prior art or what is not in the prior art.

RoE is the encapsulation and mapping of radio protocols for transport over Ethernet frames. Radio data may be encapsulated into Ethernet frames and forwarded because today’s transport networking solutions may not be able to satisfy various expectations on radio data transmissions. On the other hand, Ethernet technology has experienced steady and cost-efficient speed and capacity growth, driven by the enterprise, access, and data-center markets, and has inherent characteristics that allow it to satisfy other expectations.

SUMMARY

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

When a RoE traffic is communicated between two RoE devices, it may be possible for an Ethernet link carrying the RoE traffic to occur a failure. The existing solutions for handling the Ethernet link failure are usually based on redundant deployment. For example, if an Ethernet link hosting a RoE service has a link failure, the RoE service on the failed Ethernet link may be diverted to a redundant link of the failed Ethernet link. However, RoE transmission may typically require a large amount of bandwidth resources (e.g., larger than 100G) , and the cost of deploying and maintaining redundant links may be considerable. In addition, if the redundant deployment is not adopted but all RoE services on the failed link are transferred to a good link, then the heavy load on the good link may result in traffic congestion and packet loss. Therefore, it may be desirable to treat a RoE link failure in a more efficient way.

Various embodiments of the present disclosure propose a solution for RoE, which can automatically control RoE traffics when a link failure occurs, e.g., by stopping traffics on one or more RoE sessions adaptively in response to the link failure, and starting the stopped traffics after the failed link recovers.

According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method which may be performed by a first RoE device. The method comprises: detecting traffic loss on RoE sessions between the first RoE device and a second RoE device, when a link for at least part of the RoE sessions is failed. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, when the traffic loss is detected on at least one of the RoE sessions, the method may further comprise: stopping RoE traffics on one or more RoE sessions in the RoE sessions according to priorities of the RoE sessions, until no traffic loss is detected on a rest of the RoE sessions. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the method may further comprise: transmitting, to the second RoE device, one or more messages instructing the second RoE device to stop the RoE traffics on the one or more RoE sessions.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the at least one of the RoE sessions on which the traffic loss is detected by the first RoE device prior to stopping the RoE traffics on the one or more RoE sessions may include: at least one of the one or more RoE sessions and/or at least one of the rest of the RoE sessions.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the one or more RoE sessions may have lower priorities than the rest of the RoE sessions.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the first RoE device may stop the RoE traffics on the one or more RoE sessions according to the priorities of the RoE sessions by: stopping a RoE traffic per RoE session sequentially, in an order of ascending session priority, until no traffic loss is detected on the rest of the RoE sessions.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the priorities of the RoE sessions may be related to common public radio interface (CPRI) ports used for the RoE sessions.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure may further comprise: receiving one or more responses to the one or more messages from the second RoE device. In an embodiment, the one or more responses may indicate that the second RoE device stops the RoE traffics on the one or more RoE sessions.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the first RoE device may stop the RoE traffics on the one or more RoE sessions when receiving the one or more responses from the second RoE device.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the one or more messages may correspond to the one or more RoE sessions.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the first RoE device may transmit the one or more messages to the second RoE device by: transmitting a message per RoE session to the second RoE device prior to stopping a RoE traffic on the RoE session. The message per RoE session may indicate that the RoE traffic on the RoE session is to be stopped by the first RoE device.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the first RoE device may transmit the one or more messages to the second RoE device by: transmitting a message per RoE session to the second RoE device after stopping a RoE traffic on the RoE session. The message per RoE session may indicate that the RoE traffic on the RoE session is stopped by the first RoE device.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure may further comprise: starting the RoE traffics on the one or more RoE sessions when the failed link recovers.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure may further comprise: transmitting, to the second RoE device, a first message indicating that the first RoE device starts the RoE traffics on the one or more RoE sessions.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure may further comprise: receiving, from the second RoE device, a second message indicating that the second RoE device starts the RoE traffics on the one or more RoE sessions.

According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus which may be implemented as a first RoE device. The apparatus may comprise one or more processors and one or more memories comprising computer program codes. The one or more memories and the computer program codes may be configured to, with the one or more processors, cause the apparatus at least to perform any step of the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.

According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer-readable medium storing computer program codes which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform any step of the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.

According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method which may be performed by a second RoE device. The method comprises: receiving, from a first RoE device, one or more messages instructing the second RoE device to stop RoE traffics on one or more RoE sessions in RoE sessions between the first RoE device and the second RoE device, when a link for at least part of the RoE sessions is failed. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the method may further comprise: stopping the RoE traffics on the one or more RoE sessions according to the one or more messages.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the one or more RoE sessions may have lower priorities than a rest of the RoE sessions.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the method according to the fourth aspect of the present disclosure may further comprise: transmitting one or more responses to the one or more messages to the first RoE device. In an embodiment, the one or more responses may indicate that the second RoE device stops the RoE traffics on the one or more RoE sessions.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the second RoE device may receive the one or more messages from the first RoE device by: receiving a message per RoE session from the first RoE device prior to a RoE traffic on the RoE session being stopped by the first RoE device. The message per RoE session may indicate that the RoE traffic on the RoE session is to be stopped by the first RoE device.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the second RoE device may receive the one or more messages from the first RoE device by: receiving a message per RoE session from the first RoE device after a RoE traffic on the RoE session being stopped by the first RoE device. The message per RoE session may indicate that the RoE traffic on the RoE session is stopped by the first RoE device.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the method according to the fourth aspect of the present disclosure may further comprise: starting the RoE traffics on the one or more RoE sessions when the failed link recovers.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the method according to the fourth aspect of the present disclosure may further comprise: receiving, from the first RoE device, a first message indicating that the first RoE device starts the RoE traffics on the one or more RoE sessions.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the method according to the fourth aspect of the present disclosure may further comprise: transmitting, to the first RoE device, a second message indicating that the second RoE device starts the RoE traffics on the one or more RoE sessions.

According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus which may be implemented as a second RoE device. The apparatus may comprise one or more processors and one or more memories comprising computer program codes. The one or more memories and the computer program codes may be configured to, with the one or more processors, cause the apparatus at least to perform any step of the method according to the fourth aspect of the present disclosure.

According to a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer-readable medium storing computer program codes which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform any step of the method according to the fourth aspect of the present disclosure.

Various exemplary embodiments according to the present disclosure can enable RoE traffics on some RoE sessions (s) with lower priority to be stopped in case of RoE link failure and traffic loss, so that the bandwidth resources partially available for RoE services may be utilized by other RoE session (s) with higher priority. This can improve resource efficiency and save network deployment and maintenance cost.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosure itself, the preferable mode of use and further objectives are best understood by reference to the following detailed description of the embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figs. 1A-1B are diagram illustrating exemplary RoE deployment scenarios according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating exemplary functional modules of a RoE device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary Ethernet message format according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary RoE traffic control procedure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Fig. 6 is a flowchart illustrating another method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

Fig. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that these embodiments are discussed only for the purpose of enabling those skilled persons in the art to better understand and thus implement the present disclosure, rather than suggesting any limitations on the scope of the present disclosure. Reference throughout this specification to features, advantages, or similar language does not imply that all of the features and advantages that may be realized with the present disclosure should be or are in any single embodiment of the disclosure. Rather, language referring to the features and advantages is understood to mean that a specific feature, advantage, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the described features, advantages, and characteristics of the disclosure may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize that the disclosure may be practiced without one or more of the specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other instances, additional features and advantages may be recognized in certain embodiments that may not be present in all embodiments of the disclosure.

As used herein, the terms “first” , “second” and so forth refer to different elements. The singular forms “a” and “an” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprises” , “comprising” , “has” , “having” , “includes” and/or “including” as used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and/or components and the like, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and/or combinations thereof. The term “based on” is to be read as “based at least in part on” . The term “one embodiment” and “an embodiment” are to be read as “at least one embodiment” . The term “another embodiment” is to be read as “at least one other embodiment” . Other definitions, explicit and implicit, may be included below.

As a standard for radio over Ethernet encapsulations and mappings, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1914.3 specifies details that allow Ethernet to partake in the new RoE transport networking solution for the third generation/fourth generation/fifth generation (3G/4G/5G) cellular services.

Figs. 1A-1B are diagram illustrating exemplary RoE deployment scenarios according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In the typical RoE deployment case, there may be multiple links between a pair of RoE devices. In the current technology context, a port may be in any CPRI bit rate option defined in CPRI specification. In the exemplary RoE deployment scenario as shown in Fig. 1A, the RoE traffics encapsulated by RoE device 1 may be forwarded to RoE device 2 through Ethernet, e.g., via different routers (denoted as R1 and R2 in Fig. 1A) . The two RoE devices may utilize their respective 9 CPRI ports for different RoE sessions.

A RoE session may be a connection between the two RoE devices for a pair of CPRI ports and may have all traffics of the corresponding radio, including voice, video and/or data, etc. There may be multiple RoE sessions from a centralized site device to an antenna site device, because the antenna site device may have multiple radios and each radio may be configured with one or two CPRI ports.

Different priorities may be defined for different radios. This may be advantageous especially for the case that the transport network bandwidth is not enough for all RoE sessions on partial failure scenarios. In an embodiment, the network may define the LTE radios in higher priority to keep alive for coverage, and define the NR radios in lower priority to be shutdown. In another embodiment, the network may define the NR radios in higher priority to keep alive for throughput, and define the LTE radios in lower priority to be shutdown. Priority in embodiments is more related to CPRI ports used for the RoE sessions, i.e., more related to radio performance. This is different from the backhaul scenario where the priority may be defined for a service according to service type, e.g., the voice may have a higher priority than the video. Compared to the conventional hop-by-hop queuing and scheduling process based on service priority, since the RoE session priority according to embodiments of the present disclosure is related to CPRI ports configured for radios, stopping traffics on a RoE session may cause various end-to-end service flows on this RoE session to be stopped, regardless of whether services on these service flows have higher or lower priority. In the conventional solution of hop-by-hop queuing and scheduling process based on service priority, a service flow may be dropped at one hop, which affects one hop or two, rather than end-to-end sessions between RoE devices. Thus, the conventional solution cannot guarantee the end-to-end performance.

When the RoE traffic is transmitted on Ethernet, it may be very likely and normal for an Ethernet link to occur a link failure. In order to ensure the availability of a RoE service, if an Ethernet link fails, a treatment for the link failure may be diverting the RoE traffic carried by the failed Ethernet link to another Ethernet link. As shown in Fig. 1B, if the Ethernet hosting the forwarding service has a link failure, e.g., the Ethernet link via R1 fails, the RoE traffics forwarded through R1 may be diverted to the Ethernet link via R2. Since the RoE service may need a very large bandwidth transmission (e.g., the total bandwidth between a pair of RoE devices may be larger than 100G) , it may be likely for R2 to become congested and lose packets if R2 is flooded with too many traffics from R1. For the RoE service, it may be almost zero tolerance for packet loss, resulting in the interruption of radio access network (RAN) service.

In principle, several RoE traffics with high forwarding priority may be guaranteed through quality of service (QoS) configuration on R2, but the following problems may not be avoided:

- The bad RoE session with traffic loss due to congestion still occupies bandwidth.

- The RoE traffic, due to latency reason, may need to be always in high priority, so the traffic with lower priority (may be just some critical protocol packets) may not work.

- There may not be priority queue on all devices, and the QoS configuration may be complicated (this may heavily increase customer deploy and maintenance costs) .

Although the problems related to link failure may be avoided if 100%redundant protection of all RoE traffics can be implemented when deploying RoE, this may be almost impossible due to cost reasons. Therefore, it may be desirable to handle the RoE link failure to solve one or more above problems.

Various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure propose a solution to enable traffics of one or more RoE sessions (e.g., the RoE session (s) with lower priority or some problematic RoE session (s) , etc. ) to be automatically stopped when a link failure occurs and automatically started after link recovery. This can avoid an impact of a lot of RoE traffics on a whole forwarding network, while reducing customer deployment and maintenance costs.

Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating exemplary functional modules of a RoE device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 2, the RoE device 200 may include a session controller 201, a failure detector 202 and a loss detector 203. It can be appreciated that functional modules and RoE sessions shown in Fig. 2 are just as examples, and the RoE device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure may be configured to have more or less alternative functional modules and RoE sessions.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the session controller 201 may control RoE sessions (e.g., RoE Session 1, RoE Session 2, RoE Session 3, etc. ) between the RoE device 200 and its peer RoE device. The corresponding priorities may be defined for the RoE sessions between the pair of RoE devices. The RoE device 200 may be able to collect a network incident which may impact the bandwidth resource (including link down, label switch path (LSP) bi-directional forwarding detection (BFD) event, etc. ) , e.g., by using the session controller 201 and/or the failure detector 202. The loss detector 203 may detect packet/traffic loss on a RoE session, e.g., according to the RoE packet order information field (such as timestamp) . Alternatively or additionally, the loss detector 203 may also use other method like Y. 1731 to detect packet/traffic loss on a RoE session.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, when a link failure is detected between the RoE device 200 and its peer RoE device by the failure detector 202, the loss detector 203 may check whether each RoE session between the RoE device 200 and its peer RoE device has traffic loss (e.g., error frames or late frames, etc. ) . If the traffic loss is detected on any RoE session, the RoE device 200 may stop sending frames on one or more RoE sessions to the peer RoE device. In an embodiment, the RoE device 200 may notify, via a message (e.g., a newly defined message) , the peer RoE device to stop sending frames on the one or more RoE sessions to the RoE device 200. It can be appreciated that the RoE device 200 may transmit this message to the peer RoE device before, after or at the same time as stopping sending the frames on the one or more RoE sessions.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the RoE device 200 may use the session controller 201 to control a RoE session, and the session controller 201 may stop the bi-directional RoE traffic on the RoE session according to the defined RoE session priority. For example, the session controller 201 may stop the bi-directional RoE traffic on a RoE session with the lowest priority. If there is still traffic loss on any of other sessions, the session controller 201 may stop the bi-directional RoE traffic on another RoE session with the second lowest priority, and so on until there is no traffic loss on any of other sessions. In an embodiment, the session controller 201 may record a mapping relationship between the link failure event and the session (s) on which RoE traffics are stopped. The recorded mapping relationship may be used when all the stopped RoE traffics are started or restarted upon link recovery. For example, according to the mapping relationship between the link failure event and the session (s) , the RoE device 200 may indicate, in a message towards to the peer RoE device, the RoE session (s) on which the stopped RoE traffics may need to be started or restarted when the link failure recovers.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, when the link failure recovers, the RoE device 200 may start sending all frames of RoE sessions that have been stopped by the RoE device 200 during the link failure. In an embodiment, the RoE device 200 may notify, via a message (e.g., a newly defined message) , the peer RoE device to start sending all the frames of RoE sessions that have been stopped by the peer RoE device during the link failure. In another embodiment, the peer RoE device may start sending the stopped RoE frames in response to link recovery, without a notification from the RoE device 200 about start sending the stopped RoE frames.

Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary Ethernet message format according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 3, an Ethernet message may include the following fields:

● DST MAC (Media Access Control) : Ethernet packet destination MAC;

● SRC MAC: Ethernet packet source MAC;

● VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network) : Ethernet packet VLAN type and identifier (ID) ;

● Ether Type: FC3D, which may be required by standard IEEE 1914.3;

● RoE PKT Version and Type: Fixed to 0, indicating that this is a control packet;

● Flow ID: RoE session flow ID, which may be the unique ID to identify one RoE session;

● Length: Cover everything after this field, in octets; Fixed to 25 bytes for this packet format; and

● Message Type: Indicating whether this message may be used to stop RoE traffic or start RoE traffic.

The Ethernet message (which may carry the timestamp) in the message format as illustrated in Fig. 3 may be exchanged between a pair of RoE devices to indicate on which session (s) the RoE traffics may need to be stopped/started, so as to ensure that the pair of RoE devices stop/start the bi-directional RoE traffics on the same RoE session.

It can be appreciated that the Ethernet message format shown in Fig. 3 is just an example, more or less fields with each containing more or less bytes may be applicable for various embodiments of the present disclosure. In an embodiment, the Ethernet message format and/or content may be configurable, e.g., when the “automatically stop/start RoE session traffic” is enabled/disabled and/or the “priority of a RoE session” is defined/undefined. This can provide enough flexibility for deployment, and may also be beneficial to the integration with some RoE devices which may not be able to support the functionality of enabling/disabling RoE session traffic automatically.

Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary RoE traffic control procedure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The RoE traffic control procedure as illustrated in Fig. 4 may be performed by a RoE device, e.g., by using various functional modules such as a session controller, a failure detector, a loss detector, etc. As described with respect to Fig. 2, the failure detector may be used to detect link failure/recovery of a traffic link/path (e.g., link down, BFD or connectivity fault management (CFM) events, etc. ) , and report the detected traffic link/path failure or recovery to the session controller. In an embodiment, the loss detector may be used to continuously detect RoE traffic loss on a RoE session. If the RoE traffic loss is detected on any RoE session, the loss detector used for this RoE session may report the detected RoE traffic loss to the session controller.

According to the RoE traffic control procedure shown in Fig. 4, a failure detector of a local RoE device may detect 401 if there exists any failure/recovery on one or more traffic links/paths between the local RoE device and a remote RoE device. Depending on whether a failure is detected or recovered, the local RoE device may take 402 different actions. If a failure is detected on any traffic link/path, a loss detector of the local RoE device may detect 403 if there exists traffic loss on any RoE session (e.g., over the RoE session’s flow) with the remote RoE device. If no traffic loss is detected on any RoE session (i.e., “No” branch at step 404) , the procedure may proceed to step 401 where the failure detector may continue to detect where there is any failure/recovery. But if the traffic loss happens on any RoE session (i.e., “Yes” branch at step 404) , a session controller of the local RoE device may determine 405 on which session the RoE traffic may need to be stopped, e.g., based on the configured session priority. According to a result of the determination, the session controller may stop 406 the RoE traffic on the determined session (e.g., a RoE session with the lowest priority) between the local RoE device and the remote RoE device. In an embodiment, the session controller of the local RoE device may optionally exchange one or more messages with its peer session controller at the remote RoE device to stop the traffic on the RoE session with the lowest priority, and record a mapping relationship between the detected link/path failure and the RoE session on which the RoE traffic is stopped. The local RoE device may repeat the steps 403～406 until no traffic loss is detected on any RoE session.

If the failed link/path recovers (e.g., when the failure detector of the local RoE device detects traffic link/path failure recovery at step 402) , the local RoE device may start 407 all the stopped RoE traffics and resume traffic flows on the RoE session (s) determined at step 405. In an embodiment, the session controller of the local RoE device may optionally exchange one or more messages with its peer session controller at the remote RoE device to start all the RoE traffics stopped for the local RoE device by the remote RoE device due to the traffic link/path failure.

It can be appreciated that although the RoE traffic control procedure of Fig. 4 is described with respect to the local RoE device, the remote RoE device may also be configured to perform the RoE traffic control procedure shown in Fig. 4 to automatically control RoE traffic upon a link failure. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, when the remote RoE device detects a link/path failure and traffic loss, the remote RoE device may adaptively stop RoE traffics on one or more RoE sessions with the local RoE device and optionally instruct the local RoE device to stop the corresponding RoE traffics on the one or more RoE sessions.

According to various exemplary embodiments, a RoE device may be able to control RoE traffics for a RoE service flexibly, so that the RoE service may be protected from being impacted more than reduction of the available bandwidth in case of link/path failure. In addition, flexible control of RoE traffics can avoid partial RoE session occupying bandwidth continuously. For example, in case of link/path failure, if part of the bandwidth is still available, RoE flows on some RoE sessions with higher priority can still be kept alive without packet loss, while shutting down RoE flows on other RoE sessions with lower priority. This can reduce the redundant links because it may not be necessary for a network operator to deploy two times of the needed bandwidth for redundancy. For example, in the case that there are in total 150G RoE traffics to a cell site for 15 CPRIs, when adopting the redundant deployment, the network operator may need to have 3 x 100G link to that cell site to avoid any 100G link failure caused congestion so that all CPRIs fail. But by using the proposed solution according to the present disclosure, the network operator may only need to build 2 x 100G link, and in case of single link failure, the remaining 100G link can still support to keep the 100G RoE traffics on 10 CPRIs with higher priority alive.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method 500 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method 500 illustrated in Fig. 5 may be performed by a first RoE device or an apparatus communicatively coupled to the first RoE device. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the first RoE device may be configured to support adaptive management and flexible control of RoE traffics, especially in case of link failure.

According to the exemplary method 500 illustrated in Fig. 5, the first RoE device may detect traffic loss on RoE sessions between the first RoE device and a second RoE device, when a link for at least part of the RoE sessions is failed, as shown in block 502. When the traffic loss is detected on at least one of the RoE sessions, the first RoE device may stop RoE traffics on one or more RoE sessions in the RoE sessions according to priorities of the RoE sessions, until no traffic loss is detected on a rest of the RoE sessions, as shown in block 504. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the first RoE device may transmit, to the second RoE device, one or more messages instructing the second RoE device to stop the RoE traffics on the one or more RoE sessions, as shown in block 506.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the priorities of the RoE sessions may be related to CPRI ports used for the RoE sessions.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the first RoE device may receive one or more responses to the one or more messages from the second RoE device. In an embodiment, the one or more responses may indicate that the second RoE device stops the RoE traffics on the one or more RoE sessions.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the first RoE device may start the RoE traffics on the one or more RoE sessions when the failed link recovers.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the first RoE device may transmit, to the second RoE device, a first message indicating that the first RoE device starts the RoE traffics on the one or more RoE sessions.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the first RoE device may receive, from the second RoE device, a second message indicating that the second RoE device starts the RoE traffics on the one or more RoE sessions.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method 600 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method 600 illustrated in Fig. 6 may be performed by a second RoE device or an apparatus communicatively coupled to the second RoE device. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the second RoE device may be configured to support adaptive management and flexible control of RoE traffics, especially in case of link failure.

According to the exemplary method 600 illustrated in Fig. 6, the second RoE device may receive, from a first RoE device (e.g., the first RoE device as described with respect to Fig. 5) , one or more messages instructing the second RoE device to stop RoE traffics on one or more RoE sessions in RoE sessions between the first RoE device and the second RoE device, when a link for at least part of the RoE sessions is failed, as shown in block 602. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the second RoE device may stop the RoE traffics on the one or more RoE sessions according to the one or more messages, as shown in block 604.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the second RoE device may transmit one or more responses to the one or more messages to the first RoE device. In an embodiment, the one or more responses may indicate that the second RoE device stops the RoE traffics on the one or more RoE sessions.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the second RoE device may start the RoE traffics on the one or more RoE sessions when the failed link recovers.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the second RoE device may receive, from the first RoE device, a first message indicating that the first RoE device starts the RoE traffics on the one or more RoE sessions.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the second RoE device may transmit, to the first RoE device, a second message indicating that the second RoE device starts the RoE traffics on the one or more RoE sessions.

It can be appreciated that the first RoE device as described with respect to Fig. 5 may also be configured to perform the method 600 as described with respect to Fig. 6, according to different application scenarios and service requirements. Similarly, it can be appreciated that the second RoE device as described with respect to Fig. 6 may also be configured to perform the method 500 as described with respect to Fig. 5, according to different application scenarios and service requirements.

The various blocks shown in Figs. 4-6 may be viewed as method steps, and/or as operations that result from operation of computer program code, and/or as a plurality of coupled logic circuit elements constructed to carry out the associated function (s) . The schematic flow chart diagrams described above are generally set forth as logical flow chart diagrams. As such, the depicted order and labeled steps are indicative of specific embodiments of the presented methods. Other steps and methods may be conceived that are equivalent in function, logic, or effect to one or more steps, or portions thereof, of the illustrated methods. Additionally, the order in which a particular method occurs may or may not strictly adhere to the order of the corresponding steps shown.

Fig. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus 700 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 7, the apparatus 700 may comprise one or more processors such as processor 701 and one or more memories such as memory 702 storing computer program codes 703. The memory 702 may be non-transitory machine/processor/computer readable storage medium. In accordance with some exemplary embodiments, the apparatus 700 may be implemented as an integrated circuit chip or module that can be plugged or installed into a first RoE device as described with respect to Fig. 5, or a second RoE device as described with respect to Fig. 6. In such cases, the apparatus 700 may be implemented as a first RoE device as described with respect to Fig. 5, or a second RoE device as described with respect to Fig. 6.

In some implementations, the one or more memories 702 and the computer program codes 703 may be configured to, with the one or more processors 701, cause the apparatus 700 at least to perform any operation of the method as described in connection with Fig. 5. In other implementations, the one or more memories 702 and the computer program codes 703 may be configured to, with the one or more processors 701, cause the apparatus 700 at least to perform any operation of the method as described in connection with Fig. 6. Alternatively or additionally, the one or more memories 702 and the computer program codes 703 may be configured to, with the one or more processors 701, cause the apparatus 700 at least to perform more or less operations to implement the proposed methods according to the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

In general, the various exemplary embodiments may be implemented in hardware or special purpose chips, circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. For example, some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device, although the disclosure is not limited thereto. While various aspects of the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure may be illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other pictorial representation, it is well understood that these blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

As such, it should be appreciated that at least some aspects of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure may be practiced in various components such as integrated circuit chips and modules. It should thus be appreciated that the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure may be realized in an apparatus that is embodied as an integrated circuit, where the integrated circuit may comprise circuitry (as well as possibly firmware) for embodying at least one or more of a data processor, a digital signal processor, baseband circuitry and radio frequency circuitry that are configurable so as to operate in accordance with the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure.

It should be appreciated that at least some aspects of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure may be embodied in computer-executable instructions, such as in one or more program modules, executed by one or more computers or other devices. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types when executed by a processor in a computer or other device. The computer executable instructions may be stored on a computer readable medium such as a hard disk, optical disk, removable storage media, solid state memory, random access memory (RAM) , etc. As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, the function of the program modules may be combined or distributed as desired in various embodiments. In addition, the function may be embodied in whole or partly in firmware or hardware equivalents such as integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) , and the like.

The present disclosure includes any novel feature or combination of features disclosed herein either explicitly or any generalization thereof. Various modifications and adaptations to the foregoing exemplary embodiments of this disclosure may become apparent to those skilled in the relevant arts in view of the foregoing description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, any and all modifications will still fall within the scope of the non-limiting and exemplary embodiments of this disclosure.

Claims

A method (500) performed by a first radio over Ethernet, RoE, device, comprising:

detecting (502) traffic loss on RoE sessions between the first RoE device and a second RoE device, when a link for at least part of the RoE sessions is failed;

stopping (504) , when the traffic loss is detected on at least one of the RoE sessions, RoE traffics on one or more RoE sessions in the RoE sessions according to priorities of the RoE sessions, until no traffic loss is detected on a rest of the RoE sessions; and

transmitting (506) , to the second RoE device, one or more messages instructing the second RoE device to stop the RoE traffics on the one or more RoE sessions.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one of the RoE sessions on which the traffic loss is detected by the first RoE device prior to stopping the RoE traffics on the one or more RoE sessions includes: at least one of the one or more RoE sessions and/or at least one of the rest of the RoE sessions.
The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the one or more RoE sessions have lower priorities than the rest of the RoE sessions.
The method according to any of claims 1-3, wherein the first RoE device stops the RoE traffics on the one or more RoE sessions according to the priorities of the RoE sessions by:

stopping a RoE traffic per RoE session sequentially, in an order of ascending session priority, until no traffic loss is detected on the rest of the RoE sessions.
The method according to any of claims 1-4, wherein the priorities of the RoE sessions are related to common public radio interface, CPRI, ports used for the RoE sessions.
The method according to any of claims 1-5, further comprising:

receiving one or more responses to the one or more messages from the second RoE device, wherein the one or more responses indicate that the second RoE device stops the RoE traffics on the one or more RoE sessions.
The method according to claim 6, wherein the first RoE device stops the RoE traffics on the one or more RoE sessions when receiving the one or more responses from the second RoE device.
The method according to any of claims 1-7, wherein the one or more messages correspond to the one or more RoE sessions, and the first RoE device transmits the one or more messages to the second RoE device by:

transmitting a message per RoE session to the second RoE device prior to stopping a RoE traffic on the RoE session, wherein the message per RoE session indicates that the RoE traffic on the RoE session is to be stopped by the first RoE device.
The method according to any of claims 1-6, wherein the one or more messages correspond to the one or more RoE sessions, and the first RoE device transmits the one or more messages to the second RoE device by:

transmitting a message per RoE session to the second RoE device after stopping a RoE traffic on the RoE session, wherein the message per RoE session indicates that the RoE traffic on the RoE session is stopped by the first RoE device.
The method according to any of claims 1-9, further comprising:

starting the RoE traffics on the one or more RoE sessions when the failed link recovers.
The method according to claim 10, further comprising:

transmitting, to the second RoE device, a first message indicating that the first RoE device starts the RoE traffics on the one or more RoE sessions.
The method according to claim 10 or 11, further comprising:

receiving, from the second RoE device, a second message indicating that the second RoE device starts the RoE traffics on the one or more RoE sessions.
A first radio over Ethernet, RoE, device (700) , comprising:

one or more processors (701) ; and

one or more memories (702) storing computer program codes (703) ,

the one or more memories (702) and the computer program codes (703) configured to, with the one or more processors (701) , cause the first RoE device (700) at least to:

detect traffic loss on RoE sessions between the first RoE device and a second RoE device, when a link for at least part of the RoE sessions is failed;

stop, when the traffic loss is detected on at least one of the RoE sessions, RoE traffics on one or more RoE sessions in the RoE sessions according to priorities of the RoE sessions, until no traffic loss is detected on a rest of the RoE sessions; and

transmit, to the second RoE device, one or more messages instructing the second RoE device to stop the RoE traffics on the one or more RoE sessions.
The first RoE device according to claim 13, wherein the one or more memories and the computer program codes are configured to, with the one or more processors, cause the first RoE device to perform the method according to any one of claims 2-12.
A computer-readable medium storing computer program codes (703) which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform any step of the method according to any one of claims 1-12.
A method (600) performed by a second radio over Ethernet, RoE, device, comprising:

receiving (602) , from a first RoE device, one or more messages instructing the second RoE device to stop RoE traffics on one or more RoE sessions in RoE sessions between the first RoE device and the second RoE device, when a link for at least part of the RoE sessions is failed; and

stopping (604) the RoE traffics on the one or more RoE sessions according to the one or more messages.
The method according to claim 16, wherein the one or more RoE sessions have lower priorities than a rest of the RoE sessions.
The method according to claim 16 or 17, further comprising:

transmitting one or more responses to the one or more messages to the first RoE device, wherein the one or more responses indicate that the second RoE device stops the RoE traffics on the one or more RoE sessions.
The method according to any of claims 16-18, wherein the one or more messages correspond to the one or more RoE sessions, and the second RoE device receives the one or more messages from the first RoE device by:

receiving a message per RoE session from the first RoE device prior to a RoE traffic on the RoE session being stopped by the first RoE device, wherein the message per RoE session indicates that the RoE traffic on the RoE session is to be stopped by the first RoE device.
The method according to any of claims 16-18, wherein the one or more messages correspond to the one or more RoE sessions, and the second RoE device receives the one or more messages from the first RoE device by:

receiving a message per RoE session from the first RoE device after a RoE traffic on the RoE session being stopped by the first RoE device, wherein the message per RoE session indicates that the RoE traffic on the RoE session is stopped by the first RoE device.
The method according to any of claims 16-20, further comprising:

starting the RoE traffics on the one or more RoE sessions when the failed link recovers.
The method according to claim 21, further comprising:

receiving, from the first RoE device, a first message indicating that the first RoE device starts the RoE traffics on the one or more RoE sessions.
The method according to claim 21 or 22, further comprising:

transmitting, to the first RoE device, a second message indicating that the second RoE device starts the RoE traffics on the one or more RoE sessions.
A second radio over Ethernet, RoE, device (700) , comprising:

one or more processors (701) ; and

one or more memories (702) storing computer program codes (703) ,

the one or more memories (702) and the computer program codes (703) configured to, with the one or more processors (701) , cause the second RoE device (700) at least to:

receive, from a first RoE device, one or more messages instructing the second RoE device to stop RoE traffics on one or more RoE sessions in RoE sessions between the first RoE device and the second RoE device, when a link for at least part of the RoE sessions is failed; and

stop the RoE traffics on the one or more RoE sessions according to the one or more messages.
The second RoE device according to claim 24, wherein the one or more memories and the computer program codes are configured to, with the one or more processors, cause the second RoE device to perform the method according to any one of claims 17-23.
A computer-readable medium storing computer program codes (703) which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform any step of the method according to any one of claims 16-23.