Multipoint network systems and network devices

Abstract

This invention provides a multi-point network system comprising N network devices, capable of improving transmission speed through equalizer coefficient training. The N network devices include a master control device and multiple slave devices. The N network devices perform time zone synchronization in a synchronization phase, followed by equalizer coefficient training in a training phase, and then sequentially obtain transmission opportunities in a data transmission phase. Each of the N network devices includes a channel equalizer, which is used to be trained in the training phase and process data in the data transmission phase. In the training phase, the master control device issues a training notification to inform the multiple slave devices to enter the training phase; after issuing the training notification, the master control device performs equalizer coefficient training; after receiving the training notification, the multiple slave devices perform equalizer coefficient training. After the equalizer coefficient training is completed, the master control device issues a beacon to begin the data transmission phase.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to network systems and network devices, and in particular, to a multi-drop network system and network devices in the multi-drop network system. BACKGROUND

[0002] According to the IEEE 802.3cg standard specification, the existing physical layer collision avoidance (PLCA) multi-drop network only supports a transmission speed of 10 Mbps. If the transmission speed is to be improved, channel effects and inter symbol interference (ISI) must be considered. The effects of channel effects and inter symbol interference on the received signal can be reduced by training the channel equalizer at the receiving end; however, the standard specifications in the technical field (for example: IEEE 802.3bw and IEEE 802.3bp) only define the channel equalizer coefficient training method under the point-to-point transmission architecture, and this method cannot be applied to the multi-drop network system. SUMMARY

[0003] One of the objectives of the present application is to provide a multi-drop network system and network devices to improve the prior art.

[0004] One embodiment of the multi-drop network system in the present application includes N network devices, where N is an integer greater than or equal to two. The N network devices include a master device and a plurality of slave devices. Each of the N network devices has an identification code as identity recognition information in the multi-drop network system, and the N network devices collectively have N identification codes. The N network devices perform time zone synchronization in a synchronization phase. K network devices of the N network devices perform equalizer coefficient training in a training phase, where K is an integer greater than or equal to two but not greater than N. The N network devices sequentially obtain transmission opportunities according to the N identification codes in a data transmission phase.

[0005] In the above embodiment, the K network devices include the master device and (K-1) slave devices, and each of the K network devices includes a channel equalizer for accepting training in the training phase and processing data in the data transmission phase. In the synchronization phase, the master device transmits a beacon to the slave devices before each round of data transmission of the N network devices starts, to synchronize the time zone of the master device with the time zones of the slave devices. In the training phase, the master device sends a training notification to inform the (K-1) slave devices to enter the training phase. After sending the training notification, the master device performs the equalizer coefficient training. After receiving the training notification, the (K-1) slave devices perform the equalizer coefficient training.

[0006] An embodiment of the network device in the present application is a master device of N network devices in a multi-point network system, where N is an integer greater than or equal to two. The N network devices include the master device and slave devices. The N network devices perform time zone synchronization in a synchronization phase. K network devices of the N network devices perform equalizer coefficient training in a training phase, where K is an integer greater than or equal to two but not greater than N. The N network devices sequentially obtain transmission opportunities in a data transmission phase.

[0007] In the above embodiment, the K network devices include the master device and (K-1) slave devices. In the synchronization phase, the master device transmits a beacon to the (K-1) slave devices before each round of data transmission of the N network devices starts, to synchronize the time zone of the master device with the time zones of the (K-1) slave devices. In the training phase, the master device sends a training notification to inform the (K-1) slave devices to enter the training phase; and then the master device performs the equalizer coefficient training according to a training signal of each of the (K-1) slave devices and an original pattern of the training signal.

[0008] An embodiment of the network device in the present application is a first slave device of N network devices in a multi-point network system, where N is an integer greater than or equal to two. The N network devices include a master device and slave devices. The N network devices perform time zone synchronization in a synchronization phase. K network devices of the N network devices perform equalizer coefficient training in a training phase, where K is an integer greater than or equal to two but not greater than N. The N network devices are used to sequentially obtain transmission opportunities in a data transmission phase.

[0009] In the above embodiments, the K network devices include the master device and (K-1) slave devices, which include the first slave device and (K-2) slave devices. In the synchronization stage, before each round of data transmission of the N network devices, the first slave device receives a beacon from the master device to synchronize the time zone of the first slave device with the time zone of the master device. In the training stage, the first slave device receives a training notification from the master device to enter the training stage; and then the first slave device performs the equalizer coefficient training according to a training signal of each of the (K-2) slave devices and the master device and an original pattern of the training signal.

[0010] The features, implementations and effects of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0011] Figure 1 An embodiment of a multidrop network system according to the present application; and

[0012] Figure 2 An embodiment of a multidrop network system according to the present application. Figure 1 The operation stages of a multidrop network system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0013] The present application includes a multidrop network system and a network device in the multidrop network system, which can support channel equalizer coefficient training under the multidrop network system architecture to improve transmission speed. Background knowledge of the multidrop network system can be found in the IEEE 802.3cg standard specification, and background knowledge of the channel equalizer coefficient training can be found in the IEEE 802.3bw standard specification and the IEEE 802.3bp standard specification.

[0014] Figure 1 An embodiment of a multidrop network system according to the present application. Figure 1A multi-point network system 100 includes N network devices (i.e., N nodes), where N is an integer greater than or equal to two. The N network devices exchange data through a physical transmission medium 102 (e.g., a twisted pair cable or an optical cable) and include a master device 110 and multiple slave devices 120. Each of the N network devices has an identification code (IDC) as identification information in the multi-point network system 100, and thus the N network devices have N identification codes (e.g., 0, 1, 2, …, (N-2), (N-1)). The N network devices sequentially obtain transmission opportunities in the multi-point network system according to the order of the N identification codes in each round of data transmission. Since the technology of obtaining transmission opportunities is not within the scope of discussion of the present disclosure and does not limit the implementation of the present disclosure, the description of the technology is omitted herein. Those skilled in the art can refer to the U.S. Patent Publication (Publication No. US2019 / 0230705 A1) to understand how the N network devices sequentially obtain transmission opportunities in the multi-point network system according to the N identification codes.

[0015] Referring to Figure 1 In the embodiment, the N network devices perform time zone synchronization in a synchronization stage, K network devices of the N network devices perform equalizer coefficient training in a training stage, where K is an integer greater than or equal to two but not greater than N, and the N network devices sequentially obtain transmission opportunities according to the N identification codes in a data transmission stage. Figure 2 The sequence of the synchronization stage 210, the training stage 220, and the data transmission stage 230 is shown. If the K is not equal to the N, the N network devices include the K network devices and the remaining (N-K) network devices, where the (N-K) network devices do not perform the equalizer coefficient training in the training stage, and the (N-K) network devices are devices that cannot be identified and do not respond to the training notification. It is noted that the K network devices include the master device 110 and (K-1) slave devices 120, and each of the K network devices includes a channel equalizer for accepting training in the training stage and processing data in the data transmission stage.

[0016] In the synchronization stage, the master device 110 transmits a beacon to all the slave devices 120 before each round of data transmission of the K network devices to synchronize the time zone of the master device 110 with the time zones of the slave devices 120; the synchronization is achieved by known / self-developed techniques (e.g., each network device resets a counter / timer according to the beacon). In the training stage, the master device 110 sends a training notification to inform the (K-1) slave devices 120 to enter the training stage. After sending the training notification, the master device 110 performs the equalizer coefficient training; after receiving the training notification, the (K-1) slave devices 120 perform the equalizer coefficient training. After M rounds of the equalizer coefficient training (referred to as M rounds of training), the master device 110 transmits the beacon to all the slave devices 120 to start the data transmission stage, where the number M can be a fixed / unfixed positive integer.

[0017] In an embodiment, the number M is a fixed positive integer, which means that after the M rounds of training, the master device 110 transmits the beacon to all the slave devices 120 to start the data transmission stage regardless of whether any of the K network devices has not completed the equalizer coefficient training.

[0018] In another embodiment, the number M is an unfixed positive integer. Each of the (K-1) slave devices 120 sends a training completion signal in at least one of the M rounds of training to indicate that it has completed the equalizer coefficient training. The one of the K network devices (i.e., the (K-1) slave devices 120 and the master device 110) that completes the equalizer coefficient training last completes the training in an Mth round of training (i.e., the last round of training) of the M rounds of training; in other words, the value of M depends on when the K network devices have all completed the training. After the master device 110 completes the equalizer coefficient training and receives the training completion signal from each of the (K-1) slave devices 120, the master device 110 transmits the beacon to all the slave devices 120 to start the data transmission stage.

[0019] Please refer to Figures 1-2After the master device 110 sends the training notification, the K network devices perform the M rounds of training. The K network devices sequentially send K training signals in a Xth round of the M rounds of training, where X is a positive integer not greater than M. Each of the K network devices sequentially receives (K-1) training signals from other (K-1) network devices in the Xth round of the M rounds of training, and performs the equalizer coefficient training according to the (K-1) training signals and original patterns of the (K-1) training signals. The equalizer coefficient training can be implemented by known techniques (e.g., IEEE 802.3bw standard specification and / or IEEE 802.3bp standard specification) or self-developed techniques. For example, the master device 110 sequentially receives training signals of all the slave devices 120; after receiving a training signal of a slave device 120, the master device 110 compares the training signal and an original pattern of the training signal to adjust coefficients of a channel equalizer thereof according to a comparison result, and stores the coefficient(s) for receiving signals of the slave device 120. The equalizer coefficient training of each of the slave devices 120 can be derived by analogy according to the above description. In an embodiment, the K training signals are identical before distortion, original patterns of the K training signals are identical, and the K training signals and the original patterns are stored in the K network devices for comparison in advance; however, this does not limit implementation of the present application.

[0020] Please refer to Figures 1-2 Since the transmission environment can change over time, each of the K network devices can require returning to the training phase from the data transmission phase to redo the equalizer coefficient training. In an embodiment, the master device 110 re-sends the training notification in the data transmission phase to make the K network devices return to the training phase. In an embodiment, one of the (K-1) slave devices 120 sends a re-training requirement in the data transmission phase to require the master device 110 to send the training notification, so as to make the K network devices return to the training phase. In an embodiment, the master device 110 receives the re-training requirement in a round of data transmission, and sends the training notification after the round of data transmission ends. In an embodiment, one of the (K-1) slave devices 120 sends the re-training requirement in a round of data transmission, and the remaining (K-2) slave devices 120 remain silent after receiving the re-training requirement, so that the master device 110 can quickly send the training notification before the round of data transmission ends after receiving the re-training requirement.

[0021] Figure 1Each network device (i.e. master device 110 or any slave device 120) in the multipoint network system 100 can be implemented independently. Since one skilled in the art with ordinary knowledge can understand the implementation details and variations of each network device in the multipoint network system 100 by referring to the description of the multipoint network system 100 in Figure 1 Since one skilled in the art with ordinary knowledge can understand the implementation details and variations of each network device in the multipoint network system 100 by referring to the description of the multipoint network system 100 in

[0022] It is noted that, within the implementation possibility, one skilled in the art with ordinary knowledge can selectively implement part or all of the technical features in any of the foregoing embodiments, or selectively implement a combination of part or all of the technical features in the foregoing embodiments, in this way to increase the flexibility of the implementation of the present application.

[0023] In summary, the multipoint network system and network device of the present application can support the training of the channel equalizer coefficients under the multipoint network system architecture, so as to improve the transmission speed.

[0024] Although the implementation of the present application is described as above, however, these embodiments are not intended to limit the present application, one skilled in the art with ordinary knowledge can make changes to the technical features of the present application according to the content explicitly or implicitly in the present application, these changes can all be within the scope of the patent protection claimed by the present application, in other words, the scope of the patent protection of the present application should be according to the definition in the claims of the present application.

[0025] Legend of reference signs:

[0026] 100: multipoint network system

[0027] 102: physical transmission medium

[0028] 110: master device

[0029] 120: slave device

[0030] IDC: identification code

[0031] 210: synchronization phase

[0032] 220: training phase

[0033] 230: data transmission phase

Claims

1. A multi-point network system comprising N network devices, the N network devices comprising a master device and a plurality of slave devices, each of the N network devices having an identification code as identification information in the multi-point network system, the N network devices having N identification codes in common, the N network devices performing time zone synchronization in a synchronization phase, K network devices of the N network devices performing equalizer coefficient training in a training phase, the N network devices sequentially obtaining transmission opportunities according to the N identification codes in a data transmission phase, wherein: the N is an integer greater than two; the K is an integer greater than two but not greater than the N; the K network devices comprise the master device and (K-1) slave devices, and each of the K network devices comprises a channel equalizer for accepting training in the training phase and processing data in the data transmission phase; in the synchronization phase, the master device transmits a beacon to the plurality of slave devices before each round of data transmission of the N network devices starts, so as to synchronize the time zone of the master device and the time zones of the plurality of slave devices; and in the training phase, the master device sends a training notification to inform the (K-1) slave devices to enter the training phase, the master device performs the equalizer coefficient training after sending the training notification, and the (K-1) slave devices perform the equalizer coefficient training after receiving the training notification; in the data transmission phase, one slave device of the K network devices can send a retraining request in one round of data transmission to re-perform the equalizer coefficient training, and the remaining slave devices of the K network devices remain silent after receiving the retraining request, so that the master device sends a training notification before the end of the round of data transmission after receiving the retraining request. After the master device sends the training notification, the K network devices perform M rounds of training, each of the M rounds of training is a round of the equalizer coefficient training, and the M is a positive integer; each of the K network devices sends a training signal in an Xth round of training in the M rounds of training, the K network devices send K training signals in total in the Xth round of training; each of the K network devices receives (K-1) training signals of the K training signals in the Xth round of training, and performs the equalizer coefficient training according to the (K-1) training signals and original patterns of the (K-1) training signals, and the X is a positive integer not greater than the M. The K network devices perform M rounds of training, each of the M rounds of training is a round of the equalizer coefficient training, and the M is a fixed positive integer; after the M rounds of training, the master device transmits the beacon to the plurality of slave devices to start the data transmission phase. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 2. The multipoint network system of claim 1, wherein, ​ 3. The multipoint network system of claim 1, wherein, ​ 4. The multipoint network system of claim 1, wherein, The K network devices perform M rounds of training, each of the M rounds being a round of the equalizer coefficient training, M being a non-fixed positive integer; each of the K-1 slave devices sends a training completion signal in at least one of the M rounds of training to indicate that the equalizer coefficient training is completed, the master device and the one of the K-1 slave devices that completes the equalizer coefficient training latest complete the equalizer coefficient training in an Mth round of the M rounds of training; After the master device completes the equalizer coefficient training and receives the training completion signal from each of the K-1 slave devices, the master device transmits the beacon to the plurality of slave devices to start the data transmission phase.

5. A network device, the network device being a master device of N network devices in a multi-point network system, the N network devices including the master device and a plurality of slave devices, the N network devices performing time zone synchronization in a synchronization phase, K network devices of the N network devices performing equalizer coefficient training in a training phase, the N network devices sequentially obtaining transmission opportunities in a data transmission phase, wherein: N is an integer greater than two; K is an integer greater than two but not greater than N; the K network devices include the master device and K-1 slave devices; in the synchronization phase, the master device transmits a beacon to the plurality of slave devices to synchronize the time zone of the master device and the time zones of the plurality of slave devices before each round of data transmission of the N network devices starts; and in the training phase, the master device sends a training notification to inform the K-1 slave devices to enter the training phase, and then the master device performs the equalizer coefficient training according to a training signal of each of the K-1 slave devices and an original pattern of the training signal; in the data transmission phase, the master device can receive a retraining request sent by one slave device in a round of data transmission, the retraining request being used to re-perform the equalizer coefficient training, and the remaining slave devices of the K network devices remain silent after receiving the retraining request, so that the master device sends a training notification before the end of the round of data transmission after receiving the retraining request.

6. The network device of claim 5, wherein, The master device sends a master device training signal after sending the training notification, so that each of the K-1 slave devices performs the equalizer coefficient training according to the master device training signal and an original pattern of the master device training signal.

7. The network device of claim 5, wherein, The K network devices perform M rounds of training, each of the M rounds being a round of the equalizer coefficient training, M being a non-fixed positive integer; in the M rounds of training, the master device transmits the beacon to the plurality of slave devices to start the data transmission phase.

8. The network device of claim 5, wherein, After the master device completes the equalizer coefficient training and receives a training completion signal from each of the (K-1) slave devices, the master device transmits the beacon to the plurality of slave devices to start the data transmission phase.

9. A network device, the network device being a first slave device among N network devices of a multi-point network system, the N network devices including a master device and a plurality of slave devices, the N network devices performing time zone synchronization in a synchronization phase, K network devices among the N network devices performing equalizer coefficient training in a training phase, the N network devices being used to sequentially obtain transmission opportunities in a data transmission phase, wherein: the N is an integer greater than two; the K is an integer greater than two but not greater than the N; the K network devices include the master device and (K-1) slave devices, the (K-1) slave devices including the first slave device and (K-2) slave devices; in the synchronization phase, before each round of data transmission of the N network devices, the first slave device receives a beacon from the master device to synchronize the time zone of the first slave device with the time zone of the master device; and in the training phase, the first slave device receives a training notification from the master device to enter the training phase, and then the first slave device performs the equalizer coefficient training according to a training signal of each of the (K-2) slave devices and the master device and an original pattern of the training signal; in the data transmission phase, the first slave device is capable of sending a retraining request in a round of data transmission to re-perform the equalizer coefficient training, and the first slave device is also capable of remaining silent after receiving a retraining request sent by one other slave device in a round of data transmission, so that the master device sends a training notification before the end of the round of data transmission after receiving the retraining request.

10. The network device of claim 9, wherein, the first slave device sends a first training signal in the training phase to let the master device and the (K-2) slave devices perform the equalizer coefficient training according to the first training signal and an original pattern of the first training signal. the first slave device sends a first training signal in the training phase to let the master device and the (K-2) slave devices perform the equalizer coefficient training according to the first training signal and an original pattern of the first training signal.

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