Method and device for supporting time synchronization network configuration in mobile communication network

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a communication method and system for integrating a 5G communication system for supporting a higher data rate than a 4G system with IoT technology. A method for a NW‑TT is provided. The method includes receiving a first announcement message from a first DS‑TT via a user plane using a first PDU session between the NW‑TT and a first DS‑TT, receiving a second announcement message from an N6 interface, determining the port status of each port of the first DS‑TT and the NW‑TT using the first and second announcement messages using a BMCA process, and if the GM is outside a time synchronization network, generating a third announcement message based on the first and second announcement messages of each primary port in the first DS‑TT and the NW‑TT, and sending the third announcement message to a first PDU session associated with the primary port in the first DS‑TT.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a method for providing a mobile communication network function supporting a time synchronization method or a time synchronization network in a mobile communication system. A time synchronization network refers to a network composed of devices, protocols or methods that provide synchronization to allow user equipment (UE) or network devices constituting a specific network to have the same time information (clock). More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a device and method for configuring and managing a network for transmitting time synchronization information that meets the purpose of a time synchronization network. Background Art

[0002] In order to meet the increasing demand for wireless data services since the deployment of the 4th generation (4G) communication system, efforts have been made to develop improved 5th generation (5G) or quasi-5G communication systems. Therefore, 5G or quasi-5G communication systems are also called "super 4G networks" or "post-long term evolution (LTE) systems". In order to achieve higher data rates, 5G communication systems are considered to be implemented in higher frequency (millimeter wave) bands (e.g., 60GHz bands). In order to reduce the propagation loss of radio waves and increase the transmission distance, beamforming, massive multiple input multiple output (MIMO), full-dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antennas, analog beamforming, and massive antenna technology are discussed in 5G communication systems. In addition, in 5G communication systems, system network improvements are being developed based on advanced small cells, cloud radio access networks (RAN), ultra-dense networks, device-to-device (D2D) communications, wireless backhaul, mobile networks, collaborative communications, coordinated multi-point (CoMP), receiving-end interference elimination, etc. In 5G systems, hybrid frequency shift keying (FSK) and quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) (FQAM) and sliding window superposition coding (SWSC) have been developed as advanced coded modulation (ACM), as well as filter bank multi-carrier (FBMC), non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) and sparse code multiple access (SCMA) as advanced access technologies.

[0003] The Internet is a human-centered connected network in which humans generate and consume information, and is now evolving into the Internet of Things (IoT), in which distributed entities (such as things) exchange and process information without human intervention. The Internet of Things (IoE), which combines IoT technology and big data processing technology through connection with cloud servers, has emerged. Since IoT implementation requires technical elements such as "sensing technology", "wired / wireless communication and network infrastructure", "service interface technology" and "security technology", sensor networks, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, machine type communication (MTC), etc. have been studied recently. This IoT environment can provide smart Internet technology services that create new value for human life by aggregating and analyzing data generated between connected things. IoT can be applied to various fields including smart homes, smart buildings, smart cities, smart cars or connected cars, smart grids, healthcare, smart appliances, and advanced medical services through the integration and combination of existing information technology (IT) with various industrial applications.

[0004] In line with this, various attempts have been made to apply 5G communication systems to IoT networks. For example, technologies such as sensor networks, machine type communications (MTC), and machine-to-machine (M2M) communications can be implemented through beamforming, MIMO, and array antennas. The application of cloud radio access networks (RANs), which are the above-mentioned big data processing technologies, can also be regarded as an example of the convergence between 5G technologies and IoT technologies.

[0005] The above information is provided as background information only to assist in understanding the present disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above may be applicable as prior art related to the present disclosure. Summary of the invention

[0006] Technical issues

[0007] Various embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a method for supporting time synchronization to allow specific UEs to form a physical or virtual network for communication and have the same time (clock) related information by sharing time information between them in a scenario where a mobile communication UE and a server or another UE located in an external network communicate with each other. Some embodiments of the present disclosure include a method for aggregating and configuring information for configuring a network for transmitting time synchronization information.

[0008] Generally, a time synchronization network defined by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is formed by exchanging time synchronization related information between devices constituting an Ethernet-based physical network. Generally, in order to exchange time synchronization information, each device uses gPTP or Precision Time Protocol (PTP), and the relevant content is defined in the IEEE 1588 standard. The (g)PTP protocol is responsible for exchanging information related to the exchange of time synchronization information, and sending and receiving related information, as well as for configuring, managing, transmitting and receiving to configure a local area network (LAN) that supports the actual time synchronization network, standards such as IEEE802.1AS, IEEE 802.1Q, and IEEE 802.1Qcc can be used.

[0009] The 5G mobile communication network provides functions for supporting time-sensitive communications, which support parts of the IEEE 1588 and IEEE802.1 related standards. These functions include time synchronization methods using the (g)PTP protocol. The present disclosure includes methods for configuring time synchronization information transmitted through a 5G network, and therefore includes methods for allowing a UE or a 5G network itself to operate as a reference clock (grand master clock) for a time synchronization network, which is not implemented in traditional 5G.

[0010] Aspects of the present disclosure are not limited to the above, and other aspects not mentioned will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from the following description.

[0011] Aspects of the present disclosure address at least the above-mentioned problems and / or disadvantages and provide at least the advantages described below. Therefore, one aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a method for providing a mobile communication network function supporting a time synchronization method or a time synchronization network in a mobile communication system.

[0012] Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the presented embodiments.

[0013] Technical Solution

[0014] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method of a network-side time synchronization network (TSN) converter (NW-TT) is provided. The method includes: using a first packet data unit (PDU) session between the NW-TT and a first device-side TSN converter (DS-TT) to receive a first announcement message from a first DS-TT via a user plane; receiving a second announcement message from an N6 interface; using a best master clock algorithm (BMCA) process to determine the port status of each port of the first DS-TT and the NW-TT using the first announcement message and the second announcement message; if a super master clock (GM) is outside the time synchronization network including the NW-TT and the first DS-TT, generating a third announcement message based on the first announcement message and the second announcement message of each master port in the first DS-TT and the NW-TT; and sending the third announcement message to a first PDU session related to the master port in the first DS-TT.

[0015] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method of a network-side time synchronization network (TSN) converter (NW-TT) is provided. The method includes: using a first packet data unit (PDU) session between the NW-TT and a first device-side TSN converter (DS-TT) to receive a first announcement message from a first DS-TT via a user plane; receiving a second announcement message from an N6 interface; using a best master clock algorithm (BMCA) process to determine the port status of each port of the first DS-TT and the NW-TT using the first announcement message and the second announcement message; if the super master clock (GM) is outside the time synchronization network including the NW-TT and the first DS-TT, generating a third announcement message based on the first announcement message and the second announcement message of each master port in the first DS-TT and the NW-TT; and sending the third announcement message to the first PDU session related to the master port in the first DS-TT.

[0016] Currently, the number of UEs using mobile communication networks and the number of services and applications supporting them are growing exponentially. In addition, the design and operation of wireless networks and core networks are becoming increasingly complex to improve the quality of mobile communication networks. In this context, in addition to UEs that simply use voice calls and data services, new types of UEs, such as factories, unmanned aerial vehicles, robots, cars, and airplanes, are emerging. It is expected that these new types of UEs will increase steadily, and mobile communication networks will also continue to develop services to effectively support their purposes.

[0017] When the purpose and type of various UEs are changing, all UEs in the mobile communication network share radio resources, and generally, the core network is also operated to be shared by all UEs. Since each UE has a different type and purpose, there are differences in the type of operation and the services used. This leads to differences in interaction with the network. Therefore, the mobile communication network needs to maintain an optimized configuration by analyzing the purpose and service requirements of each UE in order to effectively support each type of UE. In addition, in order to effectively support each UE and service, it is necessary to operate the network to continuously provide the desired service level at the lowest cost by understanding the characteristics of each UE and optimizing and automating the configuration and management.

[0018] The present disclosure relates to a method for delivering time-sensitive services within the time range required by the services when transmitting network services between various services used through a mobile communication system. In particular, for professional audio, video and image related services, the time-related requirements are very strict in terms of service delivery. In order to effectively handle time-sensitive services, a time synchronization function and a deterministic communication function are required. The time synchronization function is a function of synchronizing the time (or clock) between devices constituting a network to share the same time, and the deterministic communication function is a function of ensuring that packets are delivered within a specific time range. Some embodiments of the present disclosure include features that enable the time synchronization function to be effectively transmitted in a 5G mobile communication network.

[0019] The time synchronization and deterministic communication functions of the related technology are only possible when a short-range network is configured using a bridge and a dedicated application server supporting a time-sensitive network (TSN) and a time-sensitive network application function (TSN AF) supporting related functions. In addition, since the reference clock (super master clock) used for time synchronization is located in the external network, the time synchronization packet is only sent in the downward direction. Therefore, when configuring a time synchronization network with a 5G network, the case where the device located on the UE side or the 5G network itself becomes a reference clock is limited. Due to such limitations, if the UE side or the 5G network itself becomes a reference clock, it is impossible to configure a network layer for transmitting time synchronization information and transmit each time synchronization packet when configuring a network for transmitting time information. The present disclosure also includes a method for supporting a configuration related to transmitting time synchronization packets in a control plane using an AF located outside the network and providing time synchronization packets seamlessly according to a purpose. The present disclosure also includes a method for supporting a configuration related to transmitting time synchronization packets in a distributed manner in a user plane without the aid of an AF located outside the network and providing time synchronization packets seamlessly according to a purpose. Therefore, more flexibility can be added when configuring a time synchronization network, and time-sensitive communications can be supported for more applications.

[0020] Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses various embodiments of the disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] The above and other aspects, features and advantages of certain embodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0022] Figure 1 The present invention illustrates a configuration of a mobile communication system of a 5G network and an entity located outside the network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0023] Figure 2 The structure of TSN defined in the conventional 3GPP standard according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0024] Figure 3 The principle of time synchronization on Ethernet of conventional TSN according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0025] Figure 4 A 5G network supporting TSN time synchronization according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0026] Figure 5 The process for configuring DS-TT and NW-TT in a 5G network system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0027] Figure 6 A process of processing an announcement message received from a DS-TT by applying a centralized information processing solution based on a control plane in a 5G network system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0028] Figure 7 A process of effectively processing an announcement message received from a DS-TT by applying a centralized information processing scheme based on a control plane in a 5G network system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0029] Figure 8 The present invention illustrates a process in which a NW-TT according to an embodiment of the present disclosure effectively processes an announcement message by applying a centralized information processing solution based on a control plane in a 5G network system;

[0030] Fig. 9 The operation and result of a method for supporting BMCA to which a centralized information processing scheme based on a control plane is applied according to an embodiment of the present disclosure are shown;

[0031] Fig.10 The operation and result of a method for supporting BMCA to which a user plane-based distributed information processing scheme is applied according to an embodiment of the present disclosure are shown;

[0032] Fig.11 The operation and result of a method for supporting BMCA to which a user plane-based distributed information processing scheme is applied according to an embodiment of the present disclosure are shown;

[0033] Fig.12 A method for supporting BMCA to apply a user plane-based distributed information processing solution according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0034] Fig.13 The process of broadcasting all announcement messages in a 5G network by applying a distributed information processing scheme based on a user plane by DS-TT and NW-TT according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0035] Fig.14 The present invention illustrates a process in which DS-TT and NW-TT according to an embodiment of the present disclosure effectively broadcast announcement messages in a 5G network by applying a distributed information processing scheme based on a user plane;

[0036] Fig.15 A process of processing an announcement message indicating an inactive state by applying a distributed information processing scheme based on a user plane by a DS-TT and an NW-TT according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0037] Fig.16 The network DS-TT operation supporting BMCA to which a centralized information processing scheme based on a control plane is applied in a 5G network system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated;

[0038] Fig.17 The network NW-TT operation supporting BMCA to which a centralized information processing scheme based on a control plane is applied in a 5G network system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated;

[0039] Fig.18 The operation of DS-TT supporting BMCA to which a user plane-based distributed information processing scheme is applied in a 5G network system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated;

[0040] Fig.19 The operation of the NW-TT supporting BMCA to which the user plane-based distributed information processing scheme is applied in the 5G network system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown; and

[0041] Fig. 20 The structure of a network entity according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0042] Throughout the drawings, like reference numerals will be understood to refer to like parts, components and structures. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings is provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of the various embodiments of the present disclosure as defined by the claims and their equivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in understanding, but these details are to be regarded as examples only. Therefore, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes and modifications may be made to the various embodiments described herein without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and configurations may be omitted for clarity and brevity.

[0044] The terms and words used in the following description and claims are not limited to the bibliographical meanings, but are merely used by the inventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be clear to those skilled in the art that the following description of various embodiments of the present disclosure is provided for illustrative purposes only and not for limiting the present disclosure as defined by the attached claims and their equivalents.

[0045] It will be understood that the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to "a component surface" includes reference to one or more of such surfaces.

[0046] When describing the embodiments, descriptions of technologies known in the art and not directly related to the present disclosure are omitted. This is to further clarify the main points of the present disclosure without making it unclear.

[0047] For the same reason, some elements may be exaggerated or schematically shown. The size of each element does not necessarily reflect the actual size of the element. In the entire drawings, the same reference numerals are used to refer to the same elements.

[0048] The advantages and features of the present disclosure and the methods for achieving these advantages and features can be understood by the following embodiments described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments disclosed herein, and various changes may be made thereto. The embodiments disclosed herein are only provided to inform those of ordinary skill in the art of the categories of the present disclosure. The present disclosure is limited only by the appended claims. Throughout the specification, the same reference numerals represent the same elements.

[0049] It should be understood that the blocks in each flowchart and the combination of flowcharts can be executed by computer program instructions. Since computer program instructions can be equipped in a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer or other programmable data processing device, the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device generate a device for performing the functions described in conjunction with the blocks of each flowchart. Since computer program instructions can be stored in a computer-usable or computer-readable memory, it can be directed to a computer or other programmable data processing device to implement functions in a specific manner, so the instructions stored in a computer-usable or computer-readable memory can produce a product including an instruction device for performing the functions described in conjunction with the blocks in each flowchart. Since computer program instructions can be equipped in a computer or other programmable data processing device, when a series of operating steps are performed on the computer or other programmable data processing device, the instructions that generate the processing executed by the computer and operate the computer or other programmable data processing device can provide steps for performing the functions described in conjunction with the blocks in each flowchart.

[0050] Furthermore, each block may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which includes one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function. In addition, it should be noted that in some alternative execution examples, the functions mentioned in the blocks may appear out of order. For example, two blocks shown in succession may actually be executed substantially simultaneously, or may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending on the functionality involved.

[0051] As used herein, "unit" refers to a software element or a hardware element, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The unit plays a certain role. However, the term "unit" is not limited to software or hardware elements. A "unit" can be configured in a storage medium that can be addressed or can be configured to reproduce one or more processors. Therefore, as an example, a "unit" includes elements, such as software elements, object-oriented software elements, class elements or task elements, processing, functions, attributes, programs, subroutines, program code segments, drivers, firmware, microcodes, circuits, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables. The functions provided in an element or "unit" can be combined with additional elements or split into sub-elements or sub-units. In addition, an element or "unit" can be implemented to reproduce one or more CPUs in a device or a secure multimedia card. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a "unit" can include one or more processors.

[0052] The description of the embodiments of the present disclosure mainly focuses on the radio access network, the new RAN (NR), and the core network, the packet core (5G system, or 5G core network, or NG core, or next generation core) specified by the third generation partnership (3GPP) as a mobile communication standardization organization. However, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, the subject matter of the present disclosure or slight changes thereto may also be applicable to other communication systems sharing a similar technical background, which is easily understood by ordinary technicians in the art.

[0053] For ease of description, some terms or names defined in the 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard (5G, NR, LTE or similar systems) may be used. However, the present disclosure is not limited to these terms and names and may also be applicable to systems conforming to other standards.

[0054] As used herein, for the convenience of description, terms used to identify access nodes, terms representing network entities, terms indicating messages, terms used to represent inter-network entity interfaces, and terms representing various identification information are provided as examples. Therefore, the present disclosure is not limited by these terms, and these terms can be replaced by other terms representing various aspects having equivalent technical concepts.

[0055] Hereinafter, among various elements constituting a core network, entities directly related to the present disclosure will be described as examples.

[0056] Figure 1 The configuration of a 5G network and a mobile communication system of an entity located outside the network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0057] refer to Figure 1 , entities interact with each other using service-based interfaces.

[0058] The access and mobility management function (AMF) 101 is a device for managing access and mobility of a user equipment (UE) 108, and serves as a UE-core network endpoint that connects the UE to other devices in the core network via the RAN 109. Functions provided by the AMF 101 may include, for example, functions of UE registration, connectivity, reachability, mobility management, access identification / authentication, and mobility event generation.

[0059] The session management function (SMF) 102 performs management functions of the packet data unit (PDU) session of the UE. For example, the SMF 102 can perform functions such as session management functions of establishing, modifying or releasing sessions and maintaining tunnels between the UPF 110 and the (R) AN 109, functions of allocating and managing the IP address of the UE 108, address resolution protocol (ARP) proxy functions, selection and control of the user plane, control of service processing on the UPF 110, and charging data aggregation control.

[0060] The policy control function (PCF) 103 plays a role in determining and providing policies for access / mobility and session management applied to the AMF 101 and the SMF 102. For example, the PCF 103 can manage (or govern) the behavior of the entire network and provide policies to be executed to the network functions (NFs) constituting the control plane. In addition, the PCF 103 can access information related to the policy by accessing the UDR.

[0061] The Network Exposure Function (NEF) 105 is responsible for sending / receiving events and supporting capabilities occurring in the mobile communication network to / from the outside. For example, the NEF 105 performs functions such as securely providing external application information to the core network, conversion of internal / external information, and storage in the UDR, and then redistributing functions received from other NFs.

[0062] Unified Data Management (UDM) 106 and Unified Data Repository (UDR) are independent network functions, but in this embodiment, their functions and roles are used similarly and described at the same time. UDM 106 can perform, for example, generation of AKA authentication information for 3GPP security, processing of user identifier (ID), reverse hiding of secure user identifier (Subscriber Hidden ID (SUPI)), management of NF list currently supported by UE 108, and short message service (SMS) management. UDR can perform functions of storing and providing subscriber information managed by UDM 105, structured data for exposure, and application data related to NEF or service.

[0063] The user plane function (UPF) 110 plays a role in processing actual user data and can process packets so that packets generated by the UE 108 can be transmitted to an external data network or data received from an external data network is transmitted to the UE. The main functions provided by the UPF 110 may include, for example, serving as an anchor between radio access technologies, providing connections to PDU sessions and external data networks 111, packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, application of user plane policies, creating service usage reports, or buffering.

[0064] The network data analysis function (NWDAF) 107 can aggregate events or information occurring within the network and transmit statistical, predictive, and recommended information related to specific information to NF, AF, and OAM using analysis tools or machine learning tools. For example, the NWDAF 107 can perform functions such as aggregating data from NF / AF / OAM, registering NWDAF services and exposing metadata, and providing network analysis information to NF / AF.

[0065] The UE radio capability management function (UCMF) performs a function of storing and providing mapping information between IDs of radio access related functions of the UE 108 allocated by the PLMN or the manufacturer and actual functions in the form of a dictionary.

[0066] The application function (AF) 104 performs the function of interworking with the core network of 3GPP to provide services. The AF 104 can be roughly divided into a trusted AF and an untrusted AF. The trusted AF 104 can utilize the services of the network functions located inside the core network without a separate intermediate function, such as NEF 105. Representative functions provided by the AF 104 may include application influence on traffic routing, utilization of network information exposure functions, interaction with the policy framework of policy control, and IMS-related interactions.

[0067] Operation, Administration and Maintenance (OAM) is a device used to manage the entire mobile communication network including base stations and core networks. For example, OAM can perform functions related to communication network operation, management, maintenance, provisioning and problem solving. In addition, OAM can perform functions to monitor and configure each base station or core network to operate seamlessly according to design and strategy. OAM is a concept that encompasses all tools and processes related to management, and can include all tools, software and processes used by network administrators for management, rather than representing specific equipment.

[0068] In the conventional 5G network, in order to meet various needs, such as various factory automation and media processing for professionals, time-sensitive communication related functions are designed to be supported through interworking with IEEE 1588, 802.1Q and 802.1Acc specified by IEEE. The 5G network introduces a structure for handling time synchronization protocols, such as the network-side TSN translator (NW-TT) and the device-side TSN translator (DS-TT) in the UE and UPF, and supports methods for configuring forwarding schemes and managing bridges (such as TSN AF) related to time-sensitive services. The support of time-sensitive communications is intended to support certain parts of a local area network located outside the mobile communication network through the 5G portion, while the 5G network in the external local area network is used as a single bridge. Therefore, the DS-TT located in the 5GUE and the NW-TT located in the network operate to support their corresponding ports, and the part between the UE and the UPF has the same effect as the data path through the internal transmission used for the bridge. In this configuration, there is a special type of AF, called TSN AF, which is used for deterministic communication and control of the characteristics of each port, and TSN AF can constitute a network that supports time-sensitive communication, which can meet the purpose and requirements by communicating with the centralized network configuration (CNC) that manages the 5G network and the local area network. In this process, TSN AF can configure and manage the bridge and exchange the quality of service requirements that need to be provided from the bridge with the 5G core network in order to interwork with the external TSN network and the CNC operating according to the IEEE standard. Therefore, TSN AF is essentially required, which can convert (or map) commands from CNC into a form that can be processed by 5GC (5G core). The two main operations performed by TSN AF include transmitting QoS-related requirements in the user plane transmission part between UE and UPF and transmitting bridge configuration-related information. Therefore, TSN AF must exist to perform the operations of TSN in the traditional core network.

[0069] Figure 2 The structure of TSN defined in the conventional 3GPP standard according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 2 The entities required for TSN support are only briefly described. The TSN work domain 210 - 1 may be a local area communication network configured with Ethernet supporting the conventional IEEE standard, and may include entities corresponding to the control plane, such as the CNC 210 .

[0070] refer to Figure 2, the basic design associated with TSN interworking in a conventional 5G network is intended to support time-sensitive communications of UEs using a 5G mobile communication network and a local area network located outside, and basically assumes that the equipment providing the main functions and each configuration is located in a network outside the UPF 203. Therefore, the grand master clock (GM) is designed to assume that it is located outside, but not in the 5G core network. Therefore, when a time synchronization packet is sent from an external network through the N6 interface, the sending of a time synchronization packet in a downward direction from NW-TT 203-1 to DS-TT 201-1 is supported. In this case, packet transmission can be performed by transmitting a time synchronization packet using a PDU session associated with all NW TTs connected to the UPF 203 supporting a specific NW-TT 203-1. During this process, NW-TT 203-1 can measure the time spent (residence time) in UE 201. The UPF 203 part of 5G is based on the time difference between the time when the 5G network receives the packet and the time when the DS-TT 201-1 receives the packet, and by using this time difference, the network traffic is sent taking into account the residence time in a specific network part.

[0071] refer to Figure 2 , also includes (R)AN 202, AMF 204, SMF 205, PCF 206, UDM 207, NEF 208 and TSNAF 209.

[0072] Figure 3 The principle of time synchronization on Ethernet of a conventional TSN according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0073] refer to Figure 3, the nodes of TSN (TSN node 0 301, TSN node 1 302, and TSN node 2 303) determine a reference grand master clock (GM). TSN node 0 301, which uses GM as a clock source, records the current time of GM in the timestamp field and fills the correction field with 0, generating a synchronization message 0. TSN node 0 301 sends the generated synchronization message 0 to the next node, TSN node 1 302. TSN node 1 302 generates a synchronization message 1 obtained by updating the correction field in consideration of link delay 1 (the time taken to receive synchronization message 0) (time delay in link 1) and dwell time 1 (time spent in TSN node 302). TSN node 1 302 sends the generated synchronization message 1 to the next node, TS node 2 303. TSN node 2 303 generates a synchronization message 2 obtained by updating the correction field in consideration of link delay 2 (the time taken to receive synchronization message 1) (time delay in link 2) and dwell time 2 (time spent in TSN node 2 303). TSN node 2 303 sends the generated synchronization message 2 to the next node. In this way, each node periodically measures the delay time of the link with the previous node, calculates the average value, specifies the time it takes, updates the synchronization message, and then sends the synchronization message to the next node.

[0074] Figure 4 A 5G network supporting TSN time synchronization according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 4 Shows the use of Figure 3 The results of modeling a 5G network using a TSN bridge (or TSN node) are shown.

[0075] refer to Figure 4 , UPF 402, gNB 403, UE 404 (which is 5G network 401) as a single TSN node, by calibrating link delay and dwell time update synchronization message, to support TSN. To this end, it is assumed that UPF / NW-TT 402, gNB 403 and UE / DS-TT 404 in 5G network 401 are synchronized with a common 5G GM 405. For example, gNB 403 is connected to GPS, UPF / NW-TT 402 is connected to gNB 403 through Ethernet-based TSN to synchronize with gNB 403, and UE 404 can be synchronized with gNB 403 through the process of sending and receiving PHY frames. UPF / NW-TT 402 can be connected to a TSN node of a wired network, and UE / DS-TT404 can also be connected to a TSN node of a wired network.

[0076] refer to Figure 4, since TSN GM1 407 (which is the GM of TSN) exists in TSN node 0 406 connected to UPF / NW-TT 402, UPF / NW-T 402 receives a synchronization message from TSN node 0 406. UPF / NW-TT 402 records the time when 5G GM405 is received from TSN node 0 406 as the ingress time (Ingress Time) of the packet. UPF / NW-TT 402 periodically calculates and manages the link delay, which is the link delay time with TSN node 0 406. UPF / NW-TT402 sends a synchronization message including the ingress time and the link delay to UE / DS-TT 404. UE / DS-TT 404 calculates the link delay, which is the link delay time with TSN node 1 408, and calculates the residence time, which is the time spent in 5G network 401 relative to the time of 5G GM. UE / DS-TT 404 updates the correction field of the synchronization message using the calculated dwell time and link delay, and sends the updated synchronization message to the next TSN node, TSN node 1 407. TT represents a logical block connecting TSN and 3GPP and may have a port connected to the outside when the 5G network is modeled as a TSN bridge of a single TSN node, and may be actually implemented to be integrated or separated from the UPF (in the case of NW-TT) or the UE (in the case of DS-TT).

[0077] With the emergence of various new demands, such as network configuration between wireless UEs in stadiums or sports stadiums and wirelessization in factories, it is necessary to use the UE or the network itself as Gms for time-sensitive networking (TSN). However, according to the current 3GPP standards, the 5G network cannot support the situation where the GM is located in such a UE or 5G core network or the base station operates as a GM. As a typical reason, only packet processing in the downlink direction from NW-TT to DS-TT is supported, and when the UE or the 5G core network becomes a GM, the transmission direction of the time synchronization packet cannot be determined. Therefore, even in this case, it is necessary to set forwarding rules related to packet transmission to send PTP or gPTP packets containing time synchronization information.

[0078] As another requirement, most general applications and services are based on IP-based network communications. The above-mentioned IEEE TSN network-related technologies are based on Ethernet operations and cannot support services generated from general IP-based services and applications. Therefore, in order to overcome these limitations, requirements on whether to support time-sensitive services, process time-sensitive services, and for general data networks (rather than networks supporting TSN in external networks) through general AFs (rather than TSN AFs) are emerging. It is also necessary to provide time-sensitive services between UEs connected to a mobile communication network by going beyond supporting only communications with external data networks of the prior art. When using a general data network, an operation method related to its own time synchronization can be used or a general Internet protocol such as UDP / IP can be used to encapsulate and send PTP messages in packets. In this case, the traditional TSN network cannot distinguish between time-sensitive communication services and other normal data services, so the same quality of service is applied to it, and the network features required for TSN cannot be supported. Some embodiments of the present disclosure include a method for meeting requirements related to time-sensitive communications on such a general network.

[0079] The information exchange and control signal exchange between the above entities use the processes, interfaces and protocols defined in the 3GPP standards. However, all terms used in the present disclosure are not limited to the terms specified in the 3GPP standards, and can be equally applied to systems and devices that comply with other standards. The description of the embodiments of the present disclosure is mainly focused on the 3GPP communication standards, but without significantly departing from the scope of the present disclosure, the subject matter of the present disclosure can also be applied to other communication systems with minor changes having a similar technical background, and this can be performed by determination of a technician in the field to which the present disclosure belongs.

[0080] In order to share the same time information between devices constituting TSN, the PTP or gPTP protocol is used as a method of correcting the delay, jitter, or clock of each device caused during communication between devices using the PTP protocol. In the present disclosure, the description focuses on gPTP, and the same method can be applied to PTP. The gPTP protocol is a protocol based on IEEE 802.1MAC operation, and defines messages and procedures for time synchronization between networks constituting TSN.

[0081] In order to correctly perform the time synchronization method using gPTP, it is first necessary to select the best (best) clock used as a reference clock from the devices that make up the TSN network. The method for selecting such a reference clock is called the Best Master Clock Algorithm (BMCA) and is specified in IEEE 802.1AS. Devices configured with TSN send announcement messages for each port periodically or when a specific event (such as a timeout) occurs. The announcement message may include information about the port to which the message is sent, and may include currentUtcOffset, grandmasterPriority1, grandmasterClockQuality, grandmaterPriority2, grandmaasterIdentity, stepsRemoved, timeSource, and path tracking TLVs. This information can be used as a criterion for selecting a GM, and as a method for selecting a GM that provides better quality time information using each factor, the method described in IEEE 802.1AS can be adopted.

[0082] When an announcement message is received from a specific port, the network device uses the port information included in the message of each port to identify whether it provides time information of better quality than the current GM, and when it is determined that it provides time information of better quality, updates the reference time information of the device and reallocates the role of the port. Port roles can include master (M), slave (S), passive (P), and disabled (D). A master port refers to a port that sends the time of the current system or device. A slave port refers to a port that needs to follow the time synchronization signal passing through the port. A disabled port refers to a port that is not used according to configuration or for some specific reasons. A passive port refers to a port that does not correspond to the above port roles. Using such a BMCA to configure the role of each device for each port is called a master-slave hierarchy.

[0083] like Figure 4 As shown, when GM1 407 is located outside the 5G network 401, the synchronization signal from the data network (DN) is a signal from GM1 407, so the port of NW-TT 402 located on the DN side is used as S, and the port of UE / DS-TT 404 that sends synchronization information to the slave is used as M.

[0084] The problem with interworking with the IEEE standard when using BMCA in 5G networks is that the reception and retransmission of BMCA related messages is not currently supported. In addition, when handling BMCA, there is no clear assignment of roles to the nodes that can handle the announcement messages received by each port.

[0085] The present disclosure includes a BMCA support method that adopts a centralized information processing scheme based on a control plane, which can execute the BMCA protocol defined in the IEEE 802.1AS standard on a 5G network in a similar manner. Currently, entities that play the role of supporting TSN in a 5G core network may include DS-TT, NW-TT, SMF, PCF, and TSN AF.

[0086] Figure 5 A process for configuring DS-TT and NW-TT in a 5G network system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0087] refer to Figure 5 In operation 501, a UE 515 (UE / DS-TT) having a DS-TT function to configure TSN registers in a 5G network and then requests SMF 545 to establish a PDU session using a data network name (DNN) and single network slice selection auxiliary information (S-NSSAI) assigned to a specific TSN to exchange TSN related information. In this case, if UE 515 already has a related PDU session, a modification process may be performed. For example, a port management information container (PMIC) of DS-TT 515-1 may be transmitted to SMF 545. Figure 5 Further shown are (R)AN 525 and AMF 535 .

[0088] Alternatively, if the PDU session is the first PDU session of the bridge in operation 502, the SMF 545 generates an N4 rule from the UPF 555 and may then aggregate a Bridge Management Information Container (BMIC) and the PMIC of the port located in the NW-TT 555-1.

[0089] In operation 503, the SMF 545 reports the request for establishing or changing the PDU session received in operation 501 and the PMIC information to the corresponding PCF 565. For example, the SMF 545 may transmit the PMIC of the aggregated DS-TT 515-1 and the PMIC and BMIC aggregated from the NW-TT 555-1 to the PCF 565 through the SM policy association generation or modification process. The PCF 565 transmits TSN related information such as BMIC and PMIC to the TSNAF 575. In this process, the information may be transferred through the NEF. The related process follows the TSN related process of 3GPP.

[0090] In operation 504, the TSN AF 575 uses the combination of BMIC and PMIC information received from the PCF 565 to identify the ports and configuration information of the bridge provided in the current combination of S-NSSAI and DNN. In addition, the initial role of each port can be configured. If the TSN AF 575 knows the system identity of the bridge in this process, it can be additionally transmitted to each port for performing BMCA related tasks. The TSN AF 575 can receive the system identity, bridge and per-port configuration information from the CNC or an external manager. The system identity may include priority 1, clockClass, clockAccuracy, offsetScaleLogVariance, priority 2, or clockIdentity defined in IEEE 802.1AS. In addition, information about whether to send announcement messages (announcement enabled), announcement intervals, port roles, and announcement message waiting time (timeout) through each port may also be included. In this case, a PortPriorityVector for actual calculation can be sent instead of a system identity. The PortPriorityVector may be composed of a combination of rootSystemIdentity, stepsRemoved, sourcePortIdentity, and PortNumber. In addition to the bridge configuration information, port related information can be sent using a data structure that can be distinguished for each port. When there is a GM currently used by the selected system, information used in the IEEE802.1AS port priority selection process, such as Grandmaster present, Grand Masterpriority, or StepsRemoved, can be included in the GM information.

[0091] In operation 505, the TSN AF 575 includes information in the PMIC and BMIC, such as the bridge determined in operation 504, port configuration information, system identification, and advertisement interval, and passes the information to the PCF 565. The PCF 565 selects necessary information and sends it to the SMF 545. In this process, the SM policy association modification process may be used to pass the information.

[0092] In operations 506a and 506b, the SMF 545 identifies the relevant configuration information of the BMIC and the PMIC, and then sends the information to the UPF 555 that performs the corresponding port or bridge function and the UE 515 that performs the DS-TT function. According to the 3GPP standard, the N4 session modification process can be used to transfer to the UPF 555 (operation 506a), and the information received from the PCF 565 can be transmitted to the UE 515 that performs the DS-TT 515-1 through the PDS session modification process (operation 506b). Each process can be performed separately. Through the configuration until operation 506, the DS-TT 515-1 and the NW-TT 555-1 operate as some ports of the TSN network.

[0093] In operations 507a and 507b, the port receiving the port configuration information and the system identifier may store the configuration information and may therefore send an announcement message. In operation 507a, DS-TT 515-1 sends an announcement message, and in operation 507b, NW-TT 555-1 sends an announcement message. In this case, the announcement messages sent from DS-TT 515-1 and NW-TT 555-1 include, for example, the current system identifier and the priority of the synchronization GM.

[0094] According to an embodiment, the DS-TT may send an announcement message to a TSN device connected to a port. In addition, the DS-TT may also receive an announcement message from a device connected to a link. The present disclosure includes a method for allowing operations similar to those defined in IEEE 802.1AS when the DS-TT 515-1 receives an announcement message.

[0095] Figure 6 The process of processing an announcement message received from a DS-TT by applying a centralized information processing scheme based on a control plane in a 5G network system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0096] refer to Figure 6 In operation 601, a DS-TT 625-1 in a UE1 625 supporting TSN using 5GC receives an announcement message from an external TSN device 615 (or node) through a link connected to a port. In this case, the received announcement message may include port announcement information.

[0097] In operation 602, when receiving an announcement message from the external TSN device 615, the DS-TT 625-1 transmits a PMIC to the SMF 665 using a PDU session modification procedure. In this case, the PMIC includes identifier information of a port to be reported and the received announcement message.

[0098] In operation 603, the SMF 665 transmits information of the UPF 675 and DSTTs 625-1 and 635-1 for supporting TSN in UE2 635 to the TSN AF 695 via the PCF 685. In this case, the procedures of the TSN-related standards of 3GPP may be followed. For example, the SMF 665 may transmit the aggregated PMIC received from the DS-TT 625-1 and the PMIC and BMIC aggregated in the NW-TT 675-1 to the PCF 685 through the SM policy association generation or modification procedure.

[0099] In operation 604, the TSN AF 695 obtains the port announcement information through the announcement message received from the DS-TT 625-1. In this case, the TSN AF 695 can identify whether the external network connected to the port has changed through the port announcement information. If the TSN AF 695 finds a GM that provides time information of better quality than the existing GM through the port announcement information, or when the existing GM times out, the TSN AF 695 can modify the GM-related configuration of the bridge of the port that has reported the port announcement information and reallocate the role of each port. For the case where the existing GM times out, the TSN AF 695 retains its own timer, and when the announcement message fails to be received from a specific port within a specific time, operations 601 to 603 are omitted when performing operation 604. The TSN AF 695 can generate an announcement message to be transmitted for each port. In this case, the newly created announcement message needs to include information of the newly selected GM, and all ports connected to the bridge and the ports that have reported the announcement message that the GM has been updated need to be notified.

[0100] In operation 605, the TSN AF 695 includes the bridge configuration information, each port configuration information, and each port advertisement message generated in operation 604 in the PMIC and BMIC, and transmits it to the SMF 665. In this case, the information may be transmitted to the SMF 665 in a container form through the NEF and PCF 685. In this process, the SM policy association modification process may be used to transfer the information.

[0101] In operation 606, the SMF 665 identifies the BMIC and PMIC related configuration information received in operation 605, and then transmits the information contained in the BMIC and PMIC for each port of the DS-TTs 625-1 and 635-1 and the NW-TT 675-1. According to the 3GPP standard, the SMF 665 can use the PDU session modification procedure to pass the received information to each of the DS-TTs 625-1 and DS-TTs 635-1 (operations 606a and 606b). In addition, the SMF 665 can use the N4 session modification procedure to pass the received information to the NW-TT 675-1 (operation 606c).

[0102] In operation 607, ports 625-1, 635-1, and 675-1 that receive port configuration information and system identification may store the configuration information and may therefore send an announcement message. In operation 607a, DS-TT 625-1 sends an announcement message. In operation 607b, DS-TT 635-1 sends an announcement message. In operation 607c, NW-TT 675-1 sends an announcement message. In this case, the announcement messages sent from DS-TT 635-1 and NW-TT 675-1 include, for example, the current system identification and the priority of the synchronization GM.

[0103] Furthermore, in operations 601 and 602, when an announcement message is received from a port located in NW-TT 675-1, NW-TT 675-1 transmits a PMIC including identification information of the port to be reported and the received announcement message to SMF 665 using an N4 session modification procedure instead of a PDU session modification.

[0104] At the same time, receiving and processing announcement messages received by TSN AF from all ports, as well as processing and receiving all messages to be transmitted from the ports to the outside, may generate a large amount of signaling in the control plane of the 5G system. In order to solve these problems, an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a method for selecting and processing only necessary announcement messages. When each port receives an announcement message from the outside, the announcement message is transmitted to TSN AF only when an event occurs that a new GM with a higher priority than an existing GM is newly generated, or when the priority of an existing GM changes or disappears. This can reduce the number of signaling times to TSN AF.

[0105] The system also includes (R)AN 645 and AMF 655.

[0106] Figure 7 The process of processing an announcement message received from a DS-TT by applying a centralized information processing scheme based on a control plane in a 5G network system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0107] refer to Figure 7 In operation 701, a UE 725 (UE / DS-TT) having a DS-TT function to configure TSN registers in a 5G network and then requests SMF 765 to establish a PDU session using a data network name (DNN) and single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI) assigned to a specific TSN to exchange TSN related information. In this case, if UE 725 already has a related PDU session, a modification process may be performed. UE 725 may send a PMIC of DS-TT 725-1 to SMF 765.

[0108] In operation 702, SMF 765 reports the request to establish or change the PDU session received in operation 701 and the PMIC information to the corresponding PCF 785. SMF 765 can transmit the PMIC of the aggregated DS-TT725-1 and the PMIC and BMIC aggregated from NW-TT 727-1 to PCF 785 through the SM policy association generation or modification process. PCF 785 transmits TSN related information such as BMIC and PMIC to TSN AF 795. In this process, the information can be passed through NEF. The related process follows the TSN related process of 3GPP. In this case, if the PDU session is the first PDU session of the bridge, SMF 765 generates an N4 rule from UPF775, and then the BMIC and PMIC of the port located in NW-TT 775-1 can be aggregated together.

[0109] In operation 704, the TSN AF 795 uses the combination of BMIC and PMIC information received from the PCF 785 to identify the port and configuration information of the bridge provided in the current combination of S-NSSAI and DNN. In addition, the initial role of each port can be configured. If the TSN AF 795 knows the system identity of the bridge in this process, it can be additionally transmitted to each port for performing BMCA related tasks. The TSN AF 795 receives the system identity, bridge and per-port configuration information from the CNC or an external manager. The system identity may include priority 1, clockClass, clockAccuracy, offsetScaleLogVariance, priority 2, or clockIdentity defined in IEEE 802.1AS. In addition, information about whether to send an announcement message (announcement enabled), an announcement interval, a port role, and an announcement message waiting time (timeout) through each port may also be included. In this case, a PortPriorityVector for actual calculation may be sent instead of a system identity. The PortPriorityVector may be composed of a combination of rootSystemIdentity, stepsRemoved, sourcePortIdentity, and PortNumber. In addition to the bridge configuration information, port-related information can be transmitted using a data structure that can be distinguished for each port. When there is a GM currently used by the system, information used in the IEEE 802.1AS port priority selection process, such as Grandmaster present, Grandmaster priority, or StepsRemoved, can be included in the GM information. In addition, TSN AF 795 can configure reporting conditions for the announcement message of each port. For example, when the announcement message received by each port reports a GM with a higher priority than the GM of the existing system, when no announcement message is received within a specific time, or when a port of a DS-TT or NW-TT detects an event in which the priority of the GM of the existing system is changed, TSN AF 795 can be configured to report the announcement message to TSN AF 695. TSN AF795 includes the reporting condition in the announcement reporting mode and transmits the reporting condition.

[0110] In operation 704, the TSN AF 795 includes information in the PMIC and BMIC, such as the bridge determined in operation 703, port configuration information, system identification, announcement interval or announcement reporting mode, and passes the information to the PCF 785. The PCF 785 selects necessary information and sends it to the SMF 765. In this process, the SM policy association modification process may be used to pass the information.

[0111] In operation 705, SMF 765 identifies the BMIC and PMIC related configuration information received in operation 704, and then transmits the information contained in BMIC and PMIC to each port of DS-TT 725-1 and NW-TT 775-1. According to the 3GPP standard, SMF 765 can transfer the received information using the PDU session modification procedure. Through the configuration until operation 705, DS-TT 725-1 operates as some ports of the TSN network.

[0112] In operation 706, the DS-TT 725-1 receives an announcement message from the external TSN device 715 or bridge through a link connecting the port.

[0113] In operation 707, the DS-TT 725-1 identifies whether the reporting condition of the announcement message is satisfied according to the announcement report mode received in operation 705. In other words, the DS-TT 725-1 identifies whether the received announcement message is reporting a GM having a higher priority than the GM of the existing system, whether the announcement message is not received within a specific time, and when the port of the DS-TT or NW-TT detects an event that the priority of the GM of the existing system is changed. In this case, when the announcement message is not received within a specific time, an agreed code indicating that a timeout has occurred may be sent.

[0114] In operation 708, when the received announcement message satisfies at least one reporting condition, the DS-TT 725-1 transmits the received announcement message to the SMF 765 through the PDU session modification procedure using the PMIC. In this case, the PMIC may include identifier information of the port to be reported and the received announcement message.

[0115] In operation 709, the SMF 765 may transmit information of the UPF 775 and the DS TTs 625-1 and 635-1 for supporting TSN to the TSN AF 795 via the PCF 785. This process may follow the procedures of the TSN-related standards of the 3GPP. For example, the SMF 765 may transmit the aggregated PMIC received from the DS-TT 725-1 and the PMIC and BMIC aggregated in the NW-TT 775-1 to the PCF 785 through the SM policy association generation or modification process.

[0116] In operation 710, the TSN AF 795 obtains the port announcement information through the announcement message received from the DS-TT 725-1. In this case, the TSN AF 795 can identify whether the external network connected to the port has changed through the port announcement information. If the TSN AF 695 finds a GM that provides time information of better quality than the GM of the existing system through the port announcement information, or when the existing GM times out, the TSN AF 395 can modify the GM-related configuration of the bridge of the port that has reported the port announcement information and reallocate the role of each port.

[0117] For the case of GM timeout, the TSN AF 795 keeps its own timer, and when an announcement message is not received from a specific port within a specific time, operations 706 to 709 are omitted when performing operation 710. The TSN AF 795 generates an announcement message to be delivered for each port. In this case, the newly created announcement message needs to include information of the newly selected GM, and all ports connected to the bridge and the ports that have reported the announcement message that the GM has been updated need to be notified.

[0118] In operation 711, the TSN AF 795 includes the bridge configuration information, each port configuration information, and each port advertisement message generated in operation 710 in the PMIC and the BMIC, and transmits it to the SMF 765. In this case, the information may be transmitted to the SMF 765 in a container form through the NEF and the PCF 785. As an example, the information may be transferred using the SM policy association modification process.

[0119] In operation 712, the SMF 765 identifies the BMIC and PMIC related configuration information received in operation 711, and then transmits the information contained in the BMIC and PMIC to each port of the DS-TT 725-1 and 735-1 and the NW-TT 775-1. According to the 3GPP standard, the SMF 765 can use the PDU session modification procedure to pass the received information to each of the DS-TT 725-1 and the DS-TT 735-1 (operation 712a and operation 712b). In addition, the SMF 765 can use the N4 session modification procedure to pass the received information to the NW-TT 775-1 (operation 712c).

[0120] In operation 713, ports 725-1, 735-1, and 775-1 that receive port configuration information and system identifiers may store configuration information and may therefore send announcement messages. In operation 713a, DS-TT 725-1 sends an announcement message. In operation 713b, DS-TT 735-1 of UE2 735 sends an announcement message. In operation 713c, NW-TT 775-1 sends an announcement message. In this case, the announcement messages sent from DS-TT 735-1 and NW-TT 775-1 include, for example, the current system identifier and the priority of the synchronization GM.

[0121] The system also includes (R)AN 745 and AMF 755.

[0122] Figure 8 The present invention illustrates a process in which the NW-TT according to an embodiment of the present disclosure effectively processes an announcement message by applying a centralized information processing scheme based on a control plane in a 5G network system.

[0123] refer to Figure 8 , in operation 801 (at the time of initial TSN configuration), a UE 815 (UE / DS-TT) with DS-TT function to configure TSN registers in the 5G network, and then requests SMF 845 to establish a PDU session using the data network name (DNN) and single network slice selection auxiliary information (S-NSSAI) assigned to a specific TSN to exchange TSN related information. In this case, if UE 815 already has a related PDU session, a modification process can be performed. UE 815 can send the PMIC of DS-TT815-1 to SMF.

[0124] If there is a request to establish a PDU session of TSN in operation 802, the UPF 855 processing the corresponding NW-TT 855-1 transmits information of the BMIC and PMIC to the SMF 845 through the N4 session-related process according to the 3GPP standard.

[0125] In operation 803, the SMF 845 reports the request to establish or change the PDU session and the N4 session and the BMIC and PMIC information to the corresponding PCF 865. The SMF 845 may transmit the PMIC of the aggregated DS-TT 815-1 and the PMIC and BMIC aggregated from the NW-TT 855-1 to the PCF 865 through the SM policy association generation or modification process. The PCF 865 transmits TSN related information such as BMIC and PMIC to the TSN AF 875. In this process, the information may be transferred through the NEF. The related process follows the TSN related process of 3GPP.

[0126] In operation 804, the TSN AF 875 uses the combination of BMIC and PMIC information received from the PCF 865 to identify the ports and configuration information of the bridge provided in the current combination of S-NSSAI and DNN. In addition, the initial role of each port can be configured. If the TSN AF 875 knows the system identification of the bridge in this process, this can be additionally passed to each port for performing BMCA related tasks. The TSN AF 875 receives the system identification, bridge and per-port configuration information from the CNC or an external manager. The system identification may include priority 1, clockClass, clockAccuracy, offsetScaleLogVariance, priority 2, or clockIdentity defined in IEEE 802.1AS. In addition, information about whether to send announcement messages (announcement enabled), announcement intervals, port roles, and announcement message waiting times (timeouts) through each port may also be included. In this process, a PortPriorityVector for actual calculation may be sent instead of a system identification. PortPriorityVector can be composed of a combination of rootSystemIdentity, stepsRemoved, sourcePortIdentity, and PortNumber. In addition to the bridge configuration information, port-related information can be transmitted using a data structure that can be distinguished for each port. When there is a GM currently used by the selected system, information used in the IEEE 802.1AS port priority selection process, such as Grandmaster present, Grandmaster priority, or StepsRemoved, can be included in the GM information. In addition, TSN AF 875 can configure reporting conditions for the announcement message of each port. For example, when the announcement message received by each port reports a GM with a higher priority than the GM of the existing system, when no announcement message is received within a specific time, or when a port of a DS-TT or NW-TT detects an event in which the priority of the GM of the existing system is changed, TSN AF 875 can be configured to report the announcement message to TSN AF 87.5. TSN AF 875 includes the reporting condition in the announcement reporting mode and transmits the reporting condition.

[0127] In operation 805, the TSN AF 875 includes information in the PMIC and BMIC, such as the bridge determined in operation 804, port configuration information, system identification, announcement interval or announcement reporting mode, and passes the information to the PCF 865. The PCF 865 selects necessary information and sends it to the SMF 845. In this process, the SM policy association modification process may be used to pass the information.

[0128] In operation 806, SMF 845 identifies the BMIC and PMIC related configuration information received in operation 805, and then transmits the information contained in BMIC and PMIC for each port of DS-TT 815-1 and NW-TT 855-1. According to the 3GPP standard, SMF 845 can use N4 session related procedures to transfer the received information. Through the configuration until operation 806, NW-TT855-1 operates as some ports of the TSN network.

[0129] In operation 807, the NW-TT 855-1 receives an announcement message from the external TSN device 885 or the bridge through the link of the connection port.

[0130] In operation 808, NW-TT 855-1 identifies whether the reporting condition of the announcement message is satisfied according to the announcement report mode received in operation 806. In other words, NW-TT 855-1 identifies whether the received announcement message is reporting a GM having a higher priority than the GM of the existing system, whether the announcement message is not received within a specific time, and when the port of DS-TT or NW-TT detects an event of a priority change of the GM of the existing system. In this case, when the announcement message is not received within a specific time, an agreed code indicating that there is no information and a timeout has occurred may be sent.

[0131] In operation 809, when the received announcement message satisfies at least one reporting condition, the NW-TT 855-1 transmits the received announcement message to the SMF 845 through the N4 session reporting procedure using the PMIC. In this case, the PMIC may include identifier information of the port to be reported and the received announcement message.

[0132] In operation 810, the SMF 845 may transmit information of the UPF 855 and DS-TT 815-1 for supporting TSN to the TSN AF 875 via the PCF 865. This process may follow the procedures of the TSN-related standards of the 3GPP. For example, the SMF 765 may transmit the aggregated PMIC received from the DS-TT 815-1 and the PMIC and BMIC aggregated in the NW-TT 855-1 to the PCF 865 through the SM policy association generation or modification process.

[0133] In operation 811, the TSN AF 875 obtains the port announcement information through the announcement message received from the NW-TT 855-1. In this case, the TSN AF 875 can identify whether the external network connected to the port has changed through the port announcement information. If the TSN AF 875 finds a GM that provides time information of better quality than the GM of the existing system through the port announcement information, or when the existing GM times out, the TSN AF 875 can modify the GM-related configuration of the bridge of the port that has reported the port announcement information and reallocate the role of each port.

[0134] For the case of GM timeout, TSN AF 875 keeps its own timer, and when failing to receive an announcement message from a specific port within a specific time, omits operations 807 to 810 when performing operation 811. TSN AF 875 generates an announcement message to be delivered for each port. In this case, the newly created announcement message needs to include information of the newly selected GM, and all ports connected to the bridge and the ports that have reported the announcement message that the GM has been updated need to be notified.

[0135] In operation 812, the TSN AF 875 includes the bridge configuration information, each port configuration information, and each port announcement message generated in operation 811 in the PMIC and BMIC, and transmits it to the SMF 845. In this case, the information can be transmitted to the SMF through the NEF and PCF in the form of a container. For example, the SM policy association modification process can be used to transfer the information.

[0136] In operation 813, SMF 845 identifies the BMIC and PMIC related configuration information received in operation 812, and then transmits the information contained in BMIC and PMIC to each port of DS-TT 815-1 and NW-TT 855-1. According to the 3GPP standard, SMF 8455 can pass the received information to DS-TT 715-1 using the PDU session modification procedure (operation 813a). In addition, SMF 845 can pass the received information to NW-TT 855-1 using the N4 session modification procedure (operation 813b).

[0137] In operation 814, ports 815-1 and 855-1 receiving the port configuration information and the system identifier may store the configuration information and may therefore send an announcement message. In operation 814a, DS-TT 815-1 sends an announcement message, and in operation 814b, NW-TT 855-1 sends an announcement message. In this case, the announcement messages sent from DS-TT 815-1 and NW-TT 855-1 include, for example, the current system identifier and the priority of the synchronization GM.

[0138] The system also includes (R)AN 825 and AMF 735.

[0139] Fig. 9 Operations and results of a method for supporting BMCA to which a centralized information processing solution based on a control plane is applied according to an embodiment of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0140] refer to Fig. 9 In operation 901, TSN node 0 910 outside the 5G network uses GM1 910-1 as a clock source to send announcement message 0 to DS-TT1 915-1 in UE 915. In operation 902, DS-TT1 915-1 passes its own information to TSN AF 965 through gNB 935, AMF 950 and PCF 960 based on the received announcement message 0. For example, DS-TT1 915-1 sends the announcement message 0 received using PMIC to TSN AF 965 via SMF 955 through the PDU session modification process. The specific process follows the above combined Figure 6 and Figure 7 In operation 903, TSN node 2 970 outside the 5G network uses GM2970-1 as a clock source to send an announcement message 2 to NW-TT 945-1. In operation 904, NW-TT 945-1 passes its own information to TSN AF 965 based on the received announcement message 2. For example, NW-TT 945-1 sends the announcement message 2 received using PMIC to TSN AF 965 via SMF955 through the N4 session report process. The specific process follows the above combined Figure 8 In operation 905, TSN node 1 925 sends an announcement message 1 including Non-GM-Capable information indicating that it does not have a clock source to DS-TT2 920-1 in UE 920. In operation 906, DS-TT2 920-1 includes and delivers its own information to TSN AF 965 through gNB 940 based on the received announcement message 1. For example, DS-TT2 920-1 sends the announcement message 1 received using PMIC to TSN AF 965 via SMF 955 through the PDU session modification process. The specific process follows the above combined Figure 6 and Figure 7Process described. In operation 907, TSN AF 965 compiles information received from DS-TT1915-1, DS-TT2 920-1 and NW-TT 945-1 to determine the clock source in the bridge and determine the roles of DS-TT1 915-1, DS-TT2 920-1 and NW-TT 945-1. In this case, the port where the best master clock is located is determined according to the BMCA principle. For example, if GM1 is a clock source with a higher priority than GM2 (GM1>GM2), a signal for setting DS-TT1 915-1 where GM1 is located as S, NW-TT (945-1) where GM2 is located as M, and DS-TT2 920-1 where only Non-GM-Capable nodes are located as M is sent to the control plane. For example, TSN AF 965 can store the configuration information of each port in PMIC and BMIC, and send the information to each port through SMF 955. The specific process follows the above combined Figures 6 to 8 Describe the process.

[0141] For example, when the role of DS-TT1 915-1 is set to S and the roles of DS-TT2 920-1 and NW-TT 945-1 are set to M, DS-TT1 915-1 sends an announcement message according to its role in the transmission cycle of the announcement message. For example, DS-TT1 915-1 increases the step field indicating the number of hops with GM2 by 1 in the announcement message received from NW-TT 945-1, while keeping GM2 as the clock source unchanged, and sends the result to TSN node 0 910. After receiving the announcement message from DS-TT1 915-1, TSN node 0 910 knows that its role is M and the role of DS-TT1 915-1 is S. NW-TT 945-1 or DS-TT2 920-1 also sends an announcement message according to its role in the transmission cycle of the announcement message. For example, NW-TT 945-1 increases the step size field by 1 in the announcement message received from DS-TT1 915-1 while keeping GM1 as the clock source unchanged, and sends the result to the outside. According to the predetermined role, after receiving the synchronization message 0 912, DS-TT1 915-1 sends the synchronization message 0 912 to NW-TT 945-1 and DS-TT2 920-1. NW-TT 945 updates the correction field of the received synchronization message 912 to reflect the time spent in the 5G network (residence time) and the time delayed in the link between DS-TT1 915-1 and TSN node 0 910 (link delay), and sends the result as synchronization message 1 913 to the outside. DS-TT2 920-1 also updates the correction field of the received synchronization message 912 to reflect the time spent in the 5G network (residence time) and the time delayed in the link between DS-TT1 915-1 and TSN node 0 910 (link delay), and sends the result to the outside as synchronization message 2914.

[0142] Fig.10 The operation and results of the method for supporting BMCA applying a user plane-based distributed information processing solution according to an embodiment of the present disclosure are shown. Fig.10 , Case 1 corresponds to an example in which the priority of GM1 is higher than that of GM2, and Case 2 corresponds to an example in which the priority of GM1 is lower than that of GM2.

[0143] <Case 1>

[0144] refer to Fig.10, in operation 1001a, TSN node 0 1015 having GM1 1015-1 as a clock source transmits an announcement message 0 to DS-TT1 1025-1. In operation 1002a, DS-TT1 1025-1 in UE1 1025 temporarily sets its own role to S through gNB 1055 based on the received announcement message 0. In operation 1003a, DS-TT1 1025-1 adds information indicating that DS-TT1 1025-1 is used as S in announcement message 0 and broadcasts it from UE 1035 to NW-TT 1075-1 and DS-TT2 1035-1 through gNB 1065. In operation 1004a, upon receiving announcement message 0 from DS-TT1 1025-1, NW-TT 1075-1 in UPF 1075 sets its role to M. Likewise, in operation 1004a, DS-TT2 1035-1 sets its role to M after receiving the announcement message 0 from DS-TT1 1025-1.

[0145] In operation 1005a, TSN node 2 1085 having GM2 1085-1 as a clock source transmits an announcement message 2 to NW-TT 1075-1. In operation 1006a, NW-TT1 1075-1 determines whether to update its role based on the received announcement message 2. In other words, NW-TT 1075-1 compares the priority of GM1 1015-1 used for announcement message 0 with the priority of GM2 1085-1 used for announcement message 2. As a result of the comparison, since the priority of GM1 1015-1 is higher than that of GM2 1085-1, NW-TT 1075-1 maintains the role as the previously set M. In operation 1007a, DS-TT1 1025-1 adds information indicating that NW-TT 1075-1 is used as M in announcement message 2 and broadcasts it to DS-TT1 1025-1 and DS-TT2 1035-1. In operation 1008a, upon receiving the announcement message 2, DS-TT1 1025-1 compares the priority of GM1 1015-1 of the announcement message 0 with the priority of GM2 1085-1 of the announcement message 2. Since the priority of GM1 1015-1 is higher than the priority of GM2 1085-1, DS-TT1 1025-1 maintains its role as S. Similarly, in operation 1008a, upon receiving the announcement message 2 from NW-TT 1075-1, DS-TT2 1035-1 maintains its role as M.

[0146] In operation 1009a, TSN node 1 1045 that does not have a clock source for GM sends an announcement message 1 to DS-TT 2 1035-1. In operation 1010a, DS-TT2 1035-1 determines whether to update its role based on announcement message 1. Since announcement message 1 does not contain information about GM, DS-TT2 1035-1 maintains its role as M, which was previously set. In operation 1011a, DS-TT2 1035-1 adds information indicating that DS-TT2 105-1 is used as M in announcement message 1 and broadcasts it to NW-TT 1085-1 and DS-TT1 1025-1. In operation 1012a, upon receiving announcement message 1, NW-TT 1085-1 maintains its role as M because announcement message 2 lacks information for GM. Similarly, upon receiving announcement message 2, DS-TT1 1025-1 maintains its role as S.

[0147] Therefore, when the priority of GM1 1015-1 is higher than the priority of GM2 1085-1 (GM1>GM2), the role of DS-TT11025-1 is set to S, the roles of NW-TT 1075-1 and DS-TT2 1035-1 are set to M, and each port sends an announcement message to the outside according to its role and the interval timer of the announcement message. In this case, DS-TT11025-1 used as S does not send an announcement message to the outside. In addition, the transmission of synchronization messages within the 5G network is performed from DS-TT1 1025-1 used as S to NW-TT 1075-1 and DS-TT21035-1 used as M. The specific process follows the above combined Fig. 9 Describe the process.

[0148] <Case 2>

[0149] refer to Fig.10 , in operation 1001b, TSN node 0 1015 having GM1 1015-1 as a clock source sends an announcement message 0 to DS-TT1 1025-1. In operation 1002b, DS-TT1 1025-1 temporarily sets its own role to S based on the received announcement message 0. In operation 1003b, DS-TT1 1025-1 adds information indicating that DS-TT1 is used as S in announcement message 0 and broadcasts it to NW-TT 1075-1 and DS-TT2 1035-1. In operation 1004b, upon receiving announcement message 0 from DS-TT1 1025-1, NW-TT 1075-1 sets its role to M. Similarly, in operation 1004b, upon receiving announcement message 0 from DS-TT1 1025-1, DS-TT1 105-1 sets its role to M.

[0150] In operation 1005b, TSN node 2 1085 having GM2 1085-1 as a clock source sends an announcement message 2 to NW-TT 1075-1. In operation 1006b, NW-TT1 1075-1 determines whether to update its role based on the received announcement message 2. In other words, NW-TT 1075-1 compares the priority of GM1 1015-1 used for announcement message 0 with the priority of GM2 1085-1 used for announcement message 2. Since the priority of GM1 1015-1 is lower than that of GM2 1085-1, NW-TT1075-1 changes its role to S. In operation 1007b, DS-TT1 1025-1 adds information indicating that NW-TT1075-1 is used as S in announcement message 2 and broadcasts it to DS-TT1 1025-1 and DS-TT2 1035-1. In operation 1008b, upon receiving the announcement message 2, DS-TT1 1025-1 compares the priority of GM1 1015-1 of the announcement message 0 with the priority of GM2 1085-1 of the announcement message 2. Since the priority of GM1 1015-1 is lower than the priority of GM2 1085-1, DS-TT1 1025-1 changes its role to M. Likewise, in operation 1008b, upon receiving the announcement message 2 from NW-TT 1075-1, DS-TT2 1035-1 maintains its role as M.

[0151] In operation 1009b, TSN node 1 1045 that does not have a clock source for GM sends an announcement message 1 to DS-TT2 1035-1. In operation 1010b, DS-TT2 1035-1 determines whether to update its role based on the announcement message 1. Since the announcement message 1 does not contain information about the GM, DS-TT2 1035-1 maintains its role as the previously set M. In operation 1011b, DS-TT2 1035-1 adds information indicating that DS-TT2 1035-1 is used as M in the announcement message 1 and broadcasts it to NW-TT 1075-1 and DS-TT1 1025-1. In operation 1012b, upon receiving the announcement message 1, NW-TT 1075-1 maintains its role as S because the announcement message 1 lacks information for the GM. Similarly, upon receiving the announcement message 1, DS-TT1 1025-1 maintains its role as M.

[0152] Therefore, when the priority of GM1 1015-1 is lower than the priority of GM2 1085-1 (GM1<GM2), the role of NW-TT1075-1 is set to S, the roles of DS-TT1 1025-1 and DS-TT2 1035-1 are set to M, and each port sends an announcement message to the outside according to its role and the interval timer of the announcement message. In this case, NW-TT1075-1 used as S does not send an announcement message to the outside. In addition, the transmission of synchronization messages within the 5G network is performed from NW-TT 1075-1 used as S to DS-TT1 1025-1 and DS-TT21035-1 used as M. The specific process follows the above combined Fig. 9 Describe the process.

[0153] Fig.11 The operation and results of the method for supporting BMCA applying a user plane-based distributed information processing solution according to an embodiment of the present disclosure are shown. Fig.11 , Case 1 corresponds to an example in which the priority of GM1 is higher than that of GM2, and Case 2 corresponds to an example in which the priority of GM1 is lower than that of GM2.

[0154] <Case 1>

[0155] refer to Fig.11 , in operation 1101a, TSN node 0 1115 having GM1 1115-1 as a clock source sends an announcement message 0 to DS-TT1 1125-1. In operation 1102a, if the received announcement message 0 is different from the announcement message just received before, DS-TT1 1125-1 in UE1 1125 temporarily sets its role to S through gNB 1155 based on announcement message 0. In operation 1103a, DS-TT1 1125-1 adds information indicating that DS-TT1 1135-1 is used as S in announcement message 0, and broadcasts it to NW-TT 1175-1 and DS-TT2 1135-1 through gNB 1165. In operation 1104a, upon receiving announcement message 0 from DS-TT1 1125-1, NW-TT 1175-1 in UPF 1175 sets its role to M. Likewise, in operation 1104a, upon receiving the announcement message 0 from DS-TT1 1125-1, DS-TT2 1135-1 in UE 1135 sets its role to M.

[0156] In operation 1105a, TSN node 1 1185 having GM2 1185-1 as a clock source sends an announcement message 1 to NW-TT 1175-1. In operation 1106a, if the received announcement message 1 is compared with the announcement message just received before and is different, NW-TT 1175-1 determines whether to update its role based on announcement message 1. In other words, NW-TT 1175-1 compares the priority of GM1 1115-1 of announcement message 0 with the priority of GM2 1185-1 of announcement message 1. Since the priority of GM1 1115-1 is higher than the priority of GM2 1185-1, NW-TT 1175-1 maintains the role as M which was previously set. In operation 1107a, NW-TT 1175-1 adds information indicating that NW-TT 1175-1 is used as M in the announcement message 1, and broadcasts it to DS-TT1 1125-1 and DS-TT2 1135-1. In operation 1108a, upon receiving the announcement message 1, DS-TT1 1125-1 compares the priority of GM1 1115-1 with the priority of GM2 1185-1 of the announcement message 1. Since the priority of GM1 1115-1 is higher than the priority of GM2 1185-1, DS-TT1 1125-1 maintains its role as S. Similarly, in operation 1108a, upon receiving the announcement message 1 from NW-TT 1175-1, DS-TT2 1135-1 maintains its role as M.

[0157] In operation 1109a, TSN node 2 1145 that does not have a clock source for GM sends an announcement message 2 to DS-TT2 1135-1. In operation 1110a, if the received announcement message 2 is compared with the announcement message just received before and is different, DS-TT2 1135-1 determines whether to update its role based on announcement message 2. Since announcement message 2 does not contain information about GM, DS-TT2 1135-1 maintains the role as previously set M. In operation 1111a, DS-TT2 1135-1 adds information indicating that DS-TT2 1125-1 is used as M in announcement message 2, and broadcasts it to NW-TT 1075-1 and DS-TT11125-1. In operation 1112a, upon receiving announcement message 2, NW-TT 1175-1 maintains its role as M because announcement message 2 lacks information about GM. Likewise, in operation 1112a, upon receiving the announcement message 2, DS-TT1 1125-1 maintains its role as S.

[0158] In this way, when the priority of GM1 1115-1 is higher than the priority of GM2 1185-1, the role of DS-TT11125-1 is set to S, the roles of NW-TT 1175-1 and DS-TT2 1135-1 are set to M, and each port sends an announcement message to the outside according to its role and the interval timer of the announcement message. In this case, DS-TT1 1125-1 used as S does not send an announcement message to the outside. In addition, from DS-TT1 1025-1 used as S to NW-TT 1175-1 and DS-TT2 1135-1 used as M, the transmission of synchronization messages within the 5G network is performed. The specific process follows the above combined Fig. 9 Describe the process.

[0159] <Case 2>

[0160] refer to Fig.11 , in operation 1101b, TSN node 0 1115 having GM1 1115-1 as a clock source sends an announcement message 0 to DS-TT1 1125-1. In operation 1102b, if the received announcement message 0 is compared with the announcement message just received before and is different, DS-TT1 1125-1 temporarily sets its role to S based on the announcement message 0. In operation 1103b, DS-TT1 1125-1 adds information indicating that DS-TT1 1135-1 is used as S in the announcement message 0 and broadcasts it to NW-TT 1175-1 and DS-TT2 1135-1. In operation 1104b, upon receiving the announcement message 0 from DS-TT1 1125-1, NW-TT 1175-1 sets its role to M (master). Likewise, in operation 1104b, upon receiving the announcement message 0 from DS-TT1 1125-1, DS-TT2 1135-1 sets its role to M.

[0161] In operation 1105b, TSN node 2 1185 having GM2 1185-1 as a clock source sends an announcement message 2 to NW-TT 1175-1. In operation 1106b, if the received announcement message 2 is compared with the announcement message just received before and is different, NW-TT 1175-1 determines whether to update its role based on announcement message 2. In other words, NW-TT 1175-1 compares the priority of GM1 1115-1 of announcement message 0 with the priority of GM2 1185-1 of announcement message 2. Since the priority of GM1 1115-1 is lower than the priority of GM2 1185-1, NW-TT 1175-1 changes its role to S. In operation 1107b, NW-TT 1175-1 adds information indicating that NW-TT 1175-1 is used as S to the received announcement message 2, and broadcasts it to DS-TT1 1125-1 and DS-TT2 1135-1. In operation 1108b, upon receiving the announcement message 2, DS-TT1 1125-1 compares the priority of GM1 1115-1 with the priority of GM2 1185-1 of the announcement message 2. Since the priority of GM1 1115-1 is lower than that of GM2 1185-1, DS-TT1 1125-1 changes its role to M. Likewise, in operation 1108b, upon receiving the announcement message 2 from NW-TT 1175-1, DS-TT2 1135-1 maintains its role as M.

[0162] In operation 1109b, TSN node 1 1145 that does not have a clock source for GM sends an announcement message 2 to DS-TT2 1135-1. In operation 1110b, if the received announcement message 1 is compared with the announcement message just received before and is different, DS-TT2 1135-1 determines whether to update its role based on announcement message 1. Since announcement message 1 does not have GM, DS-TT2 1135-1 maintains its role as the previously set M. In operation 1111b, DS-TT2 1135-1 adds information indicating that DS-TT2 1125-1 is used as M to announcement message 1, and broadcasts it to NW-TT 1175-1 and DS-TT1 1125-1. In operation 1112b, upon receiving announcement message 1, NW-TT 1175-1 maintains its role as S because announcement message 2 lacks information of GM. Likewise, at operation 1112b, after receiving the announcement message 1, DS-TT1 1125-1 maintains its role as M.

[0163] Therefore, when the priority of GM1 1015-1 is lower than the priority of GM2 1085-1 (GM1<GM2), the role of NW-TT1175-1 is set to S, the roles of DS-TT1 1125-1 and DS-TT2 1135-1 are set to M, and each port sends an announcement message to the outside according to its role and the interval timer of the announcement message. In this case, NW-TT1175-1 used as S does not send an announcement message to the outside. In addition, the transmission of synchronization messages within the 5G network is performed from NW-TT 1175-1 used as S to DS-TT1 1125-1 and DS-TT21135-1 used as M. The specific process follows the above combined Fig. 9 Describe the process.

[0164] Fig.12 The operation and results of the method for supporting BMCA applying a user plane-based distributed information processing solution according to an embodiment of the present disclosure are shown. Fig.12 , Case 1 corresponds to an example in which the priority of GM1 is higher than that of GM2, and Case 2 corresponds to an example in which the priority of GM1 is lower than that of GM2. Fig.12 and Fig.11 The difference is that when an announcement message is not received before the announcement message reception timer expires, this is regarded as a modified message when performing the operation.

[0165] <Case 1>

[0166] refer to Fig.12 , in operation 1201a, TSN node 0 1215 having GM1 1215-1 as a clock source sends an announcement message 0 to DS-TT1 1225-1 in UE1 1225. In operation 1202a, if the received announcement message 0 is different from the announcement message just received before, DS-TT1 1225-1 temporarily sets its role to S based on announcement message 0. In operation 1203a, DS-TT1 1225-1 adds information indicating that DS-TT1 12125-1 is used as S to announcement message 0, and broadcasts it to NW-TT 1275-1 and DS-TT2 1235-1 through gNB 1265. In operation 1204a, upon receiving announcement message 0 from DS-TT1 1225-1, NW-TT 1275-1 in UPF 1275 sets its role to M. Likewise, in operation 1204, upon receiving the announcement message 0 from DS-TT1 1215-1, DS-TT2 1235-1 in UE 1235 sets its role to M.

[0167] In operation 1205a, TSN node 1 1285 having GM2 1285-1 as a clock source sends an announcement message 1 to NW-TT 1275-1. In operation 1206a, if the received announcement message 1 is compared with the announcement message just received before and is different, NW-TT 1275-1 determines whether to update its role based on announcement message 1. In other words, NW-TT 1275-1 compares the priority of GM1 1215-1 of announcement message 0 with the priority of GM2 1285-1 of announcement message 1. Since the priority of GM1 1215-1 is higher than the priority of GM2 1285-1, NW-TT 1275-1 maintains its role as M which was previously set. In operation 1207a, NW-TT 1275-1 adds information indicating that NW-TT 1275-1 is used as M in the announcement message 1 and broadcasts it to DS-TT1 1225-1 and DS-TT2 1235-1. In operation 1208a, upon receiving the announcement message 1, DS-TT1 1225-1 compares the priority of GM1 1215-1 with the priority of GM2 1286-1 of the announcement message 1. Since the priority of GM1 1215-1 is higher than the priority of GM2 1285-1, DS-TT1 1225-1 maintains its role as S. Similarly, in operation 108a, upon receiving the announcement message 1 from NW-TT 1275-1, DS-TT2 1235-1 maintains its role as M.

[0168] In operation 1209a, if the TSN node 1 1245 without the GM clock source no longer sends an announcement message to DS-TT2 1235-1, DS-TT2 1235-1 identifies whether the announcement message arrives within a predetermined time. In operation 1210a, upon identifying that the announcement message does not arrive within a predetermined time, DS-TT2 1235-1 changes its role to D. Optionally, DS-TT1 1235-1 repeatedly identifies whether no announcement message arrives within a predetermined time, and changes its role to D when the number of repetitions exceeds a specific value. In operation 1211a, DS-TT2 1235-1 adds information indicating that DS-TT2 1225-1 is used as D to the announcement message in the Non-GM-Capable configuration received in the previous announcement reception cycle, and broadcasts it to NW-TT1275-1 and DS-TT1 1225-1. In operation 1212a, NW-TT 1275-1 and DS-TT1 1225-1 determine whether to transmit a synchronization message to DS-TT2 1235-1 according to their role settings. For example, since the priority of GM1 1215-1 is higher than the priority of GM2 1285-1 (GM1>GM2), DS-TT1 1225-1 serving as S determines that it is no longer necessary to transmit a synchronization message to DS-TT2 1235-1, and does not send a synchronization message.

[0169] Therefore, when the priority of GM1 1215-1 is higher than the priority of GM2 1285-1 (GM1>GM2), the role of DS-TT11225-1 is set to S, the role of NW-TT 1275-1 is set to M, the role of DS-TT2 1235-1 is set to D, and each port sends an announcement message to the outside according to its role and announcement interval timer. In this case, DS-TT1 1225-1 used as S does not send an announcement message to the outside. Thereafter, the transmission of synchronization messages within the 5G network is performed from DS-TT1 1225-1 used as S to NW-TT1275-1 used as M. The specific process follows the above combined Fig. 9 Describe the process.

[0170] <Case 2>

[0171] refer to Fig.12, in operation 1201b, TSN node 0 1215 having GM1 1215-1 as a clock source sends an announcement message 0 to DS-TT1 1225-1. In operation 1202b, if the received announcement message 0 is compared with the announcement message just received before and is different, DS-TT1 1225-1 temporarily sets its role to S through gNB 1255 based on announcement message 0. In operation 1203b, DS-TT1 1225-1 adds information indicating that DS-TT1 12125-1 is used as S to announcement message 0 and broadcasts it to NW-TT 1275-1 and DS-TT2 1235-1. In operation 1204b, upon receiving announcement message 0 from DS-TT1 1225-1, NW-TT 1275-1 sets its role to M (Master). Likewise, in operation 1204b, upon receiving the announcement message 0 from DS-TT1 1225-1, DS-TT2 1235-1 sets its role to M.

[0172] In operation 1205b, TSN node 2 1285 having GM2 1285-1 as a clock source sends an announcement message 1 to NW-TT 1275-1. In operation 1206b, if the received announcement message 2 is compared with the announcement message just received before and is different, NW-TT 1275-1 determines whether to update its role based on announcement message 2. In other words, NW-TT 1275-1 compares the priority of GM1 1215-1 of announcement message 0 with the priority of GM2 1285-1 of announcement message 2. Since the priority of GM1 1215-1 is lower than the priority of GM2 1285-1 (GM1<GM2), NW-TT 1275-1 changes its role to S. In operation 1207b, NW-TT 1275-1 adds information indicating that NW-TT 1275-1 is used as S to the received announcement message 2, and broadcasts it to DS-TT1 1225-1 and DS-TT2 1235-1. In operation 1208b, upon receiving the announcement message 2, DS-TT1 1225-1 compares the priority of GM1 1215-1 with the priority of GM2 1285-1 of the announcement message 2. Since the priority of GM1 1215-1 is lower than that of GM2 1285-1, DS-TT1 1225-1 changes its role to M. Similarly, in operation 1208b, upon receiving the announcement message 2 from NW-TT 1275-1, DS-TT2 1235-1 maintains its role as M.

[0173] In operation 1209b, if the TSN node 1 1245 without the GM clock source no longer sends an announcement message to DS-TT2 1235-1, DS-TT2 1235-1 identifies whether the announcement message arrives within a predetermined time. In operation 1210b, upon identifying that the announcement message does not arrive within a predetermined time, DS-TT2 1235-1 changes its role to D. Optionally, DS-TT1 1235-1 repeatedly identifies whether no announcement message arrives within a predetermined time, and changes its role to D when the number of repetitions exceeds a specific value. In operation 1211b, DS-TT2 1235-1 adds information indicating that DS-TT2 1225-1 is used as D to the announcement message in the Non-GM-Capable configuration received in the previous announcement reception cycle, and broadcasts it to NW-TT1275-1 and DS-TT1 1225-1. In operation 1212b, NW-TT 1275-1 and DS-TT1 1225-1 determine whether to transmit a synchronization message to DS-TT2 1235-1 according to their role settings. For example, since the priority of GM1 1215-1 is lower than that of GM2 1285-1, NW-TT 1275-1 serving as S determines that it is no longer necessary to transmit a synchronization message to DS-TT2 1235-1, and does not send a synchronization message.

[0174] Therefore, when the priority of GM1 1215-1 is lower than the priority of GM2 1285-1 (GM1<GM2), the role of NW-TT1275-1 is set to S, the role of DS-TT1 1225-1 is set to M, the role of DS-TT2 1235-1 is set to D, and each port sends an announcement message to the outside according to its role and announcement interval timer. In this case, NW-TT 1275-1 used as S does not send an announcement message to the outside. Thereafter, the transmission of synchronization messages within the 5G network is performed from NW-TT 1275-1 used as S to DS-TT1 1225-1 used as M. The specific process follows the above combined Fig. 9 Describe the process.

[0175] Fig.13 The process of broadcasting all announcement messages in a 5G network by applying a distributed information processing scheme based on a user plane by DS-TT and NW-TT according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0176] refer to Fig.13In operation 1301, UE1 / DS-TT1 1335 / 1335-1 establishes a PDU session for time-sensitive communication (TSC) DNN and single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI). UE1 / DS-TT1 1335 / 1335-1 can communicate with TSN node 2 1385 via Ethernet through UPF / NW-TT 1365 / 1365-1 through the established PDU session. Similarly, UE2 / DS-TT2 1345 / 1345-1 establishes a PDU session with the same TSC DNN / S-NSSAI. UE2 / DS-TT2 1345 / 1345-1 can communicate via Ethernet through UPF / NW-TT 1365 / 1365-1 through the established PDU session.

[0177] In operation 1302, TSN node 0 1315 sends BMCA announcement message 0 to DS-TT1 / UE1 1335-1 / 1335 using GM1 as a clock source. DS-TT1 1335-1 temporarily sets its role to S based on the received BMCA announcement message 0. In operation 1303, DS-TT1 1335-1 adds the information role information of DS-TT1 1345-1 to the received BMCA announcement message 0 and broadcasts it to NW-TT 1365-1 and DS-TT2 1345-1. The broadcast is delivered to all ports in the UPF specified by the corresponding TSC DNN / S-NSSAI. NW-TT 1365-1 and DS-TT2 1345-1 update their roles based on the received BMCA announcement message 0. For example, NW-TT 1365-1 sets its role to M and DS-TT2 1345-1 sets it to M.

[0178] In operation 1304, TSN node 2 1385 sends a BMCA announcement message 2 to NW-TT / UPF 1365-1 using GM2 as a clock source. NW-TT 1365-1 updates its role based on the received BMCA announcement message 2. In other words, if the priorities of GM1 and GM2 are compared with each other and the priority of GM1 is higher than that of GM2 (GM1>GM2), NW-TT 1365-1 maintains its role as M, and if the priority of GM2 is higher (GM1<GM2), it changes its role to S. In operation 1305, NW-TT 1365-1 adds the role information of NW-TT 1345-1 to the received BMCA announcement message 2 and broadcasts it to DS-TT1 1335-1 and DS-TT2 1345-1. The broadcast is delivered to all ports in the UPF specified by the corresponding TSC DNN / S-NSSAI. DS-TT1 1335-1 and DS-TT2 1345-1 update their roles based on the received BMCA announcement message 2. In other words, DS-TT1 1335-1 compares the priorities of GM1 and GM2, and if the priority of GM1 is higher (GM1>GM2), DS-TT2 1335-1 maintains its role as S, and if the priority of GM2 is higher (GM1<GM2), changes its role to M. DS-TT2 1345-1 maintains its role as M. DS-TT2 1345-1 maintains its role as M.

[0179] In operation 1306, the TSN node 1 1325 indicates that the Non-GM-Capable configuration without a clock source is sending an announcement message 1 to the DS-TT2 / UE2 1345-1 / 1345. The DS-TT2 1345-1 updates its role based on the received BMCA announcement message 1. In other words, the DS-TT2 1345-1 compares the priorities of GM1 (or GM2) and Non-GM-Capable. If the priority of GM1 (or GM2) is higher than that of Non-GM-Capable, it maintains its role as the previously set M. In operation 1307, the DS-TT2 1345-1 adds the role information of the DS-TT2 1335-1 to the received BMCA announcement message 1 and broadcasts it to the NW-TT 1365-1 and the DS-TT1 1335-1. The broadcast is delivered to all ports in the UPF specified by the corresponding TSC DNN / S-NSSAI. The NW-TT 1365-1 and the DS-TT2 1345-1 update their roles based on the received BMCA announcement message 1. In other words, if the priority of GM1 is higher than that of GM2 (GM1 > GM2), the DS-TT1 1335-1 compares the priority of GM1 with that of Non-GM-Capable, and since the level of GM1 is higher, the DS-TT2 1335-1 maintains its role as S. The NW-TT1365-1 compares the priorities of GM1 and Non-GM-Capable, and since the priority of GM1 is higher, the NW-TT 1365-1 maintains its role as M. If the priority of GM2 is higher than that of GM1 (GM1 < GM2), the DS-TT1 1335-1 compares the priorities of GM2 and Non-GM-Capable, and since the priority of GM2 is higher, it maintains its role as M, and the NW-TT 1365-1 compares the priorities of GM1 and non-GM-Capable, and since the priority of GM1 is higher, it maintains its role as S.

[0180] In operation 1308, the DS-TT1 1335-1, the DS-TT2 1345-1, and the NW-TT 1365-1 each send an announcement message according to their roles and the announcement interval timer indicating the period for transmitting the announcement message. In other words, the DS-TT1 1335-1 (GM1 > GM2) or the NW-TT 1365-1 (GM2 < GM1) does not send the BMCA announcement message to the outside. According to the predetermined roles, the synchronization message in the 5G network is sent from the port serving as S to the port serving as M. The specific process follows the process described above in conjunction with Fig. 9 the process described.

[0181] The system may also include 5GC 1375 and gNB 1355.

[0182] Fig.14 The process of effectively broadcasting announcement messages in a 5G network by applying a distributed information processing scheme based on a user plane by DS-TT and NW-TT according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0183] refer to Fig.14 , in operation 1401, UE1 / DS-TT1 1435 / 1435-1 establishes a PDU session for TSC DNN and S-NSSAI. UE1 / DS-TT1 1435 / 1435-1 may communicate with TSN node 2 1485 via Ethernet through UPF / NW-TT 1465 / 1465-1 through the established PDU session. Similarly, UE2 / DS-TT2 1445 / 1445-1 establishes a PDU session with the same TSC DNN / S-NSSAI. UE2 / DS-TT2 1445 / 1445-1 may communicate via Ethernet through UPF / NW-TT1465 / 1465-1 through the established PDU session.

[0184] In operation 1402, TSN node 0 1415 sends BMCA announcement message 0 to DS-TT1 / UE11435 / 1435-1 using GM1 as a clock source. DS-TT1 1435-1 compares the received BMCA announcement message 0 with the announcement message received in the previous announcement message reception cycle. If BMCA announcement message 0 is the same as the announcement message received in the previous cycle, DS-TT11435-1 will not take any action. If BMCA announcement message 0 is different from the announcement message received in the previous cycle, DS-TT11435-1 will temporarily set its role to S based on the received announcement message 0. In operation 1403, DS-TT1 1435-1 adds the role information of DS-TT1 1425-1 to the received BMCA announcement message 0 and broadcasts it to NW-TT 1465-1 and DS-TT2 1445-1. The broadcast is delivered to all ports in the UPF specified by the corresponding TSC DNN / S-NSSAI. NW-TT 1465-1 and DS-TT2 1445-1 update their roles based on the received BMCA announcement message 0. For example, NW-TT 1465-1 sets its role to M and DS-TT2 1445-1 sets its role to M.

[0185] In operation 1404, TSN node 2 1485 sends a BMCA announcement message 2 to NW-TT / UPF 1465-1 / 1465 using GM2 as a clock source. NW-TT 1465-1 compares the received BMCA announcement message 2 with the announcement message received in the previous announcement message reception cycle. If the BMCA announcement message 2 is the same as the announcement message received in the previous cycle, NW-TT 1465-1 will not take any action. If the BMCA announcement message 2 is different from the announcement message received in the previous cycle, NW-TT 1465-1 updates its role based on the received BMCA announcement message 2. In other words, if NW-TT 1465-1 compares the priorities of GM1 and GM2, and GM1 has a higher priority (GM1>GM2), NW-TT 1465-1 maintains its role as M, and if GM2 has a higher priority (GM1<GM2), its role is changed to S. In operation 1405, NW-TT 1465-1 adds the role information of NW-TT 1465-1 to the received BMCA announcement message 2 and broadcasts it to DS-TT1 1435-1 and DS-TT2 1445-1. The broadcast is delivered to all ports in the UPF specified by the corresponding TSC DNN / S-NSSAI. DS-TT1 1335 and DS-TT2 1345 update their roles based on the received BMCA announcement message 2. DS-TT1 1335 compares the priorities of GM1 and GM2, and if GM1 has a higher priority (GM1>GM2), DS-TT1 1335 maintains its role as S, and if GM2 has a higher priority (GM1<GM2), changes its role to M. DS-TT2 1345 maintains its role as M. DS-TT2 maintains its role as M.

[0186] In operation 1406, TSN node 1 1425 sends announcement message 1 indicating no clock source to DS-TT2 / UE2 1445-1 / 1445 in a Non-GM-Capable configuration. DS-TT2 1445-1 compares the received BMCA announcement message 1 with the announcement messages received in the previous announcement message reception cycle. If BMCA announcement message 1 is the same as the announcement message received in the previous cycle, DS-TT2 1445-1 will take no action. If BMCA announcement message 1 is different from the announcement message received in the previous cycle, DS-TT2 1445-1 updates its role based on the received BMCA announcement information 1. In other words, DS-TT2 1445-1 compares the priorities of GM1 (or GM2) and Non-GM-Capable, and since the priority of GM1 (or GM2) is higher than that of Non-GM-Capable, it keeps its role as the previously set M. In operation 1407, DS-TT2 1445-1 adds the role information of DS-TT2 1435-1 to the received BMCA announcement message 1 and broadcasts it to NW-TT 1465-1 and DS-TT1 1435-1. The broadcast is delivered to all ports in the UPF specified by the corresponding TSC DNN / S-NSSAI. NW-TT 1465-1 and DS-TT2 1445-1 update their roles based on the received BMCA announcement message 1. In other words, if the priority of GM1 is higher than that of GM2 (GM1 > GM2), DS-TT1 1435-1 compares the priority of GM1 with that of Non-GM-Capable, and since the priority of GM1 is higher, DS-TT1 1335-1 keeps its role as S. NW-TT 1465-1 compares the priorities of GM1 and Non-GM-Capable, and since the priority of GM1 is higher, NW-TT 1365-1 keeps its role as M. If the priority of GM2 is higher than that of GM1 (GM1 < GM2), DS-TT1 1435-1 compares the priority of GM2 with that of Non-GM-Capable, and since the priority of GM2 is higher, it keeps its role as M, and NW-TT 1465-1 compares the priorities of GM1 and Non-GM-Capable, and since the priority of GM1 is higher, it keeps its role as S.

[0187] In operation 1408, DS-TT1 1435-1, DS-TT2 1445-1, and NW-TT 1465-1 each send an announcement message according to its role and an announcement interval timer indicating a period for delivering announcement messages. DS-TT1 1435-1 (GM1>GM2) or NW-TT 1465-1 (GM2<GM1) does not send an announcement message of BMCA to the outside. In this case, according to the predetermined role, the synchronization message in the 5G network is sent from the port used as S to the port used as M. The specific process follows the above combined Fig. 9 Describe the process.

[0188] The system may also include 5GC 1475 and gNB 1455.

[0189] Fig.15 A process of processing an announcement message indicating an inactive state by applying a distributed information processing scheme based on a user plane in a DS-TT and an NW-TT according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0190] Fig.15 and Fig.14 The difference is that when the announcement message is not received until the announcement message reception timer expires, this is recognized as a modification message when performing the operation.

[0191] refer to Fig.15 , in operation 1501, UE1 / DS-TT1 1535 / 1535-1 establishes a PDU session for TSC DNN and S-NSSAI. UE1 / DS-TT1 1535 / 1535-1 may communicate with TSN node 2 1585 via Ethernet through UPF / NW-TT 1565 / 1565-1 through the established PDU session. Similarly, UE2 / DS-TT2 1545 / 1545-1 establishes a PDU session with the same TSC DNN / S-NSSAI. UE2 / DS-TT2 1545 / 1545-1 may communicate via Ethernet through UPF / NW-TT 1565 / 1565-1 through the established PDU session.

[0192] In operation 1502, TSN node 0 1515 delivers BMCA announcement message 0 to DS-TT1 / UE1 1535-1 / 1535 using GM1 as a clock source. DS-TT1 1535-1 compares the received BMCA announcement message 0 with the announcement message received in the previous announcement message reception cycle. If the BMCA announcement message 0 is the same as the announcement message received in the previous cycle, DS-TT1 1535-1 will not take any action. If the BMCA announcement message 0 is different from the announcement message received in the previous cycle, DS-TT1 1535-1 will temporarily set its role to S based on the received announcement message 0. In operation 1503, DS-TT1 1535-1 adds the information role information of DS-TT1 1545-1 to the received BMCA announcement message 0 and broadcasts it to NW-TT 1565-1 and DS-TT2 1545-1. The broadcast is delivered to all ports in the UPF specified by the corresponding TSC DNN / S-NSSAI. NW-TT 1565-1 and DS-TT2 1545-1 update their roles based on the received BMCA Announcement Message 0. For example, NW-TT 1565-1 sets its role to M and DS-TT2 1545-1 sets its role to M.

[0193] In operation 1504, TSN node 2 1585 sends a BMCA announcement message 2 to NW-TT / UPF 1565-1 / 1565 using GM2 as a clock source. NW-TT 1565-1 compares the received BMCA announcement message 2 with the announcement message received in the previous announcement message reception cycle. If the BMCA announcement message 2 is the same as the announcement message received in the previous cycle, NW-TT 1565-1 will not take any action. If the BMCA announcement message 2 is different from the announcement message received in the previous cycle, NW-TT 1565-1 updates its role based on the received BMCA announcement message 2. In other words, if NW-TT 1465-1 compares the priorities of GM1 and GM2, and GM1 has a higher priority (GM1>GM2), NW-TT 1465-1 maintains its role as M, and if GM2 has a higher priority (GM1<GM2), changes its role to S. In operation 1505, NW-TT1565-1 adds the information role information of NW-TT 1565-1 to the received BMCA announcement message 2 and broadcasts it to DS-TT11535-1 and DS-TT2 1545-1. The broadcast is delivered to all ports in the UPF specified by the corresponding TSC DNN / S-NSSAI. DS-TT1 1535-1 and DS-TT2 1545-1 update their roles based on the received BMCA announcement message 2. DS-TT1 1535-1 compares the priorities of GM1 and GM2, and if GM1 has a higher priority (GM1>GM2), DS-TT1 1335 maintains its role as S, and if GM2 has a higher priority (GM1<GM2), its role is changed to M. DS-TT2 1545-1 maintains its role as M.

[0194] In operation 1506, TSN node 1 1525 periodically repeats transmitting an announcement message 1 indicating that there is no clock source to DS-TT2 / UE2 1545-1 / 1545 in a Non-GM-Capable configuration, and then stops transmitting. DS-TT2 1545-1 records and manages that a BMCA announcement message 1 is not received within the current announcement reception cycle. DS-TT2 1445 recognizes that the announcement message is no longer received based on the reception timeout timer. After recognizing that the announcement message does not arrive within a predetermined time, DS-TT2 1545-1 changes its role to D (disabled). Optionally, DS-TT2 1545-1 can repeatedly recognize whether no announcement message arrives within a predetermined time, and change its role to D when the number of repetitions exceeds a specific value. In operation 1507, DS-TT2 1545-1 adds the information role information of DS-TT2 to the previously received BMCA announcement message and broadcasts it to NW-TT 1565-1 and DS-TT1 1535-1. The broadcast is delivered to all ports in the UPF specified by the corresponding TSC DNN / S-NSSAI. NW-TT1565-1 and DS-TT11535-1 update their roles based on the previous BMCA message received from DS-TT2 1545-1. In other words, NW-TT 1565-1 and DS-TT1 1535-1 set whether to transmit synchronization messages to DS-TT2 1545-1 according to their roles. If the priority of GM1 is higher than the priority of GM2 (GM1>GM2), DS-TT1 1535-1, which acts as S, determines that it is no longer necessary to transmit synchronization messages to DS-TT2 1445-1, and is set not to transmit synchronization messages. If the priority of GM1 is lower than that of GM2 (GM1<GM2), NW-TT 1565-1 serving as S determines that it is no longer necessary to transmit a synchronization message to DS-TT2 1545-1, and sets not to send a synchronization message.

[0195] In operation 1508, DS-TT1 1535-1, DS-TT2 1545-1, and NW-TT 1565-1 each send an announcement message according to its role and an announcement interval timer indicating the period of delivering the announcement message. DS-TT1 1535-1 (GM1>GM2) or NW-TT 1565-1 (GM2<GM1) does not send an announcement message of BMCA to the outside. According to the predetermined role, the synchronization message in the 5G network is sent from the port used as S to the port used as M. In other words, the synchronization message is no longer transmitted to DS-TT2 1545-1 used as D. The specific process follows the above combined Fig. 9 Describe the process.

[0196] At the same time, Figures 10 to 15In the BMCA processing of the UPF or NW-TT, the BMCA function can be performed by the UPF or NW-TT instead of the DS-TT. In this case, the DS-TT1 proxy logic in the UPF or NW-TT or the DS-TT2 proxy logic in the UPF or NW-TT is responsible for the function of determining the role by DS-TT1 or DS-TT2. The 5GS internal message from the NW-TT to DS-TT1 or DS-TT2 can be synchronized with the announcement interval timer. The DS-TT1 proxy logic in the UPF or NW-TT or the DS-TT2 proxy logic in the UPF or NW-TT can be responsible for the function of generating announcement messages for external 5GS by DS-TT1 or DS-TT2.

[0197] For each TSN domain, support Figures 5 to 15 The announcement message or synchronization message has a field indicating the corresponding domain.

[0198] The system may also include 5GC 1575 and gNB 1555.

[0199] Fig.16 A network DS-TT operation supporting BMCA to which a centralized information processing scheme based on a control plane is applied in a 5G network system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated. Fig.16 The DS-TT is based on the above combination Figures 5 to 9 The DS-TT operation described here operates as follows.

[0200] refer to Fig.16 In operation 1601, the DS-TT receives TSN network configuration information from the TSN AF. The TSN network information may include, for example, port configuration information, system identification, announcement message receiving cycle (announcement interval), and announcement message reporting condition (announcement reporting mode).

[0201] In operation 1602, the DS-TT receives an announcement message from an external TSN device. The announcement message includes a port announcement message.

[0202] In operation 1603, the DS-TT sends the received announcement message to the TSN AF based on the TSN network configuration information. In this case, the DS-TT delivers the received announcement message to the TSN AF through the SMF.

[0203] In operation 1604, the DS-TT receives new TSN network configuration information generated based on the announcement message from the TSN AF.

[0204] Fig.17 The network NW-TT operation supporting BMCA to which a centralized information processing scheme based on a control plane is applied in a 5G network system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated. Fig.17 The NW-TT is based on the above combination Figures 5 to 9 Describes the NW-TR operation.

[0205] refer to Fig.17 In operation 1701, the NW-TT receives TSN network configuration information from the TSN AF. The TSN network information may include, for example, port configuration information, system identification, announcement message receiving cycle (announcement interval), and announcement message reporting condition (announcement reporting mode).

[0206] In operation 1702, the NW-TT receives an announcement message from an external TSN device. The announcement message includes a port announcement message.

[0207] In operation 1703, the NW-TT sends the received announcement message to the TSN AF based on the TSN network configuration information. In this case, the DS-TT delivers the received announcement message to the TSN AF through the SMF.

[0208] In operation 1704 , the NW-TT receives new TSN network configuration information generated based on the announcement message from the TSN AF.

[0209] Fig.18 The operation of DS-TT supporting BMCA to which a user plane-based distributed information processing scheme is applied in a 5G network system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated. Fig.18 The DS-TT is based on the above combination Figures 10 to 15 The DS-TT operation described here operates as follows.

[0210] refer to Fig.18 , in operation 1801, the DS-TT receives an announcement message from an external TSN device.

[0211] In operation 1802, the DS-TT sets its role based on the received announcement message.

[0212] In operation 1803, the DS-TT broadcasts an announcement message including information indicating its role to other ports in the network. In this case, when the announcement message received from the external TSN device is different from the announcement message received in the previous announcement reception cycle, the DS-TT can pass the announcement message received from the external TSN device to the inside of the network.

[0213] In operation 1804, the DS-TT receives an announcement message from another port within the network.

[0214] In operation 1805, the DS-TT changes its role based on the announcement message received from the other port. If the announcement message received from the other port includes information about a GM with a higher priority, the DS-TT changes its role. On the contrary, if the announcement message received from the other port includes information about a GM with a lower priority, the DS-TT will maintain its role.

[0215] Fig.19 The operation of NW-TT supporting BMCA to which a user plane-based distributed information processing scheme is applied in a 5G network system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated. Fig.19 The NW-TT is based on the above combination Figures 10 to 15 The MW-TT operation described here operates as described.

[0216] refer to Fig.19 , in operation 1901, the NW-TT receives an announcement message from another port within the network via broadcasting.

[0217] In operation 1902, the NW-TT sets its role based on the received announcement message.

[0218] In operation 1903 , the NW-TT receives an announcement message from an external TSN device.

[0219] In operation 1904, the NW-TT changes its role based on the announcement message received from the external TSN device. In other words, if the announcement message received from the external TSN device contains information about a GM having a higher priority than the announcement information received from the DS-TT, the NW-TT changes its role. If the announcement message received from the external TSN device contains information about a GM having a lower priority than the announcement information received from the DS-TT, the NW-TT maintains its role.

[0220] In operation 1905 , the NW-TT broadcasts an announcement message to which information indicating its role is added received from the TSN external device to other ports within the network.

[0221] Fig. 20 The structure of the network entity according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. The network entity according to the embodiment may include a DS-TT, a UE with a DS-TT function, an NW-TT, a UPF with an NW-TT function, an SMF, a PCF, and a TSN AF.

[0222] refer to Fig. 20 , the network entity may include a transceiver 2010, a controller 2020, and a storage unit 2030. The controller 2020 may be defined as a circuit or an application specific integrated circuit or at least one processor.

[0223] The transceiver 2010 may send signals to and receive signals from other network entities. The transceiver 2010 may receive system information from, for example, a base station and may receive a synchronization signal or a reference signal.

[0224] According to an embodiment, the controller 2020 may control the overall operation of the network entity. For example, the controller 2020 may control the signal flow between the blocks to Figures 5 to 15 For example, the controller 2020 may control the operations proposed in the present disclosure to provide service detection in the mobile communication system according to the above-described embodiments.

[0225] The storage unit 2030 may store at least one of information transmitted / received via the transceiver 2010 and information generated via the controller 2020. For example, the storage unit 2030 may store information required for service detection according to the above-described embodiment.

[0226] While the present disclosure has been shown and described with reference to various embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A method for a network-side time synchronization network TSN converter NW-TT, comprising: receiving a first announcement message from a first device-side TSN translator DS-TT via a user plane using a first packet data unit (PDU) session between the NW-TT and the first DS-TT; Receiving a second announcement message from the N6 interface; Determine the port status of each port of the first DS-TT and the NW-TT using the first announcement message and the second announcement message using the best master clock algorithm BMCA process; generating a third announcement message based on the first announcement message and the second announcement message for each master port in the first DS-TT and the NW-TT in a case where the grand master clock GM is outside the time synchronization network including the NW-TT and the first DS-TT; as well as A third announce message is sent to the first PDU session associated with the primary port in the first DS-TT.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: An Ethernet PDU session establishment process is performed with the DS-TT to generate a first PDU session between the NW-TT and the first DS-TT.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The first announcement message and the second announcement message are received periodically.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Determining the port status includes: identifying a first GM associated with the first announcement message; identifying a second GM associated with the second announcement message; comparing the priority of the first GM to the priority of the second GM; and A port status of each port of the first DS-TT and the NW-TT is determined based on the comparison.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving a fourth announce message from the second DS-TT via a user plane using a second PDU session between the NW-TT and the second DS-TT, Among them, the fourth announcement has nothing to do with any GM.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Monitor whether a receiving timeout event occurs on the slave port in NW-TT; as well as When a receive timeout event is detected, the port status of each port of the first DS-TT and the NW-TT is re-evaluated.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein: A receive timeout event occurs when no announcement message is received until the receive timeout timer expires.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein: The reception timeout event occurs when the announcement message is not received a predetermined number of times until the reception timeout timer expires.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein: NW-TT is included in the User Plane Function (UPF) entity, and The first DS-TT is included in the user equipment UE.

10. The method according to claim 1, in, Generating the third announcement message includes: The announcement interval of the third announcement message is determined using the time synchronization information included in the bridge management information container BMIC obtained from the TSN application function AF.

11. A network-side time synchronization network TSN converter NW-TT, comprising: Transceiver; as well as A processor coupled to the transceiver, wherein the processor is configured to: receiving, by the transceiver, a first announcement message from the first DS-TT via a user plane using a first packet data unit (PDU) session between the NW-TT and the first device-side TSN converter DS-TT; receiving a second announcement message from the N6 interface through the transceiver; Determine the port status of each port of the first DS-TT and the NW-TT using the first announcement message and the second announcement message using the best master clock algorithm BMCA process; generating a third announcement message based on the first announcement message and the second announcement message for each master port in the first DS-TT and the NW-TT in a case where the grand master clock GM is outside the time synchronization network including the NW-TT and the first DS-TT; as well as The third announcement message is sent through the transceiver to the first PDU session associated with the primary port in the first DS-TT.

12. The NW-TT according to claim 11, wherein: The processor is also configured to: An Ethernet PDU session establishment process is performed with the DS-TT to generate a first PDU session between the NW-TT and the first DS-TT.

13. The NW-TT according to claim 11, wherein: The first announcement message and the second announcement message are received periodically.

14. The NW-TT according to claim 11, wherein: The processor is also configured to: identifying a first GM associated with the first announcement message; identifying a second GM associated with the second announcement message; comparing the priority of the first GM with the priority of the second GM; as well as A port status of each port of the first DS-TT and the NW-TT is determined based on the comparison.

15. The NW-TT according to claim 11, wherein: The processor executes the method according to any one of claims 5 to 10.

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