A general communication channel implementation method, electronic equipment and storage medium

Abstract

This application provides a method, electronic device, and storage medium for implementing a general communication channel. The method includes: implementing a general communication channel using the general communication channel overhead of a fixed-length frame signal. The fixed-length frame signal consists of signal frames, each including physical overhead and payload. The physical overhead is allocated to functional overhead, which is used to perform a specific function. The functional overhead includes at least the general communication channel overhead. The correspondence between physical overhead and functional overhead is denoted as an overhead definition method. The signal frame includes at least two overhead definition methods. When transmitting the fixed-length frame signal, the frequency of occurrence of signal frames with different overhead definition methods is controlled to adjust the bandwidth of the general communication channel overhead. Adjusting the frequency of occurrence of signal frames with different overhead definition methods changes the bandwidth of the general communication channel overhead of the fixed-length frame signal.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of optical communication technology, and in particular to a method for implementing a general communication channel, an electronic device, and a storage medium. Background Technology

[0002] In existing technologies, Optical Transport Network (OTN) equipment generally uses fixed-length frame signals as communication signals between and within devices. Fixed-length frame signals refer to signals with a fixed frame length. Examples include OTUk (k = 1, 2, 2e, 3, 4), OTUCUn (n is an integer greater than or equal to 1) signals in OTN, FlexO signals, ODU signals, OSU signals, STM-n signals (n = 1, 4, 16, 64, 256) in SDH equipment, and FlexE signals in MTN equipment. Fixed-length frame signals consist of signal frames, which are composed of A signal units of physical overhead and B signal units of payload. A signal unit can be one or more bytes, or one or more P / Q bit codes, where P and Q are integers greater than 1, and Q is greater than P. Examples include 64 / 66 bit codes and 256 / 257 bit codes. Specific definitions of 64 / 66 bit codes and 256 / 257 bit codes can be found in IEEE 802.3. Because the values ​​of A and B within a signal frame are fixed, the length of the signal frame is fixed, and signals with this type of frame are called fixed-length frame signals. Fixed-length frame signals generally use General Communications Channel (GCC) overhead to implement a dedicated communication channel between devices. This communication channel is used to transmit management information between devices. Communication devices need to exchange management information; the physical medium and communication implementation scheme used to achieve this transmission are called the general communication channel. This general communication channel can be implemented using the general communication channel overhead of the fixed-length frame signal between devices. In this way, the general communication channel does not occupy additional physical communication medium and is transmitted along with the fixed-length frame signal between devices. It is understandable that the general communication channel overhead in OTN signals is called GCC overhead, but it may have other names in the signals of other devices, such as Data Communication Channel (DCC) overhead in STM-n signals and Management Channel in FlexE frames. In existing technologies, when using the general communication channel overhead of fixed-length frame signals to implement a general communication channel, the fixed-length frame signals are fixed-rate signals and the bandwidth of the general communication channel overhead is a fixed value. It is impossible to change the bandwidth of the general communication channel overhead according to user needs. Some fixed-length frame signals do not use GCC overhead to realize the interaction of management information between devices. For example, the Optical Service Unit (OSU) signal defined in OTN supports the implementation of a general communication channel through the payload of Operation Administration and Maintenance frames. That is, a portion of the bandwidth of the fixed-length frame signal payload is used to implement a general communication channel, and the bandwidth of the general communication channel can be selected according to user needs.However, this method of implementing a universal communication channel has the following two consequences:

[0003] 1. The fixed-length frame signal rate remains unchanged, but the bandwidth used to transmit other signals in the fixed-length frame signal needs to be reduced;

[0004] 2. Increase the rate of fixed-length frame signals while keeping the bandwidth used to transmit other signals in the fixed-length frame signals constant.

[0005] However, the aforementioned two consequences do not meet user needs in most practical situations. Currently, most users expect the fixed-length frame signal rate to be a fixed value and do not want to change the fixed-length frame signal rate by adjusting the bandwidth of the general communication channel, or, with the fixed-length frame signal rate remaining unchanged, change the bandwidth allocated to other signals in the fixed-length frame signal payload by adjusting the bandwidth of the general communication channel. Although the current method of implementing the general communication channel by using a portion of the payload bandwidth of the fixed-length frame signal allows users to set the bandwidth of the general communication channel according to their needs, it has adverse consequences and is unacceptable to users. Currently, users urgently need a method to implement a general communication channel that allows adjustment of the general communication channel bandwidth without affecting the fixed-length frame rate and the fixed-length frame payload bandwidth. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The main objective of this application is to propose a general channel implementation method, electronic device, and storage medium, so as to at least enable the bandwidth of the communication channel to be flexibly adjusted according to user needs, prevent the impact on the rate and payload bandwidth of fixed-length frame signals, and thus improve the user experience.

[0007] This application provides a general communication channel implementation method, wherein the method includes:

[0008] A general communication channel is implemented using the general communication channel overhead of fixed-length frame signals. The fixed-length frame signals are composed of signal frames, each of which includes physical overhead and payload. The physical overhead is allocated to functional overhead, which is used to perform a specific function. The functional overhead includes at least the general communication channel overhead. The correspondence between the physical overhead and the functional overhead is denoted as the overhead definition method. The signal frame includes at least two overhead definition methods.

[0009] When transmitting the fixed-length frame signal, the frequency of occurrence of the signal frames with different overhead definition methods is controlled to adjust the bandwidth of the general communication channel overhead.

[0010] This application also provides an electronic device, which includes: one or more processors;

[0011] Memory, used to store one or more programs;

[0012] When the one or more programs are processed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors implement the general communication channel implementation method as described in any of the embodiments of this application.

[0013] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing one or more programs that are executed by one or more processors to implement the general communication channel implementation method as described in any of the embodiments of this application. Attached Figure Description

[0014] Figure 1 This is a flowchart of a general communication channel implementation method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0015] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the OTUk frame structure and overhead definition in the prior art provided in this application embodiment;

[0016] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of an improved OTUk frame structure provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0017] Figure 4 This is an example diagram illustrating an overhead definition method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0018] Figure 5 This is an example diagram illustrating another overhead definition method provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0019] Figure 6 This is an example diagram of an existing FlexE intra-frame overhead definition provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0020] Figure 7 This is an example diagram of an improved FlexE intra-frame overhead definition provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0021] Figure 8 This is an example diagram illustrating an overhead definition method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0022] Figure 9 This is an example diagram illustrating another overhead definition method provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0023] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a general communication channel implementation device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0024] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0025] It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely for explaining the invention and are not intended to limit the invention.

[0026] In the following description, the use of suffixes such as “module,” “part,” or “unit” to denote elements is merely for the convenience of the description of the invention and has no particular meaning in itself. Therefore, “module,” “part,” or “unit” may be used interchangeably.

[0027] In existing technologies, implementing general communication channels using GCC overhead is quite common. However, GCC overhead is always a fixed bandwidth, meaning the amount and location of physical overhead occupied by GCC overhead in each signal frame are fixed. This implies that the bandwidth of GCC overhead and the bandwidth of fixed-length frame signal overhead have a fixed proportional relationship. Furthermore, since a fixed-length frame signal defines many overheads, the bandwidth of GCC overhead compared to the bandwidth of all overheads in the fixed-length frame signal is far less than 50%. For example, the GCC overhead of the OTUk signal is as follows: Figure 2As shown, the GCC overhead in OTUk is named GCC0, occupying 2 bytes of physical overhead. The position of these 2 bytes of physical overhead remains unchanged in each signal frame. The OTUk frame structure is 4*4080 bytes, including 14 bytes of OTUk overhead. Note that this 14-byte OTUk overhead does not include Forward Error Correction (FEC) overhead. All OTUk overhead mentioned below refers to overhead in the OTUk frame excluding FEC, which facilitates the calculation of overhead proportions. Thus, the proportion of GCC overhead bandwidth to the total OTUk overhead bandwidth is approximately 2 / 14 ≈ 14.3%.In existing technologies, fixed-length frame signals not only contain GCC overhead, but also most other overhead, including the most common overhead used for signal quality monitoring, defined in a fixed way. That is, the number and location of these overhead units in each frame are fixed, and the proportion of their bandwidth to the total overhead bandwidth is a fixed value. However, analyzing the application scenarios of fixed-length frame signals reveals that different users have different bandwidth requirements for certain overhead components. Dividing all overhead into three types can better adapt to different application scenarios. These three types of overhead are the first type, the second type, and the third type. The third type mainly includes GCC overhead. The bandwidth of the first type of overhead is a fixed proportion of the total overhead bandwidth, meaning the overhead bandwidth is fixed, such as frame alignment. Signal (FAS), OPU overhead in ODU frames, and the second type of overhead, whose bandwidth can be set according to user needs. These are primarily used for monitoring signal quality or indicating signal status, such as error detection overhead (e.g., BIP-8 overhead in OTN), service failure indication, maintenance signal indication, connectivity detection overhead (e.g., TTI overhead), and Automatic Protection Switching (APS) overhead. These overheads do not necessarily need to be defined in every frame, and it is desirable that their bandwidth can be selected according to user needs, such as in some monitoring sections of OTUk. Monitoring (SM) overhead, ODUk TCM overhead, PM overhead, APS overhead, DM overhead, etc., are all considered overheads. In some scenarios, higher bandwidth for these overheads is desirable, such as in signal protection switching scenarios. This allows for faster switching based on signal status, reducing signal interruption time caused by switching. In other scenarios, the bandwidth requirement for these signals only needs to meet the minimum bandwidth limit, leaving bandwidth for GCC overhead. The same applies to GCC overhead; it doesn't need to be defined in every frame, and its bandwidth as a percentage of the total overhead bandwidth can be selected as needed. However, since the total overhead bandwidth is fixed, the bandwidth of the second overhead type and GCC overhead are relative; a higher GCC overhead bandwidth will reduce the bandwidth of the second overhead type. OTN frames include signals at different rates, but for hardware simplicity, the frame structure of OTN signals at different rates is fixed, meaning the ratio of the bandwidth of all overheads to the total signal bandwidth is a fixed value.In practical applications, more GCC bandwidth is needed in some cases, and more second overhead type bandwidth is needed in others. For example, for high-speed fixed-length frame signals, there is generally surplus bandwidth in the second overhead type. In practice, the bandwidth of the second overhead type only needs to reach a lower bandwidth limit to meet the requirements. For example, for OTUk signals, one frame of second overhead type per 100µs is sufficient to meet the bandwidth requirements. Thus, for low-speed OTUk signals, such as OTU1, the bandwidth of the second overhead type is only slightly higher than the lower bandwidth limit requirement. However, for high-speed OTUk signals, such as OTU4 signals, the frame format must be fixed, resulting in a fixed ratio of the second overhead type to the OTUk bandwidth. In this case, the bandwidth of the second overhead type far exceeds its lower bandwidth limit requirement. Although the bandwidth of GCC overhead also increases with the increase of the bandwidth of the OTU4 signal, the user's demand for the bandwidth of GCC overhead is as high as possible, while the bandwidth of the second overhead type is wasted, resulting in low efficiency of GCC overhead. In other cases, for the same signal, different users have different bandwidth requirements for the second overhead type. For example, most users believe that the second overhead type bandwidth only needs to meet the lower bandwidth limit and that the overhead bandwidth should be reserved for GCC overhead as much as possible. However, some users need to support signal protection switching, which requires more second overhead type bandwidth. In this case, users are willing to sacrifice some GCC overhead bandwidth in exchange for shorter service interruption time caused by signal protection switching. Therefore, users should be allowed to select the GCC overhead bandwidth according to their needs. In existing fixed-length frame signals, the proportion of all overhead bandwidth, including GCC overhead, to the total overhead bandwidth is a fixed value, and this proportion of GCC overhead is much less than 50%. If this proportion of GCC overhead can be increased as much as possible, for example, to greater than 50%, and this proportion can be set according to user needs, the efficiency of GCC overhead in fixed-length frame signals can be improved, better meeting user needs.

[0028] Figure 1 This is a flowchart illustrating a general communication channel implementation method provided in an embodiment of this application. This embodiment is applicable to communication information transmission. The method can be executed by a general communication channel implementation device, which can be implemented using software and / or hardware methods. See [link to relevant documentation]. Figure 1 The method provided in this application specifically includes the following steps:

[0029] Step 110: Implement a general communication channel using the general communication channel overhead of fixed-length frame signals. The fixed-length frame signal consists of signal frames, which include physical overhead and payload. The physical overhead is allocated to the functional overhead, which is used to complete a specific function. The functional overhead includes at least the general communication channel overhead. The correspondence between physical overhead and functional overhead is denoted as the overhead definition method. The signal frame includes at least two overhead definition methods.

[0030] The fixed-length frame signal can be composed of signal frames. Each signal frame can contain A signal units (including physical overhead) and B signal units (including payload). The signal unit can be one or more bytes or one or more P / Q bits encoded, where A and B are integers greater than or equal to 1, P and Q are integers greater than 1, and Q is greater than P. For example, the signal unit can be 64 / 66 bit encoded, 256 / 257 bit encoded, etc. The physical overhead can be configured to the functional overhead to implement specific management functions, such as general communication channel overhead and SM overhead in the OUTk frame. The overhead definition method can be an allocation method of physical overhead to different functional overheads. The overhead definition method can include the correspondence between physical overhead and functional overhead.

[0031] In the embodiments of this application, a general communication channel can be implemented using the general communication channel overhead of a fixed-length frame signal. The fixed-length frame signal consists of signal frames, which include physical overhead and payload. The physical frame can be assigned to the functional overhead by an overhead definition method. There can be at least two overhead definition methods. That is, there are two correspondences between the physical overhead and the functional overhead in the signal frames included in the fixed-length frame signal for implementing the general communication channel. In other words, a certain physical overhead in the signal frame has a correspondence to be assigned to at least two different functional overheads.

[0032] Step 120: When sending fixed-length frame signals, control the frequency of occurrence of signal frames with different overhead definition methods to adjust the bandwidth of the general communication channel overhead.

[0033] The frequency of occurrence can be the number of times a signal frame appears within a certain period of time.

[0034] Specifically, the proportion of different functional overheads occupying the total bandwidth of the fixed-length frame signal can be changed by adjusting the frequency of signal frames with different overhead definition methods within the fixed-length frame signal, thereby achieving the adjustment of the overhead bandwidth of the general communication channel.

[0035] In this embodiment, a general communication channel is implemented by using the general communication channel overhead of a fixed-length frame signal. The signal frame of the fixed-length frame signal can include at least two overhead definition methods. The overhead definition method can be a correspondence between physical overhead and functional overhead within the signal frame. When transmitting the fixed-length frame signal, the frequency of occurrence of signal frames with different overhead definition methods is controlled to adjust the bandwidth of the general communication channel overhead. During the change of the bandwidth of the general communication channel overhead, there is no need to change the rate of the fixed-length frame signal. The communication channel does not occupy the bandwidth of the signal frame payload, and the bandwidth of the signal frame payload remains unchanged, which can improve the user experience.

[0036] Furthermore, based on the above application embodiments, the functional overhead is divided into different overhead categories according to the type of specific function, including at least a first overhead category, a second overhead category, and a third overhead category. The overhead definition method includes at least a first overhead definition and a second overhead definition. All physical overhead within the first overhead definition is allocated to the first overhead category and the second overhead category, and all physical overhead within the second overhead definition is allocated to the first overhead category and the third overhead category.

[0037] In this application embodiment, the functional overhead can be divided according to the type of specific function implemented. The functional overhead can be divided into at least three categories, namely, the first overhead type, the second overhead type, and the third overhead type. The first overhead type can be the overhead that must exist in each signal frame, while the overhead bandwidth of the second overhead type and the third overhead type can be set according to user needs.

[0038] Specifically, the overhead definition method of a fixed-length frame signal may include at least a first overhead definition and a second overhead definition. The first overhead definition may be to assign all physical overhead in the signal frame to a first overhead type and a second overhead type, while the second overhead definition may be to assign all physical overhead in the signal frame to a first overhead type and a third overhead type.

[0039] Based on the above application embodiments, the first overhead type occupies the same physical overhead in the first overhead definition and the second overhead definition.

[0040] In the embodiments of this application, the functional overhead of the first overhead type can occupy a fixed position of physical overhead in the signal frame. The physical overhead occupied by the first overhead type in the first overhead definition and the second overhead definition has the same position in the signal frame, that is, it occupies the same physical overhead in the signal frame.

[0041] Based on the above application embodiments, the functional overhead of the signal frame also includes overhead definition method overhead, which is used to indicate the overhead definition method of the current signal frame.

[0042] In the embodiments of this application, the overhead definition method overhead can be a functional overhead that indicates which overhead definition method the signal frame has, and the overhead definition method overhead can be a physical overhead that is assigned to a fixed position of the signal frame.

[0043] Based on the above-described embodiments, the first type of overhead includes at least frame positioning overhead and overhead definition method overhead, wherein the frame positioning overhead indicates the start position of the signal frame. The second type of overhead includes at least monitoring overhead, wherein the monitoring overhead may include, but is not limited to, bit error detection overhead, connectivity detection overhead, automatic protection switching protocol overhead, etc. The third type of overhead includes at least general communication channel overhead.

[0044] In an exemplary implementation, a signal frame for a fixed-length frame signal can consist of a physical overhead of A signal units and a payload of B signal units, where A and B are integers greater than or equal to 1. A signal unit can be E bytes (E is an integer greater than or equal to 1), or F P / Q bits encoded, where E and F are integers greater than or equal to 1, P and Q are integers greater than 1, and Q is greater than P. Examples include 64 / 66-bit encoding, 256 / 257-bit encoding, etc. The physical overhead is allocated to the functional overhead, which includes at least frame positioning overhead. The frame positioning overhead indicates the start of the current signal frame and the end of the previous signal frame. In a fixed-length frame signal, the frame header and frame tail are identified through the frame positioning overhead. Furthermore, a multiframe period is defined as C consecutive signal frames in a fixed-length frame signal, where C is an integer greater than 1. The multiframe overhead is defined to identify the C signal frames within one multiframe period. In the prior art, the GCC overhead position of each frame in the C signal frames of one multiframe period is fixed. To improve the efficiency of the GCC overhead... In this embodiment of the application, all physical overhead of each frame in the fixed-length frame signal is allocated to three types of functional overhead. The three types of functional overhead are the first overhead type, the second overhead type and the third overhead type. The third overhead type mainly includes GCC overhead. The first overhead type is overhead with fixed bandwidth. The bandwidth of the second overhead type can be set according to user needs. Define a first overhead definition and a second overhead definition. The first overhead definition defines the correspondence between the functional overhead of the first overhead type and the functional overhead of the second overhead type in the signal frame and all physical overheads. The second overhead definition defines the correspondence between the functional overhead of the first overhead type and the third overhead type in the frame and all physical overheads. Define the overhead definition mode overhead to indicate whether the current signal frame belongs to the first overhead definition or the second overhead definition. Divide the C signal frames in one multiframe period into two groups. The first group corresponds to D signal frames, and each signal frame is a frame of the first overhead definition mode. The second group corresponds to CD signal frames, and each signal frame is a frame of the second overhead definition mode. The selection of the D value and the position of the D signal frames in the C multiframes can be provided with G options in advance. The user can select one of the G options to adjust the overhead bandwidth of the third overhead type by selecting different options. Optionally, all functional overhead can be divided into four or more types. The bandwidth of the functional overhead in the first type is fixed, while the bandwidth of the functional overhead in the other types can be set according to user needs. Three or more overhead definition methods can be defined. By adjusting the frequency of signal frames with different overhead definition methods, the bandwidth of overhead types other than the first type can be adjusted. The overhead definition method can be a correspondence between the physical overhead and functional overhead within a fixed-length frame signal, that is, allocating the physical overhead at a certain position within the frame to a specific functional overhead to achieve a specific management function.It is understandable that a fixed-length frame signal is a signal based on a signal frame and the length of the signal frame is a fixed value. The specific signal type is not limited here. It can be OTUk (k = 1, 2, 2e, 3, 4) in OTN signals, OTUCN (n is an integer greater than or equal to 1) signals, FlexO signals, ODU signals, OSU signals, STM-n signals (n = 1, 4, 16, 64, 256) in SDH equipment, FlexE signals in MTN equipment, etc.

[0045] In an exemplary embodiment, taking a fixed-length frame signal composed of OTUk frames as an example, after the rate of the OTUk frame in the fixed-length frame signal is determined, the bandwidth of its GCC overhead and SM overhead is a fixed value and cannot be modified according to user needs. The frame format of the fixed-length frame signal in this embodiment can be the same as that of a traditional OTUk frame, but the overhead definition method in the signal frame is different from that of the OTUk frame. After the rate of the fixed-length frame signal is determined, the bandwidth of the GCC overhead and SM overhead can be set according to user needs. Specifically, see Figure 3A fixed-length frame signal can be defined, with a signal unit of 1 byte and a frame length of 4*4080 bytes. The first 14 bytes are physical overhead, which can be allocated to functional overhead. The remaining signal units are payload. The functional overhead of the fixed-length frame signal can be divided into three categories: the first type of overhead, the second type of overhead, and the third type of overhead. The bandwidth of the first overhead type is a fixed proportion of all overhead bandwidth, including 6 bytes of frame positioning overhead (corresponding to the first 6 bytes of the 14 overheads), 1 bit of overhead definition mode overhead (corresponding to 1 bit in the 7th byte of the 14 overheads), and 7 bits of reserved overhead 1 (corresponding to 7 bits in the 7th byte of the 14 overheads, function to be determined). The bandwidth of the second overhead type can be set according to user needs, including SM overhead (corresponding to bytes 8, 9, and 10 of the 14 overheads), information sequence overhead (corresponding to byte 11 of the 14 overheads), and reserved overhead 2 (corresponding to bytes 12, 13, and 14 of the 14 overheads, function to be determined). The information sequence overhead is equivalent to the multiframe overhead dedicated to SM. SM overhead is actually a set of overheads composed of multiple overheads. Some overheads need to be aligned with the information sequence overhead, extending the number of bytes corresponding to this overhead, such as the SM-TTI overhead in SM. The bandwidth of the third overhead type can be set according to user needs, including GCC overhead. The 14-byte physical overhead defines two overhead definition methods: a first overhead definition and a second overhead definition. The correspondence between physical overhead and the first overhead type is consistent in both definitions; that is, the first overhead type exists in both definitions and corresponds to the same physical overhead. The second overhead type exists only in the first overhead definition, and the third overhead type exists only in the second overhead definition. See [link to documentation]. Figure 4 In the first overhead definition, all physical overhead except for that occupied by the first overhead type is allocated to the second overhead type. See also Figure 5 In the second overhead definition, all physical overhead except for that occupied by the first overhead type is allocated to GCC overhead. The overhead definition mode overhead is defined within a fixed-length frame signal. This overhead definition mode overhead belongs to the first overhead type. It indicates whether the current signal frame corresponds to the first or second overhead definition. An overhead definition mode overhead of 0 indicates the current signal frame's overhead definition mode is the first overhead definition, and an overhead definition mode overhead of 1 indicates the current signal frame's overhead definition mode is the second overhead definition. It should be understood that this is merely an example and not a limitation; the overhead definition mode overhead can take different values ​​to identify different overhead definition modes for the current frame.

[0046] Users can configure the frequency of signal frames with two different overhead definition methods at the transmitting end as needed. The receiving end identifies the overhead definition method in the current signal frame based on the overhead definition method and processes the various functional overheads. The location of each functional overhead in the signal frame is shown below. Figure 3 , Figure 4 and Figure 6 When transmitting fixed-length frame signals, the transmission frequency of the signal frames defined by the second overhead can be increased, and the bandwidth of GCC overhead can reach nearly 50% of the total overhead bandwidth at its maximum. Optionally, the proportion of frame positioning overhead bandwidth to the total overhead bandwidth can be reduced. For example, if only the first frame of an 8-frame signal frame has frame positioning overhead, the physical overhead of the first 6 bytes of the other 7 frames can be allocated to other functional overhead. That is, the correspondence between the first 6 bytes of overhead and functional overhead in the 2nd to 8th frames is determined by the overhead definition method. This reduces the proportion of frame positioning overhead bandwidth to the total overhead bandwidth, and also reduces the proportion of the first overhead type bandwidth to the total overhead bandwidth. In this case, by modifying the overhead allocation method under the two overhead definition methods, the proportion of GCC overhead bandwidth to the total overhead bandwidth can be far greater than 50%.

[0047] In one exemplary embodiment, the signal frame format of the fixed-length frame signal is consistent with that of the FlexE Group signal. The FlexE Group signal will be referred to simply as the FlexE signal. The fixed-length frame signal can be composed of improved FlexE frames generated by modifying the signal frame format of the FlexE signal. The improved FlexE frames in the fixed-length frame signal define two different overhead definition methods, and by adjusting the frequency of occurrence of improved signal frames with different overhead definition methods, the bandwidth of the general communication channel overhead in the fixed-length frame signal can be increased or decreased, thereby improving the efficiency of the general communication channel. The functional overhead definition of the existing FlexE signal's FlexE frame structure and overhead definition is as follows: Figure 6 As shown, the information unit in a FlexE frame is a 64 / 66-bit code, meaning the frame is composed of 64 / 66-bit codes, and one information unit is one 64 / 66-bit code. Figure 6A block (Block#n, where n is an integer and n equals 1 to 8) corresponds to one 64 / 66-bit code. A FlexE frame has an 8-row, 20461-column frame structure, meaning that 8 * 20461 64 / 66-bit codes make up one frame. The first 64 / 66-bit code in each row is the overhead, and the remaining 20460 64 / 66-bit codes are the payload. In other words, there are 8 physical overheads in one frame, corresponding to 8 64 / 66-bit codes. The eight 64 / 66-bit encoding overheads of a frame are named Block#1 to Block#8. The first 64 / 66-bit encoding is named Block#1. One 64 / 66-bit encoding corresponds to 66 bits, which are divided into two parts: the first 2 bits of the Synchronization Header (SH) plus the following 64 bits. The first 2 bits are 10 bits, and the following 64 bits are named according to the bit position offset from bit offset 0 to bit offset 63. Bit offset 0 to bit offset 7 are fixed at 0x4 bits, bit offset 32 ​​to 35 are fixed at 4 bits at 0x5, and bit offset 36 to 63 are fixed at 28 bits of 0. Since many bits in this block are fixed values, these special values ​​are unlikely to exist in the frame payload according to the 64 / 66-bit encoding rules. Moreover, Block#1 appears periodically in the signal, so Block#1 can be used as frame location information to find the frame header. In a FlexE frame, all functional overhead locations are fixed; that is, physical overhead at fixed locations is allocated to fixed functional overhead. Since the FlexE frame has a fixed rate of 103.125 gigabits per second, the bandwidth of each functional overhead is also fixed. This embodiment allows users to set the bandwidth of some overheads by modifying the overhead definitions in the FlexE frame. Therefore, based on user needs, all overheads in the improved FlexE frame can be divided into three categories: a first overhead category, a second overhead category, and a third overhead category. The first overhead category consists of overheads for which a fixed bandwidth is desired, including frame positioning overhead (…). Figure 6 Block #1 in the middle), multiframe overhead ( Figure 6The first type of overhead includes overheads defined by various factors, such as OMF (Original Physical Layer Fault), Remote PHY Fault (RPF) overhead, and overhead definition method overhead. The second type of overhead is overhead with variable bandwidth, and its bandwidth is affected by the Management Channel overhead bandwidth. This includes all overheads except for Management Channel and the first type of overhead. If it is desired to improve the speed of changes in user signals within the FlexE frame (corresponding to changes in Client Calendar A, Client Calendar A, C, CR, CA overheads) or changes in the physical structure of FlexE Group signals (corresponding to changes in PHY Map, PHY Number, FlexEGroup Number overheads), then the bandwidth of these overheads needs to be increased. The third type of overhead is overhead with variable bandwidth, including Management Channel-Section overhead and Management Channel-Shim to Shim overhead. Management Channel overhead is functionally equal to GCC overhead. When higher general communication channel overhead bandwidth is required and it is permissible to reduce the bandwidth of the second type of overhead, the bandwidth of the third type of overhead can be increased. This embodiment defines two different overhead definition methods based on the FlexE frame structure, allowing the bandwidth of the second and third overhead types to be set according to user needs. In this embodiment, the FlexE frame structure remains unchanged, still consisting of 8*20461 64 / 66-bit encoded frames. The overhead definition methods are as follows: Figure 7 , Figure 8 and Figure 9 As shown. In this embodiment, the fixed value at the fixed position of Block #1 remains unchanged, and the bit offsets 8 to 31 in 64b are redefined. Bit offset 8 is defined as the overhead definition mode overhead, bit offsets 9 to 15 are defined as multiframe overhead, and bit offsets 16 to 31 are defined as reserved overhead 1. Two different overhead definition modes are defined and named the first overhead definition and the second overhead definition, respectively. In the first overhead definition mode, all physical overhead is allocated to the first overhead type and the second overhead type. In the second overhead definition mode, all physical overhead is allocated to the first overhead type and the third overhead type. The overhead definition mode overhead indicates the overhead definition mode of the current frame. An overhead definition mode overhead of 0 indicates that the physical overhead of the current frame is defined according to the first overhead definition mode, and an overhead definition mode overhead of 1 indicates that the physical overhead of the current frame is defined according to the second overhead definition mode. The definitions of all functional overheads of the first overhead definition mode and the second overhead definition mode are shown in [link to documentation]. Figure 8 and Figure 9 .like Figure 8As shown, in the first overhead definition method, one improved FlexE frame contains five Client Calendar A overheads, named Client Calendar A-1, Client Calendar A-2, Client Calendar A-3, Client Calendar A-4, and Client Calendar A-5. Since there are actually 20 Client Calendar A overheads to be transmitted, and each FlexE frame only contains one Client Calendar A overhead, 20 consecutive frames are needed to transmit this overhead. In a fixed-length frame signal, one improved FlexE frame contains five Client Calendar A overheads, so only four consecutive improved FlexE frames conforming to the first overhead definition method are needed to transmit all 20 Client Calendar A overheads. To identify the corresponding Client Calendar in each of the four consecutive improved FlexE frames conforming to the first overhead definition method... The actual number of A is increased by an information sequence overhead in the overhead definition of the first overhead definition method. This overhead has 2 bits, and it is incremented by 1 for each improved FlexE frame conforming to the first overhead definition method sent. It is equivalent to a multiframe overhead dedicated to improved FlexE frames conforming to the first overhead definition method. Thus, when the information sequence overhead is 0, it means that the 5 Client Calendar A in the current improved FlexE frame correspond to the 1st to 5th of the 20 Client Calendar A. When the information sequence overhead is 1, it means that the 5 Client Calendar A in the current improved FlexE frame correspond to the 6th to 10th of the 20 Client Calendar A. When the information sequence overhead is 2, it means that the 5 Client Calendar A in the current improved FlexE frame correspond to the 11th to 15th of the 20 Client Calendar A. When the information sequence overhead is 3, it means that the 5 Client Calendar A in the current improved FlexE frame correspond to the 16th to 20th of the 20 Client Calendar A. The definition of Client Calendar B overhead is the same as that of Client Calendar A. In a 1-frame improved FlexE frame that conforms to the first overhead definition method, there are 5 Client Calendar B overheads. In fact, there are 20 Client Calendar B overheads to be transmitted. The information sequence overhead determines which 5 of the 20 Client Calendar B overheads are sent in the current frame.Similarly, in a FlexE frame, there are actually 32 PHY Map overheads to be transmitted. Since only one PHY Map overhead is placed in each FlexE frame, it takes 32 consecutive frames to transmit this overhead. The improved FlexE frame that conforms to the first overhead definition method has 8 PHY Map overheads, so only 4 consecutive improved FlexE frames that conform to the first overhead definition method are needed to transmit all 32 PHY Map overheads. Similarly, the information sequence overhead determines which 8 of the 32 PHY Map overheads are being transmitted in the current improved FlexE frame, such as... Figure 9 As shown, in the second overhead definition, three physical overheads in one improved FlexE frame are allocated to the Management Channel-Section overhead, with one physical overhead corresponding to one 64 / 66-bit coded block, and four physical overheads are allocated to the Management Channel-Shim to Shim overhead. Users can adjust the GCC overhead bandwidth by adjusting the transmission frequency of improved FlexE frames conforming to the first overhead definition and those conforming to the second overhead definition.

[0048] Furthermore, considering that the Management Channel overhead is divided into two types, namely Management Channel-Section and Management Channel-Shim to Shim, in the above embodiment, once the bandwidth of the improved FlexE frame that conforms to the second overhead definition is determined, the bandwidth ratio of Management Channel-Section and Management Channel-Shim to Shim is a fixed value. In order to allocate bandwidth separately for the above two types of functional overhead, see [link to relevant documentation]. Figure 9 The embodiment can be further modified to define three overhead definition methods. In the first overhead definition, the physical overhead of the frame is allocated to the first overhead type and the second overhead type. In the second overhead definition, the physical overhead is allocated to the first overhead type and the Management Channel-Section overhead. In the third overhead definition method, the physical overhead is allocated to the first overhead type and the Management Channel-Shim to Shim overhead. The user can set the transmission frequency for the frames of the three overhead definition methods as needed.

[0049] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of a general communication channel implementation device provided in an embodiment of this application. This device can execute the general communication channel implementation method provided in any embodiment of this application, and possesses the corresponding functional modules and beneficial effects of the method. This device can be implemented by software and / or hardware. Figure 8As shown, the device provided in this application embodiment specifically includes: a fixed-length frame module 201 and a bandwidth control module 202.

[0050] The fixed-length frame module 201 is used to implement a general communication channel using the general communication channel overhead of the fixed-length frame signal. The fixed-length frame signal is composed of signal frames, each signal frame including physical overhead and payload. The physical overhead is allocated to functional overhead, which is used to perform a specific function. The functional overhead includes at least the general communication channel overhead. The correspondence between the physical overhead and the functional overhead is denoted as the overhead definition method. The signal frame includes at least two overhead definition methods.

[0051] The bandwidth control module 202 is used to control the frequency of occurrence of the signal frames with different overhead definition methods when transmitting the fixed-length frame signal in order to adjust the bandwidth of the general communication channel overhead.

[0052] In this embodiment, a general communication channel is implemented using the general communication channel overhead of a fixed-length frame signal through a fixed-length frame module. The fixed-length frame signal may include signal frames with at least two overhead definition methods. The overhead definition method can be the correspondence between physical frames and functional frames within the signal frame. When sending the fixed-length frame signal, the bandwidth control module controls the frequency of occurrence of signal frames with different overhead definition methods, thereby changing the general communication channel overhead bandwidth of the fixed-length frame signal. During the change of the general communication channel overhead bandwidth, there is no need to change the rate of the fixed-length frame signal. The communication channel does not occupy the bandwidth of the signal frame payload, and the bandwidth of the signal frame payload remains unchanged, which can improve the user experience.

[0053] Furthermore, based on the above-mentioned application embodiments, the functional overhead in the device is divided into different overhead types according to the type of the specific function, including at least a first overhead type, a second overhead type, and a third overhead type. The overhead definition method includes at least a first overhead definition and a second overhead definition. All physical overhead in the first overhead definition is allocated to the first overhead type and the second overhead type, and all physical overhead in the second overhead definition is allocated to the first overhead type and the third overhead type.

[0054] Furthermore, based on the above-mentioned application embodiments, the expected overhead bandwidth of all functional overheads in the first overhead category in the device is a fixed value, while the expected bandwidth of all functional overheads in the second overhead category and the third overhead category is set according to user requirements.

[0055] Furthermore, based on the above application embodiments, the first overhead type occupies the same physical overhead in both the first overhead definition and the second overhead definition.

[0056] Furthermore, based on the above-described embodiments, the functional overhead of the signal frame also includes overhead definition method overhead, which is used to indicate the overhead definition method of the current signal frame.

[0057] Furthermore, based on the above application embodiments, the first overhead type includes at least frame positioning overhead and the overhead definition method overhead, wherein the frame positioning overhead indicates the start position of the signal frame.

[0058] Furthermore, based on the above-described embodiments, the second type of overhead includes at least monitoring overhead, which includes at least one of the following: bit error detection overhead, connectivity detection overhead, automatic protection switching protocol overhead, and latency measurement overhead.

[0059] Furthermore, based on the above-described embodiments, the third type of overhead includes at least general communication channel overhead.

[0060] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of this application. The electronic device includes a processor 30 and a memory 31; the number of processors 30 in the electronic device can be one or more. Figure 11 Taking a processor 30 as an example; in electronic devices, the processor 30 and memory 31 can be connected via a bus or other means. Figure 11 Taking the example of a connection between China and Israel via a bus.

[0061] The memory 31, as a computer-readable storage medium, can be used to store software programs, computer-executable programs, and modules, such as the program corresponding to any general communication channel implementation method in the embodiments of this application, and the modules corresponding to the general communication channel implementation device in the embodiments of this application (fixed-length frame module 201 and bandwidth control module 202). The processor 30 executes various functions of the electronic device and data processing by running the software programs, instructions, and modules stored in the memory 31, thereby implementing the above-mentioned general communication channel implementation method.

[0062] The memory 31 may primarily include a program storage area and a data storage area. The program storage area may store the operating system and programs required for at least one function; the data storage area may store data created based on the use of the electronic device. Furthermore, the memory 31 may include high-speed random access memory and non-volatile memory, such as at least one disk storage device, flash memory device, or other non-volatile solid-state storage device. In some instances, the memory 31 may further include memory remotely located relative to the processor 30, which can be connected to the electronic device via a network. Examples of such networks include, but are not limited to, the Internet, intranets, local area networks, mobile communication networks, and combinations thereof.

[0063] This application also provides a storage medium containing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a computer processor, are used to perform a general communication channel implementation method.

[0064] In one embodiment, the general communication channel implementation method includes: implementing a general communication channel using the general communication channel overhead of a fixed-length frame signal, wherein the fixed-length frame signal is composed of signal frames, the signal frames include physical overhead and payload, the physical overhead is allocated to functional overhead, the functional overhead is used to perform a specific function, the functional overhead includes at least the general communication channel overhead, the correspondence between the physical overhead and the functional overhead is denoted as an overhead definition method, and the signal frames include at least two overhead definition methods;

[0065] When transmitting the fixed-length frame signal, the frequency of occurrence of the signal frames with different overhead definition methods is controlled to adjust the bandwidth of the general communication channel overhead.

[0066] Based on the above description of the implementation methods, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the present invention can be implemented using software and necessary general-purpose hardware, and of course, it can also be implemented using hardware, but in many cases the former is a better implementation method. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present invention, or the part that contributes to the prior art, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, such as a computer floppy disk, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), flash memory, hard disk, or optical disk, etc., including several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in the various embodiments of this application.

[0067] It is worth noting that in the embodiments of the above-mentioned device, the various units and modules included are only divided according to functional logic, but are not limited to the above division, as long as the corresponding functions can be realized; in addition, the specific names of each functional unit are only for easy differentiation and are not used to limit the scope of protection of this application.

[0068] Those skilled in the art will understand that all or some of the steps, apparatuses, or functional modules / units in the methods disclosed above can be implemented as software, firmware, hardware, or suitable combinations thereof.

[0069] In hardware implementations, the division between functional modules / units mentioned in the above description does not necessarily correspond to the division of physical components; for example, a physical component may have multiple functions, or a function or step may be performed collaboratively by several physical components. Some or all physical components may be implemented as software executed by a processor, such as a central processing unit, digital signal processor, or microprocessor, or as hardware, or as an integrated circuit, such as an application-specific integrated circuit. The corresponding software may be distributed on a computer-readable medium, which may include computer storage media (or non-transitory media) and communication media (or transient media). As is known to those skilled in the art, the term computer storage media includes volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storing information (such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data). Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technologies, CD-ROM, digital versatile disc (DVD) or other optical disc storage, magnetic cartridges, magnetic tape, disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store desired information and is accessible to a computer. Furthermore, as is known to those skilled in the art, communication media typically contain computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in modulated data signals such as carrier waves or other transmission mechanisms, and may include any information delivery medium.

[0070] The above description, with reference to the accompanying drawings, illustrates preferred embodiments of the present invention, but does not limit the scope of the invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, and improvements made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention should be considered within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A general communication channel implementation method, wherein, The method includes: A general communication channel is implemented using the general communication channel overhead of fixed-length frame signals. The fixed-length frame signals are composed of signal frames, each of which includes physical overhead and payload. The physical overhead is allocated to functional overhead, which is used to perform a specific function. The functional overhead includes at least the general communication channel overhead. The correspondence between the physical overhead and the functional overhead is denoted as the overhead definition method. The signal frame includes at least two overhead definition methods. When transmitting the fixed-length frame signal, the frequency of occurrence of the signal frames with different overhead definition methods is controlled to adjust the bandwidth of the general communication channel overhead; The functional overhead is divided into different overhead categories according to the type of the specific function, including at least a first overhead category, a second overhead category, and a third overhead category. The overhead definition method includes at least a first overhead definition and a second overhead definition. All physical overhead in the first overhead definition is allocated to the first overhead category and the second overhead category, and all physical overhead in the second overhead definition is allocated to the first overhead category and the third overhead category.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The signal frame includes physical overhead of A signal units and payload of B signal units. The signal unit includes E bytes or F P / Q bits of encoding, where A, B, E, and F are integers greater than or equal to 1, and P and Q are integers greater than 1, with Q being greater than P.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The expected overhead bandwidth for all functional overheads in the first overhead category is a fixed value, while the expected bandwidth for all functional overheads in the second and third overhead categories is set according to user requirements.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first overhead type occupies the same physical overhead in both the first overhead definition and the second overhead definition.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The functional overhead of the signal frame also includes overhead definition method overhead, which is used to indicate the overhead definition method of the current signal frame.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first type of overhead includes at least frame positioning overhead and overhead definition method overhead, wherein the frame positioning overhead indicates the start position of the signal frame.

7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The second type of overhead includes at least monitoring overhead, which includes at least one of the following: bit error detection overhead, connectivity detection overhead, automatic protection switching protocol overhead, and latency measurement overhead.

8. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The third type of overhead includes at least general communication channel overhead.

9. An electronic device, characterized in that, The electronic device includes: One or more processors; Memory, used to store one or more programs; When the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors implement the general communication channel implementation method as described in any one of claims 1-8.

10. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores one or more programs, which are executed by one or more processors to implement the general communication channel implementation method as described in any one of claims 1-8.

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