Cross-network communication system and cross-network communication method based on EPA network

Abstract

The invention provides a cross-network communication system and a cross-network communication method based on an EPA network, and the system comprises an IP distribution module which is configured to distribute IP addresses for a first protocol stack and a second protocol stack; the first protocol stack is configured to analyze a first data message from one or more nodes in a first industrial automation Ethernet network to obtain a plurality of first data segments and a first destination IP address, and send the plurality of first data segments to the second protocol stack based on the first destination IP address; and a second protocol stack configured to receive the plurality of first data segments from the first protocol stack, and generate a second data message suitable for being transmitted in a second industrial automation Ethernet network according to a predetermined format by using the plurality of first data segments, and sending the second data message to one or more nodes in a second industrial automation Ethernet network.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of industrial network communication technology, and in particular to an inter-network communication system and an inter-network communication method based on an EPA network. Background Art

[0002] In the field of industrial communications, existing technical solutions often use gateway devices to perform cross-network transmission to achieve data communication between multiple racks. The gateway device generally saves the device information in the network segment and determines whether to forward the message to another network segment by looking up the source IP of the message. However, in a gateway-based communication system, there will be situations where devices on the rack need to be plugged in and out. Once a device in one rack is replaced in another rack, the device information table of the entire network gateway device needs to be reset to ensure normal communication. Considering that the controller system often has a large number of devices, this operation takes a lot of time and manpower, and is prone to mismatching, causing great inconvenience to production debugging.

[0003] At present, EPA (Ethernet for Plant Automation, Industrial Ethernet) bus is widely used in production, manufacturing and other control fields, and can provide communication support for the normal operation of the system. EPA bus controller is a real-time controller developed based on EPA bus. Different from ordinary controllers, EPA bus controller can realize data communication between central processing unit (CPU) and IO through EPA bus with the help of EPA network, which is fast, real-time and highly reliable. Therefore, it is possible to consider applying EPA network to communication system, so as to ensure the communication between multiple devices (same rack) under the same network, and support the communication between multiple devices (different racks) under different networks, so as to realize cross-network communication. Summary of the invention

[0004] In response to the above problems, the present invention provides a cross-network communication system based on the EPA network, which not only can realize communication between different networks through the first protocol stack and the second protocol stack of the EPA network, but also will not be affected by the plug-in or replacement of equipment, thereby significantly improving the communication efficiency and solving the above problems.

[0005] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, an inter-network communication system based on an EPA network is provided, wherein the inter-network communication system comprises a plurality of racks in the EPA network, and the racks comprise a central processing module and an instant communication device in a second EPA network and a plurality of nodes in a first EPA network. The central processing module and the instant communication device comprise a first protocol stack and a second protocol stack, and the node comprises a first protocol stack node, an instant communication device, and an IP allocation module in the central processing module, which are respectively configured to allocate IP addresses to the first protocol stack of the node, the first protocol stack of the central processing module, and the first protocol stack of the instant communication device; the first protocol stack of the rack is configured to parse a first data message from one or more nodes in the first EPA network to obtain a plurality of first data segments and a destination IP, and send the plurality of first data segments to the second protocol stack of the rack based on the destination IP; and the second protocol stack is configured to receive a plurality of first data segments from the first protocol stack, generate a second data message suitable for transmission in a second EPA network according to a predetermined format from the plurality of first data segments, and send the second data message to one or more nodes in the second EPA network, so that the one or more nodes in the second EPA network can obtain corresponding data segments from the second data message.

[0006] In one embodiment, one or more nodes in the second EPA network include one or more of the following: a central processing module, an instant communication device.

[0007] In one embodiment, the second protocol stack is also configured to parse the third data packet from the node in the second EPA network to obtain multiple third data segments and a destination IP, and send the multiple third data segments to the first protocol stack based on the destination IP; and the first protocol stack is also configured to receive the multiple third data segments from the second protocol stack, generate a fourth data packet suitable for transmission in the first EPA network according to a predetermined format for the multiple third data segments, and send the fourth data packet to the node in the first EPA network based on the destination IP.

[0008] In one embodiment, the first protocol stack includes a first user interface and the second protocol stack includes a second user interface, the first user interface and the second user interface being configured to receive user data from a user or to send data to a user.

[0009] In one embodiment, the first protocol stack includes a first receiving module communicatively connected to a first user interface, and the second protocol stack includes a second receiving module communicatively connected to a second user interface, the first receiving module being configured to selectively receive user data from the first user interface or a first data packet from a first EPA network; and the second receiving module being configured to selectively receive user data from the second user interface or a third data packet from a second EPA network.

[0010] In one embodiment, the second receiving module is further configured to start receiving the plurality of first data segments from the first protocol stack in response to receiving a handshake signal.

[0011] In one embodiment, the first protocol stack also includes a first EPA protocol stack module communicatively connected to the first receiving module, and the second protocol stack also includes a second EPA protocol stack module communicatively connected to the second receiving module, and the first EPA protocol stack module and the second EPA protocol stack module are respectively configured to read the destination IP in the first data message and the third data message and latch the read destination IP.

[0012] In one embodiment, the first protocol stack also includes a first sending module communicatively connected to the first EPA protocol stack module, and the second protocol stack also includes a second sending module communicatively connected to the second EPA protocol stack module, the first sending module is configured to obtain the destination IP latched by the first EPA protocol stack module, and send the received multiple first data segments to the corresponding user interface or the second protocol stack based on the destination IP, or send the fourth data packet to the node in the first network based on the destination IP; and the second sending module is configured to obtain the destination IP latched by the second EPA protocol stack module, and send the received second data packet to the node in the second EPA network based on the destination IP, or send the received multiple third data segments to the corresponding user interface and / or the first protocol stack based on the destination IP.

[0013] In one embodiment, the second sending module is further configured to compare the destination IP and the local IP corresponding to the second protocol stack; when the destination IP and the local IP are exactly the same, send multiple third data segments to the second user interface; when the destination IP and the local IP are not exactly the same, compare the high-order bit data of the destination IP with the low-order bit data of the local IP; when the high-order bit data of the destination IP is the same as the low-order bit data of the local IP, send multiple third data segments to the second user interface and / or the first protocol stack based on the low-order bit data of the local IP.

[0014] In one embodiment, the first protocol stack further includes an IP replacement module, and the IP replacement module is configured to replace the destination IP in a predetermined form so that the nodes in the first network can recognize the IP in the fourth data message.

[0015] In one embodiment, the first sending module is further configured to send the plurality of third data segments to the first protocol stack in a predetermined manner based on the low-order bit data of the local IP.

[0016] In one embodiment, the first protocol stack includes a framing module, which is configured to perform framing processing on a plurality of first data segments to form a first data frame, and send the first data frame to the first sending module.

[0017] In one embodiment, the second protocol stack is further configured to intercept the received third data message according to the second configuration protocol, and the first protocol stack of the node in the first network is configured to intercept the fourth data message in the first EPA network according to the first configuration protocol.

[0018] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a method for using the aforementioned inter-network communication system is provided, the method comprising: allocating IP addresses to a first protocol stack and a second protocol stack in the inter-network communication system via an IP allocation module of the inter-network communication system; parsing a first data packet from at least one node in a first EPA network to obtain a plurality of first data segments based on the first protocol stack; receiving the plurality of first data segments from the first protocol stack, and generating a second data packet suitable for transmission in a second EPA network based on the second protocol stack and the received plurality of first data segments, and sending the second data packet to a node in the second EPA network so that the node in the second EPA network can obtain the corresponding data segment from the second data packet.

[0019] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a computing device for cross-network communication is provided, comprising one or more processors; and a memory storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to execute the method according to the second aspect of the present disclosure.

[0020] According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a non-volatile storage medium having computer executable instructions stored thereon is provided. When the computer executable instructions are executed by a computer, the computer executes the method according to the second aspect or the third aspect of the present disclosure.

[0021] It should be understood that the content described in this section is not intended to identify the key or important features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become easily understood through the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] The above and other features, advantages and aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent with reference to the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the accompanying drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar elements.

[0023] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a multi-rack structure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0024] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of an inter-network communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0025] Figure 3A schematic diagram of a multi-rack structure after IP allocation according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0026] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a first protocol stack and a second protocol stack according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0027] Figure 5 A flow chart of a cross-network communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0028] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a cross-network communication process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0029] Figure 7 A schematic diagram showing framing performed by a framing module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0030] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of a cross-network communication process according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] The following is a description of exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, including various details of the embodiments of the present disclosure to facilitate understanding, which should be considered as merely exemplary. Therefore, it should be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes and modifications may be made to the embodiments described herein without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. Similarly, for the sake of clarity and conciseness, descriptions of well-known functions and structures are omitted in the following description.

[0032] As used herein, the term "including" and its variations mean open inclusion, i.e., "including but not limited to". Unless otherwise stated, the term "or" means "and / or". The terms "an example embodiment" and "an embodiment" mean "at least one example embodiment". The term "another embodiment" means "at least one additional embodiment". Other explicit and implicit definitions may also be included below.

[0033] As mentioned above, in a gateway-based cross-network communication system, when a device on a rack is plugged in or unplugged or a device in a rack is replaced, the device information table of the entire network gateway device needs to be reset to ensure normal communication. Considering that there are often many devices in the system, resetting the device information table of the entire network gateway device takes a lot of time and manpower, and is prone to mismatching, causing great inconvenience to production debugging. Therefore, how to achieve cross-network communication of multiple racks without being affected by changes in equipment in the rack becomes a consideration.

[0034] EPA bus is widely used in production, manufacturing and other control fields to provide communication support for the normal operation of the system. Different from ordinary controllers, EPA bus controllers can achieve data communication between the central processing unit (CPU) and IO through the EPA bus with the help of the EPA network, with fast, real-time and high reliability. It should be understood that when communicating across networks, the central processing unit can at least have the communication function of an instant messaging device.

[0035] Based on the foregoing, the present disclosure provides an EPA network-based cross-network communication system, which not only can realize communication between different networks through the EPA network first protocol stack and the second protocol stack, but also will not be affected by the plug-in or replacement of equipment, significantly improving the communication efficiency and solving the above problems. The cross-network communication system according to various embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the actual EPA network-based cross-network communication system may have other components, but in order to avoid blurring the focus of the present disclosure, the present disclosure does not discuss these other components and the accompanying drawings do not show them.

[0036] Figure 1 FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a single processing box multi-rack structure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 1 As shown, the single processing box multi-rack structure consists of a first rack ( Figure 1 Rack 0 in the Figure 1 The first rack is composed of a central processing module and four nodes (controlled devices) in the first network, and each second rack is composed of an instant communication device (relative to the same rack) and four nodes (controlled devices) in the first network. The central processing module in the first rack and the instant communication devices in the four second racks are in the same first network. Figure 1 As shown, the communication network of the single processing box multi-rack structure is a communication network based on the EPA network, which is specifically composed of the rack internal communication network ( Figure 1 The first network in the Figure 1 The first network and the second network can directly perform fast cross-network transmission to achieve fast data communication between the central processing module of the first rack and the nodes in other second racks.

[0037] In addition, the intervals for all nodes in the EPA network to send messages are usually determined by periodic scheduling and aperiodic scheduling. Therefore, all nodes in the EPA network are under the same clock reference, the time for all nodes to send messages is relatively certain, and there will be no collision of messages during cross-network transmission. The aforementioned clock reference can be any of the following: Figure 1 The clock of the central processing module of rack 0, the clock of the instant communication device in any rack from rack 1 to rack 4, and the clock of the node in any rack from rack 0 to rack 4.

[0038] As an example, the description is based on the clock of the central processing module in rack 0. Figure 1 In the single processing box multi-rack structure shown, the clocks of all nodes in the first rack are synchronized with the clock of the central processing module in the first rack, the clocks of all node devices in each second rack are synchronized with the clock of the instant communication device in the same rack, and the clocks of each instant communication device are synchronized with the clock of the aforementioned central processing module. In this way, the clocks of the entire network are based on the clock of the central processing module in the first rack, and the time for all nodes to send messages is a certain time relative to the clock of the central processing module, and no message collision will occur during cross-network transmission.

[0039] Moreover, the first network bus and the second network bus may be EPA real-time Ethernet buses implemented based on physical layers such as Ethernet physical layer or MLVDS physical layer to form the first EPA network and the second EPA network, thereby supporting cross-network transmission in the first network and the second network. For example, the first network bus may be an EPA real-time Ethernet bus implemented based on Ethernet physical layer, and the second network bus may be an EPA real-time Ethernet bus implemented based on MLVDS physical layer. It should be understood that the first network bus and the second network bus may also be EPA real-time Ethernet buses implemented based on other physical layers, which is not limited here.

[0040] At the same time, the topological structures of the first network and the second network can be linear, star, ring, dual-line, dual-ring, dual-star, bus or tree, etc. As an example, the second network can form a ring topology structure by connecting the communication terminals end to end via the EPA bus or form a star or star-line topology by connecting switches, and the first network can realize bus communication via the EPA bus through the backplane bus.

[0041] Figure 2 FIG. 4 shows an EPA network-based cross-network communication system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 2As shown, the cross-network communication system provided by the present disclosure includes: multiple racks in the second EPA network, and the racks include a central processing module and multiple nodes in the first EPA network, and / or an instant communication module and multiple nodes in the first EPA network. Among them, the central processing module and the instant communication module in the rack both include the first protocol stack and the second protocol stack, the node includes the first protocol stack, and the IP allocation module in the node, the central processing module, and the instant communication module is respectively configured to allocate IP to the first protocol stack of the node, the first protocol stack and the second protocol stack of the central processing module, and the first protocol stack and the second protocol stack of the instant communication module.

[0042] The IP allocated by the IP allocation module to the central processing module in the second network and the second protocol stack of the instant messaging device may consist of 16 bits, wherein the lower 8 bits may represent the rack number of the rack where the device is located. Figure 3 As shown, the IP allocation module allocates IP "00_01" to the second protocol stack of the central processing module of rack 0, and allocates IP "00_02" to "00_05" to the second protocol stacks of the instant messaging devices of racks 1 to 4.

[0043] The IP allocated by the IP allocation module to the first protocol stack of the central processing module and the instant messaging device in the first network may also be composed of 16 bits, wherein the upper 8 bits may also be the rack number, and its expression is consistent with the lower 8 bits in the second protocol stack IP of the central processing module and the instant messaging device. Figure 3 As shown, the IP allocation module allocates IP "01_01" to the first protocol stack of the central processing module of rack 0, and allocates IP "02_01" to "05_01" to the first protocol stack of the instant messaging devices of racks 1 to 4.

[0044] At the same time, the IP allocated by the IP allocation module to the first protocol stack of the node in the first network may also consist of 16 bits, wherein the upper 8 bits may be the rack number and the lower 8 bits may be the card slot number, that is, {rack number, card slot number}. Figure 3 As shown, the IPs of the first protocol stacks of nodes 1 to 4 in rack 0 are "01_02" to "01_05", the IPs of the first protocol stacks of nodes 1 to 4 in rack 1 are "02_02" to "02_05", the IPs of the first protocol stacks of nodes 1 to 4 in rack 2 are "03_02" to "03_05", the IPs of the first protocol stacks of nodes 1 to 4 in rack 3 are "04_02" to "04_05", and the IPs of the first protocol stacks of nodes 1 to 4 in rack 4 are "05_02" to "05_05".

[0045] It should be understood that the IP allocated by the second protocol stack of the aforementioned instant messaging device can be composed of 16 bits, the IP allocated by the central processing module and the first protocol stack of the instant messaging device can also be composed of 16 bits, and the IP allocated by the first protocol stack of the node in the first network can also be composed of 16 bits, which means that the overall IP can be 32 bits (i.e. 4 bytes), but only 16 bits are involved in the judgment.

[0046] It should be understood that the IP allocated by the IP allocation module to the second protocol stack and the first protocol stack may also be in other forms, as long as the high address in the IP address of the first protocol stack in the first EPA network matches the low address in the IP address of the second protocol stack in the second EPA network.

[0047] In order to complete the data interaction between the second network and the first network, the data will have a cross-network transmission process at the instant messaging device, that is, the first protocol stack and the second protocol stack at the rack will interact with each other to achieve the desired cross-network communication.

[0048] The first protocol stack is configured to parse a first data packet from one or more nodes in a first EPA network to obtain a plurality of first data segments and a destination IP, and send the plurality of first data segments to a second protocol stack of a rack based on the destination IP; and the second protocol stack is configured to receive the plurality of first data segments from the first protocol stack, generate a second data packet suitable for transmission in a second EPA network according to a predetermined format for the plurality of first data segments, and send the second data packet to one or more nodes in the second EPA network, so that the one or more nodes in the second EPA network can obtain corresponding data segments from the second data packet.

[0049] One or more nodes in the second EPA network include one or more of the following: a central processing module, an instant communication device.

[0050] Furthermore, the second protocol stack is also configured to parse the third data packet from one or more nodes in the second EPA network to obtain multiple third data segments and a destination IP, and send the multiple third data segments to the first protocol stack of the rack based on the destination IP; and the first protocol stack is also configured to receive the multiple third data segments from the second protocol stack, generate a fourth data packet suitable for transmission in the first EPA network according to a predetermined format for the multiple third data segments, and send the fourth data packet to the node in the first EPA network based on the destination IP.

[0051] like Figure 4As shown, the first protocol stack may include a first user interface, and the second protocol stack may include a second user interface, the first user interface and the second user interface are configured to receive user data from a user or send data to a user. The first protocol stack also includes a first receiving module connected to the first user interface, and the second protocol stack also includes a second receiving module connected to the second user interface, the first receiving module is configured to selectively receive user data from the first user interface or a first data message from the first network; and the second receiving module is configured to selectively receive user data from the second user interface or a third data message from the second network. The second receiving module is also configured to start receiving multiple first data segments from the first protocol stack in response to receiving a handshake signal.

[0052] The first protocol stack may also include a first EPA protocol stack module communicatively connected to the first receiving module, and the second protocol stack also includes a second EPA protocol stack module communicatively connected to the second receiving module, the first EPA protocol stack module and the second EPA protocol stack module are respectively configured to read the destination IP in the first data message and the third data message and latch the read destination IP.

[0053] The first protocol stack also includes a first sending module that is communicatively connected to the first EPA protocol stack module, and the second protocol stack also includes a second sending module that is communicatively connected to the second EPA protocol stack module, the first sending module is configured to obtain the destination IP latched by the first EPA protocol stack module, and send the received multiple first data segments to the corresponding user interface or the second protocol stack based on the destination IP, or send the fourth data packet to a node in the first network based on the destination IP; and the second sending module is configured to obtain the destination IP latched by the second EPA protocol stack module, and send the received second data packet to the central processing module based on the destination IP, or send the received multiple third data segments to the corresponding user interface and / or the first protocol stack based on the destination IP.

[0054] The second sending module is also configured to compare the destination IP and the local IP corresponding to the second protocol stack; when the destination IP and the local IP are exactly the same, send multiple third data segments to the second user interface; when the destination IP and the local IP are not exactly the same, compare the high-order bit data of the destination IP with the low-order bit data of the local IP; when the high-order bit data of the destination IP is the same as the low-order bit data of the local IP, send multiple third data segments to the second user interface and / or the first protocol stack based on the low-order bit data of the local IP.

[0055] The first protocol stack also includes an IP replacement module, which is configured to replace the destination IP in a predetermined form so that the nodes in the first network can recognize the IP in the fourth data message. The first sending module is also configured to send multiple third data segments to the first protocol stack in a predetermined manner based on the low-order bit data of the local IP.

[0056] The first protocol stack includes a framing module, which is configured to frame the plurality of first data segments according to the first configuration protocol to form a first data frame, and use the first data frame to replace the plurality of first data segments for sending to the first sending module. Exemplarily, the framing module saves the received FRT data in a receiving order at a periodic time, and merges the saved FRT data into a message at a non-periodic time.

[0057] The second protocol stack is further configured to intercept the received third data message according to the second configuration protocol, and the first protocol stack of the node in the first network is configured to intercept the fourth data message in the first EPA network according to the first configuration protocol. It should be understood that the second protocol stack of the rack may also include a received message storage module and a sent message storage module to store received messages and messages to be sent.

[0058] Figure 5 FIG. 1 shows a flow chart of a cross-network communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 5 As shown, the method of using the aforementioned inter-network communication system includes: S1, allocating IP addresses to the first protocol stack and the second protocol stack in the inter-network communication system via the IP allocation module of the inter-network communication system; S2, based on the first protocol stack, parsing the first data message from at least one node in the first EPA network to obtain multiple first data segments; S3, receiving the multiple first data segments from the first protocol stack, and generating a second data message suitable for transmission in the second EPA network based on the second protocol stack and the received multiple first data segments, and sending the second data message to the node in the second EPA network, so that the node in the second EPA network can obtain the corresponding data segment from the second data message.

[0059] In order to complete the data interaction between the first network and the second network, there will be a cross-network transmission process between the racks. The following will describe the cross-network transmission process according to the transmission data type and the data transmission process. Among them, the data transmission type can be divided into FRT data and NRT data. The data transmission process can be divided into data uplink cross-network transmission and data downlink cross-network transmission.

[0060] For the uplink cross-network transmission of NRT data, the node in the first network sends an NRT message to the instant messaging device of the rack through the first protocol stack thereon based on the destination IP. When the first protocol stack of the rack receives the NRT message, it reads the destination IP of the received message through the first EPA protocol stack and latches the destination IP, and then sends the data to the first sending module. The first sending module determines whether the destination IP is a local IP. If so, it uploads it to the first user interface; if not, it does not change the message, and directly crosses the network to send the data to the second protocol stack of the rack. The second receiving module in the second protocol stack of the rack receives the data content from the first protocol stack and sends the NRT message to the central processing unit and / or other instant messaging devices.

[0061] For the downlink cross-network transmission of NRT data, the central processing unit and / or other instant messaging devices in the second network send NRT messages based on the destination IP. When the second protocol stack of the instant messaging device in the second network receives the NRT message, the destination IP in the message is read and latched by the second EPA protocol stack thereon, and the data is sent to the second sending module. The second sending module compares the destination IP with the local IP. If the destination IP is the same as the local IP, the data is uploaded to the second user interface; if they are not the same, the message is not changed and the data is directly sent across the network, that is, the data is sent to the first protocol stack. The first receiving module of the first protocol stack receives data from the second protocol stack and sends the data to the node in the first network through the first sending module. The cross-network data resides in the first sending module and the first receiving module for a short time, and usually only three clock cycles are required to complete the processing, so the required cross-network transmission can be performed quickly.

[0062] For FRT data uplink cross-network transmission, such as Figure 6 As shown, first, the node in the first network sends an FRT message to the instant messaging device and / or the central processing module through the first protocol stack based on the destination IP, wherein the message carries its own application data and destination IP. The first protocol stack of the instant messaging device and / or the central processing module receives the FRT message through the first receiving module, reads the destination IP in the message through the first EPA protocol stack and latches it. Subsequently, the received data is sent to the first sending module, which determines whether it is sent to the instant messaging device and / or the central processing module through the latched IP. If so, it is sent to the first user interface of the instant messaging device and / or the central processing module; if not, the first sending module sends the data to the framing module. As shown Figure 7 As shown, in the framing module, the received FRT data is saved in the order of reception during the periodic time, and is merged into one message during the non-periodic time, waiting for the handshake signal of the second protocol stack.

[0063] In the second protocol stack, if the second receiving module receives a handshake signal (for example, the level of the second receiving module is pulled high), it starts to receive data and sends it to the second sending module of the second protocol stack. The second sending module generates a second data message suitable for transmission on the second network, and sends the second data message to the central processing module and / or other communication devices in the second network. Optionally, when sending to the central processing module, the central processing module uploads the data to the main processor, and after receiving the data, the main processor parses and splits it according to the length and destination IP of each message data in the data to obtain cross-network transmission data. Figure 6 As shown, when the periodic message of the first EPA network needs to be forwarded to the second EPA network through the first protocol stack and the second protocol stack, the second protocol stack of the instant messaging device can also cache the FRT message data of the period first, and then send all the data to the central processing module through one FRT message in the next macro cycle.

[0064] In the cross-network transmission of FRT data, it can be divided into cross-network transmission based on the destination IP and cross-network transmission based on the configuration protocol according to the actual application scenario. When only a few devices in multiple racks need to be controlled in real time, in order to reduce transmission delay, it can be sent based on the destination IP. When it is necessary to frequently control the devices in multiple racks at the same time through the EPA network in real time, in order to reduce transmission delay, it can be sent through the configuration protocol.

[0065] like Figure 8 As shown, in the cross-network transmission of FRT data based on the destination IP, a control command for a rack based on the configuration protocol is formed in the central processing module, and then transmitted in the second network through the second protocol stack of the central processing module. After receiving the message, the second protocol stack of the instant communication device of the rack reads the destination IP in the message through the second EPA protocol stack and latches it, and sends the data to the second sending module. The second sending module compares the destination IP with the local IP. If they are the same, the second sending module uploads the data to the second user interface. If they are not the same, the high 8 bits of the destination IP are compared with the low 8 bits of the local IP, that is, whether the rack number is the same to determine whether to receive it.

[0066] Then, if the high 8 bits of the destination IP are the same as the low 8 bits of the local IP, and the low 8 bits are FF, the second sending module sends the data to the second user interface without changing the message content. At the same time, the second protocol stack sends the message to the first protocol stack through the second sending module, and the first protocol stack replaces the destination IP of the message with 16'hFFFF through the IP replacement module. If the high 8 bits of the destination IP are the same as the low 8 bits of the local IP, and the low 8 bits are 00, the second protocol stack sends the message to the first protocol stack through the second sending module, and the first protocol stack replaces the destination IP of the message with 16'h0000 through the IP replacement module. If the high 8 bits of the destination IP are the same as the low 8 bits of the local IP, and the low 8 bits are the card slot number, it is directly sent to the first protocol stack.

[0067] Finally, after receiving the message, the first receiving module of the first protocol stack reads the destination IP in the message through the first EPA network and sends it to the first sending module. When the first sending module determines that the destination IP is 16'hFFFF, it sends data to all nodes in the rack and sends the message to the first user interface. When the first sending module determines that the destination IP is 16'h0000, the first sending module sends the message to all nodes in the rack, and all nodes in the rack intercept the message according to the first configuration protocol to receive the corresponding data. When the first sending module determines that the destination IP is the rack number + the card slot number, the message is sent to the corresponding node based on the destination IP. After the corresponding node parses, it sends the parsed data to the user interface corresponding to the node.

[0068] In the cross-network transmission of FRT data based on the configuration protocol, a data packet of a rack is formed through the configuration protocol table (i.e., the first configuration protocol) in each first network, and then the configuration protocol table of multiple racks is formed through the configuration protocol table (i.e., the second configuration protocol) of the second network, and then the message is sent to the instant communication device of other racks through the central processing module. The second protocol stack of each instant communication device intercepts the received FRT message through the second protocol configuration, reads and latches the destination IP of the message through the second EPA network, and sends the data to the second sending module of the second protocol stack. The second sending module determines that the destination IP is 16'h0000 and sends the message to the first protocol stack. The first protocol stack then sends the FRT message to all nodes in the first network through the first sending module, and each node intercepts the data in the message through the first configuration protocol, and then sends the data to the first user interface to realize real-time control.

[0069] Through the above method, this solution can realize cross-network communication without table lookup, with low communication delay and high-bandwidth communication. Moreover, this solution can realize functions that are not affected by the plugging and unplugging of devices in the rack, which can effectively improve the efficiency of cross-network communication and avoid a large number of operations such as resetting the device table. In addition, this method can realize the full-network EPA solution, effectively reduce the processing burden of the processor, and improve system performance. It also supports cross-network communication of different types of data, and supports different types of data to use different communication methods for cross-network communication, thereby effectively improving communication efficiency.

[0070] The present disclosure also provides a computing device for cross-network communication, which includes one or more processors and a memory storing computer-executable instructions. When the computer-executable instructions are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors execute a method according to any of the foregoing embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0071] The present disclosure also provides a non-transitory storage medium having computer executable instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by a computer, enables the computer to execute the method according to any of the aforementioned embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0072] Those skilled in the art should understand that the present disclosure is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and the present disclosure can be implemented in many other forms without departing from its subject matter and scope. Therefore, the examples and embodiments shown are considered to be illustrative rather than restrictive, and the present disclosure can cover various modifications and substitutions without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. An inter-network communication system based on an EPA network, the inter-network communication system comprising a first industrial automation Ethernet network and a second industrial automation Ethernet network, characterized in that: The inter-network communication system further includes: An IP allocation module is configured to allocate IP addresses to the first protocol stack and the second protocol stack; a first protocol stack configured to parse a first data message from one or more nodes in a first industrial automation Ethernet network to obtain a plurality of first data segments and a first destination IP address, and to send the plurality of first data segments to the second protocol stack based on the first destination IP address; The second protocol stack is configured to receive the multiple first data segments from the first protocol stack, generate second data packets suitable for transmission in a second industrial automation Ethernet network according to a predetermined format from the multiple first data segments, and send the second data packets to one or more nodes in the second industrial automation Ethernet network.

2. The inter-network communication system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The second protocol stack is further configured as: parsing a third data message from one or more nodes in the second industrial automation Ethernet network; Obtaining a plurality of third data segments and a third destination IP address; and Based on the third destination IP address, the plurality of third data segments are sent to the first protocol stack.

3. The inter-network communication system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The first protocol stack is also configured to: receiving the plurality of third data segments from the second protocol stack; Generating a fourth data message suitable for transmission in the first industrial automation Ethernet network according to a predetermined format from the plurality of third data segments; as well as Based on the third destination IP address, the fourth data packet is sent to a node in the first industrial automation Ethernet network.

4. The inter-network communication system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The first protocol stack includes: The first receiving module is communicatively connected to the first user interface, and the first receiving module is configured to receive user data from the first user interface, or receive the first data message from the first industrial automation Ethernet network.

5. The inter-network communication system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The second protocol stack comprises: The second receiving module is communicatively connected to the second user interface, and the second receiving module is configured to receive user data from the second user interface, or receive a third data message from the second industrial automation Ethernet network.

6. The inter-network communication system according to claim 5, characterized in that: The second receiving module is further configured to start receiving the plurality of first data segments from the first protocol stack in response to receiving a handshake signal.

7. The inter-network communication system according to claim 6, characterized in that: The first protocol stack also includes: A first sending module is communicatively connected to the first protocol stack, and the first sending module is configured to: Obtaining a first destination IP address of the first protocol stack; Based on the first destination IP address, sending the received multiple first data segments to a corresponding user interface or the second protocol stack; or Based on the first destination IP address, the fourth data packet is sent to a node in the first industrial automation Ethernet network.

8. The inter-network communication system according to claim 7, characterized in that: The second protocol stack also includes: A second sending module is communicatively connected to the second protocol stack, and the second sending module is configured to: Obtaining a third destination IP address in the second protocol stack; Based on the third destination IP address, sending the received second data message to a node in the second industrial automation Ethernet network; or Based on the third destination IP address, the received plurality of third data segments are sent to a corresponding user interface or the first protocol stack.

9. The inter-network communication system according to claim 8, characterized in that: The second sending module is further configured to: Comparing the third destination IP address with the local IP address corresponding to the second protocol stack; In response to the third destination IP address being identical to the local IP address, sending the plurality of third data segments to the second user interface; In response to the third destination IP address and the local IP address being not completely identical, comparing high-order bit data of the third destination IP address with low-order bit data of the local IP address; as well as In response to the high-order bit data of the third destination IP address being the same as the low-order bit data of the local IP address, the plurality of third data segments are sent to the second user interface or the first protocol stack based on the low-order bit data of the local IP address.

10. The inter-network communication system according to claim 7, characterized in that: The first protocol stack also includes an IP replacement module, and the IP replacement module is configured to: The destination IP is replaced in a predetermined format so that the nodes in the first network can recognize the IP in the fourth data message.

11. The inter-network communication system according to claim 7, characterized in that: The first protocol stack further includes a framing module, and the framing module is configured to: The multiple first data segments are subjected to framing processing to form a first data frame, and the first data frame is sent to the first sending module.

12. The inter-network communication system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that: The one or more nodes in the second industrial automation Ethernet network include one or more of the following: a central processing module, an instant communication device.

13. A communication method using the EPA network-based inter-network communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that: The communication method comprises: Allocating IP addresses to a first protocol stack and a second protocol stack in the inter-network communication system via an IP allocation module of the inter-network communication system; parsing, via the first protocol stack, a first data message from one or more nodes in the first industrial automation Ethernet network to obtain a plurality of first data segments and a first destination IP address, and sending the plurality of first data segments to the second protocol stack based on the first destination IP address; and The multiple first data segments are received from the first protocol stack via the second protocol stack, and the multiple first data segments are generated into second data packets suitable for transmission in a second industrial automation Ethernet network according to a predetermined format, and the second data packets are sent to one or more nodes in the second industrial automation Ethernet network, so that one or more nodes in the second industrial automation Ethernet network obtain the first data segments from the second data packets.

14. A computing device for cross-network communication, characterized in that: The computing device comprises: one or more processors; and A memory storing computer executable instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method of claim 13.

15. A non-transitory storage medium having computer executable instructions stored thereon, characterized in that: The computer executable instructions, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to claim 13 .

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