Communication Equipment

Abstract

To solve a problem in which an active system PTP slave port cannot be integrated into a specific one system for each PTP client device.SOLUTION: A communication device that communicates using time synchronization based on a PTP holds an identifier of the communication device having, in a high-order bit, a priority value of the communication device, in which smaller value is set when the communication device is connected to the PTP slave port of the specific one system integrated into an active system, of the PTP slave ports of a plurality of systems which the PTP client device has than when the communication device is connected to a PTP slave port other than the PTP slave port of the specific one system. The communication device receives a first announcement message from a GM device of the active system, and transmits a second announcement message which is generated on the basis of a parameter associated with a priority level of BMCA extracted from the received first announcement message and the identifier to a PTP slave port of the PTP client device connected to the communication device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a communication device that performs communication by time synchronization based on the Precision Time Protocol (PTP) of the IEEE 1588 standard, an operation method thereof, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Systems using IP (Internet Protocol) are being actively constructed in various industrial fields, and in recent years, communication systems using PTP, a time synchronization protocol with higher accuracy than NTP (Network Time Protocol), have begun to be constructed. Because PTP has higher synchronization accuracy than NTP, it can also be applied to the high-accuracy synchronization processing required in social infrastructure and specialized industries, which could not be achieved with NTP in the past.

[0003] Patent Document 1 is an example of a document that describes a communication device that performs communication using time synchronization based on PTP. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2021-164121 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Incidentally, one type of redundant communication system that takes into account the BMCA (Best Master Clock Algorithm) of the IEEE1588 standard has a configuration in which each PTP client device is provided with multiple redundant PTP slave ports, such as system 1 and system 2, and a grandmaster clock is supplied to each system of PTP slave ports from a redundant BC (Boundary Clock) device synchronized with the grandmaster clock of the same GM (Grand Master) device.

[0006] In the above communication system, each PTP client device synchronizes with the grandmaster clock input from one of the PTP slave ports based on the parameter related to the priority of the BMCA extracted from the announce message received from the PTP slave port of each system. The PTP slave port of the system to which the synchronized grandmaster clock is input is called the PTP slave port of the active system.

[0007] The above extracted BMCA priority parameters are, according to the IEEE1588 standard, as follows, in order of priority: (1) GM Priority 1 (2) GM clock Class (3)GM clock accuracy (4) GM offsetScaledLogVariance (5) GM Priority 2 (6) GM clockIdentity (7)StepsRemoved (8) Identities of Senders Here, the parameters (1) to (6) are values ​​related to the same GM device, so they are the same for all PTP slave ports. The parameter (7) is the number of TC (Transparent Clock) devices and BC devices that are passed through from the GM device to the PTP client device, and in a PTP network configuration where the number of these devices is equal, the parameter (7) is the same for all PTP slave ports. On the other hand, the parameter (8) is the ClockIdentity of the BC device that is sending the announce message, and is extracted from the sourcePortIdentity in the header of the announce message. The ClockIdentity of the BC device is a different value for each BC device. As a result, each PTP client device finally compares the value of the parameter (8) between PTP slave ports, and determines the PTP slave port with the smaller value as the PTP slave port of the active system.

[0008] Here, the ClockIdentity of the BC device is a 64-bit value that references the MAC address (48 bits) of the BC device according to the IEEE1588 standard. Specifically, the ClockIdentity of the BC device is generated by inserting a 16-bit value (hex)=ff:fe between the first 24 bits and the last 24 bits of the MAC address of the BC device. That is, the ClockIdentity is an interface ID in the EUI-64 (Extended Unique Identifier 64-bit) format. In this specification, in order to distinguish the existing ClockIdentity thus generated from the ClockIdentity used in the embodiment of the present invention, the former is called the old ClockIdentity and the latter is called the new ClockIdentity. From the above, when the physical configuration and connection relationship of each BC device and each PTP client device are determined, the ClockIdentity value of the BC device connected to each PTP slave port of each PTP client device, and therefore the Identities of Senders value, are determined. As a result, the designer of the communication system cannot set a specific one of the multiple redundant PTP slave ports of the PTP client device (for example, the first system) as the PTP slave port of the active system. That is, there is a problem that the active PTP slave ports of all the PTP client devices in the communication system cannot be unified to a specific one of the multiple systems.

[0009] An object of the present invention is to provide a communication device that solves the above-mentioned problems. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] A communication device according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises: A communication device that performs communication using time synchronization based on PTP, A storage unit that stores an identifier of a communication device having a priority value of the communication device set to a smaller value in upper bits when the communication device is connected to a PTP slave port of a specific system that is unified as a current system among a plurality of PTP slave ports of a PTP client device; a receiving unit for receiving a first announcement message from a GM device of a working system; A generating unit that generates a second announce message based on a parameter related to the priority of the BMCA extracted from the first announce message received by the receiving unit and the identifier; A transmitting unit that transmits the generated second announce message to a PTP slave port of a PTP client device to which the communication device is connected; The device is configured to include:

[0011] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for operating a communication device, comprising: A method for operating a communication device that performs communication in time synchronization based on PTP, the method comprising: when the communication device is connected to a PTP slave port of a specific system that is unified as a current system among a plurality of PTP slave ports of a PTP client device, the method comprising: storing an identifier of the communication device having a priority value of the communication device in upper bits that is set to a smaller value compared to when the communication device is connected to a PTP slave port other than the PTP slave port of the specific system, the method comprising: receiving a first announce message from the GM device of the working system; Generate a second announce message based on the identifier and a parameter related to the priority of the BMCA extracted from the received first announce message; Sending the generated second announcement message to a PTP slave port of a PTP client device to which the communication device is connected; It is structured as follows.

[0012] In addition, a program according to another aspect of the present invention includes: A computer that performs communication in time synchronization based on PTP, the computer having a holding unit that holds an identifier of the computer having a priority value of the computer set to a smaller value in upper bits when the computer is connected to a specific PTP slave port of one system that is unified as a current system among a plurality of PTP slave ports of a PTP client device, compared with when the communication device is connected to a PTP slave port other than the specific PTP slave port of the one system, receiving a first announce message from a current GM device; A process of generating a second announce message based on the identifier and a parameter related to the priority of the BMCA extracted from the received first announce message; A process of transmitting the generated second announcement message to a PTP slave port of a PTP client device to which the computer is connected; The present invention is configured to cause the Effect of the Invention

[0013] By having the above-described configuration, the present invention makes it possible, in a PTP client device having PTP slave ports that are redundantly configured into multiple systems, to unify the PTP slave port of the current system into a specific one of the multiple systems. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram of a communication device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a communication system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. [First embodiment] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a communication device 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The communication device 10 according to this embodiment communicates in time synchronization based on the PTP of the IEEE1588 standard, and can be used as a BC device connected to any one of the PTP slave ports of a PTP client device having a PTP slave port that is redundant in multiple systems. Hereinafter, redundancy is assumed to be two systems, system 1 and system 2. Also, the PTP slave port of the active system is unified to system 1 of the multiple systems. However, the present invention is not limited to two systems, and may be redundant in three or more systems, or the PTP slave port of the active system may be unified to a system other than system 1. Also, in the following description, in order to distinguish between the communication device 10 connected to the PTP slave port of system 1 of the PTP client device and the communication device 10 connected to the PTP slave port of system 2, the former is referred to as the communication device 10 of system 1, and the latter is referred to as the communication device 10 of system 2.

[0016] Referring to FIG. 1, a communication device 10 includes a storage unit 11, a receiver unit 12, a generator unit 13, a transmitter unit 14, and a calculator unit 15 as main functional units related to time synchronization based on PTP.

[0017] The holding unit 11 stores the MAC address 111, the priority value 112, and the old C It is configured to hold a lockIdentity value 113 and a new ClockIdentity value 114 .

[0018] The MAC address 111 is a MAC address written at the time of shipment by the vendor of the communication device 10. The MAC address 111 is made up of 48 bits, with the first 24 bits being a vendor identifier (OUI) and the last 24 bits being an internal vendor management number.

[0019] When the communication device 10 is connected to a specific PTP slave port of one system that is to be unified as the active system among the multiple PTP slave ports of the PTP client device, the priority value 112 is set to a smaller value compared to when the communication device 10 is not connected. That is, when unifying into one system, the priority value 112 of the communication device 10 of the first system is set to a smaller value than the priority value 112 of the communication device 10 of the second system. The predetermined bit length may be, for example, 8 bits, but is not limited thereto.

[0020] Furthermore, the priority value 112 may also serve as Priority 1 or Priority 2 (both 8 bits) of the IEEE 1588 standard set in the communication device 10. Such a dual use can reduce the required storage capacity. Here, when Priority 1 of the communication device 10 is used as the priority value 112, the value of Priority 2 set in the communication device 10 may be any value. On the other hand, when Priority 2 of the communication device 10 is used as the priority value 112, it is desirable that the value of Priority 1 set in the communication device 10 has the same magnitude relationship as the magnitude relationship between the priority value 112 of the communication device 10 of the first system and the priority value 112 of the communication device 10 of the second system. By doing this, in a communication system according to the second embodiment described later, if both GM devices 1-1, 1-2 of both systems fail and each BC device 3-1 to 3-4 becomes the clock distribution source, the PTP slave ports of the active systems of the PTP client devices 4-1 to 4-2 can be maintained the same as before the failure occurred.

[0021] The old ClockIdentity value 113 is a 64-bit ClockIdentity value generated based on the MAC address 111 of the communication device 10 in accordance with the IEEE 1588 standard. That is, the old ClockIdentity value 113 is generated by inserting a predetermined 16-bit value (hex)=ff:fe between the first 24 bits and the last 24 bits of the MAC address 111.

[0022] In this embodiment, new ClockIdentity value 114 is a ClockIdentity value of communication device 10 that is used in place of old ClockIdentity value 113. As shown in the following equation, the upper 8 bits of new ClockIdentity value 114 are composed of priority value 112, and the lower 56 bits are composed of the lower 56 bits of the pre-change ClockIdentity value. New ClockIdentity Values ​​(64-bit) = Priority value 112 (8 bits) + The lower 56 bits of the old ClockIdentity value 113 (1) The upper 24 bits of the old ClockIdentity value 113 are the vendor identifier of the MAC address 111. Therefore, the new ClockIdentity value 114 is generated by replacing 8 consecutive bits in the vendor identifier with the priority value 112. When multiple BC devices of the same vendor model are used in a communications system, the upper 24 bits of the old ClockIdentity value 113 of each BC device will be duplicated and therefore have little importance, and there will be almost no problem if some of them are replaced with the priority value 112. The new ClockIdentity value 114 is also called the identifier of the communications device.

[0023] The calculation unit 15 is a means for creating a new ClockIdentity value 114 from the MAC address 111 and the priority value 112, and storing the new ClockIdentity value 114 in the holding unit 11. The process of generating and storing the new ClockIdentity value 114 for the communication device 10 is desirably performed, for example, before starting up a communication system incorporating the communication device 10. The calculation unit 15 generates and stores the new ClockIdentity value 114, for example, as follows.

[0024] First, the calculation unit 15 reads out the MAC address 111 from the communication device 10. Next, the calculation unit 15 inputs a priority value 112 to be set in the communication device 10 from a user such as a designer of a communication system. Next, the calculation unit 15 creates an old ClockIdentity value 113, which is an interface ID in EUI-64 format, from the MAC address 111, and stores it in the holding unit 11. Next, the calculation unit 15 reads out the created old ClockIdentity value 113 from the holding unit 11, and creates a new ClockIdentity value 114 by replacing the upper 8 bits of the old ClockIdentity value 113 with 8 bits constituting the priority value 112. Next, the calculation unit 15 writes the created new ClockIdentity value 114 into the holding unit 11.

[0025] However, the method by which the calculation unit 15 creates the new ClockIdentity value 114 is not limited to the above, and may be the following method. First, the calculation unit 15 reads the MAC address 111 from the communication device 10, and inputs the priority value 112 to be set in the communication device 10 from the user. Next, the calculation unit 15 creates a 64-bit new ClockIdentity value 114 by concatenating 8 bits constituting the priority value 112 to the higher-order bit side of a 56-bit length created by inserting a predetermined 16-bit value (hex)=ff:fe between the upper 24 bits and the lower 24 bits of the MAC address 111. Next, the calculation unit 15 writes the created new ClockIdentity value 114 to the holding unit 11. According to this method, the process of generating the old ClockIdentity value 113 is omitted, so that the new ClockIdentity value 114 can be generated at high speed. In addition, since it is not necessary to store the old ClockIdentity value 113 in the holding unit 11, the required storage capacity can be reduced.

[0026] In this embodiment, the function of generating the new ClockIdentity value 114 is provided in the communication device 10 itself as the calculation unit 15, but such a function may be provided in an external computer. In that case, the external computer may have, for example, a function of reading the MAC address 111 from the communication device 10, a function of inputting the priority value 112 from the operator, a function of creating a new ClockIdentity value 114 from the read MAC address 111 and the priority value 112 input by the operator in a manner similar to the above-mentioned method, and a function of writing the created new ClockIdentity value 114 to the holding unit 11 of the communication device 10.

[0027] The new ClockIdentity value 114 held in the communication device 10 in the above manner guarantees the uniqueness of the ClockIdentity of the communication device 10. Furthermore, regardless of the value of the MAC address 111 of the communication device 10, it is guaranteed that the new ClockIdentity value 114 of the communication device 10 of the 1st system connected to the PTP slave port of the 1st system of the PTP client device will always be a smaller value than the new ClockIdentity value 114 of the communication device 10 of the 2nd system connected to the PTP slave port of the 2nd system.

[0028] The following shows examples of the MAC addresses 111, priority values ​​112, old ClockIdentity values ​​113, and new ClockIdentity values ​​114 of the communication devices 10 of the first and second systems. <Communication device for series 1> MAC Address = 11:11:11:44:44:66 Priority value = Priority2(hex) = F0 Old ClockIdentity value (hex) = 11:11:11:ff:fe:44:44:66 New ClockIdentity value (hex) = F0:11:11:ff:fe:44:44:66 <Communication device series 2> MAC Address = 11:11:11:44:44:55 Priority value = Priority2(hex) = F1 Old ClockIdentity value (hex) = 11:11:11:ff:fe:44:44:55 New ClockIdentity value (hex) = F1:11:11:ff:fe:44:44:55

[0029] The receiving unit 12 is configured to receive PTP packets such as a grandmaster clock and an announce message from at least the GM device of the active system. In addition, when the GM devices are redundant, the receiving unit 12 is configured to receive PTP packets such as a grandmaster clock and an announce message from multiple GM devices. The announce message transmitted from the GM device contains the parameters (1) to (8) described above regarding the priority of the BMCA.

[0030] The generating unit 13 is configured to select a GM device of the working system based on the parameter related to the priority of the BMCA extracted from the announce message received by the receiving unit 12. The generating unit 13 is also configured to generate an announce message to be transmitted to the PTP client device based on the parameter related to the priority of the BMCA extracted from the announce message received from the selected GM device of the working system and the new ClockIdentity value 114 stored in the storing unit 11. For example, in the case of Announce 1588 V2, the generating unit 13 stores the above parameters (1) to (7) in grandmasterPriority1, grandmasterClockQuality, grandmasterPriority2, grandmasterIdentity, and stepsRemoved of the announce message, and stores the above parameter (8) in sourcePortIdentity in the header (Header 1588 V2). Therefore, the sourcePortIdentity in the header is made up of the new ClockIdentity value 114 and the PortNumber value of the above-mentioned transmitting port of the communication device 10 .

[0031] The transmitting unit 14 is configured to transmit various messages, such as announcement messages generated by the generating unit 13, from a transmitting port of the communication device 10 to a PTP slave port of a PTP client device connected to the communication device 10.

[0032] The communication device 10 having the above configuration can be realized, for example, by a calculation processing unit constituted by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or the like, a storage unit constituted by a ROM, a RAM, or the like, and a communication connector, etc. The storage unit provides a storage area for the holding unit 11 and stores a program. The program is provided by being recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and is read by the calculation processing unit when the computer is started up, etc., and controls the operation of the calculation processing unit to realize a receiving unit 12, a generating unit 13, a transmitting unit 14, and a calculating unit 15 on the calculation processing unit.

[0033] The communication device 10 configured as above operates as follows in relation to time synchronization based on PTP. First, the storage unit 11 stores the MAC address 111 and the priority value 112 of the communication device 10 in advance. Next, the calculation unit 15 generates an old ClockIdentity value 113 based on the MAC address 111 stored in the storage unit 11 and stores it in the storage unit 11, for example, before starting up a communication system incorporating the communication device 10, and then generates a new ClockIdentity value 114 based on the stored old ClockIdentity value 113 and priority value 113 and stores it in the storage unit 11. Alternatively, the calculation unit 15 directly generates a new ClockIdentity value 114 based on the MAC address 111 and priority value 112 stored in the storage unit 11 without generating the old ClockIdentity value 113, and stores it in the storage unit 11.

[0034] Next, the receiving unit 12 receives an announce message from one or more GM devices connected to the communication device 10 during operation of the communication system incorporating the communication device 10. Next, the generating unit 13 selects an active GM device based on a parameter related to the priority of the BMCA extracted from the announce message received by the receiving unit 12. Next, the generating unit 13 generates an announce message to be transmitted to the PTP client device connected to the communication device 10 based on the parameter related to the priority of the BMCA extracted from the announce message received from the selected active GM device and the new ClockIdentity value 114 held in the holding unit 11. Next, the transmitting unit 14 transmits the announce message generated by the generating unit 13 from the transmission port of the communication device 10 to the PTP slave port of the PTP client device connected to the communication device 10.

[0035] As described above, when the communication device 10 according to the present embodiment is connected to the PTP slave port of the PTP client device as a BC device of the 1st system, an announce message including a Header with an Identities of Senders value set to a value smaller than the Identities of Senders value, which is one of the parameters related to the priority of the BMCA transmitted from the BC device of the 2nd system connected to the PTP slave port of the 2nd system of the PTP client device, can be transmitted to the PTP slave port of the 1st system of the PTP client device. On the other hand, when the communication device 10 according to the present embodiment is connected to the PTP slave port of the 2nd system of the PTP client device as a BC device of the 2nd system, an announce message including a Header with an Identities of Senders value set to a value larger than the Identities of Senders value, which is one of the parameters related to the priority of the BMCA transmitted from the BC device of the 1st system connected to the PTP slave port of the 1st system of the PTP client device, can be transmitted to the PTP slave port of the 2nd system of the PTP client device. Therefore, when the BC device of system 1 and the BC device of system 2 are synchronized to the grandmaster clock of the same GM device, the PTP slave port of the current system of each PTP client device having redundant PTP slave ports of systems 1 and 2 can be unified into the PTP slave port of system 1.

[0036] [Second embodiment] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a communication system 100 using the communication device 10 according to the first embodiment as a BC device of a first system and a BC device of a second system. The communication system 100 according to this embodiment includes GM devices 1-1, 1-2, TC devices 2-1, 2-2, BC devices 3-1 to 3-4, and PTP client devices 4-1, 4-2. The GM devices 1-1, 1-2, TC devices 2-1, 2-2, BC devices 3-1 to 3-4, and PTP client devices 4-1, 4-2 communicate in accordance with the IEEE1588 standard.

[0037] GM device 1-1 and GM device 1-2 are master devices that provide the reference time. In this example, the two GM devices 1-1 and 1-2 are used for redundancy. TC device 2-1 is connected to GM device 1-1 via an Ethernet (registered trademark) cable (hereinafter simply referred to as cable) 5-1, and TC device 2-2 is connected to GM device 1-2 via cable 5-2. Four BC devices 3-1 to 3-4 are connected one-to-one to TC device 2-1 via four cables 5-3 to 5-6, and the same four BC devices 3-1 to 3-4 are connected one-to-one to TC device 2-2 via four cables 5-7 to 5-10.

[0038] In this way, each BC device 3-1 to 3-4 can communicate with the two GM devices 1-1 and 1-2 via the TC devices 2-1 and 2-2, so that even if communication with one of the GM devices 1-1 and 1-2 becomes impossible, time synchronization can be achieved. Each BC device 3-1 to 3-4 selects which of the two GM devices 1-1 and 1-2 to use as the current GM device according to the BMCA. That is, each BC device 3-1 to 3-4 compares a parameter related to the priority of the BMCA extracted from the announce message received from the GM device 1-1 through the TC device 2-1 with a parameter related to the priority of the BMCA extracted from the announce message received from the GM device 1-2 through the TC device 2-2 to select the current GM device. Then, each BC device 3-1 to 3-4 operates as a slave with the selected current GM device as the master, and operates in synchronization with the grandmaster clock sent by the current GM device.

[0039] The BC device 3-1 is connected to the PTP slave port 4-1-1 of the PTP client device 4-1 of the first system by a cable 5-11. The BC device 3-2 is connected to the PTP slave port 4-1-2 of the PTP client device 4-1 of the second system by a cable 5-12. The BC device 3-3 is connected to the PTP slave port 4-2-1 of the first system by a cable 5-13. The BC device 3-4 is connected to the PTP slave port 4-2-2 of the second system by a cable 5-14. That is, the BC devices 3-1 and 3-3 are the BC devices of the first system, and the BC devices 3-2 and 3-4 are the BC devices of the second system. Although one PTP client device is connected to one BC device in FIG. 1, two or more PTP client devices may be connected to one BC device. However, when multiple PTP client devices are connected to the BC devices 3-1 and 3-3 of system 1, all of those PTP client devices must be connected to the BC device of system 1 via the PTP slave port of system 1. Similarly, when multiple PTP client devices are connected to the BC devices 3-2 and 3-4 of system 2, all of those PTP client devices must be connected to the BC device of system 2 via the PTP slave port of system 2.

[0040] The PTP client device 4-1 can achieve time synchronization even if it is unable to communicate with one of the BC devices 3-1 and 3-2 by communicating with the two BC devices 3-1 and 3-2 via cables 5-11 and 5-12. Also, the PTP client device 4-2 can achieve time synchronization even if it is unable to communicate with one of the BC devices 3-3 and 3-4 by communicating with the two BC devices 3-3 and 3-4 via cables 5-13 and 5-14. Each PTP client device 4-1 and 4-2 selects which of the two BC devices to use as the current BC device according to the BMCA.

[0041] That is, the PTP client device 4-1 compares the parameter related to the priority of the BMCA extracted from the announce message received from the BC device 3-1 at the PTP slave port 4-1-1 of the first system with the parameter related to the priority of the BMCA extracted from the announce message received from the BC device 3-2 at the PTP slave port 4-1-2 of the second system to select the current BC device. Then, the PTP client device 4-1 operates in slave operation with the selected current BC device as the master, in synchronization with the grandmaster clock sent by the current BC device. At this time, the PTP slave port to which the selected current BC device is connected becomes the PTP slave port of the current system. The PTP client device 4-2 also performs the same operation as the PTP client device 4-1, thereby selecting the current BC device, and operates in slave operation with the selected current BC device as the master, in synchronization with the grandmaster clock sent by the current BC device.

[0042] As described in the first embodiment, the Identities of Senders value, which is one parameter related to the priority of the BMCA in the Announce message sent from the BC devices 3-1 and 3-3 of the first system, is smaller than the Identities of Senders value, which is one parameter related to the priority of the BMCA in the Announce message sent from the BC devices 3-2 and 3-4 of the second system. Therefore, when the BC devices 3-1 and 3-3 of the first system and the BC devices 3-2 and 3-4 of the second system are synchronized with the grandmaster clock of the same GM device, for example, the grandmaster clock of the GM device 1-1, the PTP client devices 4-1 and 4-2 select the BC devices 3-1 and 3-2 with the smaller value of Identities of Senders as the active BC device. As a result, the PTP slave ports of the first system of both the PTP client devices 4-1 and 4-2 become the active PTP slave ports.

[0043] On the other hand, when the communication device 10 according to the present invention is not applied to the BC devices 3-1 to 3-4, there is no guarantee that the active PTP slave ports of the PTP client devices 4-1 and 4-2 can be unified into a specific one system. The reason is that there is no guarantee that the magnitude relationship between the old ClockIdentity values of the BC device 3-1 and the BC device 3-2 and the magnitude relationship between the old ClockIdentity values of the BC device 3-3 and the BC device 3-4 in the constructed communication system are the same. If the old ClockIdentity value of the BC device 3-1 < the old ClockIdentity value of the BC device 3-2 and the old ClockIdentity value of the BC device 3-3 > the old ClockIdentity value of the BC device 3-4, then in the PTP client device 4-1, the PTP slave port of one system becomes the active system, and in the PTP client device 4-2, the PTP slave port of the second system becomes the active system, and they are not unified.

[0044] In addition, when constructing a communication system, if the system designer compares the MAC addresses of the BC devices in a redundant relationship and arranges the one with the smaller MAC address value in the system through which PTP is desired, the current problem can be avoided. However, in order to maintain unity and redundancy, each time a failed BC device is replaced with a maintenance BC device during operation, a maintenance BC device with a MAC address value having a predetermined magnitude relationship with other BC devices in a redundant relationship is required. If there is no such maintenance BC device, it becomes difficult to maintain both unity and redundancy. The state where it is not known whether the active system is one system or two systems in terms of the PTP client device unit is not preferable because it may accidentally cut off the active system path during equipment maintenance replacement or inspection due to an incorrect operation, affecting the service.

[0045] 2, when a failure occurs in the active GM device (for example, GM device 1-1) and distribution of the grandmaster clock from the active GM device 1-1 is interrupted, each BC device 3-1 to 3-4 will synchronize with the grandmaster clock distributed from the backup GM device 1-2. Therefore, the grandmaster clock of the GM device 1-2 is distributed from each BC device 3-1 to 3-4 to each PTP client device 4-1, 4-2. At this time, there is no change in the active PTP slave port of each PTP client device 4-1, 4-2.

[0046] Furthermore, when a failure occurs in both GM devices 1-1, 1-2 and distribution of the grandmaster clocks of both systems is interrupted, each BC device 3-1 to 3-4 becomes a clock distribution source and transmits the BC clock to the subordinate PTP client devices 4-1, 4-2. At this time, Priority1 and Priority2 related to the priority of the BMCA included in the announce message sent from each BC device 3-1 to 3-4 to each PTP client device 4-1, 4-2 become Priority1 and Priority2 of each BC device 3-1 to 3-4. Therefore, by setting Priority1 and Priority2 of each BC device 3-1 to 3-4 to the magnitude relationship as described in the first embodiment, the PTP slave port of the active system of the PTP client devices 4-1 to 4-2 can be maintained the same as before the failure occurred.

[0047] In addition, in the PTP client devices 4-1 and 4-2 in which a failure occurs in the active BC device and distribution of the grandmaster clock is interrupted, they will synchronize with the grandmaster clock distributed from the backup BC device. In addition, in the PTP client devices 4-1 and 4-2 in which a failure occurs in the active PTP slave port and reception of the grandmaster clock is interrupted, they will synchronize with the grandmaster clock received from the backup PTP slave port. In this way, when a failure occurs in the BC device or the PTP slave port, it becomes impossible to unify the active PTP slave ports of all the PTP client devices 4-1 and 4-2 in the entire communication system to the 1st system (or the 2nd system). Therefore, when a failure occurs, it may be necessary to check the active PTP slave ports of the PTP client devices 4-1 and 4-2. In this embodiment, since the active PTP slave ports are unified to either the 1st system or the 2nd system under normal conditions, this checking work can be easily performed.

[0048] For example, assume a communication system in which the PTP slave ports of the active system are unified to system 1 under normal conditions. In this case, if the BC device that has caused the failure is a BC device of system 1, it can be confirmed that the active system of the PTP client device under the failure is system 2, and if the BC device that has caused the failure is a BC device of system 2, it can be confirmed that the active system of the PTP client device under the failure remains system 1. Also, if the PTP slave port that has caused the failure is system 1, it can be confirmed that the active system of the PTP client device is the PTP slave port of system 2, and if the PTP slave port that has caused the failure is system 2, it can be confirmed that the active system of the PTP client device remains the PTP slave port of system 1.

[0049] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the above-mentioned embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments. Various modifications that can be understood by those skilled in the art can be made to the configuration and details of the present invention within the scope of the present invention. For example, instead of the above-mentioned CPU, a GPU (Graphic Processing Unit), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), an FPU (Floating number Processing Unit), a PPU (Physics Processing Unit), a TPU (Tensor Processing Unit), a quantum processor, a microcontroller, or a combination of these can be used. [Industrial Applicability]

[0050] The present invention can be applied to communication devices in general that perform communication in time synchronization based on the PTP of the IEEE 1588 standard. [Explanation of symbols]

[0051] 10. Communications equipment 11 Holding part 111 MAC Address 112 Priority Value 113 Old ClockIdentity value 114 New ClockIdentity Values 12 Receiving section 13 Generation part 14 Transmitter 15 Calculation section 1-1, 1-2 GM device 2-1, 2-2 TC device 3-1~3-4 BC device 4-1 PTP client device 4-1-1 PTP slave port of system 1 4-1-2 PTP slave port for system 2 4-2 PTP client device 4-2-1 PTP slave port for system 1 4-2-2 PTP slave port for system 2 5-1~5-14 Cable

Claims

1. A communication device that performs communication in time synchronization based on PTP (Precision Time Protocol), a storage unit that stores an identifier of a communication device having a priority value of the communication device in upper bits that is set to a smaller value when the communication device is connected to a PTP slave port of a specific system that is unified as a current system among a plurality of PTP slave ports of a PTP client device; A receiving unit that receives a first announcement message from a GM device of an active system; a generating unit configured to generate a second announce message based on a parameter related to a priority of a Best Master Clock Algorithm (BMCA) extracted from the first announce message received by the receiving unit and the identifier; a transmitting unit that transmits the generated second announcement message to a PTP slave port of a PTP client device to which the communication device is connected; A communication device comprising:

2. a calculation unit that creates the identifier from a MAC address of the communication device and the priority value and stores the identifier in the storage unit, The communication device according to claim 1 .

3. The identifier is generated by replacing the upper 8 bits of an interface ID in EUI-64 format of the communication device with the priority value. The communication device according to claim 1 .

4. The second announcement message is configured to include header information created based on the identifier. The communication device according to claim 1 .

5. The header information includes a sourcePortIdentity that is composed of a ClockIdentity value that is the identifier and a PortNumber value of a transmission port of the communication device. The communication device according to claim 4.

6. the priority value also serves as Priority 2 of the communication device, and Priority 2 is set to a smaller value when the communication device is connected to the PTP slave port of the specific one system compared to when the communication device is connected to a PTP slave port other than the PTP slave port of the specific one system. The communication device according to claim 1 .

7. the priority value also serves as Priority 1 of the communication device, and Priority 1 is set to a smaller value when the communication device is connected to the PTP slave port of the specific one system compared to when the communication device is connected to a PTP slave port other than the PTP slave port of the specific one system. The communication device according to claim 1 .

8. A system including at least one grandmaster clock device, a plurality of BC (Boundary Clock) devices synchronized with a grandmaster clock distributed by the grandmaster clock device and configured redundantly in a plurality of systems, and a plurality of PTP client devices having a PTP slave port configured redundantly in a plurality of systems, each system of the PTP client devices being connected to the BC device of a corresponding system, the BC device being configured by a communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 7. Communication systems.

9. A method for operating a communication device that performs communication in time synchronization based on PTP (Precision Time Protocol), the method including a storage unit that stores an identifier of the communication device, the identifier having a priority value of the communication device in upper bits that is set to a smaller value compared to when the communication device is connected to a PTP slave port other than the PTP slave port of the specific one system, when the communication device is connected to a PTP slave port of a specific system that is unified as a current system among a plurality of systems of PTP slave ports possessed by a PTP client device, the method comprising: receiving a first announce message from a current GM device; generating a second announce message based on a Best Master Clock Algorithm (BMCA) priority-related parameter extracted from the received first announce message and the identifier; transmitting the generated second announcement message to a PTP slave port of a PTP client device to which the communication device is connected; A method of operation of a communications device.

10. A computer that performs communication in time synchronization based on PTP (Precision Time Protocol), and when the computer is connected to a specific PTP slave port of one system that is unified as a current system among a plurality of PTP slave ports of a PTP client device, the computer has a storage unit that stores an identifier of the computer having a priority value of the computer in upper bits that is set to a smaller value compared to when the communication device is connected to a PTP slave port other than the PTP slave port of the specific one system, receiving a first announcement message from a current GM device; generating a second announce message based on a Best Master Clock Algorithm (BMCA) priority-related parameter extracted from the received first announce message and the identifier; transmitting the generated second announcement message to a PTP slave port of a PTP client device to which the computer is connected; A program to carry out the above.

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