Bandwidth adjustment method and related apparatus

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of communications. Disclosed is a bandwidth adjustment method, which can realize the dynamic adjustment of a data-bearing pipeline bandwidth and meet the dynamic change requirements of service scenarios. In the method, a negotiation mechanism for bandwidth adjustment is introduced between two communication apparatuses in a fine granularity metro transport network (fgMTN), the two communication apparatuses negotiate a bandwidth adjustment by means of handshake communication and simultaneously configure a new bandwidth for a data-bearing pipeline at a specific time point, and a new time slot allocation method after the bandwidth of the data-bearing pipeline is adjusted is designated during negotiation, thus ensuring that the data-bearing pipeline can be normally used after the bandwidth thereof is adjusted, and thereby realizing the dynamic adjustment of a data-bearing pipeline bandwidth and meeting the dynamic change requirements of service scenarios.

Description

A bandwidth adjustment method and related device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office on December 5, 2023, with application number 202311666973.4 and application name “A Bandwidth Adjustment Method and Related Devices”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a bandwidth adjustment method and related devices. Background Art

[0003] Traditional network dedicated line technologies fall into two broad categories: packet switching and circuit switching. Packet switching divides the data to be transmitted into multiple groups of a certain length, each group being tagged with an address, allowing many different data packets to be transmitted over a shared physical line. Circuit switching, generally based on time-division multiplexing (TDM), interweaves different data within different time periods and transmits them along the same channel. This ensures that each user has exclusive bandwidth resources and provides good isolation.

[0004] The Fine Granularity Metro Transport Network (fgMTN) is a dedicated network architecture based on circuit-switching technology. In an fgMTN, dedicated network lines are divided into multiple large-granularity pipes based on bandwidth. Each large-granularity pipe carries data from one or more small-granularity customers. Generally, the bandwidth of a large-granularity pipe ranges from 1 gigabyte (G) to 10G.

[0005] Currently, in fgMTN, the bandwidth of large-granularity pipes is usually uniformly configured by the network management, and dynamic adjustment of the bandwidth of large-granularity pipes cannot be achieved. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This application provides a bandwidth adjustment method that can dynamically adjust the bandwidth of data-bearing pipes to meet the dynamically changing needs in business scenarios.

[0007] In a first aspect, the present application provides a bandwidth adjustment method, which is applied to a first communication device in an fgMTN. Specifically, the bandwidth adjustment method includes the following steps: First, the first communication device sends a first request message to the second communication device, where the first request message is used to indicate the time slot allocation method after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted. The first bearer pipe is a data bearer pipe in the fgMTN. The time slot allocation method after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted is used to indicate the correspondence between small-granularity customers using the first bearer pipe and the time slots provided after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted, that is, to indicate which time slots are used to transmit the data of the corresponding small-granularity customers. In addition, since there is a positive proportional relationship between the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe and the total number of time slots, when the time slot allocation method after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is indicated by the first request message, the adjusted bandwidth of the first bearer pipe can also be indicated at the same time (that is, the adjusted bandwidth of the first bearer pipe can be determined based on the total number of time slots in the time slot allocation method).

[0008] Then, when the second communication device confirms that it supports the time slot allocation mode indicated by the first request information, the first communication device receives first response information sent by the second communication device, where the first response information is used to indicate that the second communication device supports the time slot allocation mode.

[0009] Next, the first communication device sends a second request message to the second communication device. The second request message is used to instruct the second communication device to configure the time slot allocation method to take effect at a preset time. This allows the first communication device to send data to the second communication device at the preset time according to the time slot allocation method negotiated between the first and second communication devices and the adjusted bandwidth of the first bearer channel. For example, if the bandwidth of the first bearer channel is increased, the first communication device will need to increase the data transmission rate when sending data to the second communication device based on the new time slot allocation method to ensure that data is sent to the second communication device based on the adjusted bandwidth of the first bearer channel. The second communication device then receives the data sent by the first communication device at the preset time according to the time slot allocation method negotiated between the first and second communication devices and the adjusted bandwidth of the first bearer channel. This ensures lossless data transmission on the first bearer channel between the first and second communication devices and avoids data loss due to time slot misalignment.

[0010] In this solution, a bandwidth adjustment negotiation mechanism is introduced between two communication devices in the fgMTN. The two communication devices negotiate bandwidth adjustments through handshake communication and simultaneously configure new bandwidth for the data bearer channel at a specific time point. During the negotiation process, the new time slot allocation method for the data bearer channel after the bandwidth adjustment is specified, ensuring that the data bearer channel can be used normally after the bandwidth adjustment. This achieves dynamic adjustment of the data bearer channel bandwidth and meets the dynamically changing needs of business scenarios.

[0011] In one possible implementation, the first bearer pipe is a data bearer pipe in fgMTN's dedicated network line. The dedicated network line includes multiple data bearer pipes, and the first bearer pipe is used to carry service data for one or more small-granularity customers. In other words, the first bearer pipe is actually one of multiple large-granularity pipes divided from the dedicated network line, and can be used to carry service data for different small-granularity customers.

[0012] In this solution, by dynamically adjusting the bandwidth of the data-carrying pipeline in the network dedicated line, the bandwidth of the data-carrying pipeline can dynamically change with the customer's bandwidth demand, meeting the dynamically changing needs in business scenarios.

[0013] In one possible implementation, the time slot allocation method specifically includes a correspondence between a small-granularity overhead multiframe indication fgOMFI and a small-granularity client identifier, where fgOMFI is used to indicate the sequence number of the overhead information after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted. The total amount of overhead information within a period after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted is related to the adjusted bandwidth value.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the preset time point is a time point after the first communication device sends the second request information and the fgOMFI corresponding to the first bearer pipe is 0. Specifically, since the first communication device carries fgOMFI in the OH field of each frame when sending frames to the second communication device through the first bearer pipe, and the value of fgOMFI is continuously polled within a certain range as the number of frames increases (that is, the first communication device inserts the value of fgOMFI in a specific range in the frame in turn), the first communication device can use the time point when fgOMFI is 0 in the frame carried by the first bearer pipe as the boundary node, triggering the two communication devices to configure the time slot allocation method to take effect at the same time.

[0015] Alternatively, the preset time point is the time point at which the data plane time slot starts after the first communication device sends the second request information. Here, a round of data plane time slots refers to the time slot corresponding to the data plane in a complete time slot cycle. That is, the preset time point can actually be the time point at which the Nth time slot cycle starts after the first communication device sends the second request information, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1. For example, the preset time point is the time point at which the next time slot cycle starts after the first communication device sends the second request information. Optionally, in some embodiments, the preset time point can also be the time point at which the starting point of the data frame and the starting point of the time slot cycle coincide.

[0016] In this solution, by configuring the negotiated time slot allocation method to take effect at the boundary of the time slot cycle, the first communication device and the second communication device can both trigger the new time slot allocation method to take effect at the same time node, ensuring that the first communication device and the second communication device can subsequently transmit data based on the new time slot allocation method.

[0017] In one possible implementation, after the bandwidth of a first bearer channel is adjusted, the number of small-granularity clients using the first bearer channel changes. The time slot allocation method after the bandwidth adjustment of the first bearer channel indicates the correspondence between the changed small-granularity clients and the time slots corresponding to the first bearer channel.

[0018] In this solution, during the process of adjusting the bandwidth of the data bearer pipe, the changes in the small-granularity customers in the data bearer pipe are simultaneously reflected in the time slot allocation method, which can avoid the additional steps of negotiating the changes in the small-granularity customers in the data bearer pipe between communication devices and reduce the message overhead between communication devices.

[0019] In one possible implementation, after the bandwidth of the first bearer channel is adjusted, the number of small-particle customers using the first bearer channel remains unchanged, but the number of time slots corresponding to target small-particle customers using the first bearer channel changes. The target small-particle customers may refer to some or all small-particle customers using the first bearer channel. The change in the number of time slots corresponding to the target small-particle customers indicates a change in the bandwidth corresponding to the target small-particle customers.

[0020] In this solution, during the process of adjusting the bandwidth of the data bearer pipe, the bandwidth changes of small-particle customers in the data bearer pipe are also reflected in the time slot allocation method. This can avoid the additional negotiation steps between communication devices to adjust the bandwidth of small-particle customers in the data bearer pipe, and reduce the message overhead between communication devices.

[0021] In a possible implementation, the first request information is further used to request the second communication device to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe.

[0022] In other words, the first request message indicates both a request for the second communication device to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer channel and the time slot allocation method after the bandwidth adjustment of the first bearer channel. Thus, upon receiving the first request message, if the second communication device recognizes that the first request message is a request to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer channel, it can confirm that the time slot allocation method indicated in the first request message is, in fact, the time slot allocation method corresponding to the bandwidth adjustment of the first bearer channel.

[0023] In one possible implementation, the first request information indicates a request to the second communication device to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe via a target bit in an overhead (OH) field of a frame, wherein the target bit is, for example, an existing bit or a reserved bit in the overhead field of the frame.

[0024] In this solution, by instructing the requesting communication device to adjust the bandwidth of the data carrying pipe through the target bit in the OH field of the frame, it is possible to simultaneously instruct the requesting communication device to adjust the bandwidth of the data carrying pipe and the time slot allocation method after the bandwidth is adjusted in the same request information, thereby improving the communication efficiency between communication devices.

[0025] In one possible implementation, before the first communication device sends the first request information to the second communication device, the method further includes: the first communication device sends a third request information to the second communication device, where the third request information is used to request the second communication device to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe; and the first communication device receives a third response information sent by the second communication device, where the third response information is used to indicate that the second communication device supports adjusting the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe.

[0026] That is, when the first communication device needs to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer channel, it first sends a request message to the second communication device to request the second communication device to cooperate in adjusting the bandwidth of the first bearer channel, so as to confirm whether the second communication device can support the adjustment of the bandwidth of the first bearer channel.

[0027] In one possible implementation, before the first communication device sends the first request information to the second communication device, the first communication device generates a time slot table of the OH plane, where the time slot table of the OH plane is used to indicate the time slot corresponding to the first bearer pipe and the OH information that needs to be transmitted in the time slot corresponding to the first bearer pipe, where the OH information is the information in the OH field of the frame.

[0028] The first communication device then transmits the OH information to the data plane based on the OH plane's time slot table, so that the data plane sends the first request information or the second request information in the time slot corresponding to the first bearer channel. That is, when the first communication device transmits a frame to the second communication device on the data plane, the first communication device transmits the OH information to the data plane based on the OH plane's time slot table. This allows the data plane to organize the acquired OH information into the content of the frame's OH field and transmit it in the time slot corresponding to the first bearer channel, thereby achieving the transmission of the aforementioned first request information, second request information, or third request information.

[0029] In this solution, based on the time slot table of the OH plane, it is possible to determine which OH information (i.e., the content of the first request information, the second request information, and the third request information) needs to be transmitted in which time slots (i.e., the time slots corresponding to the first bearer channel), thereby ensuring that the time slot table of the data plane does not need to be modified and that the business data of small-granularity customers can be sent normally.

[0030] In one possible implementation, the first communication device generates a backup time slot table for the data plane based on a time slot allocation method. The backup time slot table for the data plane is used to indicate the distribution of time slots corresponding to small-granularity clients in the first bearer channel after bandwidth adjustment. Furthermore, the first communication device switches the backup time slot table for the data plane to a primary time slot table at a preset time point.

[0031] In this solution, a backup time slot table for the data plane is generated in advance, and the pre-generated backup time slot table is switched to the main time slot table at a preset time point, thereby improving the efficiency of time slot table switching. This ensures that business data is transmitted normally according to the old time slot allocation method before the preset time point, and that business data is transmitted according to the new time slot allocation method after the preset time point, thereby ensuring that the bandwidth adjustment process does not affect the normal transmission of business data.

[0032] A second aspect of the present application provides a bandwidth adjustment method, which is applied to a second communication device in an fgMTN, comprising: the second communication device receiving first request information sent by a first communication device, the first request information being used to indicate a time slot allocation method after the bandwidth of a first bearer pipe is adjusted, the time slot allocation method being used to indicate a correspondence between small-granularity clients using the first bearer pipe and time slots provided after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted, the first bearer pipe being a data bearer pipe in the fgMTN; the second communication device sending first response information to the first communication device, the first response information being used to indicate that the second communication device supports the time slot allocation method; and the second communication device receiving second request information sent by the first communication device, the second request information being used to instruct the second communication device to configure the time slot allocation method to take effect at a preset time point.

[0033] In a possible implementation, the first bearer pipe is a data bearer pipe in a dedicated network line of fgMTN, the dedicated network line includes multiple data bearer pipes, and the first bearer pipe is used to carry service data of one or more small-granularity customers.

[0034] In one possible implementation, the time slot allocation method specifically includes a correspondence between a small-granularity overhead multiframe indication fgOMFI and a small-granularity client identifier, where fgOMFI is used to indicate the sequence number of the overhead information after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted. The total amount of overhead information within a period after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted is related to the adjusted bandwidth value.

[0035] In one possible implementation, the preset time point is the time point after the first communication device sends the second request information and the fgOMFI corresponding to the first bearer pipe is 0; or, the preset time point is the time point when the next round of data plane time slots starts after the first communication device sends the second request information.

[0036] In a possible implementation, after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted, the small-granularity clients using the first bearer pipe change; the time slot allocation mode is used to indicate the correspondence between the changed small-granularity clients and the time slots corresponding to the first bearer pipe.

[0037] In a possible implementation, after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted, the number of time slots corresponding to the target small-granularity clients using the first bearer pipe changes.

[0038] In a possible implementation, the first request information is further used to request the second communication device to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe.

[0039] In a possible implementation, the first request information indicates, through a target bit in an OH field of a frame, a request to the second communication apparatus to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe.

[0040] In one possible implementation, before the second communication device receives the first request information sent by the first communication device, the second communication device receives third request information sent by the first communication device, where the third request information is used to request the second communication device to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe; the second communication device sends third response information to the first communication device, where the third response information is used to indicate that the second communication device supports adjusting the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe.

[0041] A third aspect of the present application provides a communication device, characterized in that the device is a first communication device in an fgMTN, and the device includes: a sending module, configured to send a first request message to a second communication device, the first request message being used to indicate a time slot allocation method after a first bearer pipe adjusts its bandwidth, the time slot allocation method being used to indicate a correspondence between small-granularity clients using the first bearer pipe and time slots provided after the first bearer pipe adjusts its bandwidth, wherein the first bearer pipe is a data bearer pipe in the fgMTN; a receiving module, configured to receive a first response message sent by the second communication device, the first response message being used to indicate that the second communication device supports the time slot allocation method; and the sending module being further configured to send a second request message to the second communication device, the second request message being used to instruct the second communication device to configure the time slot allocation method to take effect at a preset time point.

[0042] In a possible implementation, the first bearer pipe is a data bearer pipe in a dedicated network line of fgMTN, the dedicated network line includes multiple data bearer pipes, and the first bearer pipe is used to carry service data of one or more small-granularity customers.

[0043] In one possible implementation, the time slot allocation method specifically includes a correspondence between a small-granularity overhead multiframe indication fgOMFI and a small-granularity client identifier, where fgOMFI is used to indicate the sequence number of the overhead information after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted. The total amount of overhead information within a period after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted is related to the adjusted bandwidth value.

[0044] In a possible implementation, the preset time point is a time point after the first communication device sends the second request information and the fgOMFI corresponding to the first bearer channel is 0;

[0045] Alternatively, the preset time point is a time point at which a data plane timeslot starts after the first communication device sends the second request information.

[0046] In a possible implementation, after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted, the small-granularity clients using the first bearer pipe change; the time slot allocation mode is used to indicate the correspondence between the changed small-granularity clients and the time slots corresponding to the first bearer pipe.

[0047] In a possible implementation, after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted, the number of time slots corresponding to the target small-granularity clients using the first bearer pipe changes.

[0048] In a possible implementation, the first request information is further used to request the second communication device to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe.

[0049] In a possible implementation, the first request information indicates, through a target bit in an overhead OH field of a frame, a request to the second communication apparatus to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe.

[0050] In one possible implementation, before sending the first request information to the second communication device, the sending module is further used to send a third request information to the second communication device, where the third request information is used to request the second communication device to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe; and the receiving module is further used to receive a third response information sent by the second communication device, where the third response information is used to indicate that the second communication device supports adjusting the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe.

[0051] In a possible implementation, the apparatus further includes: a processing module;

[0052] a processing module, configured to generate a time slot table of an OH plane, wherein the time slot table of the OH plane is configured to indicate a time slot corresponding to the first bearer pipe and OH information to be transmitted in the time slot corresponding to the first bearer pipe, wherein the OH information is information in an OH field of a frame;

[0053] The processing module is further configured to transmit OH information to the data plane based on the time slot table of the OH plane, so that the data plane sends the first request information or the second request information in the time slot corresponding to the first bearer channel.

[0054] In a possible implementation, the apparatus further includes: a processing module;

[0055] a processing module, configured to generate a data plane standby time slot table, wherein the data plane standby time slot table is used to indicate a distribution of time slots corresponding to small-granularity clients in the first bearer channel after bandwidth adjustment;

[0056] The processing module is further configured to switch the backup time slot table of the data plane to the main time slot table at a preset time point.

[0057] According to a fourth aspect of the present application, a communication device is provided, which is a second communication device in an fgMTN. The device includes: a receiving module for receiving a first request message sent by a first communication device, the first request message being used to indicate a time slot allocation method after a first bearer pipe adjusts its bandwidth, the time slot allocation method being used to indicate a correspondence between small-granularity clients using the first bearer pipe and time slots provided after the first bearer pipe adjusts its bandwidth, the first bearer pipe being a data bearer pipe in the fgMTN; a sending module for sending a first response message to the first communication device, the first response message being used to indicate that the second communication device supports the time slot allocation method; and the receiving module is further used to receive a second request message sent by the first communication device, the second request message being used to instruct the second communication device to configure the time slot allocation method to take effect at a preset time point.

[0058] In a possible implementation, the first bearer pipe is a data bearer pipe in a dedicated network line of fgMTN, the dedicated network line includes multiple data bearer pipes, and the first bearer pipe is used to carry service data of one or more small-granularity customers.

[0059] In one possible implementation, the time slot allocation method specifically includes a correspondence between a small-granularity overhead multiframe indication fgOMFI and a small-granularity client identifier, where fgOMFI is used to indicate the sequence number of the overhead information after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted. The total amount of overhead information within a period after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted is related to the adjusted bandwidth value.

[0060] In a possible implementation, the preset time point is a time point after the first communication device sends the second request information and the fgOMFI corresponding to the first bearer channel is 0;

[0061] Alternatively, the preset time point is a time point at which a data plane timeslot starts after the first communication device sends the second request information.

[0062] In a possible implementation, after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted, the small-granularity clients using the first bearer pipe change; the time slot allocation mode is used to indicate the correspondence between the changed small-granularity clients and the time slots corresponding to the first bearer pipe.

[0063] In a possible implementation, after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted, the number of time slots corresponding to the target small-granularity clients using the first bearer pipe changes.

[0064] In a possible implementation, the first request information is further used to request the second communication device to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe.

[0065] In a possible implementation, the first request information indicates, through a target bit in an OH field of a frame, a request to the second communication apparatus to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe.

[0066] In one possible implementation, before receiving the first request information sent by the first communication device, the receiving module is further used to receive third request information sent by the first communication device, where the third request information is used to request the second communication device to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe; and the sending module is further used to send third response information to the first communication device, where the third response information is used to indicate that the second communication device supports adjusting the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe.

[0067] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication device comprising a processor and a memory. The memory is used to store program code, and the processor is used to call the program code in the memory to enable the communication device to execute the method of any one of the embodiments of the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0068] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute a method as in any one of the embodiments of the first aspect.

[0069] A seventh aspect of the present application provides a computer program product, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute a method as in any one of the embodiments of the first aspect.

[0070] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a chip comprising one or more processors. Part or all of the processors are used to read and execute computer instructions stored in a memory to execute the method in any possible implementation of any of the above aspects. Optionally, the chip also includes a memory. Optionally, the chip also includes a communication interface, and the processor is connected to the communication interface. The communication interface is used to receive data and / or information to be processed, the processor obtains data and / or information from the communication interface, processes the data and / or information, and outputs the processing results through the communication interface. Optionally, the communication interface is an input / output interface or a bus interface. The method provided in the present application is implemented by one chip, or by multiple chips working together.

[0071] The solutions provided in the second to eighth aspects are used to implement or cooperate with the method provided in the first aspect, and therefore can achieve the same or corresponding beneficial effects as the first aspect, and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0072] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0073] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of implementing data transmission between communication devices according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0074] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a possible division of a data bearing pipeline provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0075] FIG4 is a flow chart of a bandwidth adjustment method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0076] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a frame format provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0077] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of a format of an OH field provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0078] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of a process of negotiating bandwidth reduction by a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0079] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a process for negotiating bandwidth increase for a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0080] FIG9 is a schematic diagram showing changes in a time slot allocation method before and after the bandwidth of a data bearer channel is increased, provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0081] FIG10 is a schematic diagram showing changes in a time slot allocation method before and after bandwidth reduction of a data bearer channel according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0082] FIG11 is a schematic diagram showing changes in time slot allocation before and after bandwidth reduction of another data bearer channel according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0083] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of interaction between an OH plane and a data plane provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0084] FIG13 is a schematic diagram of the format of a bearer channel mapping table provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0085] FIG14 is a time slot table of a single bearer channel provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0086] FIG15 is a schematic diagram of a time slot table of a data plane provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0087] FIG16 is a schematic diagram of a time slot table of an OH plane provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0088] FIG17 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0089] FIG18 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0090] FIG19 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0091] The following describes the embodiments of the present application in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the embodiments described are only part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that with the development of technology and the emergence of new scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0092] The terms "first," "second," and the like in the specification and claims of this application and the accompanying drawings are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or precedence. The terms "at least one" and "a plurality" in the embodiments of this application refer to one or more, and "a plurality" and "a plurality" refer to two or more.

[0093] The word “exemplary” is used exclusively herein to mean “serving as an example, example, or illustration.” Any embodiment described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments.

[0094] In order to facilitate those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solution of the present application, some relevant technologies and technical terms involved in the technical solution of the present application are first briefly introduced.

[0095] Figure 1 exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of an application scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application. The application scenario of the embodiment of the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0096] As shown in Figure 1, the system includes a network management device 100, a communication device 101, and a communication device 102. The communication devices 101 and 102 may be network devices or chips installed within network devices. Network devices include, but are not limited to, core routers, edge routers, optical transport network (OTN) transmission equipment, OTN optical service units (OSUs), and scenario-specific Internet Protocol Radio Access Network (IPRAN) and packet transport network (PTN) box or modular switch equipment.

[0097] As shown in Figure 1 , network management device 100 can be used to send control or management information to communication device 101 or communication device 102, such as information about changes in small-granularity customers or changes in bandwidth for small-granularity customers. Communication devices 101 and 102 can transmit data to each other. Both communication devices 101 and 102 can include a transmitting module and a receiving module. In other words, either communication device 101 or 102 can function as both the transmitting end 121 and, in some cases, the receiving end 122 in Figure 2 .

[0098] Please refer to Figure 2, which is a schematic diagram of data transmission between communication devices provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 2, the solution of the embodiment of the present application can be applied between the sending end 121 and the receiving end 122. In the embodiment of the present application, one or more services (such as service 1, service 2...service m in Figure 2) can be multiplexed at the sending end, and the multiplexed data is transmitted to the receiving end 122, and the receiving end 122 demultiplexes it to restore each service. In the embodiment of the present application, the services between the sending end 121 and the receiving end 122 can be dynamically adjusted, such as adding new services, deleting services, increasing service bandwidth, reducing service bandwidth, etc. In the embodiment of the present application, the sending end interface and the receiving end interface can be fgMTN interfaces, OTN interfaces, Ethernet interfaces, etc., or pipelines divided by these interfaces.

[0099] Please refer to Figure 3, which is a schematic diagram of the division of a possible data-carrying pipeline provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 3, based on Figure 2, the interface of the sending end 121 and the interface of the receiving end 122 can be divided into pipelines. Two terms are defined in the embodiment of the present application, namely, large-grain pipeline and small-grain pipeline. Large-grain pipeline and small-grain pipeline are relative. A large-grain pipeline can be divided into one or more small-grain pipelines. The bandwidth of a large-grain pipeline is usually greater than or equal to the bandwidth of a small-grain pipeline. Specifically, the large-grain pipeline between the sending end 121 and the receiving end 122 can be divided into multiple small-grain pipelines, and each small-grain pipeline can be used to carry business data. Generally, a small-grain pipeline can be understood as a logical pipeline. A small-grain pipeline is used to carry the business data of a small-grain user (such as one or more services under a small-grain user), and then a large-grain pipeline can be used to carry the business data of multiple small-grain users.

[0100] For example, the bandwidth of a large-granule pipe can be 1 to 10 gigabits per second (Gbps) or other bandwidth values. Furthermore, since the minimum bandwidth for small-granule services is typically 10 million bits per second (Mbps), a 5Gbps large-granule pipe can provide 480 small-granule time slots to carry small-granule services. Similarly, a 1Gbps large-granule pipe can provide 96 small-granule time slots to carry small-granule services.

[0101] In actual application scenarios, small-granularity customers lease part of the bandwidth of a dedicated network line. Based on the bandwidth leased by each small-granularity customer, a unique large-granularity pipeline can be determined for each small-granularity customer, allowing the large-granularity pipeline to carry each small-granularity customer's business data. Generally speaking, a single large-granularity pipeline can be used to carry the business data of multiple small-granularity customers. Furthermore, to ensure resource utilization of the large-granularity pipeline, the bandwidth of the large-granularity pipeline is often equal to the sum of the bandwidth leased by the multiple small-granularity customers carried by the large-granularity pipeline. However, as customer business dynamics change, the customers leasing the dedicated network line may change, and the bandwidth of the network line leased by the customer may also change, making it difficult for the bandwidth of the large-granularity pipeline to match the sum of the bandwidth leased by the small-granularity customers carried by the large-granularity pipeline.

[0102] Based on this, an embodiment of the present application provides a bandwidth adjustment method. By introducing a bandwidth adjustment negotiation mechanism between two communication devices in an fgMTN, the two communication devices negotiate bandwidth adjustment through a handshake communication method and simultaneously configure a new bandwidth for the data bearer pipe (i.e., the large-granular pipe mentioned above) at a specific time point. During the negotiation process, a new time slot allocation method is specified after the bandwidth of the data bearer pipe is adjusted, ensuring that the data bearer pipe can be used normally after the bandwidth adjustment, thereby achieving dynamic adjustment of the data bearer pipe bandwidth and meeting the dynamically changing needs in business scenarios.

[0103] Please refer to Figure 4, which is a flow chart of a bandwidth adjustment method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 4, the bandwidth adjustment method includes the following steps 401-404.

[0104] In step 401, a first communication device sends a first request message to a second communication device. The first request message is used to indicate a time slot allocation method after the bandwidth of a first bearer channel is adjusted. The time slot allocation method is used to indicate a correspondence between small-granularity clients using the first bearer channel and the time slots provided after the bandwidth of the first bearer channel is adjusted.

[0105] In this embodiment, when a first communication device desires to adjust the bandwidth of a first bearer channel between the first communication device and a second communication device, the first communication device sends a first request message to the second communication device to negotiate with the second communication device how to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer channel. The first communication device is, for example, a transmitter of service data, and the second communication device is, for example, a receiver of service data. Specifically, the first communication device transmits service data to the second communication device via the first bearer channel.

[0106] Optionally, the first bearer channel is a data bearer channel within the fgMTN network dedicated line. The network dedicated line includes multiple data bearer channels, and the first bearer channel is used to carry service data for one or more small-granularity customers. That is, the first bearer channel is the large-granularity channel described above, used to carry small-granularity service data. The bandwidth of the first bearer channel can be, for example, 1 to 10 Gbps or other bandwidth values, such as 1 Gbps or 5 Gbps. In this embodiment, the bandwidth of the first bearer channel can be variable in 1 Gbps granularity, for example, from 1 Gbps to 2 Gbps, 5 Gbps, 10 Gbps, or other bandwidth values, or from 5 Gbps to 2 Gbps, 1 Gbps, or other bandwidth values. The bandwidth of the first bearer channel can also be variable in other bandwidth granularity, for example, from 5 Gbps to 10 Gbps with a 5 Gbps granularity. In short, this embodiment does not limit the granularity of bandwidth change of the first bearer channel, nor does it limit the range of bandwidth change of the first bearer channel. For ease of description, this embodiment is described below using the example of the bandwidth of the first bearer channel changing from 1 Gbps to 5 Gbps, and then from 5 Gbps to 1 Gbps.

[0107] Since the bandwidth of the small-granularity services carried by the first bearer channel is typically fixed, the number of small-granularity time slots provided by the first bearer channel is also fixed when the bandwidth of the first bearer channel is fixed. For example, when the bandwidth of the first bearer channel is 5 Gbps and the bandwidth of the small-granularity channel is 10 Mbps, the first bearer channel can provide 480 small-granularity time slots to carry small-granularity services. When the bandwidth of the first bearer channel is 1 Gbps and the bandwidth of the small-granularity channel is 10 Mbps, the first bearer channel can provide 96 small-granularity time slots to carry small-granularity services. Therefore, when the bandwidth of the first bearer channel is adjusted, the number of small-granularity time slots provided by the first bearer channel will change. Accordingly, when the number of small-granularity time slots provided by the first bearer channel changes, the correspondence between the small-granularity time slots provided by the first bearer channel after the bandwidth adjustment and the small-granularity clients will also often change. Therefore, the first communication device can indicate the time slot allocation method of the first bearer channel after the bandwidth adjustment through the first request information, so that the second communication device can subsequently receive data transmitted by the first communication device based on the new time slot allocation method.

[0108] It should be noted that this article uses a 10 Mbps bandwidth small-granularity pipe as an example to determine the number of time slots corresponding to the first bearer pipe at various bandwidths (for example, a 5 Gbps first bearer pipe can provide 480 time slots). In actual applications, the bandwidth of the small-granularity pipe can also be other values, such as 5 Mbps or 20 Mbps, and this embodiment does not specifically limit this.

[0109] For example, assume that the bandwidth of the first bearer channel is 1 Gbps before adjustment, and the 96 time slots provided by the first bearer channel are allocated to small-granularity customer 1 and small-granularity customer 2, respectively. Small-granularity customer 1 corresponds to 32 of the 96 time slots, and the time slots corresponding to small-granularity customer 1 are integer multiples of 3 (i.e., small-granularity customers correspond to time slots 0, 3, 6, ..., 93). Small-granularity customer 2 corresponds to the remaining 64 of the 96 time slots, i.e., small-granularity customers correspond to time slots 1, 2, 4, 5, ..., 95.

[0110] After the bandwidth of the first bearer channel is adjusted to 5 Gbps, the number of time slots provided by the first bearer channel increases from 96 to 480. If the 480 time slots provided by the first bearer channel after the bandwidth adjustment are still allocated to small-granule customer 1 and small-granule customer 2, the correspondence between the 480 time slots provided by the first bearer channel after the bandwidth adjustment and small-granule customer 1 and small-granule customer 2 will also change. For example, if small-granule customer 1 still corresponds to 32 time slots out of the 480 time slots, the time slot numbers corresponding to small-granule customer 1 can be integer multiples of 15 (i.e., small-granule customers correspond to time slots 0, 15, 30, ..., 465). Small-granule customer 2 corresponds to the other 448 time slots of the 480 time slots, i.e., small-granule customers correspond to time slots 1, 2, ..., 14, ..., 479.

[0111] It should be noted that the bandwidth of the first bearer channel is directly proportional to the time slots provided by the first bearer channel. Therefore, if the time slot allocation method of the first bearer channel is indicated, the bandwidth of the first bearer channel can actually be determined based on the number of time slots included in the time slot allocation method. For example, if the time slot allocation method indicated by the first request information is 480 time slots, the adjusted bandwidth of the first bearer channel can be determined to be 5 Gbps; if the time slot allocation method indicated by the first request information is 96 time slots, the adjusted bandwidth of the first bearer channel can be determined to be 1 Gbps.

[0112] Step 402: The second communication device sends first response information to the first communication device, where the first response information is used to indicate that the second communication device supports the time slot allocation mode.

[0113] After the second communication device receives the first request information sent by the first communication device, if the second communication device can identify the content indicated by the first request information sent by the first communication device and the second communication device can support the time slot allocation method after the bandwidth of the first bearer channel is adjusted, the second communication device can send a first response information to the first communication device to indicate that it supports the time slot allocation method indicated by the first communication device.

[0114] Step 403: The first communication device sends a second request message to the second communication device, where the second request message is used to instruct the second communication device to configure the time slot allocation mode to take effect at a preset time point.

[0115] After receiving the first response from the second communication device, the first communication device can confirm that the second communication device supports the bandwidth adjustment of the first bearer channel and the new time slot allocation scheme after the bandwidth adjustment. Therefore, to facilitate data transmission between the first and second communication devices using the new time slot allocation scheme, the first communication device sends a second request to the second communication device, instructing the second communication device to configure the time slot allocation scheme to take effect at a predetermined time.

[0116] In step 404, the first communication device and the second communication device configure the time slot allocation mode to take effect at a preset time point.

[0117] Specifically, the first communication device and the second communication device can configure a time slot table generated based on a negotiated time slot allocation scheme on the data plane to take effect at a preset time point. The time slot table configured by the first communication device is used to guide the first communication device in transmitting data, while the time slot table configured by the second communication device is used to guide the second communication device in receiving data. In this way, the first communication device transmits data to the second communication device at the preset time point according to the negotiated time slot allocation scheme and the adjusted bandwidth of the first bearer channel. For example, if the bandwidth of the first bearer channel increases, the first communication device may need to increase the data transmission rate when transmitting data to the second communication device based on the new time slot allocation scheme, thereby ensuring that data is transmitted to the second communication device based on the adjusted bandwidth of the first bearer channel. The second communication device then receives data sent by the first communication device at the preset time point according to the negotiated time slot allocation scheme and the adjusted bandwidth of the first bearer channel. This ensures lossless data transmission between the first and second communication devices on the first bearer channel, avoiding data loss due to time slot misalignment. For example, when the bandwidth of the first bearer channel is increased, the second communication device also needs to increase the data receiving rate when receiving data based on the new time slot allocation method, so as to ensure that data is received based on the adjusted bandwidth of the first bearer channel.

[0118] The above embodiments describe a negotiation between a first communication device and a second communication device regarding time slot allocation after a bearer channel bandwidth adjustment. To facilitate accurate identification by the second communication device of the first request information sent by the first communication device as indicating the time slot allocation after the bearer channel bandwidth adjustment, this embodiment provides various implementations.

[0119] In a possible implementation, the first request information sent by the first communication device is further used to request the second communication device to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe.

[0120] That is, the first request information is used to simultaneously indicate a request for the second communication device to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe and the time slot allocation method after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted. In this way, after the second communication device receives the first request information, if it recognizes that the first request information indicates a request to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe, it can confirm that the time slot allocation method indicated in the first request information is actually the time slot allocation method corresponding to the bandwidth adjustment of the first bearer pipe. Exemplarily, the first request information indicates a request for the second communication device to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe via a target bit in the overhead (OH) field of the frame. The target bit is, for example, an existing bit or a reserved bit in the overhead field of the frame. By setting the value of the target bit in the OH field to 1 in the frame sent by the first communication device to the second communication device, it is indicated that the second communication device is currently being requested to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe.

[0121] Please refer to Figures 5 and 6. Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the format of a frame provided in an embodiment of the present application; Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the format of an OH field provided in an embodiment of the present application. In fgMTN, the format of a frame sent by a first communication device to a second communication device is shown in Figure 5. The frame includes multiple fields, namely a block type S0 field, a reserved field, an OH field, a payload field, and a block type T7 field. The OH field can be used to carry the content of the first request information mentioned in this embodiment, and the payload field is used to carry the service data of the small-granule customer.

[0122] As shown in Figure 6, the OH field in the frame can be defined as multiple parts, including the Fine Granularity Overhead Multi frame indication (fgOMFI), the Fine Granularity Overhead Client Identity Document (fgClientID), the reserved bit (Reserved, Res), the expansion notification (S), the adjustment request (CR), the adjustment acknowledgement (CA), the adjustment commit (C) and other bits.

[0123] The target bits used to indicate the request for the second communication device to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer channel can be, for example, reserved bits in the OH field of a frame, or CR / CA / C / S bits in the OH field of a frame. Specifically, by defining the reserved bits in the OH field of a frame as being used to request bandwidth adjustment, the communication device on the other side can be notified to adjust the bandwidth of the data bearer channel. Alternatively, the function of an existing bit can be extended to enable notification of bandwidth adjustment to the communication device on the other side.

[0124] Optionally, the time slot allocation method indicated in the first request information specifically includes the correspondence between fgOMFI and the small-granularity customer identifier, and fgOMFI is used to indicate the serial number of the overhead information after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted. The total amount of overhead information within a period after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted is related to the adjusted bandwidth value. For example, when the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is 1Gbps after adjustment, the total amount of overhead information within a period after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted is 96, and the serial number of the overhead information after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted is 0 to 95. When the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is 5Gbps after adjustment, the total amount of overhead information within a period after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted is 480, and the serial number of the overhead information after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted is 0 to 479.

[0125] Generally speaking, in the OH field of a frame, the fgOMFI and the small-particle client identifier are used to indicate the correspondence between time slots and small-particle clients. For example, if the fgOMFI is 5 and the small-particle client identifier is 1 in the OH field of a frame, it means that the fifth time slot corresponds to small-particle client 1, that is, the fifth time slot of the current data bearer pipe is used to carry the service data of small-particle client 1. During normal communication, the first communication device and the second communication device will carry the fgOMFI and the small-particle client identifier in the OH field of each frame. The fgOMFI carried in the OH field of the frame will continuously change within a range as the number of frames increases (for example, the fgOMFI in the first frame is 0, the fgOMFI in the second frame is 1...the fgOMFI in the 96th frame is 95, and the fgOMFI in the 97th frame is 0), thereby indicating the correspondence between the time slots of the current data bearer pipe and the small-particle clients, and facilitating the first communication device and the second communication device to confirm the consistency of the correspondence between the time slots and small-particle clients.

[0126] In the case where the first request information indicates a request to the second communication device to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer channel via a target bit in the OH field of a frame, if the target bit in the OH field of the frame received by the second communication device is 1, the second communication device can confirm that the current request is to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer channel. Therefore, the OH field of the frame actually indicates the time slot allocation method after the bandwidth adjustment of the first bearer channel, rather than the time slot allocation method of the current bandwidth of the first bearer channel.

[0127] In another possible implementation, before the first communication device sends the first request information indicating the time slot allocation method after the bandwidth of the first bearer channel is adjusted to the second communication device, the first communication device and the second communication device first negotiate whether the bandwidth of the first bearer channel can be adjusted.

[0128] For example, in the embodiment corresponding to FIG. 4 described above, before the first communication device sends the first request message to the second communication device, the first communication device sends a third request message to the second communication device. The third request message is used to request the second communication device to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer channel. In other words, when the bandwidth of the first bearer channel needs to be adjusted, the first communication device first sends a request message to the second communication device to request the second communication device to cooperate in adjusting the bandwidth of the first bearer channel, thereby confirming whether the second communication device can support the adjustment of the bandwidth of the first bearer channel.

[0129] After the second communication device receives the third request information, if the second communication device supports adjusting the bandwidth of the first bearer channel, the second communication device sends a third response information to the first communication device, where the third response information indicates that the second communication device supports adjusting the bandwidth of the first bearer channel.

[0130] In this way, after receiving the third response information, the first communication device can confirm that the second communication device supports adjusting the bandwidth of the first bearer channel, and then continue to send the above-mentioned first request information to the second communication device to indicate the specific time slot allocation method after the bandwidth of the first bearer channel is adjusted.

[0131] Optionally, the third request information and the third response information are carried via reserved bits in the OH field of the frame. For example, when the first communication device sends a frame to the second communication device, it may set the reserved bit in the OH field of the frame shown in FIG. 6 to 1, thereby requesting the second communication device to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer channel.

[0132] Alternatively, the third request information and the third response information are carried by defining new bits in the OH field of the frame, that is, by defining new bits, it is possible to request the communication device on the opposite side to adjust the bandwidth of the data-bearing pipe or respond to the communication device on the opposite side itself to support adjusting the bandwidth of the data-bearing pipe.

[0133] Similarly, in the above embodiment, the first request information sent by the first communication device, the first response information sent by the second communication device, and the second request information sent by the first communication device can all be carried by defining new bits in the frame OH field.

[0134] For example, the first request message sets the value of the CR bit in the OH field of the message to 1 to indicate that the second communication device is being notified of the time slot allocation method of the first bearer channel after the bandwidth adjustment; the first response message sets the value of the CA bit in the OH field of the message to 1 to indicate that the second communication device supports the time slot allocation method of the first bearer channel after the bandwidth adjustment; and the second request message sets the value of the C bit in the OH field of the message to 1 to instruct the second communication device to configure the time slot allocation method to take effect at a preset time point. Optionally, in the above embodiment, after the first communication device and the second communication device have negotiated the time slot allocation method, the preset time point at which the time slot allocation method configured by the first and second communication devices takes effect can be implemented in multiple ways.

[0135] For example, the preset time point can be a time point after the first communication device sends the second request information and the fgOMFI corresponding to the first bearer pipe is 0. Specifically, since the first communication device carries fgOMFI in the OH field of each frame when sending frames to the second communication device through the first bearer pipe, and the value of fgOMFI will continue to poll within a certain range as the number of frames increases (that is, the first communication device inserts the value of fgOMFI in a specific range in the frame in turn), the first communication device can use the time point when fgOMFI is 0 in the frame carried by the first bearer pipe as the boundary node, triggering the two communication devices to configure the time slot allocation method to take effect at the same time.

[0136] For another example, the preset time point is the time point at which the data plane time slot starts after the first communication device sends the second request information. Here, a round of data plane time slots refers to the time slot corresponding to the data plane in a complete time slot cycle. That is, the preset time point can actually be the time point at which the Nth time slot cycle starts after the first communication device sends the second request information, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1. For example, the preset time point is the time point at which the next time slot cycle starts after the first communication device sends the second request information. Optionally, in some embodiments, the preset time point can also be the time point at which the starting point of the data frame and the starting point of the time slot cycle coincide.

[0137] Generally speaking, the total number of slots in a round of data plane slots is fixed (i.e., the slot period is fixed), and the total number of slots is related to the bandwidth of the data bearer. For example, a 5Gbps primary bearer has 5*96 slots in a round of data plane slots.

[0138] The above describes the process of negotiating bandwidth adjustment between two communication devices and configuring the bandwidth adjustment to take effect at a preset time point. For ease of understanding, the following will describe in detail how the communication devices implement the negotiation process in scenarios where bandwidth increases and decreases, using specific examples.

[0139] Please refer to Figure 7, which illustrates a process flow for communication devices to negotiate a bandwidth reduction, according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 7, the process for a first communication device and a second communication device to negotiate a bandwidth reduction for a first bearer channel includes steps 701 through 706. The first and second communication devices negotiate to reduce the bandwidth of the first bearer channel from 5 Gbps to 1 Gbps.

[0140] In step 701 , a first communication device sends a request message 1 to a second communication device to request the second communication device to adjust the bandwidth of a first bearer channel.

[0141] In this embodiment, the request information 1 is, for example, the third request information in the above embodiment. The specific manner in which the first communication device sends the request information 1 to the second communication device may be: for at least one frame sent by the first communication device to the second communication device through the first bearer pipe, the first communication device sets the value of the D.CR bit in the OH field of the frame to 1, thereby instructing the second communication device to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe carrying the current frame. The D.CR bit may be a reserved bit in the OH field of the frame (for example, any reserved bit located after fgClientID in the frame shown in FIG6 ) or a newly defined bit, that is, in this embodiment, a reserved bit may be defined as a D.CR bit for indicating a request to the opposite communication device to adjust the bandwidth of the data bearer pipe.

[0142] It should be noted that after the first communication device begins sending request information 1 to the second communication device, the first communication device may continue to carry request information 1 in frames sent to the second communication device via the first bearer channel, i.e., continuously set the value of the D.CR bit in the OH field of the frames to 1, until it receives a response message from the second communication device. Alternatively, the first communication device may continue to carry request information 1 in frames sent to the second communication device via the first bearer channel until it receives no response message from the second communication device after continuously sending a certain number of frames or a certain period of time. At this point, it may be determined that the second communication device does not support adjusting the bandwidth of the first bearer channel, and the request to the second communication device to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer channel may be stopped. Alternatively, the first communication device may carry request information 1 in frames sent to the second communication device via the first bearer channel within a limited time slot window, rather than continuously sending request information 1.

[0143] In step 702 , the second communication device sends a response message 1 to the first communication device to indicate that the second communication device supports adjusting the bandwidth of the first bearer channel.

[0144] After the second communication device receives the frame carrying request information 1 through the first bearer channel, if the second communication device itself can recognize that the frame sent by the first communication device is a request for the second communication device to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer channel, and the second communication device currently supports adjusting the bandwidth of the first bearer channel, then the second communication device can feedback response information 1 (for example, response information 1 is the third response information mentioned above) to the first communication device to indicate that the second communication device supports adjusting the bandwidth of the first bearer channel.

[0145] Among them, the manner in which the second communication device sends the response information 1 to the first communication device may specifically be: for at least one frame sent by the second communication device to the first communication device through the first bearer pipe, the second communication device sets the value of the D.CA bit in the OH field of the frame to 1, thereby indicating that the second communication device supports adjusting the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe carrying the current frame. Among them, the D.CA bit can be a reserved bit in the OH field of the frame (for example, the reserved bit located after fgClientID in the frame shown in Figure 6) or a newly defined bit, that is, in this embodiment, a reserved bit can be defined as a D.CR bit for indicating support for data bearer pipe bandwidth adjustment. It should be noted that the D.CA bit mentioned in step 2 and the D.CR bit mentioned in step 1 are different bits.

[0146] Furthermore, after the second communication device receives the frame carrying the request information 1 through the first bearer channel, if the second communication device cannot recognize that the frame sent by the first communication device is a request for the second communication device to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer channel, or if the second communication device can recognize the frame sent by the first communication device but does not support bandwidth adjustment of the first bearer channel (e.g., due to insufficient resources), the second communication device may not feedback any response information to the first communication device, or may feedback an agreed adjustment refusal information to the first communication device, thereby instructing the second communication device to refuse to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer channel.

[0147] In step 703 , the first communication device sends a request message 2 to the second communication device to indicate the time slot allocation method after the bandwidth of the first bearer channel is adjusted.

[0148] After the first communication device receives the response message 1 fed back by the second communication device, the first communication device can confirm that the second communication device supports adjusting the bandwidth of the first bearer channel. Therefore, the first communication device continues to send a request message 2 to the second communication device (the request message 2 is, for example, the first request message described above) to further indicate the time slot allocation method after the bandwidth of the first bearer channel is adjusted. Since the bandwidth of the data bearer channel is directly proportional to the number of time slots, after the time slot allocation method after the bandwidth of the first bearer channel is indicated by the request message 2, the corresponding bandwidth can be determined based on the number of time slots in the time slot allocation method, which is equivalent to the request message 2 being able to simultaneously indicate the adjusted bandwidth of the first bearer channel. Optionally, the network management device can also send the adjusted bandwidth of the first bearer channel to the second communication device in advance, so that after the second communication device receives the time slot allocation method indicated by the request message 2, it can verify whether the adjusted bandwidth of the first bearer channel indicated by the network management device and the first communication device are the same.

[0149] Among them, the specific way in which the first communication device sends request information 2 to the second communication device can be: for the frame sent by the first communication device to the second communication device through the first bearer pipe, the first communication device sets the value of the CR bit in the OH field of the frame (the CR bit shown in Figure 6) to 1; and the first communication device carries the time slot allocation method after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted through the fgOMFI field and fgClientID field of the frame.

[0150] Specifically, when the bandwidth of the first bearer channel changes from 5 Gbps to 1 Gbps, the fgOMFI value in the frame's fgOMFI field changes alternately between 0 and 95 as the frame increases, thereby indicating the 96 time slots corresponding to the first bearer channel's bandwidth becoming 1 Gbps. Furthermore, the fgClientID value in the frame's fgClientID field changes as the fgOMFI value changes, thereby indicating the corresponding small-granularity client for each time slot. In other words, in the frame's OH field, the fgOMFI field can actually be used to indicate the sequence number of each time slot provided after the bandwidth of the first bearer channel is adjusted, while the fgClientID can be used to indicate the small-granularity client corresponding to the time slot indicated by the fgClientID field. In this way, the first communication device can indicate the time slot allocation method after the bandwidth of the first bearer channel is adjusted by sending 96 frames to the second communication device, with each frame's OH field carrying a different fgOMFI value and corresponding fgClientID value.

[0151] As shown in Figure 7, in step 701, when the first communication device sends request message 1, the value of fgOMFI varies between 0 and 479, and the value of fgClientID is Pre-fgClientID. That is, the fgOMFI field and fgClientID are used to indicate the time slot allocation method before the bandwidth of the first bearer channel is adjusted. In this step, when the first communication device sends request message 2, the value of fgOMFI varies between 0 and 95, and the value of fgClientID is Target-fgClientID. That is, the fgOMFI field and fgClientID are used to indicate the time slot allocation method after the bandwidth of the first bearer channel is adjusted.

[0152] It should be noted that the fgOMFI range corresponding to the time slot allocation scheme after the bandwidth of the first bearer channel is adjusted will change from the time slot allocation scheme before the bandwidth adjustment (for example, when the bandwidth of the first bearer channel changes from 5 Gbps to 1 Gbps, the fgOMFI range corresponding to the time slot allocation scheme will change from 0-479 to 0-95). Therefore, to ensure that the second communication device can normally receive frames during the negotiation of bandwidth adjustment, the first communication device may begin sending request information 2 to the second communication device at the moment when fgOMFI is 0 in the next round. Furthermore, when the first communication device begins sending request information 2 to the second communication device, the fgOMFI range in the frames sent by the first communication device changes from 0-479 to 0-95.

[0153] It's worth noting that in step 703, the first communication device actually transmits the adjusted timeslot allocation for the first bearer channel (i.e., the new timeslot allocation) via the OH field of the frame. Furthermore, the frames sent by the first communication device to the second communication device also carry the data for the small-granule client (i.e., the data carried by the payload field of the frame). Before the new timeslot allocation takes effect, the first communication device continues to send the small-granule client data to the second communication device according to the previously negotiated timeslot allocation, and the second communication device also receives the small-granule client data according to the previously negotiated timeslot allocation, thereby ensuring normal transmission of the small-granule client data.

[0154] In step 704 , the second communication device sends a response message 2 to the first communication device, indicating that the second communication device supports the time slot allocation method after the bandwidth of the first bearer channel is adjusted.

[0155] When the second communication device receives the request message 2 sent by the first communication device and confirms that it supports the new timeslot allocation method indicated by the first communication device, it sends a response message 2 (e.g., the first response message described above) to the first communication device, indicating that it supports the timeslot allocation method after the bandwidth adjustment of the first bearer channel. If the second communication device does not support the new timeslot allocation method indicated by the first communication device, it does not send a response message back to the first communication device, or it sends back an adjustment rejection message, thereby terminating the bandwidth adjustment.

[0156] Among them, the specific way in which the second communication device sends response information 2 to the first communication device can be: for each frame sent by the second communication device to the first communication device through the first bearer channel, the second communication device sets the value of the CA bit in the OH field of the frame (the CA bit as shown in Figure 6) to 1.

[0157] In step 705 , the first communication device sends a request message 3 to the second communication device to instruct the second communication device to take effect a new time slot allocation method at a preset time point.

[0158] After the first communication device receives the response information 2 fed back by the second communication device, the first communication device can confirm that the second communication device supports the time slot allocation method after the bandwidth of the first bearer channel is adjusted. Therefore, the first communication device continues to send request information 3 (for example, request information 3 is the second request information described above) to the second communication device, so that the new time slot allocation method (i.e., the time slot allocation method after the bandwidth of the first bearer channel is adjusted) can be implemented by the first communication device and the second communication device at the same time point, thereby ensuring normal transmission and reception of frames.

[0159] Among them, the specific way in which the first communication device sends the request information 3 to the second communication device can be: for each frame sent by the first communication device to the second communication device through the first bearer pipe, the first communication device sets the value of the C bit in the OH field of the frame (the C bit as shown in Figure 6) to 1.

[0160] It should be noted that after receiving the response information 2 fed back by the second communication device, the first communication device may perform preparations on the data plane for sending data using the new time slot allocation method, such as generating a time slot table on the data plane based on the new time slot allocation method, so as to quickly switch to sending data using the new time slot allocation method at a preset time point. In addition, the first communication device may also perform preparations on the data plane for sending data using the new time slot allocation method after receiving the response information 2, and this embodiment does not specifically limit this.

[0161] Similarly, after receiving request information 2 or request information 3 sent by the first communication device, the second communication device can also perform preparations on the data plane to receive data in a new time slot allocation method, such as generating a time slot table on the data plane based on the new time slot allocation method, so as to be able to quickly switch to receiving data in the new time slot allocation method at a preset time point.

[0162] In step 706 , the first communication device and the second communication device take effect of the new time slot allocation method at a preset time point.

[0163] In this embodiment, step 706 is similar to the above-mentioned step 404. Please refer to the above-mentioned step 404 for details, and no further details will be given here.

[0164] That is, during the negotiation between the first and second communication devices for a new timeslot allocation scheme, only the timeslot allocation scheme indicated in the OH field changes. The first and second communication devices still transmit and receive data on the data plane according to the previously negotiated timeslot allocation scheme (this is equivalent to the timeslot allocation scheme on the OH plane being different from the timeslot allocation scheme actually implemented on the data plane). After the new timeslot allocation scheme takes effect, the first and second communication devices can then transmit and receive data according to the new timeslot allocation scheme. Furthermore, in the above example, the bandwidth of the first bearer channel changes from 5 Gbps (i.e., 5 * 1 Gbps) to 1 Gbps at a granularity of 1 Gbps. In some possible examples, the bandwidth of the first bearer channel can also be flexibly changed within a certain bandwidth range at a granularity of other bandwidth values, which is not limited in this embodiment. For example, the bandwidth of the first bearer channel can change from 10 Gbps (i.e., 2 * 5 Gbps) to 5 Gbps (i.e., 1 * 5 Gbps) at a granularity of 5 Gbps.

[0165] Please refer to Figure 8, which is a schematic diagram of a process for communication devices to negotiate bandwidth increase according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 8, the process for a first communication device and a second communication device to negotiate bandwidth increase of a first bearer channel includes the following steps 800 to 806.

[0166] In step 800 , the second communication device sends a request message 0 to the first communication device to request the first communication device to initiate bandwidth adjustment negotiation for the first bearer channel.

[0167] In this embodiment, the second communication device may send the request information 0 to the first communication device in a specific manner: for each frame sent by the second communication device to the first communication device via the first bearer channel, the second communication device sets the value of the DS bit in the OH field of the frame to 1. The DS bit used in this step may be a newly defined bit in the OH field of the frame.

[0168] It should be noted that step 800 is optional. In practice, the first communication device may directly send information requesting adjustment of the bandwidth of the data bearer channel to the second communication device.

[0169] In step 801 , a first communication device sends a request message 1 to a second communication device to request the second communication device to adjust the bandwidth of a first bearer channel.

[0170] In step 802 , the second communication device sends a response message 1 to the first communication device to indicate that the second communication device supports adjusting the bandwidth of the first bearer channel.

[0171] In this embodiment, steps 801-802 are similar to the above steps 701-702. Please refer to the above steps 701-702 for details, which will not be repeated here.

[0172] In step 803 , the first communication device sends a request message 2 to the second communication device to indicate the time slot allocation method after the bandwidth of the first bearer channel is adjusted.

[0173] In this embodiment, the difference between step 803 and the above-mentioned step 703 is that the time slot allocation method indicated by the request information 2 in step 803 is an allocation method of 480 time slots (i.e., 0-479 time slots), while the time slot allocation method indicated by the request information 2 in step 703 is an allocation method of 96 time slots (i.e., 0-95 time slots).

[0174] As shown in FIG8 , in step 803 , the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is changed from 1 Gbps to 5 Gbps, so the range of fgOMFI is changed from 0-96 to 0-479.

[0175] In step 804 , the second communication device sends a response message 2 to the first communication device, indicating that the second communication device supports the time slot allocation method after the bandwidth of the first bearer channel is adjusted.

[0176] In step 805 , the first communication device sends a request message 3 to the second communication device to instruct the second communication device to take effect a new time slot allocation method at a preset time point.

[0177] In step 806 , the first communication device and the second communication device take effect of the new time slot allocation method at a preset time point.

[0178] In this embodiment, steps 804-806 are similar to the above steps 704-706. Please refer to the above steps 704-706 for details, which will not be repeated here.

[0179] The above describes how communication devices negotiate bandwidth adjustments in scenarios involving bandwidth increases and decreases. The following describes various scenarios that may arise when negotiating a time slot allocation between communication devices, comparing a new time slot allocation scheme to an existing one.

[0180] In case 1, after the bandwidth of the data bearer pipe is adjusted, the number of small-granularity clients using the data bearer pipe remains unchanged, but the number of time slots corresponding to some or all of the small-granularity clients changes.

[0181] For example, in the above embodiment, after the bandwidth of the first bearer channel is adjusted, the number of small-particle clients using the first bearer channel remains unchanged, but the number of time slots corresponding to the target small-particle clients using the first bearer channel changes. The target small-particle clients may refer to some or all small-particle clients using the first bearer channel.

[0182] For example, please refer to Figure 9, which is a schematic diagram of the change in the time slot allocation method before and after the bandwidth of a data bearer pipe is increased according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 9, before the bandwidth of the data bearer pipe is increased, the bandwidth of the data bearer pipe is 1Gbps, corresponding to 96 time slots (i.e., time slot 0-95), and the 96 time slots are allocated to small-grain customer 1 and small-grain customer 2 respectively. Among them, the time slot sequence number corresponding to small-grain customer 1 is an integer multiple of 3, i.e., time slot 0, time slot 3, time slot 6... time slot 93, and small-grain customer 1 corresponds to 32 time slots in total. The time slots corresponding to small-grain customer 2 are the other time slots of the 96 time slots excluding the time slots occupied by small-grain customer 1, i.e., time slot 1, time slot 2, time slot 4, time slot 5... time slot 94, time slot 95, and small-grain customer 1 corresponds to 64 time slots in total.

[0183] After the bandwidth of the data bearer channel increases, it changes from 1 Gbps to 5 Gbps, corresponding to 480 time slots (i.e., time slots 0 to 479). These 480 time slots are still allocated to small-granule customer 1 and small-granule customer 2. The number of time slots allocated to small-granule customer 1 remains unchanged, meaning that small-granule customer 1 still allocates 32 time slots. Furthermore, the time slots allocated to small-granule customer 1 are numbered as integer multiples of 15, meaning that small-granule customer 1 allocates time slots 0, 15, 30, ..., and 465. Small-granule customer 2 allocates the remaining time slots of the 480 time slots, excluding those occupied by small-granule customer 1, namely, time slots 1, 2, ..., 14, ..., and 479, for a total of 448 time slots allocated to small-granule customer 2.

[0184] That is, in the example shown in FIG9 , the number of time slots corresponding to small-granularity client 1 does not change, but the number of time slots corresponding to small-granularity client 2 changes, specifically from 64 time slots to 448 time slots.

[0185] For another example, please refer to Figure 10, which is a schematic diagram of the change in the time slot allocation method before and after the bandwidth of a data bearer pipe is reduced according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 10, before the bandwidth of the data bearer pipe is reduced, the bandwidth of the data bearer pipe is 5Gbps, corresponding to 480 time slots (i.e., the 0th time slot to the 479th time slot), and the 480 time slots are respectively allocated to small-grained customer 1, small-grained customer 2, and small-grained customer 3. Among them, the time slot sequence number corresponding to small-grained customer 1 is 3N, the time slot sequence number corresponding to small-grained customer 2 is 3N+1, and the time slot sequence number corresponding to small-grained customer 3 is 3N+2, where N is an integer and 0≤N≤159. That is, each small-grained customer corresponds to 160 time slots.

[0186] After the bandwidth of the data bearer channel is reduced, it changes from 5 Gbps to 1 Gbps, corresponding to 96 time slots (i.e., time slot 0 to time slot 95). These 96 time slots are allocated to small-granule customer 1, small-granule customer 2, and small-granule customer 3, respectively. The time slot number for small-granule customer 1 is 3M, the time slot number for small-granule customer 2 is 3M+1, and the time slot number for small-granule customer 3 is 3M+2, where M is an integer and 0 ≤ N ≤ 31. In other words, each small-granule customer is assigned 32 time slots.

[0187] That is, in the example shown in FIG10 , the number of time slots corresponding to small-particle customer 1, small-particle customer 2, and small-particle customer 3 has all changed, from corresponding to 160 time slots to corresponding to 32 time slots.

[0188] In case 2, after the bandwidth of the data bearer pipe is adjusted, the small-granularity customers using the data bearer pipe change.

[0189] For example, in the above embodiment, after the bandwidth of the first bearer channel is adjusted, the number of small-granularity clients using the first bearer channel changes compared to before the bandwidth adjustment. Furthermore, the time slot allocation method indicated by the first communication device in the first request information indicates the correspondence between the changed small-granularity clients and the time slots corresponding to the first bearer channel.

[0190] For example, before the bandwidth of the first bearer channel is adjusted, the small-granularity customers using the first bearer channel include small-granularity customers 1 through 5; after the bandwidth of the first bearer channel is adjusted, the small-granularity customers using the first bearer channel include small-granularity customers 1 through 10; or, before the bandwidth of the first bearer channel is adjusted, the small-granularity customers using the first bearer channel include small-granularity customers 1 through 15; after the bandwidth of the first bearer channel is adjusted, the small-granularity customers using the first bearer channel include small-granularity customers 1 through 5; or, before the bandwidth of the first bearer channel is adjusted, the small-granularity customers using the first bearer channel include small-granularity customers 1 through 5; after the bandwidth of the first bearer channel is adjusted, the small-granularity customers using the first bearer channel include small-granularity customers 1 through 4 and small-granularity customer 6. That is, changes in the small-granularity customers using the first bearer channel following bandwidth adjustment of the first bearer channel may mean that the number of small-granularity customers increases or decreases, or that small-granularity customers are replaced, etc., and this embodiment does not specifically limit this.

[0191] Please refer to Figure 11, which is a schematic diagram of the change in the time slot allocation method before and after the bandwidth of another data bearer pipe is reduced according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 11, before the bandwidth of the data bearer pipe is reduced, the bandwidth of the data bearer pipe is 5Gbps, corresponding to 480 time slots (i.e., the 0th time slot to the 479th time slot), and the 480 time slots are respectively allocated to small-grain customer 1, small-grain customer 2, and small-grain customer 3. Among them, the time slot sequence number corresponding to small-grain customer 1 is 3N, the time slot sequence number corresponding to small-grain customer 2 is 3N+1, and the time slot sequence number corresponding to small-grain customer 3 is 3N+2, where N is an integer and 0≤N≤159. That is, each small-grain customer corresponds to 160 time slots.

[0192] After the bandwidth of the data bearer channel is reduced, it changes from 5 Gbps to 1 Gbps, corresponding to 96 time slots (i.e., time slot 0 to time slot 95), and these 96 time slots are allocated to small-granule customer 1 and small-granule customer 2, respectively. In other words, the customers corresponding to the data bearer channel change from small-granule customer 1, small-granule customer 2, and small-granule customer 3 to small-granule customer 1 and small-granule customer 2. The time slot sequence number corresponding to small-granule customer 1 is 3M, and the time slot sequence number corresponding to small-granule customer 2 is 3M+1 and 3M+2, where M is an integer and 0≤N≤31.

[0193] That is, in the example shown in FIG11 , the small-granularity client 1 changes from corresponding 160 time slots to corresponding 32 time slots, the small-granularity client 2 changes from corresponding 160 time slots to corresponding 64 time slots, and the small-granularity client 3 no longer uses the data bearer pipe.

[0194] As can be seen from the above embodiments, during the bandwidth adjustment negotiation between a first communication device and a second communication device, the first and second communication devices use the OH field in the frame to carry the negotiated bandwidth adjustment details, while the payload field in the frame can normally carry the service data of small-granularity clients. Based on this, the following describes how, during the negotiation process, the first and second communication devices ensure that the data plane can normally transmit the service data of small-granularity clients while also delivering the negotiated details.

[0195] Exemplarily, before a first communication device sends a first request message to a second communication device, the first communication device generates an OH-plane time slot table. The OH-plane time slot table is used to indicate the time slots corresponding to the first bearer channel and the OH information to be transmitted in the time slots corresponding to the first bearer channel. The OH information is information in the OH field of a frame. The OH-plane time slot table is relative to the data-plane time slot table. The data-plane time slot table is generally used to determine which small-granularity customer data should be transmitted in each time slot. The OH-plane time slot table, on the other hand, is used to determine which OH information should be transmitted in each time slot corresponding to the first bearer channel.

[0196] Then, the first communication device transmits the OH information to the data plane based on the time slot table of the OH plane, so that the data plane sends the first request information, the second request information or the third request information in the time slot corresponding to the first bearer pipe. That is, when the first communication device sends a frame to the second communication device on the data plane, the first communication device will transmit the OH information to the data plane based on the time slot table of the OH plane, so that the data plane can organize the acquired OH information into the content in the OH field of the frame in the time slot corresponding to the first bearer pipe and send it out, thereby realizing the sending of the above-mentioned first request information, the second request information or the third request information. It should be noted that at different stages (i.e., the process of sending different request information), the content of the time slot table of the OH plane may change, so that the data plane can realize the sending of different request information.

[0197] It is understandable that, since the same network dedicated line usually includes multiple data bearer pipes, and different data bearer pipes correspond to a certain number of time slots. In a complete time slot cycle corresponding to the network dedicated line, including all time slots corresponding to each data bearer pipe, by arranging all time slots corresponding to each data bearer pipe in a certain way, the service data carried by each data bearer pipe can be sent in turn. Generally, the time slot table of the data plane is used to record the arrangement between the time slots corresponding to all data bearer pipes in the complete time slot cycle corresponding to the network dedicated line. Therefore, based on the time slot table of the OH plane, it is possible to determine which OH information (i.e., the content of the first request information, the second request information, and the third request information) needs to be transmitted in which time slots (i.e., the time slots corresponding to the first bearer pipe), thereby ensuring that the time slot table of the data plane does not need to be modified, ensuring that the service data of the small-granularity customer can be sent normally, and only the content of the OH field in the frame corresponding to the small-granularity customer is changed.

[0198] Similarly, before sending the first response information and the third response information, the second communication device may also pre-generate a corresponding OH plane time slot table, thereby transmitting the corresponding OH information to the data plane, ensuring that the data plane can send the above-mentioned first response information and third response information in the time slot corresponding to the first bearer channel.

[0199] Optionally, to improve the efficiency of implementing the new timeslot allocation method configured by the first communication device, the first communication device may generate a data plane standby timeslot table based on the timeslot allocation method indicated in the first request information. This data plane standby timeslot table indicates the distribution of timeslots corresponding to small-granularity clients in the first bearer channel after bandwidth adjustment. Furthermore, this data plane standby timeslot table also indicates the distribution of timeslots corresponding to other data bearer channels in the dedicated network line.

[0200] Then, the first communication device switches the backup time slot table of the data plane to the main time slot table at a preset time point, so that the first communication device can send service data based on the new time slot allocation method after the preset time point.

[0201] In this solution, a backup time slot table for the data plane is generated in advance, and the pre-generated backup time slot table is switched to the main time slot table at a preset time point, thereby improving the efficiency of time slot table switching. This ensures that business data is transmitted normally according to the old time slot allocation method before the preset time point, and that business data is transmitted according to the new time slot allocation method after the preset time point, thereby ensuring that the bandwidth adjustment process does not affect the normal transmission of business data.

[0202] For example, please refer to Figure 12, which is a schematic diagram of the interaction between the OH plane and the data plane provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 12, the OH plane includes a set of bearer pipe mapping tables and a set of OH plane time slot tables (referred to as OH time slot tables in Figure 12); the data plane includes a set of bearer pipe mapping tables and a set of data plane time slot tables (referred to as data time slot tables in Figure 12). Among them, the OH plane can send OH information to the data plane based on the OH plane time slot table, so that the data plane can obtain the content carried in the OH field of the fgMTN frame. Based on the data plane time slot table, the small-granularity customer corresponding to each time slot can be determined, and then the data content to be sent in each time slot can be determined.

[0203] Each bearer channel mapping table and time slot table consists of a primary and backup table. Specifically, a bearer channel mapping table includes a primary bearer channel mapping table and a backup bearer channel mapping table, and a time slot table includes a primary time slot table and a backup time slot table. This primary and backup table structure allows the backup table to be pre-built and then switched to the primary table at a specific time point, preventing changes in the bearer channel mapping table or time slot table from impacting the normal transmission of service data.

[0204] For example, during bandwidth adjustment, the OH plane time slot table and the data plane time slot table can each be switched between primary and backup tables using a corresponding primary table identification register. For example, when the primary table identification register value is 0, time slot table A on the OH plane is the primary table; when the primary table identification register value is 1, time slot table B on the OH plane is the primary table. Therefore, by modifying the value of the primary table identification register, rapid switching between primary and backup tables can be achieved.

[0205] Among them, the bearer pipe mapping table of the OH plane and the bearer pipe mapping table of the data plane have the same function, and both are used to guide the generation of the time slot table. Please refer to Figure 13, which is a format diagram of a bearer pipe mapping table provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 13, the bearer pipe mapping table usually includes multiple rows of tables, and each row of the table is used to indicate the ownership of the time slots at the 1G granularity. It should be noted that each row of the table is used to indicate the ownership of the time slots at the 1G granularity, which is only a possible example; in actual applications, each row of the table can also be used to indicate the ownership of the time slots at the 1G granularity, 2G granularity or 5G granularity, which can be related to the granularity value of the data bearer pipe bandwidth change, and this embodiment does not make specific limitations on this.

[0206] In Figure 13 , assuming the bandwidth of the network device interface is 100 Gbps, the bearer pipe mapping table contains 100 rows, and the first column of the bearer pipe mapping table indicates the row ID in the time slot table. The second column of the bearer pipe mapping table indicates the bearer pipe ID corresponding to the current time slot table row ID, that is, the data bearer pipe corresponding to each time slot in the time slot table row. The third column of the bearer pipe mapping table indicates the time slot row corresponding to the current time slot table row ID.

[0207] For example, in Figure 13 , when the slot table row identifier is 0, the bearer pipe identifier is A and the bearer pipe row identifier is 0, indicating that the slots in row 0 of the slot table belong to data bearer pipe A and are the slots in row 0 of data bearer pipe A itself. When the slot table row identifier is 1, the bearer pipe identifier is B and the bearer pipe row identifier is 0, indicating that the slots in row 1 of the slot table belong to data bearer pipe B and are the slots in row 0 of data bearer pipe B itself. When the slot table row identifier is 2, the bearer pipe identifier is A and the bearer pipe row identifier is 1, indicating that the slots in row 2 of the slot table belong to data bearer pipe A and are the slots in row 1 of data bearer pipe A itself.

[0208] Please refer to Figure 14, which is a time slot table of a single bearer pipe provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 14, for any data bearer pipe, the data bearer pipe can be divided into X*96 time slots, where X is an integer greater than or equal to 1. For example, when the bandwidth of the data bearer pipe is 1Gbps, the data bearer pipe can be divided into 96 time slots; when the bandwidth of the data bearer pipe is 5Gbps, the data bearer pipe can be divided into 5*96 (i.e., 480) time slots. Therefore, in the time slot table of a single bearer pipe, one or more rows of tables can be included, and each row of the table is used to represent the correspondence between the 96 time slots of the current row and the small-granularity customers. Therefore, based on the time slot table of a single bearer pipe and the bearer pipe mapping table shown in Figure 13, the data bearer pipe corresponding to each row of time slots in the time slot table and the small-granularity customers corresponding to each time slot in each row of time slots can be determined.

[0209] Please refer to Figures 15 and 16. Figure 15 is a schematic diagram of a time slot table of a data plane provided in an embodiment of the present application; Figure 16 is a schematic diagram of a time slot table of an OH plane provided in an embodiment of the present application. First, refer to Figure 15. Figure 15 shows a time slot table of the data plane, which indicates the arrangement of all time slots of the network dedicated line within a time slot cycle. Specifically, the time slot table of the data plane includes multiple rows of tables, and each row of the table includes 96 columns of tables. Among them, the number of rows of the table included in the time slot table of the data plane is related to the bandwidth of the network dedicated line, and one row corresponds to a bandwidth of 1Gbps, that is, a network dedicated line with a bandwidth of 100Gbps corresponds to 100 rows of tables. In addition, each row of the table includes 96 columns (i.e., 0-95) of tables, which are used to indicate the 96 time slots corresponding to the bandwidth of each 1Gbps granularity. Therefore, each table in the data plane time slot table corresponds to a unique time slot, and all tables in the entire data plane time slot table can indicate all time slots in a complete time slot cycle (i.e., a round of data plane time slots). Furthermore, each table in the data plane time slot table records the information about the time slot corresponding to the current table. Therefore, by polling the data plane time slot table in a certain order, the data bearer pipe corresponding to each time slot and the small-granularity client under the data bearer pipe can be determined, thereby enabling the service data of small-granularity clients to be sent in turn.

[0210] Referring again to Figure 16 , the OH plane time slot table indicates the OH information corresponding to each time slot, that is, the OH information to be transmitted in each time slot. Based on the OH plane time slot table, the first communication device can determine the OH information to be transmitted in the time slot belonging to the first bearer channel and transmit the corresponding OH information to the data plane in advance. This enables the data plane to organize the acquired OH information into the content of the frame OH field and transmit it in the time slot belonging to the first bearer channel, thereby implementing the transmission of the first request information, the second request information, or the third request information described above.

[0211] The above describes the bandwidth adjustment method provided in the embodiments of the present application. The following describes a device for executing the bandwidth adjustment method.

[0212] Please refer to Figure 17, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. In one possible example, the communication device is a first communication device in fgMTN, and the communication device includes: a sending module 1701, which is used to send a first request message to a second communication device, the first request message is used to indicate the time slot allocation method after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted, the time slot allocation method is used to indicate the correspondence between the small-granularity customers using the first bearer pipe and the time slots provided after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted, and the first bearer pipe is a data bearer pipe in fgMTN; a receiving module 1702, which is used to receive a first response message sent by the second communication device, the first response message is used to indicate that the second communication device supports the time slot allocation method; the sending module 1701 is also used to send a second request message to the second communication device, the second request message is used to instruct the second communication device to configure the time slot allocation method to take effect at a preset time point.

[0213] In a possible implementation, the first bearer pipe is a data bearer pipe in a dedicated network line of fgMTN, the dedicated network line includes multiple data bearer pipes, and the first bearer pipe is used to carry service data of one or more small-granularity customers.

[0214] In one possible implementation, the time slot allocation method specifically includes a correspondence between a small-granularity overhead multiframe indication fgOMFI and a small-granularity client identifier, where fgOMFI is used to indicate the sequence number of the overhead information after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted. The total amount of overhead information within a period after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted is related to the adjusted bandwidth value.

[0215] In a possible implementation, the preset time point is a time point after the first communication device sends the second request information and the fgOMFI corresponding to the first bearer channel is 0;

[0216] Alternatively, the preset time point is a time point at which a data plane timeslot starts after the first communication device sends the second request information.

[0217] In a possible implementation, after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted, the small-granularity clients using the first bearer pipe change; the time slot allocation mode is used to indicate the correspondence between the changed small-granularity clients and the time slots corresponding to the first bearer pipe.

[0218] In a possible implementation, after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted, the number of time slots corresponding to the target small-granularity clients using the first bearer pipe changes.

[0219] In a possible implementation, the first request information is further used to request the second communication device to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe.

[0220] In a possible implementation, the first request information indicates, through a target bit in an overhead OH field of a frame, a request to the second communication apparatus to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe.

[0221] In one possible implementation, before sending the first request information to the second communication device, the sending module 1701 is further used to send a third request information to the second communication device, where the third request information is used to request the second communication device to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe; the receiving module 1702 is further used to receive a third response information sent by the second communication device, where the third response information is used to indicate that the second communication device supports adjusting the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe.

[0222] In a possible implementation, the apparatus further includes: a processing module 1703;

[0223] The processing module 1703 is configured to generate a time slot table of the OH plane, where the time slot table of the OH plane is used to indicate the time slot corresponding to the first bearer channel and the OH information to be transmitted in the time slot corresponding to the first bearer channel, where the OH information is information in the OH field of the frame;

[0224] The processing module 1703 is further configured to transmit OH information to the data plane based on the time slot table of the OH plane, so that the data plane sends the first request information or the second request information in the time slot corresponding to the first bearer pipe.

[0225] In a possible implementation, the apparatus further includes: a processing module 1703;

[0226] The processing module 1703 is configured to generate a data plane standby time slot table, where the data plane standby time slot table is used to indicate the time slot distribution corresponding to the small-granularity clients in the first bearer channel after the bandwidth adjustment.

[0227] The processing module 1703 is further configured to switch the backup time slot table of the data plane to the main time slot table at a preset time point.

[0228] Please refer to Figure 18, which is a structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. In one possible example, the communication device is a second communication device in fgMTN, and the communication device includes: a receiving module 1801, which is used to receive a first request message sent by the first communication device, the first request message is used to indicate the time slot allocation method after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted, the time slot allocation method is used to indicate the correspondence between the small-granularity customers using the first bearer pipe and the time slots provided after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted, and the first bearer pipe is a data bearer pipe in fgMTN; a sending module 1802, which is used to send a first response message to the first communication device, the first response message is used to indicate that the second communication device supports the time slot allocation method; the receiving module 1801 is also used to receive a second request message sent by the first communication device, the second request message is used to instruct the second communication device to configure the time slot allocation method to take effect at a preset time point.

[0229] In a possible implementation, the first bearer pipe is a data bearer pipe in a dedicated network line of fgMTN, the dedicated network line includes multiple data bearer pipes, and the first bearer pipe is used to carry service data of one or more small-granularity customers.

[0230] In one possible implementation, the time slot allocation method specifically includes a correspondence between a small-granularity overhead multiframe indication fgOMFI and a small-granularity client identifier, where fgOMFI is used to indicate the sequence number of the overhead information after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted. The total amount of overhead information within a period after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted is related to the adjusted bandwidth value.

[0231] In a possible implementation, the preset time point is a time point after the first communication device sends the second request information and the fgOMFI corresponding to the first bearer channel is 0;

[0232] Alternatively, the preset time point is a time point at which a data plane timeslot starts after the first communication device sends the second request information.

[0233] In a possible implementation, after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted, the small-granularity clients using the first bearer pipe change; the time slot allocation mode is used to indicate the correspondence between the changed small-granularity clients and the time slots corresponding to the first bearer pipe.

[0234] In a possible implementation, after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted, the number of time slots corresponding to the target small-granularity clients using the first bearer pipe changes.

[0235] In a possible implementation, the first request information is further used to request the second communication device to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe.

[0236] In a possible implementation, the first request information indicates, through a target bit in an OH field of a frame, a request to the second communication apparatus to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe.

[0237] In one possible implementation, before receiving the first request information sent by the first communication device, the receiving module 1801 is further used to receive third request information sent by the first communication device, where the third request information is used to request the second communication device to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe; and the sending module 1802 is further used to send third response information to the first communication device, where the third response information is used to indicate that the second communication device supports adjusting the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe.

[0238] Figure 19 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The network device is equipped with the communication device of Figure 17 or 18, and the network device is implemented by a general bus architecture.

[0239] The network device includes at least one processor 1901 , a communication bus 1902 , a memory 1903 , and at least one communication interface 1904 .

[0240] Optionally, processor 1901 is a general-purpose CPU, NP, microprocessor, or one or more integrated circuits for implementing the solution of the present application, such as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a combination thereof. The PLD is a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a generic array logic (GAL), or any combination thereof.

[0241] Communication bus 1902 is used to transmit information between the above components. Communication bus 1902 is divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is used in the figure, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0242] Alternatively, the memory 1903 is a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions. Alternatively, the memory 1903 is a random access memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and instructions. Alternatively, the memory 1903 is an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compact disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, Blu-ray disc, etc.), a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited to this. Alternatively, the memory 1903 exists independently and is connected to the processor 1901 via a communication bus 1902. Alternatively, the memory 1903 and the processor 1901 are integrated together.

[0243] Communication interface 1904 uses any transceiver-like device for communicating with other devices or communication networks. Communication interface 1904 includes a wired communication interface. Optionally, communication interface 1904 also includes a wireless communication interface. The wired communication interface is, for example, an Ethernet interface. The Ethernet interface is an optical interface, an electrical interface, or a combination thereof. The wireless communication interface is a wireless local area network (WLAN) interface, a cellular network communication interface, or a combination thereof.

[0244] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the processor 1901 includes one or more CPUs, such as CPU0 and CPU1 shown in FIG19 .

[0245] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the network device includes multiple processors, such as processor 1901 and processor 1905 shown in Figure 19. Each of these processors is a single-core processor (single-CPU) or a multi-core processor (multi-CPU). The processor here refers to one or more devices, circuits, and / or processing cores for processing data (such as computer program instructions).

[0246] In some embodiments, the memory 1903 is used to store program code 1919 for executing the solution of the present application, and the processor 1901 executes the program code 1919 stored in the memory 1903. In other words, the network device implements the above method embodiment through the processor 1901 and the program code 1919 in the memory 1903.

[0247] The various embodiments in this specification are described in a progressive manner. The same or similar parts between the various embodiments can be referenced to each other. Each embodiment focuses on the differences from other embodiments. Wherein, A refers to B, which means that A is the same as B or A is a simple variation of B.

[0248] The terms "first" and "second" in the description and claims of the embodiments of this application are used to distinguish different objects, not to describe a specific order of objects, and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance. For example, the terms "first speed-limited channel" and "second speed-limited channel" are used to distinguish different speed-limited channels, not to describe a specific order of speed-limited channels, and should not be construed as implying that the first speed-limited channel is more important than the second speed-limited channel.

[0249] In the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified, “at least one” means one or more, and “a plurality of” means two or more.

[0250] The above embodiments can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When software is used for implementation, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in accordance with the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network or other programmable devices. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from a website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center by wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrations. The available media may be magnetic media (eg, floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), optical media (eg, DVD), or semiconductor media (eg, solid state disk (SSD)).

[0251] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, rather than to limit them. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or make equivalent replacements for some of the technical features therein. However, these modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A bandwidth adjustment method, characterized in that: A first communication device applied to a small-granularity metropolitan area transport network fgMTN includes: The first communication device sends first request information to the second communication device, where the first request information is used to indicate a time slot allocation mode after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted, where the time slot allocation mode is used to indicate a correspondence between small-granularity clients using the first bearer pipe and time slots provided after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted, and the first bearer pipe is a data bearer pipe in the fgMTN; The first communication device receives first response information sent by the second communication device, where the first response information is used to indicate that the second communication device supports the time slot allocation mode; The first communication device sends second request information to the second communication device, where the second request information is used to instruct the second communication device to configure the time slot allocation method to take effect at a preset time point.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first bearer pipe is a data bearer pipe in the network dedicated line of the fgMTN, the network dedicated line includes multiple data bearer pipes, and the first bearer pipe is used to carry business data of one or more small-granularity customers.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The time slot allocation method specifically includes a correspondence between a small-granule overhead multiframe indication fgOMFI and a small-granule customer identifier, wherein the fgOMFI is used to indicate the sequence number of the overhead information after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted, and the total amount of overhead information within a period after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted is related to the adjusted bandwidth value.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The preset time point is a time point after the first communication device sends the second request information and the fgOMFI corresponding to the first bearer channel is 0; Alternatively, the preset time point is a time point at which a data plane time slot starts after the first communication device sends the second request information.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: After the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted, the small-granularity customers using the first bearer pipe change; The time slot allocation mode is used to indicate the corresponding relationship between the changed small-granularity clients and the time slots corresponding to the first bearer pipe.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: After the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted, the number of time slots corresponding to the target small-granularity clients using the first bearer pipe changes.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The first request information is further used to request the second communication device to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The first request information indicates, through a target bit in an overhead OH field of a frame, a request for the second communication device to adjust a bandwidth of the first bearer pipe.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: Before the first communication device sends the first request information to the second communication device, the method further includes: The first communication device sends third request information to the second communication device, where the third request information is used to request the second communication device to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe; The first communication device receives third response information sent by the second communication device, where the third response information is used to indicate that the second communication device supports adjusting a bandwidth of the first bearer pipe.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The first communication device generates a time slot table of the OH plane, where the time slot table of the OH plane is used to indicate the time slot corresponding to the first bearer pipe and the OH information to be transmitted in the time slot corresponding to the first bearer pipe, where the OH information is information in the OH field of the frame; The first communication device transmits OH information to the data plane based on the time slot table of the OH plane, so that the data plane sends the first request information or the second request information in the time slot corresponding to the first bearer pipe.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The first communication device generates a spare time slot table of the data plane, where the spare time slot table of the data plane is used to indicate the time slot distribution corresponding to the small-granularity clients in the first bearer pipe after the bandwidth is adjusted; The first communication device switches the backup time slot table of the data plane to the main time slot table at the preset time point.

12. A bandwidth adjustment method, characterized in that: A second communication device used in fgMTN, comprising: The second communication device receives first request information sent by the first communication device, where the first request information is used to indicate a time slot allocation mode after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted, where the time slot allocation mode is used to indicate a correspondence between small-granularity clients using the first bearer pipe and time slots provided after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted, and the first bearer pipe is a data bearer pipe in the fgMTN; The second communication device sends first response information to the first communication device, where the first response information is used to indicate that the second communication device supports the time slot allocation mode; The second communication device receives second request information sent by the first communication device, where the second request information is used to instruct the second communication device to configure the time slot allocation method to take effect at a preset time point.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The first bearer pipe is a data bearer pipe in the network dedicated line of the fgMTN, the network dedicated line includes multiple data bearer pipes, and the first bearer pipe is used to carry business data of one or more small-granularity customers.

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that The time slot allocation method specifically includes a correspondence between a small-granule overhead multiframe indication fgOMFI and a small-granule customer identifier, wherein the fgOMFI is used to indicate the sequence number of the overhead information after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted, and the total amount of overhead information within a period after the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted is related to the adjusted bandwidth value.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The preset time point is a time point after the first communication device sends the second request information and the fgOMFI corresponding to the first bearer channel is 0; Alternatively, the preset time point is a time point at which a data plane time slot starts after the first communication device sends the second request information.

16. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 15, characterized in that: After the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted, the small-granularity customers using the first bearer pipe change; The time slot allocation mode is used to indicate the corresponding relationship between the changed small-granularity clients and the time slots corresponding to the first bearer pipe.

17. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 16, characterized in that: After the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe is adjusted, the number of time slots corresponding to the target small-granularity clients using the first bearer pipe changes.

18. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 17, characterized in that: The first request information is further used to request the second communication device to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that The first request information indicates, through a target bit in an OH field of a frame, a request to the second communication device to adjust a bandwidth of the first bearer pipe.

20. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 17, characterized in that: Before the second communication device receives the first request information sent by the first communication device, the method further includes: The second communication device receives third request information sent by the first communication device, where the third request information is used to request the second communication device to adjust the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe; The second communication device sends third response information to the first communication device, where the third response information is used to indicate that the second communication device supports adjusting the bandwidth of the first bearer pipe.

21. A communication device, characterized in that: The device is a first communication device in fgMTN, and the device comprises a plurality of functional modules, and the plurality of functional modules interact with each other to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

22. A communication device, characterized in that: The device is a second communication device in fgMTN, and the device includes multiple functional modules, which interact with each other to implement the method according to any one of claims 12-20.

23. A network device, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the memory is used to store program codes, and the processor is used to call the program codes in the memory so that the network device executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20.

24. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enable the computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20.

25. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises program codes, and when a computer runs the computer program product, the computer executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20.

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