Network device, forwarding method, network system, and storage medium

Abstract

Provided in the present application are a network device, a forwarding method, a network system, and a storage medium. The network device comprises: a wireless module (31), which is used for receiving a first wireless signal and converting the first wireless signal into a first electrical signal; a main control module (32), which is electrically connected to the wireless module, and is used for receiving the first electrical signal from the wireless module and converting the first electrical signal into a second electrical signal; and an optical module (33), which is electrically connected to the main control module, is configured to optically connect to a plurality of optical network units (ONUs), and is used for receiving the second electrical signal from the main control module, converting the second electrical signal into a first optical signal, and sending the first optical signal to a first ONU, the first ONU being one of the plurality of ONUs.

Description

Network device, forwarding method, network system and storage medium

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the China Patent Office on December 15, 2023, with application number 202311744841.9 and invention name “Network Device, Forwarding Method and Medium”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0003] The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a network device, a forwarding method, and a medium. Background Art

[0004] Currently, when providing fixed broadband access, one customer premises equipment (CPE) is usually deployed for each user, so that a base station and the CPE of each user form an access network. Summary of the Invention

[0005] Embodiments of the present application provide a network device, a forwarding method, a network system, and a storage medium.

[0006] According to a first aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a network device is provided, comprising:

[0007] A wireless module, configured to receive a first wireless signal and convert the first wireless signal into a first electrical signal;

[0008] a main control module, electrically connected to the wireless module, wherein the main control module is configured to receive the first electrical signal from the wireless module and convert the first electrical signal into a second electrical signal; and

[0009] An optical module is electrically connected to the main control module, wherein the optical module is used to optically connect to multiple optical network units (ONUs), and the optical module is also used to receive the second electrical signal from the main control module, convert the second electrical signal into a first optical signal, and send the first optical signal to a first ONU, wherein the first ONU is one of the multiple ONUs.

[0010] The network device provided in the embodiment of the present application connects multiple ONU devices through the optical module of the network device. Therefore, multiple ONU devices can transmit messages with a base station or other equipment through the network device without configuring a CPE for each ONU device. This reduces the number of network devices used, thereby reducing deployment costs while also improving the overall network capacity and bandwidth utilization of FWA.

[0011] With reference to the first aspect, in a possible implementation, the first electrical signal is used to transmit an Ethernet frame, and the second electrical signal is used to transmit a passive optical network (PON) protocol message.

[0012] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation, the network device does not include a switching chip.

[0013] The network device provided in the embodiment of the present application cuts the switching chip, and the Ethernet frames transmitted by the wireless module can be forwarded by software through the main controller, while also reducing deployment costs and reducing the scale of the equipment.

[0014] In combination with the first aspect and the foregoing possible implementations, in one possible implementation, the main control module includes:

[0015] a main controller, electrically connected to the wireless module; and

[0016] An optical line terminal OLT chip is electrically connected to the main controller and the optical module respectively, wherein the OLT chip is used to receive the first electrical signal sent by the main controller and convert the first electrical signal into the second electrical signal, and the first ONU is the ONU corresponding to the first electrical signal.

[0017] In combination with the first aspect and the foregoing possible implementations, in one possible implementation, the main controller includes:

[0018] A forwarding acceleration module is electrically connected to the wireless module and the OLT chip respectively, wherein the forwarding acceleration module is used to determine the first ONU based on the first electrical signal and perform forwarding acceleration processing on the first electrical signal.

[0019] In combination with the first aspect and the above possible implementations, in one possible implementation,

[0020] The optical module is further configured to receive a second optical signal from the first ONU and convert the second optical signal into a third electrical signal;

[0021] The main control module is further configured to receive the third electrical signal from the optical module and convert the third electrical signal into a fourth electrical signal; and

[0022] The wireless module is further configured to receive the fourth electrical signal from the main control module, convert the fourth electrical signal into a second wireless signal, and send the second wireless signal;

[0023] The third electrical signal is used to transmit a PON protocol message, and the fourth electrical signal is used to transmit an Ethernet frame.

[0024] In combination with the first aspect and the foregoing possible implementations, in one possible implementation, the main control module includes:

[0025] an optical line terminal OLT chip, electrically connected to each of the optical modules, wherein the OLT chip is configured to convert the third electrical signal into the fourth electrical signal; and

[0026] A main controller is electrically connected to the OLT chip and the wireless module respectively, wherein the main controller is used to forward the fourth electrical signal to the wireless module.

[0027] In combination with the first aspect and the foregoing possible implementations, in one possible implementation, the main controller includes:

[0028] The forwarding acceleration module is electrically connected to the wireless module and the OLT chip respectively, wherein the forwarding acceleration processing is performed on the fourth electrical signal.

[0029] In combination with the first aspect and the foregoing possible implementations, in a possible implementation, the network device includes a housing, and the wireless module, the main control module, and the optical module are accommodated in the housing.

[0030] In combination with the first aspect and the foregoing possible implementations, in one possible implementation, the wireless module includes:

[0031] an antenna, the antenna being configured to receive a first wireless signal; and

[0032] A wireless chip is used to convert the first wireless signal into the first electrical signal.

[0033] A second aspect of the embodiments of the present application provides a forwarding method, applied to the network device according to the first aspect, the method comprising:

[0034] The network device receives a first wireless signal through a wireless module of the network device and converts the first wireless signal into a first electrical signal;

[0035] The network device receives the first electrical signal from the wireless module through the main control module of the network device, and converts the first electrical signal into a second electrical signal; and

[0036] The network device receives the second electrical signal from the main control module through the optical module of the network device, converts the second electrical signal into a first optical signal, and sends the first optical signal to a first ONU, wherein the first ONU is one of the multiple ONUs connected to the optical module of the network device.

[0037] The forwarding method provided in the embodiment of the present application connects multiple ONU devices through the optical module of the network device. Therefore, multiple ONU devices can transmit messages with devices such as base stations through one network device, without the need to configure a CPE for each ONU device. This reduces the number of network devices used, thereby reducing deployment costs while also improving the overall network capacity and bandwidth utilization of FWA.

[0038] With reference to the second aspect, in a possible implementation, the first electrical signal is used to transmit an Ethernet frame, and the second electrical signal is used to transmit a PON protocol message.

[0039] In combination with the second aspect and the foregoing possible implementation manner, in another possible implementation manner, before sending the first optical signal to the first ONU, the method further includes:

[0040] The network device sends the first electrical signal to an optical line terminal (OLT) chip through a main controller of the main control module, wherein the first ONU is an ONU corresponding to the first electrical signal; and

[0041] The network device converts the first electrical signal into the second electrical signal through the OLT chip of the main control module.

[0042] In combination with the second aspect and the foregoing possible implementation manner, in another possible implementation manner, the second electrical signal includes port information corresponding to the first ONU.

[0043] In combination with the second aspect and the foregoing possible implementation manner, in another possible implementation manner, after the network device receives the first wireless signal through the wireless module of the network device, the method further includes:

[0044] The network device determines, through the main controller of the main control module, a first virtual interface corresponding to the first electrical signal from at least one virtual interface;

[0045] The network device sends the first electrical signal to the forwarding acceleration module of the network device through the first virtual interface; and

[0046] The network device performs forwarding acceleration processing on forwarding the first electrical signal through the forwarding acceleration module.

[0047] In combination with the second aspect and the above possible implementation manner, in another possible implementation manner,

[0048] Before the network device determines, through the main controller of the main control module, the first virtual interface corresponding to the first electrical signal from at least one virtual interface, the method includes:

[0049] When the network device determines that the first ONU is optically connected to the optical module, the network device creates the first virtual interface through the main controller.

[0050] In combination with the second aspect and the foregoing possible implementation manner, in another possible implementation manner, the method further includes:

[0051] When the network device determines that the first ONU is disconnected from the optical module, the network device deletes the first virtual interface through the main controller.

[0052] In combination with the second aspect and the above possible implementation manner, in another possible implementation manner,

[0053] The network device receives a second optical signal from the first ONU through the optical module of the network device, and converts the second optical signal into a third electrical signal;

[0054] The network device receives the third electrical signal from the optical module through the main control module of the network device, and converts the third electrical signal into a fourth electrical signal; and

[0055] The network device receives the fourth electrical signal from the main control module through the wireless module of the network device, converts the fourth electrical signal into a second wireless signal, and sends the second wireless signal;

[0056] The third electrical signal is used to transmit a PON protocol message, and the fourth electrical signal is used to transmit an Ethernet frame.

[0057] According to a third aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a network device is provided, comprising: a receiving unit, a converting unit, and a sending unit;

[0058] The receiving unit is used in the wireless module of the network device to receive the first wireless signal;

[0059] The conversion unit is configured to convert the first wireless signal received by the receiving unit into a first electrical signal;

[0060] The receiving unit is further configured to receive the first electrical signal forwarded by the forwarding unit from the wireless module via the main control module of the network device;

[0061] The conversion unit is further configured to convert the first electrical signal received by the receiving unit into a second electrical signal; and to convert the second electrical signal into a first optical signal through the optical module of the network device;

[0062] The sending unit is configured to send the first optical signal to a first ONU, where the first ONU is one of the multiple ONUs connected to the optical module of the network device.

[0063] The network device provided in the embodiment of the present application connects multiple ONU devices through the optical module of the network device. Therefore, multiple ONU devices can transmit messages with a base station or other equipment through the network device without the need to configure a CPE for each ONU device. This reduces the number of network devices used, thereby reducing deployment costs while also improving the overall network capacity and bandwidth utilization of FWA.

[0064] With reference to the third aspect, in a possible implementation, the first electrical signal is used to transmit an Ethernet frame, and the second electrical signal is used to transmit a PON protocol message.

[0065] In combination with the third aspect and the foregoing possible implementation manner, in another possible implementation manner, the processing unit is further configured to, after the receiving unit receives the first wireless signal through the wireless module of the network device, determine, through the main controller of the main control module, a first virtual interface corresponding to the first electrical signal from at least one virtual interface when it is determined that the first ONU is optically connected to the optical module;

[0066] The sending unit is further configured to send the first electrical signal to the forwarding acceleration module of the network device through the first virtual interface determined by the processing unit; and

[0067] The processing unit is further configured to perform forwarding acceleration processing on forwarding the first electrical signal through the forwarding acceleration module.

[0068] In combination with the third aspect and the above-mentioned possible implementation methods, in another possible implementation method, the processing unit is also used to determine, through the main controller of the main control module, a first virtual interface corresponding to the first electrical signal from at least one virtual interface, and when the network device determines that the first ONU is optically connected to the optical module, the network device creates the first virtual interface through the main controller.

[0069] In combination with the third aspect and the above-mentioned possible implementation methods, in another possible implementation method, the processing unit is also used to delete the first virtual interface through the main controller when the network device determines that the optical connection between the first ONU and the optical module is disconnected.

[0070] In combination with the third aspect and the above possible implementation manner, in another possible implementation manner, the receiving unit is further configured to receive the second optical signal sent by the first ONU through the optical module of the network device;

[0071] The conversion unit is further configured to convert the second optical signal received by the receiving unit into a third electrical signal;

[0072] The receiving unit is further configured to receive the third electrical signal from the optical module via the main control module of the network device;

[0073] The conversion unit is further configured to convert the third electrical signal received by the receiving unit into a fourth electrical signal; and further configured to convert the fourth electrical signal into a second wireless signal via the wireless module of the network device;

[0074] The sending unit is further configured to send the second wireless signal converted by the converting unit;

[0075] The third electrical signal is used to transmit a PON protocol message, and the fourth electrical signal is used to transmit an Ethernet frame.

[0076] For specific implementation methods, reference may be made to the behavior function of the network device in the forwarding method provided in the second aspect or the possible implementation methods of the second aspect.

[0077] According to a fourth aspect of the embodiments of the present application, a network system is provided, including:

[0078] A network device, comprising:

[0079] a wireless module, configured to receive a first wireless signal and convert the first wireless signal into a first electrical signal;

[0080] a main control module, electrically connected to the wireless module, wherein the main control module is configured to receive the first electrical signal from the wireless module and convert the first electrical signal into a second electrical signal; and

[0081] an optical module electrically connected to the main control module, wherein the optical module is optically connected to multiple optical network units (ONUs), and the optical module is further configured to receive the second electrical signal from the main control module, convert the second electrical signal into a first optical signal, and send the first optical signal to a first ONU, wherein the first ONU is one of the multiple ONUs; and

[0082] The first ONU is used to receive the first optical signal.

[0083] In combination with the third aspect and the foregoing possible implementation manner, in another possible implementation manner, the network system further includes:

[0084] An optical distribution network (ODN) is configured to connect the optical module in the network device and the first ONU.

[0085] In a fifth aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a network device is provided, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores programs or instructions that can be run on the processor, and when the program or instructions are executed by the processor, the steps of the forwarding method described in the second aspect and the possible implementation of the second aspect are implemented.

[0086] In a sixth aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a readable storage medium is provided, on which a program or instruction is stored. When the program or instruction is executed by a processor, the steps of the forwarding method described in the second aspect and its possible implementation method are implemented.

[0087] In the seventh aspect of the embodiments of the present application, a computer program product is provided, which includes: computer program code (or instructions), which, when executed by one or more processors, enables the device including the processor to perform the steps of the forwarding method described in the second aspect and the possible implementation of the second aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0088] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative labor.

[0089] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of an FWA broadband access network provided by related technologies.

[0090] FIG2 is a block diagram of a wireless communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0091] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0092] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0093] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0094] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0095] FIG7 is a flowchart of a forwarding method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0096] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of an architecture for forwarding messages via a virtual interface in a network device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0097] FIG9 is a flowchart of a forwarding method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0098] FIG10 is a schematic diagram showing the composition of a network device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0099] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of this application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application. Obviously, the embodiments described are only part of the embodiments of this application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0100] The terms "first," "second," and the like in the specification and claims of this application are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not used to describe a particular order or precedence. It should be understood that the terms used in this manner are interchangeable where appropriate, so that the embodiments of this application can be implemented in orders other than those illustrated or described herein. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and the like generally distinguish objects of a class and do not limit the number of objects. For example, the first object may be one or more.

[0101] In this document, the term "and / or" simply describes a relationship between related objects, indicating that three possible relationships exist. For example, "A and / or B" can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, or B exists alone. Furthermore, the character " / " in this document generally indicates that the related objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0102] The terms "at least one of" and "at least one of" in the specification and claims of this application refer to any one, any two, or a combination of more than two of the objects included therein. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can be represented by: "a," "b," "c," "a and b," "a and c," "b and c," and "a, b, and c," where a, b, or c can be single or multiple. Similarly, "at least two of" means two or more, and its meaning is similar to that of "at least one of".

[0103] The following explains some concepts and / or terms involved in a network device, forwarding method and medium provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0104] 1. FWA is a solution that provides fixed broadband access through wireless technology. It can generally be divided into Tier 1 operators and small and medium-sized Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP) operators. Tier 1 operators have cellular network resources. Therefore, after Tier 1 operators promoted the fifth-generation mobile communication technology (5G) network, FWA solutions using 5G networks quickly became popular. Small and medium-sized WISP operators, on the other hand, typically implement non-5G FWA applications using other wireless frequency bands and wireless technologies (such as microwave).

[0105] 2. Network equipment is usually installed in the user's home or office and is used to connect the user's device to the service provider's network.

[0106] It should be noted that the network device in the embodiment of the present application can be a wireless or 5G network device, deployed near the user side. Those skilled in the art will understand that the network device in the embodiment of the present application can include a CPE.

[0107] 3. Outdoor Unit (ODU) is usually a device used in outdoor environments, such as antennas, transceivers, etc.

[0108] It should be noted that the ODU in the embodiment of the present application can be a wireless or 5G ODU deployed outdoors.

[0109] 4. Indoor Unit (IDU), unlike ODU, is deployed indoors and usually provides wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) access.

[0110] It should be noted that the IDU in the embodiment of the present application can be an indoor wireless or 5G IDU.

[0111] 5. Passive optical networks (PONs) transmit data via optical fiber without the need for power supplies or signal amplifiers. Using optical splitters, PONs can cost-effectively cover multiple users. Currently, Gigabit-capable PON (GPON) technology is the mainstream. Furthermore, the use of 10G-PON and 10G symmetric passive optical networks (XGS-PON) is increasing.

[0112] 6. Optical Line Terminal (OLT) is the core device in the PON system, responsible for communicating with the user terminal equipment (optical network unit) and transmitting data to the optical fiber.

[0113] 7. Optical Network Unit (ONU) is the user-end device in the PON system. It is responsible for receiving the optical signal sent by the OLT and converting it into an electrical signal, and connecting to the user terminal equipment.

[0114] The following, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, describes in detail the network device, forwarding method and medium provided in the embodiments of the present application through specific embodiments and their application scenarios.

[0115] The network device, forwarding method, and medium provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to fixed broadband access scenarios, especially broadband access scenarios using FWA technology.

[0116] Currently, Tier 1 operators hope to increase their return on investment (ROI) for 5G deployments through FWA services and rapidly capture subscribers for home broadband services. When developing home broadband services, operators hope to minimize the high initial costs and ROI associated with fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) deployments, as well as the difficulties associated with fiber installation.

[0117] In related technologies, as shown in FIG1 , fixed wireless network access can generally be achieved by deploying one CPE per household so that a base station and the CPE of each user form an access network.

[0118] However, the aforementioned broadband access method of deploying a CPE for each user can impose a certain burden on operators due to the large number of wireless CPEs used and the high price of the entire device. Furthermore, some regions face insufficient investment in 5G base stations and insufficient 5G signal coverage. This results in higher capital expenditures (capex) and lower network capacity and bandwidth utilization for fixed wireless access (FWA).

[0119] While IDU-based CPE has lower capex than ODU-based CPE, the fact that the CPE is deployed indoors means the signal must pass through walls, causing signal attenuation and impacting performance, which in turn affects the performance of the entire network. While ODU-based CPE performs better than IDU-based CPE, because it's located outdoors and doesn't require signal penetration through walls, it's more expensive, with more complex deployment and maintenance per household, requiring more time and money.

[0120] In some other related solutions, although small and medium-sized WISP operators have gradually begun to adopt FTTH instead of point-to-multipoint (P2MP) wireless last-mile solutions in order to provide more stable delivery in the last mile and adapt to more complex geographical environments, the deployment cost of this solution is still relatively high.

[0121] In the network device, forwarding method, and medium provided in the embodiments of the present application, since multiple ONU devices are connected via the optical module of the network device, multiple ONU devices can transmit messages with a base station or other device via one network device, without the need to configure a network device for each ONU device. This reduces the number of network devices used, thereby lowering deployment costs while also improving the overall network capacity and bandwidth utilization of FWA.

[0122] Figure 2 shows a block diagram of a wireless communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application. The wireless communication system includes a device 21, an ONU 22, a network device 23, and an optical distribution network (ODN) 24. The device 21 and the ONU 22 can complete the transmission of data packets through the network device 23 and the ODN 24. The device 21 may include an access network device or a core network device, wherein the access network device may also be referred to as a radio access network (RAN) device, a radio access network function, or a radio access network unit. The access network device may include a base station, a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP), or a wireless fidelity (WiFi) node, etc. Among them, the base station can be called Node B (English: Node B, abbreviated as NB), evolved Node B (English: Evolved Node B, abbreviated as eNB), the next generation Node B (English: the next generation Node B, abbreviated as gNB), new radio Node B (English: New Radio Node B, abbreviated as NR Node B), access point, relay station (English: Relay Base Station, abbreviated as RBS), serving base station (English: Serving Base Station, abbreviated as SBS), base transceiver station (English: Base Transceiver Station, abbreviated as BTS), radio base station, radio transceiver, basic service set (English: Basic Service Set, abbreviated as BSS), extended service set (English: Extended Service Set, abbreviated as ESS), home Node B (English: Home Node B, abbreviated as HNB), home evolved Node B (English: home evolved Node B), transmission reception point (English: Transmission Reception Point, abbreviated as TRP) or other appropriate terms in the field. As long as the same technical effect is achieved, the base station is not limited to a specific technical vocabulary. It should be noted that in the embodiments of this application, only the base station in the NR system is introduced as an example, and the specific type of the base station is not limited.

[0123] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The network device may include: a wireless module 31, which is configured to receive a first wireless signal and convert the first wireless signal into a first electrical signal; a main control module 32, one end of which is electrically connected to the wireless module 31 and configured to receive the first electrical signal from the wireless module 31 and convert the first electrical signal into a second electrical signal; and an optical module 33, one end of which is electrically connected to the other end of the main control module 32 and the other end of which is optically connected to multiple optical network units (ONUs). The optical module 33 is configured to convert the second electrical signal into a first optical signal and transmit the first optical signal to a first ONU, one of the multiple ONUs. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the network device may include multiple optical modules 33, with the number of optical modules 33 corresponding to the number of PON ports provided in the main control module, with one optical module 33 corresponding to each PON port. For ease of description, the following description uses the example of a network device including one optical module 33.

[0124] The first electrical signal may be used to transmit an Ethernet frame, and the second electrical signal may be used to transmit a PON protocol message.

[0125] In some embodiments of the present application, the optical module 33 may also be configured to receive a second optical signal transmitted by the first ONU and convert the second optical signal into a third electrical signal. The main control module 32 may also be configured to receive a third electrical signal from the optical module and convert the third electrical signal into a fourth electrical signal. The wireless module 31 may also be configured to convert the fourth electrical signal into a second wireless signal and transmit the second wireless signal.

[0126] The third electrical signal is used to transmit PON protocol messages, and the fourth electrical signal is used to transmit Ethernet frames.

[0127] In some embodiments of the present application, as shown in FIG. 4 , the wireless module 31 may include an antenna 41 and a wireless chip 42 .

[0128] In some embodiments of the present application, the antenna 41 may be used to receive wireless signals or to send wireless signals.

[0129] It can be understood that the antenna 41 can be a passive component.

[0130] In some embodiments of the present application, the wireless chip 42 can be used to convert wireless signals received by the antenna into Ethernet frames and transmit them to the main control module 32; or receive Ethernet frames sent by the main control module 32 and convert them into wireless signals for transmission via the antenna. In other words, the wireless chip 42 can be used to convert wireless signals into electrical signals (i.e., Ethernet frames) and manage and control the encapsulation and decapsulation of Ethernet frames.

[0131] In some embodiments of the present application, as shown in FIG. 4 , the optical module 33 may include an optical driver chip 43 and an optical transceiver device 44 .

[0132] In some embodiments of the present application, the optical transceiver device 44 may be used to receive an optical signal sent by an ONU in a PON downstream network; or to send an optical signal to an ONU in a PON downstream network.

[0133] In some embodiments of the present application, the optical driver chip 43 can be used to receive PON protocol messages sent by the main control module 32, convert them into optical signals, and send them to the ONUs in the PON downstream network through the optical transceiver device 44; or receive optical signals sent by the ONUs in the PON downstream network through the optical transceiver device 44, convert them into PON protocol messages, and send them to the main control module 32. In other words, the optical driver chip 43 can be used to convert electrical signals (i.e., the electrical signals are used to transmit PON protocol messages) into optical signals, and manage and control the encapsulation and decapsulation of PON protocol messages.

[0134] In some embodiments of the present application, the optical module 33 can be designed to be pluggable or integrated onboard to further reduce the deployment cost and size of the network equipment. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, if the optical module 33 is pluggable, it can be directly replaced if it fails, reducing the time and cost of subsequent maintenance. If the optical module 33 is integrated onboard, production costs can be reduced.

[0135] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the optical module 33 in the embodiment of the present application can be connected to multiple ONU devices via an optical distribution network (ODN). The optical distribution network can be configured based on the number of connected ONU devices. The optical distribution network can include one or more optical splitters.

[0136] In the network device provided in the embodiment of the present application, since multiple ONU devices are connected through the optical module of the network device, multiple ONU devices can transmit messages with base stations and other devices through one network device without the need to configure a CPE for each ONU device, thereby reducing the number of network devices used. While reducing deployment costs, it can also improve the overall network capacity and bandwidth utilization of FWA.

[0137] In some embodiments of the present application, as shown in FIG5 in conjunction with FIG4 , the main control module 32 may include: a main controller 51, one end of the main controller 51 being electrically connected to the wireless module. The main controller 51 is configured to identify a first ONU and forward a first electrical signal to an optical line terminal (OLT) chip 52, where the first ONU corresponds to the first electrical signal. An OLT chip 52 is configured to convert the first electrical signal into a second electrical signal, where the second electrical signal includes port information corresponding to the first ONU. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, when multiple PON ports are configured in the OLT chip, the main controller 51 identifies the first ONU, specifically the PON port corresponding to the first ONU. After the main controller 51 determines the PON port corresponding to the first ONU, the OLT chip 52 converts the first electrical signal into a second electrical signal, where the second electrical signal includes the PON port information corresponding to the first ONU. The PON port information corresponding to the first ONU is used to determine the corresponding PON port when the second electrical signal is forwarded.

[0138] In some embodiments of the present application, the main controller 51 can determine the first ONU corresponding to the first electrical signal based on the information of the destination ONU carried in the first electrical signal. Then, the OLT chip can add the port information corresponding to the first ONU during the conversion of the first electrical signal to obtain a second electrical signal including the port information corresponding to the first ONU. In this way, when the optical module converts the second electrical signal into the first optical signal and sends the first optical signal to all ONUs optically connected to the optical module, the first ONU can compare the port information assigned to the first ONU with the port information in the signal, and if the port information assigned to the first ONU matches the port information in the signal, determine whether the first optical signal is the signal sent to the first ONU. Those skilled in the art should be aware of other ways to determine the first ONU, and this application does not specifically limit this.

[0139] In some embodiments of the present application, the OLT chip 52 may also be used to convert the third electrical signal into a fourth electrical signal; the main controller 51 may also be used to determine the first ONU and forward the fourth electrical signal to the wireless module.

[0140] In some embodiments of the present application, the OLT chip 522 can perform different encapsulation and decapsulation on electrical signals, complete the conversion between Ethernet frames and PON protocol messages, and thus achieve docking support between network devices and ONUs.

[0141] In some embodiments of the present application, the main controller 51 may be the hub for forwarding and controlling network devices, and may be used to control message forwarding between wireless and wired networks, interactions between modules within the network device, and interactions between the network device and users.

[0142] Illustratively, in the process of the OLT chip 52 converting messages, for management messages, such as optical network unit management and control interface (OMCI) messages, the OLT chip 51 and the main controller exchange management messages.

[0143] Understandably, traditional OLT equipment uses a large-scale OLT chip implementation due to the large capacity and high performance of conventional OLT chips. Consequently, specialized switch chips are required to carry data forwarding services. This results in relatively complex and expensive traditional OLT equipment.

[0144] It should be noted that the switch chip can usually be used to forward data packets between the Ethernet port and the OLT chip according to the configuration table items issued by the main controller.

[0145] In some embodiments of the present application, since the switching chip forwards signals between the Ethernet port and the OLT chip, that is, forwards signals from the wired side to the wired side, but cannot forward signals from the wireless side to the wired side, the Ethernet frames transmitted by the wireless module 31 cannot be forwarded directly through the switching chip. Based on this, the switching chip can be trimmed so that the Ethernet frames transmitted by the wireless module 31 can be forwarded by software through the main controller 51, while also reducing deployment costs and reducing equipment scale.

[0146] Furthermore, the OLT chip 52 may be trimmed and integrated into the main controller 51 to further reduce the size, power consumption and cost of the network device.

[0147] It can be understood that compared with the traditional OLT chip implementation, the OLT chip in the network device provided in the embodiment of the present application can adopt a streamlined implementation method without the need for large capacity and high performance, and can meet scenario requirements while taking into account deployment costs.

[0148] In some embodiments of the present application, in combination with Figure 5, as shown in Figure 6, the above-mentioned main controller 51 may also include: a forwarding acceleration module 61, one end of the forwarding acceleration module 61 is electrically connected to the wireless module, and the other end of the forwarding acceleration module 61 is electrically connected to the OLT chip, and the forwarding acceleration module 61 is used to determine the first ONU and perform forwarding acceleration processing on the first electrical signal.

[0149] In some embodiments of the present application, the forwarding acceleration module 61 may also be used to determine the first ONU and perform forwarding acceleration processing on the fourth electrical signal.

[0150] It should be noted that for a detailed description of how the main controller 51 accelerates forwarding of the electrical signal transmitted by the wireless module 31, reference can be made to the relevant description in the embodiment of the forwarding method below.

[0151] In some embodiments of the present application, the network device may respectively power on and initialize the wireless module, the OLT chip in the main control module, and the main controller.

[0152] In some embodiments of the present application, the network device can complete the connection of the uplink wireless link through the following steps a to d.

[0153] Step a: Power on the network device and load the configuration (English: profile).

[0154] Step b: The network device performs Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) selection, frequency scanning, random access, cell selection, and cell residency.

[0155] Step c: The network device completes registration in the core network through signaling from base stations and other devices.

[0156] Step d: The network device establishes a dial-up connection.

[0157] In some embodiments of the present application, the network device may complete the connection of the downlink PON link by following steps e to k in accordance with the standard PON protocol.

[0158] Step e: The network device cyclically sends various network overheads and a public uplink time slot specifically used for ONU access authentication to the PON port through the OLT chip to the ONU.

[0159] Step f: After accessing the PON port and receiving the header overhead and various preset values, the ONU uses the uplink time slot point and switches the state from the initialization state O1 to the state O2.

[0160] Step g: The ONU sends information such as the serial number to the OLT chip in the network device, and switches the state from state O2 to state O3.

[0161] Step h: After the network device receives the serial number sent by the ONU via the OLT chip, the network device requests the ONU to measure the distance between the ONU and the network device.

[0162] Step i: After receiving the ranging request from the network device, the ONU switches its state from state O3 to state O4.

[0163] Step j: After the ranging is completed, the ONU switches its state from state O4 to state O5.

[0164] Step k: The network device sends the service model-related configuration to the ONU based on OMCI through the OLT chip. After the configuration is sent, the data channel of the ONU is established.

[0165] In this way, through the power-on initialization of the network device and the connection of the uplink and the downlink, the network module can start running smoothly to transmit signals.

[0166] FIG7 is a flow chart of a forwarding method provided in an embodiment of the present application, which is applied to a network device provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG7 , the forwarding method may include the following steps 201 to 203 .

[0167] Step 201: A network device receives a first wireless signal through a wireless module of the network device and converts the first wireless signal into a first electrical signal.

[0168] Step 202: The network device receives a first electrical signal from the wireless module via the main control module of the network device, and converts the first electrical signal into a second electrical signal.

[0169] Step 203: The network device converts the second electrical signal into a first optical signal through the optical module of the network device, and sends the first optical signal to the first ONU.

[0170] The first ONU is one of the multiple ONUs connected to the optical module of the network device.

[0171] In some embodiments of the present application, the first electrical signal may be used to transmit an Ethernet frame, and the second electrical signal may be used to transmit a PON protocol message.

[0172] In some embodiments of the present application, when the network device transmits data to the first ONU, as shown in Figure 3, the network device can receive the first wireless signal through the wireless module 31 and convert the first wireless signal into an Ethernet frame; then, the network device can convert the Ethernet frame into a PON protocol message through the main control module 32; finally, the network device can control the optical module 33 to convert the PON protocol message into a first optical signal according to the first address of the first PON protocol message through the main control module 32, and send the first optical signal to the first ONU.

[0173] In some embodiments of the present application, the forwarding method provided in the embodiments of the present application may further include the following steps 204 to 206.

[0174] Step 204: The network device receives the second optical signal sent by the first ONU through the optical module of the network device, and converts the second optical signal into a third electrical signal.

[0175] Step 205: The network device receives the third electrical signal from the optical module through the main control module of the network device, and converts the third electrical signal into a fourth electrical signal.

[0176] Step 206: The network device converts the fourth electrical signal into a second wireless signal through the wireless module of the network device, and sends the second wireless signal.

[0177] The third electrical signal is used to transmit PON protocol messages, and the fourth electrical signal is used to transmit Ethernet frames.

[0178] In some embodiments of the present application, for detailed descriptions of steps 201 to 203 and steps 204 to 206, please refer to the relevant description of FIG3 . To avoid repetition, they will not be described here.

[0179] The forwarding method provided in the embodiment of the present application connects multiple ONU devices through the optical module of the network device. Therefore, multiple ONU devices can transmit messages with the network-side device through one network device, without the need to configure a CPE for each ONU device. This reduces the number of network devices used, thereby reducing deployment costs while also improving the overall network capacity and bandwidth utilization of FWA.

[0180] In some embodiments of the present application, before "sending the first optical signal to the first ONU" in the above step 203, the forwarding method provided by the embodiment of the present application may further include the following steps 207 and 208.

[0181] Step 207: The network device determines the first ONU through the main controller of the main control module, and forwards the first electrical signal to the optical line terminal OLT chip.

[0182] The first ONU is the ONU corresponding to the first electrical signal.

[0183] Step 208: The network device converts the first electrical signal into a second electrical signal through the OLT chip of the main control module.

[0184] The second electrical signal includes port information corresponding to the first ONU.

[0185] In some embodiments of the present application, the OLT chip may include multiple PON interfaces, each of which can be connected to an ONU via an optical module. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, each PON interface corresponds to an optical module, which can be connected to multiple ONUs via the optical module and the ODN. In this way, the ONU can determine whether to accept or discard the received optical signal based on the port information in the received optical signal.

[0186] It is understandable that the ONU can receive the optical signal when the port information in the received optical signal matches the port information allocated to the ONU.

[0187] In some embodiments of the present application, the first ONU may perform port mapping based on the port information carried in the received optical signal, thereby converting the first optical signal from an optical signal into an electrical signal and then sending it to the user terminal device mapped to the port.

[0188] In this way, since the network device can determine the first ONU through the main controller of the main control module, and convert the first electrical signal into a second electrical signal including the port information corresponding to the first ONU through the OLT chip of the main control module, the network device can accurately forward the signal to the optical module corresponding to the specific ONU, thereby improving the efficiency of signal forwarding.

[0189] In some embodiments of the present application, after the above step 201, the forwarding method provided by the embodiment of the present application may further include the following steps 209 to 211.

[0190] Step 209: The network device determines, through the main controller of the main control module, a first virtual interface corresponding to the first electrical signal from at least one virtual interface when it is determined that the first ONU is optically connected to the optical module.

[0191] Step 210: The network device sends a first electrical signal to a forwarding acceleration module of the network device through a first virtual interface.

[0192] Step 211: The network device performs forwarding acceleration processing on the first electrical signal through the forwarding acceleration module.

[0193] In some embodiments of the present application, the network device may establish a corresponding table entry between the ONU and the virtual interface in the main controller, so that the network device may perform forwarding acceleration processing on the electrical signal to be sent through the virtual interface corresponding to the ONU.

[0194] In some embodiments of the present application, the network device can establish a flow table including a five-tuple of source Internet Protocol (English: Internet Protocol, abbreviated as IP) address, source port, destination IP address, destination port and transport layer protocol through the forwarding acceleration module in the main controller of the main control module, so that the forwarding acceleration module can establish an accelerated flow table by learning the forwarding logic in the flow table, thereby realizing signal forwarding acceleration.

[0195] In some embodiments of the present application, the network device can, when determining that the ONU is optically connected to the optical module, determine, through the main controller of the main control module, a first virtual interface corresponding to the first electrical signal from at least one virtual interface, and send a first wireless signal to the forwarding acceleration module of the network device through the first virtual interface, thereby performing forwarding acceleration processing on the forwarded first wireless signal through the forwarding acceleration module.

[0196] In some embodiments of the present application, since there is no switching chip in the network device responsible for message forwarding, and compared with traditional wireless network devices, the network device provided by the embodiments of the present application needs to carry more access of downstream devices (i.e., ONUs) and user terminals and application traffic, the main controller of the network device not only needs to be responsible for message forwarding, but also needs to optimize the forwarding processing to ensure the capacity and performance of the entire network.

[0197] In some embodiments of the present application, the network device can optimize the forwarding process by utilizing the forwarding acceleration module in the main controller to ensure the capacity and performance of the entire network.

[0198] It is understandable that the message forwarding of network devices is usually processed by the central processing unit (CPU) core. As shown in Figure 8, message forwarding from the wireless side to the wired side is completed through path 1 and path 2. However, since the performance of software forwarding is limited by the processing power of the CPU core, it may lead to insufficient performance, resulting in abnormal message forwarding. In the forwarding method provided in the embodiment of the present application, since the number of downstream ONUs is large, which may reach 10 to 30, the performance requirements of the entire network are relatively high. Therefore, path 3 and path 4 can be used to implement message forwarding through a forwarding acceleration module.

[0199] It's important to note that the forwarding acceleration modules in traditional network devices are typically designed for Ethernet-to-Ethernet or wireless-to-Ethernet applications. For example, in Figure 8, External Interface 1 and External Interface 2 each connect to an external physical device. Therefore, the forwarding acceleration between External Interface 1 and External Interface 2 is the forwarding acceleration between two real physical interfaces.

[0200] In the forwarding method provided in the embodiment of the present application, since an OLT chip can usually be split into multiple PON ports, which are then connected to multiple ONUs via optical splitters, the forwarding acceleration module cannot sense the presence of these ONU devices through the actual physical interfaces, resulting in the inability to achieve forwarding acceleration.

[0201] In some embodiments of the present application, in order to enable the forwarding acceleration module to normally accelerate the forwarding of messages, a virtual device interface can be generated in the main controller for each ONU accessing the network device through software, so that the forwarding acceleration module can perform forwarding acceleration like processing a traditional Ethernet interface.

[0202] It should be noted that other forwarding control functions of the ONU, such as Quality of Service (QoS) scheduling and bridge forwarding strategy between the ONU and network devices, can all be controlled based on the virtual interface corresponding to the ONU.

[0203] In this way, since the forwarding acceleration processing of the electrical signal can be achieved through the virtual interface corresponding to the electrical signal, the forwarding acceleration module in the main controller can be prevented from not being able to perceive the existence of the ONU and causing the message forwarding failure, thereby improving the message processing efficiency.

[0204] In some embodiments of the present application, before the above step 209, the forwarding method provided by the embodiment of the present application may further include the following step 212.

[0205] Step 212: When the network device determines that the first ONU is optically connected to the optical module, the network device creates a first virtual interface through the main controller.

[0206] In some embodiments of the present application, the network device can determine that the first ONU is optically connected to the optical module when a data channel is established between the OLT chip and the first ONU, so that the network device can create a first virtual interface corresponding to the first ONU through the main controller, and store the correspondence between the first ONU and the first virtual interface, so that the network device can forward and accelerate the processing of messages transmitted to the first ONU through the first virtual interface.

[0207] In this way, since the network device can actively create a virtual interface when the ONU is optically connected to the optical module, the forwarding acceleration module in the main controller cannot sense the existence of the ONU during the message forwarding process, which leads to message forwarding failure, thereby improving the message processing efficiency.

[0208] In some embodiments of the present application, the forwarding method provided by the embodiments of the present application may further include the following step 213.

[0209] Step 213: When the network device determines that the optical connection between the first ONU and the optical module is disconnected, the network device deletes the first virtual interface through the main controller.

[0210] In some embodiments of the present application, the network device may determine that the optical connection between the first ONU and the optical module is disconnected when the data channel between the OLT chip and the first ONU is disconnected, thereby deleting the first virtual interface through the main controller.

[0211] In this way, since the network device can automatically delete the virtual interface when the optical connection between the ONU and the optical module is disconnected, resource usage in the network device can be saved.

[0212] FIG9 is an interactive flow chart of a forwarding method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG9 , taking the base station and the first ONU performing signal transmission via a network device as an example, the forwarding method may include the following steps 301 to 305 .

[0213] Step 301: A base station sends a first wireless signal to a network device.

[0214] Step 302: The network device receives a first wireless signal sent by the base station through a wireless module of the network device, and converts the first wireless signal into an Ethernet frame.

[0215] Step 303: The network device converts the Ethernet frame into a PON protocol message through the main control module of the network device.

[0216] Step 304: The network device converts the PON protocol message into a first optical signal through the optical module of the network device, and sends the first optical signal to the first ONU.

[0217] The first ONU is one of multiple ONUs connected to the optical module of the network device.

[0218] Step 305: The first ONU receives a first optical signal.

[0219] In this way, since multiple ONU devices are connected through the optical module of the network device, multiple ONU devices can transmit messages with base stations and other devices through one network device, without the need to configure a CPE for each ONU device. This reduces the number of network devices used, reducing deployment costs while also improving the overall network capacity and bandwidth utilization of FWA.

[0220] The above mainly introduces the solution provided by the embodiment of the present application from the perspective of the interaction between the network device, the base station and the first ONU. It is understandable that, in order to implement the above functions, the network device, the base station and the first ONU include hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. Those skilled in the art should easily appreciate that, in combination with the algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in a hardware or computer software-driven hardware manner depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to exceed the scope of this application.

[0221] The embodiments of the present application can divide the functional modules of the network device according to the above method examples. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The above integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules. It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiments of the present application is schematic and is only a logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods.

[0222] In the case of dividing each functional module according to each function, a possible schematic diagram of the network device involved in the above embodiment is shown in Figure 10. As shown in Figure 10, the network device 100 may include: a receiving unit 101, a converting unit 102 and a sending unit 103.

[0223] The receiving unit 101 is a wireless module of a network device, and receives a first wireless signal.

[0224] The conversion unit 102 is configured to convert the first wireless signal received by the receiving unit 101 into a first electrical signal.

[0225] The receiving unit 101 is further configured to receive the first electrical signal forwarded by the forwarding unit from the wireless module via the main control module of the network device.

[0226] The conversion unit 102 is further configured to convert the first electrical signal received by the receiving unit 101 into a second electrical signal; and to convert the second electrical signal into a first optical signal through an optical module of the network device.

[0227] The sending unit 103 is configured to send the first optical signal converted by the conversion unit 102 to a first ONU, where the first ONU is one of the multiple ONUs connected to the optical module of the network device.

[0228] In the embodiment of the present application, the first electrical signal is used to transmit Ethernet frames, and the second electrical signal is used to transmit PON protocol messages.

[0229] In the embodiment of the present application, the network device further includes: a processing unit.

[0230] The processing unit is configured to determine the first ONU through the main controller of the main control module before the sending unit 103 sends the first optical signal to the first ONU.

[0231] The sending unit 103 is further configured to forward the first electrical signal to the optical line terminal OLT chip, where the first ONU is the ONU corresponding to the first electrical signal.

[0232] The conversion unit 102 is further configured to convert the first electrical signal sent by the sending unit 103 into a second electrical signal through the OLT chip of the main control module, where the second electrical signal includes port information corresponding to the first ONU.

[0233] In an embodiment of the present application, the processing unit is further used to determine, through the main controller of the main control module, a first virtual interface corresponding to the first electrical signal from at least one virtual interface when it is determined that the first ONU is optically connected to the optical module, after the receiving unit 101 receives the first wireless signal through the wireless module of the network device.

[0234] The sending unit 103 is further configured to send a first electrical signal to the forwarding acceleration module of the network device through the first virtual interface determined by the processing unit.

[0235] The processing unit is further configured to perform forwarding acceleration processing on the forwarded first electrical signal through the forwarding acceleration module.

[0236] In an embodiment of the present application, the processing unit is also used to determine, through the main controller of the main control module, a first virtual interface corresponding to the first electrical signal from at least one virtual interface, and when the network device determines that the first ONU is optically connected to the optical module, the network device creates the first virtual interface through the main controller.

[0237] In the embodiment of the present application, the processing unit is further configured to, when the network device determines that the optical connection between the first ONU and the optical module is disconnected, delete the first virtual interface through the main controller.

[0238] In the embodiment of the present application, the receiving unit 101 is further configured to receive a second optical signal sent by the first ONU through an optical module of the network device.

[0239] The conversion unit 102 is further configured to convert the second optical signal received by the receiving unit 101 into a third electrical signal.

[0240] The receiving unit 101 is further configured to receive a third electrical signal from the optical module via the main control module of the network device.

[0241] The conversion unit 102 is further configured to convert the third electrical signal received by the receiving unit 101 into a fourth electrical signal; and is further configured to convert the fourth electrical signal into a second wireless signal via a wireless module of the network device.

[0242] The sending unit 103 is further configured to send the second wireless signal converted by the converting unit 102 .

[0243] The third electrical signal is used to transmit PON protocol messages, and the fourth electrical signal is used to transmit Ethernet frames.

[0244] It should be noted that all relevant contents of each step involved in the above method embodiment can be referred to the functional description of the corresponding functional module and will not be repeated here.

[0245] It should be noted that the specific working process of each functional module in the network device provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the specific description of the corresponding process in the method embodiment, and the embodiment of the present application will not be described in detail here. The network device provided in the embodiment of the present application is used to execute the above-mentioned forwarding method, and thus can achieve the same effect as the above-mentioned forwarding method.

[0246] Through the description of the above implementation methods, technical personnel in the relevant field can clearly understand that for the convenience and simplicity of description, only the division of the above-mentioned functional modules is used as an example. In actual applications, the above-mentioned functions can be assigned to different functional modules as needed, that is, the internal structure of the device can be divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the functions described above.

[0247] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the modules or units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another device, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0248] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may be one physical unit or multiple physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed in multiple places. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0249] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into a single processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into a single unit. The aforementioned integrated units may be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional units.

[0250] If the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application is essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art or all or part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a device (which can be a single-chip microcomputer, chip, etc.) or a processor (English: processor) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: U disk, mobile hard disk, read-only memory (English: Read-Only Memory, abbreviated as ROM), random access memory (English: Random Access Memory, abbreviated as RAM), disk or optical disk and other media that can store program code.

[0251] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A network device, comprising: A wireless module, configured to receive a first wireless signal and convert the first wireless signal into a first electrical signal; a main control module, electrically connected to the wireless module, wherein the main control module is used to receive the first electrical signal from the wireless module and convert the first electrical signal into a second electrical signal; and An optical module is electrically connected to the main control module, wherein the optical module is used to be optically connected to multiple optical network units (ONUs), and the optical module is also used to receive the second electrical signal from the main control module, convert the second electrical signal into a first optical signal, and send the first optical signal to a first ONU, wherein the first ONU is one of the multiple ONUs.

2. The network device according to claim 1, wherein: The first electrical signal is used to transmit Ethernet frames, and the second electrical signal is used to transmit passive optical network PON protocol messages.

3. The network device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The network device does not include a switching chip.

4. The network device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The main control module comprises: a main controller, electrically connected to the wireless module; and An optical line terminal OLT chip is electrically connected to the main controller and the optical module respectively, wherein the OLT chip is used to receive the first electrical signal sent by the main controller and convert the first electrical signal into the second electrical signal, and the first ONU is the ONU corresponding to the first electrical signal.

5. The network device according to claim 4, wherein: The main controller also includes: A forwarding acceleration module is electrically connected to the wireless module and the OLT chip respectively, wherein the forwarding acceleration module is used to determine the first ONU based on the first electrical signal and perform forwarding acceleration processing on the first electrical signal.

6. The network device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The optical module is further used to receive a second optical signal from the first ONU and convert the second optical signal into a third electrical signal; The main control module is further used to receive the third electrical signal from the optical module and convert the third electrical signal into a fourth electrical signal; and The wireless module is further used to receive the fourth electrical signal from the main control module, convert the fourth electrical signal into a second wireless signal, and send the second wireless signal; The third electrical signal is used to transmit a PON protocol message, and the fourth electrical signal is used to transmit an Ethernet frame.

7. The network device according to claim 6, wherein: The main control module comprises: an optical line terminal OLT chip, electrically connected to the optical module, wherein the OLT chip is used to convert the third electrical signal into the fourth electrical signal; and A main controller is electrically connected to the OLT chip and the wireless module respectively, wherein the main controller is used to forward the fourth electrical signal to the wireless module.

8. The network device according to claim 7, wherein: The main controller comprises: The forwarding acceleration module is electrically connected to the wireless module and the OLT chip respectively, wherein the forwarding acceleration processing is performed on the fourth electrical signal.

9. The network device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein: The network device comprises a housing, and the wireless module, the main control module and the optical module are accommodated in the housing.

10. The network device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein: The wireless module comprises: an antenna, the antenna being configured to receive the first wireless signal; and A wireless chip is used to convert the first wireless signal into the first electrical signal.

11. A forwarding method, wherein: Applied to the network device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, the method comprises: The network device receives a first wireless signal through a wireless module of the network device, and converts the first wireless signal into a first electrical signal; The network device receives the first electrical signal from the wireless module through the main control module of the network device, and converts the first electrical signal into a second electrical signal; and The network device receives the second electrical signal from the main control module through the optical module of the network device, converts the second electrical signal into a first optical signal, and sends the first optical signal to a first ONU, wherein the first ONU is one of the multiple ONUs connected to the optical module of the network device.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein: The first electrical signal is used to transmit an Ethernet frame, and the second electrical signal is used to transmit a PON protocol message.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein: Before sending the first optical signal to the first ONU, the method further includes: The network device sends the first electrical signal to an optical line terminal OLT chip through a main controller of the main control module, wherein the first ONU is an ONU corresponding to the first electrical signal; and The network device converts the first electrical signal into the second electrical signal through the OLT chip of the main control module.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein: The second electrical signal includes port information corresponding to the first ONU.

15. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 14, wherein: After the network device receives the first wireless signal through the wireless module of the network device, the method further includes: The network device determines, through the main controller of the main control module, a first virtual interface corresponding to the first electrical signal from at least one virtual interface; The network device sends the first electrical signal to the forwarding acceleration module of the network device through the first virtual interface; and The network device performs forwarding acceleration processing on forwarding the first electrical signal through the forwarding acceleration module.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein: Before the network device determines, through the main controller of the main control module, the first virtual interface corresponding to the first electrical signal from at least one virtual interface, the method includes: When the network device determines that the first ONU is optically connected to the optical module, the network device creates the first virtual interface through the main controller.

17. The method according to claim 15, wherein: The method further comprises: When the network device determines that the first ONU is disconnected from the optical module, the network device deletes the first virtual interface through the main controller.

18. The method according to claim 11, wherein: The method further comprises: The network device receives a second optical signal from the first ONU through an optical module of the network device, and converts the second optical signal into a third electrical signal; The network device receives the third electrical signal from the optical module through the main control module of the network device, and converts the third electrical signal into a fourth electrical signal; and The network device receives the fourth electrical signal from the main control module through the wireless module of the network device, converts the fourth electrical signal into a second wireless signal, and sends the second wireless signal; The third electrical signal is used to transmit a PON protocol message, and the fourth electrical signal is used to transmit an Ethernet frame.

19. A network system comprising: A network device, the network device comprising: A wireless module, the wireless module is used to receive a first wireless signal and convert the first wireless signal into a first electrical signal; a main control module, electrically connected to the wireless module, wherein the main control module is used to receive the first electrical signal from the wireless module and convert the first electrical signal into a second electrical signal; and an optical module, electrically connected to the main control module, wherein the optical module is optically connected to a plurality of optical network units (ONUs), and the optical module is further used to receive the second electrical signal from the main control module, convert the second electrical signal into a first optical signal, and send the first optical signal to a first ONU, wherein the first ONU is one of the plurality of ONUs; and The first ONU is used to receive the first optical signal.

20. The network system according to claim 19, wherein: The network system further includes: An optical distribution network ODN is used to connect the optical module in the network device and the first ONU.

21. A computer-readable storage medium, wherein: The readable storage medium stores a program or instruction, and when the program or instruction is executed by the processor, the steps of the forwarding method according to any one of claims 11 to 18 are implemented.

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