Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and an apparatus, which are applied to the technical field of communications. The communication method comprises: within a first time period, a first apparatus sends a plurality of first measurement packets to a second apparatus by means of a PON apparatus; upon receiving the plurality of first measurement packets, the second apparatus sends a plurality of corresponding second measurement packets to the first apparatus by means of the PON apparatus, and the first apparatus receives the plurality of second measurement packets from the second apparatus by means of the PON apparatus; the first apparatus determines a plurality of loopback path delays on the basis of the plurality of first measurement packets and the plurality of second measurement packets; and the first apparatus performs data transmission with the second apparatus on the basis of a downlink unidirectional delay and / or an uplink unidirectional delay, wherein the downlink unidirectional delay and / or the uplink unidirectional delay are obtained on the basis of the plurality of loopback path delays. The method can eliminate the requirements of the PON apparatus for clock synchronization in PON communication.

Description

Communication method and apparatus

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese Patent Application No. 202411048627.4, filed on July 31, 2024, entitled “Communication method and apparatus”, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, in particular to a communication method and apparatus. BACKGROUND

[0003] A passive optical network (PON) can include an optical line terminal (OLT), an optical network unit (ONU), and an optical combiner-splitter therebetween. As shown in FIG. 1, when performing downlink transmission, device 1 sends data to device 2, device 3, or device 4 through the OLT, the optical combiner-splitter, and the ONU. After passing through the OLT, the data can be copied to each ONU through the optical combiner-splitter, and then each ONU sends the data to the device 2, device 3, or device 4 connected thereto. The transmission delay is relatively stable. When performing uplink transmission, one or more of device 2, device 3, or device 4 sends data to device 1 through the OLT, the optical combiner-splitter, and the ONU. After receiving the data from one or more of device 2, device 3, or device 4, the ONU does not necessarily send the data immediately, but only sends the data in its own corresponding time period in the frame period. It can be understood that, in order to avoid the case that multiple ONUs send data at the same time, an ONU can only occupy a period of time in the frame period for sending data, and other ONUs cannot send data in this period of time. Therefore, this leads to a long uplink transmission delay in the PON, and there is a delay jitter.

[0004] A distributed unit (DU) and a radio unit (RU) can perform data transmission through a PON. The protocol for transmitting data between the DU and the RU includes a common public radio interface (CPRI) protocol and an enhanced CPRI (eCPRI) protocol. The CPRI protocol and the eCPRI protocol have high requirements for transmission delay, and require that PON devices such as the OLT and the ONU have high clock synchronization capabilities. When the OLT and the ONU have low clock synchronization capabilities, how to transmit data with high delay requirements through the PON is a technical problem that needs to be solved urgently. SUMMARY

[0005] The application provides a communication method and device, which can eliminate the requirement of clock synchronization of a PON device in PON communication.

[0006] In a first aspect, the application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a first device. The first device (or terminal device) can refer to the first device itself, or a processor, module, chip or chip system in the first device that implements the method. The method comprises: sending, by a passive optical network (PON) device, a plurality of first measurement messages to a second device in a first time period; receiving, by the PON device, a plurality of second measurement messages from the second device in the first time period, the plurality of second measurement messages corresponding to the plurality of first measurement messages; determining a plurality of loopback path delays based on the plurality of first measurement messages and the plurality of second measurement messages; and performing data transmission with the second device based on a downlink one-way delay and / or an uplink one-way delay, the downlink one-way delay and / or the uplink one-way delay being obtained based on the plurality of loopback path delays.

[0007] Based on the method described in the first aspect, the first device and the second device can be time-synchronized based on the downlink one-way delay and / or the uplink one-way delay. For example, the first device sends a timestamp 1 to the second device, and the second device determines its own time as the timestamp 1 plus the downlink one-way delay when receiving the timestamp 1. Alternatively, the second device sends a timestamp 2 to the first device, and the first device determines its own time as the timestamp 2 plus the uplink one-way delay when receiving the timestamp 2. The PON device can directly forward the data transmitted between the first device and the second device without time synchronization, which can eliminate the requirement of clock synchronization of the PON device in PON communication.

[0008] In a possible implementation, the loopback path delay is equal to the sum of a first time length and a second time length. The first time length is the corresponding time length from the time when the first device sends the first measurement message to the time when the second device receives the first measurement message. The second time length is the corresponding time length from the time when the second device sends the second measurement message corresponding to the first measurement message to the time when the first device receives the second measurement message.

[0009] In a possible implementation, the downlink one-way delay and the uplink one-way delay satisfy: T UL =T l_max -T DL ;

[0010] wherein T DL is the downlink one-way delay, T l_min is the minimum value in the plurality of loopback path delays, T UL is the uplink one-way delay, and T l_maxis the maximum value of the other loopback path delays except the first loopback path delay in the plurality of loopback path delays, and the first loopback path delay is the loopback path delay determined based on transmitting the first measurement packet and the second measurement packet during the silence window.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the downlink one-way delay and the uplink one-way delay satisfy: T UL = T l_max -T DL ;

[0012] wherein, T DL is the downlink one-way delay, T l_min is the minimum value in the plurality of loopback path delays, T UL is the uplink one-way delay, T l_max is the maximum value of the other loopback path delays except the first loopback path delay in the plurality of loopback path delays, and the first loopback path delay is the loopback path delay determined based on transmitting the first measurement packet and the second measurement packet during the silence window, and Δt is the difference between the downlink delay of the PON device and the uplink delay of the PON device.

[0013] In a possible implementation, the first device is a distributed unit (DU) or a device connected to the DU, and the second device is an RU or a device connected to the RU.

[0014] In a possible implementation, the first device is connected to the DU, and the first device is configured to encapsulate a common public radio interface (CPRI) frame in an Ethernet frame for transmission; and perform data transmission with the second device based on the downlink one-way delay and / or the uplink one-way delay. The specific implementation is as follows: receiving a first data packet from the second device; and sending the first data packet to the DU at a first time, wherein the time interval between the first time and the time when the second device sends the first data packet is equal to the sum of the uplink one-way delay and the delay deviation allowance. It can be understood that the transmission delay of the RU sending data to the DU mainly includes the delay between the RU and the second device, the delay between the second device and the first device, and the delay between the first device and the DU. It can be understood that the first device buffers the first data packet after receiving the first data packet, and then waits for the local time to send the first data packet to the DU at the first time. In this way, the time interval between the second device sending the first data packet and the first device sending the first data packet can be fixed as the sum of the uplink one-way delay and the delay deviation allowance, and the stability of the transmission delay of the RU sending data to the DU can be further improved. It can be understood that the transmission delay between the first device and the second device is unstable. If the first device receives the first data packet early, the first device buffers the first data packet for a longer time. If the first device receives the first data packet late, the first device buffers the first data packet for a shorter time.

[0015] In a possible implementation, the first device is connected to a DU, and the first device is configured to encapsulate a Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI) frame into an Ethernet frame for transmission; the method further includes: if the second data packet from the second device is not received within the timeout period, a third data packet is sent to the DU during the time period corresponding to the quiet window, and the third data packet includes padding data. Since the ONU cannot send data to the OLT within the quiet window of the PON, when the RU sends data to the DU, the DU may disconnect the communication connection with the RU due to the inability to receive data from the RU within the quiet window. In order to avoid the disconnection of the communication connection between the DU and the RU due to the quiet window, the first device can send padding data to the DU during the quiet window to maintain the communication connection between the DU and the RU.

[0016] In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a second device. The second device (or terminal device) can refer to the second device itself, or a processor, module, chip, or chip system, etc. in the second device that implements the method. The method includes: sending a plurality of third measurement packets to a first device through a passive optical network (PON) device within a second time period; receiving a plurality of fourth measurement packets from the first device through the PON device within the second time period, the plurality of fourth measurement packets corresponding to the plurality of third measurement packets; determining a plurality of loopback path delays based on the plurality of third measurement packets and the plurality of fourth measurement packets; and performing data transmission with the first device based on a downlink one-way delay and / or an uplink one-way delay, the downlink one-way delay and / or the uplink one-way delay being obtained based on the plurality of loopback path delays.

[0017] The beneficial effects of the second aspect can be referred to the description of the first aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0018] In a possible implementation, the loopback path delay is equal to the sum of a third time length and a fourth time length, the third time length is a time length corresponding to the time when the second device sends the third measurement packet to the time when the first device receives the third measurement packet, and the fourth time length is a time length corresponding to the time when the first device sends the third measurement packet to the time when the second device receives the fourth measurement packet.

[0019] In a possible implementation, the downlink one-way delay and the uplink one-way delay satisfy: T UL =T l_max -T DL ;

[0020] wherein T DL is the downlink one-way delay, T l_min is the minimum value in the plurality of loopback path delays, T UL is the uplink one-way delay, and Tl_max the maximum of the other loopback path delays except the second loopback path delay, the second loopback path delay being the loopback path delay determined based on transmitting the third measurement packet and the fourth measurement packet during the silence window.

[0021] In a possible implementation, the downlink one-way delay and the uplink one-way delay satisfy: T UL = T l_max - T DL ;

[0022] wherein T DL is the downlink one-way delay, T l_min is the minimum of the plurality of loopback path delays, T UL is the uplink one-way delay, T l_max is the maximum of the other loopback path delays except the second loopback path delay, the second loopback path delay being the loopback path delay determined based on transmitting the third measurement packet and the fourth measurement packet during the silence window, and Δt is the difference between the downlink delay of the PON device and the uplink delay of the PON device.

[0023] In a possible implementation, the first device is a distributed unit (DU) or a device connected to the DU, and the second device is a remote unit (RU) or a device connected to the RU.

[0024] In a possible implementation, the first device is connected to the DU, and the first device is configured to encapsulate a common public radio interface (CPRI) frame in an Ethernet frame for transmission, and the second device is connected to the RU, and the second device is configured to encapsulate the CPRI frame in an Ethernet frame for transmission; the data transmission with the second device is based on the downlink one-way delay and / or the uplink one-way delay, and the data transmission with the second device is specifically implemented as follows: receiving a fourth data packet from the first device; and sending the fourth data packet to the RU at a second time, wherein a time interval between the second time and a time at which the first device sends the fourth data packet is equal to a sum of the downlink one-way delay and the delay bias margin.

[0025] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a device configured to perform the method in any possible implementation manner of the first aspect or the second aspect. The device includes a module configured to perform the method in any possible implementation manner of the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0026] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a device including processing circuitry configured to perform the method in any possible implementation manner of the first aspect or the second aspect. The processing circuitry is configured to perform a program, and when the program is executed, the method in any possible implementation manner of the first aspect or the second aspect is executed.

[0027] In a possible implementation, the apparatus further includes a memory for storing the program.

[0028] In a possible implementation, the memory is located outside the apparatus.

[0029] In a possible implementation, the memory is located inside the apparatus.

[0030] In a possible implementation, the processing circuitry and the memory can be integrated into one device, i.e., the processing circuitry and the memory can be integrated together. For example, the apparatus can be a chip.

[0031] In a possible implementation, the apparatus further includes a transceiver for receiving information (or input information) or sending information (or output information).

[0032] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an apparatus, which includes a processing circuitry and a transceiver, the processing circuitry can be a logic circuit, and the transceiver can be an interface circuit, the logic circuit and the interface circuit are coupled; the interface circuit is configured to input and / or output information, and the logic circuit is configured to execute the method in any possible implementation of the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0033] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer readable storage medium for storing a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, causes the method shown in the first aspect or the second aspect or any possible implementation to be executed.

[0034] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, which, when executed on a computer, causes the method shown in any possible implementation of the first aspect or the second aspect to be executed.

[0035] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a communication system, which includes an apparatus for executing the method shown in the first aspect and an apparatus for executing the method shown in the second aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0036] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of PON uplink communication and downlink communication according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0037] FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0038] FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram of another architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0039] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0040] FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram of a scenario of PON communication according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0041] FIG. 4B is a schematic diagram of another scenario of PON communication according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0042] FIG. 4C is a schematic diagram of another scenario of PON communication according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0043] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of sampling of loopback path delay according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0044] FIG. 6A is a schematic diagram of a de-bounce processing manner according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0045] FIG. 6B is a schematic diagram of another de-bounce processing manner according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0046] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a structure of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a structure of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a structure of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0049] For the purpose of understanding the technical solution of the present application, the present application will be further described below in conjunction with the drawings.

[0050] The terms "first" and "second" and the like in the specification of the present application, claims, and drawings are merely intended to distinguish different objects, and are not intended to describe a particular order. In addition, the terms "comprise" and "have" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product, or device, etc. comprising a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but optionally further comprises steps or units not listed, or optionally further comprises other steps or units inherent to the process, method, product, or device, etc.

[0051] "Embodiment" mentioned herein means that the specific features, structures, or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment can be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. The phrase appears at various places in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it a separate or alternative embodiment to other embodiments. It is explicitly and implicitly understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein can be combined with other embodiments.

[0052] In the present application, "at least one" means one or more, "multiple" means two or more, "at least two" means two or three and more, and "and / or" is used to describe the association relationship of the associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, "A and / or B" can mean: only A exists, only B exists, and A and B exist at the same time, where A and B can be singular or plural. "Or" means that there can be two relationships, such as only A exists, only B exists; when A and B are not mutually exclusive, it can also mean that there are three relationships, such as only A exists, only B exists, and A and B exist at the same time. The character " / " generally represents that the associated objects before and after are an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions means any combination of these items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can mean: a, b, c, "a and b", "a and c", "b and c", or "a and b and c".

[0053] In the present application, "sending" and "receiving" represent the direction of signal transmission. For example, "sending information to XX" can be understood as the destination of the information being XX, which can include direct transmission through the air interface, or indirect transmission through the air interface by other units or modules. "Receiving information from YY" can be understood as the source of the information being YY, which can include direct reception from YY through the air interface, or indirect reception from YY through the air interface from other units or modules. "Sending" can also be understood as the "output" of the chip interface, and "receiving" can also be understood as the "input" of the chip interface. In other words, sending and receiving can be between devices, such as between network devices and terminal devices, or within devices, such as between components, modules, chips, software modules or hardware modules within a device through a bus, wire or interface.

[0054] The following describes the communication system related to the embodiments of the present application.

[0055] The method provided in the application can be applied to various communication systems, which can include multiple network devices. The communication system can specifically include a wide area network, a local area network, a point-to-point connection, and the like, or any combination thereof. Specifically, the communication network can include a wireless network, a wired network, or a combination of a wireless network and a wired network, and the like. The wireless network includes, but is not limited to, any one or a combination of the following: a 5th-Generation (5G) system, a long term evolution (LTE) system, a global system for mobile communication (GSM) or a code division multiple access (CDMA) network, a wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) network, wireless fidelity (WiFi), a radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, a Long Range (Lora) wireless communication, an optical transport network (OTN), an optical access network (OAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a passive optical network (PON), an Ethernet, or a flex Ethernet (FlexE), a wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) network, and the like. The wired network can include an optical fiber communication network or a network composed of coaxial cables, and the like. It can also be a future communication network, and the network element names involved in the embodiments of the application are not limited, and can be replaced by network element names with the same or similar functions in the future communication network.

[0056] For example, FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a communication system provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 2A, the communication system can include at least one device 1 and at least one device 2, and the device 1 and the device 2 communicate with each other through a PON. For example, the device 1 can be a network device or a chip placed in a network device, and the device 2 can be a terminal device or a chip placed in a terminal device. Alternatively, the device 1 and the device 2 can both be network devices or chips placed in network devices. For example, the device 1 is a distributed unit (DU), and the device 2 is a radio unit (RU).

[0057] A PON is a single-fiber bidirectional optical access network that adopts a point-to-multi-point (P2MP) structure. A PON system includes an optical line terminal (OLT), an optical network unit (ONU), and an optical distribution network (ODN).

[0058] The OLT is located at the network side, and the OLT can provide network centralization and access, can complete optical / electric conversion, bandwidth allocation, and control of connections of channels, and has real-time monitoring, management, and maintenance functions. The ONU is located at the user side, and implements processing and maintenance management of various electrical signals and provides a user-side interface. The OLT and the ONU transmit data through the ODN, and the ODN is composed of passive devices such as an optical combiner / splitter. The optical combiner / splitter is used to distribute downlink data and concentrate uplink data, can decompose one signal into multiple signals for transmission, and can also have other names such as an optical splitter, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0059] The protocol used for data transmission between the device 1 and the device 2 includes a common public radio interface (CPRI) protocol and an enhanced CPRI (eCPRI) protocol.

[0060] The CPRI protocol is continuously transmitted without interruption according to a fixed basic frame period, that is, the end-to-end transmission delay between the device 1 and the device 2 needs to be constant, and the stability of the transmission delay is required to be high. If the data does not arrive within the expected frame period, the data will be lost. Currently, the CPRI protocol data cannot be directly transmitted in the PON network, and is usually encapsulated in an Ethernet message for transmission. Therefore, the communication system in the embodiment of the present application can further include a CPRI frame encapsulated in an Ethernet message (CPRI Over Ethernet, CoE) device. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 2B, the CoE device can be included between the device 1 and the OLT, and the CoE device can be referred to as CoE for short. The device 2 and the OLT can also include a CoE. The CoE can encapsulate the CPRI message in the Ethernet message.

[0061] The eCPRI protocol is also based on Ethernet message transmission, and the maximum transmission delay between the device 1 and the device 2 cannot exceed a certain threshold, for example, 200us. The DU and the RU need to set the timer according to the transmission delay when processing data. Therefore, although it is not required that the transmission delay of each message is the same, the more stable the transmission delay is, the more conducive to the stability of data transmission. The one-way transmission delay needs to be measurable and known.

[0062] The terminal device and the network device are described in detail below.

[0063] The terminal device is a device with wireless transceiving function. The terminal device can communicate with an access network device (or also referred to as an access device or a network device shown below) in a radio access network (RAN). The terminal device can also be referred to as a user equipment (UE), an access terminal, a terminal, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a user agent, or a user apparatus, etc. In a possible implementation, the terminal device can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; or can be deployed on water, including a ship; or can be deployed in the air, such as an airplane, a balloon or a satellite, etc. In another possible implementation, the terminal device can be a handheld device, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a sensor, a terminal in Internet of Things, a terminal in Internet of Vehicles, a drone, a terminal device in 5G network or future network, etc. with wireless communication function, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto. In yet another possible implementation, the terminal device can also be a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in unmanned driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical treatment, a wireless terminal in smart power grid, a wireless terminal in smart city, or a wireless terminal in smart home, etc.

[0064] In the embodiments of the present application, the apparatus for implementing the function of the terminal device can be a terminal device, or can be an apparatus capable of supporting the terminal device to implement the function, such as a chip system. The apparatus can be installed in the terminal device or used in matching with the terminal device. In the embodiments of the present application, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices. For ease of description, the apparatus for implementing the function of the terminal device is taken as an example to describe the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application when some examples are involved.

[0065] The network device can be a kind of apparatus deployed in a wireless access network to provide wireless communication services for terminal devices. The network device can also be referred to as an access network device, an access device, or a RAN device, etc. Illustratively, the network device can be a next generation node B (gNB), a next generation evolved node B (ng-eNB), or a network device in future communications, etc. The network device can be any kind of device with wireless transceiver function, including but not limited to the base stations (including base stations deployed on satellites) shown above. The network device can also be an apparatus with base station function in future communication systems. As an example, the network device can be an access node, a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, etc. in a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) system. As another example, the network device can be a wireless controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario. As yet another example, the network device can be a wearable device or a vehicle-mounted device, etc. that can provide wireless communication services. As yet another example, the network device can also be a small station, a transmission reception point (TRP) (or also referred to as a transmission point), etc. In systems of different wireless access technologies, the names of apparatuses with network device functions can be different, and the embodiments of the present application will not be listed one by one.

[0066] The network device can be fixed or mobile. For example, a helicopter or a drone can be configured to act as a mobile network device, and one or more cells can move according to the location of the mobile network device. In other examples, the helicopter or the drone can be configured to act as a device that communicates with another network device.

[0067] In some deployments of the network device, the network device can include a centralized unit (CU), a DU, and a RU, etc. As part of the protocol layers of the network device are placed in the CU for centralized control, the remaining part or all of the protocol layers are distributed in the DU and controlled by the CU. In some other deployments of the network device, the CU can also be divided into a CU-control plane (CP) and a CU-user plane (UP), etc. In some other deployments of the network device, the network device can also be an open radio access network (ORAN) architecture. When the network device is an ORAN architecture, the network device can be a functional entity or a module in the ORAN, etc. For example, the network device can be a combination of one or more of a CU, a DU, or a RU. In the ORAN system, the CU can also be referred to as an open (O)-CU, the DU can also be referred to as an O-DU, the CU-CP can also be referred to as an O-CU-CP, the CU-UP can also be referred to as an O-CU-UP, etc. The deployment modes of the network device listed here are only examples, and as the standard technology evolves, there can be other deployment forms of the network device, which are not limited by the embodiments of the present application.

[0068] In some deployments, a plurality of RAN nodes cooperate to assist a terminal to implement wireless access, and different RAN nodes implement part of the functions of the access network respectively. For example, the RAN node can be a CU, a DU, a CU-CP, a CU-UP, or a RU, etc. The CU and the DU can be separately arranged, or can also be included in the same network element, such as a building base band unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0069] The RAN node can support one or more types of fronthaul interfaces, different fronthaul interfaces respectively corresponding to DUs and RUs having different functions. If the fronthaul interface between the DU and the RU is a common public radio interface (CPRI), the DU is configured to implement one or more of baseband functions, and the RU is configured to implement one or more of radio frequency functions. If the fronthaul interface between the DU and the RU is another interface, relative to the CPRI, part of the baseband functions of the downlink and / or uplink, such as, for the downlink, one or more of precoding, digital beamforming (BF), or inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) / add cyclic prefix (CP), are moved from the DU to the RU for implementation, and for the uplink, one or more of digital beamforming (BF), or fast Fourier transform (FFT) / remove cyclic prefix (CP), are moved from the DU to the RU for implementation. In a possible implementation, the interface can be an enhanced common public radio interface (eCPRI). Under the eCPRI architecture, the splitting manner between the DU and the RU is different, corresponding to different categories (Cat) of eCPRI, such as eCPRI Cat A, B, C, D, E, F.

[0070] Taking eCPRI Cat A as an example, for downlink transmission, with layer mapping as the cut, the DU is configured to implement layer mapping and one or more functions (i.e., one or more of encoding, rate matching, scrambling, modulation, layer mapping) before layer mapping, and other functions (e.g., one or more of resource element (RE) mapping, digital beamforming (BF), or IFFT / add CP) after layer mapping are implemented in the RU. For uplink transmission, with de-RE mapping as the cut, the DU is configured to implement de-mapping and one or more functions (i.e., one or more of decoding, de-rate matching, de-scrambling, de-modulation, inverse discrete Fourier transform (IDFT), channel equalization, de-RE mapping) before de-mapping, and other functions (e.g., one or more of digital BF or FFT / CP removal) after de-mapping are implemented in the RU. It can be understood that the function description of the DU and the RU corresponding to various types of eCPRI can refer to the eCPRI protocol, and will not be described here.

[0071] In a possible design, the processing unit in the BBU for implementing baseband functions is referred to as a base band high (BBH) unit, and the processing unit in the RRU / AAU / RRH for implementing baseband functions is referred to as a base band low (BBL) unit.

[0072] In different systems, the CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU can also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in the ORAN system, the CU can also be referred to as an O-CU (open CU), the DU can also be referred to as an O-DU, the CU-CP can also be referred to as an O-CU-CP, the CU-UP can also be referred to as an O-CU-UP, and the RU can also be referred to as an O-RU. Any of the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0073] The network device and / or the terminal device can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; can also be deployed on water surface; and can also be deployed on airplanes, balloons and satellites in the air. The scene where the network device and the terminal device are located is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In addition, the terminal device and the network device can be hardware devices, or software functions running on special hardware, software functions running on general hardware, such as virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (for example, a cloud platform), or entities including special or general hardware devices and software functions. The specific form of the terminal device and the network device is not limited in the present application.

[0074] In the embodiments of the present application, the apparatus for implementing the function of the network device can be the network device; or can be an apparatus capable of supporting the network device to implement the function, such as a chip system. The apparatus can be installed in the network device or used in matching with the network device. For the convenience of description, the apparatus for implementing the function of the network device is taken as a base station to describe the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application when some specific examples are involved.

[0075] In the PON network, when transmitting data in the downstream, the sending end sends data, and the data can be copied to each ONU through the optical combiner after passing through the OLT, and then each ONU sends the data to the receiving end connected thereto, and the transmission delay is relatively stable. When transmitting data in the upstream, the sending end sends data, and needs to send the data to the ONU first. The ONU does not necessarily send the data immediately after receiving the data, but can only send the data in the time period corresponding to itself in the frame period. It can be understood that, in order to avoid the case that multiple ONUs send data at the same time, one ONU can only occupy a time period in the frame period for sending data, and other ONUs cannot send data in the time period. It can be understood that the frame period is divided into multiple time periods, and the time period can also be referred to as a transmission opportunity window. Each ONU in the multiple ONUs occupies one transmission opportunity window, and the multiple transmission opportunity windows and the multiple ONUs have a one-to-one correspondence relationship, that is, one ONU has only one transmission opportunity window, and only the ONU can transmit data in the time period. When the ONU has data to be transmitted, the ONU does not necessarily send the data immediately, but needs to wait until the time of the transmission opportunity window corresponding to the ONU in the current frame period. The ONU sends the data. Different data arrive at the ONU at different times, so the time of waiting for the transmission opportunity window of the ONU is different. Therefore, the upstream transmission delay in the PON has delay jitter. In addition, there is a silence window mechanism in the upstream transmission in the PON. It can be understood that the ONU cannot send data to the OLT during the silence window. Therefore, the upstream transmission delay in the PON is relatively long.

[0076] The CPRI protocol and the eCPRI protocol have high requirements on transmission delay, and require PON devices such as an OLT and an ONU to have high clock synchronization capability. When the OLT and the ONU have low clock synchronization capability, how to transmit data with high requirements on delay through the PON is a technical problem to be solved.

[0077] Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, as shown in FIG. 3, which includes steps 301 and 302. The method shown in FIG. 3 corresponds to the execution subject of a first device and a second device, or the execution subject of the method shown in FIG. 3 can be a chip or the like in the first device and the second device. FIG. 3 takes the first device and the second device as an example for description. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the execution subject of the communication method. The first device can be the device 1 in the communication system shown in FIG. 2A, and the second device can be the device 2 in the communication system shown in FIG. 2A, or the first device can be the device 1 or the CoE connected to the device 1 in the communication system shown in FIG. 2B, and the second device can be the device 2 or the CoE connected to the device 2 in the communication system shown in FIG. 2B.

[0078] For example, the communication method provided by embodiments of the present application is applicable to the scenarios shown in FIGS. 4A-4C. In the scenario shown in FIG. 4A, the first device is a CoE connected to the device 1, and the device 1 is optionally a DU, the second device is a CoE connected to the device 2, and the device 2 is optionally an RU, the first device and the second device communicate through a PON, and the networking mode between the second device and the device 2 can be serial cascade or tree connection, which is not limited by embodiments of the present application, and the tree connection is shown in FIG. 4A. In the scenario shown in FIG. 4B, the first device is a DU, the second device is a CoE connected to the device 2, and the device 2 is optionally an RU, the first device and the second device communicate through a PON, and the networking mode between the second device and the device 2 can be serial cascade or tree connection, which is not limited by embodiments of the present application, and the serial cascade is shown in FIG. 4B. In the scenario shown in FIG. 4C, the first device is a DU, the second device is an RU, and the first device and the second device communicate through a PON. Of course, the communication method provided by the present application can also be applicable to other scenarios, which are not limited by embodiments of the present application.

[0079] The communication method shown in FIG. 3 is described below.

[0080] 301. In a first time period, the first device sends a plurality of first measurement messages to the second device through a PON device, and correspondingly, the second device receives the plurality of first measurement messages from the first device through the PON device.

[0081] 302、in the first time period, the second device sends a plurality of second measurement packets to the first device through the PON device, and correspondingly, the first device receives the plurality of second measurement packets from the second device through the PON device.

[0082] In the embodiments of the present application, the direction from the first device to the second device is the downlink direction, and the direction from the second device to the first device is the uplink direction. The first device and the second device communicate through the PON, that is, the communication path between the first device and the second device includes the PON device, and optionally, the PON device can include one or more of the following devices: OLT, ONU or optical combiner. Wherein, the PON device transmits in a transparent manner when receiving the first measurement packet or the second measurement packet. For example, the OLT does not need to process when receiving the first measurement packet, and directly forwards the first measurement packet to the ONU, and similarly, the ONU does not need to process when receiving the second measurement packet, and directly forwards the second measurement packet to the OLT.

[0083] Wherein, the first measurement packet and the second measurement packet are used to measure the loopback path delay between the first device and the second device, and the loopback path delay refers to the sum of the time required for the first device to send the measurement packet to the second device to receive the measurement packet and the time required for the second device to send the measurement packet to the first device to receive the measurement packet. The first device sends the first measurement packet, and after the second device receives the first measurement packet, the second device will send the second measurement packet corresponding to the first measurement packet. It can be understood that the first measurement packet and the second measurement packet have a corresponding relationship, and optionally, the first measurement packet and the second measurement packet are one-to-one correspondence. For example, the number of first measurement packets sent by the first device in the first time period is M, and the number of second measurement packets sent by the second device in the first time period is M, wherein the i-th first measurement packet of the M first measurement packets sent by the first device corresponds to the i-th second measurement packet of the M second measurement packets sent by the second device, that is, after the second device receives the i-th first measurement packet, the corresponding i-th second measurement packet will be sent, wherein M is a positive integer, and i takes an integer value between 1 and M (including 1 and M).

[0084] In a possible implementation, the first device periodically transmits the first measurement packet in the first time period. The periodic transmission of the first measurement packet can be understood as that a time interval between any two adjacent first measurement packets in the plurality of first measurement packets is within a preset time interval range, for example, the preset time interval range is 1-10 us. The two adjacent first measurement packets can also be understood as two consecutive first measurement packets, that is, the first device does not transmit other first measurement packets in a time interval between the two transmissions of the first measurement packets. Optionally, the preset time interval range is related to one or more of a time length of the transmission opportunity window of the ONU, a transmission rate, or a transmission bandwidth, which will be described in subsequent step 304 and will not be described in detail here.

[0085] Alternatively, the periodic transmission of the first measurement packet can also be understood as that a time interval between two adjacent first measurement packets in the plurality of first measurement packets is equal to a preset time interval, for example, the preset time interval is 5 us, and for the same reason, the preset time interval is related to one or more of a time length of the transmission opportunity window of the ONU, a transmission rate, or a transmission bandwidth.

[0086] In a possible implementation, because the PON uplink delay has jitter and there is a quiet window, in order to obtain more accurate delay measurement results, the length of the first time period needs to be greater than or equal to a plurality of PON frame periods. Optionally, the length of the first time period is greater than or equal to three PON frame periods, for example, one PON frame period is 125 us, that is, the length of the first time period is greater than or equal to 375 us, and in this way, the accuracy of measuring the loopback path delay is improved.

[0087] 303. The first device determines a plurality of loopback path delays based on the plurality of first measurement packets and the plurality of second measurement packets.

[0088] In the embodiments of the present application, each of the plurality of loopback path delays is determined according to the corresponding first measurement packet and second measurement packet. It can be understood that the plurality of loopback path delays have a corresponding relationship with the plurality of first measurement packets and the plurality of second measurement packets. For example, the number of first measurement packets is M, and the number of second measurement packets is M. Correspondingly, the first device can determine M loopback path delays according to the M first measurement packets and the M second measurement packets. The i th loopback path delay in the M loopback path delays is determined according to the i th first measurement packet in the M first measurement packets and the i th second measurement packet in the M second measurement packets, that is, the i th loopback path delay corresponds to the i th first measurement packet and the i th second measurement packet. It should be further pointed out that the i th second measurement packet corresponds to the i th first measurement packet, that is, the i th second measurement packet is sent after the i th first measurement packet is received by the second device. Wherein, M is a positive integer, and i is an integer between 1 and M (including 1 and M).

[0089] Wherein, the loopback path delay is equal to the sum of the first duration and the second duration, the first duration is the corresponding duration from the time when the first device sends the first measurement packet to the time when the second device receives the first measurement packet, and the second duration is the corresponding duration from the time when the second device sends the second measurement packet corresponding to the first measurement packet to the time when the first device receives the second measurement packet. It can be understood that the loopback path delay only includes the transmission delay of the first measurement packet and the transmission delay of the second measurement packet, and does not include the processing delay inside the first device and the second device.

[0090] For example, the first measurement packet carries a timestamp T1 of the time when the first device sends the first measurement packet, the second measurement packet carries a timestamp T2 of the time when the second device receives the first measurement packet corresponding to the second measurement packet and a timestamp T3 of the time when the second device sends the second measurement packet, and the first device records a timestamp T4 of the time when the second measurement packet is received. Wherein, the first duration is equal to T2-T1, the second duration is equal to T4-T3, and the loopback path delay T l = (T2-T1) + (T4-T3).

[0091] [According to Rule 91 Correction 08.12.2025]304, the first device performs data transmission with the second device based on the downlink one-way delay and / or the uplink one-way delay, which is obtained based on the plurality of loopback path delays.

[0092] In the embodiments of the present application, the first device and the second device can be time-synchronized based on the downlink one-way delay and / or the uplink one-way delay. For example, the first device sends a timestamp 1 to the second device, and the second device determines its own time as the timestamp 1 plus the downlink one-way delay when receiving the timestamp 1. Alternatively, the second device sends a timestamp 2 to the first device, and the first device determines its own time as the timestamp 2 plus the uplink one-way delay when receiving the timestamp 2. When receiving the data transmitted between the first device and the second device, the PON device can directly forward the data without time synchronization. In this way, the requirement of clock synchronization for the PON device in the PON communication can be eliminated.

[0093] The plurality of loopback path delays can be used to determine the downlink one-way delay and / or the uplink one-way delay. The determination method of the downlink one-way delay and the uplink one-way delay is described below, including the following steps 1 and 2.

[0094] Step 1: determining the minimum value T of the plurality of loopback path delays based on the plurality of loopback path delays l_min and the maximum value T of the other loopback path delays except the first loopback path delay in the plurality of loopback path delays. l_max The first loopback path delay is determined based on the transmission of the first measurement packet and the second measurement packet during the silence window.

[0095] For example, the plurality of loopback path delays can be arranged in time sequence as sampling points. Optionally, the time sequence can be the time for determining the loopback path delay, or the sending time or receiving time of the first measurement packet or the second measurement packet used for determining the loopback path delay. According to the sampling points of the plurality of loopback path delays, the loopback path delay diagram shown in FIG. 5 can be obtained.

[0096] It can be understood that the downlink transmission delay in the PON is relatively stable, while in the uplink transmission, the ONU can only send data in the sending opportunity window corresponding to itself in the frame period, and therefore the uplink transmission delay has jitter, and correspondingly, the loopback path delay also has jitter. As shown in FIG. 5, the loopback path delays in two frame periods have similar jitter amplitudes, i.e., the maximum values of the loopback path delays in the two frame periods are approximately equal, and the minimum values of the loopback path delays in the two frame periods are approximately equal. The approximately equal can be understood as the difference between the two values is small.

[0097] Since there is a silence window in the uplink transmission, the ONU cannot send data during the silence window. Optionally, the length of the silence window is an integer number of frame periods, and the loopback path delay measured during the silence window is at least one frame period larger than the loopback path delay measured during the non-silence window. The first device calculates T l_maxIn order to exclude the sampling points in the silence window, the first device can determine the silence window in the following manner. The first device can compare the maximum value of the loopback path delay in each frame period. If the maximum value of the loopback path delay in one or more frame periods is greater than the maximum value of the loopback path delay in other frame periods by at least the time length corresponding to one frame period, it is considered that the one or more frame periods are in the silence window, and the loopback path delay in the silence window is excluded.

[0098] In combination with the foregoing description of the time interval between the adjacent two times of sending the first measurement message, the time interval between the adjacent two times of sending the first measurement message is within a preset time interval range, or the time interval between the adjacent two times of sending the first measurement message is the preset time interval. The preset time interval range or the preset time interval is related to one or more parameters of the time length of the transmission opportunity window, the transmission rate or the transmission bandwidth of the ONU. It can be understood that, taking the bandwidth of 1G allocated to the ONU by the PON as an example, for a PON of 10G, the time length of one frame period is 125us, and the transmission opportunity window of the ONU is about 12us. In the case of not considering the blocking message accumulation, the minimum value duration of the loopback path delay between the first device and the second device is equal to the time of the transmission opportunity window of the ONU, about 12us. Therefore, in order to capture the minimum value of the loopback path delay, the time interval between the adjacent two times of sending the first measurement message should be less than 12us, such as 5us. If the time interval between the adjacent two times of sending the first measurement message is too short, for example, 1us, the situation of measurement message accumulation may occur, and the real minimum loopback path delay cannot be obtained. Assuming that the lengths of the first measurement message and the second measurement message are 100 bytes, 0.8Gbps of bandwidth is consumed, and in a blocking window of 100us or more, the ONU will accumulate at least 100 second measurement messages to be sent. According to the 10Gbps speed limit, it takes 10us to send all the second measurement messages, and a large number of second measurement messages will be accumulated in the ONU, and the real minimum loopback path delay cannot be obtained. Therefore, in order to determine a more accurate loopback path delay, the time interval between the adjacent two times of sending the first measurement message should be determined based on one or more parameters of the time length of the transmission opportunity window, the transmission rate or the transmission bandwidth of the ONU, so as to avoid the situation that the interval is too long and the minimum value cannot be captured, and the interval is too short and the message accumulation occurs.

[0099] Step 2, determining the minimum value T of the plurality of loopback path delays l_min and the maximum value T of the other loopback path delays except the first loopback path delay in the plurality of loopback path delays l_max determining the downlink one-way delay and / or the uplink one-way delay.

[0100] Exemplarily, the downlink one-way delay and the uplink one-way delay satisfy the following formula (1) and formula (2): T UL l_max -T DL (2)

[0101] Wherein, T DL is the downlink one-way delay, T l_min is the minimum value of the multiple loopback path delays, T UL is the uplink one-way delay, T l_max is the maximum value of the multiple loopback path delays except the first loopback path delay, and the first loopback path delay is the loopback path delay determined based on the transmission of the first measurement packet and the second measurement packet during the silence window.

[0102] Exemplarily, the PON device has a certain difference between the uplink delay and the downlink delay, and thus the difference between the downlink delay of the PON device and the uplink delay of the PON device can be used to improve the accuracy of the downlink one-way delay and the uplink one-way delay between the first device and the second device. When the difference between the downlink delay of the PON device and the uplink delay of the PON device is obtained, the downlink one-way delay and the uplink one-way delay satisfy the following formula (3) and formula (4): T UL l_max -T DL (4)

[0103] Wherein, T DL is the downlink one-way delay, T l_min is the minimum value of the multiple loopback path delays, T UL is the uplink one-way delay, T l_max is the maximum value of the multiple loopback path delays except the first loopback path delay, the first loopback path delay is the loopback path delay determined based on the transmission of the first measurement packet and the second measurement packet during the silence window, and Δt is the difference between the downlink delay of the PON device and the uplink delay of the PON device.

[0104] The above mainly introduces the manner in which the first device determines the downlink one-way delay and / or the uplink one-way delay and the manner in which the second device determines the downlink one-way delay and / or the uplink one-way delay can be one of the following two manners:

[0105] Manner one, the first device informs the second device of the downlink one-way delay and / or the uplink one-way delay. For example, the first device sends first indication information to the second device, and correspondingly, the second device receives the first indication information from the first device, the first indication information indicating the downlink one-way delay and / or the uplink one-way delay, and the second device communicates with the first device according to the downlink one-way delay and / or the uplink one-way delay.​​

[0106] In the second mode, the second device actively sends measurement messages to determine the downlink one-way delay and / or the uplink one-way delay. For example, the implementation can include the following steps 1-4:

[0107] Step 1: In a second time period, the second device sends a plurality of third measurement messages to the first device through the PON device, and correspondingly, the first device receives the plurality of third measurement messages from the second device through the PON device.

[0108] Step 2: In the second time period, the first device sends a plurality of fourth measurement messages to the second device through the PON device, and correspondingly, the second device receives the plurality of fourth measurement messages from the first device through the PON device, the plurality of fourth measurement messages corresponding to the plurality of third measurement messages.

[0109] It can be understood that the third measurement messages and the fourth measurement messages described herein have the same functions as the first measurement messages and the second measurement messages described above. For details, refer to the description of steps 301-302 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0110] Step 3: The second device determines a plurality of loopback path delays based on the plurality of third measurement messages and the plurality of fourth measurement messages.

[0111] The method for determining the loopback path delays by the second device is the same as the method for determining the loopback path delays by the first device. For details, refer to step 303 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0112] Step 4: The second device determines the downlink one-way delay and / or the uplink one-way delay based on the plurality of loopback path delays.

[0113] The method for determining the downlink one-way delay and / or the uplink one-way delay by the second device is the same as the method for determining the downlink one-way delay and / or the uplink one-way delay by the first device. For details, refer to the description of step 304 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0114] Optionally, when the second device actively sends measurement messages to determine the downlink one-way delay and / or the uplink one-way delay, the first device can not need to actively send measurement messages to determine the downlink one-way delay and / or the uplink one-way delay, but the second device can inform the first device of the downlink one-way delay and / or the uplink one-way delay. For example, the second device sends second indication information to the first device, and correspondingly, the first device receives the second indication information from the second device, the second indication information indicating the downlink one-way delay and / or the uplink one-way delay. The first device can determine the downlink one-way delay and / or the uplink one-way delay based on the second indication information.

[0115] In a possible implementation, the first device and the second device can perform frequency synchronization by periodically transmitting timestamps. For example, the first device periodically sends a first timestamp to the second device via a PON device, and the second device receives the first timestamp from the first device via the PON device, and the second device can synchronize its working frequency with the first device by using the first timestamp. The PON device transmits the first timestamp in a transparent manner, without processing the content of a message corresponding to the first timestamp or processing the measurement path delay between adjacent devices hop by hop. Optionally, the first timestamp is carried in a 1588 message or other Ethernet-based message.

[0116] In a possible implementation, when the first device and the second device transmit a data message with high delay stability requirements, for example, a CPRI message, the first device and the second device can perform a jitter elimination process to improve the stability of the transmission delay.

[0117] Taking the first device as an example, the first device is a device or equipment connected to a DU, and the device or equipment can be used to encapsulate a CPRI frame into an Ethernet message for transmission. Subsequently, the device or equipment with the function of encapsulating a CPRI frame into an Ethernet message for transmission is referred to as a CoE (CPRI Over Ethernet, CoE). For example, in the scenario shown in FIG. 4A, the second device is an RU or a CoE connected to the RU, and the method specifically includes the following steps: the first device receives a first data message from the second device, and the first device sends the first data message to the DU at a first time, and the time interval between the first time and the time when the second device sends the first data message is equal to the sum of the uplink one-way delay and a delay deviation margin. The delay deviation margin is used to accommodate the time synchronization deviation, that is, the measurement deviation of the uplink one-way delay. Optionally, the first data message carries a timestamp of the time when the second device sends the first data message. Further optionally, the first data message is a CPRI message.

[0118] It can be understood that when the first device is a CoE connected to the DU and the second device is a CoE connected to the RU, the transmission delay of the RU sending data to the DU mainly includes the delay between the RU and the second device, the delay between the second device and the first device, and the delay between the first device and the DU. The first device buffers the first data packet after receiving the first data packet, and then waits for the local time to reach the first time to send the first data packet to the DU. In this way, the time interval between the second device sending the first data packet and the first device sending the first data packet can be fixed as the sum of the uplink one-way delay and the delay deviation allowance, further improving the stability of the transmission delay of the RU sending data to the DU. It can be understood that the transmission delay between the first device and the second device is unstable. If the first device receives the first data packet early, the first device buffers the first data packet for a longer time. If the first device receives the first data packet later, the first device buffers the first data packet for a shorter time.

[0119] For example, as shown in FIG. 6A, when the second device receives the first data packet sent by the RU to the DU, it sends the first data packet to the first device at time Ta. After the first device receives the first data packet, it waits until time Tb to send the first data packet to the first device. It can be understood that Tb is the first time, Tb = Ta + T UL + Tu. T UL Tu is the uplink one-way delay.

[0120] For example, the second device is a CoE connected to the RU, such as the scenarios shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B. Optionally, the first device is a DU or a CoE connected to the DU. The method is specifically as follows: the second device receives a fourth data packet from the first device, and the second device sends the fourth data packet to the DU at a second time. The time interval between the second time and the sending time of the fourth data packet is equal to the sum of the downlink one-way delay and the delay deviation allowance. The delay deviation allowance is used to accommodate the time synchronization deviation, i.e., the measurement deviation of the downlink one-way delay. Optionally, the fourth data packet carries a timestamp of the second device sending the first data packet. Optionally, the fourth data packet is a CPRI packet.

[0121] It can be understood that when the first device is a CoE connected to the DU and the second device is a CoE connected to the RU, the transmission delay of the DU sending data to the RU mainly includes the delay between the DU and the first device, the delay between the first device and the second device, and the delay between the second device and the RU. When the second device receives the fourth data packet, it first buffers the fourth data packet, and then waits for the local time to reach the second time to send the fourth data packet to the DU. In this way, the time interval between the first device sending the fourth data packet and the second device sending the fourth data packet can be fixed as the sum of the downlink one-way delay and the delay deviation allowance, further improving the transmission delay stability of the RU sending data to the DU. It can be understood that the transmission delay between the second device and the first device is unstable. If the second device receives the fourth data packet early, the second device buffers the fourth data packet for a longer time. If the second device receives the fourth data packet later, the second device buffers the fourth data packet for a shorter time.

[0122] For example, as shown in FIG. 6B, when the first device receives the fourth data packet sent by the DU to the RU, it sends the fourth data packet to the second device at time Tc. After the second device receives the fourth data packet, it waits until time Td to send the fourth data packet to the second device. It can be understood that Td is the second time, Td=Tc+Tu. T DL +Tu. T DL is the downlink one-way delay, and Tu is the delay deviation allowance.

[0123] In a possible implementation, the first device is a CoE connected to the DU, and the second device is a RU or a CoE connected to the RU, for example, the scenario shown in FIG. 4A. Since the ONUs cannot send data to the OLT within the PON silent window, when the RU sends data to the DU, the DU may disconnect the communication connection with the RU due to the inability to receive data from the RU within the silent window. In order to avoid the disconnection of the communication connection between the DU and the RU due to the silent window, the first device can send padding data to the DU during the silent window to maintain the communication connection between the DU and the RU. The specific implementation is as follows: the first device sends a third data packet to the DU within the time period corresponding to the silent window if the second data packet from the second device is not received within the timeout. The third data packet includes padding data.

[0124] Optionally, the second data message timeout can be understood as that the local time of the first device exceeds a third time, and the interval between the third time and the time when the second device sends the second data message is the sum of the uplink one-way delay and the delay deviation margin. Further optionally, the manner in which the first device determines the time when the second device sends the second data message can be that the first device determines the time when the second device sends the second data message according to the receiving time or the sending time of the previous data message of the received second data message, or the time when the second device sends the second data message can be the agreed time of the first device and the second device, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit how the first device determines the time when the second device sends the second data message.

[0125] Optionally, the third data message includes padding data, which can be understood as that the third data message includes the elements filled by the first device and necessary for maintaining normal operation of the link, such as a control field representing cascade topology information and the like. Further optionally, in order to maintain the in-phase / quadrature (IQ) data in the normal processing of the DU, the first device can fill the missing IQ data synchronization header according to the inherent interval of the IQ data synchronization header (the interval can be obtained by the DU issuing a parameter), fill 0 for the IQ payload, and thus obtain the third data message. Further optionally, the third data message is a CPRI message.

[0126] The following will introduce the device provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0127] The embodiments of the present application divide the device according to the above-mentioned method embodiments to obtain functional modules, for example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated in one processing module. The integrated module can be realized in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional module. It should be noted that the division of the modules in the present application is illustrative, and is only a logical function division, and another division manner can be used in actual implementation. The device of the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9.

[0128] FIG. 7 is a structural schematic diagram of a device provided by the embodiments of the present application, as shown in FIG. 7, the device includes a processing module 701 and a transceiver module 702. The transceiver module 702 can realize corresponding communication functions, and the processing module 701 is used to realize corresponding processing functions. For example, the transceiver module 702 can also be referred to as an interface, a communication interface, or a communication module, etc.

[0129] In the embodiments of the present application, the apparatus can be used to perform the actions performed by the first apparatus in the method embodiments. At this time, the first apparatus can be the first apparatus itself or a chip or functional module configured in the first apparatus. The transceiver module 702 is configured to perform the transceiver-related operations of the first apparatus in the method embodiments, and the processing module 701 is configured to perform the processing-related operations of the first apparatus in the method embodiments.

[0130] For example, the transceiver module 702 can be configured to send a plurality of first measurement messages to the second apparatus through a passive optical network (PON) apparatus in a first time period; the transceiver module 702 can also be configured to receive a plurality of second measurement messages from the second apparatus through the PON apparatus in the first time period, the plurality of second measurement messages corresponding to the plurality of first measurement messages; the processing module 701 can be configured to determine a plurality of loopback path delays based on the plurality of first measurement messages and the plurality of second measurement messages; and the transceiver module 702 can be further configured to perform data transmission with the second apparatus based on a downlink one-way delay and / or an uplink one-way delay, the downlink one-way delay and / or the uplink one-way delay being obtained based on the plurality of loopback path delays.

[0131] Optionally, in each of the above embodiments, the apparatus can further include a storage module, which can be configured to store instructions and / or data, and the processing module 701 can read the instructions and / or data in the storage module to enable the apparatus to implement the foregoing method embodiments.

[0132] The specific descriptions of the transceiver module and the processing module in each of the above embodiments are only examples. For the specific functions or steps performed by the transceiver module and the processing module, reference can be made to the method embodiments described above, and no further details are provided here.

[0133] Multiplexing Figure 7, in the embodiments of the present application, the apparatus can be used to perform the actions performed by the second apparatus in the method embodiments. At this time, the second apparatus can be the second apparatus itself or a chip or functional module configured in the second apparatus. The transceiver module 702 is configured to perform the transceiver-related operations of the second apparatus in the method embodiments, and the processing module 701 is configured to perform the processing-related operations of the second apparatus in the method embodiments.

[0134] For example, the transceiver module 702 can be configured to send, by the PON device, a plurality of third measurement packets to the first device in a second time period; the transceiver module 702 can also be configured to receive, by the PON device, a plurality of fourth measurement packets from the first device in the second time period, the plurality of fourth measurement packets corresponding to the plurality of third measurement packets; the processing module 701 can be configured to determine a plurality of loopback path delays based on the plurality of third measurement packets and the plurality of fourth measurement packets; and the transceiver module 702 can also be configured to perform data transmission with the first device based on a downlink one-way delay and / or an uplink one-way delay, the downlink one-way delay and / or the uplink one-way delay being obtained based on the plurality of loopback path delays.

[0135] Optionally, in each of the above embodiments, the apparatus can further include a storage module, which can be configured to store instructions and / or data, and the processing module 701 can read the instructions and / or data in the storage module to enable the apparatus to implement the above method embodiments.

[0136] The specific descriptions of the transceiver module and the processing module in each of the above embodiments are only examples. For the specific functions or executed steps of the transceiver module and the processing module, reference can be made to the above method embodiments, and no further details are provided here.

[0137] The apparatus of the embodiments of the present application is introduced above, and possible product forms of the apparatus are introduced below. Any product in any form that has the functions of the apparatus described in FIG. 7 falls within the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application. The following introduction is only an example, and the product form of the apparatus of the embodiments of the present application is not limited to this.

[0138] In a possible implementation, in the apparatus shown in FIG. 7, the processing module 701 can be one or more processing circuits, and the transceiver module 702 can be a transceiver circuit, or the transceiver module 702 can also be a sending module and a receiving module, the sending module can be a sending circuit, and the receiving module can be a receiving circuit, which are integrated in one device, such as a transceiver circuit. In the embodiments of the present application, the processing circuit and the transceiver circuit can be coupled, and the connection mode of the processing circuit and the transceiver circuit is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In the process of executing the above method, the process of sending information in the above method can be the process of outputting the above information by the processing circuit. When the above information is output, the processing circuit outputs the above information to the transceiver circuit, so as to be transmitted (or output) by the transceiver circuit. After the above information is output by the processing circuit, it can also need to be processed further, and then reach the transceiver circuit. Similarly, the process of receiving information in the above method can be the process of receiving inputted above information by the processing circuit. When the processing circuit receives the inputted information, the transceiver circuit receives the above information and inputs it to the processing circuit. Further, after the transceiver circuit receives the above information, the above information can need to be processed further, and then input to the processing circuit.

[0139] FIG. 8 is a structural schematic diagram of an apparatus provided in the embodiments of the present application. As shown in FIG. 8, the apparatus 80 includes one or more processing circuits 820 and a transceiver circuit 810.

[0140] In some embodiments of the present application, the apparatus 80 can be used to execute the steps or methods or functions executed by the above first apparatus, for example, the processing circuit 820 can be used to execute the functions or steps implemented by the processing module 701 shown in FIG. 7, and the transceiver circuit 810 can be used to execute the functions or steps implemented by the transceiver module 702 shown in FIG. 7. The specific description of the processing circuit 820 and the transceiver circuit 810 can refer to FIG. 7 or the method embodiments shown above, and will not be described in detail here.

[0141] In some embodiments of the present application, the apparatus 80 can be used to execute the steps or methods or functions executed by the above first apparatus, for example, the processing circuit 820 can be used to execute the functions or steps implemented by the processing module 701 shown in FIG. 7, and the transceiver circuit 810 can be used to execute the functions or steps implemented by the transceiver module 702 shown in FIG. 7. The specific description of the processing circuit 820 and the transceiver circuit 810 can refer to FIG. 7 or the method embodiments shown above, and will not be described in detail here.

[0142] For example, the processing circuit can be one or more processors, or all or part of the circuit of one or more processors. The transceiver circuit can be a transceiver, or an input / output circuit, or an interface circuit, etc.

[0143] Exemplarily, in each implementation of the apparatus shown in FIG. 8, the transceiver can include a receiver configured to perform the functions (or operations) of receiving and a transmitter configured to perform the functions (or operations) of transmitting. The transceiver is configured to communicate with other devices / apparatuses via a transmission medium.

[0144] Optionally, the apparatus 80 can further include one or more memories 830 configured to store program instructions and / or data. The memory 830 is coupled to the processing circuit 820. The coupling between the apparatuses, units or modules in the embodiments of the present application can be indirect coupling or communication connection between the apparatuses, units or modules, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms, for information interaction between the apparatuses, units or modules. The processing circuit 820 can operate in cooperation with the memory 830. The processing circuit 820 can execute program instructions stored in the memory 830. Optionally, at least one of the one or more memories can be included in the processing circuit.

[0145] The specific connection medium between the transceiver 810, the processing circuit 820 and the memory 830 in the embodiments of the present application is not limited. In FIG. 8, the memory 830, the processing circuit 820 and the transceiver 810 are connected through the bus 840, which is represented by a thick line in FIG. 8, and the connection mode between other components is only schematically illustrated and is not limited. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For convenience of representation, only one thick line is used in FIG. 8, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0146] In the embodiments of the present application, the processing circuit can be a general-purpose processing circuit, a digital signal processing circuit, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component, etc., which can implement or execute the methods, steps and logic block diagrams in the embodiments of the present application. The general-purpose processing circuit can be a micro-processing circuit or any conventional processing circuit, etc. The steps of the method in combination with the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as execution completed by a hardware processing circuit, or executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processing circuit, etc.

[0147] The memory in the embodiments of the present application can include, but is not limited to, a non-volatile memory such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD), a random access memory (RAM), an erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), a read-only memory (ROM) or a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), and the like. The memory is any storage medium that can be used to carry or store program codes in the form of instructions or data structures and can be read and / or written by a computer (such as the device shown in the present application and the like). The memory in the embodiments of the present application can also be a circuit or any other device capable of realizing a storage function, used for storing program instructions and / or data.

[0148] For example, the processing circuit 820 is mainly used for processing communication protocols and communication data, and controlling the whole device, executing software programs, and processing data of the software programs. The memory 830 is mainly used for storing software programs and data. The transceiver circuit 88 can include a control circuit and an antenna, and the control circuit is mainly used for converting baseband signals and radio frequency signals and processing radio frequency signals. The antenna is mainly used for receiving and transmitting radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. The input and output device, such as a touch screen, a display screen, a keyboard and the like, is mainly used for receiving user input data and outputting data to the user.

[0149] When the device is powered on, the processing circuit 820 can read the software program in the memory 830, interpret and execute the instructions of the software program, and process the data of the software program. When data needs to be transmitted wirelessly, the processing circuit 820 performs baseband processing on the data to be transmitted, and outputs the baseband signal to the radio frequency circuit. The radio frequency circuit converts the baseband signal into a radio frequency signal, and transmits the radio frequency signal through the antenna in the form of electromagnetic waves. When data is transmitted to the device, the radio frequency circuit receives the radio frequency signal through the antenna, converts the radio frequency signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processing circuit 820. The processing circuit 820 converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

[0150] In another implementation, the radio frequency circuit and the antenna can be arranged independently of the processing circuit for baseband processing, for example, in a distributed scenario, the radio frequency circuit and the antenna can be arranged remotely from the device.

[0151] The apparatus shown in the embodiments of the present application can also have more components than those shown in FIG. 8, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this. The method performed by the processing circuit and the transceiver circuit shown above is only an example, and the specific steps performed by the processing circuit and the transceiver circuit can refer to the method described above.

[0152] In another possible implementation, in the apparatus shown in FIG. 7, the processing module 701 can be one or more logic circuits, and the transceiving module 702 can be an input / output interface, also referred to as a communication interface, or an interface circuit, or an interface, etc. Alternatively, the transceiving module 702 can also be a sending module and a receiving module, the sending module can be an output interface, and the receiving module can be an input interface, and the sending module and the receiving module are integrated into one module, for example, an input / output interface.

[0153] FIG. 9 is a structural schematic diagram of an apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 9, the apparatus shown in FIG. 9 includes a logic circuit 901 and an interface circuit 902. That is, the processing module 701 can be implemented by the logic circuit 901, and the transceiving module 702 can be implemented by the interface circuit 902. The logic circuit 901 can be a chip, a processing circuit, an integrated circuit, or a system on chip (SoC) chip, etc., and the interface circuit 902 can be a communication interface, an input / output interface, a pin, etc. For example, FIG. 9 is shown by taking the above apparatus as a chip, and the chip includes the logic circuit 901 and the interface circuit 902.

[0154] In the embodiments of the present application, the logic circuit and the interface can also be coupled to each other. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific connection mode of the logic circuit and the interface. For example, the logic circuit 901 can be used to perform the functions or steps implemented by the processing module 701 shown in FIG. 7, and the interface circuit 902 can be used to perform the functions or steps implemented by the transceiving module 702 shown in FIG. 7. For specific descriptions of the logic circuit 901 and the interface circuit 902, refer to FIG. 7 or the method embodiments shown above, which will not be described in detail here.

[0155] The apparatus shown in the embodiments of the present application can implement the method provided by the embodiments of the present application in the form of hardware, or implement the method provided by the embodiments of the present application in the form of software, etc., and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0156] The embodiments of the present application also provide a communication system including a first apparatus and a second apparatus, which can be used to perform the method in any of the preceding embodiments.

[0157] In addition, the present application also provides a computer program for implementing the operations and / or processes performed by the respective apparatuses in the method provided by the present application.

[0158] The application further provides a computer readable storage medium, wherein computer code is stored in the computer readable storage medium, and when the computer code is run on a computer, the computer code causes the computer to perform operations and / or processes performed by various devices in the method provided by the application.

[0159] The application further provides a computer program product, which comprises computer code or a computer program, and when the computer code or the computer program is run on a computer, operations and / or processes performed by various devices in the method provided by the application are performed.

[0160] In several embodiments provided in the application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, device and method can be implemented in other manners. For example, the described device embodiments are merely schematic, and the division of the modules is merely a logical function division, and there can be another division manner in actual implementation. For example, a plurality of modules or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the displayed or discussed coupling or direct coupling or communication connection between the modules can be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or modules, and can also be electrical, mechanical or other forms of connection.

[0161] The modules illustrated as separated components can or can not be physically separated, and the components illustrated as modules can or can not be physical modules, i.e., can be located in one place, or can be distributed on a plurality of network modules. According to actual needs, some or all of the modules can be selected to achieve the technical effects of the scheme provided in the embodiments of the application.

[0162] In addition, each functional module in each embodiment of the application can be integrated in one processing module, or each module can be physically present alone, or two or more modules can be integrated in one module. The integrated module can be realized in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional module.

[0163] The integrated module, if implemented in the form of a software function module and sold or used as an independent product, can be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solutions of the present application essentially or say the part that contributes to the prior art, or the whole or part of the technical solutions can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a readable storage medium, including a plurality of instructions to make a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) execute all or part of the steps of the method described in various embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned readable storage medium includes: a U disk, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and various media that can store program codes.

[0164] The above is only a specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or replacements within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, which should be covered within the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method applied to a first device comprises: sending a plurality of first measurement messages to a second device through a passive optical network (PON) device in a first time period; receiving a plurality of second measurement messages from the second device through the PON device in the first time period, the plurality of second measurement messages corresponding to the plurality of first measurement messages; determining a plurality of loopback path delays based on the plurality of first measurement messages and the plurality of second measurement messages; transmitting data to the second device based on a downlink one-way delay and / or an uplink one-way delay, the downlink one-way delay and / or the uplink one-way delay being obtained based on the plurality of loopback path delays.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The loopback path delay is equal to a sum of a first time length and a second time length, the first time length being a corresponding time length from a time when the first device sends the first measurement message to a time when the second device receives the first measurement message, and the second time length being a corresponding time length from a time when the second device sends the second measurement message corresponding to the first measurement message to a time when the first device receives the second measurement message.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein, The downlink one-way latency and the uplink one-way latency satisfy: T UL = T l_max -T DL ; Wherein, the T DL is the downlink one-way delay, T l_min is the minimum value of the plurality of loopback path delays, the T UL is the uplink one-way delay, T l_max is the maximum value of the plurality of loopback path delays other than the first loopback path delay, the first loopback path delay being a loopback path delay determined based on transmitting the first measurement packet and the second measurement packet during the silence window.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein, The downlink one-way latency and the uplink one-way latency satisfy: T UL = T l_max -T DL ; Wherein, the T DL is the downlink one-way delay, T l_min is the minimum value of the plurality of loopback path delays, the T UL is the uplink one-way delay, T l_max is the maximum value of the plurality of loopback path delays other than the first loopback path delay, the first loopback path delay being a loopback path delay determined based on transmitting the first measurement packet and the second measurement packet during the silence window, and Δt is the difference between the downlink delay of the PON device and the uplink delay of the PON device.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The first device is a distributed unit (DU) or a device connected to the DU, and the second device is a radio unit (RU) or a device connected to the RU.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein, The first device is connected to the DU, and the first device is configured to encapsulate a common public radio interface (CPRI) frame in an Ethernet frame for transmission. The transmitting data to the second device based on the downlink one-way delay and / or the uplink one-way delay comprises: receiving a first data message from the second device; sending the first data message to the DU at a first time, and a time interval between the first time and a time when the second device sends the first data message being equal to a sum of the uplink one-way delay and a time delay bias margin.

7. The method according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that, The first device is connected to the DU, and the first device is configured to encapsulate a common public radio interface (CPRI) frame in an Ethernet frame for transmission. The method further comprises: if a second data message from the second device is not received within a time period corresponding to a silence window, sending a third data message to the DU, the third data message including padding data.

8. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method applied to a second device comprises: sending a plurality of third measurement messages to a first device through a passive optical network (PON) device in a second time period; receiving a plurality of fourth measurement messages from the first device through the PON device in the second time period, the plurality of fourth measurement messages corresponding to the plurality of third measurement messages; determining a plurality of loopback path delays based on the plurality of third measurement messages and the plurality of fourth measurement messages; transmitting data to the first device based on a downlink one-way delay and / or an uplink one-way delay, the downlink one-way delay and / or the uplink one-way delay being obtained based on the plurality of loopback path delays.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein, The loopback path delay is equal to the sum of a third time length and a fourth time length, the third time length is a corresponding time length from a time when the second device sends the third measurement packet to a time when the first device receives the third measurement packet, and the fourth time length is a corresponding time length from a time when the first device sends a fourth measurement packet corresponding to the third measurement packet to a time when the second device receives the fourth measurement packet.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein, The downlink one-way latency and the uplink one-way latency satisfy: T UL = T l_max -T DL ; Wherein, the T DL is the downlink one-way delay, T l_min is the minimum value of the plurality of loopback path delays, the T UL is the uplink one-way delay, T l_max is the maximum value of the plurality of loopback path delays other than the second loopback path delay, the second loopback path delay being a loopback path delay determined based on transmitting the third measurement packet and the fourth measurement packet during the silence window.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein, The downlink one-way latency and the uplink one-way latency satisfy: T UL = T l_max - T DL ; wherein the T DL is the downlink one-way latency, T l_min is the minimum value of the plurality of loopback path latencies, the T UL is the uplink one-way latency, T l_max is the maximum value of the plurality of loopback path latencies other than the first loopback path latency, the second loopback path latency is a loopback path latency determined based on transmitting the third measurement packet and the fourth measurement packet during the silence window, and Δt is the difference between the downlink latency of the PON device and the uplink latency of the PON device.

12. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 11, characterized in that, The first device is a distributed unit (DU) or a device connected to the DU, and the second device is a radio frequency unit (RU) or a device connected to the RU.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein, The first device is connected to the DU, and the first device is configured to encapsulate a common public radio interface (CPRI) frame in an Ethernet frame for transmission, and the second device is connected to the RU, and the second device is configured to encapsulate the CPRI frame in the Ethernet frame for transmission. The data transmission with the second device based on the downlink one-way delay and / or the uplink one-way delay comprises: receiving a fourth data packet from the first device; sending the fourth data packet to the RU at a second time, and a time interval between the second time and a time when the first device sends the fourth data packet is equal to the sum of the downlink one-way delay and a delay deviation margin.

14. An apparatus, comprising: The device includes a module or unit for performing the method of any one of claims 1-7, or the device includes a module or unit for performing the method of any one of claims 8-13.

15. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The storage medium stores a computer program or instructions, and when the computer program or instructions are executed by the device, the method of any one of claims 1-7 is performed, or the method of any one of claims 8-13 is performed.

16. A communication system, characterized by The communication system includes the first device and the second device, the first device is configured to perform the method of any one of claims 1-7, and the second device is configured to perform the method of any one of claims 8-13.

17. A computer program product, characterised in that, The computer program or instructions are executed, and the method of any one of claims 1-7 is performed, or the method of any one of claims 8-13 is performed.

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