Applicative Clock Synchronization via Time Offset Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing synchronization techniques for synchronous applications in communication networks fail to maintain precise clock synchronization between source and destination applications, especially in TDM type synchronous transfer modes where source and destination clocks are independent of the network clock, leading to issues with data integrity and jitter in multipoint scenarios.
Innovation Solution
A method that transmits time offset and position information of reference data during network cycles to synchronize applicative clocks, allowing for phase and frequency synchronization of remote applications, enabling on-the-fly synchronization in multipoint systems without requiring constant data transfer time services in the network.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If TDM type synchronous transfer mode is used with independent source and destination clocks, then synchronous data exchange between multiple applications is enabled, but precise clock synchronization between source and destination applications cannot be maintained
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the source application transmits time offset information to the destination application. The destination application uses this feedback information to adjust its clock synchronization, thereby maintaining precise timing despite using independent clocks in a TDM network.
Solution Approach 2:
The source application performs preliminary actions by calculating and transmitting time offset information before the actual data transmission. This preliminary synchronization information allows the destination application to prepare for accurate timing without requiring continuous real-time synchronization adjustments.
2Adaptability or versatility
If complex virtual channel headers are used to report variable organization of applicative data, then data transmission flexibility is improved, but useful bandwidth is significantly reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential synchronization information (time offset and position) from the complex virtual channel header, eliminating unnecessary complex formatting reports. This extraction approach maintains data transmission flexibility while significantly reducing the bandwidth consumed by synchronization overhead.
3Productivity
If variable time delay of one network cycle is introduced for applicative data transmission, then bandwidth utilization is improved, but data integrity and timing precision are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses feedback time offset information transmitted from the source to the destination application to compensate for variable transmission delays. This feedback mechanism allows the system to maintain data integrity and timing precision even when bandwidth utilization requires variable time delays of one network cycle.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for transmitting information is proposed, enabling a synchronization of applicative clocks signals between a transmission device and at least one reception device connected to a communications network. For each stream of a source application, the transmission device: writes to a buffer memory associated with the stream, at the rate of a source applicative clock, pieces of applicative data of the stream coming from the source application, transmits, via the network, pieces of applicative data of the stream at the rate of the network clock. For at least one stream of the source application, the transmission device performs the following steps upon detection of a clock adjustment event: determining a piece of time offset information between a starting instant of a current network cycle and an instant of writing one of the pieces of applicative data of the stream, called a reference piece of data, to the buffer memory associated with the stream; determining a piece of information on position of the reference piece of data from among the pieces of applicative data of this stream to be transmitted via the network during a determined network cycle; transmission on the communications network of the information on time offset and position during the same network cycle as the one in which the reference piece of data is transmitted.