Ethernet Packet Slicing for Low-Latency Optical Transport
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing PON systems experience significant delays due to packet forwarding processing and quality of service control performed by network processors or traffic management modules, which is unacceptable for services like mobile fronthaul/backhaul.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a packet processing method that slices Ethernet packets into smaller slices based on the minimum transmission unit of an optical transport network, allowing these slices to be transmitted without further processing, thereby reducing delays by eliminating the need for packet forwarding and quality of service control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If packet forwarding processing and quality of service control are performed by network processor or traffic management module, then service quality can be controlled, but transmission delay increases to several microseconds to dozens of microseconds
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments Ethernet packets into smaller units called GEM frames with fixed lengths (e.g., 64 bytes). By dividing large packets into smaller segments that match the minimum transmission unit of OTN, the system eliminates the need for complex packet forwarding processing and quality of service control at the network processor level, thereby reducing transmission delay while maintaining service quality through the segmented structure
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces GEM frames as an intermediary format between Ethernet packets and OTN transmission. The GEM frame serves as a mediator that converts Ethernet packets into a format compatible with OTN's minimum transmission unit, allowing direct transmission without requiring network processor or traffic management module intervention for forwarding and QoS control, thus reducing delay while preserving service quality
2Device complexity
If Ethernet packets are transmitted directly without slicing, then processing complexity is reduced, but they cannot be efficiently transmitted over OTN due to minimum transmission unit requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing Ethernet packets into GEM frames with fixed lengths that are multiples of the OTN minimum transmission unit. This segmentation enables direct compatibility with OTN transmission requirements while maintaining relatively simple processing architecture, as the slicing operation is performed once at the packet level rather than requiring continuous processing
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the packet format parameter from variable-length Ethernet frames to fixed-length GEM frames that are multiples of the OTN minimum transmission unit. This parameter change enables direct compatibility with OTN transmission requirements without requiring complex processing, as the format transformation is performed in advance and the resulting frames can be transmitted directly
Data Source
AI summary
An optical network unit (ONU) receives an Ethernet packet sent by user device and slices the Ethernet packet based on information about a minimum transmission unit to generate a first Ethernet packet slice, where a length of the minimum transmission unit is an integer multiple of a length of the first Ethernet packet slice. The ONU encapsulates the Ethernet packet slice and a slice identifier into a GEM frame, wherein the slice identifier indicates that the length of the minimum transmission unit of the OTN is an integer multiple of the length of the Ethernet packet slice. The Ethernet packet slice does not need to be processed by a network processor or a traffic management module in transmission of the OLT, thereby reducing a delay of network transmission.