Redundant Path Reservation for Fail-Safe Network Reconfiguration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing network technologies, such as Ethernet-based field buses in industrial settings, face communication failures during network changes or topology modifications, leading to potential data loss and communication interruptions, as existing redundancy mechanisms are not designed to handle simultaneous changes in redundant paths effectively.
Innovation Solution
A method for fail-safe data transmission in industrial networks involves reserving resources on multiple redundant paths using unique identifiers, allowing for seamless reconfiguration by maintaining existing reservations until new paths are successfully reserved, ensuring uninterrupted communication during network changes or expansions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If network topology changes (conversion/expansion) are implemented in existing industrial networks, then network adaptability and expansion capability are improved, but communication reliability and failure safety deteriorate due to simultaneous changes in redundant paths
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by calculating and reserving new redundant paths before actual network changes occur. The new paths are pre-computed using a new GADAG, and resources are reserved in advance using a different identifier, ensuring that fail-safe transmission is already prepared before the switchover happens.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention provides beforehand cushioning by maintaining both old and new reservations simultaneously during the transition period. This dual-reservation mechanism acts as a safety buffer, ensuring that if the new path reservation fails or encounters issues, the old paths continue to provide fail-safe transmission without interruption.
2Reliability
If seamless redundancy mechanisms are used to prevent communication failure, then communication continuity is improved, but the system cannot handle simultaneous changes in all redundant paths during network conversion
Solution Approach 1:
The invention segments the path update process into distinct phases: old path reservation maintenance, new path calculation and reservation, and selective switchover. By using different identifiers for old and new paths, the system can manage multiple redundant paths independently, allowing gradual conversion without requiring all paths to change simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adapts the redundant path configuration based on network changes. When network conversion occurs, the system calculates a new GADAG and determines new redundant paths dynamically. The reservation mechanism allows flexible transition from old to new paths while maintaining communication continuity, making the redundancy mechanism adaptable to network evolution.
3Productivity
If redundant paths are recalculated during network changes, then path optimization is improved, but brief communication failure occurs during the transition
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary path calculation and resource reservation for new redundant paths before actual network changes. By computing the new GADAG and reserving resources on new paths in advance, the system ensures optimized paths are ready before switchover, eliminating brief communication failures that would occur with post-change recalculation.
Data Source
AI summary
A network node, computer program, computer-readable medium and method for fail-safe data transmission in a network, in which data packets are transmitted from a sender to a receiver via redundant paths, upon which resources for the transmission are reserved at participating network nodes utilizing an identifier associated with the relevant path, wherein, if a new path is to be found for at least one of the paths involved, then the previous reservations on all redundant paths are maintained, a new redundant path is determined for the at least one path involved and an attempt is made to reserve resources for the transmission on this new redundant path at the participating network nodes, wherein a new identifier associated with the new path is utilized, and if the new reservations on the at least one new path are successful, then previous reservations on the at least one previous path involved are removed.