Scheduled Network Time Gate Testing via Frame Timestamping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing scheduled networks lack an efficient method for automatic testing of time gate open/close timing, making it difficult to detect and locate configuration failures, especially in complex networks with multiple devices and flows.
Innovation Solution
A setup test method that involves transmitting a test frame through network switches, timestamping its arrival and traversal at each time gate, and reading these timestamps to determine the time of arrival and traversal, allowing for the comparison with desired times to identify any timing mismatches.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual configuration testing is performed in complex scheduled networks, then configuration failures can be detected, but the deployment speed is reduced and the process becomes complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The network devices perform self-testing by automatically generating test frames, timestamping their own frame transmissions and receptions, and comparing timestamps to detect configuration failures. This eliminates the need for external manual testing tools and personnel, enabling rapid automated verification of time gate configurations across multiple devices simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs configuration testing before actual service activation by inserting test frames into the network flow path. This preliminary testing validates time gate configurations and scheduling parameters ahead of time, preventing deployment errors without delaying the overall service activation timeline.
2Measurement precision
If detailed timing measurements are implemented to detect configuration failures, then measurement precision improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Timestamps serve as intermediary data structures that carry timing information through the network. Each device adds its local timestamp when a test frame arrives at or leaves a time gate, and these timestamps are read and compared at the end to calculate actual traversal times. This intermediary mechanism enables precise timing measurements without requiring complex real-time analysis infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces complex mechanical or hardware-based timing measurement systems with software-based timestamping and calculation. Instead of using specialized timing instrumentation, the system uses standard network frame transmission with embedded timestamp fields, processing timestamps through software algorithms to achieve precise timing measurements.
3Reliability
If bandwidth margins are increased to ensure performance, then service reliability improves, but bandwidth utilization decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system measures actual frame traversal times through time gates and compares them against configured parameters to provide feedback on configuration correctness. This feedback mechanism enables verification of deterministic timing behavior without requiring conservative bandwidth over-provisioning, allowing networks to operate at optimal utilization while maintaining performance guarantees.
Data Source
AI summary
A setup test method for scheduled networks, the method constituted of: transmitting a frame to at least one network switch; responsive to the transmitted frame arriving at a first time gate of the at least one network switch, timestamping the transmitted frame with a first time stamp; responsive to the transmitted frame traversing a second time gate of the at least one network switch, additionally timestamping the transmitted frame with a second time stamp; reading the first time stamp; responsive to the read first time stamp, determining the time of arrival of the transmitted frame at the first time gate; reading the second time stamp; and responsive to the read first time stamp, determining the time of traversal of the transmitted frame through the second time gate.