Stateless TTE Star Coupler Dynamic Bandwidth Allocation
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Solution Overview
Problem
In TT Ethernet systems, storing schedules in TTE star couplers leads to inefficiencies and security risks, as modifications require updating all couplers and stored schedules can be lost due to malfunctions, while embedding schedule information in TTE messages risks disruption by defective or malicious nodes.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a method where TTE star couplers remain stateless, with dynamic and secure bandwidth allocation for TTE messages by calculating and embedding schedules within TTE messages, using a trusted scheduler and cryptographic signatures to ensure authenticity and validity, allowing for real-time modification without reprogramming the star couplers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the schedule is stored in the TTE star coupler, then the TTE message can be transmitted with guaranteed short transmission time, but the system becomes vulnerable to schedule loss due to transient malfunctions and requires updating all couplers when schedule is modified
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the schedule storage function from the TTE star coupler and relocates it to the TTE message header. This eliminates the vulnerability of stored schedules to transient malfunctions and removes the need for coupler-based schedule management, while maintaining the guaranteed short transmission time benefit through the extracted schedule information being carried with each message.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of storing a single master schedule in each coupler, the patent creates multiple copies of the schedule information embedded within each TTE message header. This allows any coupler to operate independently without relying on stored schedules, eliminating the single point of failure while maintaining schedule consistency across the network.
2Ease of operation
If the schedule is stored in the TTE star coupler, then transmission timing can be controlled, but dynamic modification of schedules requires updating all affected TTE star couplers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic schedule modification by embedding the schedule directly in the TTE message header, allowing schedules to be changed in real-time without requiring physical reconfiguration of couplers. The schedule is updated dynamically at the message level, enabling flexible adaptation to changing network conditions while maintaining ease of operation.
3Reliability
If the schedule information is contained in the TTE message, then the TTE star coupler remains stateless and defective nodes cannot disrupt communications, but the message structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates the schedule information into the TTE message header before the message is transmitted. This preliminary embedding of schedule data ensures that the coupler remains stateless and cannot be disrupted by defective or malicious nodes, while the schedule is already prepared for immediate execution upon receipt.
4Reliability
If ETE messages are interrupted by TTE star coupler for TTE message transmission, then TTE messages get guaranteed transmission time, but ETE message transmission duration increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses the schedule information embedded in the TTE message header to determine the optimal transmission timing in advance. By knowing the scheduled transmission time beforehand, the system can coordinate TTE and ETE message transmissions more efficiently, reducing the interruption duration and minimizing the impact on ETE message transmission while still guaranteeing TTE message transmission time.
Data Source
AI summary
A communication method for transmitting TT Ethernet messages is a distributed real-time system, including a plurality of node computers. Each node computer has an Ethernet controller, which by way of a data line is directly connected to a port of a TTE star coupler, said port being uniquely associated with the node computer. A plurality of TTE star couplers are connected among each other by way of one or more data lines to form a TTE network. A TTE message scheduler dynamically calculates the conflict-free schedules for a number of time-controlled messages and signs the schedule provided for each node with a secret part of a public-key signature before it transmits said schedule to the corresponding node computer. Each node computer integrates the signed periodic schedule, which is transmitted to the node computer in the form of a TTE message header of an ETE message, into each dynamically calculated TTE message. The TTE star couplers check whether each dynamically calculated TTE message contains an authentically signed schedule.