Patent Application
20210306901
The present invention relates to an apparatus, a method, and a computer program product related to transparent integration of a wireless network (e.g. a 3GPP network) into a wireline network (e.g. a TSN network).
Time sensitive networking (TSN) [1] is being standardized by IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.1 to provide industrial networks with deterministic delay to handle time sensitive traffic. Currently, wired links are assumed for connecting the sensors and controllers. Moving from wired to wireless sensors and actuators provide advantages, such as mobility, scalability, low cost maintenance etc. To connect the wireless devices to a TSN network, wireless transmission mechanisms such as defined in 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) are necessary.
Namely, according to 1), CUC obtains the stream Quality of Service (QoS) requirements from the end stations. Then, according to 2) CUC provides the stream QoS requirements to CNC. In 3a) CNC calculates schedules, paths etc. (hereinafter summarized as “schedule”) in order to fulfil the stream QoS requirements, which are reported to CUC in 3b). In 4a) and 4b), CUC configures, via CNC, the managed objects of the bridges accordingly. CNC informs in 4c) CUC about successful configuration of the bridges. Namely, Stream Trans. Info contains the configuration parameters that the Talker End Station needs to use e.g. destination MAC address, VLAN ID and PCP field. It also has the transmit time window in which the Talker should transmit and the receive time window in which the listener should expect to receive the packets. Then, in 5) CUC configures the end stations accordingly. In parallel, as shown by dashed lines in
Note that the bridges are time-aware in a TSN network. There may be one or more bridges between a talker end station and a respective listener end station. In
Currently, in industries, TSN is used as a mechanism to provide end to end connectivity with deterministic capacity and delay. The talkers (e.g., sensors, controllers) and listeners (e.g. controllers, actuators) are connected through bridges using cables.
Time sensitive networking (TSN) [1] is currently standardized as the mechanism for communication within industrial networks. A set of IEEE 802.1 protocols [3] (IEEE 802.1AS-Rev, 802.1CB, 802.1Qcc, 802.1Qch, 802.1Qci, 802.1Qcj, 802.1CM, 802.1Qcp, 802.1Qcr, 802.1AB) is applied to achieve deterministic data transmission with guaranteed low latency with time-aware devices (which need to be configured properly).
3GPP started in 2017 a study on communication for Automation in Vertical Domains to identify respective requirements for wireless communication [4], [5]. So far, neither 3GPP Rel. 15 nor Rel. 16 include solutions on integrating 3GPP networks with TSN.
It is an object of the present invention to improve the prior art.
According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided an apparatus, comprising means for inquiring configured to inquire a network topology of a wireline network from a controller of the wireline network, wherein the network topology comprises topological information and information on a respective quality of service capability; means for deriving configured to derive, based on the network topology received in response to the inquiring and an expected flow request for a data flow from the wireline network through a wireless network, a quality indicator of the data flow in the wireless network; means for deciding configured to decide if a data session in the wireless network has to be added, removed, or modified in order to carry the data flow, based on the derived quality indicator; means for informing configured to inform a translator that the data session in the wireless network has to be added, removed, or modified if the data session in the wireless network has to be added, removed, or modified in order to carry the data flow, wherein, according to configuration data stored in the apparatus, the translator encapsulates the wireless network towards the wireline network.
The apparatus may further comprise means for monitoring configured to monitor if the wireless network has changed; wherein the means for inquiring configured to inquire the network topology from the controller if the wireless network has changed.
The inquiring may comprise instructing the controller to perform a network topology discovery procedure in order to obtain the network topology.
According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided an apparatus, comprising means for creating configured to create a flow request for a probing data flow through a wireline network and a wireless network, wherein, according to configuration data stored in the apparatus, the wireless network is encapsulated towards the wireline network by a translator; means for inquiring configured to inquire from a controller of the wireline network a schedule for the probing data flow; means for deriving configured to derive, based on the schedule received in response to the inquiring, a quality indicator of a first data session to carry an expected data flow in the wireless network; means for deciding configured to decide if a second data session in the wireless network has to be added, removed, or modified in order to carry an expected data flow, based on the derived quality indicator; means for informing configured to inform the translator that the second data session in the wireless network has to be added, removed, or modified if the second data session in the wireless network has to be added, removed, or modified in order to carry the expected data flow.
The apparatus may further comprise one of means for prohibiting configured to prohibit requesting the controller to set up the probing data flow after the apparatus has received the schedule; and means for denying configured to deny towards the controller that the probing data flow may be set up after the apparatus has received the schedule.
The means for inquiring may be configured to indicate towards the controller that the probing data flow must not be set up.
The means for deriving may be configured to derive the quality indicator such that it indicates a lower quality than a maximum quality the wireless network can provide to carry the expected data flow.
The means for deriving may be configured to derive the lower quality which is a minimized quality under a condition that the wireless network is capable to carry the expected data flow.
According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided an apparatus, comprising means for monitoring configured to monitor if a flow request for a data flow through a wireline network and a wireless network is received, wherein, according to configuration data stored in the apparatus, the wireless network is encapsulated towards the wireline network by a translator; means for deriving configured to derive a quality the wireless network may provide to the data flow based on a configuration of the wireless network and a policy on the quality if the flow request is received; means for instructing configured to instruct the translator to report the derived quality in response to a request to report the quality.
The policy may comprise that the derived quality is lower than a maximum quality the wireless network may provide based on the configuration of the wireless network if the derived quality fits to a quality requirement according to the flow request.
According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a method, comprising inquiring a network topology of a wireline network from a controller of the wireline network, wherein the network topology comprises topological information and information on a respective quality of service capability; deriving, based on the network topology received in response to the inquiring and an expected flow request for a data flow from the wireline network through a wireless network, a quality indicator of the data flow in the wireless network; deciding if a data session in the wireless network has to be added, removed, or modified in order to carry the data flow, based on the derived quality indicator; informing a translator that the data session in the wireless network has to be added, removed, or modified if the data session in the wireless network has to be added, removed, or modified in order to carry the data flow, wherein, according to stored configuration data, the translator encapsulates the wireless network towards the wireline network.
The method may further comprise monitoring if the wireless network has changed; wherein the network topology may be inquired from the controller if the wireless network has changed.
The inquiring may comprise instructing the controller to perform a network topology discovery procedure in order to obtain the network topology.
According to a fifth aspect of the invention, there is provided a method, comprising creating a flow request for a probing data flow through a wireline network and a wireless network, wherein, according to stored configuration data, the wireless network is encapsulated towards the wireline network by a translator; inquiring from a controller of the wireline network a schedule for the probing data flow; deriving, based on the schedule received in response to the inquiring, a quality indicator of a first data session to carry an expected data flow in the wireless network; deciding if a second data session in the wireless network has to be added, removed, or modified in order to carry an expected data flow, based on the derived quality indicator; informing the translator that the second data session in the wireless network has to be added, removed, or modified if the second data session in the wireless network has to be added, removed, or modified in order to carry the expected data flow.
The method may further comprise one of prohibiting requesting the controller to set up the probing data flow after the schedule has been received; and denying towards the controller that the probing data flow may be set up after the schedule has been received.
The inquiring may comprise indicating towards the controller that the probing data flow must not be set up.
The quality indicator may be derived such that it indicates a lower quality than a maximum quality the wireless network can provide to carry the expected data flow.
The lower quality may be a minimized quality under a condition that the wireless network is capable to carry the expected data flow.
According to a sixth aspect of the invention, there is provided a method, comprising monitoring if a flow request for a data flow through a wireline network and a wireless network is received, wherein, according to stored configuration data, the wireless network is encapsulated towards the wireline network by a translator; deriving a quality the wireless network may provide to the data flow based on a configuration of the wireless network and a policy on the quality if the flow request is received; instructing the translator to report the derived quality in response to a request to report the quality.
The policy may comprise that the derived quality is lower than a maximum quality the wireless network may provide based on the configuration of the wireless network if the derived quality fits to a quality requirement according to the flow request.
Each of the methods of the fourth to sixth aspects may be a method of mutual 3GPP-TSN quality adaptation.
According to a seventh aspect of the invention, there is provided a computer program product comprising a set of instructions which, when executed on an apparatus, is configured to cause the apparatus to carry out the method according to any of the fourth to sixth aspects. The computer program product may be embodied as a computer-readable medium or directly loadable into a computer.
According to some embodiments of the invention, at least one of the following advantages may be achieved:
It is to be understood that any of the above modifications can be applied singly or in combination to the respective aspects to which they refer, unless they are explicitly stated as excluding alternatives.
Further details, features, objects, and advantages are apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention which is to be taken in conjunction with the appended drawings, wherein:
Herein below, certain embodiments of the present invention are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein the features of the embodiments can be freely combined with each other unless otherwise described. However, it is to be expressly understood that the description of certain embodiments is given by way of example only, and that it is by no way intended to be understood as limiting the invention to the disclosed details.
Moreover, it is to be understood that the apparatus is configured to perform the corresponding method, although in some cases only the apparatus or only the method are described.
The first part of the following description is substantially taken from PCT/EP2018/054916 and PCT/EP2018/061892, which are in their entirety incorporated by reference. The present application provides an improvement over this former application and also over PCT/EP2018/061892 in terms of resource usage.
In the present application, sometimes the term “data flow” is used. This term summarizes a “stream” in the TSN network and its corresponding “QoS flow” in the 3GPP network. That is, if the term “data flow” is used in connection with the 3GPP network, “data flow” means “QoS flow” in the usual 3GPP terminology. If the term “data flow” is used in connection with the TSN network, “data flow” means “stream” in the usual TSN terminology.
In a main target scenario, the tactile industrial network, also known as Industrial IoT (IIoT) or Industry 4.0 networks, 3GPP technologies are applied in addition to wired time sensitive networking (TSN) in industrial environments to provide flexibility (in terms of mobility) and scalability (in terms of number of sensors or actuators).
The introduction of wireless devices provides more flexibility, cost effectiveness and scalability in the system, but requires for example a wireless network as defined by 3GPP to provide predictable QoS for the communication. TSN and 3GPP networks are developed and standardized as two disjoint domains which are managed independently. To support a wireless connection based on 3GPP technology, only either of these two standards is supported in a network. There are no over-arching entities or concepts developed in order to handle the interaction between these two domains.
A TSN End Station “A” communicates with a TSN End Station “B” via a time sensitive communication link of a TSN Network to use a wireless communication service based on 3GPP technologies. A TSN Translator and a TSN Translator Client, which acts on behalf of the TSN Translator integrate a 3GPP network into the TSN network domain in a transparent manner. I.e., to the TSN network, the wireless communication service of a 3GPP network acts similar to a TSN bridge, while the TSN network acts as a data service to the 3GPP network.
In
The TSN End Station A is connected to a UE via the TSN Translator Client. The UE is responsible to establish and handle the wireless connection service for the TSN End station A. The wireless connection service contains beside the wireless link between UE and Radio Access Network (RAN) also essential Core Network (CN) services to provide for example authentication, mobility, QoS, etc.
For the transparent usage of the wireless connection service and to hide specific behavior of the 3GPP network to the TSN network and vice versa, a TSN translator function is provided, which works as an intermediator between both domains, i.e. it understands the TSN protocol and maps the TSN CUC and TSN CNC messages as well as the TSN network messages into control and user plane messages of the 3GPP network to trigger corresponding actions in the 3GPP network, e.g. to trigger the establishment of a wireless connection with guaranteed QoS, and vice versa. Furthermore, it takes cares of services like the enforcement of the priority classes for the traffic, frame translation, time gating etc which are typically offered by the bridges in the wired network to guarantee deterministic communication. With respect to this view, the TSN Translator and TSN Translator client are placed on both sides of the 3GPP network, the UE side and the CN side.
The TSN Translator and the TSN Translator Client are logically part of the same translation between 3GPP and TSN network and hence, it is beneficial that they do not act independently. Treating them as one entity allows to hide the TSN Translator at the UE side to the TSN network and to use the TSN Translator at the CN side to represent the complete 3GPP network as a TSN bridge to the TSN Network. This simplifies especially the configuration and handling at the TSN CNC and the respective TSN CUCs. The TSN translator performs the major part of the translation of the TSN protocols to 3GPP commands and procedures and vice versa. The TSN Translator client at the UE side acts on behalf of the TSN Translator at the CN side and is therefore called TSN Translator Client.
The integration of the TSN Translator with the TSN network is done by implementing the protocols for an TSN bridge, the TSN ethernet protocol to exchange messages between a TSN bridge with another TSN ethernet bridge or TSN End Station B (user plane traffic, also called data traffic) and the protocol to exchange information with the TSN CNC (control plane). Additionally, the respective communication of the TSN End Station A with the TSN CUC is also handled via the TSN Translator and its TSN Translator Client.
In
Two key types of information messages are differentiated by the TSN Translator:
Alternatively, other options, which are not shown in
Similar translation shall be performed when the TSN packets arrive at the TSN translator ingress ports. The priority queues shall be implemented at the translator or the translator client or both.
Similar to the TSN Translator, CP and UP translation is performed by the TSN Translator Client. The TSN Translator Client works on behalf of the TSN Translator so that the TSN Translator Client, 3GPP network and TSN Translator together appear to be a TSN bridge for the TSN network and the TSN End Station A.
The approach in PCT/EP2018/054916 offers a simple and effective solution for integration between TSN and 3GPP network, but at the cost of suboptimal resource reservation in the 3GPP network. Namely, in the phase of network discovery, in order to identify the capabilities of 3GPP part of the network (3GPP bridge), for each UE the establishment of at least one PDU session potentially needed in the future takes place. Although the established PDU sessions will be only used once the actual stream request from corresponding end station is issued, the resources in 3GPP network are already reserved during the network discovery phase. This provisional resource reservation may imply suboptimal resource exploitation and may lead to a rapid exhaustion of resources and inability of the network to support the incoming service requests. In other words, the simple and yet effective approach in PCT/EP2018/054916 might be inefficient from resource management point of view and consequently might face scalability issues.
The solutions described in PCT/EP2018/061892 are build upon the solution described in PCT/EP2018/054916. In terms of the apparatus, they provide an additional communication interface between the TSN Translator described in PCT/EP2018/054916 and the 3GPP Network Management and Orchestration (M&O) entity, as depicted in
More specifically, M&O can interact with the TSN Translator to indicate the desired amount of resources to be reserved/guaranteed by 3GPP network during TSN network discovery phase, i.e., before the actual stream requests are issued. Hence, PCT/EP2018/061892 proposes two options for such interaction between M&O and TSN Translator, namely:
CNC, based on which it can derive the requirements for the 3GPP network, and then requests establishment of according PDU sessions.
In order to perform the translation between TSN and 3GPP network, the TSN translator relies on information and instructions provided by M&O. The M&O entity has wider information about the 3GPP network in terms of devices, their requirements and capabilities, available resources and their utilization, traffic patterns, geo-locations of users and resources, etc. In the process of network discovery [6], CNC gathers the information about bridge and link delays. According to PCT/EP2018/054916, all PDU sessions that are possibly needed in future (at least one PDU session per UE) are established and the according QoS information is reported to CNC. In contrast, according to PCT/EP2018/061892, M&O offers at least one of the above mentioned two options for handling the process of network discovery, thus making it more efficient.
Following any of the two interaction options, M&O instructs the TSN Translator on number of PDU sessions to be established in the 3GPP network and/or 3GPP QoS values to be translated to TSN parameters (e.g. Bridge Delay) of 3GPP bridge.
After any change in the network that may affect already signaled parameters of 3GPP bridge, e.g. admission of additional UEs and new end stations, M&O may provide to TSN Translator corresponding updates. E.g., either it updates the estimated QoS values for 3GPP bridge or requests the PDU session setup with updated QoS values.
The TSN Translator (and its TSN Translator Client) may provide the following functions:
In the following, an example way of interaction is described, i.e. how the TSN Translator and its TSN Translator Client interact with the 3GPP network and its entities (in particularly, M&O) when providing a wireless communication service to a TSN network and its TSN entities. For simplification and a better understanding, it is assumed that the TSN CP traffic is handled in a default 3GPP PDU session with respective QoS flow(s) and further PDU sessions with respective QoS flows handle the TSN UP traffic.
Initial Setup of 3GPP-TSN Network
The procedure of initial setup of 3GPP-TSN network for the purpose of TSN end station authentication follows the steps described in PCT/EP2018/054916. In addition, according to PCT/EP2018/061892:
Network Discovery Procedure
The LLDP protocol is executed by the TSN Bridges and the TSN End Stations A and B through which they learn about their direct neighbours. The LLDP protocol is executed in a regular interval so that the actual information about the neighbouring end stations and bridges is available and (mostly) up to date. The TSN Translator on the TSN network side and the TSN Translator Client on the TSN End Station A side also support the LLDP protocol and exchange the LLDP parameters (e.g., source and destination MAC address) with their neighbours in the TSN network. Additionally, TSN Translator provides to TSN Translator Client TSN port information, including the mapping of ports to PDU sessions and QoS flows.
Typically, the CNC becomes aware of network topology by reading LLDP parameters and Bridge Delay objects from the TSN bridges. This information is not known to CUC, unless it is explicitly requested by CUC. The
TSN bridges and end devices perform the LLDP procedures learning the connection information of their network peers. Such information in stored in managed objects on bridges and it is read by the CNC. During the discovery process, the TSN CNC will crawl through all the TSN bridges to collect information about the links they are connected to, their capacity, link propagation delay, bridge delay and the devices attached to the ports available to them, from the bridge managed objects. As a result, the CNC builds a view on physical topology of the network along with performance metrics and capabilities of the bridges and links. Since 3GPP network appears as a virtual TSN bridge to the TSN CNC, the TSN Translator and its TSN Translator Client manages corresponding bridge objects so that the TSN CNC can read this information. The ingress ports of the virtual TSN Bridge offered to the TSN End Station A are handled by the TSN Translator Client and the corresponding egress ports are handled by the TSN Translator. At least one PDU session in 3GPP network represents the connection between one ingress port and one egress port of the virtual TSN Bridge. The QoS flows with the different QoS parameters is analogous to the QoS handling of the TSN network. During the network discovery procedure, the QoS values that represent the capabilities of 3GPP network are provided by M&O entity. Such QoS values are translated by the TSN Translator to Bridge Delay managed object. There are multiple options for M&O to establish and provide needed QoS parameters. In the following, an overview description of options for M&O involvement according to PCT/EP2018/061892 is provided.
According to some options in PCT/EP2018/061892, M&O provides a set of estimated/pre-determined values of QoS values to TSN Translator. Such estimated values can be derived for example from previous stream settings, or from network planning information (e.g., collected in a database and processed using machine learning algorithms), or from a grouping of TSN end stations.
Establishment of End to End Communication
For establishment of a communication between one (or multiple) talkers and one (or multiple) listeners, the TSN CUC reads the QoS parameters and stream requirements from the TSN End Stations A and B. In the usual TSN procedure, this information and the information about the TSN End Stations A and B (e.g. MAC addresses) to be connected are then provided to the TSN CNC. According to PCT/EP2018/061892, the M&O entity may intercept the Stream Request message in order to check whether existing (i.e., already established) PDU sessions can fulfil the requirements or if new/modified PDU session need to be set up. In the latter case the M&O instructs the TSN Translator to trigger the 3GPP network to set up PDU session(s), QoS flow(s), and/or update QoS flow parameters respectively. Only afterwards, the stream request is forwarded to TSN CNC.
Some embodiments of the invention provide a dynamic interaction between M&O and CNC in order to discover and take into account the capabilities and limits of the TSN part of the full network. Towards the CNC, the M&O appears as a CUC and uses the corresponding interfaces for the interaction between CUC and CNC. Based on the capabilities of the TSN part of the network, in terms of guaranteed delays and throughput, the M&O provides the TSN Translator corresponding TSN stream requirements applicable to the 3GPP part of the network, i.e. QoS values that the 3GPP bridge needs to guarantee.
Hence, some embodiments of this invention may explore the TSN network capabilities and use this additional information to identify the QoS values for the PDU sessions that will fit to the E2E requirements of the stream requests. In addition, some embodiments of the invention may mask the 3GPP capabilities (largely the capabilities related to the radio interface) in order to trade off the “3GPP bridge” capabilities against TSN capabilities.
Some embodiments of the invention deploy one or two of the following options for interaction between M&O and CNC, and consequently between M&O and TSN Translator, namely:
Some embodiments of the invention are described with reference to
In addition, according to some embodiments of this invention, there is an active interaction between CNC and M&O (appearing as a CUC from CNC's point of view) in order to make M&O aware of performance capabilities and limits of TSN network part. M&O may exploit this information to establish the appropriate PDU sessions and QoS flows in the 3GPP network. For example, M&O may create ‘probing stream requests’ based on the expected stream requirements corresponding to the available devices. E.g. sensors used for motion control will have certain stream requirements. In addition, the M&O can create ‘probing stream requests’ in a way to explore the maximum performance capabilities (delay, throughput) of the TSN network by posing ‘higher than needed’ requirements on the TSN part of the network. This allows for having less stringent requirements on the 3GPP part of the network. Such trading-off of 3GPP network performance for TSN network performance (or vice versa, e.g., for distributing the available delay budget of an E2E connection) may be decided by M&O entity based on e.g. one or more of E2E requirements of the service, 3GPP network capabilities, and costs of E2E service deployment.
Based on the information on TSN network capabilities, the M&O derives the requirements of the 3GPP counterpart, instructs the TSN Translator on PDU sessions to be established/terminated/adapted in the 3GPP network and according 3GPP QoS values to be translated to TSN parameters (e.g. Bridge Delay) of the 3GPP bridge.
After any change in the network that may affect already signaled parameters of 3GPP bridge, e.g. admission of additional UEs and new end stations, the M&O may request an update of the TSN network topology and provide to TSN Translator corresponding updates with respect to PDU sessions and/or 3GPP QoS values. E.g., it may update the estimated QoS values for 3GPP bridge and/or request a PDU session setup with updated QoS values.
Initial Setup of Combined 3GPP-TSN Network
The procedure of initial setup of 3GPP-TSN network for the purpose of TSN end station authentication follows the steps described in [6] and [8], respectively. In addition, according to some embodiments of this invention, after a successful authentication of TSN end station by the CUC, the ‘acknowledge’ message is sent back from CUC to the end station. The M&O intercepts the information about the newly authenticated TSN end station. This may serve as a trigger for M&O to request the network topology from the CNC which may include a request for network discovery. Alternatively, or in addition, M&O may create one or more ‘probing stream requests’. After evaluation of the feedback from CNC, M&O may provide corresponding updates of QoS values of 3GPP bridge to the TSN Translator, which will then update the parameters of the Bridge Delay managed object for the 3GPP network.
Network Discovery Procedure
The LLDP protocol is executed by the TSN Bridges and the TSN End Stations A and B through which they learn about their direct neighbours. The LLDP protocol is executed in a regular interval so that the actual information about the neighbouring end stations and bridges is available and up to date. The TSN Translator on the TSN network side and the TSN Translator Client on the TSN End Station A side (cf.
In the general case, the CNC becomes aware of network topology by reading LLDP parameters and Bridge Delay objects from the TSN bridges. The TSN CNC crawls through all the TSN bridges to collect information about the links they are connected to, their capacity, link propagation delay, bridge delay and the devices attached to the ports available to them, from the set of bridge managed objects. As a result, the CNC builds a view on physical topology of the network along with performance metrics and capabilities of the bridges (including the 3GPP bridge) and links. This information is not known to CUC, unless it is explicitly requested by CUC. Such information about network topology and capabilities especially from TSN domain is useful for M&O entity in order to derive the required capabilities (and potential modification of PDU sessions) at 3GPP bridge for supporting E2E service requirements.
This invention therefore discloses two options for extracting such capability and topology information from TSN network and derivation of corresponding requirements of 3GPP network.
Option 1 (cf.
In specific cases (i.e., beyond current TSN specifications in IEEE 802.1Qcc), TSN CUC can trigger a network discovery. In Option 1, the M&O entity acts as a CUC and triggers such a network discovery. While it only gets the default (initial) QoS parameters, based on [8] e.g., Option 1, for the 3GPP network, the TSN CNC returns up-to-date (actual) capacity and delay parameters for the components of the TSN network. Using the (expected) QoS parameters for future e2e communication, the M&O entity may derive the minimum QoS requirements for the 3GPP network. In detail, the M&O may have information about devices (UEs and TSN end stations), such as TSN end station ID, UE IMSI, UE category, allowed PDU session types and the default PDU session type, default 5QI values, SSC (session and service continuity) mode, static IP address/prefix, geolocation, mobility pattern, applications hosted/used by the station, traffic profile (such as probability distribution of traffic volume), mobility profile, etc.). In addition, M&O may use historical information about stream setups. Based on such information, the M&O can estimate the characteristics/QoS parameters of the streams to be requested by end stations in the future. This refers to “expected QoS parameters”.
For example, a factory floor can be separated into four areas, each served by a cell using a given frequency band. Further, UE distribution within each of the four areas (cells) as well as the mapping of TSN end stations to such UEs are known. Additionally, TSN network topology (TSN-aware bridges, links between them and ingress/egress points to the TSN network) is available, including respective QoS profiles. The expected traffic (throughput) distribution per TSN end station (received from CUC) can then be used to derive (aggregate) traffic per UE and, further aggregated, on the cell level. This allows for (re-)allocating (dimensioning) the required radio resources per cell (“radio planning”) in order to accommodate the expected traffic of TSN end stations. Depending on the required level of reliability and robustness as well as the expected inter-cell mobility, resource overprovisioning in each cell has to be factored in. Additional cells and updated area separation can help to increase overall capacity in the 3GPP system if additional traffic from new TSN applications needs to be accommodated. On the core network side (in particular UPF), expected traffic on available physical ingress and egress ports between TSN and the 3GPP network (UPF) can be estimated and used to configure the mapping of PDU sessions to logical egress and ingress ports of the “3GPP Bridge” and, subsequently, the mapping of logical ports to physical ports. On the aggregated end-to-end level, the spatial and temporal distribution of TSN streams requirements can be used to classify the required 3GPP connectivity requirements (latency, overall throughput, reliability, priority, etc.) into, e.g., five groups and pre-provision a set of PDU sessions that are on standby to serve the most important/most critical streams (e.g., 50% of the most demanding group) even in an ad-hoc manner.
In a second step, depending on the priority and the required reliability of ‘promised’ QoS parameters and resource guarantees, the M&O may request to establish none, a subset, or all of the calculated PDU sessions (PDU sessions not established now may be established once actual stream requests are issued by TSN CUC), thus also reserving resources for future stream requests. The request to establish some of the calculated PDU sessions (if any) is sent from M&O to the TSN Translator. Upon PDU session establishment the 3GPP network sends response message to TSN Translator with 5QI values of established PDU sessions. TSN Translator maps 3GPP QoS values to Bridge Delay managed object(s). Moreover, it performs mapping between established PDU sessions and TSN port information and shares this information with the TSN Translator Client. In addition, an acknowledgement message is sent to M&O entity.
Option 2a (cf.
The M&O may issue one or more probing stream requests for the purpose of discovering the capabilities/performance of the TSN network, preferably for a set of expected QoS classes to be supported (for example maximum of eight QoS classes). Such capabilities (e.g. accumulated latency for the TSN listener end stations) are discovered by the path and schedule computation done by CNC for a given stream [7]. The probing stream requests can correspond, for example, to the (i) most likely stream requests expected to be issued in the future, or (ii) can be created with the purpose to discover the maximal capabilities that can be offered by TSN for a particular stream request. In case (i), the one or more probing request(s) is/are supposed to be a representative for the respective class of expected data flows. They are derived from the information about Talkers and Listeners (and their streams) provided by CUC and/or during the network planning phase. Preferably, the expected data flows are similar to the probing data flows. Similarity comprise a maximum deviation (e.g., 5% or 10%) from both latency and throughput of the probing stream. Thus, the quality indicator(s) obtained from the probing stream have a high significance for the expected data flows.
In order to discover only the TSN capabilities for a particular stream, the M&O can either already account for the feasible 3GPP QoS values in a probing stream request, or it can issue the stream request as if the TSN Translator would be an end station. In the latter case, the schedules and path computation done at CNC refers only to TSN network part.
Knowing such “best” QoS performance capabilities of the TSN network, the M&O may derive more relaxed requirements at the 3GPP network, i.e., 3GPP network performance is traded off for TSN network performance (e.g., re-distributing overall delay budget). This assures higher probability of E2E service requirement fulfillment, since the 3GPP network radio conditions are prone to higher volatility and it is typically harder to achieve the same performance as in wireline TSN network. The M&O can balance between TSN and 3GPP domain requirements by parametrizing the probing stream requests accordingly. M&O provides these relaxed requirements to TSN translator such that TSN translator may provide corresponding delay values to TSN CNC upon next network discovery.
Since the issued request is only a probing stream request, the M&O cancels the computed schedule (‘NACK schedule’ signaling as foreseen by TSN specifications, regularly issued by CUC) so that the TSN CNC will not execute the TSN bridge settings associated to the schedule. I.e. the CNC will neither configure the forwarding tables for the ports on each bridge of the calculated path nor apply the computed schedule to the TSN network. An alternative for such procedure is described in Option 2b.
Option 2b: The M&O issues a probing stream request that contains a flag indicating to the TSN CNC that it is a probing stream request.
This option proposes an update to the TSN protocol. More specifically, the stream request message shall be extended to contain a flag (e.g., an additional bit p) that indicates whether the request is a regular stream request (p=0) or a probing stream request (p=1), e.g., for the purpose of exploring TSN network performance. In the latter case, the CNC performs the calculation for a given stream request and provides resulting paths and schedules (which include parameters such as ‘accumulated latency’ indicating the network capabilities). However, the CNC does not execute the computed schedule. Thus, ‘NACK schedule’ signaling as described in Option 2a would not be required.
Option 2c: The M&O issues a probing stream request and refrains from explicit triggering of CNC to execute the calculated schedule
As a further option, according to [7], the CUC explicitly has to request the CNC (i.e., explicit ‘ACK’ to CNC) to execute calculated schedules on TSN bridges after the path and schedule calculation. In such implementation approach, neither the flag nor the ‘NACK’ message is necessary to cancel the actual execution of schedules at TSN bridges done by CNC. The M&O simply does not issue the explicit trigger for deployment of schedules for probing stream requests, but it would merely utilize the received information on TSN network capabilities.
Depending on the implementation, it may be ensured by one of the above described options that CNC does not execute the calculated schedules for the probing stream request.
Establishment of End to End Communication
For establishment of a communication between one (or multiple) TSN talkers and one (or multiple) TSN listeners, the TSN CUC reads the QoS parameters and stream requirements from the TSN End Stations A and B. In the usual TSN procedure, this information and the information about the TSN End Stations A and B (e.g. MAC addresses) to be connected are then provided to the TSN CNC. As described in [8] and hereinabove, the M&O entity can intercept the Stream Request message in order to check whether existing (i.e., already established) PDU sessions can fulfil the requirements or if new/modified PDU session need to be set up.
Additionally, in some embodiments of this invention, in order to enforce the utilization of certain TSN network capabilities upon the actual Stream Request is issued, certain (i.e., usually better) values for 3GPP Bridge delay will be masked by M&O. That is, M&O instructs TSN translator to report worse quality than necessary. Hence only worse values will be reported to CNC by TSN Translator. By such masking and thus selecting the desired delay values for 3GPP bridge for a given actual stream request, the M&O will enforce a path and schedule calculation at CNC that implements more stringent requirements on TSN network side and more relaxed requirements at 3GPP network side, as depicted in
Once the TSN CNC successfully computes the scheduling related parameters for the TSN Bridges and the End Stations, the result is provided to the TSN CUC. However, the M&O entity intercepts the result of the CNC calculation and again checks whether or not changes are needed in the PDU sessions of the 3GPP network (as shown in
The apparatus comprises means for inquiring 10, means for deriving 20, means for deciding 30, and means for informing 40. The means for inquiring 10, means for deriving 20, means for deciding 30, and means for informing 40 may be an inquiring means, deriving means, deciding means, and informing means, respectively. The means for inquiring 10, means for deriving 20, means for deciding 30, and means for informing 40 may be an inquirer, deriver, decider, and informer respectively. The means for inquiring 10, means for deriving 20, means for deciding 30, and means for informing 40 may be an inquiring processor, deriving processor, deciding processor, and informing processor, respectively.
The means for inquiring 10 inquires a network topology of a wireline network from a controller of the wireline network (S10). The network topology comprises topological information and information on a respective quality of service capability. For example, the wireline network may be a TSN network, and the controller may be a CNC.
Based on the network topology received in response to the inquiring and an expected flow request for a data flow from the wireline network through a wireless network, the means for deriving 20 derives a quality indicator of the data flow in the wireless network (S20). According to configuration data stored in the apparatus, the translator encapsulates the wireless network towards the wireline network. For example, the wireless network may be a 3GPP network.
The means for deciding 30 decides, based on the derived quality indicator, if a data session in the wireless network has to be added, removed, or modified in order to carry the data flow (S30). For example, a data session may be a PDU session.
If the data session in the wireless network has to be added, removed, or modified in order to carry the data flow (S30=“yes”), the means for informing 40 informs the translator that the data session in the wireless network has to be added, removed, or modified (S40).
The apparatus comprises means for creating 110, means for inquiring 120, means for deriving 130, means for deciding 140, and means for informing 150. The means for creating 110, means for inquiring 120, means for deriving 130, means for deciding 140, and means for informing 150 may be a creating means, inquiring means, deriving means, deciding means, and informing means, respectively. The means for creating 110, means for inquiring 120, means for deriving 130, means for deciding 140, and means for informing 150 may be a creator, inquirer, deriver, decider, and informer respectively. The means for creating 110, means for inquiring 120, means for deriving 130, means for deciding 140, and means for informing 150 may be a creating processor, inquiring processor, deriving processor, deciding processor, and informing processor, respectively.
The means for creating 110 creates a flow request for a probing data flow through a wireline network and a wireless network (S110). According to configuration data stored in the apparatus, the wireless network is encapsulated towards the wireline network by a translator. For example, the wireline network may be a TSN network, and the wireless network may be a 3GPP network.
The means for inquiring 120 inquires from a controller of the wireline network a schedule for the probing data flow (S120). For example, the controller may be a TSN CNC.
Based on the schedule received in response to the inquiring in S120, the means for deriving 130 derives a quality parameter of a first data session to carry an expected data flow in the wireless network (S130). The first data session may be a PDU session.
The means for deciding 140 decides, based on the derived quality indicator, if a second data session in the wireless network has to be added, removed, or modified in order to carry an expected data flow. The second data session may be a PDU session. The second data session may be the same as the first data session, or may be different therefrom.
If the second data session in the wireless network has to be added, removed, or modified in order to carry the expected data flow (S140=“yes”), the means for informing 150 informs the translator that the second data session in the wireless network has to be added, removed, or modified (S150).
The apparatus comprises means for monitoring 210, means for deriving 220, and means for instructing 230. The means for monitoring 210, means for deriving 220, and means for instructing 230 may be an monitoring means, deriving means, and instructing means, respectively. The means for monitoring 210, means for deriving 220, and means for instructing 230 may be a monitor, deriver, and instructor, respectively. The means for monitoring 210, means for deriving 220, and means for instructing 230 may be a monitoring processor, deriving processor, and instructing processor, respectively.
The means for monitoring 210 monitors if a flow request for a data flow through a wireline network and a wireless network is received (S210). According to configuration data stored in the apparatus, the wireless network is encapsulated towards the wireline network by a translator. For example, the wireline network may be a TSN network, and the wireless network may be a 3GPP network.
If the flow request is received (S210=“yes”), the means for deriving 220 derives a quality the wireless network may provide to the data flow (S220). The quality is derived based on a configuration of the wireless network and a policy on the quality.
The means for instructing 230 instructs the translator to report the derived quality in response to a request to report the quality (S230).
Some embodiments of the invention are described with respect to a 3GPP network. However, the invention is not limited to 3GPP networks. It may be applied to other wireless networks such as a WiFi network, too.
Some embodiments of the invention are described with respect to an industrial TSN network. However, the invention is not limited to industrial TSN networks. It may be applied to other (non-industrial) TSN networks such as Profinet and to other fixed line networks, too.
In general, a bridge may comprise one or more TSN translators (corresponding to multiple sets of SMF, PCF and UPF), the core network and the radio access network and one or more UEs (terminal) of the wireless network (3GPP network), and one or more TSN translator clients. Each TSN translator client is related to one of the UEs. One UE may be related to one or more TSN translator clients. The TSN translator clients correspond to ports of a conventional bridge.
Embodiments of the invention are described based on the fully centralized configuration model in TSN networks which assumes existence of CUC and CNC [2]. The reason for such approach is that the centralized configuration model is regarded as the most efficient one for achieving the stringent timing requirements of industrial networks.
However, embodiments of this invention report may be applicable to other configuration models of TSN network. Namely:
Embodiments are described hereinabove wherein M&O provides the information about the (estimated/requested) QoS directly to the TSN translator. However, in some embodiments, M&O may provide this information to CNC which forwards it to the TSN translator. Thus, an interface between M&O and TSN translator may not be needed but an additional message exchange is required.
One piece of information may be transmitted in one or plural messages from one entity to another entity. Each of these messages may comprise further (different) pieces of information.
Names of network elements, protocols, and methods are based on current standards. In other versions or other technologies, the names of these network elements and/or protocols and/or methods may be different, as long as they provide a corresponding functionality.
If not otherwise stated or otherwise made clear from the context, the statement that two entities are different means that they perform different functions. It does not necessarily mean that they are based on different hardware. That is, each of the entities described in the present description may be based on a different hardware, or some or all of the entities may be based on the same hardware. It does not necessarily mean that they are based on different software. That is, each of the entities described in the present description may be based on different software, or some or all of the entities may be based on the same software. Each of the entities described in the present description may be embodied in the cloud.
According to the above description, it should thus be apparent that example embodiments of the present invention provide, for example, a translator, or a component thereof, an apparatus embodying the same, a method for controlling and/or operating the same, and computer program(s) controlling and/or operating the same as well as mediums carrying such computer program(s) and forming computer program product(s). According to the above description, it should thus be apparent that example embodiments of the present invention provide, for example, a M&O, or a component thereof, an apparatus embodying the same, a method for controlling and/or operating the same, and computer program(s) controlling and/or operating the same as well as mediums carrying such computer program(s) and forming computer program product(s).
Implementations of any of the above described blocks, apparatuses, systems, techniques or methods include, as non-limiting examples, implementations as hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.
It is to be understood that what is described above is what is presently considered the preferred embodiments of the present invention. However, it should be noted that the description of the preferred embodiments is given by way of example only and that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2018/072046 | 8/14/2018 | WO | 00 |
