Method for operating a network and network participants

• US 10,271,249 B2
• Filed: 02/15/2016
• Issued: 04/23/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Beckhoff Automation GmbH
• Original Assignee: Beckhoff Automation GmbH
• Inventors: Bunte, Thorsten, Buttner, Holger, Vonnahme, Erik, Janssen, Dirk, Rettig, Thomas, Beckhoff, Hans
• Primary Examiner(s): Park, Jung H
• Application Number:
  US15/043,886
• Publication Number:
  US 20160165498A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,163 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/22 Alternate routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/1438 Negotiation of transmission parameters prior to communication modified according to link quality H04L1/0001
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/1446 of transmission speed
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1044 Group management mechanisms management of multicast group membership H04L12/185; reconfiguring of node membership in a computing system to eliminate errors G06F11/1425
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0094 Definition of hand-off measurement parameters

Abstract

A network includes a first network participant connected via a first connection to a further network participant. The first network participant receives a data message containing information that a parameter must be set to a first value, via the first connection. The first network participant checks whether it is connected via a second connection to a still further network, and whether the parameter is not set to the first value in the second connection. In this case, the first network participant forwards the data message via the second connection, clearing down the second connection, and re-establishes the second connection, where the parameter for the second connection is set to the first value.

Claims

1. A method for operating a network,

wherein a first network participant of the network is connected via a first connection to a further network participant of the network, and

wherein the first network participant carries out the following steps:

receiving a data message containing the information that a parameter must be set to a first value in connections, via the first connection, and

checking whether the first network participant is connected via a second connection to a still further network participant of the network and checking whether the parameter is not set to the first value in the second connection;

wherein the first network participant in this case carries out the following further steps;

forwarding the data message via the second connection,

clearing down the second connection,

re-establishing the second connection, wherein the parameter for the second connection is set to the first value; and

wherein the first network participant transmits the data message via all its connections in which the parameter is not set to the first value, except via the first connection.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1,

wherein a second network participant of the network is connected via a third connection and a fourth connection to further network participants of the network, and

wherein the second network participant carries out the following steps:

recognizing that the parameter is set to the first value in the third connection and the parameter is set to a second value in the fourth connection,

transmitting the data message containing the information that the parameter must be set to the first value in connections,

clearing down the fourth connection, and

re-establishing the fourth connection, wherein the parameter for the fourth connection is set to the first value.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the second network participant transmits the data message via the fourth connection.

4. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the second network participant transmits the data message via all its connections in which the parameter is not set to the first value.

5. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the second network participant does not transmit the data message via the third connection.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1,

wherein a second network participant of the network is connected via a third connection to a further network participant of the network, and

wherein the second network participant carries out the following step:

transmitting the data message containing the information that the parameter must be set to the first value in connections, via the third connection.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the second network participant carries out the following further steps:

clearing down the third connection; and

re-establishing the third connection, wherein the parameter for the third connection is set to the first value.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the parameter is a transmission rate.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the first value is a transmission rate of 100 Mbit/s.

10. The method as claimed in claims 2 and 8, wherein the second value is a transmission rate of 1 Gbit/s.

11. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the parameter is a message format, a minimum message length, a maximum message length, a minimum time interval between two transmitted data frames, a line code or an addressing mode.

12. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the data message is an Ethernet message.

13. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the data message is an EtherCAT message.

14. A network participant, wherein the network participant is designed to carry out a method as claimed in claim 1.