DISTRIBUTED PACKET-BASED TIMESTAMP ENGINE
First Claim
1. A physical layer communication device, comprising:
- a local clock configured to supply time values;
a receive block coupled to the local clock and configured to receive packets from a communication network and produce, depending on classifications of the received packets, timestamp values using time values from the local clock indicative of arrival times of the packets; and
a transmit block coupled to the local clock and configured to transmit packets to the communication network and produce, depending on classifications of the transmitted packets, timestamp values using time values from the local clock indicative of transmittal times of the packets.
19 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system handles timing information within a packet-switched network. The system classifies packets for processing depending on the packet type. After classification, a new timestamp value may be produced depending on the packet classification. The new timestamp value may use a timestamp value from the received packet, a value from a local clock, and an offset value. The timestamp value may be written into the packet, depending on the packet classification, and checksum-type fields may additionally be updated in the packet. In some embodiments, multiple physical layer circuits are integrated with a local clock circuit.
103 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A physical layer communication device, comprising:
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a local clock configured to supply time values; a receive block coupled to the local clock and configured to receive packets from a communication network and produce, depending on classifications of the received packets, timestamp values using time values from the local clock indicative of arrival times of the packets; and a transmit block coupled to the local clock and configured to transmit packets to the communication network and produce, depending on classifications of the transmitted packets, timestamp values using time values from the local clock indicative of transmittal times of the packets. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A physical layer communication device, comprising:
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a receive local clock configured to supply time values; receiver circuitry configured to receive an input signal, produce received packets from the input signal, and supply a detection signal to the receive local clock when a timing reference point is detected in the input signal, wherein the time values supplied by the receive local clock are indicative of times when the detection signal is received by the receive local clock; a receive packet classifier coupled to the receiver circuitry and configured to assign one of a plurality of receive classifications to each of the received packets; a receive time calculator coupled to the receive packet classifier and the receive local clock and configured to produce receive timestamp values depending on the assigned receive classifications; and a receive packet writer coupled to the receive time calculator and configured to write, depending on the assigned receive classifications, the produced timestamp values into the received packets. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17)
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18. A method for handling timing information in a communication device, the method comprising:
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receiving a packet from a communication link; classifying the packet to have a classification selected from a plurality of classification types; for at least one of the classification types, producing a timestamp value based on the time the packet is received by the communication device; for at least one of the classification types, writing the produced timestamp into the packet; and supplying the packet having the written timestamp to a higher-level device. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method for handling timing information in a communication device, the method comprising:
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receiving a packet from a higher-level device; classifying the packet to have a classification selected from a plurality of classification types; for at least one of the classification types, producing a timestamp value based on the time the packet is transmitted by the communication device; for at least one of the classification types, writing the produced timestamp into the packet; and transmitting the packet having the written timestamp to a communication network. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A communication network node, comprising:
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a local clock configured to supply time values; a first receive block coupled to the local clock and configured to receive packets from a first link in a communication network and produce, depending on classifications of the received packets, timestamp values using time values from the local clock indicative of arrival times of the packets; a first transmit block coupled to the local clock and configured to transmit packets to the first link in the communication network and produce, depending on classifications of the transmitted packets, timestamp values using time values from the local clock indicative of transmittal times of the packets; a second receive block coupled to the local clock and configured to receive packets from a second link in the communication network and produce, depending on classifications of the received packets, timestamp values using time values from the local clock indicative of arrival times of the packets; and a second transmit block coupled to the local clock and configured to transmit packets to the second link in the communication network and produce, depending on classifications of the transmitted packets, timestamp values using time values from the local clock indicative of transmittal times of the packets.
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29. A communication system, comprising:
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a plurality of line cards each comprising; a physical layer device comprising; a receive block configured to receive packets from a communication network and produce, depending on classifications of the received packets, timestamp values using time values indicative of arrival times of the packets; and a transmit block configured to transmit packets to the communication network and produce, depending on classifications of the transmitted packets, timestamp values using time values indicative of transmittal times of the packets; and a media access controller coupled to the physical layer device and configured to process the receive packets and the transmit packets according to a media access protocol; and a system card coupled to the plurality of line cards, the system card comprising; a switch fabric configured to couple the receive packets and the transmit packets between the plurality of line cards; and a physical layer device configured to provide timestamp processing associated with times the receive packets and the transmit packets are received by and transmitted from the system card.
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Specification