Arrangement and Method for Interchanging Time Markers

• US 20120137013A1
• Filed: 11/23/2011
• Published: 05/31/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Siemens AG
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: STEINDL, Günter
• Granted Patent: US 8,856,367 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/230
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 3/0667 Bidirectional timestamps, e.g. NTP or PTP for compensation of clock drift and for compensation of propagation delays arrangements for monitoring round trip delays in packet switching networks H04L43/0864
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 3/0673 using intermediate nodes, e.g. modification of a received timestamp before further transmission to the next packet node, e.g. including internal delay time or residence time into the packet

Abstract

An arrangement and a method for interchanging time markers between a first and a second network, wherein the time markers each comprise data packets having a payload comprising a coded time information item. A device is configured to receive a first time marker, directly remove the coded time information item, insert the coded time information item into a new data packet from the second protocol, and to send this data packet as a second time marker using the second network. The arrangement and method allow closed control of the time information or the clock of the time accepter across a network boundary.

Claims

1. An arrangement including a device, a time generator in a first network, and a time receiver in a second network, the device being configured to interchange time markers between the time generator and the time receiver,

wherein the first network includes a first protocol and the second network includes a different second protocol for the time markers;

wherein the time markers each comprise data packets having a payload comprising a coded time information item; and

wherein the device is configured to receive a first time marker over the first network, to directly remove the coded time information item from the first time marker, to insert the coded time information item into a new data packet of the second protocol, and to send the new data packet as a second time marker over the second network.

2. The arrangement as claimed in patent claim 1, further comprising:

at least one further device for interchanging the time markers between the second and a third network,

wherein a cumulative propagation time delay in the repeatedly converted time markers is taken into account on the time receiver of the third network.

3. The arrangement as claimed in patent claim 1, wherein the device comprises a first correction device for capturing a propagation time of a time marker in the first network.

4. A method for interchanging time markers between a first and a second network, wherein the first network utilizes a first protocol and the second network utilizes a different second protocol for the time markers, the method comprising:

receiving a first time marker from a time generator over the first network, the first time marker having a first data packet with a payload comprising a coded time information item;

extracting the coded time information item from the received first data packet;

producing a second data packet based on the second protocol, wherein the coded time information item extracted from the first data packet is added to the second data packet as a payload of the second data packet; and

transmitting the second data packet with the payload to at least one time receiver as a second time marker over the second network.

5. The method as claimed in patent claim 4, further comprising:

interchanging time markers over the second and a third network having a time receiver by repeating the steps of receiving, extracting, producing, and transmitting by a further device between the second network and the third network,

wherein an accumulated propagation time delay in repeatedly converted time markers is taken into account in the time receiver of the third network.

6. The method as claimed in patent claim 4, wherein generation of the second data packet takes into account a conversion delay by adding the time required for the conversion of the coded time information from the first data packet to the second data packet to a value in a data field for propagation time delays in the second time marker.

7. The method as claimed in patent claim 5, wherein generation of the second data packet takes into account a conversion delay by adding the time required for the conversion of the coded time information from the first data packet to the second data packet to a value in a data field for propagation time delays in the second time marker.