Communications method for optical communications system, optical communications system, secondary station device, control device and program
Abstract
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Expires 8 December 2030.
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24 claims: 10 independent, 14 dependent
- 1複数の利用者側光回線終端装置(以下、ONUという)を共通の光ファイバを用いて局側光回線終端装置(以下、OLTという)に接続する光通信システムの通信方法であって、 非登録状態の前記ONUが前記OLTに登録されるまで待機するステップと、 前記OLTが前記光ファイバを介して接続された前記非登録状態のONUを発見し登録状態の前記ONUとして登録するディスカバリステップと、 同期信号を受信した前記ONUが、前記同期信号と自装置の時刻とを比較することにより同期ずれを監視し、前記同期ずれを検出した場合には前記非登録状態に戻って送信を停止する通信ステップと、 前記ONUが前記通信ステップ中に通信リンクを維持しながら送信器または受信器への電力供給を所定の休止期間、停止または低減させる省電力制御を断続的に実行する省電力ステップと、を備え、 前記休止期間後において、前記ONUは前記同期ずれの検出による前記非登録状態への移行を一時的に抑制する光通信システムの通信方法。
- 2前記通信ステップは、下記ステップ(a)乃至(c) (a)前記OLTが前記同期信号を有する帯域割当信号を前記登録状態のONUへ送信し (b)前記帯域割当信号を受信した前記ONUが、前記帯域割当信号に含まれる前記同期信号と自装置の時刻とを比較することにより同期ずれを監視し、前記同期ずれを検出した場合には前記非登録状態に戻って送信を停止し (c)前記登録状態のONUが前記時刻を前記同期信号に同期させ、前記帯域割当信号に基づき信号を送信する、を繰り返すことを特徴とする請求項1に記載の光通信システムの通信方法。
- 3前記省電力ステップは、 前記ONUが省電力状態への移行を要求する要求信号を送信するステップと、 前記要求信号を受信した前記OLTが、許可する省電力モードを指定してスリープ許可信号を送信する許可ステップと、 前記スリープ許可信号を受信した前記ONUが許可された省電力モードに従って、前記送信器または前記受信器の電力供給を制御するステップと、を備えたことを特徴とする請求項1または2に記載の光通信システムの通信方法。
- 4前記スリープ許可信号には、省電力モードが複数指定され、前記ONUは、前記スリープ許可信号に指定された複数の前記省電力モードから使用する省電力モードを選択することを特徴とする請求項3記載の光通信システムの通信方法。
- 5前記ONUは、選択した省電力モードを指定しスリープ応答信号を前記OLTへ送信することを特徴とする請求項4記載の光通信システムの通信方法。
- 6前記省電力ステップは、 前記OLTが、許可する複数の省電力モードを指定してスリープ許可信号を送信する許可ステップと、 前記スリープ許可信号を受信した前記ONUが許可された複数の省電力モードから使用する省電力モードを選択し、前記送信器または前記受信器の電力供給を制御するステップと、を備えたことを特徴とする請求項1または2に記載の光通信システムの通信方法。
- 7前記スリープ許可信号は、前記休止期間の情報を有し、前記ONUは前記休止期間の情報に従って前記同期ずれの検出による前記非登録状態への移行を抑制することを特徴とする請求項 3 乃至6のいずれか1項に記載の光通信システムの通信方法。
- 8前記ONUは、前記同期ずれの検出による前記非登録状態への移行を抑制している場合に、前記OLTから前記同期信号を受信すると、受信した前記同期信号に前記自装置の時刻を同期させ、前記抑制を解除することを特徴とする請求項1乃至7のいずれか1項に記載の光通信システムの通信方法。
- 9前記ONUは、前記休止期間に、前記同期ずれの検出による前記非登録状態への移行を抑制することを特徴とする請求項1乃至7のいずれか1項に記載の光通信システムの通信方法。
- 10前記ONUは、前記省電力ステップにおいて、前記同期ずれの検出を抑制することで、前記同期ずれの検出による前記非登録状態への移行を抑制することを特徴とする請求項1乃至9のいずれか1項に記載の光通信システムの通信方法。
- 11送信器、受信器、並びにこれら送信器および受信器のうち少なくとも一つの電力消費を所定のスリープ期間に停止または低下させるスリープモードを制御する制御装置を備えた子局装置であって、 前記制御装置は、 親局装置から受信したMPCPDU(Multi-Point Control Protocol Data Unit)のタイムスタンプと自装置で計測したローカルタイムとの差異を検出し、 この差異が予め定められた値を超えた場合にタイムスタンプ・ドリフト・エラーを検出し前記親局装置による論理リンクの再設定を待つ非登録状態に移行し、 前記スリープモードにおける前記スリープ期間後に送受信を再開する場合には、前記タイムスタンプ・ドリフト・エラーによる前記非登録状態への移行を一時的に抑制することを特徴とする子局装置。
- 12前記ローカルタイムを計測するクロックを備え、 前記制御装置は、前記クロックの計測するローカルタイムを、受信したMPCPDUのタイムスタンプに同期させることを特徴とする請求項11に記載の子局装置。
- 13前記受信器は、許可される前記スリープモードを複数指定可能な信号形式を有するスリープ許可信号を前記親局から受信し、 前記制御装置は、複数の前記許可されるスリープモードから使用するスリープモードを選択し、前記送信器および前記受信器の少なくとも一方の消費電力を制御することを特徴とする請求項11または12に記載の子局装置。
- 14前記スリープ許可信号に含まれるスリープ期間の情報に基づき前記スリープモードの終了時間を検出するタイマーを備えたことを特徴とする請求項13に記載の子局装置。
- 15前記制御装置は、前記タイムスタンプ・ドリフト・エラーによる前記非登録状態への移行を抑制している場合に、前記親局装置から前記タイムスタンプを受信すると、受信した前記タイムスタンプに前記自装置のローカルタイムを同期させ、前記抑制を解除することを特徴とする請求項11乃至14のいずれか1項に記載の子局装置。
- 16前記制御装置は、前記スリープモード中に、前記タイムスタンプ・ドリフト・エラーによる前記非登録状態への移行を抑制することを特徴とする請求項11乃至15のいずれか1項に記載の子局装置。
- 17前記制御装置は、前記スリープモードにおいて、前記タイムスタンプ・ドリフト・エラーの検出を抑制することで、前記タイムスタンプ・ドリフト・エラーによる前記非登録状態への移行を抑制することを特徴とする請求項11乃至16のいずれか1項に記載の子局装置。
- 18複数の利用者側光回線終端装置(以下、ONUという)を共通の光ファイバを用いて局側光回線終端装置(以下、OLTという)に接続する光通信システムであって、前記OLTは、 登録状態の前記ONUに同期信号を送信するとともに、前記ONUは、 送信器、 受信器、 前記ONUが通信リンクを維持しながら前記送信器または前記受信器への電力供給を所定の休止期間、停止または低減させる省電力制御を断続的に繰り返す省電力制御部、 受信した前記同期信号と自装置の時刻とを比較することにより同期ずれを監視する監視部、および 前記監視部が前記同期ずれを検出した場合には前記登録状態から非登録状態へ移行する、一方、前記省電力制御の休止期間後においては前記同期ずれの検出による前記非登録状態への移行を抑制する制御部を備えた光通信システム。
- 19前記制御部は、前記同期ずれの検出による前記非登録状態への移行を抑制している場合に、前記OLTから前記同期信号を受信すると、受信した前記同期信号に前記自装置の時刻を同期させ、前記抑制を解除することを特徴とする請求項18に記載の光通信システム。
- 20前記制御部は、前記休止期間に、前記同期ずれの検出による前記非登録状態への移行を抑制することを特徴とする請求項18または19に記載の光通信システム。
- 21光ファイバを用いて局側光回線終端装置(以下、OLTという)に接続する利用者側光回線終端装置(以下、ONUという)の制御装置であって、 前記ONUが通信リンクを維持しなが ら送 信器また は受 信器への電力供給を所定の休止期間、停止または低減させる省電力制御を断続的に繰り返す省電力制御部、 前記OLTから受信した同期信号と自装置の時刻とを比較することにより同期ずれを監視する監視部、および 前記監視部が前記同期ずれを検出した場合には登録状態から非登録状態へ移行する、一方、前記省電力制御の休止期間後においては前記同期ずれの検出による前記非登録状態への移行を抑制する制御部を備えた制御装置。
- 22前記制御部は、前記同期ずれの検出による前記非登録状態への移行を抑制している場合に、前記OLTから前記同期信号を受信すると、受信した前記同期信号に前記自装置の時刻を同期させ、前記抑制を解除することを特徴とする請求項21に記載の制御装置。
- 23前記制御部は、前記省電力制御中に、前記同期ずれの検出による前記非登録状態への移行を抑制することを特徴とする請求項21または22に記載の制御装置。
- 24送信器、受信器、並びにこれら送信器および受信器のうち少なくとも一つの電力消費を断続的に停止または低下させるスリープ制御を子局装置のコンピュータに実行させるプログラムであって、 前記受信器により親局装置から受信したMPCPDU(Multi-Point Control Protocol Data Unit)のタイムスタンプと前記子局装置で計測したローカルタイムとの差異を検出するステップと、 この差異が予め定められた値を超えた場合にタイムスタンプ・ドリフト・エラーを検出し、前記送信器による送信を停止して前記親局装置による論理リンクの再設定を待つ非登録状態に移行するステップと、 前記スリープ制御から復帰して前記送信器、および前記受信器に給電するステップと、 前記スリープ制御におけるスリープ期間後の期間は、前記タイムスタンプ・ドリフト・エラーによる前記非登録状態への移行を一時的に抑制するステップと、をコンピュータに実行させるプログラム。
Independent claims24
98 paragraphs, as filed
The present invention relates to a communication method, an optical communication system, a slave station device, a control device, and a program of an optical communication system in which a plurality of terminals are connected by a common line.
In the PON (Passive Optical Network) system, the OLT (Optical Line Terminal) and OLT (Optical Line Terminal) are used to prevent the upstream data transmitted from the ONU (Optical Network Unit) from colliding with each other. Communicates while synchronizing with the ONU. The OLT plans to grant transmission permission to each ONU so that upstream data does not collide. At this time, the delay due to the distance between each ONU is taken into consideration. Therefore, OLT measures the round trip time between each ONU, but it is necessary to measure it periodically because there are fluctuations in the transmission line such as jitter and wonder in transmission by optical fiber.
On the other hand, data communication is not always performed, and data communication is not performed at all, for example, at night. However, the round trip time is measured periodically regardless of the presence or absence of data communication as described above. Even when data communication is not performed, keeping the ONU in a state where communication is always possible to measure the round trip time wastes power. Therefore, a technique for intermittently transitioning the ONU to the power saving state by requesting the transition from the ONU to the power saving state is being studied.
Further, when there is no uplink data from the ONU, a PON system that improves the throughput by not allocating a useless transmission band to such an ONU has been studied (Patent Document 1). In this PON system, when the OLT detects that there is no user data for a preset period of time, the OLT cancels the registration of the ONU and notifies the ONU that the optical link is temporarily stopped. After that, the transmission band is not allocated to the ONU, and the transmission of frames for maintaining the link is also suppressed, so that the ONU can reduce the number of frame transmissions.
<p num="0005"><patcit num="1"><text>JP 2007-274534</text></patcit></p>
<p num="0006"> In the PON system described in Patent Document 1, since the link is disconnected for the ONU that does not transmit data for a certain period of time, the load of OLT can be reduced. However, when the ONU resumes the transmission of uplink data, the OLT needs to perform the discovery process to find the unconnected ONU again, and establishes a new link to re-register the ONU. Therefore, for example, when communication at a low bit rate continues, there is a problem that this communication method cannot be used.</p>
<p num="0007"> The communication method of the optical communication system of the present invention is an optical network unit in which a plurality of user-side optical network units (hereinafter referred to as ONU) are connected to a station-side optical network unit (hereinafter referred to as OLT) using a common optical fiber. A communication method of a communication system, in which a step of waiting until the unregistered ONU is registered in the OLT and a step of discovering and registering the unregistered ONU to which the OLT is connected via an optical fiber are discovered and registered. The discovery step to register as the ONU of the state, and<u style="single">same</u>Period signal<u style="single">Received</u>The trusted ONU monitors the synchronization deviation by comparing the synchronization signal with the time of its own device, and when the synchronization deviation is detected, it returns to the non-registration state and stops transmission.<u style="single">Communication step to do and before</u>The ONU comprises a power saving step that intermittently executes power saving control that stops or reduces the power supply to the transmitter or receiver for a predetermined pause period while maintaining the communication link during the communication step. After the rest period, the ONU temporarily suppresses the transition to the non-registration state due to the detection of the synchronization deviation.</p><p num="0008"> The slave station device of the present invention consumes power of a transmitter, a receiver, and at least one of these transmitters and receivers.<u style="single">Predetermined sleep period</u>It is a slave station device provided with a control device that controls a sleep mode that stops or lowers the speed, and the control device is a time stamp of an MPC PDU (Multi-Point Control Protocol Data Unit) received from the master station device.<u style="single">And self</u>An unregistered state that detects a difference from the local time measured by the device, detects a time stamp drift error when this difference exceeds a predetermined value, and waits for the logical link to be reset by the master station device. And the sleep mode<u style="single">After the sleep period in</u>When resuming transmission / reception, the transition to the non-registration state due to the time stamp drift error is performed.<u style="single">Temporarily</u>It suppresses.</p><p num="0009"> The optical communication system of the present invention is an optical communication system in which a plurality of user-side optical line termination devices (hereinafter referred to as ONU) are connected to a station-side optical line termination device (hereinafter referred to as OLT) using a common optical fiber. Therefore, the OLT signals a synchronization signal to the ONU in the registered state.<u style="single">Send</u>Believe and The ONU is a transmitter, a receiver,<u style="single">Before</u>A power saving control unit that intermittently repeats power saving control in which the ONU intermittently repeats power saving control for stopping or reducing the power supply to the transmitter or the receiver for a predetermined pause period while maintaining the communication link.<u style="single">Recieved</u>A monitoring unit that monitors the synchronization deviation by comparing the synchronization signal with the time of the own device, and when the monitoring unit detects the synchronization deviation, the state shifts from the registered state to the non-registered state.<u style="single">To do</u>On the other hand, after the suspension period of the power saving control, the control unit is provided to suppress the transition to the non-registered state due to the detection of the synchronization deviation.</p><p num="0010"> The control device of the present invention<u style="single">light</u>Connect to a station-side optical network unit (hereinafter referred to as OLT) using fiber<u style="single">User-side optical network unit (hereinafter referred to as ONU)</u>It is a control device of<u style="single">Before</u>A power saving control unit that intermittently repeats power saving control in which the ONU intermittently repeats power saving control for stopping or reducing the power supply to the transmitter or the receiver for a predetermined pause period while maintaining the communication link.<u style="single">Received from the OLT</u>A monitoring unit that monitors the synchronization deviation by comparing the synchronization signal with the time of the own device, and shifts from the registered state to the non-registered state when the monitoring unit detects the synchronization deviation.<u style="single">To do</u>On the other hand, after the suspension period of the power saving control, the control unit is provided to suppress the transition to the non-registered state due to the detection of the synchronization deviation.</p><p num="0011"> The program of the present invention is a program that causes a computer of a slave station device to perform sleep control that intermittently stops or reduces the power consumption of a transmitter, a receiver, and at least one of these transmitters and receivers. A step of detecting a difference between the time stamp of the MPC PDU (Multi-Point Control Protocol Data Unit) received from the master station device by the receiver and the local time measured by the slave station device, and a predetermined value of this difference. A step of detecting a time stamp drift error when the time stamp drift error is exceeded, stopping transmission by the transmitter, and shifting to an unregistered state waiting for the reset of the logical link by the master station device, and returning from the sleep control. And the step of supplying power to the transmitter and the receiver, and the sleep control.<u style="single">Period after the sleep period in</u>Is a program that causes the computer to execute a step of temporarily suppressing the transition to the non-registered state due to the time stamp drift error.</p>
<p num="0012"> The communication method, optical communication system, slave station device, control device, and program of the optical communication system according to the present invention can improve communication efficiency in a power save operation by intermittent communication.</p>
<figref num="1">FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention.</figref><figref num="2">FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing a communication method according to the first embodiment of the present invention.</figref><figref num="3">FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram showing a communication method according to the first embodiment of the present invention.</figref><figref num="4">FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a signal format according to the first embodiment of the present invention.</figref><figref num="5">FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing communication control of the slave station device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.</figref><figref num="6">FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram showing a communication method according to the second embodiment of the present invention.</figref><figref num="7">FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a format of a band allocation signal according to the second embodiment of the present invention.</figref><figref num="8">FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a format of a sleep permission signal according to the second embodiment of the present invention.</figref><figref num="9">FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a format of an acknowledgment signal according to the second embodiment of the present invention.</figref><figref num="10">FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram showing a control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.</figref><figref num="11">FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing communication control of the slave station device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.</figref><figref num="12">FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram showing a communication method according to the third embodiment of the present invention.</figref><figref num="13">FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a format of a sleep permission signal according to the third embodiment of the present invention.</figref><figref num="14">FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing communication control of the slave station device according to the third embodiment of the present invention.</figref><figref num="15">FIG. 15 is a sequence diagram showing a communication method according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.</figref><figref num="16">FIG. 16 is a sequence diagram showing a communication method according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.</figref><figref num="17">FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing communication control of the slave station device according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.</figref>
Embodiment 1. Hardware configuration
FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the communication system of the present invention, and shows a PON system as an example of the communication system. As shown in FIG. 1, this communication system includes OLT1 which is a master station device and ONU10-1 to 10-3 which are slave station devices. OLT1 and ONU10-1 to 10-3 are connected by a subscriber line 30 via a splitter 40. The splitter 40 branches the subscriber line 30 connected to the OLT 1 into the number of ONUs 10-1 to 10-3. Although an example in which three ONUs are used is shown here, the number of ONUs is not limited to this and may be any number.
OLT1 includes a PON control unit (control device) 2 that performs processing on the OLT side based on the PON protocol, a receive buffer 3 that is a buffer for storing uplink data received from ONU10-1 to 10-3, and a receive buffer 3. A transmission buffer 4 that stores downlink data to be transmitted to ONU10-1 to 10-3, an optical transmitter / receiver 5 that performs transmission / reception processing of optical signals, and WDM (Wavelength) that wavelength-multiplexes uplink data and downlink data. It includes a Division Multiplexing coupler (WDM) 6 and a physical layer processing unit (PHY) 7 that realizes the physical interface function of NNI (Network Node Interface) between the network. The optical transmitter / receiver 5 includes an optical receiver (Rx: Receiver) 51 that performs reception processing and an optical transmitter (Tx: Transmitter) 52 that performs transmission processing.
The ONU10-1 includes a PON control unit 11 that performs processing on the ONU side based on the PON protocol, a transmission buffer (uplink buffer) 12 that is a buffer for storing transmission data (uplink data) to OLT1, and an OLT1. Receive buffer (downlink buffer) 13 which is a buffer for storing received data (downlink data) from, optical transmitter / receiver 14, WDM15 which wavelength-multiplexes uplink data and downlink data, and terminals 20-1, 20- It is provided with physical layer processing units (PHY) 16-1 and 16-2, which realize the physical interface function of UNI (User Network Interface), respectively.
The optical transmitter / receiver 14 includes an optical transmitter (Tx: Transmitter) 141 that performs transmission processing and an optical receiver (Rx: Receiver) 142 that performs reception processing. PHY16-1 is composed of a receiver (Rx: Receiver) 161-1 that performs reception processing and a transmitter (Tx: Transmitter) 162-1 that performs transmission processing, and PHY16-2 performs reception processing. It has a receiving unit (Rx: Receiver) 161-2 and a transmitting unit (Tx: Transmitter) 162-2 that performs transmission processing.
Although the number of terminals connected to the ONU 10-1 in FIG. 1 is two, the number of terminals is not limited to this and may be any number. The ONU10-1 is provided with a physical layer processing unit (PHY) according to the number of terminals. In addition, although FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of ONU10-1 as a representative, ONU10-2 and 10-3 have the same configuration as ONU10-1.
Similar to the conventional PON system, the PON control unit 2 of OLT1 allocates the bandwidth of the uplink data to ONU10-1 to 10-3 so as to give transmission permission so that the transmission time zones do not overlap, and ONU10 Prevents collision of transmitted data from -1 to 10-3. Any method may be used for this band allocation, and for example, "Su-il Choi and Jae-doo," HuhDynamic Bandwidth Allocation Algorithm for Multimedia Services over Ethernet PONs ", ETRI Journal, Volume. The Dynamic Bandwidth Allocation Algorithm described in "24, Number 6, December 2002 p.465 ~ p.466" can be used.
Next, the overall operation of OLT1 and ONU10-1 to 10-3 of this embodiment will be described. The PON control unit 2 stores the downlink data (downlink communication data) received from the network via PHY 7 in the transmission buffer 4. When transmitting data from OLT1, the PON control unit 2 reads the downlink data stored in the transmission buffer 4 and outputs it to the optical transceiver 5, and the Tx52 of the optical transceiver 5 uses the transmitted data as an optical signal. It is output to WDM6, and WDM6 performs wavelength division multiplexing on the optical signal output from the optical transmitter / receiver 5. Then, the optical signal is transmitted to ONU10-1 to 10-3 via the subscriber line 30. Further, when the PON control unit 2 transmits a control message such as a transmission band allocation for transmitting a transmission permission instruction, the control message generated by the PON control unit 2 is output to the optical transmitter / receiver 5. This control message is sent to ONU10-1 to 10-3 in the same way as the downlink data. In the PON system of FIG. 1, WDM6 and 15 are used for wavelength multiplexing, but WDM6 and 15 are not indispensable when communicating with a single wavelength.
In ONU10-1 to 10-3, when a downlink signal is received from OLT1, WDM15 separates the downlink signal and outputs it to the optical transmitter / receiver 14, and Rx142 of the optical transceiver 14 converts the downlink signal into downlink data of an electric signal. And output to the PON control unit 11. The PON control unit 11 stores the downlink data output from Rx142 of the optical transmitter / receiver 14 in the reception buffer 13. The PON control unit 2 reads the downlink data stored in the receive buffer 13 and outputs it to both or one of the PHY 16-1, 16-2 according to the destination of the data. Upon receiving the downlink data, PHY16-1, 16-2 performs a predetermined process on the downlink data and transmits the downlink data to the connected terminals 20-1, 20-2.
On the other hand, when ONU10-1 to 10-3 transmit uplink data, the PON control unit 11 transmits uplink data acquired from terminals 20-1, 20-2 via PHY 16-1, 16-2 as a transmission buffer. Store in 12. Then, the uplink data stored in the transmission buffer is read out based on the transmission band given by OLT1 and output to the optical transmitter / receiver 14. The Tx141 of the optical transmitter / receiver 14 converts the uplink data into an optical signal and transmits it to the OLT1 via the WDM15 and the subscriber line 30.
The PON control unit 2 of OLT1 stores the uplink data received from ONU10-1 to 10-3 via the subscriber line 30, WDM6, and Rx51 of the optical transmitter / receiver 5 in the reception buffer 3. Further, the PON control unit 2 reads the uplink data stored in the receive buffer 3 and outputs the uplink data to the network via PHY7.
On the other hand, when OLT1 transmits a control message, the PON control unit 11 of ONU10-1 to 10-3 receives this message via WDM15 and Rx142 of the optical transmitter / receiver 14, and executes an operation based on the instruction of the control message. , Generate a response to the control message, etc.
Power save operation Next, with reference to FIG. 2, the communication start processing, power save operation, and error detection processing of the activated ONUs 10-1 to 10-3 (hereinafter referred to as ONU10 when one ONU is not specified) will be described.
(S1-2) Unregistered state When the ONU10 is newly connected to the line 30, or when the main unit power is supplied and the ONU10 is newly activated (step S1), the ONU10 receives the signal from the transmitter / receiver 14 until the transmission permission is obtained from the OLT1. Wait without sending (step S2). At this time, ONU10 is not registered as a communication partner in OLT1 and does not have communication parameters such as LLID (Logical Link Identification) necessary for communication. Further, since it is in the unregistered state, no logical link is set in ONU10, and the transmission band of time division multiplex access in uplink communication is not allocated.
(S3-4) Initialization state (Discovery) In order for the unregistered ONU10 to start normal data communication, it must be discovered and registered in OLT1 by the discovery process. OLT1 executes this discovery process periodically or irregularly in order to discover the unregistered ONU10. First, OLT1 is a discovery gate (Discovery) GATE) is multicast. This discovery gate describes the uplink common transmission band (called the discovery window), and ONU10 uses this common transmission band to request registration that records the identification information (source address) of its own device. Send (REGISTER_REQ). Upon receiving the registration request, OLT1 assigns a logical link to the transmission source ONU10, inserts communication parameters such as LLID into the registration signal (REGISTER), and transmits it. In addition, OLT1 transmits a bandwidth allocation signal (GATE) to allocate a separate transmission band to ONU10. Upon receiving the registration signal, ONU10 stores the communication parameters, transmits an acknowledgment signal (REGISTER_ACK) to OLT1 using the allocated band and LLID, and shifts to the registration state (step S4).
(S5-6) Registration status When OLT1 receives the acknowledgment signal (REGISTER_ACK), it adds the ONU10 to the list of registered ONU10s. OLT1 allocates a transmission band to ONU10-1 to 10-3 in the registered state every short cycle called a band update cycle, and notifies each ONU10 of this transmission band using a band allocation signal (GATE or Normal GATE). The transmission band allocation is determined based on the uplink traffic status or request obtained from the transmission band request (REPORT) from each ONU10. The OLT1 transmits a downlink signal (data) by designating the destination information and the LLID, and also receives an uplink signal in the band previously assigned to each ONU10 to transmit and receive data. Such transmission / reception of GATE, REPORT, and data is repeated in a bandwidth update cycle.
When the amount of communication with the ONU10 decreases, or when you want to reduce power consumption such as a power outage or tight power demand during a specific time zone such as midnight (in this invention, the reason for shifting to power saving is not limited to these). OLT1 decides the transition to the power saving state for all ONU10s or individual ONU10s (step S6), and starts communication in the power saving state. The communication in the power saving state will be described later with reference to FIG. In a power-saving state, the ONU 10 reduces the power consumed by the transmitter or receiver by temporarily limiting transmission or reception. On the other hand, ONU10 does not shift to the unregistered state, can maintain a communication link with OLT1 by continuing intermittent communication, and can continue transmission / reception at a low transmission rate.
In the registered state, both OLT1 and ONU10 are constantly monitoring communication failures during transmission and reception (step S7). When an error is detected, ONU10 shifts from the registered state to the unregistered state in order to reset the logical link, and stops transmission using the set communication parameters (step S8). The ONU10 that has transitioned to the non-registered state returns to the registration waiting state by OLT1 as described in step S2 above (step S9).
Errors include LOS (Loss of Signal) due to the watchdog timer and synchronization error. In the case of time division multiple access, if the transmission timing of the signal transmitted by each ONU10 is not accurately observed, the uplink signals will collide with each other and the OLT1 will not be able to receive the signal normally. Therefore, the OLT1 shares the time with each ONU10 and frequently transmits a synchronization signal to synchronize the local time held by the ONU10 with the time of its own device. The synchronization error is an error that is output when the difference between the received time information received by ONU10 and the local time measured by ONU10 exceeds a predetermined threshold value. By detecting a synchronization error and returning to the unregistered state, ONU10 prevents problems such as collision of uplink signals and secures the stability of the entire communication system.
The outline of the communication protocol has been described above, but next, the details of communication and synchronization deviation detection in the power saving state will be described with reference to FIG.
Communication in power saving state (sleep mode) Figure 3 shows the sequence of downlink communication between ONU10 and OLT1 in the registered state (the sequence of uplink communication is omitted in FIG. 3). Under normal communication conditions, OLT1 inserts the allocated transmission band and time information t1 (corresponding to synchronization information) for synchronization into the band allocation signal (GATE) and transmits it to ONU10 (d1). When the ONU10 receives the GATE, it extracts the time information t1 from the received signal and detects the difference from the time measured by its own device (C1). If this difference is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, ONU10 detects the aforementioned synchronization error and transitions to the unregistered state. If the difference is less than a predetermined threshold, ONU10 synchronizes the time of its own device with the time information t1 (Sy1). This synchronization allows the ONU 10 to transmit the uplink signal at a more accurate time. OLT1 and ONU10 repeat the same process every band update cycle (d2, C2, Sy2), and send and receive while always synchronizing. In FIG. 3, Cn represents synchronization shift monitoring, and Syn represents synchronization processing (n is a positive integer).
OLT1 determines whether to allow ONU10 to shift to the power saving state at each band update cycle or at a predetermined timing (step S6). If allowed, OLT1 sends a power saving permit signal to ONU10 (d3). At this time, GATE is also transmitted. Upon receiving the power saving permission signal, the ONU 10 shifts to the power saving state unconditionally or based on its own judgment regarding the transition to the power saving state. For example, the ONU10 can determine whether a reduction in the transmission rate or the occurrence of a delay can be tolerated based on the traffic state, the service content of the link, and the operating state of the terminals 20-1 and 20-2.
Figure 4 shows an example of the power saving permission signal format. This signal has a header in which control information such as destination information is described, an instruction code indicating a power saving permission signal, and information such as a sleep period allowed for ONU10. Pad / Reserved is dummy data described in the remaining area of the frame in order to adjust the signal length, and FCS (Frame Check Sequence) is data for detecting an error in the signal. The power saving permission signal is transmitted by being stored in a MAC (Media Access Control) frame using, for example, an IEEE 802.3av extended OAM (Operation Administration and Maintenance) message. Further, instead of the extended OAM, the power saving permission signal can be created by using the extended MPCP (Multi-Point Control Protocol) message, and the signal format and type of the power saving permission signal are not limited to a specific one.
Upon transition to the power saving state, the ONU10 controls to reduce or reduce the power consumption of transmission processing and / or reception processing to zero. The power consumption can be controlled as shown in the following examples.
[1] Example of power consumption control (power saving control) (a) Shut off or reduce the power supplied to transmitter 141 and / or receiver 142 (b) Stopping power supply to transmit buffer 12 and / or receive buffer 13 and reducing operating frequency (c) Reduction of operating frequency of PON control unit 11, (d) Stopping the function of some electronic components owned by ONU10 such as light emitting elements Each of these controls is an example. In the present invention , any control or means that can reduce power consumption may be used, and the specific means are not limited to the above examples.
Reference numeral D2 in FIG. 3 indicates on (ON) and OFF (OFF) of the power supply of the transmitter 141 and / or the receiver 142. ON (ON) indicates the normal control time, and OFF (OFF) indicates the time during which the power saving control is performed. When the ONU10 shifts to the power saving state, power saving control is performed for a predetermined pause period (sleep period) to reduce power consumption. The sleep period is measured by a timer or the like, and the ONU10 restores its function so that it can transmit and receive in the normal state after the sleep period has elapsed, such as restarting the power supply before the end of the sleep period. During the sleep period, OLT1 does not have to send GATE to ONU10 (d4, d5). For the purpose of continuing downlink communication, OLT1 may also transmit data or GATE to ONU10 during the sleep period.
When the sleep period ends, the ONU10 is ready to send and receive again. OLT1 decides whether to continue permitting the power saving state (step S6d), and if so, sends the power saving permit signal to ONU10 again. When the ONU10 receives the power saving permission signal, it performs power saving control again and enters the power saving state during the sleep period. Although not shown, ONU10 can send a REPORT for the purpose of informing OLT1 of the maintenance of the link.
By repeating such processing many times per second, for example, OLT1 and ONU10 can reduce power consumption while maintaining a communication link. There is a primary startup time between sleep periods, and during the temporary startup time during this sleep mode, it is possible to transmit uplink / downlink signals and continue communication at a low bit rate.
If OLT1 decides not to grant power saving permission to put ONU10 in a fully activated state (step S6f), OLT1 does not send a power saving permission signal to ONU10 after the sleep period, but sends GATE as usual. .. If the ONU10 does not receive the power saving permission signal during the primary startup time, it does not shift to the power saving state and performs power control in the normal state. Therefore, both the transmission function and the reception function are maintained in the active state.
Synchronization deviation detection when using power saving control Next, in power saving control, synchronization shift detection control that is highly effective in maintaining a communication link will be described. According to this control, it is possible to reduce the probability that the communication link is disconnected when the power saving control is used and the ONU10 needs to be re-registered. Re-registration wastes a long time such as the cycle of registration processing (discovery processing), the discovery window set long to prevent signal collision in the shared band, and the time determined by multiple messages required for registration. It ends up. By reducing the probability of occurrence of this re-registration, this communication system can suppress transmission delays and reductions in transmission rate.
The ONU10 measures the local time with its own clock, and the transmission process is performed based on this local time. This local time is frequently modified by time information such as GATE, and ONU10 can operate in synchronization with OLT1 and other ONU10s. During the sleep period, if this synchronization is not performed, the local time may gradually deviate from the OLT1 time. For example, if synchronization is performed at the timing of Sy3 in Fig. 3 and then synchronization processing using the GATE time information is not performed during the sleep period, the local time and GATE time information t6 will be displayed at the temporary startup time after the sleep period. The difference between them becomes large.
Furthermore, since the local time measured by ONU10 is normally synchronized with the phase of the clock signal included in the signal transmitted by OLT1, it is autonomously measured when ONU10 pauses reception. There is a possibility that the error of the local time will increase. Therefore, if the synchronization shift is detected at this timing as in the normal mode, the probability of shifting to the non-registered state increases.
Therefore, ONU10 controls the transition to the non-registration state due to the synchronization shift error after the sleep period. Reference numeral D1 in FIG. 3 indicates the presence / absence and timing of synchronization error detection (more essentially, transition to the unregistered state). The ONU10 normally detects a synchronization error (or a process of shifting to an unregistered state by this detection), while at the timing after the sleep period, it detects a synchronization error (or is unregistered by this detection). (Transition process to state) is temporarily suppressed, and control is performed so that no error is detected or even if it is detected, the state does not shift to the unregistered state. Suppression of synchronization error can be realized not only by processing that does not detect itself, but also by increasing the threshold value of synchronization error detection. That is, ONU10 can also use a process of setting the threshold value used at the end of the sleep period to a value larger than the normal threshold value and widening the allowable range of synchronization deviation as an error detection process. ..
In contrast to the synchronization processing of the synchronization deviation detection, ONU10 performs the synchronization processing of the local time at the temporary startup time after the sleep period (Sy6, Sy9). By this synchronous processing, the REPORT transmission of the temporary start time and the transmission of the uplink data are accurately performed. After the synchronization process is performed at the timing of Sy9, ONU10 releases the suppression of synchronization deviation detection. Therefore, since the synchronization shift detection is performed as usual for the subsequent processing, the synchronization of the entire system is maintained well.
-Processing details of the control device (slave station) Next, the processing of the PON control unit 11 of the ONU 10 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the control for executing the above-mentioned communication sequence. The control of this flowchart can be incorporated into the control device 11 as a program that can be executed by a computer.
The unregistered PON control unit 11 cannot start the communication of the higher-level service unless it is first registered in OLT1. Therefore, the discovery process is performed as described above, and the information of the own device is registered in OLT1 (step S21). Next, the PON control unit 11 performs reception processing of the data received by the optical transmitter / receiver 14 (step S22). Since it is not known when the data addressed to the own device will arrive, the reception process is performed so that there is no omission of data reception except during the sleep period. In the reception process, control signals such as GATE and power saving permission signals, general data, and the like are received.
Next, the PON control unit 11 determines whether or not the processing currently being executed is the processing after the sleep period (step S23). The PON control unit 11 may use a timer to determine the end of the sleep period, but here, the PON control unit 11 makes a determination based on the output suppression / cancellation information of the synchronization error recorded in steps S26 and S34. If it is determined that the sleep period is not over, the PON control unit 11 checks whether a synchronization shift error has occurred based on the time information included in the received signal (step S24). For example, GATE contains time information called a time stamp, and the PON control unit 11 calculates the difference between the time stamp and the local time, and if this difference exceeds the threshold (guardThresholdONU), an error occurs. Output (time stamp drift error). When an error is detected, the PON control unit 11 moves to the process of step S43 and shifts to the non-registered state.
If no error is detected, the PON control unit 11 sets the local time to the time described in the time information and synchronizes it. The order of synchronization and error detection does not have to be this order. If error detection can be performed after synchronization, the PON control unit 11 can also perform synchronization first. However, the comparison standard with the time information is the local time before correction.
Next, the PON control unit 11 performs end processing (or cancellation) of output suppression of the synchronization shift error (step S26). This process is a process performed to reset the output suppression information stored in step S34, which will be described later. After the synchronization process is completed, it is not necessary to tolerate a large synchronization shift after the sleep period. Therefore, the PON control unit 11 resets the output suppression information and changes the control so that the synchronization shift error is detected as usual.
After the synchronization processing is completed, the PON control unit 11 transmits an uplink signal using the transmission band allocated from OLT1 (step S27). When a plurality of transmission bands are allocated, the PON control unit 11 executes transmission processing for each band.
Next, the PON control unit 11 checks whether a power saving permission signal (sleep permission) has been received (step S28). Whether or not the received signal is a power saving permission signal is determined, for example, by whether or not "SLEEP_ALLOW" is described in the instruction code in the case of the signal format shown in FIG. "SLEEP_ALLOW" is a value encoded in a short code, not the character data normally described as it is. Even if the power saving permission is received, the PON control unit 11 may not shift to the power saving state at its own discretion. Therefore, when the power saving permission signal is received and it is determined that the power saving state is to be entered, the PON control unit 11 executes the power saving control starting from step S32. If there is no power saving permission, or if it is determined that the power saving will not be started by itself under the conditions given in advance, the PON control unit 11 determines whether there is a reason for termination of communication such as shutdown. If it does not end, the process returns to step S22 and the transmission / reception process of the next cycle is executed.
Next, the power saving control will be described. The PON control unit 11 determined in step S28 to shift to the power saving state performs power saving control such as stopping transmission and reception and stopping the power supply to the optical transmitter / receiver 14. Here, the transmission and reception functions are stopped, but the PON control unit 11 can also perform power saving control for either function, such as stopping only transmission.
The PON control unit 11 also initializes the sleep timer and starts measuring the sleep period (step S33). Subsequently, the PON control unit 11 performs output suppression processing for a synchronization error (step S34). This output suppression process is executed, for example, by rewriting the output suppression information stored in the memory or the register with a code indicating "suppression". Next, the PON control unit 11 monitors the sleep timer and waits until the sleep period expires. At this time, communication with terminals 20-1 and 20-2 can be continued, and when data is received, the data is stored in the reception buffer 13 until the next transmission band is allocated. When the receive buffer 13 is in the stopped / low power state, it is activated to store data in the receive buffer 13.
Immediately before the end of the sleep period, the PON control unit 11 releases the power saving control in step S32 and controls the transmitter / receiver 14 and the like to supply the normal power (step S36). When this process is completed, the PON control unit 11 proceeds to step S29 and transmits / receives the next cycle in the normal mode.
Step S43 is a process of shifting the ONU 10 from the registered state to the unregistered state. When the PON control unit 11 detects a synchronization error while the output of the synchronization error is not suppressed, the PON control unit 11 invalidates the setting information related to the link, stops transmission, and shifts to the non-registration state. The unregistered ONU10 is in a standby state until it is re-registered with OLT1 by the discovery process as described above. Although not shown, ONU10 may transition to the unregistered state by itself due to other errors or other given conditions.
As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to reduce the link breakage due to the synchronization shift during power saving and the transition to the unregistered state of the slave station, so that the efficiency of communication using the power saving function can be improved. Can be enhanced. Further, the communication system of this embodiment has an advantage that a delay in data transmission due to re-registration can be suppressed.
The permissible value of synchronization deviation allowed by wideband communication is an extremely small value. In Ethernet (registered trademark), the permissible value of frequency deviation is +/- 100 [ppm], so it varies depending on various conditions, but for example, reception processing and synchronization processing are suspended even for a short time such as 10 [ms]. Then, a synchronization error may occur after returning from the power saving state, and it may be necessary to re-register the ONU10. In this embodiment, more stable communication can be realized even in such a communication system.
Embodiment 2 Next, a communication system in which the slave station can select the power saving mode will be described. FIG. 6 shows the communication sequence of the second embodiment. In FIG. 6, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 3 represent the same or corresponding parts.
In Figure 6, the SLEEP_ALLOW message is used as the power saving permission signal (see d3), and SLEEP_ALLOW specifies the power saving mode parameters allowed by OLT1. This power saving mode is, for example, as follows.
[2] Power saving mode (Tx): Tx Sleep By limiting the functions related to transmission such as stopping transmission, the power used for transmission is reduced. (TRx): TRx Sleep By limiting transmission and reception functions such as stopping transmission and reception, the power used for transmission and reception is reduced. (Rx): Rx Sleep By limiting the reception function such as stopping reception, the power used for reception is reduced.
OLT1 determines the permission mode based on the traffic conditions of up and / and down (steps S6, S6d). The permitted power saving mode may be determined by any determination standard as long as it is determined based on the conditions given in advance. Therefore, in this embodiment, the judgment criteria are not limited to specific criteria. The selection criteria of the permission mode are illustrated below.
[3] Example of permission mode selection criteria (a) Amount of ascending / descending traffic of the ONU10: When it is less than the threshold value, power saving is started. Data storage amount in the send / receive buffer Past statistics (b) Contents of contracts with users and services provided to ONU10 Business / Personal (TRx, Rx prohibited for business, all modes allowed for personal) Low latency service / Delay tolerant service (Low latency service is allowed only for Tx) Guaranteed bandwidth (c) Correspondence information of power saving function acquired from ONU10 by discovery processing (d) Time zone (allow mode is set for each time zone)
The SLEEP_ALLOW message can specify one or more power saving modes. In the example of FIG. 6, OLT1 specifies two power saving modes, Tx Sleep and TRx Sleep, as the permission mode, inserts the permission mode information in the SLEEP_ALLOW message, and sends it to ONU10. Upon receiving the SLEEP_ALLOW message, ONU10 selects the power saving mode to be used from the permission mode and performs power control (steps S6c and S6e). The ONU10 also transmits an acknowledgment signal (SLEEP_ACK) that specifies the selected power saving mode to the OLT1.
ONU10 selects the power saving mode to be used from the permitted modes based on the following conditions and the like. The power saving mode selected by the ONU 10 may be determined by any criterion as long as it is determined based on the conditions given in advance. Therefore, in this embodiment, the judgment criteria are not limited to specific criteria.
[4] Example of power saving mode selection conditions (a) Types of terminals 20-1, 20-2 / startup state / operation state Select Tx for terminals that require low latency. Select Tx when the terminal is running and TRx when it is stopped. Select TRx for terminals that have not been accessed for a certain period of time. Select Tx if there is some access. (b) Up and down traffic situation, Select Tx when the upstream traffic is less than the threshold value. (c) Occupied state of transmit or receive buffer, When the data occupancy of the buffer is less than the threshold value, the function in the direction is changed to power saving. (d) Information on the power saving mode supported by the own device, (e) Changes in the operating environment of the ONU10 such as a power outage (ONUs equipped with batteries can continue to operate using the power of the batteries in the event of a power outage)
When the OLT1 receives the SLEEP_ACK message, it knows that the ONU10 has shifted to the power saving mode, so it can go up to the ONU10 and allocate the downlink band according to this power saving mode. For example, in the case of Tx Sleep, ONU10 can receive, so downlink data transmission can be continued as usual. In addition, the transmission band can be allocated in advance and notified using GATE so that the ONU10 can transmit the uplink data generated during the sleep period.
In the case of TRx Sleep, OLT1 does not transmit downlink data, and by allocating a large amount of transmission band to other ONU10s, it is possible to reduce the waste of bandwidth. Also, since it can be assumed that the ONU10 does not receive the GATE, the OLT1 can not allocate the transmission band to the ONU10 during the sleep period (in case the ONU10 starts receiving in the middle of the sleep period, in case the ONU10 starts receiving). It is also possible to allocate transmission bandwidth).
Even when the communication protocol as described above is used, the synchronization deviation detection, that is, the control of the time stamp drift error works effectively. ONU10 suppresses the transition to the unregistered state due to a time stamp drift error during the temporary startup time in sleep mode, and prevents communication interruption. Since the power saving mode selection result is transmitted at the correct transmission timing by the synchronized local time, the communication during power saving is continued normally.
Message format Figure 7 is an example of the GATE message format and shows the GATE frame of the MPC PDU (Multi-Point Control Protocol Data Unit). The GATE message has a code indicating GATE as an opcode, and delivers 32-bit transmission time data as a time stamp to ONU10. In addition, OLT1 can specify multiple transmission bands (grant) in the GATE message and allow ONU10 to have multiple transmission bands.
FIG. 8 shows an example of the SLEEP_ALLOW message format. The description of the sleep period is optional. Without entering the sleep period in each SLEEP_ALLOW message, OLT1 and ONU10 can negotiate the sleep period at the time of discovery, etc., and both parties can use the sleep period determined in advance by this negotiation.
The permitted power saving modes are specified in the Tx Sleep permission column and the TRx Sleep permission column. Although not shown, it is possible to provide an Rx Sleep permission field in the message, or a single field may be provided without separating the fields for each mode. In this case, a code that can identify a combination of multiple authorization modes is entered in that one column.
FIG. 9 shows an example of the SLEEP_ACK message format. ONU10 describes the selected sleep mode in the sleep mode field and sends it to OLT1. If the power saving state is not changed or the power saving state is canceled, ONU10 writes a code indicating "awake" in this sleep mode column and notifies OLT1.
Needless to say, names other than GATE, SLEEP_ALLOW, and SLEEP_ACK can be used as signal names. For the sleep permission signal and the acknowledgment signal, an extended OAM message such as IEEE 802.3av can be used, or an extended MPCP message or another control signal can be used.
·Control device FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the PON control unit 11 of the ONU. The PON control unit 11 is, for example, a control device capable of controlling communication by IEEE 802.3, IEEE 802.3av or a successor communication protocol. The communication protocol handled by the PON control unit 11 is not limited to IEEE 802.3av or the like. The controller 11a reads the instruction of the program stored in the memory 11f, inputs / outputs signals according to this instruction, and controls each configuration. The memory 11f stores programs, communication parameters, and capability information of the own device (for example, the time required to start the transmitter, the sleep mode that can be executed), and the like.
The PON clock 11b measures the local time while following the clock included in the received signal (for example, in synchronization with the phase change of the clock signal that changes periodically), and the controller 11a determines the transmission / reception timing. Supply (local time). Since the local time of the PON clock 11b needs to be strictly synchronized with the OLT1, the controller 11a modifies the local time of the PON clock 11b using the time stamp received from the OLT1 periodically or irregularly. This process is a synchronous process. The synchronization shift monitoring unit 11c compares the local time with the time stamp of the received signal, monitors the presence or absence of a synchronization deviation error (time stamp drift error), and notifies the controller 11a of an alarm.
The sleep timer 11e is a timer that measures the sleep period. The sleep period is specified by the information contained in the power saving permission signal received by ONU10, the value negotiated with OLT1 in advance, the default value set in advance, and the like. When the sleep timer 11e receives the power saving permission signal, it measures the passage of the sleep period and outputs a signal notifying the expiration of the sleep period. The power saving control unit 11d controls the power consumption of the Tx141, Rx142, the transmission buffer 12, and / or the reception buffer 13 of the transmitter / receiver 14. The power saving control unit 11d controls the power saving according to the instruction of the controller 11a and the measurement time of the sleep timer 11e. The functions of the synchronization shift monitoring unit 11c, the power saving control unit 11d, and the sleep timer 11e can also be built into the controller 11a.
The synchronization shift monitoring unit 11c outputs an alarm to the controller 11c when it detects a synchronization deviation error. This alarm is used for the transition to the unregistered state. The controller 11c controls the synchronization shift monitoring unit 11c so as to suppress the alarm output in conjunction with the power saving operation. The same purpose can be achieved even if the controller 11a does not output the alarm suppression signal to the synchronization shift monitoring unit 11c and does not shift to the non-registration state under predetermined conditions even if the alarm is received. ..
Operation of control device Next, the operation of the PON control unit 11 as an example of the control device will be described with reference to FIG. The PON control unit 11 is a control device incorporated in the PON interface and is an IC chip processor (the same applies to the PON control unit 2). The process shown in FIG. 11 is stored in the memory as a program that can be executed by a computer. In FIG. 11, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 5 indicate the same or equivalent processing.
The ONU10 of this embodiment can select the power saving mode to be used from the power saving modes permitted by OLT1. When the transition to the power saving state is determined in step S28, the PON control unit 11 extracts the permission mode from the power saving permission signal (SLEEP_ALLOW message) and sets the mode to be used as the above-mentioned [4] power saving mode selection condition or the like. Select based on (step S30). Next, the PON control unit 11 writes the code corresponding to the selected power saving mode in an acknowledgment (SLEEP_ACK message) and sends it to OLT1.
Subsequently, the following control is performed based on the selected power saving mode. When power saving control is performed for both the transmission function and the reception function (step S32), for example, a control signal for stopping the power supply of the light emitting elements and the reception elements of Tx141 and Rx142 is output to the transmitter / receiver 14. When the transmitter / receiver 14 receives this control signal, it stops supplying power to the power supply line connected to each element. As described in the first embodiment, other controls are also effective for power saving of the ONU 10. Examples of other controls include control that reduces power consumption of other elements such as the receive buffer 13, and lowering the operating frequency as well as stopping the power supply.
In addition, the PON control unit 11 starts measuring the sleep period by the sleep timer 11e. When the SLEEP_ALLOW message describes the start time and length of the sleep period, the sleep timer 11e can measure the sleep period by matching the measurement start timing with the start time. Hereinafter, as described with reference to FIG. 5, the PON control unit 11 stands by in a power-saving state until the sleep period expires.
When Tx Sleep, that is, the power saving mode in which only the transmitting function is set to the power saving state and the receiving function is maintained, is selected as the power saving mode, the PON control unit 11 selects circuits and parts related to the transmission function to save power. Power control is performed (step S37). Further, the PON control unit 11 starts measuring the sleep period by the sleep timer 11e in the same manner as in step S33 (step S38).
In this mode, since the Rx 142 and the receive buffer 13 are operating during the sleep period, the PON control unit 11 can perform the downlink signal reception processing (step S39). Subsequently, the PON control unit 11 performs synchronization processing based on the synchronization deviation detection and the received signal (steps S40 and S41). Since transmission is suppressed during the sleep period, this synchronization shift detection is not a control that must be performed. That is, this detection is a control that is selectively adopted according to the design. Therefore, in this step, the PON control unit 11 can also perform the synchronization shift error suppression process in the same manner as in step S34.
When the synchronization process is completed, the PON control unit 11 determines whether the sleep period expires (step S42), and continues the reception process of steps S39 to S41 until the end. When it is determined that the sleep period has expired, the PON control unit 11 stops the power saving control and supplies power to the transmission function and the reception function as usual (step S36). Then, the PON control unit 11 shifts to the transmission / reception processing of steps S22 to S29.
Embodiment 3 Next, an embodiment in which the slave station requests a transition to a power saving state will be described. In the communication sequence of FIG. 6, the start point of the sequence for shifting to the power saving state is on the master station (OLT1) side. On the other hand, the communication system of this embodiment executes a communication sequence in which the slave station (ONU10) starts the power saving sequence as shown in FIG.
Depending on the usage status of ONU10, ONU10 may want to actively request the transition to the power saving state. These include, for example, hibernation instructions from ONU10 users, terminal operating conditions such as terminals 20-1 and 20-2 connected to ONU10 being stopped, and power outages occurring in areas where ONU10 is installed. Is. The conditions under which the ONU 10 shifts to the power saving state include, for example, a wide variety of conditions similar to the above-mentioned [4] Power saving state selection condition examples (a) to (e), and are not limited to specific conditions.
In step S6a of FIG. 12, ONU10 determines the transition to the power saving state and transmits a request signal (SLEEP_indication_notification message) using the transmission band given by OLT1. FIG. 13 shows an example of the format of this request signal. The format of this request signal may be changed so that one or more power saving mode codes to be requested can be specified. In this case, ONU10 can specify in advance the power saving mode permitted by OLT1.
FIG. 14 shows the processing of the control device of the ONU 10 when transmitting the request signal. In the process shown in step S6a, the registered ONU10 determines whether to output the request signal as described above, and transmits the request signal using the upstream transmission band.
Upon receiving this request signal, the OLT1 decides in step S6b whether to grant the ONU10 a power saving permit. If it is determined that the power saving permission is given, OLT1 sends a power saving permission signal (SLEEP_ALLOW). For example, if the transition permission condition when the request signal is received is relaxed so that the transition to the power saving state can be easily performed as compared with the normal time, this communication system can execute the power saving control adapted to the actual demand. In addition, when the power saving permission is decided by OLT1 on a regular basis, it is possible to issue the power saving permission to ONU10 which received the request signal at an early stage.
Note that a name other than SLEEP_indication_notification can be used as the signal name of the request signal. Also, extended OAM messages, extended MPCP messages, or other control signals can be used as request signals.
Embodiment 4 Next, an embodiment in which the suppression control of the synchronization shift error is performed from the sleep period to a predetermined period will be described. In the first embodiment, the ONU10 performs the synchronization processing after the sleep period, and then performs the synchronization release processing of the synchronization deviation error (see steps S25 and S26 in FIG. 5). In addition to such control, any method can be used as long as the control can prevent the ONU10 from becoming unregistered due to the synchronization problem after the sleep period.
FIGS. 15 and 16 show a control method in which the end timing of the suppression control is when a certain time T has elapsed immediately after the end of the sleep period. In FIG. 15, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 3 represent the same or corresponding parts, and in FIG. 16, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 6 represent the same or corresponding parts. Needless to say, the same processing can be applied to the communication sequence of FIG.
The suppression time T immediately after the end of the sleep period is a time during which the transition to the non-registration state due to a synchronization shift error can be suppressed, and a time during which communication in the non-power saving state does not cause a large synchronization problem is set.
Suppression control measurement is performed, for example, by starting time counting by a timer at the start of a sleep period, and designing the timer to expire when the length of the sleep period + suppression time T elapses from the start of this time measurement. Can be executed. The measurement of this time is not limited to this method, and may be a method in which the measurement is started when the timer ends the sleep period, and the timer expires when the suppression time T elapses. Moreover, any measurement method may be used as long as the same result can be obtained. The timer may be a dedicated timer for synchronization shift suppression control, or may be a timer that is also used as another timer. It is also possible to set the suppression time T to the band update cycle after the sleep period.
FIG. 17 shows a flowchart of a control device that performs the above processing. In FIG. 17, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 5, FIG. 11 or FIG. 14 indicate the same or equivalent processing. In step S23a of FIG. 17, the PON control unit 11 detects whether or not the suppression time T has elapsed immediately after the end of the sleep period, for example, by the timer described above. Before the elapse of this period, that is, when the current time is in the suppression period, the PON control unit 11 skips the synchronization deviation detection process in step S24 and proceeds to step S25. If it is outside the suppression period, the PON control unit 11 performs a synchronization shift detection process (step S24).
Note that step S50 is a sleep process, which is the same process as steps S30 to S42 of FIGS. 5, 11 or 14. Further, in the process of FIG. 17, since the synchronization error output suppression end process (step S26) of FIG. 5, FIG. 11 or FIG. 14 is omitted, the corresponding synchronization error output suppression start process (step S26) of FIG. Step S34) can also be omitted.
The embodiments of the present invention have been described above. The present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and any modification may be made as long as it is included in the gist of the present invention. For example, the communication system to which this communication method is applied does not have to be a PON system. It can also be applied to an optical communication system using an active element. Further, it can be applied not only to optical communication but also to a communication system in which terminals communicate with each other using an electric signal.
The present invention is suitable for communication methods and communication systems that require power saving.
1 OLT 2 PON control unit 3,13 Receive buffer 4,12 transmit buffer 5,14 Optical transmitter / receiver 6 WDM 7 PHY 10-1 ~ 10-3 ONU 11 PON control unit 20-1,20-2 terminal 30 Local Loop 40 splitter 51,142,161-1,161-2 Rx 52,141,162-1,162-2 Tx
Every citation, both ways
| Document | Relation | Office | Cited during |
|---|---|---|---|
| JP2006041807A | Cites | Japan | Search report |
| JP2009260970A | Cites | Japan | Search report |
| JP2010114830A | Cites | Japan | Search report |
| JP2010213259A | Cites | Japan | Search report |
| JP2010239278A | Cites | Japan | Search report |
| JP2010114830A | Cites | Japan | – |
| JP2006041807A | Cites | Japan | – |
| JP2010213259A | Cites | Japan | – |
| JP2009260970A | Cites | Japan | – |
| JP2010239278A | Cites | Japan | – |
10 members in 5 offices
Priority claims4
| Document | Office | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010007128 | Japan | W | |
| 2010007128 | Japan | W | |
| 2010007128 | – | – | – |
| WO2010JP07128 | – | – | – |
Members10
| Document | Office | Kind | |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2012077161A1 | World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) | A1 | |
| CN102870393A | China | A | |
| US2013045005A1 | United States of America | A1 | |
| JP5226901B2This record | Japan | B2 | |
| EP2615800A1 | European Patent Office (EPO) | A1 | |
| US8565601B2 | United States of America | B2 | |
| EP2615800A4 | European Patent Office (EPO) | A4 | |
| JPWO2012077161A1 | Japan | A1 | |
| CN102870393B | China | B | |
| EP2615800B1 | European Patent Office (EPO) | B1 |
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Numbers
- Publication
- 5226901
- Publication, DOCDB
- 5226901
- Publication, EPODOC
- JP5226901B
- Application
- 2012547600
- Application, DOCDB
- 2012547600
- Application, EPODOC
- JP20120547600
Titles2
- Japanese
- 光通信システムの通信方法、光通信システム、子局装置、制御装置並びにプログラム
- English
- Communication method of optical communication system, optical communication system, slave station device, control device and program
Classification
- CPC, 7
- H04Q11/0067
- H04B10/272
- H04Q2011/0079
- H04Q2011/0083
- H04Q2011/0088
- H04J3/0694
- H04J3/14
- IPC, 3
- H04L29 08
- H04L12 44
- H04L29 00