JP7343200B2 - Base station equipment, control method and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a base station device, a control method, and a program.

Patent Document 1 discloses an optical transmission device mounting a removable optical module. This optical transmission device has an authentication rank table that holds optical module information of a plurality of optical modules and ranks of the device guarantee range. When an optical module is installed in optical transmission equipment, the certification rank table is referred to based on the optical module information held by the optical module, and the equipment warranty range of the installed optical module is ranked, and whether or not it can be operated is determined. is making a judgment.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-96640

The ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) method was once the mainstream communication method for 3G base stations, but in recent years the Ethernet (registered trademark) method has become the mainstream for 4G base stations, and the same will apply to 5G base stations in the future. I can say that. In both the ATM system and the Ethernet system, physical interfaces (hereinafter referred to as I/Fs) include optical I/Fs and metal I/Fs.

Because these transfer speeds and the physical standards of devices and the like also differed, packages (hereinafter referred to as cards) mounted on base station devices have been developed separately for each I/F. Therefore, every time the I/F connecting the base station device and its host device changes, it is necessary to replace the card in the base station device. Additionally, developing multiple cards required development costs, operational costs, and card management.

Since the fourth generation mobile communication system, an optical I/F has become the mainstream I/F of a transmission line (hereinafter referred to as a backhaul) connecting a base station device and its higher-level device. In the future, it is thought that 10 Gbps and 25 Gbps will become mainstream for Ethernet transfer speeds toward the 5th generation mobile communication system. However, if the transfer speeds differ, it becomes necessary to develop a card for each optical I/F of each transfer speed.

In Patent Document 1, when a removable optical module is mounted, it is determined whether or not it can be operated based on optical module information held by the optical module. However, Patent Document 1 does not mention the necessity of card exchange in the base station device.

In view of the above-mentioned problems, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a base station device, a control method, and a program that can switch the optical I/F of a base station device without replacing cards in the base station device. be.

A base station device according to one aspect is a base station device including a network card that realizes an optical interface that is compatible with a transmission path between the base station device and the higher-level device, and the base station device includes an optical interface between the base station device and the higher-level device. a line information acquisition unit that acquires line configuration information regarding interface settings; a type information acquisition unit that acquires type information of an insertable/removable optical module installed in the base station device; and the line configuration information and the type information. and an optical module control section that turns on optical transmission and reception of the optical module when the line setting information and the type information match.

A control method according to one aspect includes setting an optical interface between the base station device and the higher-level device in a base station device equipped with a network card that realizes an optical interface compatible with a transmission path between the base station device and the higher-level device. obtain line setting information for the base station apparatus, obtain type information of an insertable/removable optical module installed in the base station apparatus, compare the line setting information with the type information, and compare the line setting information with the type information. If they match, optical transmission and reception of the optical module is turned on.

A program according to one aspect provides line settings regarding settings of an optical interface between a base station device and a higher-level device in a base station device equipped with a network card that implements an optical interface compatible with a transmission path between the base station device and a higher-level device. a process of acquiring information; a process of acquiring type information of an insertable/removable optical module installed in the base station apparatus; a process of comparing the line setting information with the type information; and a process of comparing the line setting information with the type information. If the type information matches, the computer is caused to execute a process of turning on optical transmission and reception of the optical module.

According to the embodiment, it is possible to switch the optical I/F of the base station device without replacing cards in the base station device.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a base station device according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a base station device according to an embodiment. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a card processing section in FIG. 2. FIG. FIG. 2 is a flow diagram for explaining a control method according to an embodiment.

Hereinafter, specific embodiments to which the present invention is applied will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments. Further, for clarity of explanation, the following description and drawings have been simplified as appropriate. In each drawing, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and explanations are omitted as appropriate.

The base station device according to the embodiment includes a network card that implements an optical interface (I/F) that is compatible with a transmission path (backhaul) between the base station device and a host device connected thereto. Since the 4th generation mobile communication system, optical I/F has become the mainstream for backhaul I/F. Furthermore, it is thought that 10 Gbps and 25 Gbps will become mainstream for Ethernet transfer speeds toward the fifth generation mobile communication system.

SFP (small form factor pluggable) + optical modules of 10 GbE (Giga bit Ethernet) standard and SFP28 optical modules of 25 GbE standard are commercially available. These optical modules are configured to be insertable and removable into ports of a network card, and realize an optical I/F of a base station device.

The SFP+ optical module and the SFP28 optical module have a common connector shape and are compatible in fitting. Further, the signal line between these optical modules and the controller side (L2SW or PHY device) is also common. Therefore, the present inventor devised a technique that enables switching of optical I/Fs without replacing cards by replacing optical modules.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a base station device 10 according to an embodiment. The base station device 10 includes a line information acquisition section 11 , a type information acquisition section 12 , a type information verification section 13 , and an optical module control section 14 . The line information acquisition unit 11 acquires line setting information regarding the setting of an optical interface between the base station device 10 and its higher-level device.

The type information acquisition unit 12 acquires type information of a removable optical module installed in the base station device 10. The type information collation unit 13 collates the acquired line setting information and type information. If the line setting information and type information match, the optical module control unit 14 turns on optical transmission and reception of the optical module. Thereby, it becomes possible to realize an optical interface between the base station device 10 and its host device using the optical module mounted on the base station device 10 without exchanging cards.

Next, a base station device 10 according to a specific example will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the base station device 10 according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the card processing section in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 2, base station device 10 includes a card processing section 20. As shown in FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the base station device 10 is equipped with two removable first optical modules 31 and two second optical modules 32.

The first optical module 31 and the second optical module 32 are, for example, SPF+ optical modules of 10GbE standards such as 10GBASE-SR and 10GBASE-LR defined in IEEE802.3, and 25GbE standard modules such as 25GBASE-SR and 25GBASE-LR. An example of this is an SPF28 optical module. Note that although two optical modules are installed in the base station device 10 here, the number of optical modules installed is not limited.

The card processing unit 20 processes a card (not shown) operating in the base station device 10. The card processing section 20 includes an optical module monitoring/control section 21 . The optical module monitoring/control unit 21 is connected to the first optical module 31 and the second optical module 32 via, for example, an IC2 bus. Although not shown here, the base station device 10 includes a CPU that controls the card processing unit 20 and serves as a master of the I2C bus. Further, as devices that actually communicate with the first optical module 31 and the second optical module 32, there are, for example, an L2SW and a PHY device.

As shown in FIG. 3, the optical module monitoring/control unit 21 includes the line information acquisition unit 11, type information acquisition unit 12, type information collation unit 13, and optical module control unit 14, which were explained in FIG. It further includes an information acquisition section 15, a product name information collation section 16, and an optical module monitoring section 17.

The base station device 10 performs optical I/F switching in the following cases (1) to (4).
(1) When the physical rate of the physical I/F with the host device is changed (for example, when the transfer speed is changed from 10 Gbps to 25 Gbps)
(2) If the physical rate of the physical I/F with the host device is not changed, but the Range type is changed (for example, from 10GBASE-SR to 10GBASE-LR, or from 25GBASE-SR to 25GBASE- (If changed to LR)
(3) When the optical module is replaced (4) When the optical module is inserted or removed

In the following explanation, we will explain an example of switching the optical I/F of the base station device by replacing the optical module when the backhaul line setting information (physical rate, etc.) of the base station device is changed. . Typically, the base station device 10 is equipped with an optical module of a type that matches the backhaul line setting information. At this time, the type of optical module is confirmed as described below, and operation of the base station apparatus 10 is started.

The line information acquisition unit 11 acquires backhaul line setting information (transfer rate, etc.) of the base station device. This line setting information is stored, for example, in a non-volatile memory (not shown) within the base station device 10. The line information acquisition unit 11 acquires line setting information such as whether to use the backhaul transmission line at 10 Gbps or 25 Gbps from the nonvolatile memory.

The type information acquisition unit 12 reads, for example, the type information of the optical module stored in an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory) in the optical module via the I2C bus. The type information includes whether the optical module supports 10GbE or 25GbE, and whether it is an SR product or an LR product.

The type information collation unit 13 collates the line setting information and the type information of the optical module. If the line setting information and type information match, communication with the controller side (L2SW or PHY device) is possible. Therefore, the optical module control unit 14 can turn on optical transmission from the optical module. Note that if the line setting information and type information do not match, communication is not possible, so optical transmission from the optical module is turned off.

The product name information acquisition unit 15 obtains product name information of the first optical module 31 and the second optical module 32, which are stored in the EEPROM in the optical module, for example. In the base station device 10, the product name (registered product name information) of an optical module whose operation is guaranteed is registered in advance in a nonvolatile memory, for example. The product name information matching unit 16 reads registered product name information from the nonvolatile memory and matches it with the acquired product name information.

The optical module control unit 14 can turn on optical transmission from the optical module when the line setting information and type information match, and further when the product name information and registered product name information match. Note that if the product name information and the registered product name information do not match, communication may be possible although operation is not guaranteed. In this case, the optical module control unit 14 turns on the optical transmission and reception of the optical module and determines that the product name is abnormal.

The optical module monitoring unit 17 monitors whether communication is possible with the mounted optical module, whether there is an abnormality in the product name, and whether the optical module is inserted or removed. As described above, if the line setting information and type information do not match, communication is not possible, so the optical module monitoring section 17 can issue an alarm notification. Further, when the line setting information and the type information match, the optical module monitoring unit 17 can issue an error notification if the product name information and the registered product name information do not match, because the product name is abnormal. Further, if the optical module is not installed, communication is not possible, so alarm notification can be performed. Note that the alarm notification and the error notification may have different notification displays and notification sounds.

Here, with reference to FIG. 4, a method of controlling the base station apparatus 10 according to the embodiment will be described. FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of controlling the base station device 10 according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, first, it is determined whether an optical module is installed in the base station device 10 (step S10). The optical module monitoring section 17 receives a mounting detection signal indicating whether the first optical module 31 and the second optical module 32 are mounted/unmounted.

If the optical module is not mounted (step S10 NO), the optical module monitoring section 17 issues an alarm notification (step S18), and the optical module control section 14 turns off the optical transmission of the optical module. Note that the processes in step S18 and step S19 may be executed simultaneously.

If the optical module is installed (step S10 YES), the line information acquisition unit 11 acquires line setting information for determining whether the installed optical module can be used as an optical I/F. Next, the type information acquisition unit 12 acquires type information from the first optical module 31 and the second optical module 32 via the I2C bus (step S12).

Then, the type information collation unit 13 collates the line setting information acquired by the line information acquisition unit 11 and the type information acquired by the type information acquisition unit 12 (step S13). If the line setting information and the type information do not match (step S13 NO), the base station device 10 cannot be operated, so the optical module monitoring unit 17 issues an alarm notification (step S18) and controls the optical module. The unit 14 turns off the optical transmission of the optical module.

If the line setting information and type information match (step S13 YES), it is possible to operate the base station device 10, so the process advances to step S14. In step S14, the product name information acquisition unit 15 obtains product name information from the first optical module 31 and the second optical module 32 via the I2C bus.

Then, the product name information collation unit 16 collates the product name information acquired by the product name information acquisition unit 15 with the registered product name information of optical modules registered in advance and whose operation is guaranteed (step S15). If the acquired product name information and the registered product name information match (step S15 YES), optical transmission of the optical module is turned on (step S16). Thereby, the operation of the base station device 10 can be started in a state where the operation of the optical module mounted on the base station device 10 is guaranteed.

If the acquired product name information and the registered product name information do not match (step S15 NO), the optical module monitoring unit 17 detects the product name abnormality, since communication may be possible although operation is not guaranteed. At the same time as giving an error notification (step S17), the optical module control unit 14 turns on optical transmission of the optical module (step S16).

Note that the optical module control section 14 can also omit the processing of steps 14 to S15 and turn on the optical transmission of the optical module when the line setting information and the type information match.

Furthermore, if the optical module monitoring section 17 detects that an optical module is not mounted after the base station apparatus 10 starts operating, the optical module monitoring section 17 can issue an alarm notification and stop the operation. Then, after the optical module monitoring unit 17 detects the mounting of the optical module, the process can be executed again starting from acquiring the optical module type information in step S11.

When it is desired to change the optical I/F of the base station device 10 from the 10GbE standard to the 25GbE standard, for example, the line setting information of the base station device 10 can be changed and an optical module corresponding to the port of the card can be inserted. According to the embodiment, the card installed in the base station device 10 is read out from the type information in the installed optical module and determines whether an optical module of the same type as the line setting information is installed. The optical I/F of the base station device 10 can be switched without changing the optical I/F of the base station device 10.

Further, if an optical module of a type that does not match the line setting information of the base station device is installed, communication with the L2SW or PHY device will not be possible, and the optical I/F will not function. In this case, by turning off the optical transmission of the optical module and issuing an alarm notification, it is possible to notify the necessity of changing the optical module.

Furthermore, among the many commercially available optical modules, if an unevaluated optical module is installed in the base station device, communication is generally possible if the standards match, but there is a possibility that communication will not be possible. For this reason, in the embodiment, it is determined whether an optical module with a product name registered in advance is mounted. As a result, if an optical module whose operation is guaranteed is not installed in the base station device 10, an error notification can be sent to prompt the base station device to confirm whether or not communication is possible.

In addition, if an optical module is removed during operation of the base station equipment and becomes uninstalled, an alarm notification will be sent, and after the optical module is installed again, the type of optical module will be matched and the operation will be guaranteed. It can be determined whether the target is In this way, in the embodiment, similar processing can be executed not only when starting up the base station apparatus, but also when exchanging optical modules during operation of the base station apparatus.

In this way, by only changing the line setting information of the base station device and replacing the optical module, it is possible to switch the optical I/F of the card without changing the card installed in the base station device 10. As a result, development costs and operational costs can be reduced.

In the above description, the SFP+ optical module of 10GbE standard and the SFP28 optical module of 25GbE standard have been described, but the same process can be applied to replacement with, for example, an SFP optical module of 1GbE standard.

Note that each element described in the drawings as a functional block that performs the various processes described above can be configured with a CPU, memory, and other lines in terms of hardware. Moreover, the present invention can also realize arbitrary processing by causing a CPU (Central Processing Unit) to execute a computer program. Therefore, those skilled in the art will understand that these functional blocks can be implemented in various ways using only hardware, only software, or a combination thereof, and are not limited to either.

The program includes instructions (or software code) that, when loaded into a computer, cause the computer to perform one or more of the functions described in the embodiments. The program may be stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium or a tangible storage medium. By way of example and not limitation, computer readable or tangible storage media may include random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, solid-state drive (SSD) or other memory technology, CD -Includes ROM, digital versatile disc (DVD), Blu-ray disc or other optical disc storage, magnetic cassette, magnetic tape, magnetic disc storage or other magnetic storage device. The program may be transmitted on a transitory computer-readable medium or a communication medium. By way of example and not limitation, transitory computer-readable or communication media includes electrical, optical, acoustic, or other forms of propagating signals.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit. For example, in the above embodiment, an example was explained in which the optical I/F of the base station device is switched by replacing the optical module when the backhaul line setting information of the base station device is changed. but not limited to.

For example, if it is possible to dynamically change the line settings of the base station equipment (that is, if it is possible to dynamically change the L2SW or PHY device without rebooting), the line setting information and type information can be It is possible to change the line settings of the base station device according to the type information of the installed optical module without performing ALM notification and turning off the optical transmission of the optical module due to a mismatch.

In addition, in the above example, an example of replacing a 10GbE standard optical module with a 25GbE standard optical module was described, but although the transfer speed is the same, such as 10GBASE-SR and 10GBASE-LR, 25GBASE-SR and 25GBASE-LR, etc. , types of optical modules with different distance ranges can also be determined. Note that SR products and LR products handle different wavelengths of light, so if the base station device is in SR mode, an SR type optical module is installed, and if it is in LR mode, an LR type optical module is installed, and the corresponding optical cable is installed. It is necessary to use

Further, in the embodiment, the type information and product name information are acquired from the EEPROM in the optical module, but it can also be applied to switching the optical I/F and determining operation guarantee based on other information. By simply replacing different types of optical modules that have a common physical I/F such as a common connector and common signal line, and changing the settings of the base station equipment, you can reduce card development costs and operation costs. It is possible to operate base station equipment.

10 Base station device 11 Line information acquisition unit 12 Type information acquisition unit 13 Type information verification unit 14 Optical module control unit 15 Product name information acquisition unit 16 Product name information verification unit 17 Optical module monitoring unit 20 Card processing unit 21 Optical module monitoring/control unit 31 First optical module 32 Second optical module

Claims (7)

A base station device comprising a network card that realizes an optical interface compatible with a transmission path between a base station device and a host device,
a line information acquisition unit that acquires line setting information regarding the setting of an optical interface between the base station device and the higher-level device;
a type information acquisition unit that acquires type information of an insertable/removable optical module installed in the base station device;
a type information collation unit that collates the line setting information and the type information;
an optical module control unit that turns on optical transmission and reception of the optical module when the line setting information and the type information match;
Equipped with
Base station equipment. a product name information acquisition unit that obtains product name information of the optical module;
a product name information matching unit that compares the product name information with registered product name information of optical modules that are registered in advance and whose operation is guaranteed;
Furthermore,
When the line setting information and the type information match, but when the product name information and the registered product name information do not match, the optical module control unit turns on optical transmission and reception of the optical module and sends an error notification. I do,
The base station device according to claim 1. further comprising an optical module monitoring unit that monitors the optical module,
If the line setting information and the type information do not match,
The optical module control section turns off optical transmission and reception of the optical module,
The optical module monitoring unit issues an alarm notification.
The base station device according to claim 1 or 2. The optical module monitoring unit monitors insertion and removal of the optical module, and issues an alarm notification when the optical module is not mounted.
The base station device according to claim 3. If the line setting information and the type information do not match, the base station device changes the line setting;
The base station device according to claim 1. In a base station device equipped with a network card that realizes an optical interface compatible with a transmission path between the base station device and the higher-level device, acquiring line configuration information regarding the configuration of the optical interface between the base station device and the higher-level device;
obtaining type information of an insertable/removable optical module installed in the base station device;
collating the line setting information and the type information;
If the line setting information and the type information match, turning on optical transmission and reception of the optical module;
A method of controlling a base station device. In a base station device equipped with a network card that realizes an optical interface compatible with the transmission path between the base station device and the host device,
a process of acquiring line configuration information regarding the configuration of an optical interface between the base station device and the host device;
a process of acquiring type information of an insertable/removable optical module installed in the base station device;
a process of comparing the line setting information and the type information;
If the line setting information and the type information match, a process of turning on optical transmission and reception of the optical module;
make the computer execute
program.

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