Apparatus and method for measurement of propagation time of a data stream in a transport network

摘要

A method and system are provided for measuring the propagation time, or one-way delay or latency, of an 8B/10B data stream, such as a CPRI stream, through a network using a transport network protocol, such as OTN. Embodiments of the present disclosure do not modify the CPRI client and are unlimited in the amount of delay that can be measured. At first and second network endpoints, information is gathered related to patterns associated with successive occurrences of a control character in the 8B/10B encoded data stream. This information is sent over a side channel separate from the 8B/10B encoded data stream. The one-way delay is determined based on a difference between the information related to the pattern identified at the first and second network endpoints.

主权项

1. A method of measuring a one-way delay of an 8B/10B encoded data stream transported over a transport network, the method comprising:
timestamping, at a network entry and at a network exit, successive occurrences of a control character in the 8B/10B encoded data stream; identifying, at the network entry and the network exit, a pattern associated with the successive occurrences of the control character; sending, over a side channel separate from the 8B/10B encoded data stream, information related to the patterns identified at the network entry and at the network exit; and determining the one-way delay based on a difference between the information related to the pattern identified at the network entry and the information related to the pattern identified at the network exit.