Delay measurement in a point to multipoint system

摘要

A system and method for measuring a propagation delay in a point to multipoint network. The system includes a central timing module which provides a timing signal to a plurality of line cards. Each of the line cards includes a local clock that is frequency locked to a 1588 clock and is configured to generate a return timing signal to the central timing module after a predetermined number of clock cycles. The central timing module measures the propagation delay based on the clock cycles of the local clock counted before the return signal is generated and the period of the local clock.

主权项

1. A method for measuring a propagation delay in a multi-point communication system, comprising:
generating a timing signal from a central timing module; transmitting the timing signal to at least one line card, each of the at least one line card including a local time counter (LTC), the LTC configured to be responsive to a local clock of the respective line card; responsive to the received transmitted timing signal, the LTC of the respective line card initiating a count of a respective predetermined number of clock cycles of the respective local clock, and upon reaching the respective predetermined number of clock cycles of the respective local clock, the respective line card transmitting a timing response to the central timing module, the timing response including timing delay information for the respective line card; and measuring the propagation delay at the central timing module for the respective line card responsive to the transmitted timing response of the respective line card.