WO2024066390A1

WO2024066390A1 - Network time synchronization method and system, and electronic device and storage medium

Info

Publication number: WO2024066390A1
Application number: PCT/CN2023/094583
Authority: WO
Inventors: 童羽
Original assignee: 中兴通讯股份有限公司
Priority date: 2022-09-27
Filing date: 2023-05-16
Publication date: 2024-04-04
Also published as: CN117834069A

Abstract

The embodiments of the present invention belong to the technical field of communications. Disclosed are a network time synchronization method and system, and an electronic device and a storage medium. The method comprises: taking a base station device in a target communication network as a block node to establish a chain domain of a time blockchain, wherein the chain domain comprises an accounting node and an on-chain node, the accounting node corresponds to an accounting clock, and the on-chain node corresponds to an on-chain clock; the accounting node acquiring standard time information from a standard time source system; and the accounting node carrying out time synchronization on the on-chain clock via the accounting clock according to the standard time information.

Description

Network timing method, system, electronic device and storage medium

Technical Field

The embodiments of the present invention relate to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a network timing method, system, electronic device and storage medium.

Background technique

For network communication, time synchronization is crucial and is a necessary condition for the collaborative work of communication equipment. In early 2008, the IEEE organization developed a protocol for transmitting precise time through Ethernet. This is the 1588v2 that is currently widely used, which can provide a time synchronization accuracy of less than 100ns. IEEE1588v2 is independent of the physical layer and can transmit synchronization information by adding time tags to messages. In addition to frequency synchronization, time synchronization can also be achieved. Since the 4G era, 1588v2 has been widely used in network communication systems. For example, it is used to provide accurate time information to base stations. In the 5G era, wireless base stations have higher requirements for time synchronization accuracy, requiring frequency synchronization accuracy to be less than 0.05ppm and phase synchronization accuracy to be less than 1.5us.

In the related technologies, the current mainstream solution for applying 1588v2 in wireless base station networks to provide accurate time information to base stations is to centrally deploy 1588v2 servers in the core network room to provide time synchronization to all base stations in the wireless network. Theoretically, 1588v2 can support high-precision phase synchronization and meet the synchronization requirements of 5G. But in fact, the packet transmission network requires all nodes to support the PTP (Precision Time Protocol) protocol to ensure that the base station obtains accurate time information. The time information is transmitted through the transmission network. Due to the complex networking, network congestion, delay, jitter, packet loss and other factors will affect the time accuracy, making it difficult to meet the accuracy requirements of wireless base stations for timing. For the above problems existing in related technologies, no effective solution has been found so far.

Summary of the invention

The embodiments of the present invention provide a network timing method, system, electronic device, storage medium and storage medium to solve the technical problem that related technologies are difficult to meet the high-precision requirements of time synchronization of wireless base stations.

According to one aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a network timing method is provided, which is applied to a blockchain network timing system, including: using a base station device in a target communication network as a block node to establish a chain domain of a time blockchain, wherein the chain domain includes an accounting node and an on-chain node, the accounting node corresponds to an accounting clock, and the on-chain node corresponds to an on-chain clock; the accounting node obtains standard time information from a standard time source system; the accounting node performs timing from the accounting clock to the on-chain clock according to the standard time information.

According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a network timing system is also provided, which includes an accounting node and an on-chain node: the accounting node is configured to obtain standard time information from a standard time source system, and the accounting clock performs timing to the on-chain clock according to the standard time information; the on-chain node is configured to synchronize time information to the accounting clock.

According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a storage medium is further provided, which includes a stored program, and the above steps are executed when the program is run.

According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present application, there is also provided an electronic device, including a processor, a communication interface, a memory and a communication bus, wherein the processor, the communication interface and the memory communicate with each other via the communication bus; wherein: the memory is configured to store a computer program; and the processor is configured to execute the steps in the above method by running the program stored in the memory.

The embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product including instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the steps in the above method.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings described herein are used to provide a further understanding of the present invention and constitute a part of this application. The exemplary embodiments of the present invention and their descriptions are used to explain the present invention and do not constitute an improper limitation of the present invention. In the drawings:

FIG1 is a hardware structure block diagram of a computer according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG2 is a flow chart of a network timing method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of block time generation in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a block time usage process in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a query process of block time in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG6 is a schematic diagram of a server-client structure according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG7 is a structural block diagram of a blockchain network timing system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a blockchain data structure according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG9 is a schematic diagram of a model of a chain clock in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a model of an accounting clock in an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed ways

In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the present application, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only embodiments of a part of the present application, not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in the field without creative work should fall within the scope of protection of the present application. It should be noted that the embodiments in the present application and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other without conflict.

It should be noted that the terms "master time", "slave time", etc. in the specification and claims of the present application and the above-mentioned drawings are used to distinguish similar objects. It should be understood that the data used in this way can be interchangeable where appropriate, so that the embodiments of the present application described herein can be implemented in a sequence other than those illustrated or described herein. In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any of their variations are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions, for example, a process, method, product or device that includes a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units that are clearly listed, but may include other steps or units that are not clearly listed or inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices.

Example 1

The method embodiment provided in the first embodiment of the present application can be executed in a mobile phone, a computer, a tablet or a similar computing device. Taking running on a computer as an example, FIG1 is a hardware structure block diagram of a computer of an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG1 , the computer may include one or more (only one is shown in FIG1 ) processors 102 (the processor 102 may include but is not limited to a processing device such as a microprocessor MCU or a programmable logic device FPGA) and a memory 104 for storing data. Optionally, the above-mentioned computer may also include a transmission device 106 and an input-output device 108 for communication functions. It can be understood by those skilled in the art that the structure shown in FIG1 is for illustration only and does not apply to the above-mentioned computer. For example, the computer may include more or fewer components than those shown in FIG. 1 , or may have a configuration different from that shown in FIG. 1 .

The memory 104 can be used to store computer programs, for example, software programs and modules of application software, such as a computer program corresponding to a video motion-stillness rate recognition method in an embodiment of the present invention. The processor 102 executes various functional applications and data processing by running the computer program stored in the memory 104, that is, to implement the above method. The memory 104 may include a high-speed random access memory, and may also include a non-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic storage devices, flash memory, or other non-volatile solid-state memory. In some examples, the memory 104 may further include a memory remotely arranged relative to the processor 102, and these remote memories may be connected to the computer via a network. Examples of the above-mentioned network include, but are not limited to, the Internet, an intranet, a local area network, a mobile communication network, and combinations thereof.

The transmission device 106 is used to receive or send data via a network. The specific example of the above network may include a wireless network provided by a communication provider of the computer. In one example, the transmission device 106 includes a network adapter (Network Interface Controller, referred to as NIC), which can be connected to other network devices through a base station so as to communicate with the Internet. In one example, the transmission device 106 can be a radio frequency (Radio Frequency, referred to as RF) module, which is used to communicate with the Internet wirelessly.

In this embodiment, a network timing method is provided. FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a network timing method according to an embodiment of the present invention applied to a primary base station. As shown in FIG. 2 , the flow includes the following steps:

Step S10, using the base station device in the target communication network as a block node to establish a chain domain of the time blockchain, wherein the chain domain includes an accounting node and an on-chain node, the accounting node corresponds to an accounting clock, and the on-chain node corresponds to an on-chain clock;

Step S20, the accounting node obtains standard time information from the standard time source system;

Step S30: the accounting node synchronizes time with the on-chain clock through the accounting clock according to the standard time information.

All base station devices in the target communication network are used as block nodes to establish the chain domain of the time blockchain, where the target communication network can be a telecommunications-grade communication network. The chain domain includes accounting nodes and on-chain nodes. According to the main functions of the nodes, the nodes in the blockchain network can be divided into accounting nodes and non-accounting nodes (i.e., on-chain nodes in this embodiment). Accounting nodes ensure the consistency of blockchain distributed system data and complete the generation and maintenance of blockchain data; non-accounting nodes can obtain corresponding The time information provided by the accounting node disperses the timing pressure of the blockchain system. The dynamic addition and deletion of blockchain nodes dynamically expands or downgrades resources according to specific business. When an abnormal situation occurs in the node, such as power failure or restart, it should be able to complete data synchronization with other normal nodes within a certain period of time. The accounting node corresponds to the accounting clock, and the on-chain node corresponds to the on-chain clock. All nodes in the chain domain are divided into accounting clocks and on-chain clocks. The accounting node obtains accurate standard time information from the standard time source system. The standard time information includes timestamp, time type information, time source information, etc. Among them, the time source information includes atomic clock self-keeping system, GNSS system, and UTC system. The accounting clock synchronizes the on-chain clock based on the obtained standard time information.

Through the above steps of the present invention, the blockchain time information is synchronized to the on-chain clock through the blockchain, and the blockchain technology is applied to the time synchronization of the base station equipment. The base station in the blockchain provides storage space and computing power support for the entire blockchain system, realizes decentralization, and reduces dependence on the transmission network, that is, reduces the impact on networking performance and improves the accuracy of time synchronization of the base station.

As shown in Figure 3, the blockchain network timing system obtains standard time information from the standard time source system, and the blockchain network timing system uploads the key information of the block time to the chain, including the unique identifier of the block time, the node information of the generated block, the timestamp information, the time source type information (such as atomic clock self-timekeeping, GNSS timing system, UTC time source, etc.), the block time status and other information. The device to be synchronized or the third-party time information service provider applies to the blockchain network timing system for block time. The relevant processes such as block time generation and block time authorization are saved on the chain to facilitate subsequent verification and traceability through the blockchain network timing system.

The services supported by the blockchain network timing system include the generation of block time, the use of block time, the query of block time and the timing process. The construction of the blockchain network timing system includes but is not limited to network deployment (deployment of nodes constituting the blockchain, including consensus nodes and business nodes), realization of block chain generation and storage, reaching consensus, realization of business acceptance and business processing, etc., and then the blockchain network timing system is serviced and operated, and the full life cycle of timing services is managed, such as user management, business allocation, business query and authority management. In this embodiment, the third-party device can be an individual, legal person, enterprise, government agency, etc. who uses the blockchain network timing system. The third-party device can directly use the timing service of the blockchain network timing system, or use the blockchain network timing service through a third-party network timing provider, such as local application system network timing, hardware device time synchronization, etc.

Referring to Figure 7, the blockchain network timing system (BTS) includes system management, timing protocol management, blockchain time protocol (BTP), open platform, blockchain time underlying engine and blockchain base. System management is used to manage the blockchain network timing system, including user management, system parameter configuration, etc. Timing protocol management is used to manage the timing protocols used by the system, which can include NTP, PTP and BTP. Blockchain Time Protocol (BTP) is used to define the standards for blockchain timing, including protocol implementation, messages, etc. The open platform provides open capabilities related to time information for various network business systems and third-party network timing service providers. The open platform provides basic capabilities related to timing and connects to the underlying blockchain time engine. The underlying blockchain time engine realizes the generation and maintenance of blockchain time information, and cooperates with the blockchain base to complete consensus. The blockchain base provides trusted time evidence for the entire life cycle, with node management, consensus, accounting nodes, security and external application chain interoperability.

The blockchain network timing system synchronizes time information with the standard time source system to obtain high-precision and reliable time. On the other hand, the blockchain network timing system can communicate with other application chains across chains, such as connecting to the time network application chain to form a time information closed loop of the network timing application.

Specifically, timing protocol management: To use the blockchain network timing system, you must first choose which synchronization protocol to use. The blockchain network timing system uses this protocol for network timing. The timing protocol management functions include: managing synchronization protocols, such as BTP, PTP, NTP, etc.; configuring or negotiating synchronization protocol parameters; querying the server information of the timing, such as the number of servers, blockchain time status, etc. The time status includes generating, consensus, and waiting for consensus, among which the "consensus" status is the normal use status; querying the client information of the timing, such as the number of clients, client status, etc. The client status includes normal, abnormal, offline, etc.

System management: System management provides management of all modules of the blockchain timing system for the operation departments of service providers and service users: it has an administrator management function module for creating, modifying and disabling administrators; it has a role management function module for creating, modifying and deleting roles; it has a system audit function module for auditing operation records within the system; system overall function module management, configuration module parameters, etc.; fault management, alarm management, system usage information management, etc.; it has a node management function for managing and querying the status and information of timing nodes; it has a data visualization module for analyzing and displaying blockchain operation signs, block time statistics, etc.; account management: real-name authenticated account registration, user identity identification, user account freezing and thawing, user logout, etc. It should have a user privacy protection mechanism. It should support different permissions for accounts of different levels; regularly conduct security analysis of user account usage, conduct comprehensive analysis of login time, login location, access duration, and other behaviors, and evaluate account security risks; identity authentication: user identity authentication ensures correct identification and authentication Identify the user's identity information and authorization information: Use secure algorithms and protocols that comply with national password management regulations for identity authentication; ensure the storage security of user passwords and other identity authentication-related credential information; use two-factor authentication for operations on important data, business or systems.

Blockchain time underlying engine: The blockchain time underlying engine is the basic capability driving engine of the blockchain network timing system. It provides system components, supports upper-layer blockchain time applications and management, implements node timing according to the selected synchronization protocol, and connects to the blockchain base to provide reliable and traceable on-chain time services for network timing applications: It has a standard time source synchronization component, provides high-precision timestamps for the blockchain base, generates block time, and completes the generation and chaining of block time. The standard time source selection needs to be a high-precision atomic clock self-timekeeping system, a satellite timing system (GNSS) or other world standard time, and has strict requirements on its error range; it has an online verification component to provide unified verification services for block time users, service providers, and application systems; it has a block time on-chain service component to support services such as block time chaining and recording chain information; according to the synchronization protocol selection module protocol, the interface provided by the blockchain base is called to provide a network timing engine for blockchain time.

Blockchain base: The blockchain base provides a peer-to-peer network environment, through transparent and trusted rules, to build a block chain time data structure that is unforgeable, tamper-proof and traceable: based on the consensus mechanism, it achieves consistency of time data on distributed accounting nodes; through smart contract programming and virtual machine execution engine, it completes Turing-complete time transaction processing; based on cryptography and chain structure, it ensures that data cannot be tampered with or forged; it can effectively verify the data stored on the blockchain, and at the same time, there are corresponding technologies to ensure that privacy information is not leaked.

Smart contracts: support the storage and operation of smart contract codes to ensure that the execution results of all nodes remain consistent after the smart contract is executed; support Turing-complete smart contracts; support the adjustment of smart contract code logic and the update of data structure; smart contracts have the ability of forward data compatibility. When the version is iterated, the old version of the contract is deactivated in time and the data is archived. The new version of the contract can call historical data.

Consensus algorithm: has the Byzantine fault tolerance capability of consensus nodes; maintains the consistency of each node's write operation to update the ledger status; ensures the consistency of the final status of each node's ledger; can reach a new consensus on the entire network after switching the consensus mechanism when the node is online, and the system operates normally.

Cross-chain requirements: Support the establishment of a trusted bridging mechanism between the blockchain and the outside world, so that external data can enter the blockchain safely and reliably; support multi-mode cross-chain interconnection solutions, support application layer cross-chain, homogeneous cross-chain, heterogeneous cross-chain and other cross-chain modes, and choose to adopt according to specific business scenarios.

The Blockchain Time Protocol (BTP) specifies a time synchronization protocol. This protocol is applicable to distributed systems consisting of one or more nodes, communicating over a network. A node is defined as containing real-time time, which can be used by applications within the node for various purposes. The protocol provides a mechanism for synchronizing the time of participating nodes to a high degree of accuracy. This protocol specifies: The Blockchain Time Protocol (BTP); The node, system, and communication properties necessary to support BTP.

Refer to Figure 8, data types and formats in the BTP system: In addition to the blockchain time data type, the BTP system uses the standard data types and formats of general computer system programming languages. The blockchain data structure uses a one-way linked list, and each block consists of two parts, the block header and the block body. The block body is mainly used to store time data; the content stored in the block header can be divided into four parts, namely the root hash of the previous block (the hash value stored in the Merkle tree root node of the previous block), the Merkle tree root hash (the hash value stored in the Merkle tree root node of the current block), the timestamp, and others. The block body stores the blockchain timestamp data.

BTP messages are divided into timing messages and control messages. Timing messages generate accurate timestamps when sent and received. Timing messages include: synchronization requests and timing responses; control messages include notification messages, management messages, and event messages, among which notification messages are used for fault and alarm notifications; management messages are used to query and update the BTP data set maintained by the clock. These messages are also used to customize the BTP system as well as for initialization and consensus. Management messages are used for accounting nodes; event messages are used for communication between clocks and for all other purposes. For example, event messages can be used to negotiate the communication type, message rate, etc. between the server and its clients. All messages can be extended through the standard type, length, value (TLV) extension mechanism.

The BTP system is a distributed network system composed of a mixture of BTP devices and non-BTP devices. BTP devices include accounting clocks, on-chain clocks, etc. Non-BTP devices include bridges, routers and other infrastructure devices, and possibly computers, printers and other application devices. The BTP protocol is a distributed protocol that specifies how real-time times in the system are synchronized with each other. These times are organized into a server-client hierarchy, where the standard time source is at the top of the hierarchy and determines the reference time of the entire system. Timing is achieved by exchanging BTP messages, where the client uses the time information provided by the server to adjust its time to the time of the most accurate server. Devices in the BTP system communicate with each other through a communication network. The network can include devices that implement different network communication protocols. The protocol is executed within a logical scope called a chain domain. Unless otherwise specified, all BTP messages, data sets, state machines, and all other BTP entities are always associated with a specific chain domain. A given physical network and a single device connected to the network A device can be associated with multiple domains. In this protocol, the time established by the protocol in one domain is independent of the time in other chain domains. There are two basic types of BTP devices: accounting clocks and on-chain clocks.

The model of the on-chain clock is shown in Figure 9. The on-chain clock communicates with the network through a logical interface based on a single physical port. The message interface is set to send and receive timing messages and control messages. These timing messages are timestamped by timestamps that generate values based on local time. The on-chain clock in the chain domain supports a single copy protocol and has a BTP state. The on-chain clock is the clock client in the system. The on-chain clock maintains two types of data sets, called blockchain clock data sets and BTP port data sets. The BTP protocol engine completes the following functions: sending and receiving BTP messages; maintaining data sets; executing port-associated state machines. The on-chain clock port is always in the slave state (synchronized to the server), and it will calculate the server-side time based on the received BTP timing message and the generated timestamp. The control loop in the local clock adjusts the local time to be consistent with the server.

The model of the accounting clock is shown in Figure 10. The accounting clock usually has multiple physical interfaces, each of which communicates with the network through a logical interface: timing message and control message interface. Each port of the accounting clock has the following characteristics: a) The blockchain time data set is common to all ports of the accounting clock. b) The local clock is common to all ports of the accounting clock. c) Each protocol engine has the additional function of parsing the status of all ports to determine which port provides the time signal for synchronizing the local clock. The accounting clock obtains time information from an external standard time source and generates blockchain time information through an internal algorithm. Messages related to synchronization and establishing a server-client hierarchy terminate in the protocol engine of the accounting clock and will not be forwarded. Management messages are forwarded by other ports on the accounting clock according to restrictions to limit the propagation of these messages in the system. The accounting clock model of Figure 10 is only applicable to BTP messages. For all non-BTP messages, the accounting clock acts as a normal network component, such as a base station, bridge, repeater, or router. The accounting clock is only used as an accounting node.

The network timing method also includes:

Step A, generating a block time data chain block according to the standard time information, wherein the block data of the block time data chain block is the block time;

Step B, adding the block time data chain block to the blockchain, and using the block time to synchronize time with other devices outside the chain domain.

Generate a block time data chain block based on the standard time information, where the block data of the block time data chain block is the block time, add the block time data chain block to the blockchain, and use the block time Time synchronization to other devices outside the chain domain. In this embodiment, the blockchain network timing system obtains standard time information, generates a block time data chain block based on the obtained standard time information, directly or indirectly applies for a digital certificate from a digital certificate certification authority and encrypts the block time data chain block. The generated block time data chain block is recorded in the platform system and added to the blockchain. The generated block time can be synchronized to other devices through a third-party network timing service provider or directly.

The accounting node provides time to the on-chain clock from the accounting clock according to the standard time information, including:

Step S301, the accounting node receives a block time synchronization request sent by the on-chain clock;

Step S302, the accounting node performs node authentication on the on-chain clock;

Step S303, after the node authentication is passed, the accounting node uses a synchronization protocol to synchronize time from the accounting clock to the on-chain clock according to the standard time information.

The accounting node receives the block time synchronization request sent by the on-chain clock, and the accounting node performs node authentication on the on-chain clock. After the node authentication is passed, the accounting node uses the synchronization protocol to synchronize the time from the accounting clock to the on-chain clock according to the standard time information. Exemplarily, the blockchain network timing system manages the time blockchain, including generating, updating, and maintaining the blockchain. After the block time user completes its own configuration, it sends the block time application to the blockchain network timing system through the on-chain clock. The blockchain network timing system performs node authentication on the applicant. After the blockchain network timing system authenticates the node, it sends the synchronization protocol to the application node according to the synchronization protocol configured by the system to negotiate the timing protocol. The blockchain network timing system records the user information in the platform management system and uses the successfully negotiated synchronization protocol to synchronize the applicant. As shown in Figure 4, the blockchain network timing system uploads the block time usage process and key information to the chain, including block unique identification, block time related information, negotiation file summary information, synchronization protocol information, user information, etc. The complete block time application process and user information content are uploaded to the chain for reliable tracking or tracing. In order to enhance the credible evidence of block content, the user's content can be stored in credible government departments, such as administrative blockchains, through cross-chain technology.

The network timing method also includes:

Step C, receiving a block time query request sent by a third-party device;

Step D: authenticating the third-party device based on the block information, block time status and deployed services in the query request, and returning the timing time of the chain domain to the third-party device after the authentication is passed.

Receive the block time query request sent by the third-party device, which is a service user with relevant permissions. After completing the identity authentication, the third-party device can directly or through the third-party network timing service provider to initiate a query of the block time and its application to the blockchain network timing system. The third-party device is authenticated based on the block information, block time status and deployed business in the query request, and the timing time of the chain domain is returned to the third-party device after the identity authentication is passed. The block time information on the blockchain can be queried, including the unique identifier of the block time, user information, time type information, block time status, etc.; the usage of different states can be tracked, such as the usage of the status to be uploaded to the chain, uploaded to the chain, and in use; the signed business, such as documents and contracts, is verified, and the verification content includes but is not limited to the integrity of the block time, the validity of the block time, the validity of the digital certificate, etc. The blockchain network timing system returns the query results to the service user who initiated the query. As shown in Figure 5, the blockchain network timing system uploads the query process and key information of the block time to the chain.

The network timing method also includes:

Step E: Use the accounting clock in the chain domain and the on-chain clock to establish a server and client structure, where each server is connected to multiple clients, and each client is connected to multiple servers;

Step F, based on the server and client structure, the accounting clock synchronizes time with the on-chain clock according to the standard time information, wherein the port of the accounting clock is the server clock to the on-chain clock, and the port of the on-chain clock is the client port of the accounting clock.

The accounting clock in the chain domain and the on-chain clock are used to establish a server and client structure. The accounting clock is the server and the on-chain clock is the client. Each server can connect to multiple clients, and each client can connect to multiple servers, where the number of clients for which each server provides timing services does not exceed 100; the number of servers synchronized by each client is not less than 2. Based on the server and client structure, the accounting clock provides timing to the on-chain clock according to the standard time information, where the port of the accounting clock is the server clock to the on-chain clock, and the port of the on-chain clock is the client port of the accounting clock. It should be noted that in this embodiment, only the establishment of server-client two-layer services is allowed, and the client is not allowed to provide timing to other devices or clients.

The process of establishing a server-client structure between the accounting clock in the chain domain and the on-chain clock is shown in Figure 6. In this example, the accounting clock is in a parallel relationship with the accounting clock, located at the root of the hierarchy, called the "clock server". The port of the accounting clock is the server clock to the on-chain clock (as shown by S). All S ports on the accounting clock are server ports of the on-chain clock connected to them. The port of the on-chain clock is the client port of the accounting clock.

The network timing method also includes:

Step G, the on-chain clock of the on-chain node sends a synchronization message to the accounting clock;

Step H, the on-chain clock of the on-chain node receives the timing message message returned by the accounting clock, and the timing message message carries the first timestamp of sending the timing message message;

Step I: the on-chain clock of the on-chain node calculates the synchronization time according to the first timestamp and the second timestamp, where the second timestamp is the timestamp of the on-chain clock receiving the timing message.

The on-chain clock of the on-chain node sends a synchronization message to the accounting clock. The on-chain clock of the on-chain node receives the timing message returned by the accounting clock. The timing message carries the first timestamp of sending the timing message. The on-chain clock of the on-chain node calculates the synchronization time based on the first timestamp and the second timestamp. The second timestamp is the timestamp of the on-chain clock receiving the timing message. The timing process between the accounting clock and the on-chain clock in the chain domain is as follows: the on-chain clock sends a synchronization message Sync_Req message to the accounting clock; after receiving the request, the accounting clock sends a timing message Timing_Resp message to the on-chain clock, which carries the timestamp when it leaves the accounting clock. When this BTP message arrives at the on-chain clock, the on-chain clock adds its own timestamp and hands the message over to the application for processing; the blockchain time underlying engine extracts the time information in the block and calculates the current accurate time. In this way, the on-chain clock can set its own time based on this information to synchronize it with the time of the accounting clock.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the network timing method further includes:

Step J: Convert the standard time information obtained from the standard time source system into local time to generate a time blockchain data structure;

Step K, using blockchain technology to organize time information;

Step L, transmitting the time information in the blockchain through the time blockchain data structure.

The standard time information obtained from the external standard time source system is converted into local time, and a time blockchain data structure is generated. The time information is organized using blockchain technology, and the time information is transmitted in the blockchain through the time blockchain data structure. The time information is organized using blockchain technology, and accurate time information is transmitted through the time blockchain data structure. The timing process and protocol can choose existing synchronization protocols such as PTP or NTP, and the blockchain timing protocol BTP defined by this system is preferred.

The network timing method also includes:

Step M, generating a block time data chain block according to the standard time information, wherein the block data of the block time data chain block is the block time;

Step N, adding the block time data chain block to the blockchain, and using the block time to synchronize time with other devices outside the chain domain.

A block time data chain block is generated according to the standard time information, wherein the block data of the block time data chain block is the block time, the block time data chain block is added to the blockchain, and the block time is used to synchronize time to other devices outside the chain domain.

The following are the terms and definitions applicable to this embodiment:

Blockchain: A model for implementing and managing transaction processing by building an unforgeable, tamper-proof and traceable block chain data structure through transparent and trusted rules in a peer-to-peer network environment.

Chain Domain: The collection of all devices using the Blockchain Time Protocol (BTP).

Link: A network path between two ports supporting the Blockchain Time Protocol (BTP).

Time server: A device that uses the blockchain time protocol to synchronize time in a chain domain. It is the time source in the selected chain domain. There can be multiple time servers in a chain domain. In this system, it is referred to as a server.

Time client: A device that uses the Blockchain Time Protocol (BTP) to receive time information from a time server within the chain domain and synchronize its own time. A time client can select multiple servers. In this system, it is referred to as a client.

Node: A device that can send or receive Blockchain Time Protocol (BTP) communications on the network.

Blockchain Time Protocol (BTP) port: A physical interface running the Blockchain Time Protocol (BTP), a logical access point for the clock, used for BTP communication with the communication network.

Port Number: An index that identifies a specific Blockchain Time Protocol (BTP) port on a BTP node.

Accuracy: The average value of the time or frequency error between the measured clock and the reference clock.

Accounting clock: The accounting node of a blockchain in a chain domain has one or more Blockchain Time Protocol (BTP) ports and maintains the clock used in the chain domain. It can be used as a time source in the chain domain, that is, a time server.

On-chain clock: A non-accounting node of a blockchain in a chain domain, which has a Blockchain Time Protocol (BTP) port and uses the time in the chain domain to synchronize its own clock. That is, the client.

Direct communication: The time information of the Blockchain Time Protocol (BTP) is communicated between the on-chain clock and the accounting clock.

Blockchain Time Protocol (BTP) communication: Information used in the operation of the protocol, transmitted in PTP messages on the PTP communication path.

Blockchain Time Protocol (BTP) communication path: The portion of the signaling path of a specific network that enables direct communication between the on-chain clock and the accounting clock.

Blockchain Time Protocol (BTP) node: A BTP accounting clock, an on-chain clock, or a device that generates or parses BTP messages.

Recognized Standard Time Source: A recognized standard time source is an external source to the Blockchain Time Protocol (BTP) that provides time and/or frequency as needed, traceable to international standards laboratories that maintain clocks that form the basis of the International Atomic Energy Agency Time (TAI) and Universal Coordinated Time (UTC) timekeepers. Examples include the Global Positioning System (GPS, BeiDou), and the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) time servers.

Network time synchronization: The process of using the network to transmit standard time information and achieve computer system time synchronization by providing a clock correction reference benchmark.

Clock source: A recognized standard time source that provides appropriate time and/or frequency traceable to an international standard laboratory, such as the time server of the National Time Service Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the BeiDou satellite system, the Global Positioning System (GPS), etc. The clocks maintained by these international standard laboratories serve as the basis for the International Atomic Time (TAI) and Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) time scales.

Network time synchronization protocol: A collection of rules, standards or agreements established to transmit unified and standard time on the network. Commonly used network time synchronization protocols include: Network Time Protocol (NTP), Simple Network Time Protocol (SNTP), Precision Time Protocol (PTP), Blockchain Time Protocol (BTP).

Timestamp: A credential automatically generated by an application that identifies and records the time when an event occurred.

Associative entity: A data entity in a many-to-many relationship between two data entities.

Turing complete: refers to a universal physical machine or programming language with unlimited storage capacity. Turing complete means that the language used can do everything that a Turing machine can do and can solve all computable problems.

Through the description of the above implementation methods, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the method according to the above embodiment can be implemented by means of software plus a necessary general hardware platform, and of course can also be implemented by hardware, but in many cases the former is a better implementation method. Based on such an understanding, the technical solution of the embodiment of the present invention is essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art can be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM/RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk), including a number of instructions for a terminal device (which can be a mobile phone, computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in each embodiment of the present invention.

Example 2

In the present embodiment, a network timing system is also provided to realize the above-mentioned embodiment and the preferred implementation mode, and the description thereof will not be repeated. As used below, the term "module" can realize the combination of software and/or hardware of the predetermined function. Although the device described in the following embodiments is preferably realized with software, the realization of hardware, or the combination of software and hardware is also possible and conceived.

The network timing system includes accounting nodes and on-chain nodes:

The accounting node is configured to obtain standard time information from a standard time source system, and the accounting clock synchronizes time with the on-chain clock according to the standard time information;

The on-chain node is configured to synchronize time information with the accounting clock.

Example 3

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a storage medium, in which a computer program is stored, wherein the computer program is configured to execute the steps of any of the above method embodiments when running.

Optionally, in this embodiment, the storage medium may be configured to store a computer program configured to perform the following steps:

S1, using the base station device in the target communication network as a block node to establish a chain domain of the time blockchain, wherein the chain domain includes an accounting node and an on-chain node, the accounting node corresponds to an accounting clock, and the on-chain node corresponds to an on-chain clock;

S2, the accounting node obtains standard time information from the standard time source system;

S3, the accounting node synchronizes time from the accounting clock to the on-chain clock according to the standard time information.

Optionally, in this embodiment, the above-mentioned storage medium may include but is not limited to: a USB flash drive, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a mobile hard disk, a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and other media that can store computer programs.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides an electronic device, including a memory and a processor, wherein a computer program is stored in the memory, and the processor is configured to run the computer program to execute the steps in any one of the above method embodiments.

Optionally, the electronic device may further include a transmission device and an input/output device, wherein the transmission device is connected to the processor, and the input/output device is connected to the processor.

Optionally, in this embodiment, the processor may be configured to perform the following steps through a computer program:

Optionally, the specific examples in this embodiment may refer to the examples described in the above embodiments and optional implementation modes, and this embodiment will not be described in detail here.

The serial numbers of the above-mentioned embodiments of the present application are for description only and do not represent the advantages or disadvantages of the embodiments.

In the above embodiments of the present application, the description of each embodiment has its own emphasis. For parts that are not described in detail in a certain embodiment, please refer to the relevant description of other embodiments.

In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed technical content can be implemented in other ways. Among them, the device embodiments described above are only exemplary. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. There may be other divisions in actual implementation. For example, multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not performed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection between each other shown or discussed can be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interface, unit or module, which can be electrical or other forms.

The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed on multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit. The above-mentioned integrated unit may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional units.

If the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or all or part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server or network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: U disk, read-only memory (ROM, Read-Only Memory), random access memory (RAM, Random Access Memory), mobile hard disk, magnetic disk or optical disk, etc., which can store program code.

The above is only a preferred implementation of the present application. It should be pointed out that for ordinary technicians in this technical field, several improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the principles of the present application. These improvements and modifications should also be regarded as the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

A network timing method, the method comprising:

The base station device in the target communication network is used as a block node to establish a chain domain of the time blockchain, wherein the chain domain includes an accounting node and an on-chain node, the accounting node corresponds to an accounting clock, and the on-chain node corresponds to an on-chain clock;

The accounting node obtains standard time information from the standard time source system;

The accounting node synchronizes time with the on-chain clock through the accounting clock according to the standard time information.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the accounting node provides time to the on-chain clock from the accounting clock according to the standard time information, comprising:

The accounting node receives a block time synchronization request sent by the on-chain clock;

The accounting node performs node authentication on the on-chain clock;

After the node authentication is passed, the accounting node uses a synchronization protocol to synchronize time from the accounting clock to the on-chain clock according to the standard time information.
The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

Receive block time query requests sent by third-party devices;

The third-party device is authenticated based on the block information, block time status and deployed services in the query request, and the timing time of the chain domain is returned to the third-party device after the authentication is passed.
The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

The accounting clock in the chain domain and the on-chain clock are used to establish a server and client structure, each server is connected to multiple clients, and each client is connected to multiple servers;

Based on the server and client structure, the accounting clock synchronizes time with the on-chain clock according to the standard time information, wherein the port of the accounting clock is the server clock to the on-chain clock, and the port of the on-chain clock is the client port of the accounting clock.
The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

The on-chain clock of the on-chain node sends a synchronization message to the accounting clock;

The on-chain clock of the on-chain node receives the timing message message returned by the accounting clock, and the timing message message carries the first timestamp of sending the timing message message;

The on-chain clock of the on-chain node calculates the synchronization time according to the first timestamp and the second timestamp, where the second timestamp is the timestamp of the on-chain clock receiving the timing message.
The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

Convert the standard time information obtained from the standard time source system into local time and generate the time blockchain data structure;

Use blockchain technology to organize time information;

The time information is communicated in the blockchain via the time blockchain data structure.
The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

Generate a block time data chain block according to the standard time information, wherein the block data of the block time data chain block is the block time;

The block time data chain block is added to the blockchain, and the block time is used to synchronize time with other devices outside the chain domain.
A network timing system, comprising an accounting node and an on-chain node:

The accounting node is configured to obtain standard time information from a standard time source system, and the accounting clock synchronizes time with the on-chain clock according to the standard time information;

The on-chain node is configured to synchronize time information with the accounting clock.
An electronic device comprises a processor, a communication interface, a memory and a communication bus, wherein the processor, the communication interface and the memory communicate with each other via the communication bus; wherein:

a memory arranged to store a computer program;

A processor, configured to execute the method steps of any one of claims 1 to 7 by running a program stored in a memory.
A storage medium comprising a stored program, wherein the program, when executed, executes the method steps described in any one of claims 1 to 7.