# US 11,121,889 B1 · Apparatuses and methods for routing packets between a time-sensitive networking (TSN) network and a non-TSN network by virtual local area network (VLAN) tag manipulation

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- Number: US 11,121,889 B1
- Document ID: US11121889B1
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B1
- Application number: 16/901,224
- Filed: 2020-06-15
- Granted: 2021-09-14
- Earliest claimed: 2020-06-15
- Assignees: Moxa Inc.
- Applicants: Moxa Inc.
- Inventors: Chi-Chuan Liu; Chun-Yu Lin; Chien-Yu Lai; Wen-Lu Liao
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11121889B1

## CPC

- H04L 12/4625: {Single bridge functionality, e.g. connection of two networks over a single bridge}
- H04L 12/4645: {Details on frame tagging (routing of packets H04L45/00; support for virtual LAN H04L49/354)}
- H04L 12/4633: {Interconnection of networks using encapsulation techniques, e.g. tunneling}
- H04L 12/4666: {Operational details on the addition or the stripping of a tag in a frame, e.g. at a provider edge node}
- H04L 12/4679: {Arrangements for the registration or de-registration of VLAN attribute values, e.g. VLAN identifiers, port VLAN membership}
- H04L 65/65: Network streaming protocols, e.g. real-time transport protocol [RTP] or real-time control protocol [RTCP]
- H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M)

## Abstract

An apparatus including a storage medium and a controller is provided. The storage medium stores a first mapping of stream Identifiers (IDs) to VLAN tags, and a second mapping of the stream IDs to VLAN tag indications. The controller is coupled to the storage medium and configured to route a packet between a Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) network and a non-TSN network according to the first and second mappings. The routing of the packet includes inserting or removing a VLAN tag in or from the packet according to the stream ID of the packet and the first and second mappings, so as to enable interoperability between the TSN network and the non-TSN network.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An apparatus, comprising:
a storage medium, configured to store a first mapping of one or more first stream Identifiers (IDs) to one or more first Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) tags, and a second mapping of the one or more first stream IDs to one or more VLAN tag indications; and
a controller, coupled to the storage medium, and configured to route at least one packet between a Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) network and a non-TSN network according to the first mapping and the second mapping;
wherein the routing of the packet comprises:
identifying a second stream ID of the packet;
determining whether the second stream ID matches one of the first stream IDs in the first mapping or in the second mapping;
in response to the second stream ID matching one of the first stream IDs and the packet being routed from the non-TSN network to the TSN network, inserting a VLAN tag in the packet based on the first VLAN tag corresponding to the matched first stream ID in the first mapping; and
in response to the second stream ID matching one of the first stream IDs and the packet being routed from the TSN network to the non-TSN network, removing a VLAN tag from the packet based on the VLAN tag indication corresponding to the matched first stream ID in the second mapping.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the routing of the packet further comprises determining whether the packet comprises any VLAN tag, and the inserting of the VLAN tag in the packet is performed in response to the packet not comprising any VLAN tag.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the first stream IDs and the second stream ID is presented as at least one of the following:
a Destination Address (DA);
a Source Address (SA);
an Ethertype; and
a Subtype.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein each of the first stream IDs and the second stream ID is presented as a combination of the Ethertype and the Subtype, and the Ethertype is a header field of an Ethernet packet in compliance with TSN standards specified by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.1 working groups, while the Subtype is a portion of a payload field of the Ethernet packet.

### Claim 5 (depends on 3)

The apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein each of the first stream IDs and the second stream ID is presented as a combination of the DA and the SA, and the DA and the SA are header fields of an Ethernet packet in compliance with TSN standards specified by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.1 working groups.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the first VLAN tags comprises a VLAN ID (VID) and a Priority Code Point (PCP), and the VID and the PCP are fields in an Ethernet packet in compliance with TSN standards specified by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.1 working groups.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the VLAN tag indication indicates to remove or keep the VLAN tag in the packet routed from the TSN network to the non-TSN network.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second mapping also specifies one or more correspondences between the one or more first stream IDs and one or more first Destination Addresses (DAs), and the routing of the packet further comprises:
in response to the second stream ID matching one of the first stream IDs and the packet being routed from the TSN network to the non-TSN network, replacing a second DA in the packet with the first DA corresponding to the matched first stream ID.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the apparatus is a network gateway connecting the TSN network and the non-TSN network.

### Claim 10

A method, executed by an apparatus connecting a Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) network and a non-TSN network, the method comprising:
routing at least one packet between the TSN network and the non-TSN network according to a first mapping of one or more first stream Identifiers (IDs) to one or more first Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) tags and a second mapping of the one or more first stream IDs to one or more VLAN tag indications;
wherein the routing of the packet comprises:
identifying a second stream ID of the packet;
determining whether the second stream ID matches one of the first stream IDs in the first mapping or in the second mapping;
in response to the second stream ID matching one of the first stream IDs and the packet being routed from the non-TSN network to the TSN network, inserting a VLAN tag in the packet based on the first VLAN tag corresponding to the matched first stream ID in the first mapping; and
in response to the second stream ID matching one of the first stream IDs and the packet being routed from the TSN network to the non-TSN network, removing a VLAN tag from the packet based on the VLAN tag indication corresponding to the matched first stream ID in the second mapping.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the routing of the packet further comprises determining whether the packet comprises any VLAN tag, and the inserting of the VLAN tag in the packet is performed in response to the packet not comprising any VLAN tag.

### Claim 12 (depends on 10)

The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein each of the first stream IDs and the second stream ID is presented as at least one of the following:
a Destination Address (DA);
a Source Address (SA);
an Ethertype; and
a Subtype.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein each of the first stream IDs and the second stream ID is presented as a combination of the Ethertype and the Subtype, and the Ethertype is a header field of an Ethernet packet in compliance with TSN standards specified by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.1 working groups, while the Subtype is a portion of a payload field of the Ethernet packet.

### Claim 14 (depends on 12)

The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein each of the first stream IDs and the second stream ID is presented as a combination of the DA and the SA, and the DA and the SA are header fields of an Ethernet packet in compliance with TSN standards specified by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.1 working groups.

### Claim 15 (depends on 10)

The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein each of the first VLAN tags comprises a VLAN ID (VID) and a Priority Code Point (PCP), and the VID and the PCP are fields in an Ethernet packet in compliance with TSN standards specified by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.1 working groups.

### Claim 16 (depends on 10)

The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the VLAN tag indication indicates to remove or keep the VLAN tag in the packet routed from the TSN network to the non-TSN network.

### Claim 17 (depends on 10)

The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the second mapping also specifies one or more correspondences between the one or more first stream IDs and one or more first Destination Addresses (DAs), and the routing of the packet further comprises:
in response to the second stream ID matching one of the first stream IDs and the packet being routed from the TSN network to the non-TSN network, replacing a second DA in the packet with the first DA corresponding to the matched first stream ID.