Communications method and apparatus

A communications apparatus comprising:

• a memory configured to store instructions, and a processor coupled to the memory and configured to execute the instructions to cause the communications apparatus to:
• determine first configuration information, wherein the first configuration information belongs to a configuration information set, and wherein the first configuration information indicates, based on a sampling frequency of a first slave node, whether the first slave node is instructed to perform, in time units in a preset time period, an operation corresponding to the first configuration information;
• send the first configuration information to the first slave node;
• and
• send an instruction that uplink random data of a third slave node may be overwritten with uplink random data of the first slave node, wherein the communications apparatus is configured to connect to a second slave node, the first slave node, and the third slave node in series.

A first slave node comprising:

• a memory configured to store instructions, and a processor coupled to the memory and configured to execute the instructions to cause the first slave node to:
• sample, at a sampling frequency, data from a peripheral device;
• receive, from a control node, first configuration information, wherein the first configuration information belongs to a configuration information set, and wherein the first configuration information indicates, based on the sampling frequency, whether the first slave node is to perform, in time units in a preset time period, an operation corresponding to the first configuration information;
• determine, based on the first configuration information, a determined operation for each time unit in the preset time period;
• perform the determined operation for each time unit when each time unit is reached;
• and
• receive second configuration information, wherein the second configuration information indicates whether the first slave node is to activate an overwrite function within the preset time period, wherein the overwrite function comprises an instruction that uplink random data of a third slave node may be overwritten with uplink random data of the first slave node, and wherein the first slave node is configured to connect to the control node, a second slave node, and the third slave node in series.