Link-fault tolerance in a distributed antenna system
Certain features relate to improving the link-fault tolerance in a distributed antenna system (DAS) by utilizing a series of synchronous communication frames. A receiving remote unit or a head-end unit in the DAS can predict the start of incoming communication frames based on frame information extracted from previously received communication frames. For example, a remote unit can be configured to receive one or more communication frames, each of the one or more communication frames including a start-of-frame field. After a period of time corresponding to the frame repetition rate, the remote unit can search for an additional start-of-frame field, indicating the receipt of the next communication frame. The remote unit can extract the payload data from the next communication frame based on the predicted value for the additional start-of-frame field.
1. A method, comprising:
receiving one or more communication frames, each of the one or more communication frames including a control field, the one or more communication frames associated with a frame repetition rate;
detecting the control field included in a first communication frame of the one or more communication frames;
extracting a payload of the first communication frame of the one or more communication frames based on the detected control field included in the first communication frame;
determining, after a period of time corresponding to the frame repetition rate, whether an additional control field included in an additional communication frame of the one or more communication frames is detected;
in response to determining that the additional control field is not detected, predicting a location of the additional control field included in the additional communication frame of the one or more communication frames; and
extracting an additional payload from the additional communication frame based on the predicted location of the additional control field.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the predicted location of the additional control field is determined based on the detected control field and the frame repetition rate.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the predicted location of the additional control field is determined based on a repetitive pattern of bit lengths of the one or more communication frames.
4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
setting a frame error counter to zero in response to determining that the additional control field was detected; and
incrementing the frame error counter in response to determining that the additional control field was not detected.
5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:
determining whether the frame error counter exceeds a threshold value;
searching for the additional control field by analyzing the one or more communication frames in response to the frame error counter exceeding the threshold value.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein predicting the location of the additional control field includes determining an expected amount of time has passed corresponding to the frame repetition rate.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the payload and the additional payload include:
digitized analog signals provided by a head-end unit of a distributed antenna system; or
digitized analog signals provided by a remote unit of a distributed antenna system.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more communication frames comprise Ethernet communication frames.
9. A unit of a distributed antenna system, comprising:
a processing device; and
a non-transitory computer-readable medium having program code stored thereon, wherein the program code is executable for performing operations comprising:
detecting a control field of a first communication frame of one or more communication frames received by the unit of the distributed antenna system, the one or more communication frames associated with a frame repetition rate;
extracting a payload of the first communication frame of the one or more communication frames based on the detected control field of the first communication frame;
determining, after a period of time corresponding to the frame repetition rate, whether an additional control field included in an additional communication frame of the one or more communication frames is detected;
in response to determining that the additional control field is not detected, predicting a location of the additional control field included in the additional communication frame of the one or more communication frames; and
extracting an additional payload from the additional communication frame based on the predicted location of the additional control field.
10. The unit of claim 9 , wherein the predicted location of the additional control field is determined based on the frame repetition rate and the detected control field.
11. The unit of claim 9 , wherein the unit of the distributed antenna system comprises a head-end unit or a remote unit.
12. The unit of claim 9 , wherein the program code is further executable for performing operations comprising:
determining whether the unit detected the additional control field;
setting a frame error counter to zero in response to determining that the unit detected the additional control field; and
incrementing the frame error counter in response to determining that the unit did not detect the additional control field.
13. The unit of claim 12 , wherein the program code is further executable for performing operations comprising:
determining whether the frame error counter exceeds a threshold value;
searching for the additional control field by analyzing the one or more communication frames received by the unit in response to the frame error counter exceeding the threshold value.
14. The unit of claim 9 , wherein the payload and the additional payload include digitized analog signals provided by another unit of the distributed antenna system.
15. A distributed antenna system, comprising:
a first unit configured to transmit one or more communication frames, each of the one or more communication frames including a control field, the one or more communication frames associated with a frame repetition rate; and
a second unit communicatively coupled to the first unit and located remotely from the first unit, the second unit configured to:
receive a first communication frame of the one or more communication frames transmitted by the first unit,
detect a control field included in the first communication frame,
extract a payload of the first communication frame based on the detected control field included in the first communication frame,
determine, after a period of time corresponding to the frame repetition rate, whether an additional control field included in an additional communication frame of the one or more communication frames is detected,
in response to determining that the additional control field is not detected, predict a location of the additional control field included in the additional communication frame of the one or more communication frames, and
extract an additional payload from the additional communication frame based on the predicted location of the additional control field.
16. The distributed antenna system of claim 15 , wherein the predicted location of the additional control field is determined based on the frame repetition rate and the control field.
17. The distributed antenna system of claim 15 , wherein the payload of the first communication frame and the additional payload of the additional communication frame include wireless communication information, and wherein the second unit is configured to transmit the wireless communication information within a coverage area.
18. The distributed antenna system of claim 15 , wherein the second unit is further configured to:
determine whether the second unit detected the additional control field;
set a frame error counter to zero in response to determining that the second unit detected the additional control field, and
increment the frame error counter in response to determining that the second unit did not detect the additional control field.
19. The distributed antenna system of claim 18 , wherein the second unit is further configured to:
determine whether the frame error counter exceeds a threshold value, and
search for the additional control field by analyzing the one or more communication frames received by the second unit in response to the frame error counter exceeding the threshold value.
20. The distributed antenna system of claim 15 , wherein the second unit is configured to predict the location of the additional control field by determining an expected amount of time has passed corresponding to the frame repetition rate.