Systems and methods for determining a topology of an ethernet ring in a building management system

Abstract

A system and method of determining a topology of devices in an Ethernet network of a building management system (BMS). The method includes discovering a number and identification of devices within the Ethernet ring. The method further includes, for each device discovered in the Ethernet ring, disabling an Ethernet port of one of the device in the Ethernet ring; broadcasting a ring port request onto the Ethernet ring; receiving a ring port response from each of the devices having received the ring port request; and incrementing a count associated with each device based on receiving a ring port response from the device. The method then repeats the above steps until each device in the Ethernet ring has had an Ethernet port disabled. The method further includes determining the topology of the devices in the Ethernet ring by ordering the devices in the Ethernet ring based on the value of the count associated with each device.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A method of determining a topology of devices in an Ethernet ring, comprising:
 broadcasting a device discovery command from a ring topology generator to the devices in the Ethernet ring; 
 receiving device discovery information from one or more of the devices in the Ethernet ring at the ring topology generator; 
 querying a ring supervisor to confirm that the Ethernet ring is closed and to determine which Ethernet port of the ring supervisor is connected to the Ethernet ring as a forwarding port; 
 the ring topology generator configured to, for each discovered device in the Ethernet ring:
 (i) disabling an Ethernet port of one of the devices the discovered device in the Ethernet ring; 
 (ii) verifying that the Ethernet ring is open; 
 (iii) broadcasting a ring port request onto the Ethernet ring via the ring supervisor; 
 (iv) receiving a ring port response from each of the devices having received the ring port request; 
 (v) incrementing a count associated with each device based on receiving of the devices from which a ring port response from the device is received other than the discovered device; 
 (vi) re-enabling the Ethernet port of the one of the devices discovered device in the Ethernet ring; and 
 (vii) repeating steps (i) through (vi) until each device in the Ethernet ring has had an Ethernet port disabled; and 
 
 determining the topology of the devices of the Ethernet ring by ordering the devices in the Ethernet ring based on a value of the count associated with each device, wherein the device having a highest count value being closest to the forwarding port of the ring supervisor, and the device having a lowest count value being furthest from the forwarding port of the ring supervisor. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the ring topology generator does not increment a count for a ring port response from the discovered device that currently has the Ethernet port disabled. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the Ethernet ring is configured as a Media Redundancy Protocol (MRP) ring. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the device discovery information includes a device identification (ID). 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 4 , wherein the device ID is one or more of a media access control (MAC) address, a building automation control network (BACnet) object identification (OID), and a logical device name. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 broadcasting a ring port query message based on receiving the device discovery information from the one or more devices in the Ethernet ring; 
 receiving a ring port query response from the one or more devices in the Ethernet ring; and 
 wherein the ring topology generator is configured to orient the Ethernet ports of the one or more devices in the Ethernet ring based on the received ring port query responses. 
 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 6 , wherein the ring port query response comprises a message identification (ID), a Device device identification (ID), and an Ethernet port on which the ring port query message was received. 
     
     
       8. A system for determining a topology of an Ethernet ring, the system comprising:
 a plurality of Ethernet devices configured in the Ethernet ring; 
 a ring supervisor, the ring supervisor integral to the Ethernet ring and configured to manage data flow within the Ethernet ring; and 
 a ring topology generator configured to:
 broadcast a device discovery command from a ring topology generator to the devices in the Ethernet ring; 
 receive device discovery information from one or more of the plurality of devices in the Ethernet ring, the received device discovery information indicating a discovered device; 
 query the ring supervisor to confirm that the Ethernet ring is closed and to determine which Ethernet port of the ring supervisor is connected to the Ethernet ring as a forwarding port; 
 execute the following instructions for each of the discovered devices device: 
 (i) disable an Ethernet port of one of the discovered devices device in the Ethernet ring; 
 (ii) verify that the Ethernet ring is open; 
 (iii) broadcast a ring port request onto the Ethernet ring via the ring supervisor; 
 (iv) receive a ring port response from each of the discovered devices having received the ring port request; 
 (v) increment a count associated with each device based on receiving of the devices from which a ring port request from the device response is received other than the discovered device; 
 (vi) re-enable the Ethernet port of the one of the discovered devices device; and 
 (vii) repeat steps (i) through (vi) until each device in the Ethernet ring has had an Ethernet port disabled; and 
 determine the topology of the devices on the Ethernet ring by ordering the devices in the Ethernet ring based on a value of the count associated with each device, wherein the device having a highest count value is closest to the forwarding port of the ring supervisor, and the device having a lowest count value is the device furthest from the forwarding port of the ring supervisor. 
 
 
     
     
       9. The system of  claim 8 , wherein the ring topology generator does not increment a count for a ring port response from the discovered device that currently has the Ethernet port disabled. 
     
     
       10. The system of  claim 8 , wherein the Ethernet ring is configured as one of a Media Redundancy Protocol (MRP) ring and a Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) ring. 
     
     
       11. The system of  claim 8 , wherein the device discovery information comprises a device identification (ID), the device ID comprising one or more of a media access control (MAC) address, a building automation control network (BACnet) object identification (OID), or a logical device name. 
     
     
       12. The system of  claim 8 , wherein the ring topology generator is further configured to:
 broadcast a ring port query message based on receiving the device discovery information from the one or more devices in the Ethernet ring; 
 receive a ring port query response from the one or more devices in the Ethernet ring; and 
 orient the Ethernet ports of the one or more devices in the Ethernet ring based on the received ring port query responses. 
 
     
     
       13. The system of  claim 12 , wherein the ring port query response comprises a message identification (ID), a Device device identification (ID), and an Ethernet port on which the ring port query message was received. 
     
     
       14. A method of determining a topology of devices in an Ethernet ring, comprising:
 discovering a number and identification of devices within the Ethernet ring; 
 for each discovered device discovered in the Ethernet ring:
 (i) disabling an Ethernet port of one of the devices the discovered device in the Ethernet ring; 
 (ii) verifying that the Ethernet ring is open; 
 (iii) broadcasting a ring port request onto the Ethernet ring from a ring supervisor; 
 (iv) receiving a ring port response from each of the devices having received the ring port request; 
 (v) incrementing a count associated with each device based on receiving of the devices from which a ring port response from the device is received other than the discovered device; 
 (vi) re-enabling the previously disabled Ethernet port of the one of the devices discovered device in the Ethernet ring; and 
 (vii) repeating steps (i) through (vi) until each device in the Ethernet ring has had an Ethernet port disabled; and 
 
 determining the topology of the devices in the Ethernet ring by ordering the devices in the Ethernet ring based on a value of the count associated with each device, wherein the device having a highest count value being closest to the forwarding port of the ring supervisor, and the device having a lowest count value being furthest from the forwarding port of the ring supervisor. 
 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 14 , wherein discovering the number and identity identification of devices on the Ethernet ring comprises:
 broadcasting a device discovery command from a ring topology generator to the devices in the Ethernet ring; and 
 receiving device discovery information from the devices in the Ethernet ring at the ring topology generator. 
 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 15 , wherein the device discovery information includes a device identification (ID), the Device identification (ID) comprising one or more of a media access control (MAC) address, a building automation control network (BACnet) object identification (OID), and a logical device name. 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 broadcasting a ring port query message to the Ethernet ring from the ring topology generator based on receiving the device discovery information from the one or more devices in the Ethernet ring; 
 receiving a ring port query response from the one or more devices in the Ethernet ring; and 
 wherein the ring topology generator is configured to orient the Ethernet ports of the one or more devices in the Ethernet ring based on the received port query responses. 
 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 17 , wherein the ring port response comprises a message identification (ID), a Device device identification (ID), and an Ethernet port identification on which the ring port query message was received. 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 14 , wherein the count for the ring port response received from the discovered device that currently has the Ethernet port disabled is not incremented while the Ethernet port is disabled. 
     
     
       20. The method of  claim 14 , wherein the Ethernet ring is configured as a Media Redundancy Protocol (MRP) ring. 
     
     
       21. A method of determining a topology of devices in an Ethernet ring or a daisy chain, comprising:
 broadcasting a device discovery command from a ring topology generator to the devices in the Ethernet ring or the daisy chain;   receiving device discovery information from one or more of the devices in the Ethernet ring or the daisy chain at the ring topology generator;   iteratively performing a plurality of steps for each discovered device in the Ethernet ring or the daisy chain until the plurality of steps have been repeated for each discovered device, the plurality of steps comprising:
 (i) disabling one or more ports on the discovered device; 
 (ii) broadcasting a ring port request to the devices in the Ethernet ring or daisy chain; 
 (iii) receiving a ring port response from each of the devices having received the ring port request; and 
 (iv) re-enabling the one or more ports on the discovered device; and 
   determining the topology of the devices of the Ethernet ring or the daisy chain based on the ring port responses.   
     
     
       22. The method of claim 21, wherein the ring topology generator does not receive a ring port response from the discovered device that currently has the one or more ports disabled. 
     
     
       23. The method of claim 21, wherein the Ethernet ring is configured as a Media Redundancy Protocol (MRP) ring. 
     
     
       24. The method of claim 21, wherein the device discovery information includes a device identification (ID). 
     
     
       25. The method of claim 24, wherein the device ID is one or more of a media access control (MAC) address, a building automation control network (BACnet) object identification (OID), and a logical device name. 
     
     
       26. The method of claim 21, further comprising:
 broadcasting a ring port query message based on receiving the device discovery information from the one or more devices in the Ethernet ring or the daisy chain; and   receiving a ring port query response from the one or more devices in the Ethernet ring or the daisy chain;   wherein the ring topology generator is configured to orient the ports of the one or more devices in the Ethernet ring or the daisy chain based on the received ring port query responses.   
     
     
       27. The method of claim 26, wherein the ring port query response comprises a message identification (ID), a device identification (ID), and an Ethernet port on which the ring port query message was received. 
     
     
       28. A system for determining a topology of an Ethernet ring or a daisy chain, the system comprising:
 a plurality of devices configured in the Ethernet ring or the daisy chain; and   a ring topology generator configured to:
 broadcast a device discovery command from the ring topology generator to the devices in the Ethernet ring or the daisy chain; 
 receive device discovery information from one or more of the devices in the Ethernet ring or the daisy chain at the ring topology generator; 
 execute instructions for each discovered device in the Ethernet ring or daisy chain, the instructions causing the ring topology generator to:
 (i) disable one or more ports on the discovered device; 
 (ii) broadcast a ring port request to the devices in the Ethernet ring or daisy chain; and 
 (iii) receive a ring port response from each of the devices having received the ring port request; and 
 (iv) re-enable the one or more ports on the discovered device; and 
 (v) repeat steps (i) through (iv) until each of the devices in the Ethernet ring or daisy chain has had one or more ports disabled and re-enabled, wherein the plurality of devices remain connected to the ring topology generator during steps (i) through (v) when arranged in the Ethernet ring; and 
 
 determine the topology of the devices of the Ethernet ring or the daisy chain based on the ring port responses. 
   
     
     
       29. The system of claim 28, wherein the ring topology generator does not receive a ring port response from the discovered device that currently has the one or more ports disabled. 
     
     
       30. The system of claim 28, wherein the Ethernet ring is configured as one of a Media Redundancy Protocol (MRP) ring and a Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) ring. 
     
     
       31. The system of claim 28, wherein the device discovery information comprises a device identification (ID), the device ID comprising one or more of a media access control (MAC) address, a building automation control network (BACnet) object identification (OD), or a logical device name. 
     
     
       32. The system of claim 28, wherein the ring topology generator is further configured to:
 broadcast a ring port query message based on receiving the device discovery information from the one or more devices in the Ethernet ring or the daisy chain;   receive a ring port query response from the one or more devices in the Ethernet ring or the daisy chain; and   orient the ports of the one or more devices in the Ethernet ring or the daisy chain based on the received ring port query responses.   
     
     
       33. The system of claim 32, wherein the ring port query response comprises a message identification (ID), a device identification (ID), and an Ethernet port on which the ring port query message was received. 
     
     
       34. A method of determining a topology of devices in an Ethernet ring or a daisy chain, comprising:
 discovering a number and identification of devices within the Ethernet ring or the daisy chain;   initiating a procedure to determine the topology of the devices of the Ethernet ring or the daisy chain, the procedure comprising:
 (i) disabling one or more ports on a reference device in the Ethernet ring or daisy chain; 
 (ii) broadcasting a ring port request to the devices in the Ethernet ring or daisy chain; 
 (iii) receiving a ring port response from each of the devices having received the ring port request; 
 (iv) re-enabling the one or more ports on the reference device; and 
 (v) repeating steps (i) through (iv) using a different device in the Ethernet ring or daisy chain as the reference device until each device in the Ethernet ring or daisy chain has been used as the reference device; and 
   determining the topology of the devices of the Ethernet ring or the daisy chain based on the ring port responses.   
     
     
       35. The method of claim 34, further comprising disabling a port on each of the devices and verifying that the Ethernet ring or the daisy chain is open. 
     
     
       36. The method of claim 34, wherein discovering the number and identification of devices on the Ethernet ring or the daisy chain comprises:
 broadcasting a device discovery command from a ring topology generator to the devices in the Ethernet ring or the daisy chain; and   receiving device discovery information from the devices in the Ethernet ring or the daisy chain at the ring topology generator.   
     
     
       37. The method of claim 36, wherein the device discovery information includes a device identification (ID). 
     
     
       38. The method of claim 37, wherein the device identification (ID) comprises one or more of a media access control (MAC) address, a building automation control network (BACnet) object identification (OD), and a logical device name. 
     
     
       39. The method of claim 34, wherein the ring port response comprises a message identification (ID), a device identification (ID), and an Ethernet port or daisy chain identification on which the ring port query message was received. 
     
     
       40. The method of claim 34, wherein the Ethernet ring is configured as a Media Redundancy Protocol (MRP) ring.