Enhance PTP Features to Support 5G Time SyncE Solution¶
Storyboard: https://storyboard.openstack.org/#!/story/2009130
For many 5G applications, clock synchronization is essential for correct operation. The purpose of this work is to extend the PTP features of StarlingX to support the configuration of NICs which provide Synchronous Ethernet (SyncE) support. SyncE is a technology that allows for a reliable Pulse Per Second (PPS) signal, such as from a GNSS source, to be distributed among NICs in order to synchronize their clock timing. SyncE is standardized by the ITU-T in cooperation with IEEE as G.8261, G.8262 and G.8264.
Problem description¶
SyncE functionality requires setting values for different pins exposed by the device driver. This means that StarlingX must provide an interface for users to configure these pins and persist the configuration between reboots.
Use Cases¶
The changes proposed in this document pertain to StarlingX support for the Intel Westport Channel NIC and the related ICE driver. Other NICs may have different configuration interfaces and will require additional development to support. The goal of this work is to establish a basic framework that can be extended to support additional devices in the future if required.
Users want to configure and enable SyncE functionality on supported NICs.
Proposed change¶
This change will introduce a new instance to the PTP instance types, called ‘clock’. With this instance type, users will be able to specify host interfaces and assign parameters to them which will be processed and stored in the sysinv database. The existing PTP tables will be used, as the ‘clock’ instance type will be handled in the same manner as ptp4l, phc2sys and ts2phc. The database entries will then be processed into hieradata and a puppet manifest will apply the configuration on system boot or when the user issues system ptp-instance-apply.
Alternatives¶
Alternatives to this approach could perhaps involve tying the SyncE configuration into the host-if functionality of sysinv. A similar approach was taken in the past for single-instance PTP configuration. Tying the SyncE config to host-if or another part of sysinv risks being too restrictive to properly support future NIC types or other more complex requirements. By including it as a PTP instance type, there is a great deal of flexibility going forward. SyncE configuration also shares many similarities with the configuration process for PTP.
Data model impact¶
This feature will leverage the data model changes proposed in https://opendev.org/starlingx/specs/commit/dfaeb38ab727cbae8ad578e144fbfd42b3070089 and does not require any additional changes. SyncE configuration fits easily within this model and only requires that the ‘clock’ instance type be recognized by the API as a valid type.
REST API impact¶
There will be no changes to the REST API apart from those proposed in https://opendev.org/starlingx/specs/commit/dfaeb38ab727cbae8ad578e144fbfd42b3070089
Security impact¶
None
Other end user impact¶
None
Performance Impact¶
This work requires adding a small number of additional sysinv database queries during the generation of hieradata. These queries are generally only made once per run and the returned data is used for shared purposes among the setting up of PTP instances as much as possible.
Other deployer impact¶
None
Developer impact¶
None
Upgrade impact¶
None
Implementation¶
Assignee(s)¶
- Primary assignee:
Cole Walker
- Other contributors:
Douglas Koerich Teresa Ho
Repos Impacted¶
List repositories in StarlingX that are impacted by this spec.
starlingx/config starlingx/fault starlingx/integ starlingx/kernel starlingx/monitoring starlingx/ptp-notification-armada-app starlingx/stx-puppet
Work Items¶
Update to 5.10 kernel
Upgrade ICE driver to 1.7.16
Upgrade linuxptp package
Upgrade tzdata package to provide leapseconds.list
Support ‘clock’ instance type
Add handling for supported NIC parameters
Add alarming and monitoring for SyncE
Update ptp-notification to support GM node
Dependencies¶
Depends on: https://review.opendev.org/c/starlingx/specs/+/835315
Testing¶
Unit tests will be updated for APIs, as well for the hieradata generation.
Functional testing will be performed on hardware using Intel Westport Channel NICs.
Two separate nodes with this hardware are required to properly validate SyncE behaviour. Due to hardware limitations, initial development and testing will be performed on AIO-SX systems, with some limited test coverage on a Standard system. It is not expected that different system types should be relevant to testing this feature.
Existing regression testing for the ptp-notification feature should be run during this period in order to verify that the application still functions as expected. It is possible that updates to the ptp-notification app may be required as part of this work.
Documentation Impact¶
This work will primarily affect end users. The relevant End User documentation will need to be updated to provide configuration examples and to list the parameters used by the clock instance type. This feature relates directly to the Intel Westport Channel NIC and will require users to have access to Intel’s user documentation for that device in order to understand its usage.
StarlingX release notes describing this feature will be provided.
References¶
None
History¶
Release Name |
Description |
|---|---|
1 |
Introduced |
2 |
Minor syntax changes |
