US 12,294,469 B2
Boundary clock synchronized loop
Natan Manevich, Ramat HaSharon (IL); Dotan David Levi, Kiryat Motzkin (IL); Wojciech Wasko, Młynek (PL); Ariel Almog, Kohav Yair (IL); and Bar Shapira, Tel Aviv (IL)
Assigned to Mellanox Technologies, Ltd, Yokneam (IL)
Filed by MELLANOX TECHNOLOGIES, LTD., Yokneam (IL)
Filed on Aug. 11, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/885,604.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/340,955, filed on May 12, 2022.
Prior Publication US 2023/0370305 A1, Nov. 16, 2023
Int. Cl. H04L 12/42 (2006.01); G06F 1/10 (2006.01); H04J 3/06 (2006.01); H04L 12/43 (2006.01)
CPC H04L 12/422 (2013.01) [G06F 1/10 (2013.01); H04J 3/0667 (2013.01); H04L 12/43 (2013.01)] 31 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A synchronized communication system, comprising:
a plurality of network devices including a first network device, one or more intermediate network devices, and a last network device; and
clock connections to connect the network devices in a closed loop configuration, wherein:
each of the network devices has an output connected to an input of a next one of the network devices via a respective one of the clock connections, while the last network device has an output connected to an input of the first network device via another respective one of the clock connections;
the network devices are configured to distribute among the network devices, via ones of the clock connections, a reference clock time from any selected one of the network devices, which is designated as a local reference clock;
at a first time, one of the plurality of network devices is designated as the local reference clock and is configured to distribute the reference clock time among the network devices; and
at a second time, another one of the plurality of network devices is designated as the local reference clock and is configured to distribute the reference clock time among the network devices.