CN111757395B

CN111757395B - Information transmission method, communication device, and storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN111757395B
Application number: CN201910236219.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 石小丽; 王瑞; 亨里克·奥鲁佛松; 戴明增; 曾清海
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-03-27
Filing date: 2019-03-27
Publication date: 2022-03-08
Anticipated expiration: 2039-03-27
Also published as: CN111757395A; WO2020192335A1

Abstract

The embodiment of the application provides an information transmission method, a communication device and a storage medium, wherein the method comprises the following steps: the first access network equipment acquires the load of the second access network equipment; the first access network equipment sends load information to third access network equipment, wherein the load information is used for indicating the load of the second access network equipment; the second access network device is adjacent to the first access network device, and the third access network device is adjacent to the first access network device, so that load information can be interacted between the access network devices without direct interfaces, and the method is suitable for various communication scenes such as switching, dual connectivity and the like.

Description

Information transmission method, communication device, and storage medium

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of wireless communications, and in particular, to an information transmission method, a communication apparatus, and a storage medium.

Background

Next Generation (NG) communication systems are capable of providing shorter latency, greater bandwidth, and support a larger number of connections than existing wireless communication systems, and load balancing is one of the techniques used to optimize network performance. By exchanging load information between base stations, mobility-related parameters are automatically adjusted, and uniform distribution of services or terminals among different base stations is achieved.

However, the above load information can only be interacted between two base stations with a direct interface, such as an X2 interface, and the use scenarios are limited. For example, in the handover process of the terminal, if the source base station and the neighboring base station have no direct interface, the source base station cannot obtain the load information of each neighboring cell, and thus cannot select a suitable target base station for the terminal to access.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides an information transmission method, a communication device and a storage medium, which can transmit load information in various networking scenes and improve network performance.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an information transmission method, including: the first access network equipment acquires the load of the second access network equipment; the first access network equipment sends load information to third access network equipment, wherein the load information is used for indicating the load of the second access network equipment; wherein the second access network device is adjacent to the first access network device, and the third access network device is adjacent to the first access network device.

Wherein the load of the second access network device may be cell-granular or beam-granular.

By adopting the information transmission method provided by the application, the first access network equipment acquires the load of the adjacent second access network equipment; and the load is informed to a third access network device adjacent to the first access network device, so that load information can be interacted even among the access network devices without direct interfaces, and the use scenes are flexible and various. For example, in the handover process of the terminal, the source base station may obtain load information of each neighboring cell, so that a suitable target base station can be selected for the terminal, and the accuracy of handover decision is improved.

In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the first access network device has a function of a master node, the second access network device has a function of a slave node, and the first access network device and the second access network device can jointly provide a data transmission service for the terminal.

In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, when the second access network device serves as a secondary node, the method further includes: the first access network device receives an indication from the second access network device, where the indication is used to indicate the capacity allocated by the second access network device for one or more primary nodes.

In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the method further includes: the first access network device obtains the load of the first access network device, and correspondingly, the load information is further used for indicating the load of the first access network device.

Optionally, the load of the first access network device includes one or more of: air interface load, available capacity, transmission load, or hardware load.

Optionally, the load of the first access network device includes one or more of: the load of the first access network device when the first access network device is used as a main node, the load of the first access network device when the first access network device is used as an independent node, or the load of a candidate auxiliary node corresponding to the first access network device. Wherein the candidate secondary node may comprise the second access network device.

Optionally, the load of the first access network device includes a sum of a load when the first access network device is used as a master node and a load when the first access network device is used as an independent node.

In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the load information is used to indicate a sum of a load of the second access network device and a load of the first access network device.

In a second aspect, the present application provides an information transmission method, including: the second access network equipment sends the load of the second access network equipment to the first access network equipment, so that the first access network equipment sends load information to the third access network equipment, wherein the load information is used for indicating the load of the second access network equipment; wherein the second access network device is adjacent to the first access network device, and the third access network device is adjacent to the first access network device.

The second access network device may serve as a candidate auxiliary node of the first access network device, or serve as an auxiliary node to provide a data transmission service for the terminal together with the first access network device serving as the master node.

In one possible implementation manner of the second aspect, when the second access network device serves as a secondary node, the method further includes: and the second access network equipment sends an indication to the first access network equipment, wherein the indication is used for indicating the capacity allocated to one or more main nodes by the second access network equipment.

In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect or the second aspect, the load of the second access network device includes: the load when the second access network device is used as an auxiliary node, and/or the load when the second access network device is used as an independent node.

In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect or the second aspect, the load when the second access network device serves as a secondary node includes one or more of the following: air interface load, available capacity, maximum capacity for use by the master node, transmission load, or hardware load.

In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect or the second aspect, the load of the second access network device when acting as an independent node includes one or more of the following: air interface load, available capacity, transmission load, or hardware load.

Through the implementation mode, the first access network equipment can acquire various types of loads of the second access network equipment working under different scenes, and the accuracy of the first access network equipment executing double connection or the accuracy of the third access network equipment in switching judgment is improved, so that the communication quality is improved.

In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect or the second aspect, the first access network device is a Control Unit (CU), the second access network device is a Distributed Unit (DU) managed by the CU, and a load of the first access network device includes one or more of the following: air interface load, available capacity, hardware load, or F1 interface transport load (F1TNL load); and the load of the second access network device comprises one or more of the following: radio resource status, available capacity, hardware load, or NG interface transport load (NG TNL load). Under the CU-DU scene, the CU and the DU can count respective loads respectively, and the accuracy of load counting is improved.

In a third aspect, the present application provides an information transmission method, including: a first access network device obtains a load of the first access network device, wherein the load of the first access network device comprises a load of a candidate auxiliary node corresponding to the first access network device; the first access network equipment sends load information to adjacent access network equipment, and the load information is used for indicating the load of the first access network equipment.

The first access network equipment has the function of serving as a main node and can provide data transmission service for the terminal together with the auxiliary node.

In a possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the first access network device receives, from a second access network device, a load of the second access network device, where the second access network device is a candidate secondary node determined by the first access network device.

In a possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the load of the second access network device includes: the load when the second access network device is used as an auxiliary node, and/or the load when the second access network device is used as an independent node.

In a possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the load of the first access network device further includes: the load when the first access network device is used as a master node, and/or the load when the first access network device is used as an independent node.

In a possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the load of the first access network device includes a sum of a load when the first access network device is a master node and a load when the first access network device is an independent node.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, where the apparatus has a function of implementing a behavior of an access network device (e.g., a first access network device or a second access network device) in the information transmission method shown in any one of the first to third aspects. The functions can be realized by hardware, and the functions can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more units or means (means) corresponding to the above functions.

In one possible design, the apparatus includes a processor configured to enable the apparatus to perform corresponding functions of the access network device in the information transmission method shown above. The apparatus may also include a memory, which may be coupled to the processor, that retains program instructions and data necessary for the apparatus.

In one possible implementation, the communication device may be an access network device, e.g. a base station, or a component, e.g. a chip or a system of chips or a circuit, which may be used in an access network device.

Optionally, the apparatus further includes an interface circuit, where the interface circuit may be configured to support communication between the access network device and other network devices, and send information or instructions related to the information transmission method to the other network devices.

Optionally, the apparatus further comprises a transceiver, which may be a stand-alone receiver, a stand-alone transmitter or a transceiver integrating transceiving functions. The transceiver may be used to support the apparatus in communication with a terminal

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, including the first access network device and the second access network device described in the above aspects.

Optionally, the communication system may further include a terminal.

In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to execute the information transmission method according to any one of the above aspects.

In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a computer program product containing instructions, which when run on a computer, causes the computer to execute the information transmission method according to any one of the above aspects.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the drawings needed to be used in the description of the embodiments are briefly introduced below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and it is obvious for those skilled in the art to obtain other drawings based on these drawings without creative efforts.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system 100 provided herein;

FIG. 1a is a schematic diagram of an SA networking architecture provided herein;

FIG. 1b is a schematic diagram of another SA networking architecture provided herein;

FIG. 1c is a schematic diagram of an EN-DC architecture provided herein;

FIG. 1d is a schematic diagram of an MR-DC architecture provided by the present application;

FIG. 1e is a schematic diagram of another MR-DC architecture provided herein;

FIG. 1f is a schematic diagram of an NR CU-DU architecture provided herein;

fig. 2 is a schematic flowchart of an information transmission method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is a signaling flow diagram of an information transmission method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a signaling flow diagram of an information transmission method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a signaling flow diagram of an information transmission method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 600 according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication apparatus 700 according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of an access network device 800 according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system 100 according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 1 schematically illustrates an architecture diagram of a communication system 100 provided in the present application. The communication system 100 includes an access network device and a terminal. Fig. 1 illustrates an example of a communication system 100 including an access network device 101, an access network device 102, an access network device 103, and a terminal 104. The access network device 101 and the access network device 102 are adjacent devices and have a communication interface (interface 1), the access network device 102 and the access network device 103 are adjacent devices and have a communication interface (interface 2), and each access network device manages at least one cell. As shown in fig. 1, a terminal 104 accesses an access network device 101, and the terminal 104 supports Dual Connectivity (DC) communication.

It should be noted that the communication system 100 is only an example, and a communication system to which the present application is applied is not limited thereto, for example, the number of access network devices and terminals included in the communication system 100 is only an example, and more than one terminal and access network device may be included in the communication system 100. One access network device may manage one or more terminals, i.e. one or more terminals may access the network through the same access network device. In addition, other devices may also be included in the communication system 100, for example, a wireless relay device, a wireless backhaul device, and the like may also be included, which is not illustrated in fig. 1.

The communication system in this application may be a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), a global system for mobile communications (GSM)/enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE) system, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless communication system, a fifth generation (5G) mobile communication system such as a new radio, NR) system, and other communication systems such as a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) system, or other communication systems that may appear in the future, such as other Next Generation (NG) communication systems, and the like, and the present application is not limited thereto.

In the present application, a terminal may be any type of device that provides voice and/or data connectivity to a user, and may be, for example, a handheld device having wireless connection capability or a processing device connected to a wireless modem. A terminal may communicate with a core network via an access network, such as a Radio Access Network (RAN), and may exchange voice and/or data with the RAN. The terminal may include a User Equipment (UE), a wireless terminal, a mobile terminal, a subscriber unit (subscriber unit), a subscriber station (subscriber station), a mobile station (mobile), a remote station (remote station), an Access Point (AP), a remote terminal (remote terminal), an access terminal (access terminal), a user terminal (user terminal), a user agent (user agent), a user equipment (user device), or the like. For example, mobile phones (or so-called "cellular" phones), computers with mobile terminals, portable, pocket, hand-held, computer-included or vehicle-mounted mobile devices, smart wearable devices, and the like may be included. For example, devices such as Personal Communication Service (PCS) phones, cordless phones, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phones, Wireless Local Loop (WLL) stations, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), smartbands, smartwatches, and the like. Also included are constrained devices, such as devices that consume less power, or devices that have limited storage capabilities, or devices that have limited computing capabilities, etc. Examples of information sensing devices include bar codes, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), sensors, Global Positioning Systems (GPS), laser scanners, and the like. Furthermore, the terminal 120 may also be a drone device. In the embodiments of the present application, a chip applied to the above-described apparatus may also be referred to as a terminal.

In this application, the access network device may be configured to access the terminal to a wireless network such as RAN. The access network device may be a base station defined by the third generation partnership project (3 GPP), for example, may be a base station device in an LTE system, i.e., an evolved NodeB (eNB/eNodeB); the present invention may also be an access network side device in an NR system, where the access network side device includes a gNB, a transmission point (TRP), a home base station (e.g., home evolved NodeB, or home Node B, HNB), a baseband unit (BBU), or an access network device that is composed of a Central Unit (CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU), where a CU may also be referred to as a control unit (control unit), and a structure of a CU-DU may be adopted to split protocol layers of the base station, and functions of part of the protocol layers are centrally controlled by the CU, and functions of the remaining part or all of the protocol layers are distributed in the DU, and the DU is centrally controlled by the CU. Furthermore, when an eNB is connected to a 5G Core network (5G-Core, 5G CN), the LTE eNB may also be referred to as an LTE eNB. Specifically, the LTE eNB is an LTE base station device that evolves on the basis of the LTE eNB, and may be directly connected to the 5G CN, and the LTE eNB also belongs to a base station device in the NR. The access network device may also be a Wireless Terminal (WT), such as an Access Point (AP) or an Access Controller (AC), or other access network devices having a capability of communicating with a terminal and a core network, such as a relay device, a vehicle-mounted device, an intelligent wearable device, and the like.

Based on the communication system architecture shown in fig. 1, the present application provides the following three possible scenarios.

Scenario one, independent (SA) networking architecture.

Fig. 1a is a schematic diagram of an SA networking architecture provided in the present application. In this architecture, gNB101a, gNB102a, and gNB103a are independent nodes, and may be connected to a 5G core network (5G core network, 5GC) through NG interfaces, respectively, gNB101a and gNB102a are adjacent stations to each other, and gNB102a and gNB103a are adjacent stations to each other, and gNB101a and gNB102a may communicate with each other through an Xn interface (also referred to as an Xn control plane (Xn-C) interface), and gNB102a and gNB103a may also communicate with each other through an Xn interface. In a possible scenario, gNB101a may be access network device 101 of fig. 1, gNB102a may be access network device 102 of fig. 1, and gNB103a may be access network device 103 of fig. 1.

Fig. 1b is a schematic diagram of another SA networking architecture provided in the present application. In the architecture, the eLTE eNB101b, the eLTE eNB102b and the eLTE eNB103b are connected to a 5G core network through NG interfaces respectively, the eLTE eNB101b and the eLTE eNB102b are adjacent stations to each other, the eLTE eNB101b and the eLTE eNB103b are adjacent stations to each other, the eLTE eNB101b and the eLTE eNB102b can communicate through an X2-C interface, and the eLTE eNB102b and the eLTE eNB103b can also communicate through an X2-C interface. One possible scenario is that the lte eNB101b may be the access network device 101 of fig. 1, the lte eNB102b may be the access network device 102 of fig. 1, and the lte eNB103b may be the access network device 103 of fig. 1.

Scenario two, a multiple connectivity (multi-connectivity) data transport architecture (also referred to as a primary-secondary node architecture).

In the second scenario, the access network device 101 and the access network device 102 together provide a service for the terminal 104, where the access network device 101 may be referred to as a Master Node (MN), and the access network device 102 may be referred to as a Secondary Node (SN). Control plane connection and user plane connection are arranged between the MN and a Core Network (CN), user plane connection or no user plane connection can be arranged between the SN and the Core Network, wherein S1-U represents the user plane connection, and S1-C represents the control plane connection. When the SN 120 does not have a user plane connection with the core network, Data of the terminal 104 may be shunted to the SN by the MN in a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer. The above MNs and SNs may also be referred to as primary and secondary base stations.

The multiple connections can be realized between access network devices of the same system, and can also be realized between access network devices of different systems. For example, dual connectivity, referred to as LTE-NR dual connectivity, may be implemented in a scenario of LTE and NR joint networking, so that a terminal may obtain radio resources from LTE and NR air interfaces simultaneously for data transmission, and obtain a gain of a transmission rate.

The second scenario can be divided into the following two network architectures.

Network architecture one, evolved universal terrestrial radio access network and NR dual connectivity (EN-DC) network architecture.

Fig. 1c is a schematic diagram of an EN-DC architecture provided in the present application. The primary node in the architecture may be eNB101c, and the secondary node may be a gNB102c, where eNB101c may also be referred to as an anchor base station. The eNB101C may be connected to a Mobility Management Entity (MME) or a Serving Gateway (SGW) in the 4G core network through an S1-mobility management entity (S1-MME) interface, and the eNB101C and the gNB102C may communicate with each other through an X2-C interface. As shown in fig. 1c, eNB103c is a neighbor to eNB101c, and eNB103c and eNB101c may communicate over the X2 port. In one possible scenario, the LTE eNB101c may be the access network device 101 in fig. 1, the NR gNB102c may be the access network device 102 in fig. 1, and the LTE eNB103c may be the access network device 103 in fig. 1.

Network architecture two, multi-RAT dual connectivity (MR-DC) network architecture.

The network architecture can be divided into two possible cases as follows.

Case 1, the core network to which the master node and the slave node are connected is a 4G core network (also referred to as EN-DC architecture)

In case 1, reference is made to the above description of the EN-DC architecture shown in fig. 1c, which is not described herein again.

In case 2, the core network to which the primary node and the secondary node are connected is a 5G core network.

Case 2 can be divided into two cases (i.e., case 2.1 and case 2.2).

Case 2.1, the primary node is the gNB101d and the secondary node is the lte eNB102 d.

Fig. 1d is a schematic diagram of an MR-DC architecture provided in the present application. The primary node in the architecture is a gNB101d, the secondary node is an lte eNB102d, and the gNB101d may also be referred to as an anchor (anchor). The gNB101d is connected to a mobility management function (AMF) network element or a User Plane Function (UPF) network element of the 5G core network through an NG-C interface, and the gNB101d and the eLTE eNB102d can communicate through an Xn-C interface.

Case 2.2, primary node is lte eNB101e and secondary node is gNB102 e.

Fig. 1e is a schematic diagram of another MR-DC architecture provided in the present application. The primary node in the architecture is an lte eNB101e, the secondary node is a gNB102e, and the lte eNB101e may also be referred to as an anchor base station. The eLTE eNB101e is connected to an AMF network element or a UPF network element of the 5G core network through an NG-C interface, and the gNB102e and the eLTE eNB101e can communicate through an Xn-C interface.

And scene three, CU-DU structure.

In the architecture, a CU corresponds to at least one DU, or alternatively, a CU may manage one or more DUs, and a CU may communicate with each DU separately. The architecture can be a CU-DU architecture in an LTE system and can also be a CU-DU architecture in an NR system. Fig. 1f is a schematic diagram of an NR CU-DU architecture according to the present application. The architecture is exemplified by including adjacent gNB-1 and gNB-2, the gNB-1 includes one CU101f and two DUs 102f, and the gNB-2 also includes one CU101f and two DUs 102 f. Communication between CU101F in gNB-1 and CU101F in gNB-2 can be via an Xn-C interface, and communication between CU101F and DU102F in gNB-1 and between CU101F and two DUs 102F in gNB-2 can also be via an F1 interface. Optionally, in one implementation, the functions of the CU and the DU may be divided according to the protocol stack functions, where the CU has functions above the PDCP layer (including PDCP, RRC, and SDAP), and the DU has functions below the PDCP layer (including RLC, MAC, and PHY). CU101f in gNB-1 may be access network device 101 in fig. 1, described above, DU102f in gNB-1 may be access network device 102 in fig. 1, described above, and CU101f in gNB-2 may be access network device 103 in fig. 1, described above. Alternatively, in another implementation, the gbb-2 may be a base station of a common type, i.e., a base station of a non-CU-DU architecture, and then the gbb-2 is the access network device 103 in fig. 1.

It should be noted that the CU-DU architecture in the present application may be extended to a multi-hop relay scenario, that is, the DU may be a relay device, or a scenario in which the DU and a terminal are transmitted through the relay device.

A beam (beam) as used herein may include a transmitting beam or a receiving beam, and refers to a radio wave with a certain direction and shape in a space formed when a wireless signal is transmitted or received by at least one antenna port, and it can be seen that the beam has a certain coverage. The method for forming the beam may include weighting amplitude and/or phase of data transmitted or received by at least one antenna port to form the beam, or may form the beam by other methods, for example, adjusting relevant parameters of the antenna unit, which is not particularly limited in this embodiment of the present invention. After the waves are introduced into the NR system, the signal coverage of the access network device may be composed of multiple beams, or a cell under the access network device may be covered by multiple beams. The beams include a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) -based beam and a Channel State Information reference Signal (CSI-RS) -based beam, and accordingly, the identification of the beam may be identified by an SSB index (index) or a CSI-RS index. The configuration of the beams is configured through Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages.

In the embodiment of the application, a unidirectional communication link from an access network to a terminal is defined as a downlink, data transmitted on the downlink is downlink data, and the transmission direction of the downlink data is called as a downlink direction; the unidirectional communication link from the terminal to the access network is an uplink, the data transmitted on the uplink is uplink data, and the transmission direction of the uplink data is referred to as an uplink direction.

The resources described in this embodiment may also be referred to as transmission resources, which include one or more of time domain resources, frequency domain resources, and code channel resources, and may be used to carry data or signaling in an uplink communication process or a downlink communication process.

It should be understood that the term "and/or" herein is merely one type of association relationship that describes an associated object, meaning that three relationships may exist, e.g., a and/or B may mean: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. In addition, the character "/" in this document indicates that the former and latter related objects are in an "or" relationship.

It should be understood that in the present embodiment, "B corresponding to a" means that B is associated with a, from which B can be determined. It should also be understood that determining B from a does not mean determining B from a alone, but may be determined from a and/or other information.

The "plurality" appearing in the embodiments of the present application means two or more.

The descriptions of the first, second, etc. appearing in the embodiments of the present application are only for illustrating and differentiating the objects, and do not represent the order or the particular limitation of the number of the devices in the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute any limitation to the embodiments of the present application.

The term "connect" in the embodiments of the present application refers to various connection manners, such as direct connection or indirect connection, to implement communication between devices, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

The "transmission" appearing in the embodiments of the present application refers to a bidirectional transmission, including actions of transmission and/or reception, unless otherwise specified. Specifically, "transmission" in the embodiment of the present application includes transmission of data, reception of data, or both transmission of data and reception of data. Alternatively, the data transmission herein includes uplink and/or downlink data transmission. The data may include channels and/or signals, uplink data transmission, i.e., uplink channel and/or uplink signal transmission, and downlink data transmission, i.e., downlink channel and/or downlink signal transmission.

The service (service) in the embodiment of the present application refers to a communication service acquired by a terminal from a network side, and includes a control plane service and/or a data plane service, such as a voice service, a data traffic service, and the like. The transmission or reception of traffic includes transmission or reception of traffic-related data (data) or signaling (signaling).

The various types of loads (loads) appearing in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as load measurement quantities, including uplink loads and/or downlink loads, where the uplink loads include Uplink (UL) loads and/or Supplemental Uplink (SUL) loads.

In the embodiments of the present application, "network" and "system" represent the same concept, and a communication system is a communication network.

It is understood that, in the embodiments of the present application, a terminal and/or an access network device may perform some or all of the steps in the embodiments of the present application, and these steps or operations are merely examples, and the embodiments of the present application may also perform other operations or various modifications of the operations. Further, the various steps may be performed in a different order presented in the embodiments of the application, and not all operations in the embodiments of the application may be performed.

Fig. 2 is a flow chart of an information transmission method provided in the present application, which can be used in the communication system shown in fig. 1. The method comprises the following steps:

s201: the first access network device obtains the load of the second access network device. Wherein the load of the second access network device may be cell-granular or beam-granular.

Optionally, the first access network device may further obtain an identifier of the second access network device. The identifier may be a cell identifier when the load of the second access network device is a cell-granular load; when the load of the second access network device is a load of a beam granularity, the identification may include a cell identification and a beam identification. The load corresponds to the identifier, and by acquiring the identifier, the first access network device can know which cell or which beam the load is in under the second access network device.

It can be understood that the number of the second access network devices is not limited in this embodiment, that is, the first access network device may obtain the load of one or more second access network devices, and the one or more second access network devices respectively have a communication interface with the first access network device.

S202: the first access network device sends load information to a third access network device, wherein the load information is used for indicating the load of the second access network device.

Wherein the second access network device is adjacent to the first access network device, and the third access network device is adjacent to the first access network device.

Optionally, the first access network device may serve as an independent node in an SA scenario or a master node in an MR-DC scenario; the second access network device may act as a stand-alone node in the SA scenario or as a secondary node in the MR-DC scenario. If in the SA scenario, the first access network device or the second access network device serving as an independent node can independently communicate with the terminal, and establish an independent control plane connection and a data plane connection with the terminal, where the independent node has an independent interface with the core network. If in the MR-DC scenario, the first access network device may serve as a master node, and a communication interface exists between the first access network device and the second access network device serving as a slave node, such as an X2 interface or an Xn interface, where the master node establishes a control plane connection and a data plane connection with the terminal, and the slave node establishes a data plane connection with the terminal. In other words, the first access network device or the second access network device may operate in an SA mode or a non-standalone (NSA) mode, and the first access network device in the NSA mode has a function of a primary node and the second access network device in the NSA mode has a function of a secondary node.

Optionally, the first access network device is a CU, and the second access network device is a DU, and the first access network device and the second access network device may communicate with each other through an F1 interface. In the embodiment of the present application, since there is a direct interface between the CU and the DU, the CU and the DU may be considered as adjacent access network devices.

Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the load of the second access network device is determined by the second access network device and is sent to the first access network device. Specifically, the second access network device may determine the load through statistics, measurement, and the like, without limitation.

Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the third access network device may use the obtained load information for the handover decision. Specifically, when the terminal accessing the third access network device performs cell handover during a moving process, the third access network device may determine the target cell according to the obtained load information of the first access network device and/or the load information of the second access network device, for example, determine whether the terminal may be handed over to a cell under the first access network device or the second access network device.

Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the load of the second access network device includes a load when the second access network device is used as a secondary node, and/or a load when the second access network device is used as an independent node.

Optionally, the load when the second access network device serves as the secondary node includes any one or more of an air interface load, an available capacity (CAC), a maximum capacity for the primary node to use, a transmission load, and a hardware load (hwload).

Wherein the air interface load may be represented by a radio resource status. The radio resource status may include resource utilization of Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs) in uplink and/or downlink, and optionally, the resource utilization of PRBs in uplink may include resource utilization of PRBs in UL carriers and/or SUL carriers. One example of the parameter indicating the resource utilization of the PRB is shown in table one:

watch 1

It is to be understood that the parameters indicating the resource utilization of the PRB may be any one or more of the above parameters, which are not limited in this application.

The available capacity, which may also be referred to as an available resource, includes an uplink available capacity and/or a downlink available capacity. Wherein the uplink available capacity includes UL available capacity and/or SUL available capacity. The available capacity may be represented by a cell available capacity class value (cell capacity class value) and/or a specific capacity value (capacity value), which is not limited in this application. An example of a parameter indicating available capacity is shown in table two:

watch two

It will be appreciated that the parameter indicative of available capacity may be any one or more of the above, and is not limited in this application.

The maximum capacity for the master node refers to a maximum capacity that can be used when the second access network device, which serves as the secondary node, and provides a service for the terminal together with the master node. The uplink capacity comprises the uplink capacity and/or the downlink capacity used by the main node, wherein the uplink capacity comprises the UL capacity and/or the SUL capacity. For example, if the total capacity of the second access network device is 100, the capacity for the primary node when the second access network device is used as the secondary node is 30, and the remaining capacity of 70 is the capacity used when the second access network device is used as the independent node.

The transmission load refers to a transmission load between the access network device and the core network, and includes an uplink transmission load and/or a downlink transmission load, where the uplink transmission load includes an UL transmission load and/or an SUL transmission load. It can be understood that, if the types of the core networks are different, the types of the interfaces between the core networks and the access network devices are different, and further, the transmission load may be divided according to the different types of the interfaces. For example, if the SN is connected to the 4G core network, the transmission load is a transmission load (S1TNL load) of the S1 interface, and if the SN is connected to the 5G core network, the transmission load is a transmission load of the NG interface. Alternatively, the transmission load may be a load indicator for indicating, for example, the strength of the transmission load at high, medium and low levels, or may be in other forms, for example, a specific transmission load value, and the like, which is not limited in this application.

The hardware load comprises an uplink hardware load and/or a downlink hardware load, wherein the uplink hardware load comprises an UL hardware load and/or an SUL hardware load. Optionally, the hardware load is a load indicator, which is used to indicate, for example, the strength of the hardware load at high, medium, and low levels, and may be in other forms, for example, a specific hardware load value, and the like, which is not limited in this application.

Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, a load of the second access network device when serving as an independent node includes any one or more of an air interface load, an available capacity, a transmission load, and a hardware load. For the detailed description of each load, reference may be made to the above description, which is not repeated.

Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the second access network device sends the identifier of the cell and the load measurement result of the cell granularity to the first access network device, where an example is shown in table three:

watch III

Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the second access device sends a load measurement result of the beam granularity to the first access network device, where an example is shown in table four:

watch four

It can be understood that the cell Composite Available Capacity for MN in table three/table four exists when the second access device is used as a secondary node.

Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, when the second access network device is a secondary node, the method further includes: the second access network device sends to the first access network device a capacity indication, which may also be referred to as a capacity indication, indicating that the second access network device allocates capacity for one or more primary nodes. Specifically, the indication is used to indicate that the second access network device is an auxiliary node that can serve as multiple main nodes, and indicate the capacity allocated to the main node when different main nodes serve as auxiliary nodes, so that the third access device selects a suitable main node as a target access device for handover according to the capacity. For example, eNB1, eNB2, eNB3 are primary base stations, the gNB1 may be secondary base stations of eNB1, eNB2, eNB3, respectively, the total capacity of the gNB1 is 100, the capacities allocated to the primary base stations eNB1, eNB2, eNB3 when the gNB1 is a secondary base station of eNB1, eNB2, eNB3 are 30, 40, 50, the gNB1 transmits the capacity indication to the eNB1, the eNB1 forwards the capacity information to the gNB2, and when a terminal under the gNB2 supports a multi-link function and handover is required, the gNB2 may select the eNB2 with the largest capacity allocated to the secondary base station as a target base station according to the capacity indication.

Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the method further includes S200: the first access network device obtains the load of the first access network device.

Accordingly, the load information is further used to indicate the load of the first access network device. In one embodiment, the load information may be used to indicate a sum of the load of the first access network device and the load of the second access network device. Specifically, the first access network device may accumulate loads of the same type when different access network devices operate in different scenes or in the same scene, and the load information carries or indicates an accumulated value. For example, the hardware load when the first access network device is used as the primary node may be added to the hardware load when the second access network device is used as the secondary node; or the hardware load when the first access network device is used as an independent node is added to the hardware load when the second access network device is used as an independent node, or all the hardware loads may be added, which is not limited.

Optionally, the load of the first access network device includes one or more of an air interface load, an available capacity, a transmission load, and a hardware load. For the detailed description of each load, reference may be made to the above description, which is not repeated.

Optionally, the load of the first access network device includes a load when the first access network device is used as a master node, a load when the first access network device is used as an independent node, or a load of a candidate secondary node corresponding to the first access network device. The candidate auxiliary node refers to one or more access network devices selected from adjacent access network devices with the auxiliary node function when the first access network device serves as a main node, and then determines that the auxiliary node performs multi-connection data transmission in the one or more access network devices.

Optionally, the load of the first access network device includes a sum of a load when the first access network device is used as a master node and a load when the first access network device is used as an independent node. In an example, the first access network device may directly count the overall load, that is, count the load by type, for example, count the current air interface load, hardware load, and the like, without distinguishing a scenario in which the access network device operates, for example, without distinguishing whether the first access network device operates as a master node or an independent node. In another example, the first access network device further accumulates specific values of loads of the same type of the first access network device in different scenarios, and informs the first access network device of the accumulated values in a manner of load information or the like, for example, adds a hardware load when the first access network device is used as a master node and a hardware load when the first access network device is used as an independent node, and carries the added values in load information sent to the third access network device.

Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, S200 may be executed independently from S201, that is, S201 and S200 may be executed alternatively. When only S200 is executed, the first access network device may notify the acquired load to itself to an adjacent device of the first access network device, for example, the third access network device, in a manner of load information or the like. Accordingly, only the load of the first access network device may be indicated in the load information. In addition, when both S201 and S200 are executed, the execution sequence of both S201 and S200 is not distinguished, and S201 may be executed first, and then S200 may be executed; or executing S200 first and then executing S201; or S201 and S200 are performed simultaneously.

By adopting the information transmission method provided by the application, the first access network equipment acquires the load of the adjacent second access network equipment; and the load is informed to a third access network device adjacent to the first access network device, so that load information can be interacted even among the access network devices without direct interfaces, and the use scenes are flexible and various. For example, in the handover process of the terminal, the source base station may obtain load information of each neighboring cell, so that a suitable target base station can be selected for the terminal, and the accuracy of handover decision is improved. In addition, the method provided by the application can be applied to various network architectures, such as a multi-connection architecture or a CU-DU architecture.

The information transmission method provided by the embodiments of the present application will be explained and explained below with an MR-DC scenario and a CU-DU scenario, respectively, and it can be understood that the various embodiments provided by the present application may refer to and reference each other, and the same contents are not repeated.

Fig. 3 to fig. 4 are schematic signaling flows of an information transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present application in an MR-DC scenario. In the embodiments shown in fig. 3 to fig. 4, a first access network device is taken as the base station 1, a second access network device is taken as the base station 2, and a third access network device is taken as the base station 3. In the MR-DC scenario, the terminal can access base station 1 and base station 2 at the same time, and base station 1 can be MN, base station 2 can be SN, and base station 3 is a neighbor of base station 1.

As shown in fig. 3, the method includes:

s301: the base station 2 determines the load of the base station 2.

The load of the base station 2 includes a load of the base station 2 as an SN and/or a load of the base station 2 as an independent node, and for a specific description of the load of the base station 2, reference may be made to a description related to a load of the second access network device in the embodiment shown in fig. 2, which is not described in detail.

S302: the base station 2 transmits the load of the base station 2 to the base station 1.

Accordingly, the base station 1 receives the load of the base station 2.

S303: the base station 2 transmits information for capacity indication to the base station 1.

Wherein, the capacity indication information is used for indicating the capacity available for the base station 1 when the base station 2 is used as the SN and the capacity available for other base stations used as the MN.

Wherein S303 is an optional step. It is understood that S302 and S303 are not performed sequentially.

In an embodiment of the present application, after the base station 1 receives the load of the base station 2, the method further includes S304: the base station 1 determines whether to perform multi-connection data transmission with the base station 2 according to the received load of the base station 2. For example, if the load of the base station 2 is high, the base station 1 may consider that the base station 2 is not suitable for offloading traffic data of the terminal as the SN.

In an embodiment of the present application, after the base station 1 receives the load of the base station 2, the method further includes S305: the base station 1 sends the load of the base station 2 to the base station 3.

Accordingly, the base station 3 receives the load of the base station 2, and then the base station 3 can determine whether to perform handover for the terminal and a target base station for the handover according to the load of the base station 2.

It is understood that S304 and S305 may be executed alternatively or both, and when both are executed, the two steps are not executed in different orders.

As shown in fig. 4, the method includes:

s401: the base station 1 determines the load of the base station 1 and/or the load of the neighborhood of the base station 1.

Optionally, the load of the base station 1 includes one or more of an overall load of the base station 1, a load of the base station 1 as an MN, a load of the base station 1 as an independent node, and a load of a candidate SN or SN group of the base station 1.

The overall load of the base station 1 may include the load of the base station 1 as MN and the load of the base station 1 as an independent node. When the overall load is counted, the base station 1 may not distinguish the operating state of the base station 1, but only distinguish the load types, such as the hardware load, the transmission load, and the like.

The load of the neighboring cell of the base station 1 may include a load of a neighboring station of the base station 1, for example, the base station 2, when the neighboring station is an independent node.

When the base station 1 serves as the MN, one or more candidate SNs may be determined, and further, the base station 1 may select at least one candidate SN to perform multi-connection data transmission. The load of the candidate SN may be transmitted to the base station 1 through the base station with SN function through a communication interface with the base station 1. For example, the candidate SN may include the base station 2, and the base station 2 may send the load of the base station 2 to the base station 1 by using the method in the embodiment shown in fig. 2 or fig. 3, which is not described in detail.

Optionally, the base station 1 may determine to determine the SN group based on the candidate SNs, specifically, the base station 1 may select a part of the candidate SNs as the SN group, and the load of the SN group may be obtained by directly accumulating the candidate SN loads in the SN group, or may be in other implementation manners, which is not limited in this application.

Several ways of the base station 1 to count the load in different scenarios are listed below:

firstly, the base station 1 may count the load of the base station 1 as the MN, the load of the base station 1 as an independent node, and the load of the candidate SN or SN group of the base station 1, respectively, wherein the load of the candidate SN may be directly sent to the base station 1 by the candidate SN. Further, the base station 1 may receive the candidate SN transmitted by the candidate SN as a load when the node is independent.

Wherein, the load of the base station 1 as MN or the load of the base station 1 as an independent node includes: any one or more of an air interface load, an available capacity, a transmission load, and a hardware load may refer to the relevant contents of other embodiments of the present application for the specific description of each load, which is not described in detail.

Secondly, the base station 1 can count the whole load of the base station 1, and count the load of the candidate SN or the SN group, and the candidate SN is taken as the load of the independent node. Wherein, the overall load of the base station 1 includes the sum of the load of the base station 1 as the MN and the load as the independent node.

Thirdly, the base station 1 can count the sum of the load of the base station 1 as the MN, the load of the base station 1 as an independent node, and the load of the candidate SN or the SN group. Optionally, the base station 1 may further count the sum of the above three types of loads and the load when the candidate SN is used as an independent node.

S402: the base station 1 sends load information to the base station 3, where the load information is used to indicate the load of the base station 1 and/or the load of the neighboring cell of the base station 1.

Accordingly, the base station 3 receives the load information.

S403: and the base station 3 determines a target base station for terminal switching according to the load information.

For example, when the load of the base station 1 is smaller than the loads of the neighboring stations of the other base stations 3, the base station 1 may be the target base station; or, when the load of the base station 1 is greater than the loads of the neighboring stations of other base stations 3, but the base station 3 obtains the load of the candidate SN of the base station 1 from the load information, the base station 3 knows that the base station 1 can perform multi-connection data transmission, for example, the base station 2 is added as an SN for offloading the service data of the base station 1, so that the base station 3 can still determine to use the base station 1 as a target base station.

In a multi-connection scenario, the base station 2 having the secondary node function sends the load when it is used as a secondary node and the load when it is used as an independent load to the base station 1 having the primary node function, so that the base station 1 can use the received load of the base station 2 to determine whether to perform multi-connection transmission with the base station 2. Further, the base station 1 may send the load of the base station 2 and/or the load of the base station 1 to the neighboring station of the base station 1, and the neighboring station may consider the loads of the

base stations

1 and 2 in the handover decision to select a suitable target base station for the terminal.

By using the information transmission method provided by the embodiment of the application, load measurement and load interaction are realized in a multi-connection scene, and the terminal is triggered to transfer service data to the SN, so that the triggering opportunities of access rejection and congestion control are reduced, the system capacity is improved, and the maximization of network resource utilization is realized.

Fig. 5 is a signaling flow diagram of an information transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present application in a CU-DU scenario. In the embodiment shown in fig. 5, the first access network device and the second access network device belong to the same base station (shown as base station 1 in fig. 5), the first access network device is CU, the second access network device is DU, and the third access network device is a neighboring station of the base station 1 (shown as base station 2 in fig. 5).

S501: the DU determines the load of the DU.

Specifically, the DU may count the load of one or more serving cells under the DU.

Optionally, the load of the DU statistics includes: air interface load, hardware load, CAC, and transmission load. The transport payload may be a transport payload (F1TNL load) of an F1 interface, and may include a transport payload of an F1 interface of an uplink and/or a downlink, where the uplink includes UL and/or SUL. The transmission load of the F1 interface may be a load indicator, such as a high, medium, and low level, or may be in other forms, which is not limited in this application. For specific description of other load types, reference may be made to relevant contents of other embodiments of the present application, and details are not repeated.

It should be noted that, the load of the DU statistics is based on the statistics of each cell, and the cell is a cell served under the DU; the measurement result contains the identity of the cell. Or, the load of the DU statistics is based on statistics of each beam, where the beam is a beam under the cell, and the measurement result includes the beam identifier and the cell identifier. The description of the granularity of the load of the DU statistics may refer to the relevant content in the embodiment shown in fig. 2, and is not described in detail.

S502: the DU sends load information to the CUs.

Accordingly, the CU receives the load information.

The load information includes a load statistical result of the DU to the serving cell under the DU.

The method for transmitting the load information by the DU is not particularly limited in the present application. For example, the DU may send the load information on its own initiative, or according to a period and an event, which may be pre-configured to the DU by the CU, or according to a request of the CU.

In an embodiment, the load information may be sent to the CU through an existing F1AP message, and the F1 interface message may be an existing F1 interface message, for example, including a UE-associated (UE-associated) message and a non-UE-associated (non-UE-associated) message, or may be a newly defined F1 interface message, which is not limited in this application.

S503: the CU determines the load of the CU.

Specifically, the load of the CU determined by the CU includes: the method comprises the following steps of one or more of air interface load, hardware load, CAC and NG interface transmission load (NG TNL load), wherein the NG TNL load comprises uplink and downlink S1 interface transmission load, and the uplink comprises UL and/or SUL. The transmission load of the S1 interface may be a load indicator, such as a high, medium, and low level, or may be in other forms, which is not limited in this application. For specific description of other load types, reference may be made to relevant contents of other embodiments of the present application, and details are not repeated.

It is understood that a CU may manage multiple DUs, each of which may send load information to the CU.

Optionally, when the CU receives load information of a plurality of DUs, the method further includes S504: and the CU performs load balancing among the DUs according to the received load information of each DU.

Specifically, the CU may select one or more DUs according to the load of each DU, for example, select a DU with a small load for data transmission.

Optionally, the method further includes S505: the CU sends the CU load and the DU load to the base station 2.

Furthermore, the base station 2 may determine during the handover according to the load of the CU and the load of the DU, and includes: the base station 2 determines whether the terminal traffic can be transferred to the CU and/or DU according to the two types of loads.

Alternatively, an example of the load information sent by the CU to the base station 2 is shown in table five:

watch five

Another example of load information sent by the CU to the base station 2 is shown in table six:

IE/Group Name
	Message Type
CU Measurement ID
	base station 2Measurement ID
Measurement results (Measurement Result for CU)
	>CU identification
>Hardware Load Indicator (Hardware Load Indicator)
	>S1 interface transmission Load indication (S1TNL Load Indicator)
>Radio Resource Status (Radio Resource Status)
	>Available Capacity (Composite Available Capacity Group)
Cell Measurement Result for DU
	>Cell identity Cell ID
>Beam identification (Beam ID)
	>Hardware Load Indicator (Hardware Load Indicator)
>S1 interface transmission Load indication (S1TNL Load Indicator)
	>Radio Resource Status (Radio Resource Status)
>Available Capacity (Composite Available Capacity Group)

Watch six

The beam identification shown in table six may be an SSB index or a CSI-RS index.

It is to be understood that the parameters included in the load information may be any one or more of the above parameters, which are not limited in this application.

It should be noted that, a CU may send the load information to a neighboring base station through an existing X2/Xn interface message, or may send the load information through other newly defined messages, which is not limited in this application.

Alternatively, the base station 2 may also employ the architecture of CU-DUs. For example, a CU included in the base station 1 is referred to as CU1, and a CU included in the base station 2 is referred to as CU 2. CU1 may send the load of CU1 and the load of the serving cell under one or more DUs managed by CU1 to CU2 over the Xn interface and vice versa. Thus, load balancing of DUs managed individually can be performed between CU1 and CU 2. For the interaction of the load information between the CU1 and the CU2, reference may be made to the related description of other embodiments of the present application, which is not repeated herein.

In a CU-DU scenario, a CU may determine a load of the CU, so that the CU and the DU perform respective load statistics, and accuracy of the load statistics is improved.

Examples of the information transmission methods provided by the present application are described above in detail. It is to be understood that the communication device provided in the present application includes a hardware structure and/or a software module for performing each function in order to implement the above information transmission method. Those of skill in the art would readily appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as hardware or combinations of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is performed as hardware or computer software drives hardware depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

The communication device may be divided into functional units according to the above method examples, for example, each function may be divided into each functional unit, or two or more functions may be integrated into one processing unit. The integrated unit can be realized in a form of hardware, and can also be realized in a form of a software functional unit. It should be noted that the division of the units in the present application is schematic, and is only one division of logic functions, and there may be another division manner in actual implementation.

For example, the communication device 600 shown in fig. 6 includes a processing unit 601 and a transceiver 602.

In an embodiment of the present application, the communication apparatus 600 is configured to support a first access network device to implement the information transmission method provided in the embodiment of the present application, for example, the processing unit 601 may obtain, through the transceiving unit 602, a load of a second access network device, and the processing unit 601 may send, through the transceiving unit 602, load information to a third access network device, where the load information is used to indicate the load of the second access network device. Wherein the second access network device is adjacent to the first access network device, and the third access network device is adjacent to the first access network device.

Wherein the load of the second access network device is cell-granular or beam-granular.

Optionally, the load of the second access network device includes: the load when the second access network device is used as an auxiliary node, and/or the load when the second access network device is used as an independent node.

Wherein the load of the second access network device as the secondary node may include one or more of the following: air interface load, available capacity, maximum capacity for use by the master node, transmission load, or hardware load.

The load of the second access network device when acting as an independent node comprises one or more of the following: air interface load, available capacity, transmission load, or hardware load.

Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the processing unit 601 is further configured to obtain a load of the first access network device. Accordingly, the load information may also be used to indicate the load of the first access network device.

Wherein the load of the first access network device comprises one or more of: air interface load, available capacity, transmission load, or hardware load.

Optionally, the load of the first access network device includes one or more of: the load of the first access network device when the first access network device is used as a main node, the load of the first access network device when the first access network device is used as an independent node, or the load of a candidate auxiliary node corresponding to the first access network device.

Optionally, the load information is used to indicate a sum of a load of the second access network device and a load of the first access network device.

Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, when the second access network device serves as a secondary node, the transceiver unit 602 is further configured to receive an indication from the second access network device, where the indication is used to indicate a capacity allocated by the second access network device for one or more primary nodes.

Optionally, when the first access network device is a CU and the second access network device is a DU managed by the CU, the load of the first access network device includes one or more of the following: air interface load, available capacity, hardware load, or F1 interface transport load; and the load of the second access network device comprises one or more of the following: radio resource status, available capacity, hardware load, or NG interface transport load.

For detailed descriptions of operations executed by each functional unit of the communication apparatus 600, for example, descriptions of the various loads and statistics of the loads and the sending manner, reference may be made to the embodiments of the information transmission method provided in this application, for example, relevant contents in the embodiments shown in fig. 2 to fig. 5, which are not described again.

In an embodiment of the present application, the communication apparatus 600 is configured to support a second access network device to implement the information transmission method provided in the embodiment of the present application, for example, the processing unit 601 is configured to send, to a first access network device, load of the second access network device through the sending unit 602, so that the first access network device sends load information to a third access network device, where the load information is used to indicate the load of the second access network device; wherein the second access network device is adjacent to the first access network device, and the third access network device is adjacent to the first access network device.

It can be understood that, when the communication apparatus 600 supports the second access network device to implement the information transmission method provided in the present application, the same or corresponding functions or operations as those of the first access network device side are not described in detail.

In another embodiment of the present application, in terms of hardware implementation, the functions of the processing unit 601 may be executed by a processor, and the functions of the transceiver unit 602 may be executed by a transceiver (transmitter/receiver), where the processing unit 601 may be embedded in a hardware form or a processor independent from the base station, or may be stored in a memory of the base station in a software form, so that the processor invokes operations corresponding to the above modules to perform.

Fig. 7 shows a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 700 provided by the present application. The communication device 700 may be used to implement the methods described in the method embodiments above. The communication apparatus 700 may be a chip, a terminal, an access network device or other wireless communication device, etc.

The communication apparatus 700 includes one or more processors 701, and the one or more processors 701 may support the communication apparatus 700 to implement the information transmission method performed by the terminal in the embodiment of the present application, for example, the method performed by the terminal in the embodiment shown in fig. 3 to fig. 8; alternatively, the one or more processors 701 may support the communications apparatus 700 to implement the method performed by the access network device in the embodiments described herein, such as the method performed by the access network device in the embodiments shown in fig. 2-5.

The processor 701 may be a general purpose processor or a special purpose processor. For example, processor 701 may include a Central Processing Unit (CPU) and/or a baseband processor. Where the baseband processor may be configured to process communication data (e.g., the first message described above), the CPU may be configured to implement corresponding control and processing functions, execute software programs, and process data of the software programs.

Further, the communication apparatus 700 may further include a transceiving unit 705 for implementing input (reception) and output (transmission) of signals.

For example, the communication apparatus 700 may be a chip, and the transceiver unit 705 may be an input and/or output circuit of the chip, or the transceiver unit 705 may be a communication interface of the chip, and the chip may be a component of a UE or a base station or other wireless communication device.

Also for example, communications apparatus 700 can be a UE or a base station. The transceiving unit 705 may include a transceiver or a radio frequency chip. The transceiving unit 705 may also comprise a communication interface.

Optionally, the communication apparatus 700 may further include an antenna 706, which may be used to support the transceiver 705 to implement the transceiving function of the communication apparatus 700.

Optionally, the communication device 700 may include one or more memories 702, on which programs (also instructions or codes) 703 are stored, and the programs 703 may be executed by the processor 701, so that the processor 701 executes the method described in the above method embodiment. Optionally, data may also be stored in the memory 702. Alternatively, processor 701 may also read data (e.g., predefined information) stored in memory 702, which may be stored at the same memory address as program 703 or at a different memory address than program 703.

The processor 701 and the memory 702 may be provided separately or integrated together, for example, on a single board or a System On Chip (SOC).

In one possible design, the communication device 700 is a terminal or a chip that can be used for a terminal. Processor 701 may be configured to determine uplink information; when the uplink information is first feedback information, determining a first uplink control channel resource corresponding to the first feedback information, and sending the first feedback information on the first uplink control channel resource; when the uplink information comprises A-CSI, determining a second uplink control channel resource corresponding to the uplink information, and sending the uplink information on the second uplink control channel resource; wherein the first uplink control channel resource is different from the second uplink control channel resource. The uplink information may be sent to the access network device through the transceiver 705.

In one possible design, the communication apparatus 700 is an access network device or a chip available for the access network device, and the transceiver 705 may be configured to receive uplink information from the terminal; processor 701 may be configured to determine an uplink control resource used by the uplink information; and when the uplink information is received on a first uplink control channel resource, determining the uplink information as first feedback information; when the uplink information is received on a second uplink control channel resource, determining that the uplink information includes A-CSI, wherein the first uplink control channel resource is different from the second uplink control channel resource.

For a detailed description of the operations performed by the communication apparatus 700 in the above various possible designs, reference may be made to the relevant contents in the embodiments of the method of the present application, which are not described in detail herein.

It should be understood that the steps of the above-described method embodiments may be performed by logic circuits in the form of hardware or instructions in the form of software in the processor 701. The processor 701 may be a CPU, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, such as a discrete gate, a transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component.

The present application further provides a computer program product, which when executed by the processor 701 implements the information transmission method according to any of the method embodiments of the present application. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When loaded and executed on a computer, cause the processes or functions described in accordance with the embodiments of the application to occur, in whole or in part. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a network of computers, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another, for example, from one website site, computer, server, or data center to another website site, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device, such as a server, a data center, etc., that incorporates one or more of the available media.

The computer program product may be stored in the memory 702, for example, as the program 704, and the program 704 is finally converted into an executable object file capable of being executed by the processor 701 through preprocessing, compiling, assembling, connecting, and the like.

The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, which, when executed by a computer, implements the information transmission method described in any of the method embodiments of the present application. The computer program may be a high-level language program or an executable object program.

Such as memory 702. Memory 702 may be either volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, or memory 702 may include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. The non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a Programmable ROM (PROM), an Erasable PROM (EPROM), an electrically Erasable EPROM (EEPROM), or a flash memory. Volatile memory can be Random Access Memory (RAM), which acts as external cache memory. By way of example, but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM, enhanced SDRAM, SLDRAM, Synchronous Link DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM).

In the case that the communication device 700 is an access network device, fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of an access network device provided in the present application, and the access network device may be a base station, for example. As shown in fig. 8, the base station may be applied to the system shown in fig. 1, and implement the functions of the first access network device or the second access network device in the foregoing method embodiment. The base station 800 may include one or more radio frequency units, such as a Remote Radio Unit (RRU) 801 and at least one baseband unit (BBU) 802. The BBU802 may include a Distributed Unit (DU), or may include a DU and a Central Unit (CU), among others.

The RRU801 may be referred to as a transceiver unit, transceiver circuitry, or transceiver, which may include at least one antenna 808 and a radio frequency unit 808. The RRU801 is mainly used for transceiving radio frequency signals and converting the radio frequency signals and baseband signals, for example, for supporting a transmitting function and a receiving function in the base station implementation method embodiment. The BBU802 is mainly used for performing baseband processing, controlling a base station, and the like. The RRU801 and the BBU802 may be physically located together or may be physically located separately, i.e., distributed base stations.

The BBU802, which may also be referred to as a processing unit, is primarily used to perform baseband processing functions such as channel coding, multiplexing, modulation, spreading, and so on. For example, the BBU802 can be used to control the base station to perform the operation flow related to the access network device in the above method embodiments.

The BBU802 may be formed by one or more boards, and a plurality of boards may support a radio access network (e.g., a 5G network) with a single access indication together, or may support radio access networks (e.g., an LTE network and a 5G network) with different access systems respectively. BBU802 also includes a memory 8021 and a processor 8022, with memory 8021 being used to store the necessary instructions and data. For example, the memory 8021 stores various information in the above-described method embodiments. The processor 8022 is configured to control the base station to perform necessary actions, for example, to control the base station to execute the operation flow in the above-described method embodiment. The memory 8021 and processor 8022 may serve one or more boards. That is, the memory and processor may be provided separately on each board. Multiple boards may share the same memory and processor. In addition, each single board can be provided with necessary circuits.

Wherein the BBU802 can perform the functions of the processing unit 601 in the communication apparatus 600 shown in fig. 6 or the processor 701 in the communication apparatus 700 shown in fig. 7; the RRU801 may perform the functions of the transceiver unit 602 in the communication apparatus 600 shown in fig. 6 or the transceiver unit 705 in the communication apparatus 700 shown in fig. 7, which are not described in detail.

The application also provides a communication system, which includes a first access network device and a second access network device, where the second access network device may send a load of the second access network device to the first access network device, and the first access network device may receive the load of the second access network device and send the load of the second access network device to an adjacent access network device of the first access network device through load information.

Optionally, the first access network device may send the load of the first access network device to the neighboring access network device.

Wherein the first access network device may be a MN and the second access network device is a SN; or the first access network device may be a CU and the second access network device a DU.

For the specific description of the load of the first access network device and the load of the second access network device, reference may be made to relevant contents of other embodiments of the present application, which are not described in detail.

It is clear to those skilled in the art that the descriptions of the embodiments provided in the present application may be referred to each other, and for convenience and brevity of description, for example, the functions and steps of the apparatuses and the devices provided in the embodiments of the present application may be referred to the relevant description of the method embodiments of the present application, and the method embodiments and the apparatus embodiments may be referred to, combined or cited as each other.

In the several embodiments provided in the present application, the disclosed system, apparatus and method can be implemented in other ways. For example, some features of the method embodiments described above may be omitted, or not performed. The above-described embodiments of the apparatus are merely exemplary, the division of the unit is only one logical function division, and there may be other division ways in actual implementation, and a plurality of units or components may be combined or integrated into another system. In addition, the coupling between the units or the coupling between the components may be direct coupling or indirect coupling, and the coupling includes electrical, mechanical or other connections.

It should be understood that, in the various embodiments of the present application, the sequence numbers of the processes do not mean the execution sequence, and the execution sequence of the processes should be determined by the functions and the inherent logic, and should not constitute any limitation to the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application. In addition, in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal and/or the access network device may perform some or all of the steps in the embodiment of the present application, and these steps or operations are merely examples, and the embodiment of the present application may also perform other operations or variations of various operations. Further, the various steps may be performed in a different order presented in the embodiments of the application, and not all operations in the embodiments of the application may be performed.

Claims

1. An information transmission method, comprising:

the first access network equipment acquires the load of the second access network equipment;

the first access network equipment sends load information to third access network equipment, wherein the load information is used for indicating the load of the second access network equipment;

the second access network device is adjacent to the first access network device and has a direct interface, the third access network device is adjacent to the first access network device and has a direct interface, and the second access network device and the third access network device do not have a direct interface;

the load of the second access network device comprises:

the load when the second access network device is used as an auxiliary node, the load when the second access network device is used as an auxiliary node and the load when the second access network device is used as an independent node;

the load of the second access network device as the secondary node comprises one or more of the following:

air interface load, available capacity, maximum capacity for use by the master node, transmission load, or hardware load;

when the second access network device is used as a secondary node, the method further comprises:

the first access network device receives an indication from the second access network device, where the indication is used to indicate the capacity allocated by the second access network device for one or more primary nodes.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

the first access network device obtains a load of the first access network device,

wherein the load information is further used to indicate a load of the first access network device.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the loading of the second access network device further comprises:

the load when the second access network device is acting as an independent node.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the load of the first access network device comprises one or more of:

the load when the first access network device is acting as a master node,

the load of the first access network device as a stand-alone node, or

And the load of the candidate auxiliary node corresponding to the first access network equipment.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the load of the second access network device when acting as a standalone node comprises one or more of:

air interface load, available capacity, transmission load, or hardware load.

6. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the load of the first access network device comprises a sum of a load of the first access network device when acting as a master node and a load of the first access network device when acting as a standalone node.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the load information indicates a sum of a load of the second access network device and a load of the first access network device.

8. The method of claim 2 or 7, wherein the load of the first access network device comprises one or more of:

air interface load, available capacity, transmission load, or hardware load.

9. The method of claim 2, wherein the load of the first access network device comprises one or more of:

air interface load, available capacity, hardware load, or F1 interface transport load; and is

The load of the second access network device comprises one or more of:

radio resource status, available capacity, hardware load, or NG interface transport load,

the first access network device is a control unit CU, and the second access network device is a distributed unit DU.

10. An information transmission method, comprising:

the second access network equipment sends the load of the second access network equipment to the first access network equipment, so that the first access network equipment sends load information to the third access network equipment, wherein the load information is used for indicating the load of the second access network equipment;

the load of the second access network device comprises:

and the second access network equipment sends an indication to the first access network equipment, wherein the indication is used for indicating the capacity allocated to one or more main nodes by the second access network equipment.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the loading of the second access network device further comprises:

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the load of the second access network device as a standalone node comprises one or more of:

air interface load, available capacity, transmission load, or hardware load.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the load of the second access network device comprises one or more of: radio resource status, available capacity, hardware load, or NG interface transport load,

14. A communications apparatus comprising a processor coupled with a memory, wherein the memory stores instructions that, when executed, cause the access network device to perform the method of any of claims 1-9.

15. A communications apparatus comprising a processor coupled with a memory, wherein the memory stores instructions that, when executed, cause the access network device to perform the method of any of claims 10-13.

16. A communications apparatus, for application to a first access network device, the apparatus comprising:

the processing unit is used for acquiring the load of the second access network equipment;

a transceiver unit, configured to send load information to a third access network device, where the load information is used to indicate a load of the second access network device;

the load of the second access network device comprises:

the transceiver unit is further configured to receive, when the second access network device serves as a secondary node, an indication from the second access network device, where the indication is used to indicate a capacity allocated by the second access network device for one or more primary nodes.

17. A communication apparatus, applied to a second access network device, the apparatus comprising:

a sending unit, configured to send a load of a second access network device to a first access network device;

the second access network equipment is adjacent to the first access network equipment and has a direct interface, the third access network equipment is adjacent to the first access network equipment and has a direct interface, and the second access network equipment and the third access network equipment do not have a direct interface;

the load of the second access network device comprises:

the sending unit is further configured to send, when the second access network device serves as a secondary node, an indication to the first access network device, where the indication is used to indicate a capacity allocated by the second access network device to one or more primary nodes.

18. A computer storage medium, characterized in that the storage medium stores computer instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to implement the method of any of claims 1 to 9 or the method of any of claims 10-13.