CN110178433B

CN110178433B - Communication method, related equipment and system

Info

Publication number: CN110178433B
Application number: CN201780082575.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 董雪峰
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2017-01-06
Filing date: 2017-03-31
Publication date: 2021-09-14
Anticipated expiration: 2037-03-31
Also published as: CN110178433A; WO2018126547A1; CN113727455A; WO2018126462A1

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention discloses a communication method, related equipment and a system, wherein the method is applied to a double-connection scene, in the double-connection scene, a terminal respectively keeps communication connection with a first base station at a network side through a first wireless resource link and keeps communication connection with a second base station at the network side through a second wireless resource link, the throughput of the first base station is higher than that of the second base station, and the method comprises the following steps: the terminal acquires a first signal quality and a first bandwidth; when the first signal quality is higher than a preset second signal quality and the first bandwidth meets the requirement of bearing the service of the terminal, the terminal sends a link maintaining instruction to a network side, wherein the link maintaining instruction is used for indicating the second base station to configure the second radio resource link into a dormant state or a light connection state. By implementing the embodiment of the invention, the communication overhead between the base station and the core network can be saved.

Description

Communication method, related equipment and system

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a communication method, a related device, and a system.

Background

In the communication technology, Dual Connectivity (DC) is a working mode of a User Equipment (UE) under Radio Resource Control (RRC) CONNECTED RRC _ CONNECTED, and the UE needs to access a Master Cell Group (MCG) and a Secondary Cell Group (SCG) in the working mode. If a base station (Evolved NodeB, abbreviated eNB) in Long Term Evolution (Long Term Evolution, abbreviated LTE) supports DC, a UE in RRC _ CONNECTED state may be configured to use radio resources provided by two different enbs, one of which is a master eNodeB (abbreviated MeNB) and provides MCG and the other is a Secondary base station (abbreviated SeNB) and provides SCG, and the two enbs are CONNECTED by an X2 interface.

The load-bearing conditions of each link between the UE, the MeNB, the SeNB, and the Core Network (Core Network, abbreviated as CN) are shown in fig. 1, the link of the UE in the MCG, the link of the UE in the SCG, the link between the MeNB and the SeNB, the link between the MeNB and the CN, and the link between the SeNB and the CN can all bear Control Plane (CP) data and User Plane (UP) data, the straight line in fig. 1 represents a link, the larger ellipse illustrates the range of the MCG, and the smaller ellipse illustrates the range of the SCG. If the UE is in RRC _ CONNECTION state and a DC CONNECTION already exists, the network configures the UE to exit the DC mode (with modifications to the link between the UE and the eNB, and the link between the eNB and the EPC) when the radio signal quality or traffic bearer satisfies the DC exit condition. If the UE is in RRC _ CONNECTION state and there is no DC CONNECTION, the network configures the UE to enter DC (with modifications to the link between the UE and the eNB, and the link between the eNB and the EPC) when the radio signal quality or traffic bearer satisfies the conditions for DC entry.

However, after a fifth Generation mobile communication technology (english: 5th-Generation, abbreviated as 5G) network is deployed, the MCG in the light interworking mode adopting the DC mode adopts the LTE technology, and the SCG adopts the 5G technology, and since the technologies adopted by the LTE technology and the 5G technology have different throughput rates and delays, the network is frequently switched to the DC state and exits from the DC state, the switching to the DC state is accompanied by the establishment of a link, and the exiting from the DC state is accompanied by the logout of the link; the establishment or the cancellation of the link of the UE in the MCG/SCG requires signaling interaction between the MeNB/SeNB and the CN, so that when the 5G technology and the LTE technology are involved in the DC, the number of signaling interaction between the MeNB/SeNB and the CN is significantly increased, thereby greatly increasing the communication overhead.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the invention discloses a communication method, related equipment and a system, which can save communication overhead between a base station and a core network.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a communication method, which is applied to a dual connectivity scenario in which a terminal maintains a communication connection with a first base station on a network side through a first radio resource link and maintains a communication connection with a second base station on the network side through a second radio resource link, respectively, where a throughput of the first base station is higher than a throughput of the second base station, and the method includes: the terminal acquires a first signal quality and a first bandwidth, wherein the first signal quality represents the current received signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station, and the first bandwidth represents the current bandwidth of the first radio resource link; when the first signal quality is higher than a preset second signal quality and the first bandwidth meets the requirement of bearing the service of the terminal, the terminal sends a link maintaining instruction to a network side, wherein the link maintaining instruction is used for indicating the second base station to configure the second radio resource link into a dormant state or a light connection state.

By performing the above steps, if the first signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station in the dual-connection DC scenario is good enough and the first bandwidth of the first radio resource link satisfies the requirement of carrying the traffic of the terminal, the terminal requests the second base station (also referred to as "base station" for short to distinguish from "first base station") to configure the second radio resource link into the dormant state or the light-connection state, so that the terminal can transmit the control plane data and the user plane data through the first radio resource link without transmitting the control plane data and the user plane data through the second radio resource link; because the base station configures the second wireless resource link into a dormant state or a light connection state without logging off the second wireless resource link, the second base station does not interact signaling with the core network due to logging off the second wireless resource link, and the expenses of the second base station and the core network are greatly saved.

With reference to the first aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the second signal quality is a real-time received signal quality of the terminal in a cell of the second base station, or is a fixed value.

With reference to the first aspect or one possible implementation manner of the first aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the sending, by the terminal, a link maintenance instruction includes: the terminal sends a link maintenance instruction to the first base station, so that the first base station sends the link maintenance instruction to the second base station through an X2 interface; or the terminal sends the link maintenance instruction to the second base station.

With reference to the first aspect, or one possible implementation manner of the first aspect, or two possible implementation manners of the first aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the first aspect, after the sending, by the terminal, the method further includes: the terminal acquires a third signal quality and a second bandwidth, wherein the third signal quality represents the current received signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station, and the second bandwidth represents the current bandwidth of the first wireless resource link; and when the third signal quality is lower than a preset fourth signal quality or the second bandwidth does not meet the requirement of carrying the service of the terminal, the terminal sends a service starting instruction to a network side, wherein the service starting instruction is used for indicating the second base station to configure the second radio resource link into an activated state.

By executing the above steps, subsequently, if the third signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station in the dual-connection DC scenario is not good enough, or the first radio resource link does not meet the requirement for carrying the service of the terminal, the terminal requests the second base station to configure the second radio resource link in the active state, and a new radio resource link does not need to be re-established in this process, so that there is no signaling interaction between the second base station and the core network caused by the new establishment of the radio resource link, and the overhead of the second base station and the core network is further saved.

With reference to the first aspect or any one of the possible implementation manners of the first aspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, in the dormant state, there is no air traffic channel between the terminal and the second base station, and there is no context information for accessing the second base station.

With reference to the first aspect or any one of the possible implementation manners of the first aspect, in a fifth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, in the light connection state, there is no air traffic channel between the terminal and the second base station, but the terminal and the second base station respectively store context information for accessing the second base station.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a communication method, which is applied to a dual connection scenario in which a terminal maintains a communication connection with a first base station through a first radio resource link and maintains a communication connection with a base station through a second radio resource link, respectively, where throughput of the first base station is higher than that of the base station, and the base station may also be referred to as a second base station in the following, and the method includes: the base station receiving a link maintenance instruction generated by the terminal; the base station configures the second radio resource link to be in a dormant state or a light connection state according to the indication of the link maintenance instruction.

With reference to the second aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the receiving, by the base station, a link maintenance instruction generated by the terminal includes:

the base station receives a link maintaining instruction sent by a first base station, and the link maintaining instruction of the first base station is generated by the terminal and sent to the first base station; or the base station receives the link maintenance instruction generated and transmitted by the terminal.

With reference to the second aspect, or the first possible implementation manner of the second aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the second aspect, after the configuring, by the base station, the second radio resource link in a dormant state or in a light connected state according to the indication of the link maintenance instruction, the method further includes: the base station receives a service starting instruction; and the base station configures the second radio resource link into an active state according to the indication of the service starting instruction.

By executing the above steps, subsequently, if the third signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station in the dual-connection DC scenario is not good enough, or the first radio resource link does not meet the requirement for carrying the service of the terminal, the terminal requests the second base station (also referred to as "base station" for short to distinguish from "first base station") to configure the second radio resource link into an active state, and this process does not need to re-establish a new radio resource link, so there is no interaction signaling between the second base station and the core network caused by newly establishing a radio resource link, and the overhead of the second base station and the core network is further saved.

With reference to the second aspect, or any one of possible implementation manners of the second aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the second aspect, in the dormant state, there is no air traffic channel between the terminal and the second base station, and there is no context information for accessing the second base station. With reference to the second aspect, or any one of possible implementation manners of the second aspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the second aspect, in the light connection state, there is no air traffic channel between the terminal and the second base station, but the terminal and the second base station respectively store context information for accessing the second base station.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a terminal, where the terminal is respectively in communication connection with a first base station on a network side through a first radio resource link and in communication connection with a second base station on the network side through a second radio resource link, where throughput of the first base station is higher than throughput of the second base station, and the terminal includes: a processor and a transmitter coupled to the processor, wherein: the processor is configured to: acquiring a first signal quality and a first bandwidth, wherein the first signal quality represents the current received signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station, and the first bandwidth represents the current bandwidth of the first radio resource link; the transmitter is configured to: and sending a link maintaining instruction to the network side under the condition that the first signal quality is higher than a preset second signal quality and the first bandwidth meets the requirement of bearing the service of the terminal, wherein the link maintaining instruction is used for indicating the second base station to configure the second wireless resource link into a dormant state or a light connection state.

By performing the above operations, if the first signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station in the dual-connection DC scenario is good enough and the first bandwidth of the first radio resource link satisfies the requirement of carrying the traffic of the terminal, the terminal requests the second base station (also referred to as "base station" for short to distinguish from "first base station") to configure the second radio resource link into the dormant state or the light-connection state, so that the terminal can transmit the control plane data and the user plane data through the first radio resource link without transmitting the control plane data and the user plane data through the second radio resource link; because the base station configures the second wireless resource link into a dormant state or a light connection state without logging off the second wireless resource link, the second base station does not interact signaling with the core network due to logging off the second wireless resource link, and the expenses of the second base station and the core network are greatly saved.

With reference to the third aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the second signal quality is a real-time received signal quality of the terminal in a cell of the second base station, or is a fixed value.

With reference to the third aspect or the first possible implementation manner of the third aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the transmitter sends a link maintaining instruction, specifically: sending a link maintenance instruction to the first base station, so that the first base station sends the link maintenance instruction to the second base station through an X2 interface; or sending the link maintenance instruction to the second base station.

With reference to the third aspect, or the first possible implementation manner of the third aspect, or the second possible implementation manner of the third aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the third aspect, after the transmitter sends the link maintaining instruction, the processor is further configured to: acquiring a third signal quality and a second bandwidth, wherein the third signal quality represents the current received signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station, and the second bandwidth represents the current bandwidth of the first radio resource link; the transmitter is further configured to: and when the third signal quality is lower than a preset fourth signal quality or the second bandwidth does not meet the requirement of carrying the service of the terminal, sending a service starting instruction to a network side, wherein the service starting instruction is used for indicating the second base station to configure the second radio resource link into an active state.

By performing the above operation, subsequently, if the third signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station in the dual-connection DC scenario is not good enough, or the first radio resource link does not meet the requirement for carrying the service of the terminal, the terminal requests the second base station (also referred to as "base station" for short to distinguish from the "first base station") to configure the second radio resource link in an active state, and this process does not need to re-establish a new radio resource link, so there is no interaction signaling between the second base station and the core network caused by newly establishing a radio resource link, and the overhead of the second base station and the core network is further saved.

With reference to the third aspect, or any one of possible implementation manners of the third aspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the third aspect, in the dormant state, there is no air traffic channel between the terminal and the second base station, and there is no context information for accessing the second base station.

With reference to the third aspect, or any one of possible implementation manners of the third aspect, in a fifth possible implementation manner of the third aspect, in the light connection state, there is no air traffic channel between the terminal and the second base station, but the terminal and the second base station respectively store context information for accessing the second base station.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a base station, which may also be referred to as a second base station, the base station being communicatively connected to a terminal through a second radio resource link, the first base station being communicatively connected to the terminal through a first radio resource link, wherein a throughput of the first base station is higher than a throughput of the base station, the base station including a processor and a receiver, wherein: the receiver is configured to: receiving a link maintenance instruction generated by the terminal; the processor is configured to: and configuring the second wireless resource link to be in a dormant state or a light connection state according to the indication of the link maintenance instruction.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the receiving, by the receiver, a link maintenance instruction generated by the terminal specifically includes: receiving a link maintaining instruction sent by the first base station, wherein the link maintaining instruction of the first base station is generated by the terminal and sent to the first base station; or receive the link maintenance instruction generated and transmitted by the terminal.

With reference to the fourth aspect, or the first possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, after the processor configures the second radio resource link to be in a dormant state or in a light connected state according to the indication of the link maintaining instruction, the receiver is further configured to: receiving a service starting instruction; the processor is further configured to: and configuring the second radio resource link to be in an active state according to the indication of the service starting instruction.

With reference to the fourth aspect, or any one of possible implementation manners of the fourth aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, in the dormant state, there is no air traffic channel between the terminal and the second base station, and there is no context information for accessing the second base station. With reference to the fourth aspect or any one of the possible implementation manners of the fourth aspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, in the light connection state, there is no air traffic channel between the terminal and the second base station, but the terminal and the second base station respectively store context information for accessing the second base station.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a terminal, which is respectively communicatively connected to a first base station on a network side through a first radio resource link and to a second base station on the network side through a second radio resource link, where throughput of the first base station is higher than throughput of the second base station, and the terminal includes a first obtaining unit and a first transmitting unit, where the first obtaining unit is configured to obtain a first signal quality and a first bandwidth, where the first signal quality represents current received signal quality of the terminal in a cell of the first base station, and the first bandwidth represents current bandwidth of the first radio resource link; the first sending unit is configured to send a link maintenance instruction to a network side when the first signal quality is higher than a preset second signal quality and the first bandwidth meets a requirement of carrying a service of the terminal, where the link maintenance instruction is used to instruct the second base station to configure the second radio resource link in a dormant state or a light connection state.

By operating the above units, if the first signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station in the dual-connection DC scenario is good enough and the first bandwidth of the first radio resource link satisfies the requirement of carrying the service of the terminal, the terminal requests the second base station (also referred to as "base station" for short to distinguish from "first base station") to configure the second radio resource link into the dormant state or the light-connection state, so that the terminal can transmit the control plane data and the user plane data through the first radio resource link without transmitting the control plane data and the user plane data through the second radio resource link; because the base station configures the second wireless resource link into a dormant state or a light connection state without logging off the second wireless resource link, the second base station does not interact signaling with the core network due to logging off the second wireless resource link, and the expenses of the second base station and the core network are greatly saved.

With reference to the fifth aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the second signal quality is a received signal quality of the terminal in a cell of the second base station in real time, or is a fixed value.

With reference to the fifth aspect or one possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the first sending unit sends a link maintaining instruction, specifically: sending a link maintenance instruction to the first base station, so that the first base station sends the link maintenance instruction to the second base station through an X2 interface; or sending the link maintenance instruction to the second base station.

With reference to the fifth aspect, or one possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, or two possible implementation manners of the fifth aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the terminal further includes a second obtaining unit and a second sending unit, where the second obtaining unit is configured to obtain a third signal quality and a second bandwidth after the first sending unit sends the link maintaining instruction, where the third signal quality represents a current received signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station, and the second bandwidth represents a current bandwidth of the first radio resource link; the second sending unit is configured to send a service initiation instruction to the network side when the third signal quality is lower than a preset fourth signal quality or the second bandwidth does not meet a requirement for carrying a service of the terminal, where the service initiation instruction is used to instruct the second base station to configure the second radio resource link in an active state.

By operating the above units, subsequently, if the third signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station in the dual-connection DC scenario is not good enough, or the first radio resource link does not meet the requirement for carrying the service of the terminal, the terminal requests the second base station (also referred to as "base station" for short to distinguish from "first base station") to configure the second radio resource link into an active state, and there is no need to re-establish a new radio resource link in this process, so there is no interaction signaling between the second base station and the core network caused by newly establishing a radio resource link, and the overhead of the second base station and the core network is further saved.

With reference to the fifth aspect or any one of the possible implementation manners of the fifth aspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, in the dormant state, there is no air traffic channel between the terminal and the second base station, and there is no context information for accessing the second base station. With reference to the fifth aspect or any one of the possible implementation manners of the fifth aspect, in a fifth possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, in the light connection state, there is no air traffic channel between the terminal and the second base station, but the terminal and the second base station respectively store context information for accessing the second base station.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a base station, which may also be referred to as a second base station in the following, and the base station is communicatively connected to a terminal through a second radio resource link, and a first base station is communicatively connected to the terminal through the second radio resource link, where throughput of the first base station is higher than throughput of the base station, the base station includes a processor and a receiver, and the base station includes a first receiving unit and a first configuration unit, where the first receiving unit is configured to receive a link maintenance instruction generated by the terminal; the first configuration unit is configured to configure the second radio resource link to be in a dormant state or a light connection state according to the indication of the link maintenance instruction.

With reference to the sixth aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the first receiving unit receives a link maintenance instruction generated by the terminal, and specifically: receiving a link maintaining instruction sent by a first base station, wherein the link maintaining instruction of the first base station is generated by the terminal and sent to the first base station; or receive the link maintenance instruction generated and transmitted by the terminal.

With reference to the sixth aspect or the first possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the base station further includes a second receiving unit and a second configuring unit, where the second receiving unit is configured to receive a service start instruction after the first configuring unit configures the second radio resource link into a dormant state or a lightly connected state according to the instruction of the link maintaining instruction; the second configuration unit is configured to configure the second radio resource link to an active state according to the indication of the service initiation instruction.

With reference to the sixth aspect or any one of the possible implementation manners of the sixth aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, in the dormant state, there is no air traffic channel between the terminal and the second base station, and there is no context information for accessing the second base station.

With reference to the sixth aspect or any one of the possible implementation manners of the sixth aspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, in the light connection state, there is no over-the-air traffic channel between the terminal and the second base station, but the terminal and the second base station respectively store context information for accessing the second base station.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a communication method, which is applied to a dual connectivity scenario, in which a terminal maintains a communication connection with a first base station through a first radio resource link and maintains a communication connection with a base station through a second radio resource link, respectively, where throughput of the first base station is higher than throughput of the base station, and the method includes: the base station acquires a first signal quality and a first bandwidth, wherein the first signal quality represents the current received signal quality of the terminal in a cell of the first base station, and the first bandwidth represents the current bandwidth of the first radio resource link; and when the first signal quality is higher than a preset second signal quality and the first bandwidth meets the requirement of bearing the service of the terminal, the base station configures the second radio resource link into a dormant state or a light connection state.

By performing the above steps, if the first signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station in the dual-connection DC scenario is good enough and the first bandwidth of the first radio resource link satisfies the requirement of carrying the traffic of the terminal, the second base station (also referred to as "base station" for short to distinguish from the "first base station") configures the second radio resource link into the dormant state or the light-connection state, so that the terminal can transmit the control plane data and the user plane data through the first radio resource link, and does not transmit the control plane data and the user plane data through the second radio resource link; because the base station configures the second wireless resource link into a dormant state or a light connection state without logging off the second wireless resource link, the second base station does not interact signaling with the core network due to logging off the second wireless resource link, and the expenses of the second base station and the core network are greatly saved.

With reference to the seventh aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the seventh aspect, the second signal quality is a received signal quality of the terminal in a cell of the base station, which is detected by the base station in real time, or is a fixed value.

With reference to the seventh aspect, or the first possible implementation manner of the seventh aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the seventh aspect, after the configuring, by the base station, a radio resource link between the terminal and the base station in a dormant state or a light connection state, the method further includes: the base station acquires a third signal quality and a second bandwidth of the terminal in the first base station, wherein the third signal quality represents the current received signal quality of the terminal in a cell of the first base station, and the second bandwidth represents the current bandwidth of the first radio resource link; and when the third signal quality is lower than a preset fourth signal quality or the second bandwidth does not meet the requirement of carrying the service of the terminal, the base station configures the second radio resource link into an active state.

By executing the above steps, subsequently, if the third signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station in the dual-connection DC scenario is not good enough, or the first radio resource link does not meet the requirement for carrying the service of the terminal, the second base station (also referred to as "base station" for short to distinguish from the "first base station") configures the second radio resource link into an active state, and this process does not need to re-establish a new radio resource link, so there is no interaction signaling between the second base station and the core network caused by newly establishing a radio resource link, and the overhead of the second base station and the core network is further saved.

With reference to the seventh aspect, or the first possible implementation manner of the seventh aspect, or the second possible implementation manner of the seventh aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the seventh aspect, in the dormant state, there is no air traffic channel between the terminal and the second base station, and there is no context information for accessing the second base station.

With reference to the seventh aspect, or the first possible implementation manner of the seventh aspect, or the second possible implementation manner of the seventh aspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the seventh aspect, in the light connection state, there is no air traffic channel between the terminal and the second base station, but the terminal and the second base station respectively store context information for accessing the second base station.

In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a base station, where the base station maintains a communication connection with a terminal through a second radio resource link, and a first base station maintains a communication connection with the terminal through a first radio resource link, where a throughput of the first base station is higher than a throughput of the base station, and the base station includes a processor, where: the processor is configured to: acquiring a first signal quality and a first bandwidth, wherein the first signal quality represents the current received signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station, and the first bandwidth represents the current bandwidth of the first radio resource link; the processor is further configured to: and when the first signal quality is higher than a preset second signal quality and the first bandwidth meets the requirement of bearing the service of the terminal, configuring the second radio resource link into a dormant state or a light connection state.

By performing the above operations, if the first signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station in the dual-connection DC scenario is good enough and the first bandwidth of the first radio resource link satisfies the requirement of carrying the traffic of the terminal, the second base station (also referred to as "base station" for short to distinguish from the "first base station") configures the second radio resource link into the dormant state or the light-connection state, so that the terminal can transmit the control plane data and the user plane data through the first radio resource link without transmitting the control plane data and the user plane data through the second radio resource link; because the base station configures the second wireless resource link into a dormant state or a light connection state without logging off the second wireless resource link, the second base station does not interact signaling with the core network due to logging off the second wireless resource link, and the expenses of the second base station and the core network are greatly saved.

With reference to the eighth aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the eighth aspect, the second signal quality is a received signal quality of the terminal in a cell of the base station, which is detected by the base station in real time, or is a fixed value.

With reference to the eighth aspect or the first possible implementation manner of the eighth aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the eighth aspect, after the processor configures the second radio resource link to be in a dormant state or in a light connection, the processor is further configured to: acquiring a third signal quality and a second bandwidth, wherein the third signal quality represents the current received signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station, and the second bandwidth represents the current bandwidth of the first radio resource link; the processor is further configured to: and when the third signal quality is lower than a preset fourth signal quality or the second bandwidth does not meet the requirement of carrying the service of the terminal, configuring the second radio resource link into an active state.

By performing the above operation, subsequently, if the third signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station in the dual-connection DC scenario is not good enough, or the first radio resource link does not meet the requirement for carrying the service of the terminal, the second base station (also referred to as "base station" for short to distinguish from the "first base station") configures the second radio resource link into an active state, and this process does not need to re-establish a new radio resource link, so there is no signaling interaction between the second base station and the core network caused by newly establishing a radio resource link, and the overhead of the second base station and the core network is further saved.

With reference to the eighth aspect, or the first possible implementation manner of the eighth aspect, or the second possible implementation manner of the eighth aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the eighth aspect, in the dormant state, there is no air traffic channel between the terminal and the second base station, and there is no context information for accessing the second base station.

With reference to the eighth aspect, or the first possible implementation manner of the eighth aspect, or the second possible implementation manner of the eighth aspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the eighth aspect, in the light connection state, there is no air traffic channel between the terminal and the second base station, but the terminal and the second base station respectively store context information for accessing the second base station.

In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a base station, which is applied to a dual connectivity scenario, in which a terminal maintains a communication connection with the base station through a second radio resource link and a communication connection with a first base station through a first radio resource link, respectively, where throughput of the first base station is higher than that of the base station, the base station includes an obtaining unit and a configuring unit, where the obtaining unit is configured to obtain a first signal quality and a first bandwidth, where the first signal quality represents current received signal quality of the terminal in a cell of the first base station, and the first bandwidth represents current bandwidth of the first radio resource link; the configuration unit is configured to configure the second radio resource link to be in a dormant state or in a lightly connected state when the first signal quality is higher than a preset second signal quality and the first bandwidth meets a requirement of carrying a service of the terminal.

By operating the above units, if the first signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station in the dual-connection DC scenario is good enough and the first bandwidth of the first radio resource link satisfies the requirement of carrying the traffic of the terminal, the second base station (also referred to as "base station" for short to distinguish from "first base station") configures the second radio resource link into the dormant state or the light-connection state, so that the terminal can transmit the control plane data and the user plane data through the first radio resource link, and does not transmit the control plane data and the user plane data through the second radio resource link; because the base station configures the second wireless resource link into a dormant state or a light connection state without logging off the second wireless resource link, the second base station does not interact signaling with the core network due to logging off the second wireless resource link, and the expenses of the second base station and the core network are greatly saved.

With reference to the ninth aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the ninth aspect, the second signal quality is a signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the base station, which is detected by the base station in real time, or is a fixed value.

With reference to the ninth aspect, or the first possible implementation manner of the ninth aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the ninth aspect, after the configuration unit configures the second radio resource link into a dormant state or a light connected state, the obtaining unit is further configured to obtain a third signal quality and a second bandwidth, where the third signal quality represents a current received signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station, and the second bandwidth represents a current bandwidth of the first radio resource link; the configuration unit is further configured to configure the second radio resource link in an active state when the third signal quality is lower than a preset fourth signal quality or the second bandwidth does not meet a requirement for carrying a service of the terminal.

By operating the above units, subsequently, if the third signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station in the dual-connection DC scenario is not good enough, or the first radio resource link does not meet the requirement for carrying the service of the terminal, the second base station (also referred to as "base station" for short to distinguish from "first base station") configures the second radio resource link into an active state, and this process does not need to re-establish a new radio resource link, so there is no interaction signaling between the second base station and the core network caused by newly establishing a radio resource link, and the overhead of the second base station and the core network is further saved.

With reference to the ninth aspect, or the first possible implementation manner of the ninth aspect, or the second possible implementation manner of the ninth aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the ninth aspect, in the dormant state, there is no air traffic channel between the terminal and the second base station, and there is no context information for accessing the second base station. With reference to the ninth aspect, or the first possible implementation manner of the ninth aspect, or the second possible implementation manner of the ninth aspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the ninth aspect, in the light connection state, an air traffic channel does not exist between the terminal and the second base station, but the terminal and the second base station respectively store context information for accessing the second base station.

In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a communication system, where the communication system includes a terminal and a base station, where the terminal is the terminal described in the third aspect, or any possible implementation manner of the third aspect, or the fifth aspect, or any possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect; the base station is the base station described in the fourth aspect, or any possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, or the sixth aspect, or any possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect.

In an eleventh aspect, embodiments of the present invention also provide a computer storage medium, which may be non-volatile, i.e., the content is not lost after power is turned off. The storage medium stores therein a software program which, when read and executed by one or more processors, may implement the method provided by the first aspect or any one of the implementations of the first aspect described above.

In a twelfth aspect, embodiments of the present invention also provide another computer storage medium, which may be nonvolatile, that is, the content is not lost after power is turned off. The storage medium stores therein a software program which, when read and executed by one or more processors, may implement the method provided by the second aspect or any one of the implementations of the second aspect described above.

In a thirteenth aspect, embodiments of the present invention also provide another computer storage medium, which may be non-volatile, i.e., the content is not lost after power is turned off. The storage medium stores therein a software program which, when read and executed by one or more processors, can implement the method provided in the seventh aspect or any one of the implementations of the seventh aspect described above.

By implementing the embodiment of the present invention, if the first signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station in the dual-connection DC scenario is good enough and the first bandwidth of the first radio resource link meets the requirement of carrying the service of the terminal, the terminal requests the second base station (also referred to as "base station" for short to distinguish from "first base station") to configure the second radio resource link into the dormant state or the lightly connected state, so that the terminal can transmit the control plane data and the user plane data through the first radio resource link, and does not transmit the control plane data and the user plane data through the second radio resource link; because the base station configures the second wireless resource link into a dormant state or a light connection state without logging off the second wireless resource link, the second base station does not interact signaling with the core network due to logging off the second wireless resource link, and the expenses of the second base station and the core network are greatly saved. Optionally, subsequently, if the third signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station in the dual-connection DC scenario is not good enough, or the first radio resource link does not meet the requirement for carrying the service of the terminal, the terminal requests the second base station (also referred to as "base station" for short to distinguish from the "first base station") to configure the second radio resource link into an active state, and a new radio resource link does not need to be re-established in this process, so that there is no signaling interaction between the second base station and the core network caused by newly establishing the radio resource link, and the overhead of the second base station and the core network is further saved.

Drawings

The drawings that accompany the detailed description can be briefly described as follows.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a scenario of a communication system in the prior art;

fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a schematic view of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5A is an interaction diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5B is an interaction diagram of another communication method according to the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6A is a flowchart illustrating another communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6B is a flowchart illustrating another communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a base station according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of another terminal disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of another base station according to the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of another base station disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of another base station according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings of the embodiments of the present invention.

The terminal in the embodiment of the present invention may be a user equipment UE, for example, a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a notebook computer, a palmtop computer, a mobile internet device (MID for short), a wearable device (for example, a smart watch (such as iWatch), a smart band, a pedometer, etc.), or other devices that can be accessed to a cellular mobile network, and the following description may be described by taking the user equipment UE as an example. The ue in this embodiment of the present invention may access to the network based on a dual connectivity DC technology, where the dual connectivity technology relates to an MCG and an SCG, a base station providing the MCG is referred to as a second base station on a network side, a base station providing the SCG is referred to as a first base station on the network side, wireless communication technologies adopted by the MCG and the SCG in this embodiment of the present invention are different (it may also be described that wireless communication technologies adopted by the first base station and the second base station are different), and a throughput of the communication technology adopted by the SCG is higher than a throughput of the communication technology adopted by the MCG (it may also be described that a throughput of the first base station is higher than a throughput of the second base station), for example, 5G, a fourth Generation mobile communication technology (english: the 4th mobile communication technology, abbreviated as 4G), LTE, a third Generation mobile communication technology (english: 3rd-Generation, abbreviated as 3G), a second Generation mobile communication technology specification (2-Generation mobile communication technology), for short: 2G) respectively, different communication technologies, wherein the throughput is 5G, 4G, LTE, 3G, and 2G from top to bottom. It is also possible to push new communication technologies in the future, which will generally have higher throughput.

Referring to fig. 2, fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention, the communication system includes a Core network CN, a UE, an LTE-based base station eNB, and a 5G-based base station gNB, where the Core network CN may be a Next generation Core network of 5G (english: Next Gen Core) or a Core network of 4G (EPC), the UE accesses to the network by using a light Interworking method based on a dual connectivity DC technology, the eNB provides an MCG for the UE, that is, the eNB assumes the role of a MeNB in the background art, the gNB provides an SCG for the UE, that is, the gNB assumes the role of a SeNB in the background art, it can be understood that a radio resource link exists between the UE and the second base station in the MCG, and a radio resource link exists between the UE and the SCG (that is, a radio resource link exists between the UE and the first base station), a radio resource link exists between the eNB and the gNB, a radio resource link exists between the eNB and the CN, and a radio resource link exists between the gNB and the CN, and hereinafter, the radio resource link may be referred to as a "link" for short. Fig. 3 is a corresponding scene diagram, in fig. 3, the largest ellipse illustrates the range of the MCG, the second largest ellipse illustrates the range of the SCG, the smallest ellipse illustrates a portion of the UE where the signal quality of the MCG is stronger than that of the SCG, and a connection line between any two nodes illustrates a link between the two nodes. These links can all carry Control Plane (CP) data and User Plane (UP) data, but the embodiments of the present invention will mainly explain how to control the link (corresponding to the dotted line connecting the UE and the eNB in fig. 3) of the UE in the MCG to transmit data. Alternatively, the implementation of the communication system 20 may refer to a specific implementation flow in the embodiment shown in fig. 4. Alternatively, the implementation of the communication system 20 may refer to a specific implementation flow in the embodiment shown in fig. 6A.

Referring to fig. 4, fig. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention, which includes, but is not limited to, the following steps.

Step S401: the terminal acquires a first signal quality and a first bandwidth.

In particular, the first signal quality characterizes a received signal quality of the terminal currently in the cell of the first base station, and the first bandwidth characterizes a current bandwidth of the first radio resource link. The UE may detect the received signal quality of the cell in which the UE resides in real time, so the UE may acquire the received signal quality of the UE in the SCG, and since the SCG is provided by the first base station, the UE may also be described as acquiring the signal quality of the UE in the first base station, where the currently acquired signal quality may be referred to as a first signal quality. The UE measures the signal strength of the cell where the UE resides as in the prior art, and is not described herein again; it is understood that the parameters of Signal quality can be measured by parameters such as Reference Signal Receiving Power (RSRP), Reference Signal Receiving Quality (RSRQ), Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI), and so on.

In addition, a radio resource link between the UE and the first base station may be referred to as a first radio resource link, and the first radio resource link may refer to an uplink radio resource link between the UE and the first base station, a downlink radio resource link between the UE and the first base station, and an uplink radio resource link between the UE and the first base station from the uplink and downlink perspective; the first radio resource link may refer to a radio resource control link between the UE and the first base station, a radio resource data link between the UE and the first base station, a radio resource control link and a radio resource data link between the UE and the first base station from the perspective of an uplink data type. A radio resource link between the UE and the second base station may be referred to as a second radio resource link, and the second radio resource link may refer to an uplink radio resource link between the UE and the second base station, a downlink radio resource link between the UE and the second base station, and an uplink radio resource link between the UE and the second base station; the second radio resource link may refer to a radio resource control link between the UE and the second base station, a radio resource data link between the UE and the second base station, a radio resource control link and a radio resource data link between the UE and the second base station from the perspective of an uplink data type.

When the UE connects to a cell, the bandwidth of the link in the cell of the UE is a certain value, and the UE may directly obtain the value, for example, the bandwidth of the link may be known through a notification sent by the cell, or may detect the bandwidth of the link by itself, where the bandwidth of the currently obtained link may be referred to as a first bandwidth.

When the first signal quality is higher than the second signal quality and the first bandwidth meets the requirement of carrying the service of the terminal, step S402 is executed, otherwise, the current state (i.e. service state) of the radio resource link between the terminal and the second base station is kept unchanged. Optionally, the second signal quality here may be a currently received signal quality of the terminal in the second base station (which may also be described as a real-time received signal quality of the terminal in the SCG), or a fixed value analyzed according to a value representing the signal quality in a history record to summarize and serve as a reference.

The service requirement here may include a data transmission requirement, for example, the UE needs to download a high definition video with a very large data volume, and at this time, the UE needs to receive more data in a unit time to ensure that the high definition video is downloaded as soon as possible; if the bandwidth of the data received by the UE is larger, the UE is favorable for receiving the high-definition video in a shorter time, and the UE can determine the required bandwidth according to the size of the data to be transmitted currently. And if the first bandwidth is larger than or equal to the bandwidth required by the UE for transmitting the data, the first bandwidth is indicated to meet the requirement of carrying the service of the terminal. For example, if the SCG can provide the UE with 10 million (M) of bandwidth and the UE actually needs 15 million (M) of bandwidth, the SCG cannot meet the requirement of carrying the service of the UE, and if the SCG can provide the UE with 10 million (M) of bandwidth and the UE actually needs 5 million (M) of bandwidth, the SCG can meet the requirement of carrying the service of the UE.

It should be noted that, the order of the operation of acquiring the first signal quality and the operation of acquiring the first bandwidth is not limited herein, and in addition, the throughput of the SCG where the UE is located is higher than the throughput of the MCG where the UE is located. For example, the SCG employs 5G technology and the MCG employs LTE technology, such that the throughput of the SCG is higher than the throughput of the MCG.

Step S402: the UE sends a link maintenance instruction.

Specifically, the link maintenance instruction is used to trigger a second base station (also referred to as "base station" for short to distinguish from "first base station") to configure the link of the UE in the MCG into a dormant state or a light connection state. In the embodiment of the present invention, the second base station may configure the link of the UE in the MCG into different states according to the requirement of the UE, where the state of the link may be a dormant state (english: dormant state), a Light connection state Light RRC connection, an active state (english: active state), and the like, where the active state refers to a state where the link is transmitting a service; in the dormant state, no air traffic channel exists between the terminal and the second base station, and no context information for accessing the second base station exists; there is no air traffic channel between the terminal and the second base station, but the terminal and the second base station store context information for accessing the second base station, respectively.

It should be noted that, in some cases, a Connected state of the UE may occur, where the Connected state is further divided into 2 seed states, one is a Scheduled state, some are also called an active state, or a synchronous state, and the other is a Non-Scheduled state, some are also called a deactivated state, or a gait loss; that is, there are other names for the activated state described in the embodiment of the present invention, but the essence of the embodiment is exactly the same. As described below, when the UE is in the attached state (non-idle state), its context may include, for example, the Network capability of the mobile phone, Tracking Area Identity (TAI), S1APID, base station number (enode bid), authentication information, negotiated security algorithm, generated key, created connection information (such as Access Point Name (APN), Public Data Network (PDN) GateWay (PDN GateWay, PGW), QoS Class Identifier (QCI)), Bearer information (core Network Bearer Identity (EBI), QCI, uplink and downlink Aggregated Maximum Bit Rate (Aggregated Maximum Bit Rate, AMBR), Traffic Flow Template (TFT), control plane and user plane address (address of user plane, etc.), and so on. Before the UE is not detached, these information are all stored, otherwise, when the UE performs Tracking Area Update (TAU), service request (ServiceRequest), Detach, etc., it cannot process the information, because the second base station cannot find the context of the UE, it is not clear about the Interconnection Protocol (IP) between its networks, the PGW connected to it, and the bearer it has created, and possibly the message it sends cannot be decrypted. In communication systems, the expression "context establishment" is often used, which refers to the establishment of a context session, and mainly refers to the establishment of a connection between functional entities for information transmission. For example, RRC is established between two functional entities, namely the UE and the second base station, and its communication link is a context. In The second Generation wireless communication technology (The 2nd Generation, 2G) and The third Generation mobile communication technology (3rd-Generation, 3G), The context mainly refers to a Packet Data Protocol (PDP) context, and refers to a process of establishing a link between a PDP activated Gateway General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Support Node (GGSN). The context in LTE mainly refers to EPS bearer context, which is a process of establishing a connection link between the UE and the PGW. The establishment of a context session comprises four parts: air interface encryption (e.g., between the UE and eNodeB), terminal capability query, signaling bearers (SRBs 2), and data bearers (DRBs). When a terminal needs to communicate with a Mobility Management Entity (MME), a context session request needs to be established first, which is initiated by the MME, and the session procedure is a procedure for establishing a bearer, including a signaling bearer (SRB2) and a data bearer (DRB); after the signaling bearing is built, signaling interaction can be carried out, and after the data bearing is built, a data packet can be sent/received.

It should be noted that the target state (e.g., the sleep state, the light connection state, etc.) described in the embodiment of the present invention is a state between an IDLE state (also referred to as "IDLE state") and a CONNECTED state (also referred to as "CONNECTED state"), and the IDLE state and the CONNECTED state are briefly described below for easy understanding:

IDLE state: if there is no Non-Access Stratum (NAS) signaling connection between the UE and the network, the UE is in an IDLE state. In the IDLE state, the UE may perform cell selection/reselection or PLMN selection. The UE in IDLE state has no UE context in an access Network (RAN), and at this time, there is no S1 control plane interface S1_ MME connection nor S1 user plane interface S1_ U connection, where the S1_ MME connection refers to an interface connection between an evolved NodeB (eNB) (which may be a second base station in the embodiment of the present invention) and the MME, and the S1_ U connection refers to an interface connection between the eNB and a Serving GateWay (S-GW).

CONNECTED state: in the CONNECTED state, the UE location information in the MME can be accurate to the extent of the serving eNB identity. In this state, the UE may perform a handover procedure. The TAU procedure is executed if the TAI in the EMM system is not in the Timing Advance (TA) list at the time of UE registration, or if the TIN indication of the UE (TIN is a parameter stored by the UE that identifies the temporary identity (temporary ID) used by the UE when the Attach Request/RAU/TAU Request is next transmitted) is "P-TMSI", the TAU procedure is executed when the RAN cell is handed over. When the UE is in the CONNECTED state, the UE and the MME are CONNECTED through signaling. The signaling connection consists of two parts: RRC connection and S1_ MME connection. If the signaling connection between the UE and the MME is released or interrupted, the UE enters an IDLE state.

The UE (and possibly the base station) may be configured such that the link of the UE in the MCG is switched to an active state, and the UE may normally transmit various control plane data and user plane data when the link in the MCG is in the active state.

It can be understood that, the UE sending an instruction to the second base station may trigger the second base station to configure the link of the UE in the MCG in the dormant state or the light connection state, and the UE sending another instruction to the second base station may trigger the base station to configure the link of the UE in the MCG in the active state, in this embodiment of the present invention, the instruction indicating to configure the link of the UE in the MCG in the dormant state or the light connection state is referred to as a link maintenance instruction; and calling an instruction for configuring the link of the UE in the MCG to be in an active state as a service starting instruction. In general, when the UE sends a link maintenance instruction, the link of the UE in the MCG is not in a dormant state or a light connection state, and the base station enters the dormant state or the light connection state after configuring according to the link maintenance instruction; when the UE sends a service starting instruction, a link of the UE in the MCG is not in an activated state, and the link enters the activated state after the base station is configured according to the service starting instruction.

Step S403: the base station receives the link maintenance instruction.

Specifically, the base station is a base station providing the MCG, that is, a second base station, and the base station receiving the link maintaining instruction includes at least two possibilities, where the possibility is that after the UE sends the link maintaining instruction, the first base station receives the link maintaining instruction, and then the first base station forwards the link maintaining instruction to the base station, and accordingly, the base station receives the link maintaining instruction sent by the first base station; the second possibility is that the base station receives the link maintenance instruction sent by the UE.

Step S404: and the base station configures the link of the UE in the MCG to be in a target state according to the link maintenance instruction.

Specifically, after the link is configured to the target state, the data transmitted by the link in a unit time will be reduced, the target state may be a dormant state, a light connection state, or the like, and the base station configures the link of the UE in the MCG to the target state, which may be implemented by setting some parameters unilaterally by the base station, or by negotiating between the base station and the UE; after the base station confirms that the link of the UE in the MCG is successfully configured to the target state, a response may be sent to the UE to inform that the link of the UE in the MCG is configured to the target state. After the link is configured to the target state, the transmit power and receive power of the UE on the link may be saved.

In an alternative, steps S405 to S408 may be further performed after steps S401 to S404, and steps S405 to S408 are described as follows.

Step S405: the terminal obtains a third signal quality and a second bandwidth.

Specifically, the third signal quality characterizes a received signal quality of the terminal currently in the cell of the first base station, the second bandwidth characterizes a current bandwidth of the first radio resource link, and the terminal acquires the third signal quality in the same manner as the first signal quality except that the acquisition timings of the two signal qualities are different, where the third signal quality is acquired when the link between the UE and the second base station is in a target state. The terminal acquires the second bandwidth in the same manner as the first bandwidth, except that the acquisition timings of the two bandwidths are different, where the second bandwidth is acquired when the link between the UE and the second base station is in the target state. Further, the embodiment of the present invention further determines whether the third signal quality is less than the fourth signal quality, and determines whether the second bandwidth meets the service requirement of the bearer terminal. Optionally, the fourth signal quality here may be a real-time signal quality of the terminal in the second base station (which may also be described as a real-time signal quality of the terminal in the SCG), or may be a preset signal quality threshold, where when the fourth signal quality here and the previous second signal quality are both preset signal quality thresholds, the second signal quality and the fourth signal quality may be equal or may not be equal.

Step S406 may be performed if any of the following occurs, case one: the UE determines that a third signal quality of the UE in the secondary cell group SCG is less than a fourth signal quality, case two: the UE determines that the SCG does not satisfy the requirement for carrying the current service of the UE, and case three, case one, and case two both hold.

Step S406: and the UE sends a service starting instruction, wherein the service starting instruction is used for triggering a second base station to configure a link of the UE in the MCG into an active state.

Step S407: the base station receives the service starting instruction.

Specifically, since the UE is in a dual-connection DC scenario, the base station receiving the service start instruction includes at least two possibilities, where the possibilities are that after the UE sends the service start instruction, the first base station receives the service start instruction, the first base station forwards the service start instruction to the base station (i.e., the second base station), and accordingly, the base station receives the service start instruction sent by the first base station; the second possibility is that the base station receives a service initiation instruction sent by the UE.

Step S408: and the base station configures the link of the UE in the MCG into an active state according to the service starting instruction.

Specifically, the base station configuring the link of the UE in the MCG to the activated state may be implemented by setting some parameters unilaterally for the base station, or may be implemented by negotiating between the base station and the UE; after the base station confirms that the link of the UE in the MCG is successfully configured as the active state, a response may be sent to the UE to inform that the link of the UE in the MCG is configured as the active state. Fig. 5A is an interaction diagram of the first possibility, and fig. 5B is an interaction diagram of the second possibility.

In the method shown in fig. 4, if the first signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station in the dual-connection DC scenario is good enough and the first bandwidth of the first radio resource link satisfies the requirement of carrying the traffic of the terminal, the terminal requests the second base station (also referred to as "base station" for short to distinguish from the "first base station") to configure the second radio resource link into the dormant state or the light connection state, so that the terminal can transmit the control plane data and the user plane data through the first radio resource link, but not transmit the control plane data and the user plane data through the second radio resource link; because the base station configures the second wireless resource link into a dormant state or a light connection state without logging off the second wireless resource link, the second base station does not interact signaling with the core network due to logging off the second wireless resource link, and the expenses of the second base station and the core network are greatly saved. Optionally, subsequently, if the third signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station in the dual-connection DC scenario is not good enough, or the first radio resource link does not meet the requirement for carrying the service of the terminal, the terminal requests the second base station (also referred to as "base station" for short to distinguish from the "first base station") to configure the second radio resource link into an active state, and a new radio resource link does not need to be re-established in this process, so that there is no signaling interaction between the second base station and the core network caused by newly establishing the radio resource link, and the overhead of the second base station and the core network is further saved.

Referring to fig. 6A, fig. 6A is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention, which includes, but is not limited to, the following steps.

Step S601: the base station obtains a first signal quality and a first bandwidth.

Specifically, the first signal quality represents a received signal quality of the terminal currently in the cell of the first base station, and the first bandwidth represents a current bandwidth of the first radio resource link. The base station (hereinafter, referred to as "base station" is simply referred to as "second base station" and is used to distinguish from the first base station ") may detect, in real time, the received signal quality of the terminal in the cell where the terminal UE resides, so that the base station may acquire the received signal quality of the UE in the SCG. At present, it is the prior art that the base station side detects the signal strength of the cell where the UE resides, and details are not repeated here; it is understood that the parameters of Signal quality can be measured by parameters such as Reference Signal Receiving Power (RSRP), Reference Signal Receiving Quality (RSRQ), Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI), and so on.

When the UE connects to a certain cell, the bandwidth of the link of the UE in the cell is a certain value, and the bandwidth can be determined when the link is established, the base station or other equipment on the network side may store the bandwidth information, and when the base station does not store the bandwidth information of the link, the base station may acquire the bandwidth information of the link by performing data interaction with the other equipment. The bandwidth of the link between the UE and the first base station (i.e., the first radio resource link) acquired by the base station may be referred to as a first bandwidth.

When the first signal quality is higher than the second signal quality and the first bandwidth meets the requirement of carrying the service of the terminal, step S602 may be executed, otherwise, the current state (i.e., service state) of the radio resource link (i.e., the second radio resource link) between the terminal and the second base station is kept unchanged. Optionally, the second signal quality here may be a real-time signal quality of the terminal in the base station (which may also be described as a real-time signal quality of the terminal in the SCG), or a fixed value used as a reference analyzed according to a summary of values representing signal quality in a history.

The service requirement here may include a data transmission requirement, for example, the UE needs to download a high definition video with a very large data volume, and at this time, the UE needs to receive more data in a unit time to ensure that the high definition video is downloaded as soon as possible; if the bandwidth of the data received by the UE is larger, the UE is favorable for receiving the high-definition video in a shorter time, the UE can determine the required bandwidth according to the size of the data to be transmitted currently, then the terminal sends the bandwidth information required currently by the UE to the base station, and the base station can determine the bandwidth required by the data transmitted currently by the UE based on the bandwidth information. If the first bandwidth is larger than or equal to the bandwidth required by the UE for transmitting data, the first bandwidth is indicated to meet the requirement of carrying the service of the terminal. For example, if the SCG can provide the UE with 10 million (M) of bandwidth and the UE actually needs 15 million (M) of bandwidth, the SCG cannot meet the requirement of carrying the service of the UE, and if the SCG can provide the UE with 10 million (M) of bandwidth and the UE actually needs 5 million (M) of bandwidth, the SCG can meet the requirement of carrying the service of the UE.

Step S602: the base station configures the second radio resource link to a target state.

Specifically, the link may transmit less data per unit time after being configured in the target state, the target state may be a dormant state, a light connection state, or the like, and the radio resource link may transmit less data per unit time after being configured in the target state. In the embodiment of the present invention, the second base station may configure the link of the UE in the MCG into different states according to the requirement of the UE, where the state of the link may be a dormant state (english: dormant state), a Light connected state Light RRC connection, an active state (english: active state), and so on; an air traffic channel does not exist between the terminal and the second base station, and context information for accessing the second base station does not exist; an air traffic channel does not exist between the terminal and the second base station, but the terminal and the second base station respectively store context information for accessing the second base station.

It can be understood that, when the link in the MCG is in the target state, the base station may configure the UE (and possibly also the base station) such that the link in the MCG of the UE is switched to the active state, and when the link in the MCG of the UE is in the active state, the link may normally transmit various control plane data and user plane data.

The base station configures the link of the UE in the MCG into a target state, which can be realized by setting some parameters unilaterally for the base station or by negotiating between the base station and the UE; after the base station confirms that the link of the UE in the MCG is successfully configured to the target state, a response may be sent to the UE to inform that the link of the UE in the MCG is configured to the target state. After the link is configured to the target state, the transmit power and receive power of the UE on the link may be saved.

In an alternative, steps S603 to S604 may be further performed after steps S601 to S602, and steps S603 to S604 are described as follows.

Step S603: the base station obtains a third signal quality and a second bandwidth.

In one case, the third signal quality characterizes the received signal quality of the terminal currently in the cell of the first base station, the second bandwidth characterizes the current bandwidth of the first radio resource link, and the base station (i.e. the "second base station") acquires the third signal quality in the same way as the first signal quality except that the acquisition timing of the two signal qualities is different, and the third signal quality is the signal quality acquired when the link (i.e. the second radio resource link) between the UE and the second base station is in the target state. The base station acquires the second bandwidth, which is acquired when the link between the UE and the second base station (i.e., the second radio resource link) is in the target state, in the same manner as the first bandwidth, except that the acquisition timings of the two bandwidths are different. In another case, the third signal quality and the second bandwidth may be obtained in the manner shown in fig. 4, and after obtaining the third signal quality and the second bandwidth, the UE sends the information of the third signal quality and the information of the second bandwidth to the base station.

The embodiment of the invention also judges whether the third signal quality is less than the fourth signal quality and whether the second bandwidth meets the requirement of the service of the bearing terminal. Optionally, the fourth signal quality here may be a real-time signal quality of the terminal in the second base station (which may also be described as a real-time signal quality of the terminal in the SCG), or may be a preset signal quality threshold, where when the fourth signal quality here and the previous second signal quality are both preset signal quality thresholds, the second signal quality and the fourth signal quality may be equal or may not be equal.

Step S406 may be performed if any of the following occurs, case one: the base station determines that the third signal quality of the UE in the secondary cell group SCG is less than the fourth signal quality, case two: the base station determines that the SCG does not meet the requirement for carrying the current service of the UE, and case three, case one, and case two are both true.

Step S604: the base station configures the second radio resource link as an active state.

Specifically, the base station configuring the second radio resource link (i.e. the link of the UE in the MCG) to the active state may be implemented by setting some parameters unilaterally for the base station, or by negotiating between the base station and the UE; after the base station confirms that the link of the UE in the MCG is successfully configured as the active state, a response may be sent to the UE to inform that the link of the UE in the MCG is configured as the active state.

Fig. 6B is a more detailed flowchart in the embodiment shown in fig. 6A, where fig. 6B includes a terminal UE, a second base station (referred to as "base station") eNB, a first base station gNB, and a User Plane Function (UPF) unit, and in a dual connectivity scenario, a part of Data sent by the UPF to the UE goes through the MCG, another part of the Data goes through the SCG, and the Data going through the MCG needs to pass through the eNB, which may be called Data-MCG, and the Data going through the SCG needs to pass through the gNB, which may be called Data-SCG. At the beginning, the Data-MCG is transmitted to the eNB from the UPF and then transmitted to the UE from the eNB; Data-SCG is transmitted from UPF to gNB and then from gNB to UE; later, when the eNB determines that the link between the UE and the eNB needs to be configured to be in the target state according to the first signal quality and the first bandwidth, the eNB configures the link between the UE and the eNB to be in the target state, and the configuration process may involve interaction between the eNB and the UE; the eNB then interacts with the gNB to inform the UE that the link between the eNB and the eNB is configured in the target state, a subsequent Data-MCG is transferred from the UPF to the eNB, the eNB sends the Data-MCG to the gNB, and both the Data-MCG and the Data-SCG are eventually sent from the gNB to the UE as the Data-SCG is also transferred from the UPF to the gNB. Then, when the eNB determines that the link between the UE and the eNB needs to be configured in the active state according to the third signal quality and the second bandwidth, the eNB configures the link between the UE and the eNB in the active state, where the configuration process may involve interaction between the eNB and the UE; then, the eNB interacts with the gNB to inform that the link between the UE and the eNB is configured in an activated state, and subsequently, the Data-MCG is transmitted to the eNB from the UPF and then is transmitted to the UE from the eNB; Data-SCG is transmitted from the UPF to the gbb and from the gbb to the UE. It should be noted that the flow shown in fig. 6B is only an optional refinement of the flow shown in fig. 6A, and in addition, the description about the data flow direction in the flow shown in fig. 6B can also be applied to the flows shown in fig. 5A and 5B, but the foregoing embodiments are not described by way of example.

In the method shown in fig. 6A, if the first signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station in the dual-connection DC scenario is good enough and the first bandwidth of the first radio resource link satisfies the requirement of carrying the traffic of the terminal, the second base station (also referred to as "base station" for short to distinguish from "first base station") configures the second radio resource link into the dormant state or the light-connection state, so that the terminal can transmit the control plane data and the user plane data through the first radio resource link, but not transmit the control plane data and the user plane data through the second radio resource link; because the base station configures the second wireless resource link into a dormant state or a light connection state without logging off the second wireless resource link, the second base station does not interact signaling with the core network due to logging off the second wireless resource link, and the expenses of the second base station and the core network are greatly saved. Optionally, subsequently, if the third signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station in the dual-connection DC scenario is not good enough, or the first radio resource link does not meet the requirement for carrying the service of the terminal, the second base station (which may also be referred to as "base station" for short to distinguish from the "first base station") configures the second radio resource link into an active state, and a new radio resource link does not need to be re-established in this process, so that there is no signaling interaction between the second base station and the core network caused by newly establishing the radio resource link, and the overhead of the second base station and the core network is further saved.

While the method of the embodiments of the present invention has been described in detail above, to facilitate a better understanding of the above-described aspects of the embodiments of the present invention, the following provides a corresponding apparatus of the embodiments of the present invention.

Referring to fig. 7, fig. 7 shows a terminal 70 according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the terminal 70 includes a processor 701 and a transmitter 702 coupled to the processor 701, and the processor 701 and the transmitter 702 are connected to each other via a bus.

The processor 701 may be one or more Central Processing Units (CPUs), and in the case that the processor 701 is one CPU, the CPU may be a single-core CPU or a multi-core CPU. The transmitter 702 is configured to transmit a signal to transmit data, wherein:

the processor 701 is configured to: acquiring a first signal quality and a first bandwidth in a first base station, wherein the first signal quality represents the current received signal quality of the terminal in a cell of the first base station, and the first bandwidth represents the current bandwidth of the first radio resource link; the transmitter 702 is configured to: and sending a link maintaining instruction under the condition that the first signal quality is higher than a preset second signal quality and the first bandwidth meets the requirement of bearing the service of the terminal, wherein the link maintaining instruction is used for instructing the second base station to configure the second radio resource link into a dormant state or a light connection state.

In an optional scheme, the second signal quality is a real-time received signal quality of the terminal in a cell of the second base station, or is a preset signal quality threshold.

In another optional scheme, the transmitter sends a link maintaining instruction, specifically: sending a link maintenance instruction to the first base station, so that the first base station sends the link maintenance instruction to the second base station through an X2 interface; or sending the link maintenance instruction to the second base station.

In yet another alternative, after the transmitter transmits the link maintaining instruction, the processor is further configured to: acquiring a third signal quality and a second bandwidth, wherein the third signal quality represents the current received signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station, and the second bandwidth represents the current bandwidth of the first radio resource link; the transmitter is further configured to: and when the third signal quality is lower than a preset fourth signal quality or the second bandwidth does not meet the requirement of carrying the service of the terminal, sending a service starting instruction, wherein the service starting instruction is used for instructing the second base station to configure the second radio resource link into an active state.

In yet another possible implementation manner, in the dormant state, there is no air traffic channel between the terminal and the second base station, and there is no context information for accessing the second base station. In yet another possible implementation manner, in the light connection state, there is no air traffic channel between the terminal and the second base station, but the terminal and the second base station respectively store context information for accessing the second base station.

It should be noted that, the specific implementation of each operation in fig. 7 may correspond to the corresponding description of the method embodiment shown in fig. 4.

In the terminal 70 shown in fig. 7, if the first signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station in the dual-connection DC scenario is good enough and the first bandwidth of the first radio resource link satisfies the requirement of carrying the traffic of the terminal, the terminal requests the second base station (also referred to as "base station" for short to distinguish from the "first base station") to configure the second radio resource link into the dormant state or the light connection state, so that the terminal can transmit the control plane data and the user plane data through the first radio resource link, but not transmit the control plane data and the user plane data through the second radio resource link; because the base station configures the second wireless resource link into a dormant state or a light connection state without logging off the second wireless resource link, the second base station does not interact signaling with the core network due to logging off the second wireless resource link, and the expenses of the second base station and the core network are greatly saved.

Referring to fig. 8, fig. 8 shows a base station 80 according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the base station 80 may also be referred to as a second base station, the base station 80 maintains a communication connection with a terminal through a second radio resource link, a first base station maintains a communication connection with the terminal through a radio resource link, and a throughput of the first base station is higher than that of the base station, and the base station 80 includes a processor 801 and a receiver 802 coupled to the processor 801.

The processor 801 may be one or more Central Processing Units (CPUs), and in the case that the processor 801 is one CPU, the CPU may be a single-core CPU or a multi-core CPU. Receiver 802 is configured to receive a signal to transmit data, wherein:

the receiver 802 is configured to: receiving a link maintenance instruction generated by the terminal; the processor 801 is configured to: and configuring the second wireless resource link to be in a dormant state or a light connection state according to the indication of the link maintenance instruction.

In an optional scheme, the receiver receives a link maintenance instruction generated by the terminal, specifically: receiving a link maintaining instruction sent by the first base station, wherein the link maintaining instruction of the first base station is generated by the terminal and sent to the first base station; or receive the link maintenance instruction generated and transmitted by the terminal.

In yet another optional aspect, after the processor configures the second radio resource link to be in the dormant state or in the light connection state according to the indication of the link maintenance instruction, the receiver is further configured to: receiving a service starting instruction; the processor is further configured to: and configuring the second radio resource link to be in an active state according to the indication of the service starting instruction.

It should be noted that, the specific implementation of each operation in the embodiment shown in fig. 8 may correspond to the related description of the method embodiment shown in fig. 4.

In the base station 80 shown in fig. 8, if the first signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station in the dual-connection DC scenario is good enough and the first bandwidth of the first radio resource link satisfies the requirement of carrying the traffic of the terminal, the terminal requests the second base station (also referred to as "base station" for short to distinguish from "first base station") to configure the second radio resource link into the dormant state or the light connection state, so that the terminal can transmit the control plane data and the user plane data through the first radio resource link, but not transmit the control plane data and the user plane data through the second radio resource link; because the base station configures the second wireless resource link into a dormant state or a light connection state without logging off the second wireless resource link, the second base station does not interact signaling with the core network due to logging off the second wireless resource link, and the expenses of the second base station and the core network are greatly saved.

Referring to fig. 9, fig. 9 is a terminal 90 according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the terminal 90 is communicatively connected to a first base station through a first radio resource link and to a second base station through a second radio resource link, respectively, where throughput of the first base station is higher than throughput of the second base station, and the terminal includes a first obtaining unit 901 and a first sending unit 902, where the first obtaining unit 901 is configured to obtain a first signal quality and a first bandwidth, where the first signal quality represents current received signal quality of the terminal in a cell of the first base station, and the first bandwidth represents current bandwidth of the first radio resource link; the first sending unit 902 is configured to send a link maintaining instruction, where the link maintaining instruction is used to instruct the second base station to configure the second radio resource link in a dormant state or a light connection state, when the first signal quality is higher than a preset second signal quality and the first bandwidth meets a requirement of carrying a service of the terminal.

In another alternative, the first sending unit 902 sends a link maintaining instruction, specifically: sending a link maintenance instruction to the first base station, so that the first base station sends the link maintenance instruction to the second base station through an X2 interface; or sending the link maintenance instruction to the second base station.

In yet another optional scheme, the terminal further includes a second obtaining unit and a second sending unit, where the second obtaining unit is configured to obtain, after the first sending unit sends 902 the link maintenance instruction, a third signal quality and a second bandwidth, where the third signal quality represents a current received signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station, and the second bandwidth represents a current bandwidth of the first radio resource link; the second sending unit is configured to send a service start instruction when the third signal quality is lower than a preset fourth signal quality or the second bandwidth does not meet a requirement for carrying a service of the terminal, where the service start instruction is used to instruct the second base station to configure the second radio resource link in an active state.

It should be noted that the specific implementation of each unit in fig. 9 may correspond to the corresponding description with reference to the method embodiment shown in fig. 4.

In the terminal 90 shown in fig. 9, if the first signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station in the dual-connection DC scenario is good enough and the first bandwidth of the first radio resource link satisfies the requirement of carrying the traffic of the terminal, the terminal requests the second base station (also referred to as "base station" for short to distinguish from the "first base station") to configure the second radio resource link into the dormant state or the light connection state, so that the terminal can transmit the control plane data and the user plane data through the first radio resource link without transmitting the control plane data and the user plane data through the second radio resource link; because the base station configures the second wireless resource link into a dormant state or a light connection state without logging off the second wireless resource link, the second base station does not interact signaling with the core network due to logging off the second wireless resource link, and the expenses of the second base station and the core network are greatly saved.

Referring to fig. 10, fig. 10 is a base station 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the base station 100 may also be referred to as a second base station, the base station 100 maintains a communication connection with a terminal through a second radio resource link, and a first base station maintains a communication connection with the terminal through a first radio resource link, where a throughput of the first base station is higher than a throughput of the base station 100, and the base station 100 includes a first receiving unit 1001 and a first configuring unit 1002, where the first receiving unit 1001 is configured to receive a link maintenance instruction generated by the terminal; the first configuration unit 1002 is configured to configure the second radio resource link to be in a dormant state or in a light connection state according to the indication of the link maintenance instruction.

In an optional scheme, the first receiving unit 1001 receives a link maintenance instruction generated by the terminal, specifically: receiving a link maintaining instruction sent by a first base station, wherein the link maintaining instruction of the first base station is generated by the terminal and sent to the first base station; or receive the link maintenance instruction generated and transmitted by the terminal.

In yet another optional scheme, the base station further includes a second receiving unit and a second configuring unit, where the second receiving unit is configured to receive a service initiation instruction after the first configuring unit configures the second radio resource link into a dormant state or a lightly connected state according to the instruction of the link maintaining instruction; the second configuration unit is configured to configure the second radio resource link to an active state according to the indication of the service initiation instruction.

It should be noted that, the specific implementation of each unit in the embodiment shown in fig. 10 may refer to the corresponding description of the method embodiment shown in fig. 4, and the base station in fig. 10 is equivalent to the second base station described in fig. 4.

In the base station 100 shown in fig. 10, if the first signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station in the dual-connection DC scenario is good enough and the first bandwidth of the first radio resource link satisfies the requirement of carrying the traffic of the terminal, the terminal requests the second base station (also referred to as "base station" for short to distinguish from the "first base station") to configure the second radio resource link into the dormant state or the light connection state, so that the terminal can transmit the control plane data and the user plane data through the first radio resource link, but not transmit the control plane data and the user plane data through the second radio resource link; because the base station configures the second wireless resource link into a dormant state or a light connection state without logging off the second wireless resource link, the second base station does not interact signaling with the core network due to logging off the second wireless resource link, and the expenses of the second base station and the core network are greatly saved.

It should be noted that the terminal in the communication system 20 according to the embodiment of the present invention may be the terminal 70 in the embodiment shown in fig. 7 or the terminal 90 in the embodiment shown in fig. 9; the base station in the communication system 20 may be the base station 80 in the embodiment shown in fig. 8 or the base station 100 in the embodiment shown in fig. 10.

Referring to fig. 11, fig. 11 is a base station 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the base station 110 may also be referred to as a second base station, the base station 110 maintains a communication connection with a terminal through a second radio resource link, and a first base station maintains a communication connection with the terminal through a first radio resource link, where a throughput of the first base station is higher than a throughput of the base station 110, and the base station 110 includes a processor 1101.

The processor 1101 may be one or more Central Processing Units (CPUs), and in the case that the processor 1101 is a CPU, the CPU may be a single-core CPU or a multi-core CPU. Receiver 1102 is configured to receive a signal to transmit data, wherein:

the processor 1101 is configured to: acquiring a first signal quality and a first bandwidth, wherein the first signal quality represents the current received signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station, and the first bandwidth represents the current bandwidth of the first radio resource link; the processor 1101 is further configured to: and when the first signal quality is higher than a preset second signal quality and the first bandwidth meets the requirement of bearing the service of the terminal, configuring the second radio resource link into a dormant state or a light connection state.

In a possible implementation manner, the second signal quality is a received signal quality of the terminal in a cell of the base station, which is detected by the base station in real time, or is a preset signal quality threshold.

In yet another possible implementation manner, after the processor configures the second radio resource link to be in the dormant state or the light connection state, the processor 1101 is further configured to: acquiring a third signal quality and a second bandwidth, wherein the third signal quality represents the current received signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station, and the second bandwidth represents the current bandwidth of the first radio resource link; the processor 1101 is further configured to: and when the third signal quality is lower than a preset fourth signal quality or the second bandwidth does not meet the requirement of carrying the service of the terminal, configuring the second radio resource link into an active state.

It should be noted that, for the specific implementation of each unit in the embodiment shown in fig. 11, reference may be made to the corresponding description of the method embodiment shown in fig. 6A, and a base station in fig. 11 corresponds to the second base station described in fig. 6A.

In the base station 110 shown in fig. 11, if the first signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station in the dual-connection DC scenario is good enough and the first bandwidth of the first radio resource link satisfies the requirement of carrying the traffic of the terminal, the second base station (also referred to as "base station" for short to distinguish from "first base station") configures the second radio resource link into the dormant state or the light-connection state, so that the terminal can transmit the control plane data and the user plane data through the first radio resource link, but not transmit the control plane data and the user plane data through the second radio resource link; because the base station configures the second wireless resource link into a dormant state or a light connection state without logging off the second wireless resource link, the second base station does not interact signaling with the core network due to logging off the second wireless resource link, and the expenses of the second base station and the core network are greatly saved.

Referring to fig. 12, fig. 12 is a base station 120, where the base station 120 may also be referred to as a second base station, where the base station 120 maintains a communication connection with a terminal through a second radio resource link, a first base station maintains a communication connection with the terminal through a first radio resource link, and a throughput of the first base station is higher than a throughput of the base station 120, the base station 120 includes an obtaining unit 1201 and a configuring unit 1202, where the obtaining unit 1201 is configured to obtain a first signal quality and a first bandwidth, where the first signal quality represents a current received signal quality of the terminal in a cell of the first base station, and the first bandwidth represents a current bandwidth of the first radio resource link; the configuring unit 1202 is configured to configure the second radio resource link to be in a dormant state or in a lightly connected state when the first signal quality is higher than a preset second signal quality and the first bandwidth meets a requirement of carrying a service of the terminal.

In yet another possible implementation manner, after the configuring unit 1202 configures the second radio resource link in the dormant state or the lightly connected state, the obtaining unit 1201 is further configured to obtain a third signal quality and a second bandwidth, where the third signal quality represents a current received signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station, and the second bandwidth represents a current bandwidth of the first radio resource link; the configuring unit 1202 is further configured to configure the second radio resource link in an active state when the third signal quality is lower than a preset fourth signal quality or the second bandwidth does not meet a requirement for carrying a service of the terminal.

It should be noted that, for the specific implementation of each unit in the embodiment shown in fig. 12, reference may be made to the corresponding description of the method embodiment shown in fig. 6A, and the base station in fig. 12 is equivalent to the second base station described in fig. 6A. In the base station 120 shown in fig. 12, if the first signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station in the dual-connection DC scenario is good enough and the first bandwidth of the first radio resource link satisfies the requirement of carrying the traffic of the terminal, the second base station (also referred to as "base station" for short to distinguish from "first base station") configures the second radio resource link into the dormant state or the light-connection state, so that the terminal can transmit the control plane data and the user plane data through the first radio resource link, but not transmit the control plane data and the user plane data through the second radio resource link; because the base station configures the second wireless resource link into a dormant state or a light connection state without logging off the second wireless resource link, the second base station does not interact signaling with the core network due to logging off the second wireless resource link, and the expenses of the second base station and the core network are greatly saved.

In summary, if the first signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station in the dual-connection DC scenario is good enough and the first bandwidth of the first radio resource link satisfies the requirement for carrying the service of the terminal, the terminal requests the second base station (also referred to as "base station" for short to distinguish from "first base station") to configure the second radio resource link into the dormant state or the lightly connected state, so that the terminal can transmit the control plane data and the user plane data through the first radio resource link, and does not transmit the control plane data and the user plane data through the second radio resource link; because the base station configures the second wireless resource link into a dormant state or a light connection state without logging off the second wireless resource link, the second base station does not interact signaling with the core network due to logging off the second wireless resource link, and the expenses of the second base station and the core network are greatly saved. Optionally, subsequently, if the third signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station in the dual-connection DC scenario is not good enough, or the first radio resource link does not meet the requirement for carrying the service of the terminal, the terminal requests the second base station (also referred to as "base station" for short to distinguish from the "first base station") to configure the second radio resource link into an active state, and a new radio resource link does not need to be re-established in this process, so that there is no signaling interaction between the second base station and the core network caused by newly establishing the radio resource link, and the overhead of the second base station and the core network is further saved.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that all or part of the processes of the methods of the embodiments described above can be implemented by a computer program, which can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, and can include the processes of the embodiments of the methods described above when the computer program is executed. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: various media that can store program codes, such as ROM, RAM, magnetic or optical disks.

Claims

1. A communication method applied to a dual connectivity scenario in which a terminal maintains a communication connection with a first base station on a network side through a first radio resource link and a communication connection with a second base station on the network side through a second radio resource link, respectively, wherein a throughput of the first base station is higher than a throughput of the second base station, the method comprising:

the terminal acquires a first signal quality and a first bandwidth, wherein the first signal quality represents the current received signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station, and the first bandwidth represents the current bandwidth of the first radio resource link;

when the first signal quality is higher than a preset second signal quality and the first bandwidth meets the requirement of bearing the service of the terminal, the terminal sends a link maintaining instruction to the network side, wherein the link maintaining instruction is used for instructing the second base station to configure the second radio resource link into a dormant state or a light connection state; the traffic demand of the terminal is determined according to the size of data to be currently transmitted by the terminal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the second signal quality is a received signal quality of the terminal in real time in the cell of the second base station, or is a fixed value.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the terminal sends a link maintenance instruction, comprising:

the terminal sends a link maintaining instruction to the first base station, so that the first base station sends the link maintaining instruction to the second base station through an X2 interface; or the terminal sends the link maintenance instruction to the second base station.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein after the terminal sends the link maintenance instruction, the method further comprises:

the terminal acquires a third signal quality and a second bandwidth, wherein the third signal quality represents the current received signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station, and the second bandwidth represents the current bandwidth of the first radio resource link;

and when the third signal quality is lower than a preset fourth signal quality or the second bandwidth does not meet the requirement of carrying the service of the terminal, the terminal sends a service starting instruction to the network side, wherein the service starting instruction is used for indicating the second base station to configure the second radio resource link into an active state.

5. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein in the dormant state, there is no air traffic channel between the terminal and the second base station, and there is no context information for accessing the second base station.

6. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein in the light connection state, no air traffic channel exists between the terminal and the second base station, but the terminal and the second base station respectively store context information for accessing the second base station.

7. A communication method applied to a dual connectivity scenario, in which a terminal maintains a communication connection with a first base station through a first radio resource link and a communication connection with a base station through a second radio resource link, respectively, wherein a throughput of the first base station is higher than a throughput of the base station, the method comprising:

the base station receives a link maintenance instruction generated by the terminal; the link maintenance instruction is sent by the terminal under the condition that a first signal quality is higher than a preset second signal quality and a first bandwidth meets the requirement of bearing the service of the terminal, wherein the first signal quality represents the current received signal quality of the terminal in a cell of the first base station, and the first bandwidth represents the current bandwidth of the first radio resource link; the service requirement of the terminal is determined according to the size of data to be transmitted by the terminal;

and the base station configures the second wireless resource link into a dormant state or a light connection state according to the indication of the link maintenance instruction.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the base station receives the link maintenance instruction generated by the terminal, and wherein the method comprises:

9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the base station configures the second radio resource link as a dormant state or a light connection state according to the indication of the link maintenance instruction, further comprising:

the base station receives a service starting instruction;

and the base station configures the second radio resource link into an active state according to the indication of the service starting instruction.

10. The method according to claim 7 or 8, wherein in the dormant state, there is no air traffic channel between the terminal and the base station, and there is no context information for accessing the base station.

11. The method according to claim 7 or 8, wherein in the light connection state, no air traffic channel exists between the terminal and the base station, but the terminal and the base station respectively store context information for accessing the base station.

12. A communication method applied to a dual connectivity scenario, in which a terminal maintains a communication connection with a first base station through a first radio resource link and a communication connection with a base station through a second radio resource link, respectively, wherein a throughput of the first base station is higher than a throughput of the base station, the method comprising:

the base station acquires a first signal quality and a first bandwidth, wherein the first signal quality represents the current received signal quality of the terminal in a cell of the first base station, and the first bandwidth represents the current bandwidth of the first radio resource link;

when the first signal quality is higher than a preset second signal quality and the first bandwidth meets the requirement of bearing the service of the terminal, the base station configures the second radio resource link into a dormant state or a light connection state; the traffic demand of the terminal is determined according to the size of data to be currently transmitted by the terminal.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the second signal quality is a received signal quality of the terminal in real time in a cell of the base station or is a fixed value.

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, wherein after the base station configures the second radio resource link to be in the dormant state or in the light connection state, the method further comprises:

the base station acquires a third signal quality and a second bandwidth, wherein the third signal quality represents the current received signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station, and the second bandwidth represents the current bandwidth of the first wireless resource link;

and when the third signal quality is lower than a preset fourth signal quality or the second bandwidth does not meet the requirement of carrying the service of the terminal, the base station configures the second radio resource link into an active state.

15. The method according to claim 12 or 13, wherein in the dormant state, there is no air traffic channel between the terminal and the base station and there is no context information for accessing a second base station.

16. The method according to claim 12 or 13, wherein in the light connection state, there is no air traffic channel between the terminal and the base station, but the terminal and the base station respectively store context information for accessing the base station.

17. A terminal, wherein the terminal is respectively in communication connection with a first base station on a network side through a first radio resource link and in communication connection with a second base station on the network side through a second radio resource link, and wherein a throughput of the first base station is higher than a throughput of the second base station, the terminal comprising: a processor and a transmitter coupled to the processor, wherein:

the processor is configured to: acquiring a first signal quality and a first bandwidth, wherein the first signal quality represents the current received signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station, and the first bandwidth represents the current bandwidth of the first radio resource link;

the transmitter is configured to: sending a link maintaining instruction to the network side under the condition that the first signal quality is higher than a preset second signal quality and the first bandwidth meets the requirement of bearing the service of the terminal, wherein the link maintaining instruction is used for instructing the second base station to configure the second radio resource link into a dormant state or a light connection state; the traffic demand of the terminal is determined according to the size of data to be currently transmitted by the terminal.

18. The terminal of claim 17, wherein the second signal quality is a received signal quality of the terminal in real time in the cell of the second base station, or is a fixed value.

19. The terminal according to claim 17 or 18, wherein the transmitter sends a link maintenance instruction, specifically:

sending a link maintenance instruction to the first base station, so that the first base station sends the link maintenance instruction to the second base station through an X2 interface; or sending the link maintenance instruction to the second base station.

20. The terminal according to claim 17 or 18, wherein after the transmitter transmits the link maintenance instruction,

the processor is further configured to: acquiring a third signal quality and a second bandwidth, wherein the third signal quality represents the current received signal quality of the terminal in the cell of the first base station, and the second bandwidth represents the current bandwidth of the first radio resource link;

the transmitter is further configured to: and when the third signal quality is lower than a preset fourth signal quality or the second bandwidth does not meet the requirement of carrying the service of the terminal, sending a service starting instruction to the network side, wherein the service starting instruction is used for indicating that the second radio resource link is configured to be in an activated state.

21. The terminal of claim 17 or 18, wherein in the dormant state, there is no air traffic channel between the terminal and the second base station, and there is no context information for accessing the second base station.

22. The terminal according to claim 17 or 18, wherein in the light connection state, there is no air traffic channel between the terminal and the second base station, but the terminal and the second base station respectively store context information for accessing the second base station.

23. A base station, wherein the base station is communicatively coupled to a terminal via a second radio resource link, wherein a first base station is communicatively coupled to the terminal via a first radio resource link, wherein a throughput of the first base station is higher than a throughput of the base station, wherein the base station comprises a processor and a receiver, wherein:

the receiver is configured to: receiving a link maintenance instruction generated by the terminal; the link maintenance instruction is sent by the terminal under the condition that a first signal quality is higher than a preset second signal quality and a first bandwidth meets the requirement of bearing the service of the terminal, wherein the first signal quality represents the current received signal quality of the terminal in a cell of the first base station, and the first bandwidth represents the current bandwidth of the first radio resource link; the service requirement of the terminal is determined according to the size of data to be transmitted by the terminal;

the processor is configured to: and configuring the second wireless resource link to be in a dormant state or a light connection state according to the indication of the link maintenance instruction.

24. The base station according to claim 23, wherein the receiver receives a link maintenance instruction generated by the terminal, specifically:

receiving a link maintenance instruction sent by the first base station, wherein the link maintenance instruction of the first base station is generated by the terminal and sent to the first base station; or receiving the link maintenance instruction generated and transmitted by the terminal.

25. The base station of claim 23 or 24, wherein after the processor configures the second RRC Link into the dormant state or the light connected state according to the indication of the Link maintenance instruction,

the receiver is further configured to: receiving a service starting instruction;

the processor is further configured to: and configuring the second radio resource link to be in an activated state according to the indication of the service starting instruction.

26. The base station of claim 23 or 24, wherein in the dormant state, there is no air traffic channel between the terminal and the base station, and there is no context information for accessing the base station.

27. The base station of claim 23 or 24, wherein in the light connection state, no air traffic channel exists between the terminal and the base station, but the terminal and the base station respectively store context information for accessing the base station.

28. A base station, wherein the base station is communicatively coupled to a terminal via a second radio resource link, wherein a first base station is communicatively coupled to the terminal via a first radio resource link, wherein a throughput of the first base station is higher than a throughput of the base station, wherein the base station comprises a processor, wherein:

the processor is further configured to: when the first signal quality is higher than a preset second signal quality and the first bandwidth meets the requirement of bearing the service of the terminal, configuring the second radio resource link into a dormant state or a light connection state; the traffic demand of the terminal is determined according to the size of data to be currently transmitted by the terminal.

29. The base station of claim 28, wherein the second signal quality is a signal quality of the terminal in the base station detected by the base station in real time, or is a fixed value.

30. The base station of claim 28 or 29, wherein after the processor configures the second radio resource link to be in a dormant state or in a light connection state,

the processor is further configured to: and when the third signal quality is lower than a preset fourth signal quality or the second bandwidth does not meet the requirement of carrying the service of the terminal, configuring the second radio resource link into an active state.

31. The base station of claim 28 or 29, wherein in the dormant state, there is no air traffic channel between the terminal and the base station, and there is no context information for accessing the base station.

32. The base station of claim 28 or 29, wherein in the light connection state, no air traffic channel exists between the terminal and the base station, but the terminal and the base station respectively store context information for accessing the base station.

33. A communication system, characterized in that the communication system comprises a terminal and a base station:

the terminal is the terminal of any one of claims 17 to 22;

the base station is as claimed in any one of claims 23 to 27.