CN111757424B

CN111757424B - Sharing method and device of wireless access network

Info

Publication number: CN111757424B
Application number: CN201910253146.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 周叶; 刘爱娟
Original assignee: Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co Ltd
Current assignee: Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-03-29
Filing date: 2019-03-29
Publication date: 2022-03-22
Anticipated expiration: 2039-03-29
Also published as: CN111757424A

Abstract

The invention relates to the field of communication, in particular to a sharing method and a sharing device of a wireless access network, which are used for reducing information leakage risks among different operators. The method comprises the following steps: a wireless access network system with separated CU entities and DU entities is designed, each CU entity shares a DU entity and a logical interface, in each CU entity, a master CU entity manages the DU entities and other slave CU entities, different CU entities belong to different operators, the master CU entity can control the DU entities to respectively establish transmission layer connection with different slave CU entities based on the transmission layer address information of each slave CU entity, and the physical interfaces with the CU entities are autonomously controlled by each operator, therefore, after the UE is accessed to the DU entities, the UE can be controlled by the master CU entity to access the slave CU entities corresponding to the corresponding operators, thereby effectively avoiding the risk of safety information leakage between the operators, and further remarkably improving the safety of the wireless access network.

Description

Sharing method and device of wireless access network

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of communications, and in particular, to a method and an apparatus for sharing a radio access network.

Background

For the purposes of saving the cost of establishing an access network and supporting virtual operators, the industry proposes a radio access network sharing technology, that is, multiple operators can use the physical resources of the same radio access network node to communicate with a user terminal. The technology has been applied to Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems and the like.

In order to better apply to a plurality of scenarios, the industry researches and proposes a CU and DU separation technique. By CU and DU separation technique is meant that a radio access network node is further subdivided into two parts, a Central Unit (CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU), which are usually deployed in different physical entities. One DU can be managed by only one CU, but one CU can connect and manage a plurality of DUs, and one CU and all DUs subordinate to the CU constitute one logical radio access network node.

For example, referring to fig. 1, in the prior art, in a Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG RAN), a Radio Access Network node (e.g., a New Radio (NR) node) may be further divided into two parts, CU and DU, wherein security related operations are performed inside the CU.

As shown in fig. 1, a Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer, a Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer, and a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer are located in a CU, a Media Access Control (MAC) layer, a Physical (PHY) layer, and a Radio Frequency (RF) layer are located in a DU, and the CU and the DU are connected by an F1 interface.

In view of this, the DU is mainly responsible for deciding cell group configuration and generating cell group configuration information accordingly, and the CU is responsible for performing higher layer functions such as mobility control, measurement control, performing security operation, and generating configuration information of the SDAP and PDCP.

In the prior art, a logical DU can only be connected to a CU through one logical F1 interface, but a logical CU can simultaneously connect to a plurality of F1 interfaces.

To distinguish these different F1 interfaces, the DU provides a DU identity, i.e. a base station DU identity (gNB-DU ID), in the F1 interface. This also allows CUs to distinguish between different F1 interfaces, given the one-to-one correspondence between DUs and F1 interfaces.

To support cloud deployment of CUs, the F1 interface supports Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) multi-connection on the CU side, that is, in one logical F1 interface, a CU can provide a plurality of available transport layer addresses to a DU. For each transport layer address, a CU will note whether the address is available for non-User Equipment (UE) related procedures initiated by the DU. For logical convenience, the procedures initiated by the DUs when the UE initiates access are also classified as non-UE-related procedures, and can only be sent to the transport layer address specified by the CU. During or after the UE access, the CU may select another transport layer address to send the UE-related interface message at any time, and the DU should send the transport layer address used when the CU last sends the interface message related to the UE when sending the UE-related interface message.

When a User Equipment (UE) accesses a network through a gNB with a CU and DU separation architecture, a pair of identities is specifically allocated to the UE in an F1 interface; wherein the CU assigned identity is the base station CU user equipment identity (gNB-CU UE F1AP ID) and the DU assigned identity is the base station DU user equipment identity (gNB-DU UE F1AP ID). When the CU receives the interface message sent by the DU, the CU can identify the UE to which the interface message is related through the gNB-CU UE F1AP ID carried in the interface message, and correspondingly, when the DU receives the interface message sent by the CU, the DU can also identify the UE to which the interface message is related through the gNB-DU UE F1AP ID carried in the interface message. In view of this, both CU and DU should store UE identities allocated by each other to generate interface messages that can be understood by each other.

However, there is a drawback in the existing radio access network sharing technology: only one security domain is provided in one physical radio access network node, for example, in the NR node, only one security domain is provided in the CU, and the security domain needs to be responsible for storing and even generating security keys of all terminals accessing the radio access network node, and for processing signaling and encryption and decryption of user data, and the like.

Taking the gNB as an example, the security related content is mainly processed by the gNB-CU, for example, the gNB-CU stores a user terminal access stratum root key and is also responsible for generating an access stratum algorithm key by using the access stratum root key, so as to perform encryption and integrity protection on Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling and user data streams. In contrast, as long as the access stratum security is in an active state, the gNB-DU can only contact signaling and user data that have undergone encryption and integrity protection, and thus the security requirements of the gNB-DU are relatively low.

Obviously, due to the lack of an effective security isolation mechanism inside a CU, different terminals may belong to different operators, and thus, the risk of security information leakage between operators is brought.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the invention provides a sharing method and a sharing device of a wireless access network, which are used for reducing information leakage risks among different operators.

The embodiment of the invention provides the following specific technical scheme:

a sharing method of a wireless access network is applied to the following system architecture: comprising a master central unit, CU, entity, a slave CU entity and a distribution unit, DU, entity, the master CU and the slave CU entities sharing the DU entity, the master CU entity being configured to manage the slave CU entities and the DU, wherein the method comprises:

the master CU entity receives a first interface message sent by the slave CU entity, wherein the first interface message carries the transport layer address information of the slave CU;

the master CU entity sends the transmission layer address information to the DU entity, wherein the transmission layer address information is used for triggering the DU entity to establish corresponding transmission layer connection between the DU entity and the slave CU entity based on the transmission layer address information;

and after confirming that the transmission layer connection is established according to the feedback of the DU entity, the master CU entity informs the slave CU entity of the establishment result by adopting a second interface message.

Optionally, the first interface message further carries identification information of the DU entity, or the slave CU entity requests shared cell identification information controlled by the DU entity, and the master CU entity determines the DU entity according to the first interface message.

Optionally, the master CU entity further carries, in the second interface message, identification information of the DU entity, or cell identification information controlled by the DU entity.

Optionally, further comprising:

the master CU entity receives a third interface message sent by the slave CU entity, wherein the third interface message carries the updated transport layer address information of the slave CU;

the master CU entity sends the updated transport layer address information to the DU entity, wherein the updated transport layer address information is used for triggering the DU entity to update the transport layer connection between the DU entity and the slave CU entity based on the updated transport layer address information;

and after confirming that the transmission layer connection is updated according to the feedback of the DU entity, the master CU entity informs the slave CU entity of the updating result by adopting a fourth interface message.

Optionally, further comprising:

and the master CU entity informs the slave CU entity of the value range of a first type interface identifier which can be allocated by the CU entity, wherein the first type interface identifier is used for determining the identifier information of the user terminal associated with the message when the slave CU entity receives the message sent by the DU entity.

Optionally, further comprising:

the master CU entity receives a fifth interface message sent by the slave CU entity, wherein the fifth interface message is used for requesting to change the value range of a first interface identifier currently used by the slave CU entity, and the first interface identifier is used for determining the identifier information of a user terminal associated with the message when the slave CU entity receives the message sent by the DU entity;

and the master CU entity reconfigures the value range of the first interface identifier currently used by the slave CU entity, sends a sixth interface message to the slave CU entity, and informs the slave CU entity of the updated value range of the first interface identifier.

Optionally, further comprising:

and when the master CU entity determines that cell state information updating or system information updating needs to be carried out on the DU entity, after the updating is confirmed, a seventh interface message is sent to the slave CU entity, wherein the seventh interface message carries the updated cell state information or system information and is used for triggering the slave CU entity to store and use the updated cell state information or system information.

Optionally, the main CU entity needs to update the cell state information for the DU entity, including:

when the main CU entity judges that the working state of the cell administered by the DU entity changes according to the configuration updating message sent by the DU entity, determining that the cell state updating needs to be carried out aiming at the DU entity; or,

when the master CU entity actively requests the DU entity to activate or deactivate the corresponding cell, it determines that the cell status update has occurred in the DU entity.

Optionally, the determining, by the master CU entity, that system information update needs to be performed for the DU entity includes:

when the main CU entity judges that the system information changes according to the configuration updating message sent by the DU entity, the main CU entity determines that the system information needs to be updated aiming at the DU entity; or,

the master CU entity determines that system information updating needs to be carried out on the DU entity when actively triggering system information updating based on network optimization or network alarm; or,

and the master CU entity learns that the slave CU entity is based on network optimization or network alarm according to the notification of the slave CU entity, and determines that the system information needs to be updated aiming at the DU entity when the system information is triggered to be updated.

Optionally, further comprising:

if the master CU entity determines that the DU entity has updated system information, the seventh interface message further carries identification information of at least one user terminal, where the identification information of the at least one user terminal is used to trigger the slave CU entity to send the updated system information to the at least one user terminal through a dedicated radio resource control RRC signaling.

Optionally, further comprising:

the main CU entity receives a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message sent by a user terminal through the DU entity, wherein the RRC message at least carries identity identification information of the user terminal;

the master CU entity selects a slave CU entity corresponding to the user terminal according to the identity identification information;

and the master CU entity sends an eighth interface message to the slave CU entity, wherein the eighth interface message carries the RRC message, and triggers the slave CU entity to process the RRC message, so that the user terminal is accessed in the slave CU entity.

A master central unit, CU, entity arrangement in a radio access network, the master CU entity and slave CU entity sharing a distribution unit, DU, entity, the master CU entity being configured to manage the slave CU entities and the DU, wherein the master CU entity comprises at least a processor, a memory and a transceiver, the processor being configured to read a program in the memory and to perform the steps of:

receiving a first interface message sent by the slave CU entity, wherein the first interface message carries transport layer address information of the slave CU;

sending the transport layer address information to the DU entity, wherein the transport layer address information is used for triggering the DU entity to establish corresponding transport layer connection between the DU entity and the slave CU entity based on the transport layer address information;

after confirming that the transmission layer connection is established according to the feedback of the DU entity, notifying the establishment result to the slave CU entity by adopting a second interface message;

the transceiver is used for receiving and transmitting data under the control of the processor.

Optionally, the first interface message further carries identification information of the DU entity, or the slave CU entity requests shared cell identification information controlled by the DU entity, and the processor determines the DU entity according to the first interface message.

Optionally, the processor further carries, in the second interface message, identification information of the DU entity, or cell identification information controlled by the DU entity.

Optionally, the processor is further configured to:

receiving a third interface message sent by the slave CU entity, wherein the third interface message carries the updated transport layer address information of the slave CU;

sending the updated transport layer address information to the DU entity, wherein the updated transport layer address information is used for triggering the DU entity to update the transport layer connection between the DU entity and the slave CU entity based on the updated transport layer address information;

and after the transmission layer connection is confirmed to be updated according to the feedback of the DU entity, notifying the update result to the slave CU entity by adopting a fourth interface message.

Optionally, the processor is further configured to:

and notifying the slave CU entity of the value range of a first type interface identifier which can be allocated by the CU entity, wherein the first type interface identifier is used for determining the identifier information of the user terminal associated with the message when the slave CU entity receives the message sent by the DU entity.

Optionally, the processor is further configured to:

receiving a fifth interface message sent by the slave CU entity, where the fifth interface message is used to request to change a value range of a first interface identifier currently used by the slave CU entity, and the first interface identifier is used by the slave CU entity to determine identifier information of a user terminal associated with the message when receiving the message sent by the DU entity;

reconfiguring the value range of the first interface identifier currently used by the slave CU entity, sending a sixth interface message to the slave CU entity, and notifying the updated value range of the first interface identifier to the slave CU entity.

Optionally, the processor is further configured to:

and when determining that the updating of the cell state information or the updating of the system information needs to be performed on the DU entity, after the updating is determined to be completed, sending a seventh interface message to the slave CU entity, wherein the seventh interface message carries the updated cell state information or the updated system information and is used for triggering the slave CU entity to store and use the updated cell state information or the updated system information.

Optionally, when the cell state information needs to be updated for the DU entity, the processor is configured to:

determining that cell state updating needs to be performed on the DU entity when the working state of the cell administered by the DU entity is judged to be changed according to the configuration updating message sent by the DU entity; or,

and when the DU entity is actively requested to activate or deactivate the corresponding cell, determining that the cell state update of the DU entity occurs.

Optionally, when it is determined that system information update needs to be performed for the DU entity, the processor is configured to:

determining that system information updating needs to be carried out on the DU entity when judging that the system information changes according to the configuration updating message sent by the DU entity; or,

determining that system information updating needs to be carried out on the DU entity when actively triggering system information updating based on network optimization or network alarm; or,

and according to the notification of the slave CU entity, when the slave CU entity is informed of system information updating based on network optimization or network alarm and is triggered, determining that the system information updating needs to be carried out on the DU entity.

Optionally, the processor is further configured to:

if it is determined that the DU entity has updated system information, the seventh interface message further carries identification information of at least one ue, where the identification information of the at least one ue is used to trigger the slave CU entity to send the updated system information to the at least one ue through a dedicated RRC signaling.

Optionally, the processor is further configured to:

receiving a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message sent by a user terminal through the DU entity, wherein the RRC message at least carries identity identification information of the user terminal;

selecting a slave CU entity corresponding to the user terminal according to the identity identification information;

and sending an eighth interface message to the slave CU entity, wherein the eighth interface message carries the RRC message, and triggering the slave CU entity to process the RRC message so as to realize the access of the user terminal in the slave CU entity.

A sharing arrangement of a radio access network, the arrangement sharing a distribution unit, DU, entity with a slave unit, CU, entity, the arrangement being configured to manage the slave CU and DU entities, wherein the arrangement comprises:

a first processing unit, configured to receive a first interface message sent by the slave CU entity, where the first interface message carries transport layer address information of the slave CU;

a second processing unit, configured to send the transport layer address information to the DU entity, where the transport layer address information is used to trigger the DU entity to establish a corresponding transport layer connection between the DU entity and the slave CU entity based on the transport layer address information;

and the third processing unit is configured to notify the slave CU entity of the establishment result by using a second interface message after confirming that the transport layer connection is established according to the feedback of the DU entity.

A sharing system of a radio access network, the system comprising a master central unit, CU, entity and a distribution unit, DU, entity, the master CU and the slave CU entities sharing the DU entity, the master CU entity being configured to manage the slave CU and the DU, wherein the master CU entity is configured to:

and after the transmission layer connection is confirmed to be established according to the feedback of the DU entity, notifying the establishment result to the slave CU entity by adopting a second interface message.

A storage medium storing a program for implementing a radio access network-based sharing method, the program, when executed by a processor, performing the steps of:

In the embodiment of the invention, a wireless access network system with separated CU entities and DU entities is designed, each CU entity shares a DU entity and a logical interface, in each CU entity, a master CU entity manages the DU entities and other slave CU entities, different CU entities belong to different operators, the master CU entity can control the DU entities to respectively establish transmission layer connection with different slave CU entities based on the transmission layer address information of each slave CU entity, and the physical interfaces with each CU entity are autonomously controlled by each operator, therefore, after the UE is accessed to the DU entities, the UE can be controlled by the master CU entity to access the slave CU entities corresponding to the corresponding operators, because security domains of different operators are all responsible for the corresponding slave CU entities, physical isolation is realized between the slave CU entities, and no overlapping occurs between DUs, the security isolation between the operators is effectively realized, therefore, the risk of safety information leakage among operators is effectively avoided, and the safety of the wireless access network is obviously improved.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a distribution structure of new air interface CUs and DUs in the prior art;

fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a new air interface CU and DU distribution structure in an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a schematic flow chart illustrating a procedure for implementing sharing of an F1 interface by using a cell ID implicit indication mode in an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a schematic flow chart illustrating a process of implementing sharing of the F1 interface by using a DU DI indication manner in the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a transport layer address update process according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a value range indicating modification of gNB-CU UE F1AP ID according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a flow of triggering cell status update or system information update by a DU according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating a process of a master CU entity triggering cell status update according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating a process of triggering system information update by a master CU entity according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a process of triggering system information update from a CU entity according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an initial access procedure of a UE without 5G-S-TMSI allocation in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a process of UE initiated RRC connection establishment with allocated 5G-S-TMSI according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a UE triggering RRC connection recovery procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating a procedure for triggering RRC connection reestablishment by a UE according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of a first functional architecture of a main CU entity in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating a second functional architecture of a main CU entity according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

In order to effectively reduce the risk of information leakage between different operators while applying a radio access network sharing technology, in the embodiment of the present invention, a connection mode of a CU and a DU is redesigned, specifically: referring to fig. 2, in the radio access Network, one DU entity may connect multiple CU entities simultaneously, and from the perspective of the one DU, all connected CU entities belong to the same logical CU, and different CU entities belong to different operators, i.e. belong to different Public Land Mobile Networks (PLMNs), only with different transport layer addresses. Among these CU entities, there is one master CU entity, and only the master CU entity can manage the DU entity, i.e. only the master CU entity can interact with the DU entity as follows: non-UE related interface signaling except for interface messages for changing transport layer addresses.

As shown in fig. 2, in the embodiment of the present invention, both the DU entity and the logical interface (e.g., F1 interface) are shared by multiple operators, and the physical interface and each CU entity are autonomously controlled by each operator, so that security isolation between operators is achieved.

In this embodiment of the present invention, a DU entity may connect multiple CU entities, that is, multiple CU entities share the same DU entity, and there is a master CU entity among the CU entities, where the master CU entity is capable of managing the DU entity and other slave CU entities, for example: specifying the broadcast content of the DU entity, indicating the open cell or the closed cell of the DU entity, indicating the DU entity to perform interference coordination, etc. Other slave CU entities cannot perform the above operations.

On the other hand, in the embodiment of the present invention, a control plane signaling connection exists between the master CU entity and the DU entity, a control plane connection exists between at least one slave CU entity in the radio access network and the DU entity, and a control plane connection exists between the master CU entity and the slave CU entity. The master CU and the slave CU include PDCP layer entities, and the DU entities include physical layer entities.

Optionally, in this embodiment of the present invention, both the master CU entity and the slave CU entity may be eNB-CUs, or a gNB-CU, or control plane portions thereof, and may also be any logical node having similar functions, and in the subsequent embodiments, for convenience of description, the gNB-CU is taken as an example for illustration.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the embodiment of the invention, the DU entity needs to establish transmission layer connection with the slave CU entities belonging to different operators through the master CU entity so as to form control plane connection, thereby providing effective guarantee for the access of subsequent user terminals. The establishment of the transport layer connection between the DU entity and the slave CU entity can be performed in various ways, which are described below.

Referring to fig. 3, in the embodiment of the present invention, a main CU entity uses a cell ID implicit indication mode, and a detailed flow for implementing sharing of an F1 interface is as follows:

step 301: the DU entity is public and the main CU entity establishes a transport layer connection.

In other words, at this time, the F1 interface is only used for signaling interaction between the DU entity and the master CU entity.

Step 302: and the master CU entity sends a notification message to the slave CU entity, wherein the notification message carries the cell identification information (for example, the cell identification information can be shown in a cell list form) managed by the master CU through the DU.

And after receiving the notification message from the CU entity, judging the physical resources of part or all cells managed by the main CU entity through the DU entity according to the pre-configuration information.

Step 303: and sending a first interface message from the CU entity to the master CU entity, wherein the first interface message carries transport layer address information used by the slave CU entity to establish the transport layer connection of the F1 interface, and cell identification information governed by the DU entity of the master CU entity requested to be shared by the slave CU entity.

And after receiving the first interface message, the master CU entity triggers the DU entity to establish a transmission layer connection with the slave CU entity when judging that the request of the slave CU entity is legal according to the pre-configuration information.

Step 304: and the master CU entity sends a gNB-CU configuration updating indication message to the DU entity, wherein the gNB-CU configuration updating indication carries the transport layer address information and is used for indicating the DU entity to establish the transport layer connection with the slave CU entity.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the transport layer connection established between the DU entity and the slave CU entity is part of the currently existing F1 logical interface, and optionally, the master CU entity may indicate in the gNB-CU configuration update indication message that the transport layer connection is only used for transmitting UE-related signaling.

Step 305: the DU entity establishes a transport layer connection with the slave CU entity as indicated and feeds back a gNB-CU configuration update response message to the master CU entity indicating that the requested transport layer connection has been successfully established.

Step 306: the master CU entity sends a second interface message to the slave CU entity to indicate that the transport layer connection requested by the slave CU entity has been successfully established.

And the second interface message carries the gNB-DU ID of the DU entity so as to identify the DU entity from the CU entity in subsequent signaling interaction.

Further, since the values of the different assigned gNB-CU UE F1AP IDs from the CU entity cannot be repeated, the value range of the assigned gNB-CU UE F1AP ID from the CU entity shall be indicated in the second interface message.

Step 307: transport layer connections have been established between the DU entity and both the master CU entity and the slave CU entity.

In other words, at this time, the shared F1 interface is used not only for signaling interaction between the DU entity and the master CU entity, but also for signaling interaction between the DU entity and the slave CU entity.

Referring to fig. 4, in the embodiment of the present invention, the master CU entity uses a DU ID indication manner, and the detailed flow for implementing sharing of the F1 interface is as follows:

step 401: the DU entity establishes a transport layer connection only with the master CU entity.

Step 402: the slave CU entity judges that the master CU to be shared passes through the physical resources of part or all cells governed by the DU entity according to the preconfigured information, and sends a first interface message to the master CU entity, wherein the first interface message carries transport layer address information used by the slave CU entity to establish a transport layer connection of the F1 interface and the gNB-DU ID of the requested DU entity.

Step 403: and the master CU entity sends a gNB-CU configuration updating indication message to the corresponding DU entity, wherein the gNB-CU configuration updating indication message carries the transport layer address information so as to indicate the DU entity to establish the transport layer connection with the slave CU entity.

The transport layer connection is subordinate to a part of the currently existing F1 logical interface, and the master CU should note in the gNB-CU configuration update indication message that the transport layer connection is only used for transmitting UE related signaling.

Step 404: the DU entity establishes the transport layer connection with the slave CU entity as indicated and feeds back a gNB-CU configuration update response message to the master CU entity indicating that the requested transport layer connection has been successfully established.

Step 405: the master CU entity sends a second interface message to the slave CU entity to indicate that the transport layer connection requested by the slave CU entity has been successfully established.

The master CU entity should also carry in the second interface message the cell identity information governed by the DU entity (e.g. shown in the form of a cell list).

Of course, in the above steps 300 to 307, and in the steps 400 to 405, the master CU entity indicates the value range of the gNB-CU UE F1AP ID that can be allocated by the slave CU entity through the second interface message, in an actual application, the master CU entity may adopt a special reconfiguration procedure to set the value range of the gNB-CU UE F1AP ID that can be allocated for the slave CU entity, and the above embodiment is described by taking as an example only the value range of the gNB-CU UE F1AP ID that can be allocated by the slave CU entity in the transport layer connection establishment process, and details are not repeated here.

Step 406: transport layer connections have been established between the DU entity and both the master CU entity and the slave CU entity.

Based on the foregoing embodiment, as shown in fig. 5, in the embodiment of the present invention, the master CU entity may further use the DU ID to indicate the DU entity in the transport layer address updating process, which includes the following specific processes:

step 501: and sending a third interface message from the CU entity to the master CU entity, wherein the third interface message carries the updated (e.g. newly added or modified) transport layer address information and the gNB-DU ID of the requested DU entity.

Specifically, in the case where a transport layer connection already exists between the slave CU entity and the DU entity, the slave CU entity triggers an update procedure of the transport layer connection, which may be triggered, for example, when transport layer address information of, for example, a shared F1 interface is newly added or when transport layer address information of an already existing shared F1 interface is modified.

And after receiving the third interface message, the master CU entity triggers the DU entity to update the transmission layer connection between the DU entity and the slave CU entity when judging that the request of the slave CU entity is legal according to the pre-configuration information.

Step 502: and the master CU entity sends a gNB-CU configuration updating indication message to the corresponding DU entity, wherein the gNB-CU configuration updating indication message carries updated transport layer address information so as to indicate the DU entity and the slave CU entity to update the corresponding transport layer connection.

The transport layer connection is subordinate to a portion of the currently existing F1 logical interface. The master CU entity should note in the gNB-CU configuration update indication message that the above transport layer connection is only used for transporting UE related signaling.

Step 503: the DU entity updates the transport layer connection with the slave CU entity according to the updated transport layer address information and configures an update response (ACK) message to the master CU entity gNB-CU to indicate that the requested transport layer connection has been successfully updated.

Step 504: the master CU entity sends a fourth interface message to the slave CU entity indicating that the transport layer connection requested by the slave CU entity has been successfully updated.

Based on the above embodiment, referring to fig. 6, in the embodiment of the present invention, the master CU entity may change the value range of the gNB-CU UE F1AP ID that the slave CU entity may allocate, based on the request of the slave CU entity, as follows:

step 601: and sending a fifth interface message from the CU entity to the master CU entity, wherein the fifth interface message is used for requesting to subdivide the value range of the gNB-CU UE F1AP ID which can be allocated by the slave CU entity.

Specifically, when determining that the traffic load changes, the slave CU entity sends a fourth interface message to the master CU entity requesting the master CU entity to repartition the range of the gNB-CU UE F1AP IDs that the slave CU entity can allocate.

Step 602: and the master CU entity judges the value range of the newly-divided gNB-CU UE F1AP ID, and sends a sixth interface message to the slave CU entity, wherein the sixth interface message carries the value range of the newly-assigned gNB-CU UE F1AP ID which can be allocated by the slave CU entity.

Based on the foregoing embodiments, in the embodiments of the present invention, when the cell state information is updated or the system information is updated, the master CU entity manages the update process, and since the trigger of the update process may be any one of the DU entity, the master CU entity, and the slave CU entity, the corresponding management manners are also different, and are described below separately.

Referring to fig. 7, in the embodiment of the present invention, when the DU entity triggers the cell status update or system information update process, the management process of the main CU entity is as follows:

step 701: the DU entity sends a gbb-DU configuration update indication message to the master CU entity.

Specifically, when a cell state update (for example, a cell load is greatly changed, a cell availability is changed, and the like) or a system information update occurs to the DU entity, a gNB-DU configuration update indication message is sent to the main UC entity, where the gNB-DU configuration update indication message carries the updated cell state information of the DU entity.

On the other hand, when determining that system information update occurs, the DU entity sends a gNB-DU configuration update indication message to the main UC entity, where the gNB-DU configuration update indication message carries updated system update information, and further, since there may be a user terminal that cannot receive broadcast messages in the system, such a user terminal can only receive updated system update information through dedicated RRC messages, and therefore, the gNB-DU configuration update indication message may also carry a UE list that needs to receive system information update using dedicated RRC messages.

Step 702: and the master CU entity sends a seventh interface message to the slave CU entity, wherein the seventh interface message contains updated cell state information or system information.

In case of system information update, the seventh interface message may also carry a UE list served by the slave CU entity and required to receive updated system information using a dedicated RRC message.

Step 703: the master CU entity sends a gNB-DU configuration update response message to the DU entity.

Step 704: the main CU entity sends a downlink RRC message to the served UE that needs to receive the updated system information using a dedicated RRC message, where the RRC message carries the updated system information.

In case of updating the system information, the main CU entity performs step 704 when determining that there is a UE that needs to receive the updated system information using the dedicated RRC message, and similar cases exist in subsequent embodiments, which will not be described again.

Step 705: and the slave CU entity sends a downlink RRC message to the served UE which needs to receive the updated system information by using the special RRC message through the DU entity, wherein the RRC message carries the updated system information.

In case of updating the system information, step 705 is only performed when it is determined from the CU entity that there is a UE that needs to receive the updated system information using the dedicated RRC message, and similar cases exist in subsequent embodiments, which will not be described again.

Referring to fig. 8, in the embodiment of the present invention, when the main CU entity triggers the cell status update procedure, the management procedure of the main CU entity is as follows:

step 801: and the master CU entity sends a gNB-CU configuration updating indication message to the DU entity, wherein the gNB-CU configuration updating indication message is used for requesting to change the cell state information of the DU entity.

Specifically, the master CU entity may send the gNB-CU configuration update indication message to the DU entity when the active DU entity needs cell state information, for example, when the active DU entity actively requests to activate or deactivate a cell.

Step 802: and the DU entity receives the gNB-CU configuration updating indication message, correspondingly updates the cell state information according to the indication, and sends a gNB-CU configuration updating response message to the main CU entity.

Step 803: and the master CU entity sends a seventh interface message to the slave CU entity, wherein the seventh interface message contains updated cell state information or system information.

Referring to fig. 9, in the embodiment of the present invention, when the master CU entity triggers system information update, the management flow of the master CU entity is as follows:

step 901: based on the reasons of network optimization, public warning received from the core network and the like, the main CU entity determines that a system information updating process needs to be triggered, and sends a gNB-CU configuration updating indication message to the DU entity, wherein the gNB-CU configuration updating indication message carries updated system information.

Step 902: and the DU entity updates the locally broadcasted system information according to the received gNB-CU configuration updating indication message and sends a gNB-CU configuration updating response message to the main CU entity, wherein the gNB-CU configuration updating response message may carry a UE list which needs to use a special RRC message to receive the updated system information.

In practical applications, if there is no UE in the system that needs to receive updated system information using dedicated RRC message, the master CU entity may not carry the UE list in the gNB-CU configuration update response message.

Step 903: and the master CU entity sends a seventh interface message to the slave CU entity, wherein the seventh interface message carries the updated system information.

Further, it is also possible to carry in the seventh interface message an updated UE list served by the slave CU entity that needs to receive using dedicated RRC messages.

Step 904: the main CU entity sends a downlink RRC message to the served UE that needs to receive the updated system information using a dedicated RRC message, where the RRC message carries the updated system information.

In case of updating the system information, the main CU entity performs step 903 when determining that there is a UE that needs to receive the updated system information using the dedicated RRC message, and similar cases exist in subsequent embodiments, which will not be described again.

Step 905: and the slave CU entity sends a downlink RRC message to the served UE which needs to receive the updated system information by using the special RRC message through the DU entity, wherein the RRC message carries the updated system information.

In case of updating the system information, step 904 is executed only when it is determined from the CU entity that there is a UE that needs to receive the updated system information using the dedicated RRC message, and similar cases exist in subsequent embodiments, which will not be described again.

Referring to fig. 10, in the embodiment of the present invention, when the slave CU entity triggers system information update, the management flow of the master CU entity is as follows:

step 1001: due to the reasons of network optimization, public warning received from a core network and the like, the slave CU entity determines that a system information updating process needs to be triggered, and sends a notification message to the master CU entity, wherein the notification message carries an indication requesting to update the system information.

Step 1002: and after receiving the notification message sent by the slave CU entity, the master CU entity sends a gNB-CU configuration updating indication message to the DU, wherein the gNB-CU configuration updating indication message carries updated system information.

Step 1003: and the DU realizes updating the locally broadcasted system information according to the received gNB-CU configuration updating indication message and sends a gNB-CU configuration updating response message to the main CU entity, wherein the gNB-CU configuration updating response message may carry a UE list which needs to use a special RRC message to receive the updated system information.

Step 1004: and the master CU entity sends a seventh interface message to the slave CU entity, wherein the seventh interface message carries the updated system information.

Step 1005: the main CU entity sends a downlink RRC message to the served UE that needs to receive the updated system information using a dedicated RRC message, where the RRC message carries the updated system information.

Step 1006: and the slave CU entity sends a downlink RRC message to the served UE which needs to receive the updated system information by using the special RRC message through the DU entity, wherein the RRC message carries the updated system information.

Based on the foregoing embodiment, in the embodiment of the present invention, the user terminal may access the corresponding CU entity (may access the master CU entity or may access the slave CU entity) through the DU entity, and the master CU entity may assist the user terminal to find the corresponding slave CU entity regardless of whether the initial access establishes the RRC connection, the handover access establishes the RRC connection, the subsequent RRC connection recovery, and the RRC connection reestablishment, which are described below.

Referring to fig. 11, in the embodiment of the present invention, in the initial access process of the user equipment, the management flow of the main CU entity is as follows:

step 1101: the UE which is not allocated with the 5G-S-Temporary Mobile subscriber identity (5G S-temporal Mobile Subscription Identifier, 5G-S-TMSI) triggers an initial access process, selects a PLMN to which a slave CU belongs, and sends an RRC establishment request message to a DU entity, wherein the RRC establishment request message carries a random ID.

Step 1102: and the DU entity directly sends an initial uplink RRC message to the main CU entity without analyzing the received RRC establishment request message, wherein the initial uplink RRC message carries the RRC establishment request message.

Further, the initial uplink RRC message also needs to carry a gNB-DU UE F1AP ID allocated by the DU entity, a New Radio Cell Global Identity (NR-CGI) of a Cell that is administered by the DU entity and receives the RRC establishment request message, a Cell Radio Network Temporary Identity (C-RNTI) allocated by the MAC layer, and the like.

Step 1103: and the main CU entity receives the initial uplink RRC message, directly accepts the RRC establishment request message, generates a corresponding downlink RRC message and sends the downlink RRC message to the DU entity, wherein the downlink RRC message carries an RRC establishment indication message.

Specifically, since the initial uplink RRC message does not carry PLMN information, the main CU entity cannot determine which slave CU entity should use the service provided by the UE, and then the main CU entity directly accepts the RRC establishment request message and generates a corresponding downlink RRC message.

Further, the downlink RRC message needs to further carry a gNB-CU UE F1AP ID.

Step 1104: the DU entity records the gNB-CU UE F1AP ID and sends an RRC setup message to the UE.

Step 1105: and the UE feeds back a corresponding RRC establishment completion message to the DU entity, wherein the RRC establishment completion message carries PLMN information selected by the UE.

Step 1106: and the DU entity sends an uplink RRC message to the main CU entity, wherein the uplink RRC message carries the RRC establishment completion message.

Step 1107: and the master CU entity judges the slave CU entity corresponding to the UE according to the PLMN information contained in the RRC establishment completion message, and sends an eighth interface message to the slave CU entity, wherein the eighth interface message carries the RRC establishment completion message.

Further, the eighth interface message also needs to carry a gNB-DU UE F1AP ID allocated by the DU entity, a primary NR-CGI of a cell that receives the RRC establishment request message and is governed by the DU entity, a C-RNTI allocated by the MAC layer, and the like.

Step 1108: and the slave CU entity interacts with the core network to complete the processing of the RRC establishment completion message and acquire the corresponding UE context.

Specifically, the UE context includes an access stratum root key, and the slave CU entity calculates a corresponding algorithm key according to the access stratum root key and applies the algorithm key to subsequent signaling and user data interaction.

Step 1109: a new gNB-CU UE F1AP ID is allocated for the UE from the CU entity and a UE context setup request message is sent to the DU entity, wherein the UE context setup request message contains the new gNB-CU UE F1AP ID and the security mode command message.

Specifically, the UE context setup request message is an interface message related to the UE.

Step 1110: DU entity the new gNB-CU UE F1AP ID overwrites the currently stored gNB-CU UE F1AP ID record and establishes the UE context.

Since the UE context setup request message is an interface message related to the UE, the DU entity should use the transport layer address information of the sender of the UE context setup request message when subsequently sending other interface messages related to the UE.

Step 1111-step 1118: the UE, DU entity and the slave CU entity complete the rest of the initial access flow.

Referring to fig. 12, in the embodiment of the present invention, when the user terminal to which the 5G-S-TMSI has been allocated initiates an RRC connection establishment procedure, a management procedure of the main CU entity is as follows:

step 1201: and the UE which is allocated with the 5G-S-TMSI triggers an access process, selects a PLMN to which a slave CU belongs, and sends an RRC establishment request message to a DU entity, wherein the RRC establishment request message carries a part of the content of the 5G-S-TMSI.

Step 1202: and the DU entity directly sends an initial uplink RRC message to the main CU entity without analyzing the received RRC establishment request message, wherein the initial uplink RRC message carries the RRC establishment request message.

Further, the initial uplink RRC message also needs to carry a gNB-DU UE F1AP ID allocated by the DU entity, a primary NR-CGI of a cell managed by the DU entity and receiving the RRC establishment request message, a C-RNTI allocated by the MAC layer, and the like.

Step 1203: according to the 5G-S-TMSI allocated by the UE, the master CU entity determines the slave CU entity corresponding to the UE (i.e. which slave CU entity should provide service), and sends an eighth interface message to the slave CU entity, where the eighth interface message carries all the contents in the initial uplink RRC message, e.g. the eighth interface message needs to carry the gNB-DU UE F1AP ID allocated by the DU entity.

Step 1204: and the slave CU entity regards the received eighth interface message as an initial uplink RRC message received from the DU entity, generates a corresponding RRC establishment indication message, allocates a gNB-CU UE F1AP ID, and sends a downlink RRC message to the master CU entity, wherein the downlink RRC message is a UE-related interface message and carries the gNB-CU UE F1AP ID and the RRC establishment indication message.

Step 1205: the DU entity records the received gNB-CU UE F1AP ID and sends an RRC setup indication message to the UE.

Since the downlink RRC message is an interface message related to the UE, the DU entity should use the transport layer address information of the sender of the downlink RRC message when subsequently sending other interface messages related to the UE.

Step 1206: and the UE executes the RRC establishment flow and feeds back an RRC establishment completion message to the DU entity after the establishment is finished.

Step 1211: and the DU entity sends an uplink RRC message to the slave CU entity, wherein the uplink RRC message carries the RRC establishment completion message.

Referring to fig. 13, in the embodiment of the present invention, when the UE triggers the RRC connection recovery procedure, the management procedure of the main CU entity is as follows:

step 1301: the UE in an RRC Inactive state triggers an RRC connection recovery process, and the UE sends an RRC recovery request message to a DU entity, wherein the RRC recovery request message carries an Inactive radio network temporary identifier (Inactive-RNTI, I-RNTI) or part of the content of the I-RNTI.

Step 1302: the DU does not analyze the received RRC recovery request message, and directly sends an initial uplink RRC message to the main CU entity, wherein the initial uplink RRC message carries the RRC recovery request message.

Further, the initial uplink RRC message also needs to carry a gNB-DU UE F1AP ID allocated by a DU entity, a primary NR-CGI of a cell managed by the DU entity and receiving the RRC recovery request message, a C-RNTI allocated by the MAC layer, and the like.

Step 1303: according to the I-RNTI, the master CU entity sends an eighth interface message to all slave CU entities that may provide services for the UE, where the eighth interface message carries all contents in the initial uplink RRC message, for example, the eighth interface message needs to carry a gNB-DU UE F1AP ID allocated by the DU entity.

Step 1304: and each slave CU entity regards the received eighth interface message as an initial uplink RRC message received from the DU entity, triggers local search of the UE context or extraction of the UE context from other nodes, and determines that the slave CU entity providing service for the UE successfully extracts the UE context.

Step 1305: and determining that the slave CU entity providing the service sends a ninth interface message to the master CU entity, and informing the master CU entity that the slave CU entity is to process the access of the UE.

Step 1306: and the slave CU entity allocates gNB-CU UE F1AP ID for the UE and sends a UE context establishment request message to the DU entity, wherein the UE context establishment request message comprises the gNB-CU UE F1AP ID.

Step 1307: the DU entity records the received gNB-CU UE F1AP ID, establishes UE context, and feeds back UE context establishment response information to the slave CU entity.

Step 1308: and the slave CU entity sends a downlink RRC message to the DU entity, wherein the downlink RRC message carries an RRC recovery indication message.

Step 1309: the DU entity sends an RRC recovery indication message to the UE.

Step 1310: and the UE executes the RRC recovery flow and feeds back an RRC recovery completion message to the DU entity after the recovery is finished.

Step 1311: and the DU entity sends an uplink RRC message to the slave CU entity, wherein the uplink RRC message carries the RRC recovery completion message.

Referring to fig. 14, in the embodiment of the present invention, when the UE triggers the RRC connection reestablishment procedure, the management procedure of the main CU entity is as follows:

step 1401: when RRC failure occurs to UE which is currently connected with a slave CU entity through a DU entity, an RRC reestablishment process is triggered, and the UE sends an RRC reestablishment request message to the DU entity, wherein the RRC reestablishment request message carries an originally used C-RNTI and a Physical Cell Identifier (PCI) of an originally accessed Cell.

Step 1402: and the DU entity does not analyze the received RRC reestablishment request message and directly initiates an uplink RRC message to the main CU entity, wherein the initial uplink RRC message carries the RRC reestablishment request message.

Further, the initial uplink RRC message also needs to carry a gNB-DU UE F1AP ID allocated by the DU entity, a primary NR-CGI of a cell managed by the DU entity and receiving the RRC reestablishment request message, a C-RNTI allocated by the MAC layer, and the like.

Step 1403: according to the PCI and C-RNTI, the master CU entity sends an eighth interface message to all slave CU entities that may provide services for the UE, where the eighth interface message carries all contents of the initial uplink RRC message, for example, the eighth interface message needs to carry a gNB-DU UE F1AP ID allocated by the DU entity.

Step 1404: and each slave CU entity regards the received eighth interface message as an initial uplink RRC message received from the DU entity, triggers local search of the UE context or extraction of the UE context from other nodes, and determines that the slave CU entity providing service for the UE successfully extracts the UE context.

Step 1405: and determining that the slave CU entity providing the service sends a ninth interface message to the master CU entity, and informing the master CU entity that the slave CU entity is to process the access of the UE.

Step 1406: and the slave CU entity generates an RRC reestablishment indication message, allocates a gNB-CU UE F1AP ID to the UE, and sends a downlink RRC message to the DU entity, wherein the downlink RRC message carries the RRC reestablishment indication message and the gNB-CU UE F1AP ID.

Specifically, the downlink RRC message is an interface message related to the UE.

Step 1407: the DU entity records the received gNB-CU UE F1AP ID and sends an RRC reestablishment indication message to the UE.

Step 1408: and the UE executes the RRC reestablishment process and feeds back an RRC reestablishment completion message to the DU entity after reestablishment is completed.

Based on the foregoing embodiments, referring to fig. 15, in an embodiment of the present invention, a master CU entity apparatus is provided, where the master CU entity and a slave CU entity share a distribution unit DU entity, and the master CU entity is configured to manage the slave CU entity and the DU entity, where the master CU entity includes at least a processor 1501, a memory 1502, and a transceiver 1503, where the processor 1501 is configured to read a program in the memory 1502 and execute the following steps:

the transceiver 1503 is used for receiving and transmitting data under the control of the processor.

In fig. 15, among other things, the bus architecture may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, with one or more processors, represented by processor 1501, being linked together with various circuits of memory, represented by memory 1502. The bus architecture may also link together various other circuits such as peripherals, voltage regulators, power management circuits, and the like, which are well known in the art, and therefore, will not be described any further herein. The bus interface provides an interface. The transceiver 1503 may be a plurality of elements, including a transmitter and a transceiver, providing a means for communicating with various other apparatus over a transmission medium. The processor 1501 is responsible for managing a bus architecture and general processing, and the memory 1502 may store data used by the processor 1501 in performing operations.

Optionally, the first interface message further carries identification information of the DU entity, or the cell identification information controlled by the DU entity and requested to be shared from the CU entity, and the processor 1501 determines the DU entity according to the first interface message.

Optionally, the processor 1501 further carries the identification information of the DU entity in the second interface message, or the cell identification information controlled by the DU entity.

Optionally, the processor 1501 is further configured to:

Optionally, when the cell status information needs to be updated for the DU entity, the processor 1501 is configured to:

Optionally, when it is determined that system information update needs to be performed on the DU entity, the processor 1501 is configured to:

Optionally, the processor 1501 is further configured to:

Based on the same inventive concept, referring to fig. 16, in an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a sharing apparatus (e.g., a master CU entity) of a radio access network, the apparatus sharing a distribution unit, DU, entity with a slave CU entity, the apparatus being configured to manage the slave CU entity and the DU entity, the apparatus including a first processing unit 161, a second processing unit 162, and a third processing unit 163, wherein,

the first processing unit 161 is configured to receive a first interface message sent by the slave CU entity, where the first interface message carries transport layer address information of the slave CU;

a second processing unit 162, configured to send the transport layer address information to the DU entity, where the transport layer address information is used to trigger the DU entity to establish a corresponding transport layer connection between the DU entity and the slave CU entity based on the transport layer address information;

the third processing unit 163 is configured to, after confirming that the transport layer connection is established according to the feedback of the DU entity, notify the slave CU entity of the establishment result by using a second interface message.

Optionally, the first interface message further carries identification information of the DU entity, or the cell identification information controlled by the DU entity and requested to be shared from the CU entity, and the first processing unit 161 determines the DU entity according to the first interface message.

Optionally, the third processing unit 163 further carries, in the second interface message, identification information of the DU entity, or cell identification information controlled by the DU entity.

Optionally, the third processing unit 163 is further configured to:

Optionally, when the cell state information needs to be updated for the DU entity, the third processing unit 163 is configured to:

Optionally, when it is determined that system information update needs to be performed for the DU entity, the third processing unit 163 is configured to:

Optionally, the third processing unit 163 is further configured to:

Based on the same inventive concept, an embodiment of the present invention provides a sharing system of a radio access network, and referring to fig. 2, the system includes a master central unit CU entity, a slave CU entity, and a distribution unit DU entity, the master CU entity and the slave CU entity share the DU entity, the master CU entity is configured to manage the slave CU entity and the DU entity, wherein the master CU entity is configured to:

Based on the same inventive concept, an embodiment of the present invention provides a storage medium storing a program for implementing a sharing method based on a radio access network, where the program, when executed by a processor, performs the following steps:

To sum up, in the embodiments of the present invention, a wireless access network system with separate CU entities and DU entities is designed, each CU entity shares a DU entity and a logical interface, in each CU entity, a master CU entity manages the DU entity and other slave CU entities, different CU entities belong to different operators, the master CU entity can control the DU entity to establish a transport layer connection with different slave CU entities respectively based on transport layer address information of each slave CU entity, and a physical interface with each CU entity is autonomously controlled by each operator, so that after accessing the DU entity, a UE can be controlled by the master CU entity to access a slave CU entity corresponding to a corresponding operator, and since the slave CU entities corresponding to security domains of different operators are responsible for each other and are physically isolated from each other, no overlapping occurs between each other, thereby effectively achieving security isolation between operators, therefore, the risk of safety information leakage among operators is effectively avoided, and the safety of the wireless access network is obviously improved.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, embodiments of the present invention may be provided as a method, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, and the like) having computer-usable program code embodied therein.

The present invention is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and/or blocks in the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described, additional variations and modifications in those embodiments may occur to those skilled in the art once they learn of the basic inventive concepts. Therefore, it is intended that the appended claims be interpreted as including preferred embodiments and all such alterations and modifications as fall within the scope of the invention.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the embodiments of the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the embodiments of the invention. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the embodiments of the present invention fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention and their equivalents, the present invention is also intended to encompass such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A sharing method of a wireless access network is characterized in that the method is applied to the following system architecture: comprising a master central unit, CU, entity, a slave CU entity and a distribution unit, DU, entity, the master CU and the slave CU entities sharing the DU entity, the master CU entity being configured to manage the slave CU entities and the DU, wherein the method comprises:

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first interface message further carries identification information of the DU entity or the slave CU entity requests shared cell identification information controlled by the DU entity, and the master CU entity determines the DU entity according to the first interface message.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the master CU entity further carries in the second interface message identity information of the DU entity or cell identity information controlled by the DU entity.

4. The method of claim 1, 2, or 3, further comprising:

5. The method of claim 1, 2, or 3, further comprising:

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

7. The method of claim 1, 2, or 3, further comprising:

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the master CU entity needs to perform cell status information update for the DU entity, comprising:

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the determining by the master CU entity that a system information update for the DU entity is required comprises:

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

11. The method of claim 1, 2, or 3, further comprising:

12. A master central unit, CU, entity arrangement in a radio access network, characterized in that the master CU entity and slave CU entities share a distribution unit, DU, entity, the master CU entity being adapted to manage the slave CU entities and the DU, wherein the master CU entity comprises at least a processor, a memory and a transceiver, the processor being adapted to read a program in the memory and to perform the following steps:

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the first interface message further carries identification information of the DU entity or cell identification information controlled by the DU entity that the CU entity requests to share from, and wherein the processor determines the DU entity according to the first interface message.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the processor further carries identification information of the DU entity or cell identification information controlled by the DU entity in the second interface message.

15. The apparatus of claim 12, 13 or 14, wherein the processor is further to:

16. The apparatus of claim 12, 13 or 14, wherein the processor is further to:

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the processor is further to:

18. The apparatus of claim 12, 13 or 14, wherein the processor is further to:

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein when a cell state information update for the DU entity is required, the processor is configured to:

20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein when it is determined that a system information update for the DU entity is required, the processor is configured to:

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the processor is further configured to:

22. The apparatus of claim 12, 13 or 14, wherein the processor is further to:

23. A sharing apparatus of a radio access network, the apparatus sharing a distribution unit, DU, entity with a slave unit, CU, entity, the apparatus configured to manage the slave CU and DU entities, wherein the apparatus comprises:

24. A sharing system of a radio access network, characterized in that the system comprises a master central unit, CU, entity, a slave CU entity and a distribution unit, DU, entity, the master CU and slave CU entities sharing the DU entity, the master CU entity being configured to manage the slave CU and DU entities, wherein the master CU entity is configured to:

25. A storage medium storing a program for implementing a sharing method of a radio access network, wherein the method is applied to a system architecture of: comprising a master CU entity, a slave CU entity and a DU entity, the master CU entity being adapted to manage the slave CU entities and the DU entity, the following steps being performed by the master CU entity when the program is run by a processor: