CN114071601A

CN114071601A - Node switching method and device

Info

Publication number: CN114071601A
Application number: CN202010773960.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 王达; 曾二林
Original assignee: Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co Ltd
Current assignee: Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-08-04
Filing date: 2020-08-04
Publication date: 2022-02-18

Abstract

The invention provides a node switching method and a node switching device, which are used for solving the problem of how to enable IAB network service transmission to be more balanced or reduce transmission delay in the IAB node switching process. The method comprises the following steps: the centralized unit sends a first request message to a first IAB node under the condition that a first target parameter of the first IAB node meets a first switching trigger condition; the first target parameter comprises at least one of: traffic of a first IAB node; a first IAB node receives the traffic sent by a second IAB node; a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit; a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit; a current location of the first IAB node. The invention not only triggers the switch based on the measurement quantity, but also considers other switch factors, thereby leading the service transmission of the IAB network to be more balanced or reducing the transmission delay in the process of switching the IAB node.

Description

Node switching method and device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a node switching method and apparatus.

Background

The IAB (Integrated Access and Backhaul) network technology achieves the purpose of expanding the coverage area of the base station by relaying wireless signals among a plurality of nodes. The method is a network networking mode for solving the problem of base station coverage in the future 5G.

In the existing IAB network topology, one IAB node is composed of two parts, one part is a DU part in an IAB MT (IAB Mobile Termination) pair connected to a base station or an IAB node, and the base station or the IAB node is called as its parent node; the other part is the MT part of the IAB DU (IAB Distributed Unit) pair downstream connected UE or IAB node, which is called its child node.

With the further development of IAB technology, the topology of the IAB network can be changed, i.e. an IAB node can switch from one parent node to another, from one donor DU to another, or from one donor CU to another. How to make the transmission of the IAB network service more balanced or reduce the transmission delay in the IAB node switching process becomes an urgent problem to be solved.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide a node switching method and a node switching device, which are used for solving the problem of how to enable the transmission of IAB network services to be more balanced or reduce the transmission delay in the process of switching an IAB node.

In order to achieve the above object, an embodiment of the present invention provides a node switching method, including:

the method comprises the steps that a concentration unit sends a first request message to a first Integrated Access Backhaul (IAB) node under the condition that a first target parameter of the first IAB node meets a first switching trigger condition, wherein the first request message is used for indicating the first IAB node to carry out cell switching;

the first target parameter comprises at least one of:

traffic of the first IAB node;

the first IAB node receives the traffic sent by a second IAB node, wherein the second IAB node is a parent node or a child node of the first IAB node;

a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit;

a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit;

a current location of the first IAB node.

Wherein, the first request message is a handover request message or an IAB node information modification request message.

Wherein the first handover trigger condition comprises at least one of:

the traffic volume of the first IAB node exceeds a first threshold;

the traffic volume of the first IAB node is lower than a second threshold;

the first IAB node receives that the traffic sent by the second IAB node exceeds a third threshold;

the first IAB node receives that the traffic volume sent by the second IAB node is lower than a fourth threshold;

the hop count from the first IAB node to the central unit is greater than a fifth threshold;

the hop count from the parent node of the first IAB node to the centralized unit is greater than a sixth threshold;

the hop count from the parent node of the first IAB node to the centralized unit is greater than the hop count from the searched third IAB node to the centralized unit;

the current location of the first IAB node reaches within a target area.

Wherein the method further comprises:

and acquiring a first target parameter of the first IAB node according to the information scheduling of the centralized unit, the IAB network topology and/or the information report of the first IAB node.

Wherein the sending the first request message to the first IAB node comprises:

and sending the first request message to the first IAB node through F1 interface signaling or Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

Wherein the content of the first request message comprises at least one of:

an identifier of a target cell, configured to indicate the target cell to which the first IAB node is handed over;

returning configuration information of an adaptive protocol BAP layer;

IP address configuration information;

cell frequency configuration information;

configuration information for descendant nodes of the first IAB node.

Wherein the method further comprises:

receiving first response information sent by the first IAB node for the first request message.

In order to achieve the above object, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a node switching method, including:

the first integrated access backhaul IAB node reports a first target parameter of the first IAB node to a central unit;

receiving a first request message sent by a concentration unit under the condition that the first target parameter meets a first switching trigger condition;

performing cell switching according to the first request message;

the first target parameter comprises at least one of:

traffic of the first IAB node;

a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit;

a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit;

a current location of the first IAB node.

Wherein the first handover trigger condition comprises at least one of:

the traffic volume of the first IAB node exceeds a first threshold;

the traffic volume of the first IAB node is lower than a second threshold;

the current location of the first IAB node reaches within a target area.

Wherein the content of the first request message comprises at least one of:

an identity of a first target cell for indicating a target cell to which the first IAB node is handed over;

returning configuration information of an adaptive protocol BAP layer;

IP address configuration information;

cell frequency configuration information;

configuration information for descendant nodes of the first IAB node.

the first integrated access backhaul IAB node sends a handover indication message to the central unit when the second target parameter of the first integrated access backhaul IAB node meets the second handover trigger condition;

the second target parameter comprises at least one of:

traffic of the first IAB node;

a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit;

a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit;

a current location of the first IAB node.

Wherein the second handover trigger condition comprises at least one of:

the traffic volume of the first IAB node exceeds a first threshold;

the traffic volume of the first IAB node is lower than a second threshold;

the current position of the first IAB node reaches the target area;

the first IAB node receives the RLF indication information of the link connection failure sent by the parent node of the first IAB node.

Wherein the RLF indication information is for any one of:

indicating that RLF has occurred for a parent node of the first IAB node;

indicating that a parent node of the first IAB node has RLF and is attempting recovery;

indicating that RLF has occurred for a parent node of the first IAB node and recovery failed.

Wherein the sending a handover indication message to the central unit comprises:

and sending a switching indication message to the centralized unit through F1 interface signaling or Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

Wherein the content of the handover indication message comprises at least one of:

an identity of a third target cell for indicating a target cell to which the first IAB node is handed over;

the second target parameter.

Wherein, after sending the handover indication message to the central unit, the method further comprises:

and receiving a second request message sent by the centralized unit, wherein the second request message is used for indicating the first IAB node to perform cell switching.

Wherein the second request message is a handover request message or an IAB node information modification request message.

Wherein the second request message carries an identifier of a fourth target cell, and is used to indicate the target cell to which the first IAB node is handed over.

Wherein the method further comprises:

sending a second response message to the concentration unit for the second request message.

the centralized unit receives a switching indication message sent by the first integrated access backhaul IAB node under the condition that the second target parameter of the first integrated access backhaul IAB node meets a second switching trigger condition;

the second target parameter comprises at least one of:

traffic of the first IAB node;

a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit;

a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit;

a current location of the first IAB node.

Wherein the second handover trigger condition comprises at least one of:

the traffic volume of the first IAB node exceeds a first threshold;

the traffic volume of the first IAB node is lower than a second threshold;

the current position of the first IAB node reaches the target area;

the second target parameter.

After the central unit receives the handover indication message sent by the first integrated access backhaul IAB node, the method further includes:

and sending a second request message to the first IAB node, wherein the second request message is used for indicating the first IAB node to carry out cell switching.

Wherein the method further comprises:

receiving a second response message sent by the first IAB node for the second request message.

In order to achieve the above object, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a node switching apparatus, including: memory, transceiver, processor: a memory for storing program instructions; a transceiver for transceiving data under control of the processor; a processor for reading program instructions in the memory, the transceiver performing the following:

sending a first request message to a first Integrated Access Backhaul (IAB) node when a first target parameter of the first IAB node meets a first handover trigger condition, wherein the first request message is used for indicating the first IAB node to perform cell handover;

the first target parameter comprises at least one of:

traffic of the first IAB node;

a number of hops from the first IAB node to a central unit;

a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to a central unit;

a current location of the first IAB node.

Wherein the first handover trigger condition comprises at least one of:

the traffic volume of the first IAB node exceeds a first threshold;

the traffic volume of the first IAB node is lower than a second threshold;

the current location of the first IAB node reaches within a target area.

Wherein the processor is specifically configured to:

Wherein the transceiver is specifically configured to:

Wherein the content of the first request message comprises at least one of:

returning configuration information of an adaptive protocol BAP layer;

IP address configuration information;

cell frequency configuration information;

configuration information for descendant nodes of the first IAB node.

Wherein the transceiver is specifically configured to:

In order to achieve the above object, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a node switching apparatus, including:

a first sending module, configured to send a first request message to a first integrated access backhaul IAB node when a first target parameter of the first IAB node meets a first handover trigger condition, where the first request message is used to instruct the first IAB node to perform cell handover;

the first target parameter comprises at least one of:

traffic of the first IAB node;

a number of hops from the first IAB node to a central unit;

a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to a central unit;

a current location of the first IAB node.

reporting a first target parameter of a first IAB node to a centralized unit;

performing cell switching according to the first request message;

the first target parameter comprises at least one of:

traffic of the first IAB node;

a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit;

a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit;

a current location of the first IAB node.

Wherein the first handover trigger condition comprises at least one of:

the traffic volume of the first IAB node exceeds a first threshold;

the traffic volume of the first IAB node is lower than a second threshold;

the current location of the first IAB node reaches within a target area.

Wherein the content of the first request message comprises at least one of:

returning configuration information of an adaptive protocol BAP layer;

IP address configuration information;

cell frequency configuration information;

configuration information for descendant nodes of the first IAB node.

a second sending module, configured to report a first target parameter of the first IAB node to the central unit;

a second receiving module, configured to receive a first request message sent by a central unit when the first target parameter meets a first handover trigger condition;

performing cell switching according to the first request message;

the first target parameter comprises at least one of:

traffic of the first IAB node;

a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit;

a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit;

a current location of the first IAB node.

sending a switching indication message to the centralized unit under the condition that a second target parameter of the first integrated access backhaul IAB node meets a second switching condition;

the second target parameter comprises at least one of:

traffic of the first IAB node;

a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit;

a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit;

a current location of the first IAB node.

Wherein the second handover trigger condition comprises at least one of:

the traffic volume of the first IAB node exceeds a first threshold;

the traffic volume of the first IAB node is lower than a second threshold;

the current position of the first IAB node reaches the target area;

Wherein the RLF indication information is for any one of:

indicating that RLF has occurred for a parent node of the first IAB node;

Wherein the transceiver is specifically configured to:

the second target parameter.

Wherein the transceiver is specifically configured to:

a third sending module, configured to send a handover indication message to the centralized unit when a second target parameter of the first integrated access backhaul IAB node meets a second handover condition;

the second target parameter comprises at least one of:

traffic of the first IAB node;

a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit;

a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit;

a current location of the first IAB node.

receiving a switching indication message sent by the first integrated access backhaul IAB node under the condition that a second target parameter of the first integrated access backhaul IAB node meets a second switching trigger condition;

the second target parameter comprises at least one of:

traffic of the first IAB node;

a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit;

a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit;

a current location of the first IAB node.

Wherein the second handover trigger condition comprises at least one of:

the traffic volume of the first IAB node exceeds a first threshold;

the traffic volume of the first IAB node is lower than a second threshold;

the current position of the first IAB node reaches the target area;

the second target parameter.

Wherein the transceiver is specifically configured to:

a fourth receiving module, configured to receive a handover indication message sent by the first integrated access backhaul IAB node when the second target parameter of the first integrated access backhaul IAB node meets the second handover trigger condition;

the second target parameter comprises at least one of:

traffic of the first IAB node;

a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit;

a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit;

a current location of the first IAB node.

In order to achieve the above object, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a processor-readable storage medium, where the processor-readable storage medium stores program instructions for causing the processor to execute the steps of the node switching method described above.

The technical scheme of the invention at least has the following beneficial effects:

in the above technical solution of the embodiment of the present invention, a centralized unit sends a first request message to a first integrated access backhaul node when a first target parameter of the first IAB node meets a first handover trigger condition, where the first request message is used to instruct the first IAB node to perform cell handover; wherein the first target parameter comprises at least one of: traffic of a first IAB node; a first IAB node receives traffic sent by a second IAB node, wherein the second IAB node is a parent node or a child node of the first IAB node; a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit; a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit; a current location of the first IAB node; therefore, the switching is triggered based on the measurement quantity, and other switching factors are considered, so that the service transmission of the IAB network is more balanced or the transmission delay is reduced in the switching process of the IAB node.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a conventional IAB network topology;

fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a node switching method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a second flowchart illustrating a node switching method according to an embodiment of the invention;

fig. 4 is a third flowchart illustrating a node switching method according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a fourth flowchart illustrating a node switching method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a fifth flowchart illustrating a node switching method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a sixth schematic flowchart of a node switching method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a seventh flowchart illustrating a node switching method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a node switching apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a node switching apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a second block diagram of a node switching apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 12 is a second block diagram of a node switching apparatus according to the embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 13 is a third block diagram of a node switching apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 14 is a third block diagram of a node switching apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a fourth block diagram illustrating a node switching apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 16 is a fourth block diagram of a node switching apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

The term "and/or" in the embodiments of the present invention describes an association relationship of associated objects, and indicates that three relationships may exist, for example, a and/or B may indicate: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. The character "/" generally indicates that the former and latter associated objects are in an "or" relationship.

In the embodiments of the present application, the term "plurality" means two or more, and other terms are similar thereto.

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, and not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present application.

It should be noted that the method of the present invention is applicable to an IAB network. HO (HandOver) or CHO (Conditional HandOver procedure) applicable to the IAB node. For ease of understanding, the network is described in detail below in conjunction with fig. 1.

Fig. 1 is an IAB network topology diagram, and in an IAB network deployment, an IAB donor (an IAB host node or a central control node), an IAB node and a UE are included. The IAB donor is used for connecting the core network, returning the information of the IAB node and the UE to the core network and transmitting the information of the core network to the IAB node and the UE. The IAB donor is also responsible for managing IAB nodes throughout the IAB network.

The IAB node is responsible for relaying and transmitting information of the UE to the IAB donor and relaying and transmitting information of the IAB donor to the UE through a radio link (Uu interface). The IAB nodes and the IAB donor are connected through wireless links, namely Uu interfaces.

The relay function of the IAB node is implemented by a BAP layer (Backhaul attachment Protocol layer) in the IAB node.

In fig. 1, IAB node1 is a parent node of IAB node2, IAB node3 is a child node of IAB node2, and IAB node3 is a descendant node of IAB node 1. The hop count from the IAB node1 to the IAB donor is 1 hop, namely the IAB node1 is directly connected with the IAB donor; the hop count from the IAB node2 to the IAB node is 2 hops, namely, one relay node IAB node exists between the IAB node2 and the IAB node; the hop count from IAB node3 to IAB donor is 3 hops, and so on, the hop count information of the child node is equal to the hop count information of the parent node plus 1.

As shown in fig. 2, one of the flow diagrams of the node switching method provided in the embodiment of the present invention is applied to a centralized unit, and includes:

step 201, when a first target parameter of a first integrated access backhaul IAB node meets a first handover trigger condition, a central unit sends a first request message to the first IAB node, where the first request message is used to instruct the first IAB node to perform cell handover;

the first target parameter comprises at least one of:

traffic of the first IAB node;

a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit;

a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit;

a current location of the first IAB node.

Here, the concentration unit refers to the CU of the IAB donor.

The traffic volume of the first IAB node refers to the load of uplink or downlink traffic transmitted by the IAB node. For example, the data throughput per unit time, or the amount of data to be transmitted stored in the buffer.

The traffic may be counted according to a path id (path id), or may be counted according to a radio link control channel RLC channel, that is, the traffic transmitted on each path or the traffic transmitted on each RLC channel.

In the node switching method of the embodiment of the present invention, a first request message is sent to a first integrated access backhaul node through a central unit when a first target parameter of the first IAB satisfies a first switching trigger condition, where the first request message is used to instruct the first IAB node to perform cell switching; wherein the first target parameter comprises at least one of: traffic of a first IAB node; a first IAB node receives traffic sent by a second IAB node, wherein the second IAB node is a parent node or a child node of the first IAB node; a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit; a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit; a current location of the first IAB node; therefore, the switching is triggered based on the measurement quantity, and other switching factors are considered, so that the service transmission of the IAB network is more balanced or the transmission delay is reduced in the switching process of the IAB node.

Optionally, the first request message is a handover request message or an IAB node information modification request message.

Optionally, the first handover trigger condition comprises at least one of:

the traffic volume of the first IAB node exceeds a first threshold;

the traffic volume of the first IAB node is lower than a second threshold;

the current location of the first IAB node reaches within a target area.

It should be noted that, when the traffic of the first IAB node exceeds the first threshold, it indicates that the traffic of the first IAB node is larger; the traffic of the first IAB node is lower than a second threshold, which shows that the traffic of the first IAB node is smaller; cell switching is triggered, so that the first IAB node can make the transmitted traffic more balanced by switching cells.

The traffic received by the first IAB node and sent by the second IAB node exceeds the third threshold, which indicates that the traffic sent by the second IAB node to the first IAB node is larger; cell switching is triggered, so that the first IAB node can make the transmitted traffic more balanced through switching cells.

The traffic volume sent by the second IAB node and received by the first IAB node is lower than the fourth threshold, which indicates that the traffic volume sent by the second IAB node to the first IAB node is smaller; cell switching is triggered, so that the first IAB node can make the transmitted traffic more balanced through switching cells.

No matter the hop count from the first IAB node to the central unit is greater than the fifth threshold or the hop count from the parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit is greater than the sixth threshold, it means that the hop count from the first IAB node to the central unit is greater, that is, there are more IAB nodes serving as relay nodes between the connections from the first IAB node to the central unit donor CU, which results in a greater transmission delay of the first IAB node.

The number of hops from the parent node of the first IAB node to the concentration unit is greater than the number of hops from the searched third IAB node to the concentration unit, that is, the first IAB node may search the third IAB node, the number of hops from the third IAB node to the donor CU is less than the number of hops from the parent node of the first IAB node to the donor CU, and the first IAB node may perform cell switching to a parent node closer to the donor CU, that is, the third IAB node, thereby reducing transmission delay.

It should be noted that any one of the first threshold, the second threshold, the third threshold, the fourth threshold, the fifth threshold, and the sixth threshold is configured by the central unit through an F1 interface signaling or a radio resource control RRC signaling, or configured by an operation, maintenance and management equipment OAM, or preconfigured.

The current position of the first IAB node reaches the target area, which indicates that the first IAB node reaches the target area in the moving process and needs to be switched to the designated target cell. The current location may be a geographical location of the IAB node, or a relative location, etc. may represent location information. The target area may be configured by the central unit through F1 interface signaling or radio resource control RRC signaling, or configured by operation, maintenance, and management, OAM, equipment, or pre-configured.

Based on the embodiment shown in fig. 2, if the concentration unit is able to determine whether the first target parameter of the first IAB node satisfies the first handover trigger condition, how the concentration unit knows the first target parameter of the first IAB node, and to solve this problem, as an optional implementation manner, the method according to the embodiment of the present invention may further include:

Here, the central unit may obtain a first target parameter of the first IAB node, such as a data size stored in a buffer of the first IAB node, throughput information of the first IAB node, and the like, by scheduling information transmitted by the IAB node, that is, according to information scheduling of the central unit; the first target parameter of the first IAB node, such as the hop count from the first IAB node to the central unit, the hop count from the parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit, and the like, may also be obtained according to the IAB network topology; the first target parameter of the first IAB node may also be obtained through information reporting of the first IAB node, for example, reporting the size of the data volume stored in the buffer of the first IAB node, throughput information of the first IAB node, hop count information of the first IAB node, or hop count of the searched IAB node, and the like.

It should be noted that the first IAB node needs to indicate the current hop count information of the first IAB node, so that the child node can know the hop count information of the parent node, or other nodes determine the measurement condition whether to access the first IAB node.

Optionally, the first IAB node indicates its current hop count to the concentration unit by broadcast information or dedicated signaling.

As an optional implementation manner, the sending the first request message to the first IAB node in step 201 in the embodiment of the present invention may specifically include:

Optionally, the content of the first request message comprises at least one of:

returning configuration information of an adaptive protocol BAP layer;

IP address configuration information;

cell frequency configuration information;

configuration information for descendant nodes of the first IAB node.

It should be noted that the identifier of the target cell is used to instruct the first IAB node to handover to the target cell. The switching can be intra-CU switching or inter-CU switching, depending on whether the connected donor CU is changed after the first IAB node is switched to the target cell, if the donor CU is changed, the inter-CU switching is carried out, and if the donor CU is not changed, the intra-CU switching is carried out.

The Cell identifier includes a PCI (Physical Cell Identity) and/or a CGI (Global Cell ID).

Returning adaptive protocol BAP layer configuration information, IP address configuration information, cell frequency configuration information and configuration information of a descendant node of the first IAB node, wherein the configuration information is the configuration information which is needed to be used by the first IAB node in the switching process or after the switching; in case of a CHO scenario, the first request message may only contain the identity of the target cell, since other configuration information has been sent to the first IAB node in advance.

As an optional implementation manner, the method according to the embodiment of the present invention may further include:

As shown in fig. 3, a second flowchart of the node switching method provided in the embodiment of the present invention is applied to an integrated access backhaul IAB node, and includes:

step 301: the first integrated access backhaul IAB node reports a first target parameter of the first IAB node to a central unit;

wherein the first target parameter comprises at least one of:

traffic of the first IAB node;

a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit;

a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit;

a current location of the first IAB node.

Here, the concentration unit refers to the CU of the IAB donor.

Step 302: receiving a first request message sent by a concentration unit under the condition that the first target parameter meets a first switching trigger condition;

step 303: performing cell switching according to the first request message;

in the node switching method of the embodiment of the present invention, a first target parameter of a first IAB node is reported to a central unit, where the first target parameter includes at least one of the following parameters: traffic of a first IAB node; a first IAB node receives traffic sent by a second IAB node, wherein the second IAB node is a parent node or a child node of the first IAB node; a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit; a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit; a current location of the first IAB node; and then, receiving a first request message sent by the centralized unit under the condition that the first target parameter meets a first switching trigger condition, and further performing cell switching according to the first request message, so that the switching is triggered based on the measurement quantity, and the other switching factors are also considered, thereby enabling the service transmission of the IAB network to be more balanced or reducing the transmission delay in the switching process of the IAB node.

Optionally, the first handover trigger condition comprises at least one of:

the traffic volume of the first IAB node exceeds a first threshold;

the traffic volume of the first IAB node is lower than a second threshold;

the current location of the first IAB node reaches within a target area.

For the above handover triggering condition, the method embodiment corresponding to the centralized unit side has been specifically described, and is not described herein again.

Optionally, the content of the first request message comprises at least one of:

returning configuration information of an adaptive protocol BAP layer;

IP address configuration information;

cell frequency configuration information;

configuration information for descendant nodes of the first IAB node.

As to the content of the first request message, it has been specifically described in the embodiment of the method corresponding to the hub unit side, and is not described herein again.

As an optional implementation manner, the content of the first request message includes an identifier of the first target cell, and step 303 of the method according to the embodiment of the present invention may specifically include:

and carrying out cell switching according to the identifier of the first target cell.

As another optional implementation manner, step 303 of the method according to the embodiment of the present invention may specifically include:

and performing cell switching based on the identifier of the second target cell searched by the first IAB node according to the first request message.

That is, the first request message is only for triggering the first IAB node to perform cell handover, and the first request message may not carry any other information.

As shown in fig. 4, a third flowchart of the node switching method provided in the embodiment of the present invention is applied to an integrated access backhaul IAB node, and includes:

step 401: the first integrated access backhaul IAB node sends a handover indication message to the central unit when the second target parameter of the first integrated access backhaul IAB node meets the second handover trigger condition;

the second target parameter comprises at least one of:

traffic of the first IAB node;

a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit;

a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit;

a current location of the first IAB node.

Here, the concentration unit refers to the CU of the IAB donor.

In the node handover method of the embodiment of the present invention, the first integrated access backhaul IAB node sends a handover indication message to the central unit when a second target parameter of the first integrated access backhaul IAB node meets a second handover trigger condition, and indicates the central unit to execute a relevant handover procedure, where the second target parameter includes at least one of: traffic of a first IAB node; a first IAB node receives traffic sent by a second IAB node, wherein the second IAB node is a parent node or a child node of the first IAB node; a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit; a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit; a current location of the first IAB node; therefore, the switching is triggered based on the measurement quantity, and other switching factors are considered, so that the service transmission of the IAB network is more balanced or the transmission delay is reduced in the switching process of the IAB node.

Optionally, the second handover trigger condition comprises at least one of:

the traffic volume of the first IAB node exceeds a first threshold;

the traffic volume of the first IAB node is lower than a second threshold;

the current position of the first IAB node reaches the target area;

It should be noted that, when the first IAB node receives the RLF indication information sent by the parent node of the first IAB node, the triggering condition is only applicable to the CHO scenario. In a normal HO scenario, because the parent node has RLF, that is, the parent node loses the connection with the donor CU, the first IAB node cannot continue to relay the service or control signaling, and the first IAB node cannot receive the handover configuration information of the donor CU, and the handover procedure of the normal HO cannot be completed.

However, for the CHO scenario, the configuration information during handover is sent to the first IAB node in advance, and there may be multiple sets of configuration information, which correspond to multiple cells near the first IAB node, respectively. After receiving the RLF indication information sent by the parent node, the first IAB node may select another neighboring cell to perform cell handover, may determine the configuration information of the CHO according to the identifier of the target cell, and perform corresponding configuration to complete the cell handover procedure.

Optionally, the RLF indication information is for any one of:

indicating that RLF has occurred for a parent node of the first IAB node;

It should be noted that, for the other second handover triggering conditions, as shown in fig. 2, one of the flowcharts of the node handover method of the present invention is specifically described in the embodiment of the central unit, and is not described herein again.

As an optional implementation manner, the method step 401 in the embodiment of the present invention may specifically include:

Optionally, the content of the handover indication message includes at least one of:

the second target parameter.

Based on this, in an optional implementation manner, the method of the embodiment of the present invention may further include:

and carrying out cell switching according to the identifier of the third target cell.

As an optional implementation manner, after sending the handover indication message to the central unit, the method according to the embodiment of the present invention may further include:

Here, the content of the second request message is the same as that of the first request message in the above embodiment, and is not described here again.

It should be noted that, the implementation manner is optional, and the main reason is that: as described above, when the first IAB node determines whether it meets the second handover trigger condition, it has already searched the target cell (such as the identifier of the third target cell described above), that is, the first IAB node carries the identifier of the target cell in the handover indication message, and the relevant configuration information has been sent to the first IAB node (for example, in a CHO scenario), then the donor CU may not send the second request message to the first IAB node.

Optionally, the second request message is a handover request message or an IAB node information modification request message.

Optionally, the second request message carries an identifier of a fourth target cell, which is used to indicate the target cell to which the first IAB node is handed over.

It should be noted that the identifier of the fourth target cell is different from the identifier of the third target cell carried in the handover instruction message, that is, the donor CU determines a more suitable handover target cell, and the subsequent first IAB node needs to perform cell handover according to the identifier of the fourth target cell in the second request message sent by the donor CU.

Based on this, in another optional implementation manner, the method of the embodiment of the present invention may further include:

and carrying out cell switching according to the identifier of the fourth target cell.

Further, as an optional implementation manner, the method according to the embodiment of the present invention may further include:

As shown in fig. 5, a fourth flowchart of the node switching method provided in the embodiment of the present invention is applied to a centralized unit, and includes:

step 501: the centralized unit receives a switching indication message sent by the first integrated access backhaul IAB node under the condition that the second target parameter of the first integrated access backhaul IAB node meets a second switching trigger condition;

the second target parameter comprises at least one of:

traffic of the first IAB node;

a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit;

a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit;

a current location of the first IAB node.

Here, the concentration unit refers to the CU of the IAB donor.

It should be noted that, the second target parameter has been specifically described in the embodiment of the method corresponding to the IAB node side, and is not described herein again.

In the node handover method of the embodiment of the present invention, the central unit receives a handover indication message sent by the first IAB node when the second target parameter of the first IAB node meets the second handover trigger condition, so that the central unit executes a relevant handover procedure, where the second target parameter includes at least one of the following parameters: traffic of a first IAB node; a first IAB node receives traffic sent by a second IAB node, wherein the second IAB node is a parent node or a child node of the first IAB node; a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit; a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit; a current location of the first IAB node; therefore, the switching is triggered based on the measurement quantity, and other switching factors are considered, so that the service transmission of the IAB network is more balanced or the transmission delay is reduced in the switching process of the IAB node.

Optionally, the second handover trigger condition comprises at least one of:

the traffic volume of the first IAB node exceeds a first threshold;

the traffic volume of the first IAB node is lower than a second threshold;

the current position of the first IAB node reaches the target area;

For the above handover triggering condition, the method embodiment corresponding to the IAB node side has been specifically described, and is not described herein again.

the second target parameter.

Here, the central unit may perform a relevant handover procedure according to the handover indication message after receiving the handover indication message.

As an optional implementation manner, after the central unit receives the handover indication message sent by the first integrated access backhaul IAB node, the method of the embodiment of the present invention may further include:

The implementation of the node switching method is specifically described below in terms of the interaction between the concentration unit and the IAB node in terms of three forces.

Example 1

Fig. 6 is a fifth flowchart illustrating a node switching method according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, IAB node2 is the parent node of IAB node1, and IAB node1 may be connected to more child nodes.

S1: the IAB node1 and the IAB node2 send parameter information of the node to the donor CU;

wherein, the step is an optional step; here, the parameter information of the node is the target parameter in the above embodiment.

S2: the donor CU determines that the IAB node1 meets the switching triggering condition;

here, the donor CU may obtain the target parameter of the IAB node1 by scheduling the information transmitted by the IAB node, that is, according to the information scheduling of the centralized unit; and the target parameter of the IAB node1 can be obtained according to the topological structure of the IAB network, and the target parameter of the IAB node1 can be obtained through the information report of the IAB node1, so that the condition that the IAB node1 meets the handover triggering condition is determined.

Here, the handover triggering condition has been specifically described in the foregoing embodiment, and is not described here again.

S3: a donor CU sends a switching request or an IAB node information modification request;

here, the handover request or IAB node information modification request is mainly used to trigger cell handover of IAB node 1.

Here, the content specifically included in the handover request or the IAB node information modification request has been specifically described in the foregoing embodiments, and is not described herein again.

It should be noted that, if the handover is a normal handover, i.e. an HO scenario, the handover request or the IAB node information modification request may further include configuration information; if the handover is a CHO handover, the handover request or the IAB node information modification request may not include the configuration information, because the configuration information is configured in advance when the CHO handover is performed.

S4: the IAB node1 executes configuration and switching process according to the identification and configuration information of the target cell;

s5: the IAB node1 sends a switching response or an IAB node information modification response to the donor CU;

it should be noted that there is no sequence between step S4 and step S5, and step S5 may be used before step S4 to respond to the request of step S3.

Example two

Fig. 7 is a sixth schematic flow chart of the node switching method according to the embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, IAB node2 is the parent node of IAB node1, and IAB node1 may be connected to more child nodes.

S11: the IAB node1 determines that the IAB node1 meets the handover triggering condition;

S12: IAB node1 sends a switching indication message to the donor CU;

here, the handover indication message has been specifically described in the foregoing embodiment, and is not described herein again.

S13: a donor CU sends a switching request or an IAB node information modification request;

here, the present step is an optional step.

S14: the IAB node1 executes configuration and switching process according to the identification and configuration information of the target cell;

s15: the IAB node1 sends a switching response or an IAB node information modification response to the donor CU;

Here, this step S15 is also necessary regardless of whether the request message is transmitted in step S13, because step S15 indicates that the IAB node1 starts the handover procedure and the donor CU needs to also perform the relevant handover procedure.

Example three

Fig. 8 is a seventh flowchart illustrating a node switching method according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, IAB node2 is the parent node of IAB node1, and IAB node1 may be connected to more child nodes.

The handover trigger condition for this example is that IAB node1 receives RLF indication information sent by its parent node (i.e. IAB node 2).

A1: the donor CU acquires switching configuration information of the IAB node 1;

here, the handover configuration information may be generated by the donor CU itself, or obtained through OAM or preconfiguration, or obtained through an adjacent donor CU.

A2: the donor CU sends switching configuration information to the IAB node 1;

in this step, the donor CU may send the handover configuration information to the IAB node1 through an F1 interface signaling or an RRC signaling.

Here, there may be one or more sets of handover configuration information, which respectively correspond to multiple neighboring cells in the vicinity of the IAB node1, that is, there is a one-to-one mapping relationship between the neighboring cell identifier and the configuration information.

A3: the IAB node2 sends RLF indication information to the IAB node 1;

it should be noted that, when RLF occurs in the backhaul link of IAB node2, RLF indication information is sent to IAB node 1.

Here, the specific indication function of the RLF indication information has been specifically described in the foregoing embodiments, and is not described here again.

A4: the IAB node1 determines that the IAB node1 meets the handover triggering condition;

here, the IAB node1 determines that the handover trigger condition is satisfied due to reception of the RLF indication information transmitted by the parent node.

A5: the IAB node1 determines the identity of the target cell, and determines configuration information according to the identity of the target cell, and executes configuration and handover procedures.

Here, if the IAB node1 determines the identifier of the target cell that can be handed over, the configuration information may be determined according to the identifier of the target cell; and according to the configuration information, executing configuration and switching process.

As shown in fig. 9, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a node switching apparatus, including: memory 920, transceiver 900, processor 910: a memory 920 for storing program instructions; a transceiver 900 for transceiving data under the control of the processor 910; a processor 910 configured to read the program instructions in the memory 920, wherein the transceiver 900 performs the following operations:

the first target parameter comprises at least one of:

traffic of the first IAB node;

a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit;

a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit;

a current location of the first IAB node.

Wherein in fig. 9, the bus architecture may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, with one or more processors, represented by processor 910, and various circuits, represented by memory 920, being linked together. 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 900 may be a number of elements including a transmitter and a receiver that provide a means for communicating with various other apparatus over a transmission medium including wireless channels, wired channels, fiber optic cables, and the like. The processor 910 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and the memory 920 may store data used by the processor 910 in performing operations.

The processor 910 may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or a Complex Programmable Logic Device (CPLD), and may also have a multi-core architecture.

Optionally, the first handover trigger condition comprises at least one of:

the traffic volume of the first IAB node exceeds a first threshold;

the traffic volume of the first IAB node is lower than a second threshold;

the current location of the first IAB node reaches within a target area.

Optionally, the processor 910 is specifically configured to:

Optionally, the transceiver 900 is specifically configured to:

Optionally, the content of the first request message comprises at least one of:

returning configuration information of an adaptive protocol BAP layer;

IP address configuration information;

cell frequency configuration information;

configuration information for descendant nodes of the first IAB node.

Optionally, the transceiver 900 is specifically configured to:

In the node switching apparatus of the embodiment of the present invention, a first request message is sent to a first integrated access backhaul node b when a first target parameter of the first IAB node satisfies a first switching trigger condition, where the first request message is used to instruct the first IAB node to perform cell switching; wherein the first target parameter comprises at least one of: traffic of a first IAB node; a first IAB node receives traffic sent by a second IAB node, wherein the second IAB node is a parent node or a child node of the first IAB node; a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit; a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit; a current location of the first IAB node; therefore, the switching is triggered based on the measurement quantity, and other switching factors are considered, so that the service transmission of the IAB network is more balanced or the transmission delay is reduced in the switching process of the IAB node.

It should be noted that, the apparatus provided in the embodiment of the present invention can implement all the method steps implemented by the method embodiment and achieve the same technical effect, and detailed descriptions of the same parts and beneficial effects as the method embodiment in this embodiment are omitted here.

As shown in fig. 10, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a node switching apparatus, including:

a first sending module 1001, configured to send a first request message to a first integrated access backhaul IAB node when a first target parameter of the first IAB node meets a first handover trigger condition, where the first request message is used to instruct the first IAB node to perform cell handover;

the first target parameter comprises at least one of:

traffic of the first IAB node;

a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit;

a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit;

a current location of the first IAB node.

Optionally, the first handover trigger condition comprises at least one of:

the traffic volume of the first IAB node exceeds a first threshold;

the traffic volume of the first IAB node is lower than a second threshold;

the current location of the first IAB node reaches within a target area.

Optionally, the apparatus further comprises:

a first obtaining module, configured to obtain a first target parameter of the first IAB node according to information scheduling of the central unit, an IAB network topology, and/or information reporting of the first IAB node.

Optionally, the first sending module 1001 includes:

a first sending unit, configured to send the first request message to the first IAB node through an F1 interface signaling or a radio resource control RRC signaling.

Optionally, the content of the first request message comprises at least one of:

returning configuration information of an adaptive protocol BAP layer;

IP address configuration information;

cell frequency configuration information;

configuration information for descendant nodes of the first IAB node.

Optionally, the apparatus further comprises:

a first receiving module, configured to receive first response information for the first request message sent by the first IAB node.

In the node switching apparatus of the embodiment of the present invention, a first request message is sent to a first integrated access backhaul IAB node by a first sending module when a first target parameter of the first IAB node satisfies a first switching trigger condition, where the first request message is used to instruct the first IAB node to perform cell switching; wherein the first target parameter comprises at least one of: traffic of a first IAB node; a first IAB node receives traffic sent by a second IAB node, wherein the second IAB node is a parent node or a child node of the first IAB node; a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit; a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit; a current location of the first IAB node; therefore, the switching is triggered based on the measurement quantity, and other switching factors are considered, so that the service transmission of the IAB network is more balanced or the transmission delay is reduced in the switching process of the IAB node.

It should be noted that the division of the unit in the embodiment of the present application is schematic, and is only a logic function division, and there may be another division manner in actual implementation. In addition, functional units in the embodiments of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit. The integrated unit can be realized in a form of hardware, and can also be realized in a form of a software functional unit.

The integrated unit, if implemented as a software functional unit and sold or used as a stand-alone product, may be stored in a processor readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present application may be substantially implemented or contributed by the prior art, or all or part of the technical solution may be embodied in a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, a network device, or the like) or a processor (processor) to execute all or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present application. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: various media capable of storing program codes, such as a usb disk, a removable hard disk, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

In some embodiments of the invention, there is also provided a processor-readable storage medium storing program instructions for causing a processor to perform steps of:

the first target parameter comprises at least one of:

traffic of the first IAB node;

a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit;

a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit;

a current location of the first IAB node.

When executed by the processor, the program can implement all the implementation manners in the embodiment of the method applied to the centralized unit side shown in fig. 2, and details are not described here for avoiding redundancy.

As shown in fig. 11, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a node switching apparatus, including: memory 1120, transceiver 1100, processor 1110: a memory 1120 for storing program instructions; a transceiver 1100 for transceiving data under the control of the processor 1110; a processor 1110 for reading program instructions in the memory, the transceiver 1100 performing the steps of:

reporting a first target parameter of a first IAB node to a centralized unit;

performing cell switching according to the first request message;

the first target parameter comprises at least one of:

traffic of the first IAB node;

a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit;

a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit;

a current location of the first IAB node.

In fig. 11, among other things, the bus architecture may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges with various circuits being linked together, particularly one or more processors represented by processor 1110 and memory represented by memory 1120. 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 1100 may be a plurality of elements including a transmitter and a receiver that provide a means for communicating with various other apparatus over a transmission medium including wireless channels, wired channels, fiber optic cables, and the like. The processor 1110 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and the memory 1120 may store data used by the processor 1110 in performing operations.

The processor 1110 may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or a Complex Programmable Logic Device (CPLD), and may also have a multi-core architecture.

Optionally, the first handover trigger condition comprises at least one of:

the traffic volume of the first IAB node exceeds a first threshold;

the traffic volume of the first IAB node is lower than a second threshold;

the current location of the first IAB node reaches within a target area.

Optionally, the content of the first request message comprises at least one of:

returning configuration information of an adaptive protocol BAP layer;

IP address configuration information;

cell frequency configuration information;

configuration information for descendant nodes of the first IAB node.

The node switching device of the embodiment of the present invention reports a first target parameter of the node switching device to a central unit through a first IAB node, where the first target parameter includes at least one of the following parameters: traffic of a first IAB node; a first IAB node receives traffic sent by a second IAB node, wherein the second IAB node is a parent node or a child node of the first IAB node; a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit; a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit; a current location of the first IAB node; and then, receiving a first request message sent by the centralized unit under the condition that the first target parameter meets a first switching trigger condition, and further performing cell switching according to the first request message, so that the switching is triggered based on the measurement quantity, and the other switching factors are also considered, thereby enabling the service transmission of the IAB network to be more balanced or reducing the transmission delay in the switching process of the IAB node.

As shown in fig. 12, the present invention further provides a node switching apparatus, including:

a second sending module 1201, configured to report a first target parameter of the first IAB node to the central unit;

a second receiving module 1202, configured to receive a first request message sent by a centralized unit when the first target parameter meets a first handover trigger condition;

performing cell switching according to the first request message;

the first target parameter comprises at least one of:

traffic of the first IAB node;

a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit;

a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit;

a current location of the first IAB node.

Optionally, the first handover trigger condition comprises at least one of:

the traffic volume of the first IAB node exceeds a first threshold;

the traffic volume of the first IAB node is lower than a second threshold;

the current location of the first IAB node reaches within a target area.

Optionally, the content of the first request message comprises at least one of:

returning configuration information of an adaptive protocol BAP layer;

IP address configuration information;

cell frequency configuration information;

configuration information for descendant nodes of the first IAB node.

reporting a first target parameter of a first IAB node to a centralized unit;

performing cell switching according to the first request message;

the first target parameter comprises at least one of:

traffic of the first IAB node;

a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit;

a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit;

a current location of the first IAB node.

When executed by the processor, the program can implement all the implementation manners in the embodiment of the method applied to the IAB node side shown in fig. 3, and details are not described here for avoiding repetition.

As shown in fig. 13, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a node switching apparatus, including: memory 1320, transceiver 1300, processor 1310: a memory 1320 for storing program instructions; a transceiver 1300 for transceiving data under the control of the processor; a processor 1310 for reading program instructions in the memory, the transceiver 1300 performing the following operations:

the second target parameter comprises at least one of:

traffic of the first IAB node;

a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit;

a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit;

a current location of the first IAB node.

In fig. 13, among other things, the bus architecture may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges with various circuits being linked together, particularly one or more processors represented by processor 1310 and memory represented by memory 1320. 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 1300 may be a plurality of elements including a transmitter and a receiver that provide a means for communicating with various other apparatus over a transmission medium including wireless channels, wired channels, fiber optic cables, and the like. The processor 1310 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and the memory 1320 may store data used by the processor 1310 in performing operations.

The processor 1310 may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or a Complex Programmable Logic Device (CPLD), and may also have a multi-core architecture.

Optionally, the second handover trigger condition comprises at least one of:

the traffic volume of the first IAB node exceeds a first threshold;

the traffic volume of the first IAB node is lower than a second threshold;

the current position of the first IAB node reaches the target area;

Optionally, the RLF indication information is for any one of:

indicating that RLF has occurred for a parent node of the first IAB node;

Optionally, the transceiver 1300 is specifically configured to:

the second target parameter.

Optionally, the transceiver 1300 is specifically configured to:

In the node switching apparatus of the embodiment of the present invention, the first integrated access backhaul IAB node sends a handover indication message to the central unit to indicate the central unit to execute a relevant handover procedure when a second target parameter of the first integrated access backhaul IAB node meets a second handover trigger condition, where the second target parameter includes at least one of: traffic of a first IAB node; a first IAB node receives traffic sent by a second IAB node, wherein the second IAB node is a parent node or a child node of the first IAB node; a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit; a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit; a current location of the first IAB node; therefore, the switching is triggered based on the measurement quantity, and other switching factors are considered, so that the service transmission of the IAB network is more balanced or the transmission delay is reduced in the switching process of the IAB node.

As shown in fig. 14, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a node switching apparatus, including:

a third sending module 1401, configured to send a handover indication message to the centralized unit when the second target parameter of the first integrated access backhaul IAB node meets the second handover condition;

the second target parameter comprises at least one of:

traffic of the first IAB node;

a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit;

a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit;

a current location of the first IAB node.

Optionally, the second handover trigger condition comprises at least one of:

the traffic volume of the first IAB node exceeds a first threshold;

the traffic volume of the first IAB node is lower than a second threshold;

the current position of the first IAB node reaches the target area;

Optionally, the RLF indication information is for any one of:

indicating that RLF has occurred for a parent node of the first IAB node;

Optionally, the third sending module 1401 includes:

a second sending unit, configured to send a handover indication message to the central unit through an F1 interface signaling or a radio resource control RRC signaling.

the second target parameter.

Optionally, the node switching apparatus further includes:

a third receiving module, configured to receive a second request message sent by the central unit, where the second request message is used to instruct the first IAB node to perform cell handover.

Optionally, the node switching apparatus further includes:

a fourth sending module, configured to send a second response message to the second request message to the central unit.

the second target parameter comprises at least one of:

traffic of the first IAB node;

a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit;

a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit;

a current location of the first IAB node.

When executed by the processor, the program can implement all the implementation manners in the embodiment of the method applied to the IAB node side shown in fig. 4, and details are not described here for avoiding repetition.

As shown in fig. 15, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a node switching apparatus, including: memory 1520, transceiver 1500, processor 1510: a memory 1520 for storing program instructions; a transceiver 1500 for transceiving data under the control of the processor 1510; a processor 1510 for reading program instructions in the memory, the transceiver 1500 performing the following:

the second target parameter comprises at least one of:

traffic of the first IAB node;

a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit;

a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit;

a current location of the first IAB node.

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 1510 and various circuits of memory represented by memory 1520 being linked together. 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 1500 may be a number of elements including a transmitter and a receiver that provide a means for communicating with various other apparatus over a transmission medium including wireless channels, wired channels, fiber optic cables, and the like. The processor 1510 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and the memory 1520 may store data used by the processor 1510 in performing operations.

The processor 1510 may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or a Complex Programmable Logic Device (CPLD), and may also have a multi-core architecture.

Optionally, the second handover trigger condition comprises at least one of:

the traffic volume of the first IAB node exceeds a first threshold;

the traffic volume of the first IAB node is lower than a second threshold;

the current position of the first IAB node reaches the target area;

the second target parameter.

Optionally, the transceiver 1500 is specifically configured to:

In the node switching apparatus of the embodiment of the present invention, the central unit receives a handover indication message sent by the first IAB node when the second target parameter of the first IAB node meets the second handover trigger condition, so that the central unit executes a relevant handover procedure, where the second target parameter includes at least one of the following parameters: traffic of a first IAB node; a first IAB node receives traffic sent by a second IAB node, wherein the second IAB node is a parent node or a child node of the first IAB node; a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit; a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit; a current location of the first IAB node; therefore, the switching is triggered based on the measurement quantity, and other switching factors are considered, so that the service transmission of the IAB network is more balanced or the transmission delay is reduced in the switching process of the IAB node.

As shown in fig. 16, the present invention further provides a node switching apparatus, including:

a fourth receiving module 1601, configured to receive a handover indication message sent by the first integrated access backhaul IAB node when a second target parameter of the first integrated access backhaul IAB node meets a second handover trigger condition;

the second target parameter comprises at least one of:

traffic of the first IAB node;

a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit;

a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit;

a current location of the first IAB node.

Optionally, the second handover trigger condition comprises at least one of:

the traffic volume of the first IAB node exceeds a first threshold;

the traffic volume of the first IAB node is lower than a second threshold;

the current position of the first IAB node reaches the target area;

the second target parameter.

Optionally, the node switching apparatus further includes:

a fifth sending module, configured to send a second request message to the first IAB node, where the second request message is used to instruct the first IAB node to perform cell handover.

Optionally, the node switching apparatus further includes:

a fifth receiving module, configured to receive a second response message, which is sent by the first IAB node and is addressed to the second request message.

the second target parameter comprises at least one of:

traffic of the first IAB node;

a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit;

a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit;

a current location of the first IAB node.

When executed by the processor, the program can implement all the implementation manners applied to the method embodiment on the centralized unit side shown in fig. 5, and details are not described here for avoiding repetition.

The technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the application can be suitable for various systems, particularly 5G systems. For example, the applicable System may be a Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) System, a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) System, a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) General Packet Radio Service (General Packet Radio Service, GPRS) System, a Long Term Evolution (Long Term Evolution, LTE) System, a LTE Frequency Division Duplex (Frequency Division Duplex, FDD) System, a LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) System, a Long Term Evolution (Long Term Evolution Access, LTE-a) System, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), a Universal Mobile telecommunications Access (WiMAX) System, a New Radio network Access (NR 5, WiMAX) System, etc. These various systems include terminal devices and network devices. The System may further include a core network portion, such as an Evolved Packet System (EPS), a 5G System (5GS), and the like.

The network device according to the embodiment of the present application may be a base station, and the base station may include a plurality of cells for providing services to a terminal. A base station may also be referred to as an access point, or a device in an access network that communicates over the air-interface, through one or more sectors, with wireless terminal devices, or by other names, depending on the particular application. The network device may be configured to exchange received air frames with Internet Protocol (IP) packets as a router between the wireless terminal device and the rest of the access network, which may include an Internet Protocol (IP) communication network. The network device may also coordinate attribute management for the air interface. For example, the network device according to the embodiment of the present application may be a Base Transceiver Station (BTS) in a Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) or a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), may be a network device (NodeB) in a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), may be a evolved Node B (eNB or e-NodeB) in a Long Term Evolution (Long Term Evolution, LTE) System, may be a 5G Base Station (gbb) in a 5G network architecture (next generation System), may be a Home evolved Node B (Home B, HeNB), a relay Node (relay Node), a Home Base Station (femto), a pico Base Station (pico Base Station), and the like, and is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In some network architectures, network devices may include Centralized Unit (CU) nodes and Distributed Unit (DU) nodes, which may also be geographically separated.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, embodiments of the present application may be provided as a method, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, the present application may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present application 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, optical storage, and the like) having computer-usable program code embodied therein.

The present application is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the application. 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-executable instructions. These computer-executable 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 processor-executable instructions may also be stored in a processor-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 processor-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 processor-executable 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.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made in the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the application. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is intended to include such modifications and variations as well.

Claims

1. A node switching method, comprising:

the first target parameter comprises at least one of:

traffic of the first IAB node;

a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit;

a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit;

a current location of the first IAB node.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first request message is a handover request message or an IAB node information modification request message.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first handover trigger condition comprises at least one of:

the traffic volume of the first IAB node exceeds a first threshold;

the traffic volume of the first IAB node is lower than a second threshold;

the current location of the first IAB node reaches within a target area.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

5. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the first request message to the first IAB node comprises:

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the content of the first request message comprises at least one of:

returning configuration information of an adaptive protocol BAP layer;

IP address configuration information;

cell frequency configuration information;

configuration information for descendant nodes of the first IAB node.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

8. A node switching method, comprising:

performing cell switching according to the first request message;

the first target parameter comprises at least one of:

traffic of the first IAB node;

a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit;

a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit;

a current location of the first IAB node.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first request message is a handover request message or an IAB node information modification request message.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the first handover trigger condition comprises at least one of:

the traffic volume of the first IAB node exceeds a first threshold;

the traffic volume of the first IAB node is lower than a second threshold;

the current location of the first IAB node reaches within a target area.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the content of the first request message comprises at least one of:

returning configuration information of an adaptive protocol BAP layer;

IP address configuration information;

cell frequency configuration information;

configuration information for descendant nodes of the first IAB node.

12. A node switching method, comprising:

the second target parameter comprises at least one of:

traffic of the first IAB node;

a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit;

a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit;

a current location of the first IAB node.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the second handover trigger condition comprises at least one of:

the traffic volume of the first IAB node exceeds a first threshold;

the traffic volume of the first IAB node is lower than a second threshold;

the current position of the first IAB node reaches the target area;

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the RLF indication information is used for any one of:

indicating that RLF has occurred for a parent node of the first IAB node;

15. The method of claim 12, wherein sending a handover indication message to the central unit comprises:

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the content of the handover indication message comprises at least one of:

the second target parameter.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein after sending the handover indication message to the central unit, the method further comprises:

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the second request message is a handover request message or an IAB node information modification request message.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the second request message carries an identifier of a fourth target cell, which is used to indicate a target cell to which the first IAB node is handed over.

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

21. A node switching method, comprising:

the second target parameter comprises at least one of:

traffic of the first IAB node;

a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit;

a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit;

a current location of the first IAB node.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the second handover trigger condition comprises at least one of:

the traffic volume of the first IAB node exceeds a first threshold;

the traffic volume of the first IAB node is lower than a second threshold;

the current position of the first IAB node reaches the target area;

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the content of the handover indication message comprises at least one of:

the second target parameter.

24. The method according to claim 21, wherein after the central unit receives the handover indication message sent by the first integrated access backhaul IAB node, the method further comprises:

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the second request message is a handover request message or an IAB node information modification request message.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein the second request message carries an identifier of a fourth target cell, which is used to indicate a target cell to which the first IAB node is handed over.

27. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

28. A node switching apparatus comprising: it is characterized by comprising: memory, transceiver, processor: a memory for storing program instructions; a transceiver for transceiving data under control of the processor; a processor for reading program instructions in the memory, the transceiver performing the following:

the first target parameter comprises at least one of:

traffic of the first IAB node;

a number of hops from the first IAB node to a central unit;

a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to a central unit;

a current location of the first IAB node.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the first request message is a handover request message or an IAB node information modification request message.

30. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the first handover trigger condition comprises at least one of:

the traffic volume of the first IAB node exceeds a first threshold;

the traffic volume of the first IAB node is lower than a second threshold;

the current location of the first IAB node reaches within a target area.

31. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the processor is specifically configured to:

32. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the transceiver is specifically configured to:

33. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the content of the first request message comprises at least one of:

returning configuration information of an adaptive protocol BAP layer;

IP address configuration information;

cell frequency configuration information;

configuration information for descendant nodes of the first IAB node.

34. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the transceiver is specifically configured to:

35. A node switching apparatus, comprising:

the first target parameter comprises at least one of:

traffic of the first IAB node;

a number of hops from the first IAB node to a central unit;

a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to a central unit;

a current location of the first IAB node.

36. A node switching apparatus, comprising: memory, transceiver, processor: a memory for storing program instructions; a transceiver for transceiving data under control of the processor; a processor for reading program instructions in the memory, the transceiver performing the steps of:

reporting a first target parameter of a first IAB node to a centralized unit;

performing cell switching according to the first request message;

the first target parameter comprises at least one of:

traffic of the first IAB node;

a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit;

a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit;

a current location of the first IAB node.

37. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the first request message is a handover request message or an IAB node information modification request message.

38. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the first handover trigger condition comprises at least one of:

the traffic volume of the first IAB node exceeds a first threshold;

the traffic volume of the first IAB node is lower than a second threshold;

the current location of the first IAB node reaches within a target area.

39. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the content of the first request message comprises at least one of:

returning configuration information of an adaptive protocol BAP layer;

IP address configuration information;

cell frequency configuration information;

configuration information for descendant nodes of the first IAB node.

40. A node switching apparatus, comprising:

performing cell switching according to the first request message;

the first target parameter comprises at least one of:

traffic of the first IAB node;

a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit;

a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit;

a current location of the first IAB node.

41. A node switching apparatus comprising: it is characterized by comprising: memory, transceiver, processor: a memory for storing program instructions; a transceiver for transceiving data under control of the processor; a processor for reading program instructions in the memory, the transceiver performing the following:

the second target parameter comprises at least one of:

traffic of the first IAB node;

a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit;

a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit;

a current location of the first IAB node.

42. The apparatus of claim 41, wherein the second handover trigger condition comprises at least one of:

the traffic volume of the first IAB node exceeds a first threshold;

the traffic volume of the first IAB node is lower than a second threshold;

the current position of the first IAB node reaches the target area;

43. The apparatus of claim 42, wherein the RLF indication information is for any one of:

indicating that RLF has occurred for a parent node of the first IAB node;

44. The apparatus according to claim 41, wherein the transceiver is specifically configured to:

45. The apparatus of claim 41, wherein the content of the handover indication message comprises at least one of:

the second target parameter.

46. The apparatus according to claim 42, wherein the transceiver is specifically configured to:

47. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein the second request message is a handover request message or an IAB node information modification request message.

48. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein the second request message carries an identifier of a fourth target cell for indicating a target cell to which the first IAB node is handed over.

49. The apparatus according to claim 46, wherein the transceiver is specifically configured to:

50. A node switching apparatus, comprising:

the second target parameter comprises at least one of:

traffic of the first IAB node;

a number of hops from the first IAB node to the central unit;

a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to the central unit;

a current location of the first IAB node.

51. A node switching apparatus, comprising: memory, transceiver, processor: a memory for storing program instructions; a transceiver for transceiving data under control of the processor; a processor for reading program instructions in the memory, the transceiver performing the following:

the second target parameter comprises at least one of:

traffic of the first IAB node;

a number of hops from the first IAB node to a central unit;

a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to a central unit;

a current location of the first IAB node.

52. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the second handover trigger condition comprises at least one of:

the traffic volume of the first IAB node exceeds a first threshold;

the traffic volume of the first IAB node is lower than a second threshold;

the current position of the first IAB node reaches the target area;

53. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the content of the handover indication message comprises at least one of:

the second target parameter.

54. The apparatus according to claim 51, wherein the transceiver is specifically configured to:

55. The apparatus of claim 54, wherein the second request message is a handover request message or an IAB node information modification request message.

56. The apparatus of claim 54, wherein the second request message carries an identifier of a fourth target cell for indicating a target cell to which the first IAB node is handed over.

57. The apparatus according to claim 54, wherein the transceiver is specifically configured to:

58. A node switching apparatus, comprising:

the second target parameter comprises at least one of:

traffic of the first IAB node;

a number of hops from the first IAB node to a central unit;

a number of hops from a parent node of the first IAB node to a central unit;

a current location of the first IAB node.

59. A processor-readable storage medium, characterized in that the processor-readable storage medium stores program instructions for causing the processor to perform the steps of the node switching method of any one of claims 1 to 7, or to perform the steps of the node switching method of any one of claims 8 to 11, or to perform the steps of the node switching method of any one of claims 12 to 20, or to perform the steps of the node switching method of any one of claims 21 to 27.