CN114586426B

CN114586426B - Indication of data transmission configuration

Info

Publication number: CN114586426B
Application number: CN202080017733.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: S·图尔蒂南; J-P·科斯基南; 吴春丽
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy
Priority date: 2020-09-29
Filing date: 2020-09-29
Publication date: 2023-09-15
Anticipated expiration: 2040-09-29
Also published as: CN114586426A; WO2022067576A1

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to an indication of a data transmission configuration. A method comprising: in response to determining that data is to be transmitted, the first device generates a first indication indicating at least a portion of a configuration to be used for the data transmission, and transmits the data and the first indication to the second device. The second device determines data from the data packet based on the first indication. In this way, the configuration for data transmission can be indicated by the first device to the second device and allow the second device to immediately decode the received data packet, reducing communication latency.

Description

Indication of data transmission configuration

Technical Field

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of telecommunications and, more particularly, relate to a communication method, apparatus, and computer-readable storage medium for indicating a configuration for data transmission.

Background

In general, a terminal device in an inactive state may still have a small and infrequent amount of data traffic to transmit. Until third generation partnership project (3 GPP) release 16, the inactive state cannot support data transmission, and the terminal device must resume connection (i.e., move to the connected state) for any downlink and uplink data. This would result in unnecessary power consumption and signaling overhead. In this case, 3GPP release 17 has approved Small Data Transfer (SDT) based on a Random Access Channel (RACH) mechanism and a Configuration Grant (CG) mechanism. Furthermore, it has been agreed that the stored configuration in the context of the terminal device is used for Radio Link Control (RLC) bearer configuration for any SDT mechanism.

Conventionally, when a terminal device uses a stored configuration for RLC for SDT, a network device cannot decode a data packet of SDT until the network device requests the context of the terminal device from an anchor network device (also referred to herein as a last serving network device). This will significantly increase the latency of the SDT process.

Disclosure of Invention

In general, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide an improved communication scheme.

In a first aspect, a first device is provided. The first device includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the first device to: in response to determining that data is to be transmitted, generating a first indication that indicates at least a portion of a configuration to be used for the transmission of the data; and transmitting the data and the first indication to a second device.

In a second aspect, a first device is provided. The first device includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the first device to: responsive to determining that data is to be transmitted, determining whether the first device is to transmit the data to a first cell of a second device, the first device being in an inactive state in the first cell; transmitting the data to the second device based on a first configuration configured by the first cell to the first device in response to determining that the first device is to transmit the data to the first cell; and in response to determining that the first device is to transmit the data to a second cell different from the first cell, transmitting the data to the second device based on a second configuration known to the second cell.

In a third aspect, a second device is provided. The second device includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the second device to: receiving a data packet associated with data transmitted by a first device and a first indication indicating at least a portion of a configuration to be used for said transmission of said data; and determining the data from the data packet based on the first indication.

In a fourth aspect, a second device is provided. The second device includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the second device to: receiving a data packet, wherein the data packet is associated with data transmitted by first equipment; in response to determining that the first device is to transmit the data to a first cell of the second device, the first device is to enter an inactive state in the first cell, determining the data from the data packet based on a first configuration configured by the first cell to the first device; and in response to determining that the first device is to transmit the data to a second cell different from the first cell, determining the data from the data packet based on a second configuration known to the second cell.

In a fifth aspect, a communication method is provided. The method comprises the following steps: at a first device, in response to determining that data is to be transmitted, generating a first indication that indicates at least a portion of a configuration to be used for the transmission of the data; and transmitting the data and the first indication to the second device.

In a sixth aspect, a communication method is provided. The method comprises the following steps: at a first device, responsive to determining that data is to be transmitted, determining whether the first device is to transmit the data to a first cell of a second device, the first device being in an inactive state in the first cell; transmitting the data to the second device based on a first configuration configured by the first cell to the first device in response to determining that the first device is to transmit the data to the first cell; and in response to determining that the first device is to transmit the data to a second cell different from the first cell, transmitting the data to the second device based on a second configuration known to the second cell.

In a seventh aspect, a communication method is provided. The method comprises the following steps: receiving, at a second device, a data packet associated with data transmitted by a first device and a first indication indicating at least a portion of a configuration to be used for the transmission of the data; and determining the data from the data packet based on the first indication.

In an eighth aspect, a communication method is provided. The method comprises the following steps: receiving a data packet at a second device, the data packet being associated with data transmitted by a first device; in response to determining that the first device is to transmit the data to a first cell of the second device, the first device is to enter an inactive state in the first cell, determining the data from the data packet based on a first configuration configured by the first cell to the first device; and in response to determining that the first device is to transmit the data to a second cell different from the first cell, determining the data from the data packet based on a second configuration known to the second cell.

In a ninth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided. The device comprises: generating, at a first device, a first indication in response to determining that data is to be transmitted, at least a portion of a first indication configuration, the configuration to be used for the transmission of the data; and means for transmitting the data and the first indication to a second device.

In a tenth aspect, a communication device is provided. The device comprises: means for determining, at a first device, in response to determining that data is to be transmitted, whether the first device is to transmit the data to a first cell of a second device, the first device being in an inactive state in the first cell; transmitting the data to the second device based on a first configuration in response to determining that the first device is to transmit the data to the first cell, the first configuration being stored in the first device and configured by the first cell; and means for transmitting the data to a second device different from the first cell based on a second configuration known to the second cell in response to determining that the first device is to transmit the data to the second cell.

In an eleventh aspect, a communication apparatus is provided. The device comprises: means for receiving, at a second device, a data packet associated with data transmitted by a first device and a first indication indicating at least a portion of a configuration to be used for the transmission of the data; and means for determining the data from the data packet based on the first indication.

In a twelfth aspect, a communication device is provided. The device comprises: means for receiving a data packet at a second device, the data packet being associated with data transmitted by a first device; means for determining the data from the data packet based on a first configuration in response to determining that the first device is to transmit the data to a first cell of the second device, the first configuration being configured to the first device by the first cell; and means for determining the data from the data packet based on a second configuration known to a second cell different from the first cell in response to determining that the first device is to transmit the data to the second cell.

In a thirteenth aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided. The non-transitory computer readable medium comprises program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform the method according to the fifth aspect.

In a fourteenth aspect, a non-transitory computer readable medium is provided. The non-transitory computer readable medium includes program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform the method according to the sixth aspect.

In a fifteenth aspect, a non-transitory computer readable medium is provided. The non-transitory computer readable medium comprises program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform the method according to the seventh aspect.

In a sixteenth aspect, a non-transitory computer readable medium is provided. The non-transitory computer readable medium includes program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform the method according to the eighth aspect.

It should be understood that the summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the embodiments of the disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description.

Drawings

Some exemplary embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication network in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

fig. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a communication process according to a conventional scheme;

FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram illustrating a communication process according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 4 shows a schematic diagram illustrating a Radio Link Control (RLC) control protocol data unit (C-PDU) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary communication process according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 shows a schematic diagram illustrating another communication process according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 7 shows a flowchart illustrating a communication method implemented at a first device according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 8 shows a flow chart illustrating another communication method implemented at a first device according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 9 shows a flowchart illustrating a communication method implemented at a second device according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 shows a flowchart illustrating another communication method implemented at a second device according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device suitable for use in practicing the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure; and

fig. 12 illustrates a block diagram of an example computer-readable medium, according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

The same or similar reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like elements.

Detailed Description

Principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described for illustrative purposes only and to assist those skilled in the art in understanding and practicing the present disclosure, and do not imply any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The disclosure described herein may be implemented in various ways, except as described below.

In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

References in the present disclosure to "one embodiment," "an example embodiment," etc., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to effect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

It will be understood that, although the terms "first" and "second," etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments. The term "and/or" as used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed items.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises," "comprising," "has," "having," "including," "contains," "containing" and/or "containing" when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

The term "circuitry" as used in this disclosure may refer to one or more or all of the following:

(a) Pure hardware circuit implementations (e.g., implementations in analog and/or digital circuitry only) and

(b) A combination of hardware circuitry and software, for example (as the case may be):

(i) Combination of analog and/or digital hardware circuitry and software/firmware, and

(ii) Any portion of a hardware processor having software (including a digital signal processor, software, and memory, which work together to cause a device such as a mobile phone or server to perform various functions), and

(c) Hardware circuitry and/or a processor, such as a microprocessor or a portion of a microprocessor, that requires software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but may not exist when software is not required to operate.

This definition of circuit applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this disclosure, the term circuitry also encompasses hardware-only circuitry or a processor (or multiple processors) or an implementation of a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its attendant software and/or firmware. For example and if applicable to the particular claim element, the term circuitry also encompasses baseband integrated circuits or processor integrated circuits for a mobile phone, or similar integrated circuits in a server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

The term "communication network" as used herein refers to a network that conforms to any suitable communication standard, such as a fifth generation (5G) system, long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-advanced (LTE-a), wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), high Speed Packet Access (HSPA), narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT), and the like. Furthermore, the communication between the terminal device and the network device in the communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocol, including, but not limited to, a first generation (1G), a second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, a third generation (3G), a fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, a fifth generation (5G) New Radio (NR) communication protocol and/or any other protocol currently known or developed in the future. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to various communication systems. In view of the rapid development of communications, there will of course be future types of communication techniques and systems that can implement the present disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure should not be considered limited to the foregoing system only.

The term "network device" as used herein refers to a node in a communication network through which terminal devices access the network and receive services from the network. Depending on the terminology and technology applied, a network device may refer to a Base Station (BS) or an Access Point (AP), e.g., a node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved node B (eNodeB or eNB), an NR NB (also referred to as a gNB), a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a Radio Head (RH), a Remote Radio Head (RRH), a relay, an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) node, a low power node (e.g., femto node, pico node, etc.). The RAN split architecture includes a gNB-CU (centralized unit, hosting RRC, SDAP, and PDCP) that controls multiple gNB-DUs (distributed units, hosting RLC, MAC, and PHY). The relay node may correspond to the DU portion of the IAB node.

The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. By way of example, and not limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, a User Equipment (UE), a Subscriber Station (SS), a portable subscriber station, a Mobile Station (MS), or an Access Terminal (AT). Terminal devices may include, but are not limited to, mobile phones, cellular phones, smart phones, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, tablet computers, wearable terminal devices, personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), portable computers, desktop computers, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback devices, in-vehicle wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, notebook computer embedded devices (LEEs), laptop computer mounted devices (LMEs), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), internet of things (IoT) devices, watches or other wearable devices, head Mounted Displays (HMDs), vehicles, drones, medical devices and applications (e.g., tele-surgery), industrial devices and applications (e.g., robots and/or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and/or automated processing chain environment), consumer electronic devices, devices operating on commercial and/or industrial wireless networks, and the like. The terminal device may also correspond to a Mobile Terminal (MT) part of an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) node (also referred to as a relay node). In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "communication device", "terminal", "user equipment" and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

Currently, there are various applications involving the exchange of small and infrequent amounts of data. For example, in some applications of a mobile device, SDT may include traffic from Instant Messaging (IM) services, heartbeat or keep-alive traffic from, for example, IM or email clients and other services, push notifications in various applications, traffic from a wearable device (including, for example, periodic location information), and so forth. In some applications of non-mobile devices, the SDT may include sensor data (e.g., temperature, pressure readings transmitted periodically or in an event-triggered manner in the IoT network), metering and alarm information sent from smart meters, and the like.

As described above, 3GPP release 17 has approved SDT based on RACH mechanism and configuration grant mechanism in inactive state, and it is also agreed that stored configuration in the context of terminal device is used for RLC of any SDT mechanism. However, according to the conventional scheme, when the terminal device uses the stored configuration for RLC for SDT, the network device cannot decode the data packet of SDT until the network device requests the context of the terminal device from the anchor network device. This will significantly increase the latency of the SDT process.

In view of this, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a scheme for indicating a configuration used for data transmission. This scheme may allow the network device to immediately decode the data packet received from the terminal device. In this way, the latency of the communication process can be reduced. For the SDT procedure, the latency thereof can also be reduced, and the stored configuration can be applied to the SDT, so that quality of service (QoS) performance for the Data Radio Bearer (DRB) can be improved. The principles and implementations of the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

Examples of communication networks

Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an example communication network 100 in which some embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. As shown in fig. 1, the communication network 100 may include a first device 110, a second device 120, and a third device 130. In some embodiments, the first device 110 may be a terminal device and each of the second device 120 and the third device 130 may be a network device.

For purposes of illustration only, and without implying any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure, some embodiments will be described in the context of the first device 110 being a terminal device and the second device 120 and the third device 130 being network devices. It should be appreciated that in other embodiments, the first device 110 may be a network device and the second device 120 and/or the third device 130 may be terminal devices. In other words, the principles and spirit of the present disclosure may be applied to both uplink and downlink transmissions.

The second device 120 may provide serving cells 121 and 122 for the first device 110. Similarly, the third device 130 may provide serving cells 131 and 132 for the first device 110. In some embodiments, each of the second device 120 and the third device 130 may employ a Central Unit (CU)/Distributed Unit (DU) deployment architecture. A CU and a DU may be located in the same entity. Of course, a CU and a DU may be separate entities.

It should be understood that the number and types of first, second and third devices and the number and types of serving cells shown in fig. 1 are for illustration purposes only and are not meant to be limiting in any way. Network 100 may include any suitable number and type of first, second, and third devices and any suitable number and type of serving cells suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown in fig. 1, the first device 110 may communicate with the second device 120 over a channel, such as a wireless communication channel. Similarly, the first device 110 may communicate with the third device 130 over a channel, such as a wireless communication channel. The second device 120 and the third device 130 may communicate with each other through a specific interface, such as a User Plane (UP) interface and a Control Plane (CP) interface.

Communications in the communication network 100 may conform to any suitable standard including, but not limited to, global system for mobile communications (GSM), long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE evolution, LTE-advanced (LTE-a), wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), GSM EDGE Radio Access Network (GERAN), machine Type Communications (MTC), and the like. Furthermore, the communication may be performed according to any generation communication protocol currently known or developed in the future. Examples of communication protocols include, but are not limited to, first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, and fifth generation (5G) communication protocols.

In some scenarios, at an earlier stage, the first device 110 is served by the third device 130 in a connected state, and the third device 130 maintains the context of the first device 110. In some cases, the third device 130 may instruct the first device 110 to enter the inactive state, and then the first device 110 may enter the inactive state. During movement of the first device 110 towards the second device 120, the first device 120 is switched to be served by the second device 120. In this case, the third device 130 may be a last serving network device maintaining the context of the first device 110. In this case, it is assumed that the first device 110 has data to be transmitted, such as a small and infrequent amount of data traffic. The following description will be given under this assumption.

Routine procedure

Fig. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a communication process 200 according to a conventional scheme. For convenience, fig. 2 will be described in connection with the example of fig. 1. When the first device 110 has data to transmit, the first device 110 may perform SDT using a Common Control Channel (CCCH) Service Data Unit (SDU) and a Dedicated Transport Channel (DTCH) SDU, as shown in fig. 2. In this way, the first device 110 may transmit 201 data to the DU of the second device 120. The DU of the second device 120 may identify 202 the SDT and store RLC Protocol Data Units (PDUs) of the DRB. The DU of the second device 120 may then transmit 203 the CCCH SDU to the CU of the second device 120 over the F1-C interface.

The CU of the second device 120 may transmit 204 a UE context acquisition request with an indication of the SDT to the third device 130. In this example, the third device 130 is an anchor device (anchor) that maintains the context of the first device 110. In some embodiments, the third device 130 may be a last serving network device of the first device 110. The third device 130 may transmit 205 the context of the first device 110 to the CU of the second device 120. In the case of RLC configuration in context, the CU of the second device 120 may transmit 206 a FI-U setup request for SDT to the DU of the second device 120, and then the DU of the second device 120 may decode 207 the RLC PDU based on the received RLC configuration. Accordingly, the DUs of the second device 120 may transmit 208 the resulting Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) PDUs of the SDT to the CU of the second device 120. The PDCP PDU processing may then be completed 209 by the CU of the second device 120 based on the received context or by the third device 130.

It can be seen that since the RLC entity is located in the DU of the second device 120, when the first device 110 uses the stored configuration for RLC for SDT, the second device 120 cannot decode the data packets of SDT until the second device 120 has requested a context from the third device 130. After obtaining the context, the second device 120 still needs to configure the DU with the context so that the data packet can be decoded. Only after this can the data packet be forwarded by the DU to the CU and possibly still addressed to the third device 130. This will significantly increase the delay in obtaining data packets from the Radio Access Network (RAN).

Example of the improvement procedure

In view of this, embodiments of the present application provide improved communication schemes. In this scenario, at least a portion of the configuration for data transmission is indicated to the second device 120 by the first device 110 at the time of data transmission. In one aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, an indication indicative of at least a portion of the configuration is generated by the first device 110 and transmitted to the second device 120. In this manner, the second device 120 is allowed to decode the data packets associated with the data immediately upon receipt, thereby reducing latency of the communication. For the SDT procedure, the stored configuration may be allowed to be used for the RLC entity, so that QoS enforcement for the DRB may be improved.

In another aspect of the disclosed embodiments, if the first device 110 is to transmit data to the same cell (also referred to herein as a first cell) of the second device 120 in which the first device 110 is in an inactive state, i.e., if the first device 110 is located in a previous serving cell, the first device 110 transmits data based on the configuration (also referred to as a first configuration) of the first cell configuration to the first device 110. The first configuration may be considered a stored configuration. In this case, the first configuration is also known to the second device 120.

If the first device 110 does not transmit data to the first cell, i.e. if the first device 110 transmits data to a second cell different from the first cell, i.e. if the first device 110 is located in the second cell, the first device 110 transmits data based on a configuration known to the second cell (also referred to as second configuration). The second configuration may be considered a default configuration or a predefined configuration. In this case, the second configuration is also known to the second device 120. Thus, the second device 120 may also be allowed to decode data packets associated with the data immediately after receipt, thereby reducing latency of the communication. The above aspects will be described in detail with reference to fig. 3 to 6.

Example implementation Process 1

Fig. 3 shows a schematic diagram illustrating a communication process 300 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. For discussion purposes, the process 300 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. The process 300 may involve the first device 110 and the second device 120 shown in fig. 1.

As shown in fig. 3, when the first device 110 has data to transmit, the first device 110 generates 301 an indication (also referred to as a first indication for convenience) for indicating at least a portion of a configuration to be used for data transmission. In some embodiments, the configuration may be an RLC configuration. It should be noted that the present application is not limited thereto, and that the configuration may be any stored configuration that is required for the second device 120 to communicate with the first device 110 before the context acquired from the third device 130 may be displayed back from the first device 110 to the second device 120 due to the data transmission. In some embodiments, the configuration may be associated with uplink transmissions. Of course, the configuration may be associated with downlink transmissions. In some embodiments, the configuration may be a PDCP configuration, an SDAP configuration, a MAC configuration, or an RRC configuration.

In some embodiments, the configuration may include at least one of: RLC mode (e.g., acknowledged Mode (AM), unacknowledged Mode (UM) or Transparent Mode (TM)), sequence Number (SN) length, t reassembly timer length, unidirectional or bidirectional RLC mode. In some examples, the unidirectional or bidirectional RLC mode may only be indicated if the RLC is operating in Unacknowledged Mode (UM). These are merely examples, and any other configuration is possible.

In some embodiments, the first device 110 may generate the first indication by generating an RLC C-PDU. RLC C-PDU represents at least a part of the configuration. For example, the first device 110 may multiplex RLC C-PDUs for each Logical Channel (LCH) or DRB from which data packets are to be multiplexed into MAC PDUs. Fig. 4 shows a diagram 400 illustrating an RLC C-PDU according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, RLC C-PDUs for a given LCH or DRB are multiplexed only once during SDT, e.g., at the first SDT transmission. Thus, in some examples, the first indication is not provided for subsequent SDT transmissions in the same SDT process. In some embodiments, RLC C C-PDUs are multiplexed in each SDT transmission.

As shown in fig. 4, the D/C field 401 may indicate whether the RLC PDU is a control PDU or a data PDU, and the CPT field 402 may indicate a control PDU type. In this example, the CPT field 402 may indicate a control PDU for SDT. The RM field 403 may indicate the RLC mode (e.g., UM or AM) applied by the first device 110 for a given DRB. The SN field 404 may indicate the SN length, for example, 12 bits or 18 bits if the RM indicates AM mode, or 6 bits or 12 bits if the RM indicates UM mode. Of course, any other suitable form of RLC C-PDU for SDT is also possible.

In some embodiments, the first device 110 may generate the first indication by generating a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message. The RRC message indicates at least a portion of the configuration. In some embodiments, the first device 110 may reuse an existing RRC message to indicate at least a portion of the configuration. For example, an RRC request or resume message embedded with the SDT may be used to indicate at least a portion of the configuration. Alternatively, the first device 110 may indicate at least a portion of the configuration using a new RRC message. For example, an SDT request or a UE assistance information message may be used to indicate at least a portion of the configuration.

In some embodiments, the first device 110 may generate the first indication by generating a media access control element (MAC CE). The MAC CE indicates at least a portion of the configuration. In some examples, a separate MAC CE is indicated for each DRB or LCH in which data is multiplexed in the MAC PDU. Alternatively, in some examples, one MAC CE indicates a first indication for each DRB or LCH to which data is multiplexed in a MAC PDU.

In some embodiments, the first device 110 may receive information about the configuration from the second device 120. That is, the second device 120 may transmit information about the configuration to the first device 110. In some embodiments, the second device 120 may transmit this information as a dedicated configuration in dedicated signaling. Alternatively, the second device 120 may transmit this information as a common configuration in the system information.

In some embodiments, the second device 120 may indicate which portions of the stored configuration should be applied by the first device 110, and which portions should be applied as default configurations. Upon receiving the information regarding the configuration, the first device 110 may determine the configuration based on the received information and generate a first indication based on the determined configuration. Of course, it is also possible to predefine that only a subset of the stored configurations are applied.

In some embodiments, the first device 110 may determine whether data is to be transmitted to a first cell of the second device 120 in which the first device 110 is to enter an inactive state, and if it is determined that data is not to be transmitted to the first cell, the first device 110 may determine to transmit the first indication. In some examples, if the first device 110 determines that data is to be transmitted to the first cell, the first device 110 may determine not to transmit the first indication. In this way unnecessary transmission resources can be saved.

In some embodiments, the first device 110 may receive an indication (also referred to herein as a second indication) from the second device 120 that the configuration is to be used for data transmission. That is, the second device 120 may send a second indication to the first device. For example, the second device 120 may indicate whether the first device 110 should use the stored configuration or a default configuration. In some embodiments, the second device 120 may transmit the second indication through dedicated signaling. Alternatively, the second device 120 may transmit the second indication via system information. The first device 110 may generate the first indication if the second indication indicates that the configuration is to be used for data transmission.

In some embodiments, the first device 110 may receive an indication (also referred to herein as a third indication) from the second device 120 as to whether the first indication is to be generated. That is, the second device 120 may transmit a third indication to the first device 110. For example, the second device 120 may provide at least one of the following to the first device 110 in the third indication: a set of cells, a set of RAN area IDs, a set of RAN area codes, and a RAN area. For example, the second device 120 may serve at least one of: a set of cells, a set of RAN area IDs, a set of RAN area codes, and a RAN area. Based on the third indication, the first device 110 may determine whether the first indication is to be generated. For example, if the first device 110 initiates the SDT procedure in a cell that is part of at least one of a set of cells, a set of RAN area IDs, a set of RAN area codes, and a RAN area, the first device 110 may determine that the first indication need not be transmitted. For example, because the second device 120 is aware of the configuration. In some examples, the set may include only one of at least one of a cell, a RAN area ID, a RAN area code, and a RAN area. In this way unnecessary transmission resources can also be saved.

Returning to fig. 3, after generating the first indication, the first device 110 transmits 302 the data and the first indication to the second device 120. In some embodiments, the first device 110 may generate a data packet for the data based on the configuration. Thus, upon receiving the data packet and the first indication, the second device 120 may determine 303 data from the data packet based on the first indication. For example, the second device 120 may decode data from the data packet based on the configuration indicated by the first indication.

For illustration, the following description will be made in more detail with reference to fig. 5. Fig. 5 shows a schematic diagram illustrating an example process 500 of communication according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, the process 500 will be described with reference to fig. 1. The process 500 may involve the first device 110, the second device 120, and the third device 130 shown in fig. 1. The process is described in connection with a second device 120 having a CU/DU split deployment architecture. However, it should be appreciated that the process may also be applied to a second device without a CU/DU split deployment architecture.

As shown in fig. 5, when the first device 110 has data to transmit, the first device 110 may transmit 501CCCH SDUs (e.g., RRC messages for SDT requests) and DTCH SDUs (e.g., data packets associated with the data) to DUs of the second device 120 along with an indication indicating a usage configuration of the DRBs of the DTCH SDUs. In some embodiments, the configuration may be at least one of: RLC mode, SN length, t reassembly timer length, unidirectional or bidirectional RLC mode in the UM case. For example, the RLD mode may be an Acknowledged Mode (AM) or UM. The SN length may be an SN having 6 or 12 bits for UM, an SN having 12 or 18 bits for AM, etc. This is merely an example, and the present application is not limited thereto.

Upon receipt of the SDT request, the DU of the second device 120 may immediately decode 502 the RLC PDU corresponding to the DTCH SDU based on the indication. The DU of the second device 120 may then send 503 a CCCH SDU to the CU of the second device 120 over the F1-C interface. The CU of the second device 120 may initiate 504 a F1-U setup message for the SDT to the first device 110. The DU of the second device 120 may respond 505 with an F1-U setup acknowledgement and provide the PDCP PDU of the resulting SDT.

The CU of the second device 120 may then transmit 506 a UE context acquisition request embedded with the CCCH SDU and PDCP PDU to the third device 130. In this example, the third device 130 is an anchor device that maintains the context of the first device 110. In some embodiments, the third device 130 may be a last serving network device of the first device 110. The PDCP PDU processing may then be completed 507 by the CU of the second device 120 based on the received context or by the third device 130.

It should be noted that the above-described process of fig. 5 is merely an example, and that any other suitable process is possible. For example, the UE context acquisition request may also occur without PDCP PDUs and may be initiated by the CU of the second device 120 immediately after receiving CCCH SDUs from the DUs of the second device 120.

Using the above-described procedure of fig. 3 and 5, the configuration used for data transmission may be explicitly indicated by the first device 110 to the second device 120. In this way, the second device 120 is allowed to immediately decode the received RLC PDU and the latency of the communication is reduced. For the SDT procedure, the stored configuration may be applied to the SDT, so that QoS execution of the DRB may be improved.

Example implementation Process 2

Embodiments of the present disclosure also provide another scheme for indicating configuration, the mechanism of which is shown in fig. 6. Fig. 6 shows a schematic diagram illustrating another communication process 600 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For convenience, fig. 6 will be described in connection with the example of fig. 1. The process 600 may involve the first device 110 and the second device 120 shown in fig. 1.

As shown in fig. 6, when the first device 110 has data to transmit, the first device 110 determines 601 whether the first device 110 is to transmit data to the first cell of the second device 120, the first device 110 being in an inactive state in the first cell of the second device 120. In other words, the first device 110 may determine whether the first device 110 is located in the first cell or whether the first device 110 is served by the first cell. The first cell may be considered an anchor device that maintains the context of the first device 110. In some embodiments, the first cell may be a last serving cell of the first device 110.

If the first device 110 determines that the first device 110 is to transmit data to the first cell, the first device 110 transmits 602 data to the second device 120 based on a configuration (also referred to herein as a first configuration) configured by the first cell to the first device. The first configuration may be considered a stored configuration. In some embodiments, the first device 110 may generate a data packet for the data based on the first configuration.

If the first device 110 determines that the first device 110 does not transmit data to the first cell, i.e., if the first device 110 determines that the first device 110 transmits data to a second cell different from the first cell, the first device 110 transmits 602' the data to the second device 120 based on a configuration (also referred to herein as a second configuration) known to the second cell. The second configuration may be considered a default configuration. In some embodiments, the second configuration may be configured by the second cell in the system information. In some embodiments, the second configuration may be predefined for the first device 110. In some embodiments, the first device 110 may generate a data packet for the data based on the second configuration.

After receiving the data packet, the second device 120 determines 603 if the first device 110 will transmit data to the first cell of the second device 120, i.e. if the first device 110 is served by the first cell. If the second device 120 determines that the first device 110 is served by the first cell, the second device 120 determines 604 data from the data packet based on the first configuration. The first configuration is known to the second device 120 because the first configuration is configured to the first device 110 by the second device 120.

If the second device 120 determines that the first device 110 is not served by the first cell, the second device 120 determines 605 data from the data packet based on the second configuration. The second configuration is also known to the second device 120, as the second configuration is the default configuration of the first device 110 and the second device 120.

Using the procedure described in fig. 6, the configuration used for data transmission may be implicitly indicated to the second device 120 by the first device 110. In this way, the second device 120 is also allowed to immediately decode the received RLC PDU, and the latency of the communication can also be reduced.

Example implementation of the method

Some example methods according to embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to fig. 7-10. However, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the detailed description given herein with respect to these figures is for explanatory purposes as the disclosure extends beyond these limited embodiments.

Fig. 7 illustrates a flow chart of a communication method 700 implemented at a first device according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure. The method 700 may be implemented at the first device 110 shown in fig. 1. For discussion purposes, the method 700 will be described with reference to fig. 1. It should be understood that method 700 may further include additional blocks not shown and/or omit some of the blocks shown, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

As shown in fig. 7, at block 710, the first device 110 determines whether data is to be transmitted. In response to determining that data is to be transmitted, at block 720, the first device 110 generates a first indication indicating at least a portion of a configuration to be used for data transmission.

In some embodiments, the first device 110 may generate the first indication by generating at least one of: RLC C-PDU indicating at least a portion of the configuration; an RRC message indicating at least a portion of the configuration; or a MAC CE indicating at least a portion of the configuration. Of course, any other suitable form may be used to carry the first indication.

In some embodiments, the first device 110 may generate the first indication by receiving information about the configuration from the second device 120, determining the configuration based on the received information, and generating the first indication based on the determined configuration. In this way, the first device 100 can determine the content of the configuration applied to the data transmission.

In some embodiments, the first device 110 may generate the first indication by: it is determined whether the first device 110 is transmitting data to a first cell of the second device 120, the first device 110 enters an inactive state in the first cell, and in response to determining that the first device 110 is not transmitting data to the first cell, a first indication is determined. In this case, the first indication is generated and transmitted only when the first device 110 performs cell reselection, i.e. the second device 120 cannot know the configuration for data transmission. In this way unnecessary transmission resources can be saved.

In some embodiments, the first device 110 may generate the first indication by: a second indication is received from the second device 120 as to whether to use the configuration for data transmission and the first indication is generated based on the second indication indicating to use the configuration for data transmission. In this way, the first device 100 may determine the type of configuration that is applied to the data transmission. For example, the first device 100 may determine whether to use the stored configuration or a default configuration for data transmission.

In some embodiments, the first device 110 may generate the first indication by: a third indication is received from the second device 120 as to whether the first indication is to be generated and the first indication is generated based on the third indication indicating that the first indication is to be generated. Thus, the first device 110 generates the first indication only when the first device 110 is instructed to generate the first indication. Thus, unnecessary transmission resources can be saved.

Referring to fig. 7, after generating the first indication, the first device 110 transmits data and the first indication to the second device 120 at block 730.

The operations in the method of fig. 7 correspond to the operations in the processes described in fig. 3 to 5, and thus other details are omitted here for brevity. With the method of fig. 7, the configuration used for data transmission may be explicitly indicated by the first device 110 to the second device 120. In this way, the second device 120 is allowed to immediately decode the received RLC PDU and the latency of the communication is reduced. For the SDT procedure, the stored configuration may be applied to the SDT, so that QoS enforcement for the DRB may be improved.

Fig. 8 illustrates a flow chart of another communication method 800 implemented at a first device according to an example embodiment of the disclosure. The method 800 may be implemented at the first device 110 shown in fig. 1. For discussion purposes, the method 800 will be described with reference to fig. 1. It should be understood that method 800 may further include additional blocks not shown and/or omit some of the blocks shown, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

As shown in fig. 8, at block 810, the first device 110 determines whether data is to be transmitted. In response to determining to transmit data, the first device 110 determines whether the first device 110 is to transmit data to a first cell of the second device 120, the first device 110 being in an inactive state at the first cell, at block 820.

If it is determined that the first device 110 is to transmit data to a first cell, the process proceeds to block 830. At block 830, the first device 110 transmits data to the second device 120 based on the first configuration configured to the first device 110 by the first cell. If it is determined that the first device 110 is not transmitting data to the first cell, i.e., the first device 110 is transmitting data to a second cell different from the first cell, then processing proceeds to block 840. At block 840, the first device 110 transmits data to the second device 120 based on a second configuration known to the second cell.

The operations in the method of fig. 8 correspond to the operations in the process described in fig. 6, and thus, other details are omitted here for brevity. With the method of fig. 8, the configuration for data transmission may be implicitly indicated by the first device 110 to the second device 120. In this way, the second device 120 is also allowed to immediately decode the received RLC PDU, and the latency of the communication can also be reduced.

Accordingly, embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a communication method implemented at a second device. Fig. 9 shows a flowchart of a communication method 900 implemented at a second device according to an example embodiment of the disclosure. The method 900 may be implemented at the second device 120 shown in fig. 1. For discussion purposes, the method 900 will be described with reference to fig. 1. It should be understood that method 900 may further include additional blocks not shown and/or omit some of the blocks shown, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

As shown in fig. 9, at block 910, the second device 120 receives a data packet associated with data transmitted by the first device 110 and a first indication indicating at least a portion of a configuration to be used for data transmission.

In some embodiments, the second device 120 may receive the first indication by receiving at least one of: RLC C-PDU indicating at least a portion of the configuration; an RRC message indicating at least a portion of the configuration; or a MAC CE indicating at least a portion of the configuration. Of course, any other suitable form may be used to carry the first indication.

In some embodiments, the second device 120 may also transmit information about the configuration to the first device 110. In some embodiments, the second device 120 may also send a second indication to the first device 110 as to whether to use the configuration for data transmission. In some embodiments, the second device 120 may also send a third indication to the first device 110 as to whether the first indication is to be generated.

In some embodiments, the second device 120 may transmit the third indication by: it is determined whether the first device 110 is served by a cell of the second device 120 and, in response to determining that the first device 110 is served by the cell of the second device 120, a third indication is transmitted indicating that the first indication is not generated.

At block 920, the second device 120 determines data from the data packet based on the first indication.

With the method of fig. 9, the second device 120 can explicitly know the configuration used for data transmission and immediately decode the received RLC PDU, thereby reducing the latency of communication. For the SDT procedure, the stored configuration may be applied to the SDT, so that QoS execution of the DRB may be improved.

Fig. 10 shows a flowchart of a communication method 1000 implemented at a second device according to an example embodiment of the disclosure. The method 1000 may be implemented at the second device 120 shown in fig. 1. For discussion purposes, the method 1000 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. It should be understood that method 1000 may further include additional blocks not shown and/or omit some of the blocks shown, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

As shown in fig. 10, at block 1010, the second device 120 receives a data packet associated with data transmitted by the first device 110. Upon receiving the data packet, the second device 120 determines whether the first device 110 is to transmit data to a first cell of the second device 120 in which the first device 110 is to enter an inactive state, at block 1020.

If it is determined that the first device 110 is to transmit data to a first cell of the second device 120 in which the first device 110 is to enter an inactive state, processing proceeds to block 1030. At block 1030, the second device 120 determines data from the data packet based on the first configuration configured to the first device 110 by the first cell. If it is determined that the first device 110 is not transmitting data to the first cell, i.e., the first device 110 is transmitting data to a second cell different from the first cell, then processing proceeds to block 1040. At block 1040, the second device 120 determines data from the data packet based on a second configuration known to the second cell.

With the method of fig. 10, the second device 120 can implicitly know the configuration used for data transmission and immediately decode the received RLC PDU, thereby reducing the latency of the communication.

Example implementation of a device

In some embodiments, an apparatus (e.g., first device 110) capable of performing method 700 may include means for performing the various steps of method 700. The component may be embodied in any suitable form. For example, the components may be implemented in circuitry or software modules.

In some embodiments, the apparatus may include: generating, at the first device, a first indication indicating at least a portion of a configuration to be used for data transmission in response to determining to transmit data; and means for transmitting the data and the first indication to the second device.

In some embodiments, the means for generating the first indication may include means for generating at least one of: RLC C-PDU indicating at least a portion of the configuration; an RRC message indicating at least a portion of the configuration; or a MAC CE indicating at least a portion of the configuration.

In some embodiments, the means for generating the first indication may comprise: means for receiving information about the configuration from the second device; means for determining a configuration based on the received information; and means for generating a first indication based on the determined configuration.

In some embodiments, the means for generating the first indication may comprise: means for determining whether a first device is to transmit data to a first cell of a second device, the first device being in an inactive state in the first cell; and means for generating a first indication in response to determining that the first device is not transmitting data to the first cell.

In some embodiments, the means for generating the first indication may comprise: means for receiving a second indication from the second device as to whether the configuration is to be used for data transmission; and means for generating a first indication based on a second indication indicating that the configuration is to be used for data transmission.

In some embodiments, the means for generating the first indication may include means for receiving a third indication from the second device as to whether the first indication is to be generated; and means for generating the first indication based on a third indication indicating that the first indication is to be generated.

In some embodiments, an apparatus (e.g., first device 110) capable of performing method 800 may include means for performing the various steps of method 800. The component may be embodied in any suitable form. For example, the components may be implemented in circuitry or software modules.

In some embodiments, the apparatus may include: means for determining, at the first device, whether the first device is served by a first cell of the second device in which the first device is to enter an inactive state in response to determining that data is to be transmitted; transmitting data to a second device based on a first configuration, the first configuration being stored in the first device and configured by the first cell, in response to determining that the first device is to transmit data to the first cell; and means for transmitting data to the second device based on a second configuration known to the second cell in response to determining that the first device is to transmit data to a second cell different from the first cell.

In some embodiments, an apparatus (e.g., second device 120) capable of performing method 900 may include means for performing the various steps of method 900. The component may be embodied in any suitable form. For example, the components may be implemented in circuitry or software modules.

In some embodiments, the apparatus may include: means for receiving, at the second device, a data packet associated with data transmitted by the first device and a first indication indicating at least a portion of a configuration to be used for data transmission; and means for determining data from the data packet based on the first indication.

In some embodiments, the means for receiving the first indication may include: means for receiving at least one of: RLC C-PDU indicating at least a portion of the configuration; an RRC message indicating at least a portion of the configuration; or a MAC CE indicating at least a portion of the configuration.

In some embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise: means for transmitting information about the configuration to the first device.

In some embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise: means for sending a second indication to the first device as to whether the configuration is to be used for data transmission.

In some embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise: means for sending a third indication to the first device as to whether the first indication is to be generated.

In some embodiments, the means for transmitting the third indication may include: means for determining whether the first device is served by a cell of the second device; and means for transmitting a third indication indicating that the first indication was not generated in response to determining that the first device is served by the cell of the second device.

In some embodiments, an apparatus (e.g., second device 120) capable of performing method 1000 may include means for performing the various steps of method 1000. The component may be embodied in any suitable form. For example, the components may be implemented in circuitry or software modules.

In some embodiments, the apparatus may include: means for receiving, at the second device, a data packet associated with data transmitted by the first device; means for determining, in response to determining that the first device is to transmit data to a first cell of the second device, data from a data packet based on a first configuration configured by the first cell to the first device; and means for determining data from the data packet based on a second configuration known to the second cell in response to determining that the first device is to transmit data to a second cell different from the first cell.

Fig. 11 is a simplified block diagram of a device 1100 suitable for use in implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. Device 1100 may be provided to implement a first device or a second device, such as first device 110 or second device 120 shown in fig. 1. As shown, the device 1100 includes one or more processors 1110, one or more memories 1120 coupled to the processors 1110, and one or more communication modules 1140 (e.g., transmitters and/or receivers) coupled to the processors 1110.

The communication module 1140 is used for bi-directional communication. The communication module 1140 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication. The communication interface may represent any interface required to communicate with other network elements.

Processor 1110 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network and may include, as non-limiting examples, one or more of the following: general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital Signal Processors (DSPs), and processors based on a multi-core processor architecture. The device 1100 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips, that are slaved in time to the clock of the synchronous master processor.

Memory 1120 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memory include, but are not limited to, read Only Memory (ROM) 1124, electrically Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM), flash memory, a hard disk, a Compact Disk (CD), a Digital Video Disk (DVD), and other magnetic and/or optical storage devices. Examples of volatile memory include, but are not limited to, random Access Memory (RAM) 1122 and other volatile memory that will not last during the power-off period.

Computer program 1130 includes computer-executable instructions for execution by an associated processor 1110. Program 1130 may be stored in ROM 1124. Processor 1110 may perform any suitable actions and processes by loading program 1130 into RAM 1122.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by program 1130 such that device 1100 may perform any of the processes of the present disclosure discussed with reference to fig. 3-6. Embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented in hardware or a combination of software and hardware.

In some embodiments, program 1130 may be tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium, which may be embodied in device 1100 (e.g., in memory 1120) or in another storage device accessible to device 1100. Device 1100 can load program 1130 from a computer readable medium into RAM 1122 for execution. The computer readable medium may include any type of tangible, non-volatile storage device, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. Fig. 12 shows an example of a computer readable medium 1200 in the form of a CD or DVD. Program 1130 is stored on a computer readable medium.

In general, the various embodiments of the disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. While various aspects of the embodiments of the disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other pictorial representation, it is well understood that these blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product comprises computer executable instructions, such as instructions contained in a program module, for execution in a device on a target real or virtual processor to perform the methods 700-1000 described above with reference to fig. 7-10. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. In various embodiments, the functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired. Machine-executable instructions of program modules may be executed in a local device or in a distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage media.

Program code for carrying out the methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program code may be provided to a processor or controller of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus such that the program code, when executed by the processor or controller, causes the functions/operations specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram to be implemented. The program code may execute entirely on the machine, partly on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the machine and partly on a remote machine or entirely on the remote machine or server.

In the context of this disclosure, computer program code or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable an apparatus, device or processor to perform the various processes and operations described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer readable media, and the like.

The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. The computer readable medium may include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of a computer-readable storage medium include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

Furthermore, although operations are described in a particular order, this should not be construed as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order or sequence order shown, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Also, while the above discussion contains several specific implementation details, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination.

Although the disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A first device, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code;

the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the first device to:

in response to determining that data is to be transmitted in an inactive state, generating a first indication, the first indication indicating at least a portion of a configuration to be used for the transmission of the data; and

transmitting the data and the first indication to a second device in the inactive state.

2. The first device of claim 1, wherein the first device is caused to generate the first indication by generating at least one of:

a radio link control protocol data unit, RLC C-PDU, the RLC C-PDU indicating the at least a portion of the configuration,

A radio resource control message indicating the at least a portion of the configuration, or

A media access control element, MAC CE, indicating the at least a portion of the configuration.

3. The first device of claim 1, wherein the first device is caused to generate the first indication by:

receiving information about the configuration from the second device;

determining the configuration based on the received information; and

the first indication is generated based on the determined configuration.

4. The first device of claim 1, wherein the first device is caused to generate the first indication by:

determining whether the first device is to transmit the data to a first cell of the second device, the first device entering the inactive state in the first cell; and

the first indication is determined in response to determining that the first device will not transmit the data to the first cell.

5. The first device of claim 1, wherein the first device is caused to generate the first indication by:

Receiving a second indication from the second device, the second indication regarding whether to use the configuration for the transmission of the data; and

the first indication is generated based on the second indication indicating that the configuration is to be used for the transmission of the data.

6. The first device of claim 1, wherein the first device is caused to generate the first indication by:

receiving a third indication from the second device, the third indication being regarding whether the first indication is to be generated; and

the first indication is generated based on the third indication indicating that the first indication is to be generated.

7. A first device, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code;

responsive to determining that data is to be transmitted in an inactive state, determining whether the first device is to transmit the data to a first cell of a second device, the first device entering the inactive state in the first cell;

Transmitting the data to the second device based on a first configuration configured by the first cell to the first device in response to determining that the first device is to transmit the data to the first cell; and

in response to determining that the first device is to transmit the data to a second cell different from the first cell, transmitting the data to the second device based on a second configuration known to the second cell.

8. The first device of any of claims 1-7, wherein the first device is a terminal device and the second device is a network device.

9. A second device, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code;

the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the second device to:

receiving a data packet associated with data transmitted by a first device in an inactive state and a first indication indicating at least a portion of a configuration to be used for said transmission of said data; and

The data is determined from the data packet based on the first indication.

10. A second device according to claim 9, wherein the second device is caused to receive the first indication by receiving at least one of:

11. A second device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the second device is further caused to:

transmitting information about the configuration to the first device.

12. A second device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the second device is further caused to:

a second indication is transmitted to the first device regarding whether to use the configuration for the transmission of the data.

13. A second device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the second device is further caused to:

transmitting a third indication to the first device, the third indication being regarding whether the first indication is to be generated.

14. A second device as claimed in claim 13, wherein the second device is caused to transmit the third indication by:

determining whether the first device is served by a cell of the second device; and

in response to determining that the first device is served by the cell of the second device, transmitting the third indication indicating that the first indication is not generated.

15. A second device, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code;

receiving a data packet, wherein the data packet is associated with data transmitted by the first equipment in an inactive state;

in response to determining that the first device is to transmit the data to a first cell of the second device, determining the data from the data packet based on a first configuration configured by the first cell to the first device, the first device entering the inactive state in the first cell; and

in response to determining that the first device is to transmit the data to a second cell different from the first cell, the data is determined from the data packet based on a second configuration known to the second cell.

16. The second device according to any of claims 9-15, wherein the first device is a terminal device and the second device is a network device.

17. A method of communication, comprising:

at a first device, in response to determining that data is to be transmitted in an inactive state, generating a first indication indicating at least a portion of a configuration to be used for the transmission of the data; and

18. The method of claim 17, wherein generating the first indication comprises generating at least one of:

19. The method of claim 17, wherein generating the first indication comprises:

receiving information about the configuration from the second device;

Determining the configuration based on the received information; and

the first indication is generated based on the determined configuration.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein generating the first indication comprises:

the first indication is generated in response to determining that the first device is not transmitting the data to the first cell.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein generating the first indication comprises:

22. The method of claim 17, wherein generating the first indication comprises:

23. A method of communication, comprising:

at a first device, responsive to determining that data is to be transmitted in an inactive state, determining whether the first device is to transmit the data to a first cell of a second device, the first device entering the inactive state in the first cell;

24. A method of communication, comprising:

receiving, at a second device, a data packet associated with data transmitted by a first device in an inactive state and a first indication indicating at least a portion of a configuration to be used for the transmission of the data; and

the data is determined from the data packet based on the first indication.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein receiving the first indication comprises receiving at least one of:

26. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

transmitting information about the configuration to the first device.

27. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

28. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

29. The method of claim 28, wherein transmitting the third indication comprises:

30. A method of communication, comprising:

receiving, at a second device, a data packet associated with data transmitted by a first device in an inactive state;

31. The method of any of claims 17-30, wherein the first device is a terminal device and the second device is a network device.

32. A communication apparatus, comprising:

generating, at a first device, a first indication in response to determining that data is to be transmitted in an inactive state, at least a portion of a first indication configuration, the configuration to be used for the transmission of the data; and

means for transmitting the data and the first indication to a second device in the inactive state.

33. A communication apparatus, comprising:

means for determining, at a first device, in response to determining that data is to be transmitted in an inactive state, whether the first device is to transmit the data to a first cell of a second device, the first device entering the inactive state in the first cell;

transmitting the data to the second device based on a first configuration in response to determining that the first device is to transmit the data to the first cell, the first configuration being stored in the first device and configured by the first cell; and

means for transmitting the data to a second device different from the first cell based on a second configuration known to the second cell in response to determining that the first device is to transmit the data to the second cell.

34. A communication apparatus, comprising:

means for receiving, at a second device, a data packet associated with data transmitted by a first device in an inactive state and a first indication indicating at least a portion of a configuration to be used for the transmission of the data; and

means for determining the data from the data packet based on the first indication.

35. A communication apparatus, comprising:

means for receiving a data packet at a second device, the data packet being associated with data transmitted by a first device in an inactive state;

means for determining the data from the data packet based on a first configuration in response to determining that the first device is to transmit the data to a first cell of the second device, the first configuration being configured by the first cell to the first device, the first device entering the inactive state in the first cell; and

means for determining the data from the data packet based on a second configuration known to a second cell different from the first cell in response to determining that the first device is to transmit the data to the second cell.

36. The apparatus of any of claims 32-35, wherein the first device is a terminal device and the second device is a network device.

37. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform the method of any one of claims 17 to 22.

38. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform the method of claim 23.

39. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform the method of any one of claims 24 to 29.

40. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform the method of any one of claims 30-31.