CN114630265A - Near real-time wireless intelligent controller architecture and wireless function enhancement method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A near real-time wireless intelligent controller architecture and a wireless function enhancement method thereof are provided, wherein the near real-time wireless intelligent controller architecture comprises: the system comprises a cloud platform, a near real-time wireless intelligent controller (nRT RIC) platform and a wireless functional entity xAPP; the cloud platform is used for carrying out life cycle management on the nRT RIC platform and the xAPP software carriers, configuring routing paths among the software carriers, and carrying out message transmission between the xAPs and the nRT RIC platform; the nRT RIC platform runs on the cloud platform and is used for managing the xAPP and/or realizing part or all of wireless functions; the xAPP runs on the nRT RIC platform and is used for realizing the enhancement function of the wireless function. The invention can realize the combination of SBA decentralization and management and control of main and auxiliary functions of an application layer, provides a unified solution for nRT RIC basic functions and increment functions, and can realize AI drive and nRT RIC function enhancement of a digital twin simulation environment.

Description

Near real-time wireless intelligent controller architecture and wireless function enhancement method

technical field

The invention relates to the technical field of mobile communication, in particular to a near real-time wireless intelligent controller architecture and a wireless function enhancement method thereof.

Background technique

FIG. 1 is an overall O-RAN architecture given by the Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) International Alliance (O-RAN Alliance). In this architecture, a non-real-time radio intelligent controller (non-RT RIC) and a near-real-time radio intelligent controller (near-RT RIC (near Real Time RadioIntelligent Controller, nRT RIC) are introduced. Denote nRT RIC as Near-RT RIC).

In an overall O-RAN architecture solution, the functional entity of xApp is introduced into the nRT RIC. xApp runs related artificial intelligence (AI) content, and interacts with the nRT RIC framework (Near-RT RIC framework) through an open application programming interface (Open API) to control E2 nodes. How to control the wireless functional entity is an urgent problem to be solved.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

At least one embodiment of the present invention provides a wireless function enhancement method and device of a near-real-time wireless intelligent controller architecture, which can implement control of wireless functional entities based on the near-real-time wireless intelligent controller architecture of SBA.

According to one aspect of the present invention, at least one embodiment provides a near-real-time wireless intelligent controller architecture, including: a cloud platform, a near-real-time wireless intelligent controller nRT RIC platform, and a wireless functional entity xAPP; wherein,

The cloud platform is used to manage the nRT RIC platform and the software carriers of the xAPP, configure the routing paths between the various software carriers, and/or configure messages between the xAPP and between the xAPP and the nRT RIC platform. transmission;

The nRT RIC platform runs on the cloud platform and is used to manage the xAPP, and/or realize part or all of the wireless functions;

The xAPP runs on the nRT RIC platform and is used to realize the enhancement function of the wireless function.

In addition, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, the xAPP is further configured to obtain measurement parameters through the nRT RIC platform, perform the enhanced function based on the measurement parameters, and generate control information, policy information, and algorithms for wireless management at least one of the demand information and instruction information, and send the generated information to the nRT RIC platform;

The nRT RIC platform is also used to receive the measurement parameters reported by the functional entities in the radio access network and send them to the corresponding xAPP, and/or receive the information sent by the xAPP, and determine whether to operate or not on the received information. Whether to send to the base station.

In addition, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, the nRT RIC platform is also used to implement part or all of the radio resource management RRM function, and through the interaction with the radio access network, the radio resources generated by the RRM function are controlled by the RRC control. Command requirements are sent to functional entities in the radio access network.

In addition, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, the nRT RIC platform manages the xAPP, specifically including at least one of the following: responding to the expansion process, activation process, registration process and management process of the xAPP, configuring and maintaining the xAPP Routing information from xAPP to the nRT RIC platform.

In addition, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, the xAPP is further configured to send a registration request message to the nRT RIC platform by means of a request or a response, where the registration request message carries the identification information of the xAPP, At least one of function description information, measurement parameter description information and output result description information;

The nRT RIC platform is further configured to receive the registration request message, and when the registration is successful, perform at least one of the following operations: establish an information exchange link with the xAPP, and configure the initial startup of the xAPP. parameters to provide measurement parameters to the xAPP.

In addition, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, the xAPP is further configured to apply for a service to the nRT RIC platform by means of subscription or notification, wherein the subscription or notification includes periodic subscription or periodic reporting, and/ Or, event-triggered subscription or event-triggered reporting;

The nRT RIC platform is further configured to send a notification to the xAPP in response to the service application of the xAPP, where the content of the notification includes: service content provided by the nRT RIC platform, and/or an instruction for obtaining a service information.

In addition, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, the xAPP is further configured to send a service request message to the nRT RIC platform by means of a request or a response, where the service request message carries the identification information of the xAPP and The provided service information, the service information includes at least one of the following: a radio resource management strategy or control indication information, a user service management strategy or control indication information, and a connection management strategy or control indication information between devices;

The nRT RIC platform is further configured to receive the service request message, and return to the xAPP a service response message indicating whether service information is available.

In addition, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, the interaction between the xAPP and the nRT RIC platform is performed through a logical API interface.

According to another aspect of the present invention, at least one embodiment provides a wireless function enhancement method of a near-real-time wireless intelligent controller architecture, where the near-real-time wireless intelligent controller architecture includes: a cloud platform, a near-real-time wireless intelligent controller nRT RIC platform and radio functional entity xAPP; the method includes:

Through the cloud platform, life cycle management is performed on the nRT RIC platform and the software carrier of the xAPP, routing paths between each software carrier are configured, and message transmission is performed between the xAPP and between the xAPP and the nRT RIC platform;

Manage the xAPP through the nRT RIC platform running on the cloud platform, and/or implement some or all of the wireless functions;

Through the xAPP running on the nRT RIC platform, the enhanced function of the wireless function is realized.

In addition, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, it also includes:

Obtain measurement parameters through the nRT RIC platform through the xAPP, perform the enhanced function based on the measurement parameters, generate at least one of control information, policy information, algorithm demand information for wireless management, and indication information, and sending the generated information to the nRT RIC platform;

Through the nRT RIC platform, the measurement parameters reported by the functional entities in the radio access network are received and sent to the corresponding xAPP, and/or the information sent by the xAPP is received, and whether to operate or send the received information is judged to the base station.

In addition, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, it also includes:

Part or all of the radio resource management RRM function is realized through the nRT RIC platform, and the radio resource control RRC control command requirements generated by the RRM function are sent to the functional entities in the radio access network through interaction with the radio access network.

In addition, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, the nRT RIC platform manages the xAPP, specifically including at least one of the following: responding to the expansion process, activation process, registration process and management process of the xAPP, configuring and maintaining the xAPP Routing information from xAPP to the nRT RIC platform.

In addition, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, it also includes:

Through the xAPP, a registration request message is sent to the nRT RIC platform by means of a request or a response, and the registration request message carries the identification information, function description information, measurement parameter description information and output result description information of the xAPP. at least one of;

Through the nRT RIC platform, the registration request message is received, and when the registration is successful, at least one of the following operations is performed: establishing an information exchange link with the xAPP, configuring the initial parameters of the xAPP startup, Measurement parameters are provided to the xAPP.

In addition, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, it also includes:

Through the xAPP, apply for a service to the nRT RIC platform by means of subscription or notification, wherein the subscription or notification includes periodic subscription or periodic reporting, and/or event-triggered subscription or event-triggered reporting;

Through the nRT RIC platform, in response to the service application of the xAPP, a notification is sent to the xAPP, and the content of the notification includes: the service content provided by the nRT RIC platform, and/or the instruction information for obtaining the service.

In addition, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, it also includes:

Through the xAPP, a service request message is sent to the nRT RIC platform by means of a request or a response, and the service request message carries the identification information of the xAPP and the provided service information, and the service information includes at least the following One: wireless resource management strategy or control indication information, user service management strategy or control indication information, and device connection management strategy or control indication information;

Through the nRT RIC platform, the service request message is received, and a service response message indicating whether the service information is available is returned to the xAPP.

In addition, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, the interaction between the xAPP and the nRT RIC platform is performed through a logical API interface.

According to another aspect of the present invention, at least one embodiment provides a near real-time wireless intelligent controller architecture including a processor and a transceiver, wherein,

The processor is used to run the nRT RIC platform on the cloud platform, run the wireless functional entity xAPP on the nRT RIC platform, and manage the nRT RIC platform and the software carrier of the xAPP through the cloud platform, Configure routing paths between various software carriers, and/or, configure message transmission between xAPP and between xAPP and the nRT RIC platform; manage the xAPP through the nRT RIC platform, and/or, implement part or all of it The wireless function; and, the enhancement function of the wireless function is realized through the xAPP.

According to another aspect of the present invention, at least one embodiment provides a near real-time wireless intelligent controller architecture, comprising: a processor, a memory, and a program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, wherein The program, when executed by the processor, implements the steps of the method as described above.

According to another aspect of the present invention, at least one embodiment provides a computer-readable storage medium, where a program is stored on the computer-readable storage medium, and when the program is executed by a processor, the above-mentioned method is implemented. step.

Compared with the prior art, the near real-time wireless intelligent controller architecture and the wireless function enhancement method thereof provided by the embodiments of the present invention can realize the combination of SBA decentralization and the management and control of the main and auxiliary functions of the application layer, and provide an nRT RIC. Unified solution for basic and incremental functions, and enables AI-driven and digital twin simulation environment nRT RIC enhancements.

Description of drawings

Various other advantages and benefits will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments. The drawings are for the purpose of illustrating preferred embodiments only and are not to be considered limiting of the invention. Also, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the drawings. In the attached image:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an overall O-RAN architecture organized by the O-RAN International Alliance;

Fig. 2 is a kind of overall design schematic diagram of near real-time wireless intelligent controller;

3 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a near real-time wireless intelligent controller provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a registration process of a wireless functional entity xAPP according to an embodiment of the present invention;

5 is a schematic diagram of an xApp applying for a wireless function service to the nRT RIC Framework according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 6 is the schematic diagram that the xApp of the embodiment of the present invention provides wireless function to nRT RIC Framework;

7 is a schematic diagram of a logical connection relationship between xApp and nRT RIC Framework according to an embodiment of the present invention;

8 is a schematic diagram of a functional layer during interaction between xApp and nRT RIC Framework according to an embodiment of the present invention;

9 is a schematic diagram of an xApp of Radio Function and nRT RIC Framework deployed on a cloud platform according to an embodiment of the present invention;

10 is a schematic diagram of a wireless function enhancement method provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a near real-time wireless intelligent controller architecture according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed ways

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. While exemplary embodiments of the present invention are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the present invention may be embodied in various forms and should not be limited by the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that the present invention will be more thoroughly understood, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

The terms "first", "second" and the like in the description and claims of the present application are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It is to be understood that the data so used may be interchanged under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the application described herein can, for example, be practiced in sequences other than those illustrated or described herein. Furthermore, the terms "comprising" and "having" and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, for example, a process, method, system, product or device comprising a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those expressly listed Rather, those steps or units may include other steps or units not expressly listed or inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices. In the description and the claims, "and/or" means at least one of the connected objects.

The techniques described herein are not limited to NR systems and Long Time Evolution (LTE)/LTE-Advanced (LTE-Advanced, LTE-A) systems, and may also be used in various wireless communication systems such as Code Division Multiple Access (Code Division Multiple Access, CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (Time Division Multiple Access, TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (Frequency Division Multiple Access, FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access, OFDMA), Single-carrier Frequency-Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) and other systems. The terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably. A CDMA system may implement radio technologies such as CDMA2000, Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA). UTRA includes Wideband CodeDivision Multiple Access (WCDMA) and other CDMA variants. A TDMA system may implement a radio technology such as the Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM). The OFDMA system can realize applications such as UltraMobile Broadband (UMB), Evolution-UTRA (E-UTRA), IEEE 802.21 (Wi-Fi), IEEE802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM, etc. radio technology. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). LTE and higher LTE (eg LTE-A) are new UMTS releases that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A and GSM are described in documents from an organization named "3rd Generation Partnership Project" (3GPP). CDMA2000 and UMB are described in documents from an organization named "3rd Generation Partnership Project 2" (3GPP2). The techniques described herein may be used for both the systems and radio technologies mentioned above, as well as for other systems and radio technologies. However, the following description describes an NR system for example purposes, and NR terminology is used in much of the following description, although these techniques are also applicable to applications other than NR system applications.

The following description provides examples and does not limit the scope, applicability, or configuration set forth in the claims. Changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements discussed without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Various examples may omit, substitute, or add various procedures or components as appropriate. For example, the methods described may be performed in an order different from that described, and various steps may be added, omitted, or combined. Additionally, features described with reference to some examples may be combined in other examples.

Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of an overall design of the Near-RT RIC, in which the xApp mode is introduced into the Near-RT RIC in order to realize capability opening and quickly introduce third-party capabilities.

Specifically, an implementation based on FIG. 2 is to encapsulate all radio resource management (RRM) functions into different xApps. The Near-RT RIC in FIG. 2 is transparently transmitted by xApp (xApp 1 to xApp N). Directly interact with the base station through the E2 interface, and the Near-RT RIC is only responsible for the processing of the messages of the E2 interface.

xApp is a functional entity defined in IT, which exists in the form of a microservice (Microservice) on the cloud platform. The nRT RIC framework (Near-RT RIC Framework) is also a microservice of the cloud platform, and the two are equivalent software functional entities on the cloud platform. At the same time, from the principle of equivalence at the protocol layer, xApp cannot be used as a functional entity of the Near-RTRIC Framework. In this way, the following paradox exists: from the perspective of cloud platform technology, xApp and Near-RTRIC Framework are equivalent microservice software entities; from the functional perspective of Near-RT RIC, the functions running inside xApp are indeed running on Near-RT Framework. function, there are strict upper and lower constraints between the two.

Service-based Architecture (SBA) is the infrastructure of the fifth-generation mobile communication system (5G). Combined with the network characteristics and technological development trends of the mobile core network, network functions are divided into services that can be flexibly invoked. Lightweight interface communication is used between services, and the goal is to realize the efficiency, software, and openness of the 5G system.

The SBA architecture is applied in the 5G core network. The main feature of SBA is that each functional module can realize flexible interaction (service) through a standard service model, and each component can be flexibly loaded as needed. In the 5G core network, the logical control function is abstracted into independent functional components, and these independent network functional components can be flexibly combined according to business requirements. The network function component and other components are logically decoupled, and the network function supports neutralized interfaces, which can provide services to other network function callers through the same interface message, converting multiple coupled interfaces into a single interface, thereby reducing the number of interfaces . The network function-off framework provides management functions such as registration, discovery, and monitoring of network functions. Its independent characteristics ensure that existing network services are not affected during the process of adding or upgrading network functions. The componentized control plane architecture enables plug-and-play through flexible orchestration of network functions.

In view of the paradox mentioned in the background art, the embodiment of the present invention proposes a centralized SBARIC architecture to solve the above paradox, and realizes juxtaposition and hierarchy by means of layering and defining the constraint relationship between the upper and lower layers. The unification of the logical relationship of sexual constraints.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the RIC Framework is used as the center of the wireless function level to realize the control of the wireless function level; based on the SBA framework, the flexible control of the xApp of the wireless function is realized.

3 shows a schematic diagram of a centralized SBAnRT-based RIC architecture according to an embodiment of the present invention, which includes a cloud platform (Cloud Framework), a near real-time wireless intelligent controller platform (nRT RIC Framework), and a wireless functional entity (xAPP); wherein ,

The cloud platform is used to manage the nRT RIC platform and the software carriers of the xAPP, configure the routing paths between the various software carriers, and/or configure messages between the xAPP and between the xAPP and the nRT RIC platform. transmission;

The nRT RIC platform runs on the cloud platform and is used to manage the xAPP, and/or realize part or all of the wireless functions;

The xAPP runs on the nRT RIC platform and is used to realize the enhancement function of the wireless function.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the enhancement functions of various wireless functions run on different microservice (Microservice) software bodies, forming a software form of xApp. In this article, Radio Function (xApp) is used to refer to the wireless function of xApp unless otherwise specified. The enhancement function of the wireless function refers to the various wireless functions that have been defined in the prior art for 5G or 4G systems, and are introduced in the form of Radio Function (xApp) to enhance the existing wireless functions. Auxiliary functions, such as: algorithm enhancement of Radio Resource Management (RRM); Radio Function (xApp) to complete the judgment of the user's moving direction, and classify the users in the cell according to the moving direction, and generate a strategy for users to switch between cells , and send the policy to the handover algorithm of the RRM, so as to realize the fast convergence of the handover algorithm, thereby improving the system performance. The nRT RIC architecture runs on a Microservice carrier. Where there is no special description in this article, the nRT RIC Framework is used to refer to the RIC platform.

The nRT RIC platform of the embodiment of the present invention can implement multiple functions shown in FIG. 2 , such as Messaging Infrastructure, Conflict Mitigation, Subscription Mgmt, and Mgmt.Services (Mgmt.Services (Mgmt.Services). xApp, E2, etc)), Shared Data Layer (SharedData Layer), Database (Database), E2 Termination (E2 Termination) and other functions, in addition to the above functions, also have:

a) The management function of the network function (Network Function, NF, that is, the xApp software entity that carries various wireless enhancement functions in Figure 2), including the registration, routing information and monitoring and detection of each NF, when the scale of nRT RIC expands, each NF activation, registration, management, etc., as well as routing configuration and control of each Radio Function (xApp) to it.

b) Various radio resource management functions that have been defined in the 5G or 4G system, that is, the RRM algorithm. In the nRT RICFramework, run all the defined RRM functions. The nRT RIC Framework interacts with the Radio Access Network (RAN), sends the control commands of the RRM algorithm parameters to the RRC functional entity in the RAN, and then the RRC functional entity generates RRC signaling to configure the UE, or the RRC functional entity Generate control messages or signaling to configure functional entities within the RAN, such as Layer 1 (L1) Physical Layer (PHY), Layer 2 (L2) Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), Packet Data Convergence Protocol (Packet) Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), Radio Link Control (RLC), Medium Access Control (Medium Access Control, MAC) and other entities. Each functional entity in the radio access network (Radio Access Network, RAN) (such as the above L1 and L2 protocol functional entities, L3 RRC, etc.) reports various required measurement parameters to the nRT RIC Framework, including UE-level and community level.

The xApp (Radio Function) of the embodiment of the present invention is used to implement various wireless related function enhancements or algorithm enhancements. Basic wireless functions or algorithms such as RRM are not included in the xApp. The xApp (Radio Function) runs directly on the nRT RIC Framework, obtains various measurement parameters required by the nRT RIC Framework, and sends the generated control, policy (Policy), algorithm operation requirements or instructions for wireless management and other information to the nRT RICFramework, which is decided by nRT RIC Framework (including abandoning, modifying, adding and other operations) whether to send it to the base station.

The cloud platform (Cloud Framework) of the embodiment of the present invention is used to complete any software carrier (Microservice (Microservice), Virtual Machine (VM), Container (Container), Docker, etc.) of each xApp (RadioFunction) and nRT RIC Framework. species) generation, registration, life cycle management, and release; and, complete the establishment, configuration and control of routing paths between various software carriers; complete the transmission of messages between each xApp (Radio Function) and nRT RICFramework, xApp (Radio Function) .

In the following, the service and message interaction between various entities will be described respectively with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1. SBA interface registration message (SBAI_Register)

As shown in Figure 4, in the process of xApp (Radio Function) registering with the near real-time wireless intelligent controller platform (nRT RICFramework), when an xApp (Radio Function) is deployed, the xApp registers the wireless function with nRT RICFramework. It can be in the form of a request or a response (Request/Response).

Here, the content of the request (Request) message may specifically include: identification information of the xApp (Radio Function), function description, measurement parameter description or requirements, output result description and other information. The content of the response (Response) message may specifically include: a response of registration success or failure.

If the registration is successful, the nRT RIC Framework creates information for the xApp (Radio Function), establishes an information exchange link, configures the initial parameters of the xApp (Radio Function) startup, and provides the existing measurement parameters that can be used for the xApp (Radio Function).

2. Service request message of SBAI interface (SBAI_Request)

As shown in FIG. 5 , the radio function entity xApp (Radio Function) applies for the radio function service to the near real-time wireless intelligent control platform (nRT RIC Framework), which may specifically adopt the method of subscription or notification (Subscribe/Notify).

Here, the subscription (Subscribe) message includes information such as a period or an event-triggered manner, a service type applied for, and the like. Among them, periodic or event triggering methods, such as periodic subscription and periodic reporting, event-triggered subscription and event-triggered reporting. The content of the Notify message includes at least: the service content provided by the nRT RIC Framework, such as various measurement parameters of subscription, the feedback result of the control pair generated last time; or the method of obtaining the service, such as the storage address of the service content, the storage address of the storage service Database access instructions, etc.

3. Service message of SBAI interface (SBAI_Serving)

As shown in FIG. 6 , the radio function entity xApp (Radio Function) provides radio functions to the near real-time wireless intelligent control platform (nRT RIC Framework). When an xApp (Radio Function) runs, it gets the running result and provides services to the nRT RIC Framework.

Here, the method of Request/Response can be used. Wherein, the content of the Request message includes: the identification information of the xApp (Radio Function), the service provided, including the policy or control instruction of wireless resource management, the user service management policy or control instruction, and the management policy or control of the connection between devices. Instructions, various controls or instructions for Radio Resource Management (RRM). The content of the Response message includes: the response of whether the service is available or not, and if a conflict occurs, the cause of the conflict (Cause) is carried.

In the interface model between the near real-time wireless intelligent control platform (nRT RIC Framework) and the wireless functional entity xApp (Radio Function) according to the embodiment of the present invention, the logical connection relationship between the xApp (Radio Function) and the nRT RIC Framework is shown in Figure 7 shown:

Among them, each xApp (Radio Function) is a wireless function running on the nRT RIC Framework, including AI model, AI-driven wireless management algorithm, training of AI model, digital twin simulation system of base station (including some or all functions) Simulation system), RRM algorithm, layer 1 (Layer1, L1) or layer 2 (Layer2, L2) or layer 3 (Layer3, L3) protocol stack function (PHY/MAC/PDCP/RLC/SDAP/RRC) on the base station etc.), operation and maintenance (O&M) functions (Log customization and reporting, information tracking, system parameter configuration, alarm collection, etc.).

Each xApp (Radio Function) function applies to the nRT RIC Framework for a running license according to the unified interface (API) and unified function information template defined by the nRT RIC Framework. After obtaining the nRT RICFramework license, it can run as part of the nRT RIC function. .

The xApp (Radio Function) obtains the measurement data (Metrics) required for operation through the nRT RIC Framework, and the generated control commands, policies, instructions or requirements are sent to the base station through the nRT RIC Framework, such as conflict resolution (Conflict Mitigation). When the base station measurement data stored in the nRT RIC Framework is updated, the measurement information or data can be distributed to the corresponding xApp (Radio Function) according to the functional needs of each xApp (Radio Function).

The interaction between xApp (Radio Function) and nRT RIC Framework is through the Application Program Interface (API). The API interface can be an open interface (OpenInterface) or a private interface (Proprietary Interface).

Figure 8 shows a schematic diagram of the functional layers in the interaction between the xApp (Radio Function) and the nRT RIC Framework, and each functional layer has a protocol for completing the above interaction. xApp (Radio Function) and nRT RICFramework are functional entities running on the cloud platform (Cloud Framework), and exist in the form of virtual machine (Virtual Machine), micro service (Micro Service), container (Container) and so on. Each xApp (Radio Function) interacts with nRTRIC Framework through API.

Figure 9 shows a schematic diagram of the Radio Function and the xApp of the nRT RICFramework deployed on the cloud platform (Cloud Framework). From the perspective of the cloud platform, each xApp is a service-oriented software function body. Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) conducts the life cycle of each software body through the same interface (O&M Interface for Cloud). Management (Life Cycle Management), orchestration (Orchestration), monitoring (Monitor) and other operations.

From the functional point of view of xApp (Radio Function) and nRT RIC Framework, nRT RIC Framework is the main control, and xApp (Radio Function) is one of the functions running on nRT RIC Framework. The two interact through a logical API (API Message, represented by a dotted line in Figure 9) interface, and the path of the API Message routing is configured and transmitted through the Cloud Framework. The SMO performs operations such as parameter configuration, monitoring, maintenance, and tracking alarms of wireless functions through the O&M Interface for RadioFunction. Because nRTRIC Framework acts as the master, the operation and maintenance of SMO can only be connected with nRT RIC Framework, and then nRT RIC Framework generates operation and maintenance control for each xApp (Radio Function) according to the instructions of SMO. SMO can also control xApp (Radio Function) and nRT RIC Framework in a unified way, and have independent operation and maintenance interfaces (O&M Interface for Radio Function).

It can be seen from the above that, based on the above near real-time wireless intelligent controller architecture, the xAPP in the embodiment of the present invention can also be used to obtain measurement parameters through the nRT RIC platform, and execute the enhanced function based on the measurement parameters , generate at least one of control information, policy information, algorithm demand information for wireless management and indication information, and send the generated information to the nRT RIC platform; the nRT RIC platform is also used to receive wireless access The measurement parameters reported by the functional entities in the network are sent to the corresponding xAPP, and/or the information sent by the xAPP is received, and it is judged whether to operate the received information or whether to send it to the base station.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the nRT RIC platform may also be used to implement part or all of the RRM function of radio resource management, and through interaction with the radio access network, the radio resource control RRC control command requirement generated by the RRM function is sent to the A functional entity in a radio access network.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the nRT RIC platform manages the xAPP, specifically including at least one of the following: responding to the expansion process, activation process, registration process and management process of the xAPP, configuring and maintaining the xAPP to the xAPP Routing information for the nRT RIC platform.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the xAPP can also be used to send a registration request message to the nRTRIC platform by means of a request or a response, where the registration request message carries the identification information, function description information, At least one of measurement parameter description information and output result description information. The nRT RIC platform is further configured to receive the registration request message, and when the registration is successful, perform at least one of the following operations: establish an information exchange link with the xAPP, and configure the initial startup of the xAPP. parameters to provide measurement parameters to the xAPP.

Specifically, the xAPP can also be used to apply for services to the nRT RIC platform by means of subscription or notification, wherein the subscription or notification includes periodic subscription or periodic reporting, and/or event-triggered subscription or event Trigger reporting; the nRT RIC platform is further configured to send a notification to the xAPP in response to the service application of the xAPP, and the content of the notification includes: the service content provided by the nRT RIC platform, and/or obtaining Instructions for the service.

Specifically, the xAPP is further configured to send a service request message to the nRT RIC platform by means of a request or a response, where the service request message carries the identification information of the xAPP and the provided service information, the The service information includes at least one of the following: radio resource management strategy or control indication information, user service management strategy or control indication information, and connection management strategy or control indication information between devices; the nRT RIC platform is also used to receive all The service request message is returned, and a service response message indicating whether the service information is available is returned to the xAPP.

Here, the xAPP interacts with the nRT RIC platform through a logical API interface.

Through the above content, the present invention provides a centralized SBA nRT RIC architecture, that is, the SBA architecture of nRT RIC, and the functions of two functional software bodies (xApp (Radio Function) and nRT RIC Fromework) under the architecture are implemented. Division and definition, in addition, the constraint relationship between xApp (Radio Function) and nRT RIC Fromework is also given: nRT RIC Fromework provides all the running support for xApp (Radio Function); each xApp (Radio Function) directly Interact with nRT RIC Fromework; there is no direct interaction between xApp (Radio Function), all interactions must go through nRT RIC Fromework. In addition, the message model of the interactive interface between xApp (Radio Function) and nRT RIC Fromework is also provided.

The above architecture of the embodiment of the present invention realizes the combination of SBA decentralization and main (function) and auxiliary (function) control of the application layer, realizes a unified solution for the basic functions and incremental functions of nRT RIC, and can realize AI-driven and The digital twin simulation environment nRT RIC has been enhanced.

Taking admission control as an example below, an application example of the near real-time wireless intelligent controller architecture of the embodiment of the present invention is provided.

For admission-controlled xApps:

1) Parameter (Mextrics) application: Subscribe to Near-RT RIC for cell-level load information, including the number of users, the sum of GBR, and the location information of each user;

2) xApp calculates: according to the user's location information, predicts the user's position change trend, including the direction of the user's movement, the speed of the user's movement, etc.; calculates the load of the cell, including the increase and change trend of GBR, and the total number of UEs. Change trend;

3) Generate control: (Request--Response) generate control information, such as the user list that the user is rejected or transplanted to the neighboring cell, and the demand information table of the user that the cell can accept;

After the Near-RT RIC framework receives the control information, it performs conflict resolution (Conflict Mitigation), and generates control over the base station as needed.

Based on the above near real-time wireless intelligent controller architecture, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a wireless function enhancement method, as shown in FIG. 10 , the method includes:

Step 101, through the cloud platform, manage the nRT RIC platform and the software carriers of the xAPP, configure the routing paths between the software carriers, and/or configure between the xAPP and between the xAPP and the nRT RIC platform carry out message transmission;

Step 102, manage the xAPP through the nRT RIC platform running on the cloud platform, and/or implement some or all of the wireless functions;

Step 103, through the xAPP running on the nRT RIC platform, realize the enhancement function of the wireless function.

Optionally, the method further includes:

Obtain measurement parameters through the nRT RIC platform through the xAPP, perform the enhanced function based on the measurement parameters, generate at least one of control information, policy information, algorithm demand information for wireless management, and indication information, and sending the generated information to the nRT RIC platform;

Through the nRT RIC platform, the measurement parameters reported by the functional entities in the radio access network are received and sent to the corresponding xAPP, and/or the information sent by the xAPP is received, and whether to operate or send the received information is judged to the base station.

Optionally, the method further includes:

Through the nRT RIC platform, part or all of the radio resource management RRM function is realized, and through interaction with the radio access network, the radio resource control RRC control command requirements generated by the RRM function are sent to the functional entities in the radio access network.

Optionally, the nRT RIC platform manages the xAPP, specifically including at least one of the following: responding to the expansion process, activation process, registration process and management process of the xAPP, configuring and maintaining the xAPP to the nRT RIC platform routing information.

Optionally, the method further includes:

Through the xAPP, a registration request message is sent to the nRT RIC platform by means of a request or a response, and the registration request message carries the identification information, function description information, measurement parameter description information and output result description information of the xAPP. at least one of;

Through the nRT RIC platform, the registration request message is received, and when the registration is successful, at least one of the following operations is performed: establishing an information exchange link with the xAPP, configuring the initial parameters of the xAPP startup, Measurement parameters are provided to the xAPP.

Optionally, the method further includes:

Through the xAPP, apply for a service to the nRT RIC platform by means of subscription or notification, wherein the subscription or notification includes periodic subscription/periodic reporting, and/or event-triggered subscription/event-triggered reporting;

Through the nRT RIC platform, in response to the service application of the xAPP, a notification is sent to the xAPP, and the content of the notification includes: the service content provided by the nRT RIC platform, and/or the instruction information for obtaining the service.

Optionally, the method further includes:

Through the xAPP, a service request message is sent to the nRT RIC platform by means of a request or a response, and the service request message carries the identification information of the xAPP and the provided service information, and the service information includes at least the following One: wireless resource management strategy or control indication information, user service management strategy or control indication information, and connection management strategy or control indication information between devices;

Through the nRT RIC platform, the service request message is received, and a service response message indicating whether the service information is available is returned to the xAPP.

Optionally, the xAPP interacts with the nRT RIC platform through a logical API interface.

As shown in FIG. 11, an embodiment of the present invention provides a near-real-time wireless intelligent controller architecture (also referred to as a near-real-time wireless intelligent controller system), including: a processor 1101, a transceiver 1102, a memory 1103, and a bus interface ,in:

In this embodiment of the present invention, the near real-time wireless intelligent controller architecture further includes: a program stored on the memory 1103 and executable on the processor 1101, the program implements the following steps when executed by the processor 1101:

Run the nRT RIC platform on the cloud platform, run the wireless functional entity xAPP on the nRT RIC platform, and through the cloud platform, perform life cycle management on the nRT RIC platform and the software carrier of the xAPP, and configure the software carriers between each software carrier. routing paths, and message transmission between xAPP and between xAPP and the nRT RIC platform; managing the xAPP through the nRT RIC platform, and/or implementing some or all of the wireless functions; and, through all The above xAPP realizes the enhancement of the wireless function.

Optionally, the processor further implements the following steps when executing the program:

Obtain measurement parameters through the nRT RIC platform through the xAPP, perform the enhanced function based on the measurement parameters, generate at least one of control information, policy information, algorithm demand information for wireless management, and indication information, and Send the generated information to the nRT RIC platform; through the nRT RIC platform, receive the measurement parameters reported by the functional entities in the wireless access network and send them to the corresponding xAPP, and/or, receive the information sent by the xAPP, and Determine whether to operate on the received information or whether to send it to the base station.

Optionally, the processor further implements the following steps when executing the program:

Part or all of the radio resource management RRM function is realized through the nRT RIC platform, and the radio resource control RRC control command requirements generated by the RRM function are sent to the functional entities in the radio access network through interaction with the radio access network.

Optionally, the processor further implements the following steps when executing the program:

In response to the expansion process, activation process, registration process and management process of the xAPP, the routing information from the xAPP to the nRT RIC platform is configured and maintained.

Optionally, the processor further implements the following steps when executing the program:

Through the xAPP, a registration request message is sent to the nRT RIC platform by means of a request or a response, and the registration request message carries the identification information, function description information, measurement parameter description information and output result description information of the xAPP. at least one of;

Through the nRT RIC platform, the registration request message is received, and when the registration is successful, at least one of the following operations is performed: establishing an information exchange link with the xAPP, configuring the initial parameters of the xAPP startup, Measurement parameters are provided to the xAPP.

Optionally, the processor further implements the following steps when executing the program:

Through the xAPP, apply for a service to the nRT RIC platform by means of subscription or notification, wherein the subscription or notification includes periodic subscription/periodic reporting, and/or event-triggered subscription/event-triggered reporting;

Through the nRT RIC platform, in response to the service application of the xAPP, a notification is sent to the xAPP, and the content of the notification includes: the service content provided by the nRT RIC platform, and/or the instruction information for obtaining the service.

Optionally, the processor further implements the following steps when executing the program:

Through the xAPP, a service request message is sent to the nRT RIC platform by means of a request or a response, and the service request message carries the identification information of the xAPP and the provided service information, and the service information includes at least the following One: wireless resource management strategy or control indication information, user service management strategy or control indication information, and connection management strategy or control indication information between devices;

Through the nRT RIC platform, the service request message is received, and a service response message indicating whether the service information is available is returned to the xAPP.

Optionally, the xAPP interacts with the nRT RIC platform through a logical API interface.

It is understandable that in this embodiment of the present invention, when the computer program is executed by the processor 1101, each process of the method embodiment shown in FIG. 10 can be implemented, and the same technical effect can be achieved. Repeat.

In FIG. 11 , the bus architecture may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, in particular one or more processors represented by processor 1101 and various circuits of memory represented by memory 1103 linked together. The bus architecture may also link together various other circuits, such as peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art and, therefore, will not be described further herein. The bus interface provides the interface. Transceiver 1102 may be a number of elements, including a transmitter and a receiver, that provide a means for communicating with various other devices over a transmission medium.

The processor 1101 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and the memory 1103 may store data used by the processor 1101 in performing operations.

It should be noted that the terminal in this embodiment is a device corresponding to the method shown in FIG. 10 above, and the implementation manners in the above embodiments are all applicable to the embodiments of the device, and the same technical effect can also be achieved. In this device, the transceiver 1102 and the memory 1103, as well as the transceiver 1102 and the processor 1101 can be communicated and connected through a bus interface, the function of the processor 1101 can also be realized by the transceiver 1102, and the function of the transceiver 1102 can also be realized by the processor 1101 realized. It should be noted here that the above-mentioned device provided by the embodiment of the present invention can realize all the method steps realized by the above-mentioned method embodiment, and can achieve the same technical effect, and the same as the method embodiment in this embodiment is not repeated here. The parts and beneficial effects will be described in detail.

In some embodiments of the present invention, a computer-readable storage medium is also provided, on which a program is stored, and when the program is executed by a processor, the following steps are implemented:

Run the nRT RIC platform on the cloud platform, run the wireless functional entity xAPP on the nRT RIC platform, manage the nRT RIC platform and the software carriers of the xAPP through the cloud platform, and configure the routes between the software carriers Paths, and/or, configured to transmit messages between xAPPs, between xAPPs and the nRT RIC platform; manage the xAPPs through the nRTRIC platform, and/or implement some or all of the wireless functions; and, through all the The above xAPP realizes the enhancement of the wireless function.

When the program is executed by the processor, all the implementation manners in the above-mentioned wireless function enhancement method can be realized, and the same technical effect can be achieved. To avoid repetition, details are not described here.

Those of ordinary skill in the art can realize that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality using different methods for each particular application, but such implementations should not be considered beyond the scope of the present invention.

Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working process of the above-described systems, devices and units may refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

In the embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and method may be implemented in other manners. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are only illustrative. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or Can be integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored, or not implemented. On the other hand, the shown or discussed mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection may be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, and may be in electrical, mechanical or other forms.

The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, may be located in one place, or may be distributed to multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solutions in the embodiments of the present invention.

In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present invention may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically alone, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

The functions, if implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present invention can be embodied in the form of a software product in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art or the part of the technical solution. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium, including Several instructions are used to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of the present invention. The aforementioned storage medium includes: a U disk, a removable hard disk, a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk and other mediums that can store program codes.

The above are only specific embodiments of the present invention, but the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention. should be included within the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims (19)

1. A near real-time wireless intelligent controller architecture, comprising: the system comprises a cloud platform, a near real-time wireless intelligent controller (nRT RIC) platform and a wireless functional entity xAPP; wherein,

the cloud platform is used for managing the nRT RIC platform and the xAPP software carriers, configuring a routing path among the software carriers, and/or configuring the routing path among the xAPPs and performing message transmission between the xAPP and the nRT RIC platform;

the nRT RIC platform runs on the cloud platform and is used for managing the xAPP and/or realizing part or all of wireless functions;

the xAPP runs on the nRT RIC platform and is used for realizing the enhancement function of the wireless function.

2. The near real-time wireless intelligent controller architecture of claim 1,

the xAPP is further configured to obtain measurement parameters through the nrT RIC platform, execute the enhanced function based on the measurement parameters, generate at least one of control information, policy information, demand information for wireless management by an algorithm, and indication information, and send the generated information to the nrT RIC platform;

the nRT RIC platform is further configured to receive measurement parameters reported by the functional entity in the radio access network and send the measurement parameters to the corresponding xAPP, and/or receive information sent by the xAPP, and determine whether to operate the received information or send the received information to the base station.

3. The near real-time wireless intelligent controller architecture of claim 1,

the nRT RIC platform is further configured to implement a part or all of the radio resource management RRM function, and send a radio resource control RRC control command requirement generated by the RRM function to a functional entity in the radio access network through interaction with the radio access network.

4. The near real-time wireless intelligent controller architecture of claim 1,

the nRT RIC platform manages the xAPP, and specifically comprises at least one of the following components: responding to an expansion process, an activation process, a registration process and a management process of the xAPP, and configuring and maintaining routing information from the xAPP to the nrT RIC platform.

5. The near real-time wireless intelligent controller architecture of claim 4,

the xAPP is further configured to send a registration request message to the nrT RIC platform in a request or response manner, where the registration request message carries at least one of identification information, function description information, measurement parameter description information, and output result description information of the xAPP;

the nRT RIC platform is further configured to receive the registration request message, and when the registration is successful, perform at least one of the following operations: establishing an information exchange link with the xAPP, configuring initial parameters of the xPP start, and providing measurement parameters for the xPP.

6. The near real-time wireless intelligent controller architecture of claim 4,

the xPP is further configured to apply for a service to the nRT RIC platform in a subscription or notification manner, where the subscription or notification includes periodic subscription/periodic reporting, and/or event-triggered subscription/event-triggered reporting;

the nRT RIC platform is further configured to send a notification to the xAPP in response to the service application of the xAPP, where the notification includes: the nRT RIC platform provides service content and/or obtains service indication information.

7. The near real-time wireless intelligent controller architecture of claim 4,

the xAPP is further configured to send a service request message to the nRT RIC platform in a request or response manner, where the service request message carries identification information of the xAPP and the provided service information, and the service information includes at least one of the following: strategy or control indication information of radio resource management, user service management strategy or control indication information, and management strategy or control indication information of connection between devices;

and the nRT RIC platform is further configured to receive the service request message and return a service response message indicating whether service information is available to the xAPP.

8. The near real-time wireless intelligent controller architecture of claim 1,

and the xAPP and the nRT RIC platform interact through a logical API (application program interface).

9. A wireless function enhancement method of a near real-time wireless intelligent controller architecture is characterized in that the near real-time wireless intelligent controller architecture comprises the following steps: the system comprises a cloud platform, a near real-time wireless intelligent controller (nRT RIC) platform and a wireless functional entity xAPP; the method comprises the following steps:

managing the nRT RIC platform and the xAPP software carriers through the cloud platform, configuring a routing path among the software carriers, and/or configuring the routing path among the xAPs and performing message transmission between the xAPs and the nRT RIC platform;

managing the xAPP through the nRT RIC platform running on the cloud platform, and/or realizing partial or all wireless functions;

and the xAPP running on the nRT RIC platform realizes the enhancement function of the wireless function.

10. The wireless functionality enhancement method of claim 9, further comprising:

obtaining measurement parameters via the nRT RIC platform by the xAPP, executing the enhanced function based on the measurement parameters, generating at least one of control information, policy information, demand information for wireless management by an algorithm, and indication information, and transmitting the generated information to the nRT RIC platform;

and receiving the measurement parameters reported by the functional entity in the wireless access network and sending the measurement parameters to the corresponding xAPP through the nRT RIC platform, and/or receiving information sent by the xAPP and judging whether to operate the received information or send the received information to the base station.

11. The wireless functionality enhancement method of claim 9, further comprising:

and realizing part or all of the Radio Resource Management (RRM) functions through the nRT RIC platform, and sending the requirements of Radio Resource Control (RRC) control commands generated by the RRM functions to a functional entity in the radio access network through interaction with the radio access network.

12. The wireless functionality enhancement method of claim 9,

the nRT RIC platform manages the xAPP, and specifically comprises at least one of the following components: responding to the expansion process, the activation process, the registration process and the management process of the xPP, and configuring and maintaining the routing information from the xPP to the nRT RIC platform.

13. The wireless functionality enhancement method of claim 12, further comprising:

sending a registration request message to the nRT RIC platform by the xAPP in a request or response manner, where the registration request message carries at least one of identification information, function description information, measurement parameter description information, and output result description information of the xAPP;

receiving, by the nRT RIC platform, the registration request message, and when the registration is successful, performing at least one of the following operations: establishing an information exchange link with the xAPP, configuring initial parameters of the xPP start, and providing measurement parameters for the xPP.

14. The wireless functionality enhancement method of claim 12, further comprising:

applying for service to the nRT RIC platform through the xAPP in a subscription or notification manner, wherein the subscription or notification includes periodic subscription or periodic reporting, and/or event-triggered subscription or event-triggered reporting;

sending a notification to the xAPP in response to the service application of the xPP through the nrT RIC platform, wherein the notification comprises: the nRT RIC platform provides service content and/or obtains service indication information.

15. The wireless functionality enhancement method of claim 12, further comprising:

sending a service request message to the nRT RIC platform by the xAPP in a request or response manner, where the service request message carries identification information of the xAPP and the provided service information, and the service information includes at least one of the following: strategy or control indication information of radio resource management, user service management strategy or control indication information, and management strategy or control indication information of connection between devices;

and receiving the service request message through the nRT RIC platform, and returning a service response message indicating whether service information is available to the xAPP.

16. The wireless functionality enhancement method of claim 9,

and the xAPP and the nrT RIC platform interact through a logical API (application programming interface).

17. A near real-time wireless intelligent controller architecture is characterized by comprising a processor and a transceiver, wherein,

the processor is used for running an nRT RIC platform on a cloud platform, running a wireless functional entity xAPP on the nRT RIC platform, managing software carriers of the nRT RIC platform and the xAPP through the cloud platform, configuring a routing path among the software carriers, and/or configuring the routing path among the xAPPs and performing message transmission between the xAPP and the nRT RIC platform; managing the xAPP through the nRT RIC platform, and/or realizing partial or all wireless functions; and realizing the enhancement function of the wireless function through the xAPP.

18. A near real-time wireless intelligent controller architecture, comprising: processor, memory and program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, which when executed by the processor implements the steps of the method according to any of claims 9 to 16.

19. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that a computer program is stored on the computer-readable storage medium, which computer program, when being executed by a processor, carries out the steps of the method according to any one of claims 9 to 16.

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