CN115396974A

CN115396974A - Data forwarding method, configuration method and equipment of return link

Info

Publication number: CN115396974A
Application number: CN202110570141.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 赵芸; 孙军帅; 王莹莹; 李娜
Original assignee: China Mobile Communications Group Co Ltd; China Mobile Communications Ltd Research Institute
Current assignee: China Mobile Communications Group Co Ltd; China Mobile Communications Ltd Research Institute
Priority date: 2021-05-25
Filing date: 2021-05-25
Publication date: 2022-11-25

Abstract

A data forwarding method, a configuration method and equipment of a return link are provided, the method comprises the following steps: when the first access unit returns data, a first data packet comprising a first source address and a first destination address is generated, wherein the first source address is an address of the first access unit, and the first destination address is an address of a target access unit or a cloud end; and the first access unit searches a data forwarding table of a return link according to the first destination address, determines a next hop address and forwards the first data packet according to the next hop address. The invention can improve the networking flexibility of the wireless return link.

Description

Data forwarding method, configuration method and equipment of return link

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of wireless communication technologies, and in particular, to a data forwarding method, a configuration method, and a device for a backhaul link.

Background

Currently, an Integrated Access Backhaul (IAB) technology is introduced into a wireless communication system, and an optical fiber Backhaul is replaced by supporting a wireless Backhaul. Since the transmission distance of wireless communication is shorter at higher frequency bands (such as millimeter waves), the density of base stations to be deployed is denser in order to meet the coverage requirement, which means that the backhaul fiber is more densely laid. IAB technology allows base stations to be deployed in places where optical fiber cannot be routed, at lower cost and in a simpler manner, and is therefore widely used.

Bridging of the IAB is based on Radio Link Control (RLC) protocol, and the prior art is defined for the Control plane and user plane protocol stacks using the IAB technology as shown in fig. 1 and fig. 2, respectively. The IAB-donor is also called a donor base station, the IAB-donor and the core network are returned through an optical fiber, and the IAB-donor can be understood as a termination point of a wireless return. The IAB nodes (IAB-nodes) are connected through a wireless backhaul link. In order to implement the connection of the wireless backhaul link, the IAB-node protocol stack is divided into two parts, including an IAB-DU implementing the Distributed Unit (DU) role and an IAB-MT implementing the terminal role, and performs wireless connection between the parent node and the child node through them.

Disclosure of Invention

At least one embodiment of the present invention provides a data forwarding method, a configuration method, a terminal, and a network device for a backhaul link, which can improve networking flexibility of a wireless backhaul link.

According to an aspect of the present invention, at least one embodiment provides a data forwarding method for a backhaul link, including:

when the first access unit returns data, generating a first data packet comprising a first source address and a first destination address, wherein the first source address is an address of the first access unit, and the first destination address is an address of a target access unit or a cloud end;

and the first access unit searches a data forwarding table of a return link according to the first destination address, determines a next hop address and forwards the first data packet according to the next hop address.

Further, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present invention, there is also provided:

the first access unit receives second data packets sent by other nodes, and the other nodes comprise access units and/or cloud ends;

and the first access unit searches a data forwarding table of the return link according to a second destination address of the second data packet, determines a next hop address, and forwards the second data packet according to the next hop address.

Furthermore, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, before performing data backhaul, the method further includes:

a first access unit sends a first connection establishment request message to a cloud, wherein the first connection establishment request message carries an identity of the first access unit;

a first access unit receives a first connection establishment response message sent by the cloud, wherein the first connection establishment response message carries a first address of the first access unit distributed by the cloud;

the first access unit configures an address of the first access unit according to the first address, creates a data forwarding table of a return link, and adds routing relation information between the first access unit and a cloud in the data forwarding table.

the first access unit sends a second connection establishment request message to a second access unit, wherein the second connection establishment request message carries the identity of the first access unit;

the first access unit receives a second connection establishment response message sent by the second access unit, wherein the second connection establishment response message carries a second address of the second access unit distributed by the cloud;

the first access unit configures the address of the first access unit according to the second address, creates a data forwarding table of a return link, and adds routing relation information between the first access unit and the second access unit into the data forwarding table.

Furthermore, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, the sending, by the first access unit, the second connection establishment request message to the second access unit specifically includes:

the first access unit receives and measures the quality of the transmitted signals of a plurality of second access units;

and the first access unit selects a target second access unit according to the quality of the signals sent by the plurality of second access units, and sends a second connection establishment request message to the target second access unit.

the first access unit receives and measures first broadcast messages of a plurality of second access units, obtains the signal quality of the first broadcast messages, and analyzes the cost value cost of a return link from the second access unit to the cloud from the first broadcast messages;

and performing weighted summation calculation on the signal quality and the cost value to obtain the priority of each second access unit, selecting a target second access unit from the plurality of second access units according to the priority, and sending a second connection establishment request message to the target second access unit.

the first access unit receives a third connection establishment request message sent by a third access unit, wherein the third connection establishment request message carries an identity identifier of the third access unit;

the first access unit forwards the third connection establishment request message to a cloud end or other access units according to the data forwarding table, and receives a third connection establishment response message returned by the cloud end or other access units, wherein the third connection establishment response message carries a third address of the third access unit allocated by the cloud end;

the first access unit forwards the third connection establishment response message to the third access unit, and adds the routing relation information between the first access unit and the third access unit into the data forwarding table.

and the first access unit broadcasts and sends a second broadcast message, wherein the second broadcast message carries a cost value cost of a return link from the first access unit to the cloud.

Furthermore, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, the first access unit includes a terminal module MAC-MT located at a medium access control MAC layer; the MAC-MT of the first access unit is used as a terminal role, and a third data packet is forwarded to a previous-level node, wherein the previous-level node is a cloud end, or the previous-level node is an adjacent node close to the cloud end side of the first access unit;

under the condition that the first access unit is also connected with a next-level node, the first access unit also comprises an access module MAC-AU positioned in an MAC layer; and the MAC-AU of the first access unit is used as an access point role, and forwards a fourth data packet to a next-level node, wherein the next-level node is an adjacent node of the first access unit far away from the cloud end side.

Furthermore, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, the first access unit includes a routing module Router located at a MAC layer; the Router of the first access unit is configured to maintain a data forwarding table of the backhaul link, and add routing relationship information between the first access unit and other nodes to the data forwarding table, where the other nodes include an access unit and/or a cloud.

According to another aspect of the present invention, at least one embodiment provides a method for configuring a backhaul link, including:

the cloud end receives a fourth connection establishment request message sent by a fourth access unit, wherein the fourth connection establishment request message carries an identity identifier of the fourth access unit;

and the cloud allocates a fourth address for the fourth access unit and sends a fourth connection establishment response message carrying the fourth address to the fourth access unit.

the cloud end receives a fifth connection establishment request message sent by a sixth access unit, wherein the fifth connection establishment request message carries an identity of the fifth access unit;

the cloud allocates a fourth address to the fifth access unit, and sends a fifth connection establishment response message carrying the fifth address to the sixth access unit.

Furthermore, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present invention, the cloud includes: a core network control plane function module CN-CP, a core network user plane function module CN-UP, a radio resource control RRC module, a layer 3 user plane module L3UP and a motion routing module Router;

wherein the CN-CP and RRC are configured to perform control plane functions, the control plane functions including at least one of: system information broadcasting, paging, cell parameter configuration, access control, RRC connection management, UE state maintenance, mobility management, qoS policy control, security and measurement control;

the CN-UP and L3UP are used for executing user plane functions, and the user plane functions comprise the processing of data packets;

the cloud Router is used for allocating addresses for the access units.

According to another aspect of the invention, at least one embodiment provides a first access unit comprising a processor and a transceiver; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

the processor is used for generating a first data packet comprising a first source address and a first destination address when data is transmitted back, wherein the first source address is an address of a first access unit, and the first destination address is an address of a target access unit or a cloud end;

and the transceiver is used for searching a data forwarding table of a return link according to the first destination address, determining a next hop address and forwarding the first data packet according to the next hop address.

According to another aspect of the present invention, at least one embodiment provides a first access unit comprising: a processor, a memory and a program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, which 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 cloud comprising a processor and a transceiver; wherein, the first and the second end of the pipe are connected with each other,

the transceiver is configured to receive a fourth connection establishment request message sent by a fourth access unit, where the fourth connection establishment request message carries an identity of the fourth access unit;

the processor is configured to allocate a fourth address to the fourth access unit, and send a fourth connection setup response message carrying the fourth address to the fourth access unit.

According to another aspect of the present invention, at least one embodiment provides a cloud, including: a processor, a memory and a program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, which when executed by the processor implements the steps of the method as described above.

According to another aspect of the invention, at least one embodiment provides a computer-readable storage medium having a program stored thereon, which when executed by a processor, performs the steps of the method as described above.

Compared with the prior art, the data forwarding method, the configuration method and the equipment of the return link provided by the embodiment of the invention can improve the networking flexibility of the wireless return link. The embodiment of the invention can flexibly expand the coverage of the backhaul link and provide a flexible deployment scheme for future dense networking. In addition, each functional entity adopts a service structure, the required functional entities can be loaded/closed according to the functional or performance requirements, and each functional entity can flexibly expand and contract according to the performance or load requirements. In addition, the AU in the embodiment of the invention respectively maintains the related data forwarding table, and the path selection can be more flexibly carried out during data transmission.

Drawings

Various additional 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 only for purposes of illustrating the preferred embodiments and are not to be construed as limiting the invention. Also, like reference numerals are used to refer to like parts throughout the drawings. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a prior art control plane protocol stack using IAB technology;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a prior art user plane protocol stack using IAB technology;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a service architecture of a wireless bridging scheme according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a flowchart of a data forwarding method for a backhaul link according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an architecture of a data packet utilized in an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a schematic flow chart of address allocation in the cloud according to the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a flowchart of a configuration method of backhaul link according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a data forwarding method for a backhaul link according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a first access unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 10 is another schematic structural diagram of the first access unit according to the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a cloud according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 12 is another schematic structural diagram of a cloud terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. While exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the invention can be embodied in various forms and should not be limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, 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 in the claims of the present application are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that the data so used is interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the application described herein are, for example, capable of operation in sequences other than those illustrated or otherwise described herein. Moreover, the terms "comprises," "comprising," and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, system, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of steps or elements is not necessarily limited to those steps or elements expressly listed, but may include other steps or elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. In the description and in the claims "and/or" means at least one of the connected objects.

An IAB Backhaul (IAB Backhaul) link in the prior art is based on an RLC Protocol, but a large amount of Data interaction occurs between a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) and the RLC, so that not only is the transmission pressure of the Backhaul link large, but also the transmission delay is large. In addition, in the case of many IAB-nodes, the processing capability of the IAB donor is likely to become a bottleneck.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a wireless bridging scheme based on a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer, as shown in fig. 3, both a Cloud (Cloud) and an Access Unit (AU) adopt a service architecture, and can load or close required functional entities according to a function or performance requirement. The functional entities of the dashed box may decide whether to load or not depending on whether the wireless bridging function is used or not. Specific protocol deployment referring to fig. 3, fig. 3 illustrates 3 AUs bridged by a wireless link, and the connection of AUs in actual use may be more flexible.

Referring to the architecture shown in fig. 3, in the embodiment of the present invention, the cloud includes: a core network control plane function module (CN-CP), a core network user plane function module (CN-UP), a Radio Resource Control (RRC) module, a layer 3 user plane module (L3 UP) and a routing module (Router).

Wherein the CN-CP and RRC are configured to perform control plane functions, the control plane functions including at least one of: system information broadcasting, paging, cell parameter configuration, access control, RRC connection management, UE state maintenance, mobility management, qoS policy control, security, measurement control.

The CN-UP and L3UP are used to execute user plane functions, including the processing of data packets.

The cloud Router is used for allocating addresses for the access units.

The Access Unit (AU) comprises: MAC layer access module (MAC-AU), physical layer (PHY), MAC layer termination module (MAC-MT). Wherein, the MAC-AU is used for executing the MAC layer function when the AU is used as an Access Unit (Access Unit) role; the PHY is used for executing a physical layer transmission function; the MAC-MT is used to perform MAC layer functions when the AU acts as a Terminal (Terminal).

In fig. 3 both AU1 and AU2 need to have MAC-AU and MAC-MT, whereas AU3 does not need MAC-AU since no other AU has access to the network through AU 3. The Routing module (Router) is an addressing module of the backhaul link, wherein the Routing module (Cloud Router) in the Cloud allocates addresses (Routing IPs) to AUs connected in a coverage area, and the Routing module of each access unit maintains a Routing relationship related to the access unit, that is, maintains a data forwarding table, which may generally include: identity, destination address of the access unit, next hop address corresponding to the destination address (specifically, it may be an adjacent AU of the access unit), outgoing interface corresponding to the next hop address, and other information.

In the above architecture, the control plane (CN-CP) of the core network, the user plane (CN-UP) of the core network, and the RRC layer and layer 3 user plane (L3 UP) are deployed in the Cloud (Cloud), so that the scaling advantages of the Cloud platform can be fully utilized to form pooled user plane and control plane resources. The routing module (Router) is an addressing module of the backhaul link. The Cloud Router allocates addresses (Routing IP) to AUs connected in the Cloud coverage, and each AU Router maintains its own related Routing relationship.

Based on the above architecture, embodiments of the present invention provide a data forwarding method for a backhaul link, which can improve networking flexibility of a wireless backhaul link. Referring to fig. 4, a data forwarding method of a backhaul link according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied to a first access unit, where the first access unit may specifically be an IAB node, and the method includes:

step 41, when the first access unit returns the data, generating a first data packet including a first source address and a first destination address, where the first source address is an address of the first access unit, and the first destination address is an address of the target access unit or the cloud.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a Data packet that may be used in the embodiment of the present invention, including a source address, a destination address, and a Service Data Unit (SDU). The source address may specifically be an IP address (Routing IP) identifying the source access unit, and the destination address may be an IP address (Routing IP) identifying the destination AU or Cloud. The first access unit with the requirement of returning data initiates a data transmission request, and a Router deployed on the first access unit is responsible for filling Resource Routing IP and Destination Routing IP fields in a data packet header.

Step 42, the first access unit searches for a data forwarding table of a return link according to the first destination address, determines a next hop address, and forwards the first data packet according to the next hop address.

In the above steps, the first access unit locally maintains a data forwarding table of the return link, and performs table lookup according to the destination address when forwarding the data packet, so as to determine a next hop address, and then performs forwarding of the data packet according to the next hop address, and sends out the data packet through the corresponding outgoing interface.

The first access unit may also receive and forward data packets of other nodes (such as the access unit and/or the cloud), and in this case, the method further includes: the first access unit receives second data packets sent by other nodes, and the other nodes comprise access units and/or cloud ends; then, the first access unit searches a data forwarding table of the return link according to a second destination address of the second data packet, determines a next hop address, and forwards the second data packet according to the next hop address.

When the first access unit is accessed to the cloud, the first access unit may be directly connected with the cloud, or may be accessed to the cloud through other access units. In the case that the first access unit directly accesses the cloud, before step 41, in the embodiment of the present invention, the first access unit may further request the cloud to allocate an address and establish a connection with the cloud by the following steps:

1) The first access unit sends a first connection establishment request message to the cloud, where the first connection establishment request message carries an identity of the first access unit, where the identity may be an identifier capable of uniquely identifying the access unit, such as a physical device number, a serial number, and the like.

2) The first access unit receives a first connection establishment response message sent by the cloud, wherein the first connection establishment response message carries a first address of the first access unit distributed by the cloud.

3) The first access unit configures the address of the first access unit according to the first address, creates a data forwarding table of a return link, and adds routing relation information between the first access unit and a cloud in the data forwarding table. Here, the following entries may be added to the data forwarding table: the first address of the first access unit, the cloud address (as the destination address), the next hop address (here, the cloud) corresponding to the destination address, the outgoing interface (the interface connected to the cloud on the first access unit) corresponding to the next hop address, and the like.

In a case that the first access unit accesses the cloud through another access unit, before step 41, in the embodiment of the present invention, the first access unit may further request the cloud to allocate an address to establish a connection with the cloud through the following steps, specifically referring to fig. 6, including:

step 61, the first access unit (AU 1) sends a connection establishment request message (referred to as a second connection establishment request message herein) to the second access unit (AU 2), where the second connection establishment request message carries the identity of the first access unit. Thus, after receiving the second connection establishment request message, the second access unit sends a request message for address application to the cloud (step 62), and the cloud returns a response message to the second access unit (AU 2) (step 63), where the response message carries an address allocated by the cloud. The second access unit (AU 2) sends a connection establishment success message to the first access unit (AU 1), wherein the connection establishment success message carries an address allocated by the cloud to the first access unit, and in addition, the second access unit updates its own data forwarding table according to the response message, and adds the routing relationship information between itself and the first access unit in the table (step 64).

Step 65, the first access unit receives a second connection establishment response message sent by the second access unit, where the second connection establishment response message carries the second address of the second access unit allocated by the cloud.

And step 66, the first access unit configures an address of the first access unit according to the second address, creates a data forwarding table of a return link, and adds routing relationship information between the first access unit and the second access unit into the data forwarding table. Here, the following entries may be added to the data forwarding table: the first address of the first access unit, the cloud address (as a destination address), a next hop address corresponding to the destination address (here, the second access unit), an output interface corresponding to the next hop address (an interface connected to the second access unit on the first access unit), and the like.

In the above steps, there may be a plurality of second access units around the first access unit, and the first access unit may select a certain access unit to send the connection establishment request message according to a preset rule.

For example:

the first access unit may receive and measure the quality of the transmission signals of the plurality of second access units, and the quality of the transmission signals may be characterized by the signal strength, the bit error rate, and other indicators of the signals received by the first access unit.

Then, the first access unit selects a target second access unit according to the transmission signal quality of the plurality of second access units, for example, selects the second access unit with the best transmission signal quality as the target access unit. The first access unit then sends a second connection setup request message to the target second access unit.

Another example is:

the first access unit may receive and measure a first broadcast message of a plurality of second access units, obtain the signal quality of the first broadcast message, and analyze a cost value cost of a backhaul link from the second access unit to a cloud from the first broadcast message. Similarly, the signal quality of the first broadcast message may be characterized by using the signal strength, the bit error rate, and other indicators. The first broadcast message carries a cost value (cost) of a backhaul link from the second access unit to the cloud, and the cost value may be represented by one or more of the indexes of hop count, bandwidth, transmission delay, and the like.

Then, the first access unit performs weighted summation calculation on the signal quality and the cost value to obtain the priority of each second access unit. Here, the weights corresponding to the signal quality and the cost value may be preset, so that the first access unit may select a target second access unit from the plurality of second access units (for example, select a second access unit with a highest priority) and transmit a second connection establishment request message to the target second access unit according to the priority.

After the first access unit successfully establishes a connection (direct connection or indirect connection) with the cloud, the first access unit may also provide a service accessed by the cloud for other access units (assumed as a third access unit). At this time, the first access unit receives a third connection establishment request message sent by a third access unit, wherein the third connection establishment request message carries an identity of the third access unit; and then, the first access unit forwards the third connection establishment request message to a cloud or other access units according to the data forwarding table, and receives a third connection establishment response message returned by the cloud or other access units, wherein the third connection establishment response message carries a third address of the third access unit allocated by the cloud. Then, the first access unit forwards the third connection establishment response message to the third access unit, and adds the routing relationship information between itself and the third access unit in the data forwarding table. Here, when the first access unit is directly connected to the cloud, the first access unit forwards the third connection establishment request message to the cloud according to the data forwarding table. When the first access unit is indirectly connected with the cloud end through other access units, the first access unit forwards the third connection establishment request message to the other access units according to the data forwarding table, so that the third connection establishment request message is forwarded to the cloud end step by step.

Similarly, the first access unit may further send a second broadcast message to the outside in a broadcast manner, where the second broadcast message carries a cost value cost of a backhaul link from the first access unit to the cloud. The cost value is determined according to one or more of the indexes of the first access unit to the cloud, such as the hop count, the bandwidth, and the transmission delay, and the specific determination manner may be a weighted summation manner, which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present invention.

In conjunction with the architecture shown in fig. 3, the first access unit of the embodiment of the present invention may include a terminal module (MAC-MT) located at a MAC layer. And the MAC-MT of the first access unit is used as a terminal role, and forwards a third data packet to a previous-level node, wherein the previous-level node is a cloud end, or the previous-level node is an adjacent node close to the cloud end side of the first access unit.

In case that the first access unit is further connected to a next node, the first access unit further includes an access module (MAC-AU) located at a MAC layer. And the MAC-AU of the first access unit is used as an access point role, and forwards a fourth data packet to a next-level node, wherein the next-level node is an adjacent node of the first access unit far away from the cloud end side.

In addition, the first access unit comprises a routing module (Router) located at a MAC layer; the Router of the first access unit is configured to maintain a data forwarding table of the backhaul link, and add routing relationship information between the first access unit and other nodes to the data forwarding table, where the other nodes include an access unit and/or a cloud.

Referring to fig. 7, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a configuration method for a backhaul link, which is applied to a cloud, and includes:

step 71, the cloud receives a fourth connection establishment request message sent by the fourth access unit, where the fourth connection establishment request message carries the identity of the fourth access unit.

And step 72, the cloud allocates a fourth address to the fourth access unit, and sends a fourth connection establishment response message carrying the fourth address to the fourth access unit.

Through the steps, the cloud terminal configures the address for the access unit.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the cloud may further receive a connection establishment request message from another access unit forwarded by one access unit, for example, the cloud may further receive a fifth connection establishment request message sent by a sixth access unit, where the fifth connection establishment request message carries an identity identifier of the fifth access unit; at this time, the cloud allocates a fourth address to the fifth access unit, and sends a fifth connection establishment response message carrying the fifth address to the sixth access unit.

In the embodiment of the present invention, a Router deployed in each node determines, according to a data transmission requirement, a next-hop node to perform data transmission, where a specific process is shown in fig. 8, and includes:

in step 81, AU1 sends the data transmission request carrying the source address and the destination address.

And 82, the Router of the related AU (AU 2) node analyzes the source address and the destination address of the data packet and determines the next hop node according to the self-maintained data forwarding table.

And step 82, determining a next hop node and transmitting data by each related AU (such as AU3 or cloud) according to a similar method in the step 82 until the data packet is transmitted to the destination node.

It can be seen from the above method that the above solution in the embodiment of the present invention provides a wireless bridging method based on MAC, which can flexibly expand the coverage of the backhaul link and provide a flexible deployment solution for future dense networking. In addition, each functional entity adopts a service architecture, the required functional entities can be loaded/closed according to the functional or performance requirements, and each functional entity can also flexibly expand and contract according to the performance or load requirements. In addition, the AU in the embodiment of the invention respectively maintains the related data forwarding table, and the path selection can be more flexibly carried out during data transmission.

Various methods of embodiments of the present invention have been described above. An apparatus for carrying out the above method is further provided below.

Referring to fig. 9, an embodiment of the present invention provides a first access unit, including:

the first generating module 91 is configured to generate a first data packet including a first source address and a first destination address when data backhaul is performed, where the first source address is an address of a first access unit, and the first destination address is an address of a target access unit or a cloud;

the first forwarding module 92 is configured to search a data forwarding table of a return link according to the first destination address, determine a next hop address, and forward the first data packet according to the next hop address.

Optionally, the first access unit further includes:

the first receiving module is used for receiving second data packets sent by other nodes, and the other nodes comprise access units and/or cloud ends;

and the second forwarding module is used for searching a data forwarding table of the return link according to a second destination address of the second data packet, determining a next hop address and forwarding the second data packet according to the next hop address.

Optionally, the first access unit further includes:

the first sending module is used for sending a first connection establishment request message to a cloud before data return, wherein the first connection establishment request message carries an identity of a first access unit;

the second receiving module is configured to receive a first connection establishment response message sent by the cloud, where the first connection establishment response message carries a first address of the first access unit allocated by the cloud;

and the first establishing module is used for configuring the address of the first establishing module according to the first address, establishing a data forwarding table of a return link, and adding routing relation information between the first establishing module and a cloud end into the data forwarding table.

Optionally, the first access unit further includes:

a second sending module, configured to send a second connection establishment request message to a second access unit before data backhaul is performed, where the second connection establishment request message carries an identity of the first access unit;

a third receiving module, configured to receive a second connection establishment response message sent by the second access unit, where the second connection establishment response message carries a second address of the second access unit allocated by a cloud;

and the second creation module is used for configuring the self address according to the second address, creating a data forwarding table of a return link, and adding the routing relation information between the self and the second access unit into the data forwarding table.

Optionally, the second sending module is specifically configured to receive and measure quality of sent signals of a plurality of second access units; and selecting a target second access unit according to the quality of the signals sent by the plurality of second access units, and sending a second connection establishment request message to the target second access unit.

Optionally, the second sending module is specifically configured to receive and measure a first broadcast message of a plurality of second access units, obtain signal quality of the first broadcast message, and analyze a cost value cost of a backhaul link from the second access unit to a cloud from the first broadcast message; and performing weighted summation calculation on the signal quality and the cost value to obtain the priority of each second access unit, selecting a target second access unit from the plurality of second access units according to the priority, and sending a second connection establishment request message to the target second access unit.

Optionally, the first access unit further includes:

a fourth receiving module, configured to receive a third connection establishment request message sent by a third access unit, where the third connection establishment request message carries an identity of the third access unit;

the third forwarding module is configured to forward the third connection establishment request message to a cloud or another access unit according to the data forwarding table, and receive a third connection establishment response message returned by the cloud or another access unit, where the third connection establishment response message carries a third address of the third access unit allocated by the cloud;

and the fourth forwarding module is configured to forward the third connection establishment response message to the third access unit, and add routing relationship information between the fourth forwarding module and the third access unit to the data forwarding table.

Optionally, the first access unit further includes:

and the broadcast module is used for broadcasting and sending a second broadcast message, wherein the second broadcast message carries a cost value cost of a return link from the first access unit to the cloud.

Optionally, the first access unit includes a terminal module MAC-MT located in a MAC layer; the MAC-MT of the first access unit is used as a terminal role, and a third data packet is forwarded to a previous-level node, wherein the previous-level node is a cloud end, or the previous-level node is an adjacent node close to the cloud end side of the first access unit;

Optionally, the first access unit includes a Router located in an MAC layer; the Router of the first access unit is configured to maintain a data forwarding table of the backhaul link, and add routing relationship information between the first access unit and other nodes to the data forwarding table, where the other nodes include an access unit and/or a cloud.

It should be noted that the apparatus in this embodiment is an apparatus corresponding to the method shown in fig. 4, and the implementation manners in the above embodiments are all applicable to the embodiment of this apparatus, and the same technical effects can be achieved. The device provided by the embodiment of the present invention can implement all the method steps implemented by the method embodiment, and can achieve the same technical effects, and detailed descriptions of the same parts and beneficial effects as the method embodiment in this embodiment are not repeated herein.

Referring to fig. 10, a schematic structural diagram of a first access unit according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown, where the terminal includes: a processor 1001, a transceiver 1002, a memory 1003, a user interface 1004, and a bus interface.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the terminal further includes: programs stored on the memory 1003 and executable on the processor 1001.

The processor 1001, when executing the program, implements the following steps:

when data is returned, a first data packet comprising a first source address and a first destination address is generated, wherein the first source address is the address of a first access unit, and the first destination address is the address of a target access unit or a cloud end;

and searching a data forwarding table of a return link according to the first destination address, determining a next hop address, and forwarding the first data packet according to the next hop address.

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

receiving second data packets sent by other nodes, wherein the other nodes comprise access units and/or cloud ends;

and searching a data forwarding table of the return link according to a second destination address of the second data packet, determining a next hop address, and forwarding the second data packet according to the next hop address.

before data returning, sending a first connection establishment request message to a cloud, wherein the first connection establishment request message carries an identity of a first access unit;

receiving a first connection establishment response message sent by the cloud, wherein the first connection establishment response message carries a first address of the first access unit distributed by the cloud;

and configuring a self address according to the first address, creating a data forwarding table of a return link, and adding routing relation information between the self and a cloud terminal into the data forwarding table.

before data return, sending a second connection establishment request message to a second access unit, wherein the second connection establishment request message carries the identity of the first access unit;

receiving a second connection establishment response message sent by the second access unit, wherein the second connection establishment response message carries a second address of the second access unit distributed by a cloud end;

according to the second address, self address is configured, a data forwarding table of a return link is created, and routing relation information between the self and the second access unit is added into the data forwarding table.

receiving and measuring the quality of the transmitted signals of the plurality of second access units;

and selecting a target second access unit according to the quality of the signals sent by the plurality of second access units, and sending a second connection establishment request message to the target second access unit.

receiving and measuring first broadcast messages of a plurality of second access units, obtaining the signal quality of the first broadcast messages, and analyzing cost values cost of return links from the second access units to a cloud end from the first broadcast messages;

receiving a third connection establishment request message sent by a third access unit, wherein the third connection establishment request message carries an identity identifier of the third access unit;

forwarding the third connection establishment request message to a cloud end or other access units according to the data forwarding table, and receiving a third connection establishment response message returned by the cloud end or other access units, wherein the third connection establishment response message carries a third address of the third access unit allocated by the cloud end;

and forwarding the third connection establishment response message to the third access unit, and adding the routing relation information between the third access unit and the third access unit into the data forwarding table.

and broadcasting and sending a second broadcast message, wherein the second broadcast message carries a cost value cost of a return link from the first access unit to the cloud.

Optionally, the first access unit includes a routing module Router located in the MAC layer; the Router of the first access unit is configured to maintain a data forwarding table of the backhaul link, and add routing relationship information between the first access unit and other nodes to the data forwarding table, where the other nodes include an access unit and/or a cloud.

It can be understood that, in the embodiment of the present invention, when the computer program is executed by the processor 1001, each process of the method embodiment shown in fig. 4 can be implemented, and the same technical effect can be achieved.

In fig. 10, the bus architecture may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, with one or more processors represented by processor 1001 and various circuits of memory represented by memory 1003 being linked together. The bus architecture may also link together various other circuits such as peripherals, voltage regulators, power management circuits, and the like, which are well known in the art, and therefore, will not be described any further herein. The bus interface provides an interface. The transceiver 1002 may be a number of elements including a transmitter and receiver that provide a means for communicating with various other apparatus over a transmission medium. The user interface 1004 may also be an interface capable of interfacing with a desired device for different user devices, including but not limited to a keypad, display, speaker, microphone, joystick, etc.

The processor 1001 is responsible for managing a bus architecture and general processes, and the memory 1003 may store data used by the processor 1001 in performing operations.

It should be noted that the apparatus in this embodiment is an apparatus corresponding to the method shown in fig. 4, and the implementation manners in the above embodiments are all applicable to the embodiment of this apparatus, and the same technical effects can be achieved. In the device, the transceiver 1002 and the memory 1003, and the transceiver 1002 and the processor 1001 may be communicatively connected through a bus interface, the function of the processor 1001 may also be implemented by the transceiver 1002, and the function of the transceiver 1002 may also be implemented by the processor 1001. It should be noted that, the apparatus provided in the embodiment of the present invention can implement all the method steps implemented by the method embodiment and achieve the same technical effect, and detailed descriptions of the same parts and beneficial effects as the method embodiment in this embodiment are omitted here.

In some embodiments of the invention, there is also provided a computer readable storage medium having a program stored thereon, the program when executed by a processor implementing the steps of:

When executed by the processor, the program can implement all the implementation manners in the data forwarding method applied to the backhaul link at the terminal side, and can achieve the same technical effect, and is not described herein again to avoid repetition.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a cloud device shown in fig. 11, including:

a first receiving module 111, configured to receive a fourth connection establishment request message sent by a fourth access unit, where the fourth connection establishment request message carries an identity of the fourth access unit;

a first allocating module 112, configured to allocate a fourth address to the fourth access unit, and send a fourth connection setup response message carrying the fourth address to the fourth access unit.

Optionally, the cloud further comprises:

a second receiving module, configured to receive a fifth connection establishment request message sent by a sixth access unit, where the fifth connection establishment request message carries an identity of the fifth access unit;

and the first person allocation module is used for allocating a fourth address to the fifth access unit and sending a fifth connection establishment response message carrying the fifth address to the sixth access unit.

Optionally, the cloud includes: a core network control plane function module CN-CP, a core network user plane function module CN-UP, a radio resource control RRC module, a layer 3 user plane module L3UP and a motion routing module Router;

the cloud Router is used for allocating addresses for the access units.

It should be noted that the apparatus in this embodiment is a device corresponding to the method shown in fig. 7, and the implementation manners in the above embodiments are all applicable to the embodiment of this device, and the same technical effects can be achieved. It should be noted that, the apparatus provided in the embodiment of the present invention can implement all the method steps implemented by the method embodiment and achieve the same technical effect, and detailed descriptions of the same parts and beneficial effects as the method embodiment in this embodiment are omitted here.

Referring to fig. 12, an embodiment of the present invention provides a structural diagram of a network device, including: a processor 1201, a transceiver 1202, a memory 1203, and a bus interface, wherein:

in this embodiment of the present invention, the network side device further includes: a program stored on the memory 1203 and executable on the processor 1201, which when executed by the processor 1201, performs the steps of:

receiving a fourth connection establishment request message sent by a fourth access unit, wherein the fourth connection establishment request message carries an identity identifier of the fourth access unit;

and allocating a fourth address to the fourth access unit, and sending a fourth connection establishment response message carrying the fourth address to the fourth access unit.

receiving a fifth connection establishment request message sent by a sixth access unit, wherein the fifth connection establishment request message carries an identity identifier of the fifth access unit;

and allocating a fourth address to the fifth access unit, and sending a fifth connection establishment response message carrying the fifth address to the sixth access unit.

It can be understood that, in the embodiment of the present invention, when being executed by the processor 1201, the computer program can implement the processes of the method embodiment shown in fig. 7, and can achieve the same technical effect, and details are not described here to avoid repetition.

In fig. 12, the bus architecture may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, with various circuits linking one or more processors, represented by the processor 1201, and memory, represented by the memory 1203. The bus architecture may also link together various other circuits such as peripherals, voltage regulators, power management circuits, and the like, which are well known in the art, and therefore, will not be described any further herein. The bus interface provides an interface. The transceiver 1202 may be a plurality of elements including a transmitter and a receiver that provide a means for communicating with various other apparatus over a transmission medium.

The processor 1201 is responsible for managing a bus architecture and general processing, and the memory 1203 may store data used by the processor 1201 in performing operations.

It should be noted that the terminal in this embodiment is a device corresponding to the method shown in fig. 7, and the implementation manners in the foregoing embodiments are all applied to the embodiment of the terminal, and the same technical effects can be achieved. In the device, the transceiver 1202 and the memory 1203, and the transceiver 1202 and the processor 1201 may be communicatively connected by a bus interface, the functions of the processor 1201 may also be implemented by the transceiver 1202, and the functions of the transceiver 1202 may also be implemented by the processor 1201. It should be noted that, the apparatus provided in the embodiment of the present invention can implement all the method steps implemented by the method embodiment and achieve the same technical effect, and detailed descriptions of the same parts and beneficial effects as the method embodiment in this embodiment are omitted here.

receiving a fourth connection establishment request message sent by a fourth access unit, wherein the fourth connection establishment request message carries an identity of the fourth access unit;

When executed by the processor, the program can implement all implementation manners in the configuration method applied to the cloud backhaul link, and can achieve the same technical effect, and is not described herein again to avoid repetition.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, or combinations of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the technical solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present invention.

It is clear to those skilled in the art that, for convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the above-described systems, apparatuses and units may refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and are not described herein again.

In the embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and method may be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described apparatus embodiments are merely illustrative, and for example, the division of the units is only one type of logical functional division, and other divisions may be realized in practice, for example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted, or not executed. In addition, the shown or discussed mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection may be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, and may be in an electrical, mechanical or other form.

The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one position, or may be distributed on multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of the embodiments of the present invention.

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

The functions, if implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as a stand-alone product, may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present invention may be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to execute all or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present invention. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: a U disk, a removable hard disk, a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and various media capable of storing program codes.

The above description is only for the specific embodiments of the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of the changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present invention, and all the changes or substitutions should be covered within the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for forwarding data in a backhaul link, comprising:

when the first access unit returns data, a first data packet comprising a first source address and a first destination address is generated, wherein the first source address is an address of the first access unit, and the first destination address is an address of a target access unit or a cloud end;

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

the first access unit receives second data packets sent by other nodes, wherein the other nodes comprise access units and/or cloud ends;

and the first access unit searches a data forwarding table of the return link according to a second destination address of the second data packet, determines a next hop address and forwards the second data packet according to the next hop address.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein prior to performing data backhauling, further comprising:

the first access unit configures the address of the first access unit according to the first address, creates a data forwarding table of a return link, and adds routing relation information between the first access unit and a cloud in the data forwarding table.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein prior to performing data backhauling, further comprising:

a first access unit sends a second connection establishment request message to a second access unit, wherein the second connection establishment request message carries an identity identifier of the first access unit;

the first access unit receives a second connection establishment response message sent by the second access unit, wherein the second connection establishment response message carries a second address of the second access unit distributed by a cloud;

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the sending, by the first access unit, the second connection establishment request message to the second access unit, specifically comprises:

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the sending, by the first access unit, the second connection establishment request message to the second access unit comprises:

7. The method of any of claims 3 to 6, further comprising:

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

9. The method of claim 7,

the first access unit comprises a terminal module MAC-MT positioned in a media access control MAC layer; the MAC-MT of the first access unit is used as a terminal role, and a third data packet is forwarded to a previous-level node, wherein the previous-level node is a cloud end, or the previous-level node is an adjacent node close to the cloud end side of the first access unit;

10. The method of claim 9,

the first access unit comprises a routing module Router positioned in an MAC layer; the Router of the first access unit is configured to maintain a data forwarding table of the backhaul link, and add routing relationship information between the first access unit and other nodes to the data forwarding table, where the other nodes include an access unit and/or a cloud.

11. A method for configuring a backhaul link, comprising:

the cloud end receives a fourth connection establishment request message sent by a fourth access unit, wherein the fourth connection establishment request message carries an identity of the fourth access unit;

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

and the cloud allocates a fourth address for the fifth access unit and sends a fifth connection establishment response message carrying the fifth address to the sixth access unit.

13. The method of claim 11,

the high in the clouds is including: a core network control plane function module CN-CP, a core network user plane function module CN-UP, a radio resource control RRC module, a layer 3 user plane module L3UP and a motion routing module Router;

the cloud Router is used for allocating addresses for the access units.

14. A first access unit comprising a processor and a transceiver; wherein, the first and the second end of the pipe are connected with each other,

the processor is configured to generate a first data packet including a first source address and a first destination address when data is returned, where the first source address is an address of a first access unit, and the first destination address is an address of a target access unit or a cloud;

the transceiver is configured to search a data forwarding table of a return link according to the first destination address, determine a next hop address, and forward the first data packet according to the next hop address.

15. A first access unit, 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 one of claims 1 to 10.

16. A cloud comprising a processor and a transceiver; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

17. A cloud, 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 11 to 13.

18. 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 1 to 13.