CN116349384A

CN116349384A - Methods, apparatuses, and computer readable media for peer-to-peer communication via an integrated access and backhaul network

Info

Publication number: CN116349384A
Application number: CN202080105994.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: I·柯斯基塔罗; M·莱蒂拉; J·格伯特; 许翔; H·科斯基宁
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy
Priority date: 2020-10-09
Filing date: 2020-10-09
Publication date: 2023-06-27
Also published as: EP4226732A1; EP4226732A4; WO2022073185A1

Abstract

An example method is disclosed, which may include: receiving, at the first device, configuration information from a donor device in the integrated access and backhaul network for a peer-to-peer connection between the first device and the second device via the integrated access and backhaul network; and transmitting, at the first device, the peer-to-peer connected data units via an access link to a third device serving the first device in the integrated access and backhaul network based on the configuration information. Related devices and computer-readable media are also disclosed.

Description

Methods, apparatuses, and computer readable media for peer-to-peer communication via an integrated access and backhaul network

Technical Field

Various embodiments relate to methods, apparatuses, and computer-readable media for peer-to-peer communication via an integrated access and backhaul network.

Background

Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) networks, in which a portion of the radio resources are also used for wireless backhaul, have been introduced in telecommunication systems such as new air interface (NR or 5G) systems, so that, for example, flexible and dense deployment of NR cells can be achieved without the need for a scaled-up transmission network, and site acquisition costs and fiber deployment costs can be reduced.

Disclosure of Invention

In a first aspect, an apparatus is disclosed that includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to operate as a first device to: receiving configuration information for a peer-to-peer connection between the first device and a second device from a donor device in an integrated access and backhaul network via the integrated access and backhaul network; and transmitting the peer-to-peer connected data units to a third device in the integrated access and backhaul network serving the first device via an access link based on the configuration information.

In some embodiments, the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to send a request for establishing a peer-to-peer connection with the second device, the request including information about at least one of an identifier of the first device, an identifier of the second device, and an identifier of a data stream associated with the data unit.

In some embodiments, the configuration information includes information about at least one of a radio bearer used on an access link for the peer-to-peer connection and an identifier of the peer-to-peer connection.

In some embodiments, the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to determine a radio bearer for transmitting the data unit on the access link based on the configuration information.

In some embodiments, the first device is a mobile terminal part of a user equipment or an integrated access and backhaul network node device in an integrated access and backhaul network.

In some embodiments, the peer-to-peer connection emulates a side link connection between a first device and a second device, and includes a side link packet data convergence protocol communication layer and a side link service data adaptation protocol communication layer that terminate at the first device and the second device and transparently relay through an integrated access and backhaul network.

In a second aspect, an apparatus is disclosed that includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to, as a first device in an integrated access and backhaul network: receiving, via the integrated access and backhaul network, routing and bearer mapping configuration information for a peer-to-peer connection between a second device and a third device served by the first device from a donor device in the integrated access and backhaul network; receiving data units of the peer-to-peer connection from the second device via an access link; and transmitting a backhaul adaptive protocol packet comprising a backhaul adaptive protocol header and the data unit based on the routing and bearer mapping configuration information, the backhaul adaptive protocol header comprising information associated with the peer-to-peer connection.

In some embodiments, the routing and bearer mapping configuration information includes information about at least one of: a routing identifier for routing the data unit to the next hop device, an identifier of the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on an access link for the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a logical channel used on the access link for the peer-to-peer connection, and a logical channel identifier for transmitting the backhaul adaptation protocol packet to the next hop device.

In some embodiments, the information associated with the peer-to-peer connection includes at least one of: a routing identifier for routing the data unit to a next hop device in the integrated access and backhaul network, an identifier of the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on an access link for the peer-to-peer connection, and an identifier of the second device.

In some embodiments, the peer-to-peer connection emulates a side link connection between a second device and a third device, and includes a side link packet data convergence protocol communication layer and a side link service data adaptation protocol communication layer that terminate at the second device and the third device and transparently relay through an integrated access and backhaul network.

In a third aspect, an apparatus is disclosed that includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to operate as a first device to: receiving configuration information for a peer-to-peer connection between the first device and a second device from a donor device in an integrated access and backhaul network via the integrated access and backhaul network; and receiving, based on the configuration information, a data unit of the peer-to-peer connection from a third device in the integrated access and backhaul network serving the first device via an access link.

In some embodiments, the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to determine a radio bearer for carrying the data unit on the access link based on the configuration information.

In some embodiments, the peer-to-peer connection emulates a side link connection between a first device and a second device and includes a side link packet data convergence protocol communication layer and a side link service data adaptation protocol communication layer that terminate at the first device and the second device and transparently relay through an integrated access and backhaul network.

In a fourth aspect, an apparatus is disclosed comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to, as a first device in an integrated access and backhaul network: receiving, from a donor device in the integrated access and backhaul network via the integrated access and backhaul network service, bearer mapping configuration information for a peer-to-peer connection between a second device and a third device served by the first device; receiving a backhaul adaptation data packet comprising a backhaul adaptation protocol header and a data unit of a peer-to-peer connection, the backhaul adaptation information packet comprising information associated with the peer-to-peer link; and transmitting the data unit to the third device via a first access link based on the bearer mapping configuration information and the backhaul adaptation protocol header.

In some embodiments, the bearer mapping configuration information includes information regarding at least one of: an identifier of the third device, an identifier of the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on the first access link for the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a logical channel used on the first access link for the peer-to-peer connection, and an identifier of the first access link.

In some embodiments, the information associated with the peer-to-peer connection includes at least one of: an identifier of the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on a second access link between a second device in the integrated access and backhaul network for the peer-to-peer connection and a fourth device serving the second device, and an identifier of the second access link and an identifier of the second device.

In some embodiments, the peer-to-peer connection emulates a side link connection between a second device and a third device and includes a side link packet data convergence protocol communication layer and a side link service data adaptation protocol communication layer that terminate at the second device and the third device and transparently relay through an integrated access and backhaul network.

In a fifth aspect, an apparatus is disclosed comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to operate as a donor device in an integrated access and backhaul network to: transmitting first configuration information for a peer-to-peer connection between a first device and a second device to the first device via an integrated access and backhaul network to enable the first device to transmit data units of the peer-to-peer connection to a third device serving the third device in the integrated access and backhaul network via a first access link; transmitting second configuration information for the peer-to-peer connection to the second device to enable the second device to receive the data unit via a second access link from a fourth device serving the second device in the integrated access and backhaul network; transmitting first routing and bearer mapping configuration information for the peer-to-peer connection to the third device; and sending second bearer mapping configuration information for the peer-to-peer connection to the fourth device.

In some embodiments, the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to receive a request from the first device to establish a peer-to-peer connection with the second device, the request including information regarding at least one of: an identifier of the first device, an identifier of the second device, and an identifier of a data stream associated with the data unit.

In some embodiments, the first configuration information comprises information about at least one of a radio bearer used on the first access link for the peer-to-peer connection and an identifier of the peer-to-peer connection.

In some embodiments, the second configuration information comprises information about at least one of a radio bearer used on the second access link for the peer-to-peer connection and an identifier of the peer-to-peer connection.

In some embodiments, the first routing and bearer mapping configuration information comprises information about at least one of: a routing identifier for routing a data unit to a next hop device in an integrated access and backhaul network, an identifier for a next hop device, an identifier for a peer-to-peer connection, an identifier for a radio bearer used on the first access link for the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier for a logical channel used on the first access link for the peer-to-peer connection, and a logical channel identifier for transmitting backhaul adaptation protocol packets carrying the data unit to the next hop device.

In some embodiments, the second bearer mapping configuration information comprises information regarding at least one of: an identifier of a second device, an identifier of a peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on a second access link for the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a logical channel used on the second access link for the peer-to-peer connection, and an identifier of the second access link.

In some embodiments, the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to determine at least one device in the integrated access and backhaul network, the at least one device comprising the third device and the fourth device, and form a routing path for bypassing a peer-to-peer connection of the donor device from the first device to the second device.

In a sixth aspect, a method is disclosed comprising: receiving, at the first device, configuration information for a peer-to-peer connection between the first device and the second device from a donor device in the integrated access and backhaul network via the integrated access and backhaul network; and transmitting, at the first device, the peer-to-peer connected data units via an access link to a third device serving the first device in the integrated access and backhaul network based on the configuration information.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises sending a request for establishing a peer-to-peer connection with the second device, the request comprising information about at least one of an identifier of the first device, an identifier of the second device, and an identifier of a data flow associated with the data unit.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises determining a radio bearer for transmitting the data units on the access link based on the configuration information.

In a seventh aspect, a method is disclosed comprising: receiving, at a first device in an integrated access and backhaul network, routing and bearer mapping configuration information for a peer-to-peer connection between a second device and a third device served by the first device from a donor device in the integrated access and backhaul network via the integrated access and backhaul network; receiving, at the first device, data units of the peer-to-peer connection from the second device via an access link; and transmitting, at the first device, a backhaul adaptive protocol packet comprising a backhaul adaptive protocol header and the data unit based on the routing and bearer mapping configuration information, the backhaul adaptive protocol header comprising information associated with the peer-to-peer connection.

In some embodiments, the routing and bearer mapping configuration information includes information about at least one of: a routing identifier for routing the data unit to the next hop device, an identifier of the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on an access link for the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a logical channel used on the access link for the peer-to-peer connection, and an identifier of a logical channel used for transmitting the backhaul adaptation protocol packet to the next hop device.

In some embodiments, the information associated with the peer-to-peer connection includes information of at least one of: a routing identifier for routing the data unit to a next hop device in the integrated access and backhaul network, an identifier of the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on an access link for the peer-to-peer connection, and an identifier of a radio bearer used in the peer-to-peer connection, and an identifier of the second device.

In an eighth aspect, a method is disclosed comprising: receiving, at a first device via an integrated access and backhaul network, peer-to-peer connection configuration information for use between the first device and a second device from a donor device in the integrated access and backhaul network; and receiving, at the first device, the peer-to-peer connected data units via an access link from a third device serving the first device in the integrated access and backhaul network based on the configuration information.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises determining, at the first device, a radio bearer for carrying the data units on the access link based on the configuration information.

In a ninth aspect, a method is disclosed comprising: receiving, at a first device in an integrated access and backhaul network via an integrated access and backhaul network service, bearer mapping configuration information for a peer-to-peer connection between a second device and a third device served by the first device from a donor device in the integrated access and backhaul network; receiving, at the first device, a backhaul adaptation protocol packet comprising a backhaul adaptation packet header and a data unit of the peer-to-peer connection, the backhaul adaptation packet comprising information associated with the peer-to-peer link; and transmitting, at the first device, the data unit to the third device via a first access link based on the bearer mapping configuration information and the backhaul adaptation protocol header.

In some embodiments, the information associated with the peer-to-peer connection includes at least one of: an identifier of the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on a second access link between a second device in the integrated access and backhaul network for the peer-to-peer connection and a fourth device serving the second device, an identifier of the second access link, and an identifier of the second device.

In some embodiments, the peer-to-peer connection emulates a side link connection between a second device and a third device and includes a side link packet data convergence protocol communication layer and a side link service data adaptation protocol communication layer that terminate at the second device and the third device and transparently relay through the integrated access and backhaul network.

In a tenth aspect, a method is disclosed, the method comprising: at a donor device in an integrated access and backhaul network, transmitting first configuration information for a peer-to-peer connection between a first device and a second device to the first device via the integrated access and backhaul network to enable the first device to transmit data units of the peer-to-peer connection to a third device serving the first device in the integrated access and backhaul network via a first access link; transmitting, at the donor device, second configuration information for the peer-to-peer connection to the second device to enable the second device to receive the data unit via a second access link from a fourth device serving the second device in the integrated access and backhaul network; transmitting, at the donor device, first routing and bearer mapping configuration information for the peer-to-peer connection to the third device; and transmitting, at the donor device, second bearer mapping configuration information for the peer-to-peer connection to the fourth device.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises receiving, at the donor device, a request from the first device to establish a peer-to-peer connection with the second device, the request comprising information about at least one of an identifier of the first device, an identifier of the second device, and an identifier of a data stream associated with the data unit.

In some embodiments, the second bearer mapping configuration information comprises information regarding at least one of: an identifier of a second device, an identifier of a peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on a second access link for the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on the second access link for the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a logical channel used on the second access link for the peer-to-peer connection, and an identifier of the second access link.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises: at least one device in the integrated access and backhaul network is determined at the donor device, the at least one device including a third device and a fourth device, and a routing path is formed that bypasses the peer-to-peer connection of the donor device from the first device to the second device.

In an eleventh aspect, there is disclosed an apparatus as a first apparatus, comprising: means for receiving configuration information for a peer-to-peer connection between a first device and a second device from a donor device in an integrated access and backhaul network via the integrated access and backhaul network; and means for transmitting the peer-to-peer connected data units to a third device in the integrated access and backhaul network serving the first device via an access link based on the configuration information.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for sending a request for establishing a peer-to-peer connection with the second apparatus, the request comprising information about at least one of an identifier of the first apparatus, an identifier of the second apparatus, and an identifier of a data flow associated with the data unit.

In some embodiments, the configuration information includes information about at least one of a radio bearer used on the access link for the peer-to-peer connection and an identifier of the peer-to-peer connection.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for determining a radio bearer for transmitting the data units on the access link based on the configuration information.

In a twelfth aspect, a device is disclosed that is a first device in an integrated access and backhaul network, comprising: means for receiving, from a donor device in the integrated access and backhaul network via the integrated access and backhaul network, peer-to-peer connection routing and bearer mapping configuration information for between a second device and a third device served by the first device; means for receiving data units of the peer-to-peer connection from the second device via an access link; and means for transmitting a backhaul adaptation protocol packet comprising a backhaul adaptation protocol header and the data unit based on the routing and bearer mapping configuration information, the backhaul adaptation protocol header comprising information associated with the peer-to-peer connection.

In some embodiments, the routing and bearer mapping configuration information includes information about at least one of: a routing identifier for routing a data unit to a next hop device, an identifier of a peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a logical channel used on an access link for the peer-to-peer connection, and a logical channel identifier for transmitting the backhaul adaptation protocol packet to the next hop device.

In some embodiments, the information associated with the peer-to-peer connection includes at least one of: a routing identifier for routing a data unit to a next hop device in the integrated access and backhaul network, an identifier of the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on an access link for the peer-to-peer connection, and an identifier of a second device.

In a thirteenth aspect, an apparatus is disclosed as a first apparatus, comprising: means for receiving configuration information from a donor device in an integrated access and backhaul network via the integrated access and backhaul network, the configuration information for a peer-to-peer connection between the first device and a second device; and means for receiving the peer-to-peer connected data units from a third device in the integrated access and backhaul network serving the first device via an access link based on the configuration information.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for determining, at the first apparatus, a radio bearer for carrying the data unit on the access link based on the configuration information.

In a fourteenth aspect, a device is disclosed as a first device in an integrated access and backhaul network, comprising: means for receiving bearer mapping configuration information for a peer-to-peer connection between a second device and a third device served by the first device from a donor device in an integrated access and backhaul network via the integrated access and backhaul network; means for receiving a backhaul adaptation protocol packet comprising a backhaul adaptation protocol header and a data unit of the peer-to-peer connection, the backhaul adaptation protocol packet comprising information associated with the peer-to-peer connection; and means for transmitting the data unit to the third device via a first access link based on the bearer mapping configuration information and the backhaul adaptation protocol header.

In some embodiments, the bearer mapping configuration information includes information regarding at least one of: an identifier of the third device, an identifier of the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on the first access link for the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a logical channel used in the first access link for the peer-to-peer connection, and an identifier of the first access link.

In a fifteenth aspect, an apparatus is disclosed as a donor device in an integrated access and backhaul network, comprising: means for sending first configuration information for a peer-to-peer connection between a first device and a second device to the first device via an integrated access and backhaul network to enable the first device to send data units of the peer-to-peer connection to a third device serving the first device in the integrated access and backhaul network via a first access link; means for sending second configuration information for the peer-to-peer connection to the second device to enable the second device to receive the data unit via a second access link from a fourth device serving the second device in the integrated access and backhaul network; means for sending first routing and bearer mapping configuration information for the peer-to-peer connection to the third device; and means for sending a second bearer mapping configuration for a peer-to-peer connection to the fourth device.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for receiving a request from the first device for establishing a peer-to-peer connection with the second device, the request comprising information about at least one of an identifier of the first device, an identifier of the second device, and an identifier of a data flow associated with the data unit.

In some embodiments, the second configuration information comprises at least one of information about at least one of a radio bearer used on the second access link for the peer-to-peer connection and an identifier of the peer-to-peer connection.

In some embodiments, the first routing and bearer mapping configuration information comprises information about at least one of: a routing identifier for routing a data unit to a next hop device in an integrated access and backhaul network, an identifier of the next hop device, an identifier of a peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on a first access link for the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a logical channel used on the first access link for the peer-to-peer connection, and an identifier of a logical channel for transmitting backhaul adaptation protocol packets carrying the data unit to the next hop device.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for determining at least one device in the integrated access and backhaul network, the at least one device comprising a third device and a fourth device, and forming a routing path for bypassing a peer-to-peer connection of the donor device from the first device to the second device.

In a sixteenth aspect, a computer readable medium is disclosed, comprising instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus as a first device to: receiving peer-to-peer connection configuration information for use between the first device and the second device from a donor device in the integrated access and backhaul network via the integrated access and backhaul network; and transmitting the peer-to-peer connected data units to a third device in the integrated access and backhaul network serving the first device via an access link based on the configuration information.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for sending a request for establishing a peer-to-peer connection with the second device, the request comprising information about at least one of an identifier of the first device, an identifier of the second device, and an identifier of a data flow associated with the data unit.

In some embodiments, the instructions further cause the apparatus to determine a radio bearer for transmitting the data units on the access link based on the configuration information.

In a seventeenth aspect, a computer readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus as a first device in an integrated access and backhaul network to: receiving, from a donor device in the integrated access and backhaul network, routing and bearer mapping configuration information for a peer-to-peer connection between a second device and a third device served by the first device via the integrated access and backhaul network; receiving data units of the peer-to-peer connection from the second device via an access link; and transmitting a backhaul adaptive protocol packet comprising a backhaul adaptive protocol header and a data unit based on the routing and bearer mapping configuration information, the backhaul adaptive protocol header comprising information associated with the peer-to-peer connection.

In some embodiments, the routing and bearer mapping configuration information includes information about at least one of: a routing identifier for routing a data unit to a next hop device, an identifier of a peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on an access link for a peer-to-peer connection, and an identifier of a logical channel used on the access link for the peer-to-peer connection, and an identifier of a logical channel used for transmitting the backhaul adaptation protocol packet to the next hop device.

In an eighteenth aspect, a computer-readable medium is disclosed that includes instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus as a first device to: receiving configuration information for a peer-to-peer connection between a first device and a second device from a donor device in an integrated access and backhaul network via the integrated access and backhaul network; and receiving, based on the configuration information, a data unit of the peer-to-peer connection from a third device in the integrated access and backhaul network serving the first device via an access link.

In some embodiments, the instructions further cause the apparatus to determine a radio bearer for carrying the data units on the access link based on the configuration information.

In a nineteenth aspect, a computer-readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus, as a first device in an integrated access and backhaul network, to: means for receiving bearer mapping configuration information for a peer-to-peer connection between a second device and a third device by a first device from a donor device in an integrated access and backhaul network via the integrated access and backhaul network; receiving a backhaul adaptation data packet comprising a backhaul adaptation protocol header and a data unit of the peer-to-peer connection, the backhaul adaptation information packet comprising information associated with the peer-to-peer link; and transmitting the data unit to the third device via a first access link based on the bearer mapping configuration information and the backhaul adaptation protocol header.

In some embodiments, the information associated with the peer-to-peer connection includes at least one of: an identifier of the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on a second access link between a second device in the integrated access and backhaul network for the peer-to-peer connection and a fourth device serving the second device, an identifier of the second access link, and a second device identifier.

In a twentieth aspect, a computer-readable medium is disclosed that includes instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus, which is a donor device in an integrated access and backhaul network, to: transmitting first configuration information for a peer-to-peer connection between a first device and a second device to the first device via an integrated access and backhaul network, enabling the first device to transmit data units of the peer-to-peer connection via a first access link to a third device serving the first device in the integrated access and backhaul network; transmitting second configuration information for the peer-to-peer connection to the second device to enable the second device to receive the data unit via a second access link from a fourth device serving the second device in the integrated access and backhaul network; transmitting first routing and bearer mapping configuration information for the peer-to-peer connection to the third device; and sending second bearer mapping configuration information for the peer-to-peer connection to the fourth device.

In some embodiments, the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to receive a request from the first device to establish a peer-to-peer connection with the second device, the request including information about at least one of an identifier of the first device, an identifier of the second device, and an identifier of a data stream associated with the data unit.

In some embodiments, the first routing and bearer mapping configuration information comprises information about at least one of: a routing identifier for routing a data unit to a next hop device in an integrated access and backhaul network, an identifier for a next hop device, an identifier for a peer-to-peer connection, and an identifier for a radio bearer used on the first access link for the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier for a logical channel used on the first access link for the peer-to-peer connection, and a logical channel identifier for transmitting backhaul adaptation protocol packets carrying the data unit to the next hop device.

In some embodiments, the second bearer mapping configuration information comprises information regarding at least one of: an identifier of the second device, an identifier of the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on a second access link for the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a logical channel used on the second access link for the peer-to-peer connection, and an identifier of the second access link.

In some embodiments, the instructions further cause the apparatus to determine at least one device in the integrated access and backhaul network, the at least one device including the third device and the fourth device, and form a routing path for bypassing a peer-to-peer connection of the donor device from the first device to the second device.

Drawings

Some embodiments will now be described, by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals designate similar or corresponding elements or components in the various drawings.

Fig. 1 illustrates an example of a peer-to-peer connection between peer IAB nodes in an embodiment.

Fig. 2 illustrates an example of a configuration procedure for a desired peer-to-peer connection in an embodiment.

Fig. 3 shows an example of a protocol stack at each node involved in a desired peer-to-peer connection.

Fig. 4 illustrates another example of a peer-to-peer connection between peer IAB nodes in an embodiment.

Fig. 5 illustrates another example of a configuration procedure for a desired peer-to-peer connection in an embodiment.

Fig. 6 illustrates another example of a protocol stack at various nodes involved in a desired peer-to-peer connection.

Fig. 7 illustrates an example method for peer-to-peer communication via an IAB network in an embodiment.

Fig. 8 illustrates an example apparatus for peer-to-peer communication via an IAB network in an embodiment.

Fig. 9 illustrates an example device for peer-to-peer communication via an IAB network in an embodiment.

Fig. 10 illustrates an example method for peer-to-peer communication via an IAB network in an embodiment.

Fig. 11 illustrates an example apparatus for peer-to-peer communication via an IAB network in an embodiment.

Fig. 12 illustrates an example device for peer-to-peer communication via an IAB network in an embodiment.

Fig. 13 illustrates an example method for peer-to-peer communication via an IAB network in an embodiment.

Fig. 14 illustrates an example apparatus for peer-to-peer communication via an IAB network in an embodiment.

Fig. 15 illustrates an example device for peer-to-peer communication via an IAB network in an embodiment.

Fig. 16 illustrates an example method for peer-to-peer communication via an IAB network in an embodiment.

Fig. 17 illustrates an example apparatus for peer-to-peer communication via an IAB network in an embodiment.

Fig. 18 illustrates an example device for peer-to-peer communication via an IAB network in an embodiment.

Fig. 19 illustrates an example method for peer-to-peer communication via an IAB network in an embodiment.

Fig. 20 illustrates an example apparatus for peer-to-peer communication via an IAB network in an embodiment.

Fig. 21 illustrates an example device for peer-to-peer communication via an IAB network in an embodiment.

Detailed Description

The IAB network may be configured with a Spanning Tree (ST) and Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) topology, which may include a donor base station (also referred to as a donor node or IAB donor in the IAB network) hosting a Central Unit (CU) function and one or more IAB nodes. The centralized mechanism at the IAB donor CU may have an overview of the entire network/path, available for handover decisions, topology changes, routing, bearer mapping, etc. The IAB node may include: a Mobile Terminal (MT) portion for communicating via an Uplink (UL) with a parent node in an IAB network (e.g., another IAB node or IAB donor serving the IAB node); and a Distributed Unit (DU) portion for communicating with a child node in an IAB network (e.g., another IAB node served by the IAB node) or a User Equipment (UE) served by the IAB node via a Downlink (DL).

Efficient multi-hop forwarding may be achieved via an IAB-specific Backhaul Adaptation Protocol (BAP), wherein each IAB node hosting a Distributed Unit (DU) function may be assigned a unique layer 2 (L2) address (BAP address) by an IAB donor, which may be routed from and/or to the IAB donor. The BAP of the source node (IAB donor DU for DL traffic and access IAB node for UL traffic) may add a BAP header to the data packet or data unit it sends. The BAP header may include, for example, information regarding BAP route identifiers (e.g., BAP address and optional path identifier of the target/source IAB node). Each IAB node may have a routing table that may be configured by the IAB donor CU and may include information such as a next hop identifier for each BAP routing identifier. For example, separate routing tables may be reserved for DL and UL directions in an IAB node, where the DL table may be used by the DU portion of the IAB node and the UL table may be used by the MT portion of the IAB node. One or more intermediate IAB nodes between an access IAB node and an IAB donor for an intended data service may forward the data packet (e.g., a service data unit or SDU) based on a routing identifier or a destination address. A Backhaul (BH) Radio Link Control (RLC) channel may be used to transmit data packets between a child IAB node and a parent IAB node or between an IAB node MT and an IAB donor DU, and mapping between UE radio bearers and the BH RLC channel (e.g., N:1 mapping and 1:1 mapping) may be performed based on specific parameters such as a quality of service (QoS) profile of the bearer.

There are some use cases where it is desirable for peer-to-peer IAB nodes (e.g., the branching from an IAB donor to one of the peer IAB nodes is different from the branching from an IAB donor to another peer IAB) to communicate directly with each other in a mesh topology (e.g., bypassing the IAB donor), which is also referred to as peer-to-peer (P2P) communication/connection between peer IAB nodes, e.g., in the form of Control Plane (CP) signaling, to enable more responsive inter-node coordination and/or in the form of User Plane (UP) data to reduce UP latency and the path length traversed by data packets (e.g., when data is to be sent locally from a UE served by one IAB node to another UE served by a nearby IAB node). For example, a PC5 interface (interface for proximity services direct communication) may be used to implement a P2P connection between peer IAB nodes (e.g., peer IAB MTs of two IAB nodes) or peer UEs accessing an IAB network, for example, by using PC 5-based side-link functionality. However, implementation of a P2P connection for PC5 based via an IAB network may involve complex radio resource allocation including allocation between BH/access link and Side Link (SL) resources.

In various embodiments of the present disclosure, P2P connection via an IAB network may be implemented through a Uu (interface between a UE and a network) interface or an access link without using a PC5 interface.

Fig. 1 illustrates an example of a P2P connection between peer IAB nodes in an embodiment. In this example, the IAB network may include IAB donor 105 and

IAB nodes

101, 102, 103, 104, etc., where IAB node 102 is a parent node of IAB node 101 and is a child node of IAB network node 103, IAB node 104 is another child node of IAB node 103, and P2P connection 108 between MT portion 106 of IAB node 101 and MT portion 107 of IAB node 104 is contemplated.

In one embodiment, the IAB donor 105 may be notified of the intended P2P connection 108 by, for example, a request from the MT part 106 of the IAB node 101 or the MT part 107 of the IAB node 104. For example, such a request may include information regarding one or more of the following: MT portion 106 of IAB node 101 or an identifier of IAB node 101 (e.g., a BAP address of IAB node 101), MT portion 107 of IAB node 104 or an identifier of IAB node 104 (e.g., a BAP address of IAB node 104), an identifier of a data flow (e.g., a packet flow identifier of a PC5 QoS flow that identifies a flow or stream of data packets or SDUs of P2P connection 108), etc. In another embodiment, the IAB donor 105 may determine the P2P connection 108, e.g., autonomously and/or in response to a request from an application layer, without receiving a request from the MT part 106 of the IAB node 101 or the MT part 107 of the IAB node 104.

As shown in fig. 1, for an intended P2P connection 108, the IAB donor 105 may determine a path 110 (e.g., a shortest path) between the MT part 106 of the IAB node 101 and the MT part 107 of the IAB node 104 via the

IAB nodes

102 and 103, wherein an access link 111 via a Uu interface/access link (instead of a PC5 interface or BH link) is used between the MT part 106 of the IAB node 101 and the DU part of the IAB node 102, the BH link 112 is still used between the IAB node 102 and the IAB node 103, and an access link 113 via a Uu interface/access link (instead of a PC5 interface or BH link) is used between the MT part 107 of the IAB node 104 and the DU part of the IAB node 103.

Further, as shown in fig. 1, the IAB donor 105 may configure the DU portion 109 of the IAB node 103 to route data packets of the P2P connection 108 from the IAB node 102 to the IAB node 104 or from the IAB node 104 to the IAB node 102 based on routing and mapping configuration information provided by the IAB donor 105, instead of routing data packets of the P2P connection to a parent IAB node of the IAB node 103 in the IAB network, and the MT portion of the IAB node 103 may not involve the P2P connection 108, such that, for example, the path 110 determined for the intended P2P connection 108 may bypass the IAB donor 105 and/or one or more IAB nodes between the IAB node 103 and the IAB donor 105, and may enable more efficient data communication.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the example shown in fig. 1. In various embodiments, depending on the topology of the IAB network and the peer node/device terminating at the desired P2P connection, one or more IAB nodes in the IAB donor 105 and/or the IAB network may be included in the determined path 110, one or more IAB nodes may be included in the determined path 110, such as IAB node 103, where the MT part is not involved in the P2P connection, and the DU part is configured such that P2P data from a child IAB node or served UE is routed to another child IAB node or another served UE, instead of the parent IAB node or IAB donor. In another embodiment, the IAB nodes included in the path determined for the P2P connection may be further configured to route P2P data from one parent IAB node of the IAB nodes to another parent IAB node of the IAB nodes, instead of the child IAB nodes of the IAB nodes.

Fig. 2 illustrates an example of a configuration procedure for a desired P2P connection 108 in one embodiment, wherein the IAB donor 105 may determine configuration information for each IAB node included in the path 110 and may send

configuration information

201, 202, 203, and 204 associated with the P2P connection 108 to the associated

IAB nodes

101, 102, 103, and 104, respectively, e.g., via one or more downlinks in the IAB network, such that the associated

IAB nodes

101, 102, 103, and 104 may operate accordingly to implement the P2P connection 108.

For example, the configuration information 201 from the IAB donor 105 to the MT part 106 of the IAB node 101 may include information for configuring a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) and/or a Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) in the IAB node, information for configuring RLC, and the like. For example, information for configuring PDCP and/or SDAP may be used to define radio bearers used by the MT part 106 of the IAB node 101 for the P2P connection 108. Also, for example, in the case that a radio bearer defined by the PDCP/SDAP configuration for mapping data packets or SDUs to be transmitted or received by the MT part 106 of the IAB node 101 is to be mapped to a separate BH RLC channel in the IAB network (1:1 mapping) and the BH RLC channel is part of a BH chain dedicated to a P2P connection via the IAB network, the P2P connection 108 may be implicitly indicated or identified, for example, based on the PDCP/SDAP configuration.

In another embodiment, the configuration 201 may also include information about the P2P connection 108 for uniquely identifying or indicating an identifier or indication of the P2P connection 108 within the IAB network. The identifier or indication of the P2P connection 108 may be determined/allocated by the IAB donor 105, for example, or may be determined/allocated by the IAB node 101 (or the MT portion 106 of the IAB node 101), for example, when the P2P connection 108 is requested. In different embodiments, the identifier or indication of the P2P connection 108 may be in any suitable form that is capable of uniquely identifying or indicating the P2P connection 108 within the IAB network. For example, the identifier or indication of the P2P connection 108 may be a single identifier, a combination of multiple information items (e.g., a BAP address of the IAB node 102 serving the MT portion 106 of the IAB node 101, an identifier of a radio bearer mapping data packets or SDUs to be transmitted or received by the MT portion 106 of the IAB node 101, and a combination of two or more of the BAP addresses of the IAB node 101), and so forth.

In different embodiments, the configuration information 201 may be transmitted in any suitable form at any suitable time. For example, in the case where the IAB donor 105 receives a request for a desired P2P connection 108 from the MT part 106 of the IAB node 101 or the MT part 107 of the IAB node 104, the configuration information 201 may be included in the response to the request.

Based on the configuration information 201, for example, the MT part 106 of the IAB node 101 may determine a radio bearer for transmitting or carrying data units on the access link in order to transmit data units of the P2P connection 108 to the IAB node 102 or to receive data units of the P2P connection 108 from the IAB node 102 corresponding to P2P data reception or P2P data transmission at the MT part 107 of the IAB node 104.

The configuration information 204 from the IAB node 105 to the MT portion 107 of the IAB node 104 may include one or more information items similar to those in the configuration information 201, and may be of a similar form to the configuration information 202. For example, similar to configuration information 201, configuration information 204 may also include one or more of information for configuring PDCP and/or SDAP to define radio bearers used by MT portion 107 of IAB node 104 for P2P connection 108, information for configuring RLC, information about an identifier or indication of P2P connection 108, and the like. Further, similar to the configuration information 201, the configuration information 204 may be included in the response to the request, for example, in the case where the IAB donor 105 receives the request for the desired P2P connection 108 from the MT part 106 of the IAB node 101 or the MT part 107 of the IAB node 104.

Based on the configuration information 204, for example, the MT part 107 of the IAB node 104 may determine a radio bearer for transmitting or carrying data units on the access link in order to transmit data units of the P2P connection 108 to the IAB node 103 or to receive data units of the P2P connection 108 from the IAB node 103 corresponding to P2P data reception or P2P data transmission at the MT part 106 of the IAB node 101.

As shown in fig. 2, the IAB donor 105 may also determine and send configuration information 202 to the IAB node 102, which serves the MT portion 106 of the IAB node 101 and is included in the determined path 110. For example, the configuration information 202 may provide routing and mapping configuration information to the IAB node 102.

For example, in the case where the MT portion 106 of the IAB node 101 served by the IAB node 102 sends a data packet to the MT portion 107 of the IAB node 104 via the P2P connection 108 or path 110, the configuration information 202 may include configuration information of the IAB node 102. In this case, MT portion 106 of IAB node 101 may be at least part of a sending peer and MT portion 107 of IA node 104 may be part of a receiving peer.

For example, configuration information for the IAB node 102 as a transmitting access IAB node may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: information for configuring RLC channels; at least one routing table for determining a next hop for the transmitted data packet/unit; an identifier or indication of the P2P connection 108; an identifier of the radio bearer for the P2P connection 108; information about the P2P connection 108 or a mapping of radio bearers of the P2P connection 108 to routing identifiers, or an association of an identifier of the P2P connection 108 or a radio bearer of the P2P connection with an RLC channel; at least one mapping table for determining a mapping of ingress (P2P) RLC channels to egress RLC channels on a next hop link selected, for example, based on the routing table; an association of an identifier of the P2P connection 108 with an identifier of a logical channel, such as an RLC channel; an association of an identifier of the radio bearer of the P2P connection 108 with an identifier of the logical channel; etc.

It is understood that the information items in the configuration information 202 are not limited to the above examples. For example, in the case of a 1:1 mapping, the P2P connection 108 may be implicit and may be associated with an RLC channel, and thus, information about the identifier of the P2P connection 108 may be omitted from the configuration information 202. It should be appreciated that the configuration information 202 may be in any suitable form or format. For example, the information regarding the association of the identifier of the P2P connection 108 with the identifier of the RLC channel may include or may be represented by information regarding the identifier of the P2P connection and the RLC channel identifier, or may be an indication/flag configured in a specified field in the configuration information 202.

In addition, the configuration information 202 may also include configuration information of the IAB node 102 in case the MT part 106 of the IAB node 101 served by the IAB node 102 receives data packets from the MT part 107 of the IAB node 104 via the P2P connection 108 or path 110. In this case, MT portion 106 of IAB node 101 may be at least part of a receiving peer device and MT portion 107 of IAB device 104 may be part of a sending peer device. In this case, the configuration information of the IAB node 102 may be similar to the configuration information of the IAB node 102 serving as the transmitting access IAB node. In one embodiment, for the IAB node 102 acting as a receiving access IAB node, the information about the routing table may be omitted from the configuration information 202. Further, for example, in the case of a 1:1 mapping, information about the identifier of the P2P connection 108 may also be omitted from the configuration information 202.

The IAB node 102 may use the configuration information 202, e.g., for mapping and routing data units, generating BAP headers (to be described later), etc.

As shown in fig. 2, the IAB donor 105 may also send configuration information 203 to the IAB node 103 serving the MT portion 107 of the IAB node 104. Similar to configuration information 202 for IAB node 102, configuration information 203 includes configuration information for IAB node 103 acting as a transmitting access IAB node and/or configuration information for IAB node 103 acting as a receiving access IAB node, which may be similar to configuration information for IAB node 102 acting as a transmitting access IAB node and configuration information for IAB node 102 acting as a receiving access IAB, respectively, and are not repeated here.

Further, as a "special" intermediate IAB node, IAB node 103 may be configured based on configuration information 203 from the IAB donor such that in case a data unit is associated with P2P connection 108, the MT part of IAB node 103 is not involved in P2P connection 108 and the routing table of P2P connection 108 in DU part 109 of IAB node 103 comprises information on a route from IAB node 102 (child IAB node of IAB node 103) to IAB node 104 (another child IAB node of IAB node 103) and/or information on a route from IAB node 104 to IAB node 102 instead of the parent IAB node of IAB node 103.

Further, as shown in fig. 2, in one embodiment, operation 205, which may also involve service authorization and provisioning of Core Network (CN) 206, may be performed before IAB donor 105 determines and provides configuration information 201 through 204. For example, through operation 205, the MT portion 106 of the IAB node 101, the MT portion 107 of the IAB node 104, and possibly any suitable information associated with P2P service authorization and provisioning, such as a PC5 QoS profile and PC5 QoS rules (e.g., each associated with a packet flow identifier or PFI) for each PC5 QoS flow may be provided to the IAB donor 105. Thus, for example, for a data packet of the P2P connection 108, the MT part 106 of the IAB node 101 or the MT part 107 of the IAB node 104 as a sending peer may map the data packet to a PC5 QoS flow based on the QoS rules received in operation 205, which may be further mapped to a radio bearer. In one embodiment, the request from either MT part 106 of IAB node 101 or MT part 107 of IAB node 104 to IAB donor 105 on P2P connection 108 may include information about the PC5 QoS flow (e.g., PFI of the flow).

It is to be appreciated that the configuration process of the P2P connection 108 is not limited to the sequence as shown in fig. 2. In another embodiment, the

respective configuration information

201, 202, 203, and 204 may be sent from the IAB donor 105 to the

respective IAB nodes

101, 102, 103, and 104 in any suitable order, and any suitable manner may be employed to ensure that P2P communications via the P2P connection 108 may be performed after the respective associated

IAB nodes

102, 103, 104 have been properly configured. In another embodiment, the

respective IAB node

101, 102, 103, or 104 may send, for example, a response to the receipt of the

respective configuration information

201, 202, 203, or 204.

Fig. 3 shows an example of a protocol stack at each node involved in a P2P connection 108, wherein for the MT part 106 of the IAB node 101 and the MT part 107 of the IAB node 104 involved in the P2P connection 108, the protocol layers may be controlled and configured by the IAB donor 105 during a configuration phase as shown in fig. 2, e.g. based on respective configuration information from the IAB donor 105.

As shown in fig. 3, higher P2P protocol layers such as the SDAP layer and PDCP layer may use P2P protocols (e.g., side link protocols) for the P2P connection 108, while lower protocol layers (e.g., RLC layer and MAC layer) use radio links. On

access links

111 and 113 there is an RLC layer and a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer (also physical layer or PHY layer not shown in fig. 3), while on BH link 112 there is also a BAP layer for routing and bearer mapping on the RLC channel.

For example, in the case where MT portion 106 of IAB node 101 transmits P2P data to MT portion 107 of IAB node 104, MT portion 106 of IAB node 101 may determine a radio bearer for transmitting data units of P2P connection 108 on access link 111, e.g., based on configuration information 201 as shown in fig. 2, and may then transmit the data units in P2P connection 108 to the DU portion of IAB node 102 via access link 111.

For data units received by the DU portion of the IAB node 102 via the access link 111, the IAB node (acting as a transmitting access IAB node) may determine that the received data unit is associated with the P2P connection 108, e.g. based on radio bearer and configuration information 202 for carrying the data unit. The IAB node 102 may then generate a BAP packet including the appropriate BAP header and the received data unit in operation 301.

For example, the BAP header added in operation 301 may include a routing identifier for routing the data unit to the next hop along the peer-to-peer path. In another embodiment, the BAP header added in operation 301 may also include information for identifying the P2P connection 108 and/or a radio bearer used on the access link 111 for the P2P connection 108. For example, the BAP header added in operation 301 may include an identifier of the P2P connection 108, which may be a globally unique identifier assigned by the IAB donor 105, and included in the configuration information 202. In another example, the identifier of the P2P connection 108 may be a combination of two or more information items such as a BAP address of the IAB node 102, an identifier of a radio bearer on the access link 111, a BAP address of the IAB node 101, or an identifier of the MT part 106 of the IAB node, etc. In another embodiment, the BAP header added in operation 301 may also include information identifying the radio bearer on access link 111.

The IAB node 102 may then send the generated BAP packet to its next hop (IAB node 103) via BH link 112, e.g., based on the routing table and mapping table included in configuration information 202.

In the DU portion 109 of the IAB node 103, in response to receiving a BAP packet from the IAB node 102, the IAB node 104 may determine whether the received BAP packet is associated with a P2P connection, e.g., based on a BAP header of the BAP packet. For example, the DU portion 109 of the IAB node 103 may parse the BAP packet to check an identifier or indication of the P2P connection in operation 302.

In the event that a received BAP packet is determined to be associated with the P2P connection 108 (e.g., when checking for the presence of an identifier or indication of the P2P connection 108), the DU portion 109 of the IAB node 103 may remove the BAP header in operation 302 as an access IAB node serving the MT portion 107 of the IAB node 104 as the target peer device. Then, for example, based on at least one of the BAP header and the configuration information 203, the DU portion 109 of the IAB node 103 may determine an identifier of the RLC channel on the access link 113 for the P2P connection 108 and may transmit the data unit obtained from the BAP packet to the target of the P2P connection 108 (the MT portion 107 of the IAB node 104) via the determined RLC channel on the access link 113.

In the event that it is determined that the received BAP packet is not associated with the P2P connection 108, for example, the IAB node 103 may forward the received BAP packet to its parent IAB node in the IAB network, which may involve the MT part of the IAB node.

Similarly, in the case where MT portion 107 of IAB node 104 transmits P2P data to MT portion 106 of IAB node 101, MT portion 107 of IAB node 104 may determine a radio bearer for transmitting data units of P2P connection 108 on access link 113, e.g., based on configuration information 204 as shown in fig. 2, and may then transmit the data units of P2P connection 108 to DU portion of IAB node 103 via access link 113. It should be appreciated that the access link 113 involved in the case where the MT part 107 of the IAB node 104 sends P2P data to the MT part 106 of the IAB node 101 and the access link 113 involved in the case where the MT part 106 of the IAB node 101 sends P2P data to the MT part 107 of the IAB node 104 may be the same or different.

Then, similar to the case where MT part 106 of IAB node 101 transmits P2P data to MT part 107 of IAB node 104, in the case where MT part 107 of IAB node 104 transmits P2P data to MT part 106 of IAB node 101, IAB node 103 (acting as a transmitting access IAB node) may determine that the received data unit is associated with P2P connection 108, e.g. based on radio bearer and configuration information 203 for carrying the data unit. Then, in operation 302, the IAB node 103 may generate a BAP packet including a BAP header and a received data unit.

For example, the BAP header added in operation 302 may include a routing identifier for routing the data unit to the next hop. In another embodiment, the BAP header added in operation 302 may also include information for identifying the P2P connection 108 and/or a radio bearer for the P2P connection 108 over the access link 113. For example, the BAP header added in operation 302 may include an identifier of the P2P connection 108, which may be a globally unique identifier assigned by the IAB donor 105, and included in the configuration information 203. In another example, the identifier of the P2P connection 108 may be a combination of two or more information items such as the BAP address of the IAB node 103, the identifier of the radio bearer on the access link 113, the BAP address of the IAB node 104, or the identifier of the MT part 107 of the IAB node 104. In another embodiment, the BAP header added in operation 302 may also include information identifying the radio bearer on the access link 113.

The IAB node 103 may then send the generated BAP packet to its next hop (IAB node 102) via BH link 112, e.g., based on the routing table and mapping table included in configuration information 203.

In the DU portion of the IAB node 102, in response to receiving a BAP packet from the IAB node 103, the IAB node 104 may determine whether the received BAP packet is associated with a P2P connection, e.g., based on a BAP header of the BAP packet. For example, the DU portion of the IAB node 102 may parse the BAP packet to check an identifier or indication of the P2P connection in operation 301.

In the event that a received BAP packet is determined to be associated with the P2P connection 108 (e.g., when checking for the presence of an identifier in the BAP header or an indication of the P2P connection 108), the DU portion of the IAB node 102 may remove the BAP header in operation 301 as an access IAB node serving the MT portion 106 of the IAB node 101 as the target peer device. Then, for example, based on at least one of the BAP header and the configuration information 202, the DU portion of the IAB node 102 may determine an identifier of the RLC channel on the access link 111 of the P2P connection 108 and may send data units obtained from the BAP packet to the target of the P2P connection 108 (MT portion 106 of the IAB node 101) via the determined RLC channel on the access link 111.

It will be appreciated that the access link 111 involved in the case where the MT part 107 of the IAB node 104 sends P2P data to the MT part 106 of the IAB node 101 and the access link 111 involved in the case where the MT part 106 of the IAB node 101 sends P2P data to the MT part 107 of the IAB node 104 may be the same or different. Further, it should be appreciated that BH link 112 involved in the case where MT portion 107 of IAB node 104 transmits P2P data to MT portion 106 of IAB node 101 may be the same or different than BH link 112 involved in the case where MT portion 106 of IAB node 101 transmits P2P data to MT portion 107 of IAB node 104.

Thus, the P2P connection 108 between the peer devices (MT part 106 of IAB node 101 and MT part 107 of IAB node 104) in the IAB network may be implemented via an access link/Uu interface instead of via a PC5 interface.

Fig. 4 illustrates an example of a P2P connection between peer UEs via an IAB network in an embodiment. In this example, the IAB network may include an IAB donor 405 and

IAB nodes

401, 402, 403, 404, etc., where IAB node 402 is a parent node of IAB node 401 and is a child node of IAB network node 403, and IAB node 404 is another child node of IAB node 403, and a P2P connection 408 between UE 406 served by IAB 401 and UE 407 served by IAB network 404 is desired.

In one embodiment, the IAB donor 405 may be notified that the P2P connection 408 is intended by, for example, a request from the UE 406 or the UE 407. For example, such a request may include information regarding one or more of the following: an identifier of UE 406 or IAB node 401 (e.g., a BAP address of IAB node 404), an identifier of UE 407 or IAB node 404 (e.g., a BAP address of IAB node 406), an identifier of a data flow (e.g., a packet flow identifier of a PC5 QoS flow mapping data packets or SDUs of P2P connection 408), etc. In another embodiment, the IAB donor 405 may determine the P2P connection 408, e.g., autonomously and/or in response to a request from the application layer, without receiving a request from the UE 406 or the UE 407.

As shown in fig. 4, for an intended P2P connection 408, IAB donor 405 may determine path 410 (e.g., a shortest path) between UE 406 and UE 407 via

IAB nodes

401, 402, 403, and 404, where access link 411 via Uu interface/access link (instead of PC interface or BH link) is used between UE 406 and the DU portion of IAB node 401, BH link 412 is used between IAB node 401 and IAB node 402, BH link 413 is used between IAB node 402 and IAB node 403, BH link 413 is used between IAB node 403 and IAB node 404, and access link 415 via Uu interface/access link (instead of PC interface) is used between UE 407 and the DU portion of IAB node 404.

Further, as shown in fig. 4, the IAB donor 405 may configure the DU portion 409 of the IAB node 403 to route data packets of the P2P connection 408 from the UE 406 to the UE 407 or from the UE 407 to the UE 406 based on routing and mapping configuration information provided by the IAB donor 405, instead of routing data packets of the P2P connection 408 to a parent IAB node of the IAB node 403 in the IAB network, and the MT portion of the IAB node 403 may not involve the P2P connection 408, such that, for example, the path 410 determined for the intended P2P connection 408 may bypass the IAB donor 405 and/or one or more IAB nodes between the IAB node 403 and the IAB donor 405, and may enable more efficient data communication.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the example as shown in fig. 4. In various embodiments, depending on the topology of the IAB network and the peer node/device terminating at the intended P2P connection, one or more IAB nodes in the IAB donor 405 and/or the IAB network may be included in the determined path 410 and one or more IAB nodes, such as IAB node 403, may be included in the determined path 410, wherein the MT part is not involved in the P2P connection and the DU part is configured such that P2P data from a child IAB node or a served UE is routed to another child IAB node or another served UE instead of the parent IAB node and the IAB donor. In another embodiment, the IAB nodes included in the path determined for the P2P connection may also be configured to route P2P data from one parent of the IAB nodes to another of the IAB nodes, instead of the child IAB nodes on the IAB nodes.

Fig. 5 illustrates an example of a configuration procedure for an intended P2P connection 408 in one embodiment, wherein an IAB node 405 may determine configuration information for a UE 406, a UE 407, and respective IAB nodes included in a path 410, and may send

configuration information

501, 502, 503, 504, 505, and 506 associated with the P2P connection 408 to the UE 406, the IAB node 401, the IAB node 402, the IAB node 404, and the UE 407, respectively, via one or more downlinks in an IAB network, for example, such that the UE 406, the IAB node 401, the IAB node 402, the IAB node 403, the IAB node 404, and the UE 407 may operate accordingly to implement the P2P connection 408.

Similar to configuration information 201, configuration information 501 from the IAB donor 405 to the UE 406 may include information for configuring PDCP and/or SDAP in the UE 406, information for configuring RLC, and the like. For example, the information used to configure PDCP or SDAP may be used to define radio bearers for the UE 406 for the P2P connection 408. Also, for example, in the case where the radio bearer defined by the PDCP/SDAP configuration for mapping data packets or SDUs to be transmitted or received by the UE 406 is to be mapped to a separate BH RLC channel in the IAB network (1:1 mapping) and the BH RLC channel is part of a BH chain dedicated to a P2P connection via the IAB network, the P2P connection 408 may be implicitly indicated or identified, for example, based on the PDCP/SDAP configuration.

In another embodiment, configuration 501 may also include information about P2P connection 408 for uniquely identifying or indicating an identifier or indication of P2P connection 408 within the IAB network. For example, the identifier or indication of the P2P connection 408 may be determined/allocated by the IAB donor 405, or may be determined/allocated by the UE 406, for example, when requesting the P2P connection 408. In different embodiments, the identifier or indication of the P2P connection 408 may be in any suitable form that is capable of uniquely identifying or indicating the P2P connection 408 within the IAB network. For example, the identifier or indication of the P2P connection 408 may be a single identifier, a combination of several information items (e.g., a BAP address of the IAB node 401 serving the UE 406, an identifier of a radio bearer mapping data packets or SDUs to be transmitted or received by the UE 406, and a combination of two or more of the identifiers of the UE 406), and so forth.

In different embodiments, configuration information 501 may be transmitted in any suitable form at any suitable timing. For example, in the case where the IAB donor 405 receives a request from the UE 406 or the UE 407 for the desired P2P connection 408, the configuration information 501 may be included in a response to the request.

Based on the configuration information 501, for example, the UE 406 may determine a radio bearer for transmitting or carrying data units on the access link to transmit data units of the P2P connection 408 to the IAB node 401 or to receive data units in the P2P connection 408 from the IAB node 402 corresponding to P2P data reception or P2P data transmission at the UE 406.

Configuration information 506 from the IAB node 405 to the UE 407 may include one or more information items similar to the information items in the configuration information 501 and may be of a similar form to the configuration information 502. For example, similar to configuration information 501, configuration information 506 may also include one or more of the following: information for configuring PDCP and/or SDAP to define radio bearers used by the UE 407 for the P2P connection 408, information for configuring RLC, information about the P2P connection 408 identifier or indication, etc. Further, similar to configuration information 501, configuration information 506 may be included in a response to a request for a desired P2P connection 408, e.g., in the event that IAB donor 405 receives the request from UE 406 or UE 407.

Based on the configuration information 506, e.g., corresponding to P2P data reception or P2P data transmission at the UE 407, the UE 407 may determine a radio bearer for transmitting or carrying data units on the access link in order to transmit data units of the P2P connection 408 to the IAB node 404 or to receive data units of the P2P connection 408 from the IAB node 404.

As shown in fig. 5, the IAB donor 405 may also determine and send configuration information 502 to the IAB node 401 serving the UE 406 and included in the determined path 410. For example, configuration information 502 may provide routing and mapping configuration information to IAB node 401.

For example, in the case where UE 406 sends a data packet to UE 407 via P2P connection 408 or path 410, configuration information 502 may include configuration information for IAB node 401. In this case, UE 406 may be at least part of a sending peer device and UE 407 may be part of a receiving peer device.

For example, configuration information for the IAB node 401 used to transmit the access IAB node may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: information for configuring RLC channels; at least one routing table for determining a next hop of the transmitted data packet/unit; an identifier or indication of the P2P connection 408; an identifier of the radio bearer of the P2P connection 408; information about the mapping of the P2P connection 408 or P2P connection 408 to the routing identifier or the association of the identifier of the radio bearer of the P2P connection 408 or P2P connection 408 with the RLC channel; at least one mapping table for determining a mapping of ingress (P2P) RLC channels to egress RLC channels on a next hop link selected, for example, based on the routing table; an association of an identifier of the P2P connection 408 with an identifier of a logical channel, such as an RLC channel; an association of an identifier of the radio bearer of the P2P connection 408 with an identifier of the logical channel; etc.

It is understood that the information items in the configuration information 502 are not limited to the above examples. For example, in the case of a 1:1 mapping, the P2P connection 408 may be implicit and may be associated with an RLC channel, and thus, information regarding the identifier of the P2P connection 408 may be omitted from the configuration information 502. It should be appreciated that configuration information 502 may be in any suitable form or format. For example, the information regarding the association of the identifier of the P2P connection 408 with the identifier of the RLC channel may include or may be represented by information regarding the identifier of the P2P connection 408 and the RLC channel identifier, or may be an indication/flag configured in a specified field in the configuration information 502.

In addition, in the case where UE 406 receives a data packet from UE 407 via P2P connection 408 or path 410, configuration information 502 may also include configuration information of IAB node 401. In this case, UE 406 may be at least part of a receiving peer device and UE 407 may be at least part of a transmitting peer device. In this case, the configuration information of the IAB node 401 may be similar to the configuration information of the IAB node 401 serving as the transmitting access IAB node. In one embodiment, for the IAB node 401 acting as a receiving access IAB node, the information on the routing table may be omitted from the configuration information 502. Further, for example, in the case of a 1:1 mapping, information about the identifier of the P2P connection 408 may also be omitted from the configuration information 502.

The IAB node 401 may use configuration information 502, e.g., for mapping and routing data units, generating BAP headers (to be described later), etc.

As shown in fig. 5, the IAB donor 405 may also send configuration information 505 to the IAB node 404 serving the UE 407. Similar to configuration information 502 of IAB node 401, configuration information 505 may include configuration information for an IAB node 404 serving as a transmitting access IAB node and/or configuration information for an IAB node 404 serving as a receiving access IAB node, which may be similar to configuration information of an IAB node 401 serving as a transmitting access IAB node and configuration information of an IAB node 401 serving as a receiving access IAB node, respectively, and will not be described again here.

Furthermore, as shown in fig. 5, the IAB donor 406 may also send

configuration information

503 and 505 to the

intermediate IAB nodes

402 and 403, respectively. For example,

configuration information

503 and 505 may include routing and bearer mapping configurations that

IAB nodes

402 and 403 use to forward BAP packets to the next hop, respectively. As a "special" intermediate IAB node, IAB node 403 may be configured based on configuration information 504 from the IAB donor such that the MT part of IAB node 403 is not related to P2P connection 408, and where a data unit is associated with P2P connection 408, the routing table of P2P connection 408 in DU part 409 of IAB node 403 includes information on a route from IAB node 402 (a child IAB node of IAB node 403) to IAB node 404 (another child IAB node of IAB node 403) and/or information on a route from IAB node 404 to IAB node 402 instead of the parent IAB node of IAB node 403.

Further, as shown in fig. 5, in one embodiment, operation 507 of service authorization and provisioning may be performed before the IAB donor 405 determines and provides the configuration information 501 to 506, which may also involve a Core Network (CN) 508. For example, through operation 508, UE 406 and UE 407 may be provided, and IAB donor 405 may also be provided, with any suitable information associated with P2P service authorization and provisioning, such as a PC5 QoS profile and PC5 QoS rules (e.g., each associated with a packet flow identifier or PFI) for each PC5 QoS flow. Thus, for example, for a data packet of P2P connection 408, UE 406 or UE 407 as a sending peer device may map the data packet to a PC5 QoS flow based on the QoS rules received in operation 507, which may be further mapped to a radio bearer. In one embodiment, the request from UE 406 or UE 407 to IAB donor 405 on P2P connection 408 may include information about the PC5 QoS flow (e.g., PFI of the flow).

It is to be appreciated that the configuration process of the P2P connection 408 is not limited to the order as shown in fig. 5. In another embodiment, the respective configuration information 501-506 may be sent from the IAB donor 405 in any suitable order and may take any suitable way to ensure that P2P communication may be performed via the P2P connection 408 after the respective UE and IAB node have been properly configured.

Fig. 6 shows an example of a protocol stack at each node involved in a P2P connection 408, where for UE 406 and UE 407, the protocol layers may be controlled and configured by

IAB nodes

401 and 404, respectively, during a configuration phase as shown in fig. 5, e.g., based on corresponding configuration information from IAB donor 405.

As shown in fig. 6, higher P2P protocol layers such as the SDAP layer and PDCP layer may use P2P protocols (e.g., side link protocols) for the P2P connection 408, while lower protocol layers (e.g., RLC layer and MAC layer) use radio links. On

access links

411 and 415 there is an RLC layer and a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer (also a physical layer or PHY layer not shown in fig. 6), while on

BH links

412, 413 and 414 there is also a BAP layer for routing bearer mappings on RLC channels.

For example, in case UE 406 transmits P2P data to UE 407, UE 406 may determine a radio bearer for transmitting data units of P2P connection 408 over access link 411, e.g. based on configuration information 501 as shown in fig. 5, and may then transmit the data units of P2P connection 408 to the DU part of IAB node 401 via access link 411.

For data units received by the DU portion of the IAB node 401 via the access link 411, the IAB node 401 (acting as a transmitting access IAB node) may determine that the received data unit is associated with the P2P connection 408, e.g. based on radio bearer and configuration information 502 for carrying the data unit. Then, in operation 601, the IAB node 401 may generate a BAP packet including a BAP header and the received data unit.

For example, the BAP header added in operation 601 may include a routing identifier for routing the data unit to the next hop (e.g., IAB node 402). In another embodiment, the BAP header added in operation 601 may also include information for identifying the P2P connection 408 and/or a radio bearer used on the access link 411 for the P2P connection 408. For example, the BAP header added in operation 601 may include an identifier of the P2P connection 408, which may be a globally unique identifier assigned by the IAB donor 405, and included in the configuration information 502. In another example, the identifier of the P2P connection 408 may be a combination of two or more information items such as a BAP address of the IAB node 401, an identifier of a radio bearer on the access link 411, an identifier of the UE 406, etc. The BAP header added in operation 601 may also include information identifying the radio bearer on the access link 411.

The IAB node 401 may then send the generated BAP packet to its next hop (IAB node 402) via BH link 412, e.g., based on the routing table and mapping table included in the configuration information 503.

For example, intermediate IAB node 402 may forward the received BAP packet for P2P connection 408 to its next hop (IAB node 403) via BH link 413 based on the routing table and mapping table included in configuration information 504.

In DU portion 409 of IAB node 403, in response to receiving a BAP packet from IAB node 402, IAB node 403 may determine whether the received BAP packet is associated with a P2P connection, e.g., based on a BAP header of the BAP packet. For example, the DU portion 409 of the IAB node 403 may parse the BAP packet to check an identifier or indication of the P2P connection. For example, in the event that it is determined that a received BAP packet is associated with P2P connection 408 (e.g., when checking for the presence of an identifier or indication of P2P connection 408), DU portion 409 of IAB node 403 may forward the received BAP packet to its next hop (IAB node 404), e.g., based on a routing table and a mapping table included in configuration information 504, wherein the MT portion of "special" intermediate IAB node 402 is not involved with P2P connection 408, and thus the BAP packet for P2P connection 408 is routed by IAB node 403 from its child IAB node 402 to its other child IAB node 404, such that IAB donor 405 is bypassed, as shown in fig. 6.

The MT part of the IAB node 404 then receives the BAP packet from the IAB node 403. As an access IAB node serving a UE 407 as a target peer device, the IAB node 404 may remove the BAP header in operation 602. The DU portion of the IAB node 404 may then determine an identifier of the RLC channel on the access link 415 for the P2P connection 408, e.g., based on at least one of the BAP header and the configuration information 505, and may send data units obtained from the BAP packet via the determined RLC channel on the access link 415 to the target (UE 407) of the P2P connection 408.

Similarly, in the case where UE 407 transmits P2P data to UE 406, UE 407 may determine a radio bearer for transmitting data units of P2P connection 408 over access link 415, e.g., based on configuration information 506 as shown in fig. 5, and may then transmit the data units of P2P connection 408 to the DU portion of IAB node 404 via access link 415. It should be appreciated that the access link 415 involved in the case where the UE 407 transmits P2P data to the UE 406 and the access link 415 involved in the case where the UE 406 transmits P2P data to the UE 407 may be the same or different.

The IAB node 404 (acting as a transmitting access IAB node) may then determine that the received data unit is associated with the P2P connection 408, e.g., based on the radio bearer and configuration information 505 for carrying the data unit. The IAB node 404 may then generate a BAP packet including the BAP header and the received data unit in operation 602.

For example, the BAP header added in operation 602 may include a routing identifier for routing the data unit to the next hop. In another embodiment, the BAP header added in operation 602 may also include information for identifying the P2P connection 408 and/or a radio bearer used on the access link 415 for the P2P connection 408. For example, the BAP header added in operation 602 may include an identifier of the P2P connection 408, which may be a globally unique identifier assigned by the IAB donor 405, and included in the configuration information 505. In another example, the identifier of the P2P connection 408 may be a combination of two or more information items such as the BAP address of the IAB node 404, an identifier of the radio bearer on the access link 415, an identifier of the UE 407, and so on. In another embodiment, the BAP header added in operation 602 may also include information identifying the radio bearer on the access link 415.

The IAB node 404 may then send the generated BAP packet to its next hop IAB node 403 via BH link 414, e.g., based on the routing table and mapping table included in the configuration information 505. In the event that a BAP packet from another sub-IAB node 404 of IAB node 403 is determined to be P2P data, IAB node 403 may send the received BAP packet to its sub-IAB node 402 via BH link 413, e.g., based on the routing table and mapping table included in configuration information 504. The IAB node 402 may further forward the BAP packet from the IAB node 403 to its next hop IAB node 402, e.g. based on the routing table and the mapping table included in the configuration information 503.

In the DU portion of the IAB node 401, in response to receiving a BAP packet from the IAB node 402, the IAB node 400 may determine whether the received BAP packet is associated with a P2P connection, e.g., based on a BAP header of the BAP packet. For example, the DU portion of the IAB node 401 may parse the BAP packet to check an identifier or indication of the P2P connection in operation 601.

In the event that a received BAP packet is determined to be associated with the P2P connection 408 (e.g., when checking for the presence of an identifier or indication of the P2P connection 408 in the BAP header), the DU portion of the IAB node 401 may remove the BAP header in operation 601 as an access IAB node serving the target device UE 406. Then, for example, based on at least one of the BAP header and the configuration information 502, the DU portion of the IAB node 401 may determine an identifier of the RLC channel on the access link 411 for the P2P connection 408, and may transmit data units obtained from the BAP packet via the determined RLC channel to the target (UE 406) of the P2P connection 408 over the access link 411.

It is appreciated that the access link 411 involved in the case where the UE 407 transmits P2P data to the UE 406 and the access link 411 involved in the case where the UE 406 transmits P2P data to the UE 407 may be the same or different. Further, it should be appreciated that BH links 412, 413, and 414 involved in the case where UE 407 transmits P2P data to UE 406 and

BH links

412, 413, and 414 involved in the case where UE 406 transmits P2P data to UE 407 may be the same or different, respectively.

Thus, the P2P connection 408 between peer devices (UE 406 and UE 407) via the IAB network may be implemented via an access link/Uu interface instead of through a PC5 interface.

As shown in the above example, direct communication between peer IAB nodes or peer UEs can be enabled, where P2P is located on a higher protocol layer without change and Uu/access links are used for lower layers instead of PC5 radio connections that may lead to complex processing.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the examples described above. For example, in one embodiment, in addition to "hop-by-hop" ARQ on the intermediate link, P2P automatic repeat request (ARQ) in RLC may also be used between peer devices, e.g., between MT portion 106 of IAB node 101 and MT portion 107 of IAB node 104, or between UE 406 and UE 407.

Throughout this disclosure modifiers such as "first," "second," "third," and "fourth" are used to distinguish between different entities/devices/components/operations/elements in an embodiment, and are not intended to refer to a particular entity/device/component/operation/element in each embodiment. For example, in one embodiment, "first device" and "second device" may refer to a sending peer and a receiving peer, in another embodiment may refer to a sending peer and a sending access device, or in another embodiment may refer to a sending peer and a sending access device, and so on. For example, in one embodiment a "first device" may refer to a sending peer, in another embodiment a receiving peer, in yet another embodiment a sending access device, etc. Similarly, for example, a "second device" may refer to a sending peer in one embodiment, a receiving peer in another embodiment, a sending access device in yet another embodiment, and so forth. For example, a sending peer device that is a first device in one embodiment may be referred to as a second device in another embodiment. Similarly, a receiving access device that is a third device in one embodiment may be referred to as a first device in another embodiment.

Fig. 7 illustrates an example method 700 for P2P communication via an IAB network in one embodiment, which method 700 may be performed in a donor device that is at least a portion of an IAB donor, such as

IAB donor

105 or 405, in the above examples. As shown in fig. 7, the example method 700 may include

operations

701, 702, 703, and 704.

In operation 701, the donor device may send first configuration information (e.g., configuration information 201 in the above example when the MT portion 106 of the IAB node 101 is a transmitting peer device, configuration information 204 in the above example when the MT portion 107 of the IAB node 104 is a transmitting peer device, configuration information 501 in the UE 406 is a transmitting peer device, and information 506 in the UE 407 is a transmitting peer device) to a first device (e.g., MT portion 106 of the IAB node 101 as a transmitting peer device, MT portion 107 of the IAB node 104 as a receiving peer device, UE 406 as a receiving peer device, UE 407 as a receiving peer device, via a P2P connection (e.g., P2P connection 108 or P408 in the above example) of the IAB network in the above example when the MT portion 107 of the IAB node 101 is a transmitting peer device, configuration information 501 in the UE 406 is a transmitting peer device, and information 506 in the UE 407 when the UE 406 is a transmitting peer device, for use in the first device and second device (e.g., MT portion 106 in the above example when the UE portion 101 is a transmitting peer device, MT portion of the UE node 101 is a transmitting device, UE portion of the UE node 101 is an access link, e.g., UE portion of the UE node 101 is an access link) via a P2P connection (e.g., P2P connection 108 or P connection 408 in the above example) of the IAB network, such as a receiving peer device, at least one of the UE node 101 is a receiving peer device, and UE node 101 is an access device in the UE node, and the UE device is a portion of the UE device is a node 101, at least a portion of IAB node 103 when MT portion 107 of IAB node 104 is a transmitting peer, at least a portion of IAB node 401 when UE 406 is a transmitting peer, and at least a portion of IAB node 404 when UE 407 is a transmitting peer) transmits the data unit of the P2P connection(s).

In operation 702, the donor device may send second configuration information for the second connection (e.g., configuration information 204 when MT part 107 of IAB node 104 is a receiving peer device, configuration message 201 when MT part 106 of IAB node 101 is a receiving peer device, configuration information 501 when UE 406 is a receiving peer device, and configuration command 506 when UE 407 is a receiving peer device) to the second device to enable the second device to be able to access link 113 when MT part 107 of IAB node 104 is a receiving peer device, access link 111 when MT part 106 of IAB node 101 is a receiving peer device, access link 411 when UE 406 is a receiving peer device, and access link 415 when UE 407 is a receiving peer device) via the second access link (e.g., in the above examples, at least a portion of IAB node 103 when MT part 107 of IAB node 104 is a receiving peer device, at least a portion of IAB node 101 is a receiving peer node 102 when MT part of IAB node 101 is a receiving peer device, and at least a portion of IAB node 404 when MT part of IAB node 101 is a receiving peer device) from the fourth device serving the second device (e.g., in the above examples.

Further, in operation 703, the donor device may send first routing and bearer mapping configuration information for the P2P connection to the third device (e.g., in the above example, configuration information 202 when MT portion 106 of IAB node 101 is a sending peer, configuration information 203 when MT portion 107 of IAB node 104 is a sending peer, configuration information 502 when UE 406 is a sending peer, and configuration information 505 when UE 407 is a sending peer).

Further, in operation 704, the donor device can send second bearer mapping configuration information for the peer-to-peer connection to the fourth device (e.g., in the above example, configuration information 203 when MT portion 107 of IAB node 104 is a receiving peer device, configuration message 202 when MT portion 106 of IAB node 101 is a receiving peer device, configuration information 502 when UE 406 is a receiving peer device, and configuration information 505 when UE 407 is a receiving peer device).

In some embodiments, the example method 700 may further include an operation of receiving a request from the first device to establish a P2P connection with the second device. For example, the request may include information regarding at least one of an identifier of the first device, an identifier of the second device, and an identifier of a data stream associated with the data unit.

In some embodiments, the first configuration information may include information regarding at least one of a radio bearer used on the first access link for the P2P connection and an identifier of the P2P connection.

In some embodiments, the second configuration information may include at least one of information about at least one of: an identifier of a P2P connection and a radio bearer used on a second access link for the P2P connection.

In some embodiments, the first routing and bearer mapping configuration information may include information regarding at least one of: a routing identifier for routing the data unit to a next hop device in the IAB network, an identifier of the next hop device, an identifier of the P2P connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on a first access link for the P2P connection, an identifier of a logical channel used on the first access link for the P2P connection, a logical channel identifier for transmitting BAP packets carrying the data unit to the next hop device.

In some embodiments, the second bearer mapping configuration information may include information regarding at least one of: an identifier of the second device, an identifier of the P2P connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on the second access link for the P2P connection, an identifier of a logical channel used on the second access link for the P2P connection, and an identifier of the second access link.

In some embodiments, the example method 700 may further comprise: an operation of at least one device in the IAB network is determined, wherein the at least one device may include a third device and a fourth device, and may form a routing path (e.g.,

paths

110 and 410 in the above examples) for bypassing a P2P connection of the donor device from the first device to the second device.

In some embodiments, the P2P connection may simulate a side link connection between the first device and the second device, and may include a side link PDCP communication layer and a side link SDAP communication layer that terminate at the first device and at the second device and transparently relay through the IAB network, as shown in fig. 3 and 6.

Fig. 8 illustrates an example apparatus 800 for P2P communication via an IAB network, which may be at least a portion of an IAB donor such as

IAB donor

105 or 405 in the examples described above, in one embodiment.

As shown in fig. 8, an example apparatus 800 may include at least one processor 801 and at least one memory 802 that may include computer program code 803. The at least one memory 802 and the computer program code 803 may be configured to, with the at least one processor 801, cause the apparatus 800 to perform at least the operations of the example method 700 described above.

In various embodiments, at least one processor 801 in the example apparatus 800 may include, but is not limited to, at least one hardware processor including at least one microprocessor such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a portion of at least one hardware processor, and any other suitable special purpose processor such as those developed based on, for example, field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) and Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs). In addition, the at least one processor 801 may also include at least one other circuit or element not shown in fig. 8.

In various embodiments, the at least one memory 802 in the example apparatus 800 may include various forms of at least one storage medium, such as volatile memory and/or non-volatile storage media. Volatile memory can include, for example, but is not limited to, random Access Memory (RAM), cache memory, and the like. The non-volatile memory may include, but is not limited to, for example, read Only Memory (ROM), hard disk, flash memory, and the like. Further, at least memory 802 may include, but is not limited to, an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any combination of the preceding.

Furthermore, in various embodiments, the example device 800 may also include at least one other circuit, element, and interface, such as at least one I/O interface, at least one antenna element, and so forth.

In various embodiments, the circuits, components, elements, and interfaces in the example apparatus 800 including the at least one processor 801 and the at least one memory 802 may be coupled together in any suitable manner, e.g., electrically, magnetically, optically, electromagnetically, etc., by any suitable connection including, but not limited to, buses, crossbars, wiring, and/or wireless links.

Fig. 9 illustrates an example device 900 for P2P communication via an IAB network, which may be at least a portion of an IAB donor such as

IAB donor

105 or 405 in the examples described above, in one embodiment.

As shown in fig. 9, the example apparatus 900 may include means for performing the operations of the example method 700 described above in various embodiments. For example, the apparatus 900 may include: means 901 for performing operation 701 of example method 700, means 902 for performing operation 702 of example method 700, means 903 for performing operation 703 of example method 700, and means 904 for performing operation 704 of example method 700. In one or more further embodiments, at least one I/O interface, at least one antenna element, etc., may also be included in the example device 900. In some embodiments, examples of the means in apparatus 900 may comprise circuitry. In some embodiments, examples of the apparatus may also include software modules and any other suitable functional entities. In some embodiments, one or more additional devices may be included in apparatus 900 for performing one or more additional operations of example method 700.

The term "circuitry" in this disclosure may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) Hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in analog and/or digital circuits only); (b) A combination of hardware circuitry and software, for example (if applicable) (i) a combination of analog and/or digital hardware circuitry and software/firmware, and (ii) a hardware processor and any portion of software (including digital signal processors), software, and memory, that work together to cause a device, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions; and (c) hardware circuitry and/or a processor, such as a microprocessor or a portion of a microprocessor, that requires software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but when software is not required to operate, the software may not be present. This definition of circuit applies to one or all uses of this term in this disclosure, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this disclosure, the term circuit also encompasses embodiments of only a hardware circuit or processor (or processors) or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or its) accompanying software and/or firmware. The term circuitry also includes, for example and if applicable to the claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device, or a similar integrated circuit in a server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

Fig. 10 illustrates an example method 1000 for P2P communication via an IAB network in one embodiment, which may be performed in a first device as at least a portion of a sending peer, such as MT portion 106 of IAB node 101 when acting as a sending peer, at least a portion of MT portion 107 of IAB node 104 when acting as a sending peer, at least a portion of UE 406 when acting as a sending peer, and at least a portion of UE 407 when acting as a sending peer. As shown in fig. 10, the example method 1000 may include an operation 1001 and an operation 1002.

In operation 1001, the first device may receive configuration information (e.g., configuration information 201 when MT portion 106 of IAB node 101 is a sending peer, configuration information 204 when MT portion 107 of IAB node 104 is a sending peer, configuration information 501 when UE 406 is a sending peer, and configuration information 506 when UE 407 is a sending peer) from a donor device (e.g.,

example devices

800 and 900 performing example method 700) in an IAB network for a P2P connection (e.g., P2P connection 108 or 08) between the first device and the second device (e.g., at least a portion of MT portion 106 of IAB node 101 when acting as a receiving peer, at least a portion of MT portion 107 of IAB node 104 when acting as a receiving peer, at least a portion of UE 406 when acting as a sending peer) in an IAB network.

Then, in operation 1002, based on the configuration information received in operation 1001, the first device transmits the data unit of the P2P connection to a third device in the IAB network (e.g., at least a portion of IAB node 102 when MT portion 106 of IAB node 101 is a transmitting peer, at least a portion of IAB node 103 when MT portion 107 of IAB node 104 is a transmitting peer, at least a portion of IAB node 401 when UE 406 is a transmitting peer, and at least a portion of IAB node 404 when UE 407 is a transmitting peer) that serves the first device via an access link (e.g., access link 113 when MT portion 106 of IAB node 101 is a transmitting peer, access link 411 when UE 406 is a transmitting peer, and access link 415 when UE 407 is a transmitting peer).

In some embodiments, the example method 1000 may further include an operation of sending a request to establish a P2P connection with the second device. For example, the request may include information regarding at least one of an identifier of the first device, an identifier of the second device, and an identifier of a data stream associated with the data unit.

In some embodiments, the configuration information received in operation 1001 may include information regarding at least one of a radio bearer used on an access link for the P2P connection and an identifier of the P2P connection.

In some embodiments, the example method 1000 may further include an operation of determining a radio bearer for transmitting the data unit over the access link based on the configuration information received in operation 1001.

In some embodiments, the P2P connection may simulate a side link connection between the first device and the second device, and may include a side link PDCP communication layer and a side link SDAP communication layer that terminate at the first device and at the second device, and transparently relay through the IAB network.

Fig. 11 illustrates an example apparatus 1100 for P2P communication via an IAB network in an embodiment, which may be a first device that is at least part of a sending peer, such as MT portion 106 of IAB node 101 when acting as a sending peer, at least part of MT portion 107 of IAB node 104 when acting as a sending peer, at least part of UE 406 when acting as a sending peer, and at least part of UE 407 when acting as a sending peer.

As shown in diagram 1100, an example apparatus 1100 may include at least one processor 1101 and at least one memory 1102 that may include computer program code 1103. The at least one memory 1102 and the computer program code 1103 may be configured to, with the at least one processor 1101, cause the apparatus 1100 to perform at least the operations of the example method 1000 described above.

In various embodiments, the at least one processor 1101 in the example apparatus 1100 may include, but is not limited to, at least one hardware processor including at least one microprocessor such as a CPU, a portion of at least one software processor, and any other suitable special purpose processor such as a processor developed based on FPGAs and ASICs. In addition, the at least one processor 1101 may also include at least one other circuit or element not shown in fig. 11.

In various embodiments, the at least one memory 1102 in the example apparatus 1100 may include various forms of at least one storage medium, such as volatile memory and/or non-volatile memory. Volatile memory can include, for example, but is not limited to, RAM, cache, and the like. Nonvolatile storage may include, but is not limited to, ROM, hard disk, flash memory, and the like. Furthermore, at least memory 1102 may include, but is not limited to, an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any combination of the preceding.

Further, in various embodiments, the example apparatus 1100 may also include at least one other circuit, element, and interface, such as at least one I/O interface, at least one antenna element, and the like.

In various embodiments, the circuits, components, elements, and interfaces in the example apparatus 1100, including the at least one processor 1101 and the at least one memory 1102, may be coupled together in any suitable manner, e.g., electrically, magnetically, optically, electromagnetically, etc., via any suitable connection, including, but not limited to, buses, crossbars, wiring, and/or wireless links.

Fig. 12 illustrates an example device 1200 for P2P communication via an IAB network in one embodiment, which may be a first device that is at least part of a sending peer, such as MT portion 106 of IAB node 101 when acting as a sending peer, at least part of MT portion 107 of IAB node 104 when acting as a sending peer, at least part of UE 406 when acting as a sending peer, and at least part of UE 407 when acting as a sending peer.

As shown in fig. 12, the example apparatus 1200 may include means for performing the operations of the example method 1000 described above in various embodiments. For example, apparatus 1200 may include means 1201 for performing operation 1001 of example method 1000 and means 1202 for performing step 1002 of example method 1000. In one or more further embodiments, at least one I/O interface, at least one antenna element, etc., may also be included in the example device 1200. In some embodiments, examples of the means in apparatus 1200 may comprise circuitry. In some embodiments, examples of the apparatus may also include software modules and any other suitable functional entities. In some embodiments, one or more additional devices may be included in apparatus 1200 for performing one or more additional operations of example method 1000.

Fig. 13 illustrates an example method 1300 for P2P communication via an IAB network in one embodiment, which may be performed in a first device that is at least part of a receiving peer device, such as MT portion 106 of IAB node 101 when charging the receiving peer device, at least part of MT portion 107 of IAB node 104 when acting as a receiving peer device, at least part of UE 406 when acting as a receiving peer device, and at least part of UE 407 when acting as a receiving peer device. As shown in fig. 13, example method 1300 may include

operations

1301 and 1302.

In operation 1301, a first device may receive configuration information (e.g., configuration information 201 when MT portion 106 of IAB node 101 is a receiving peer device, configuration message 204 when MT portion 107 of IAB node 104 is a receiving peer device, configuration data 501 when UE 406 is a receiving peer device, and configuration 506 when UE 407 is a receiving peer device) for a P2P connection (e.g., P2P connection 108 or 408) between a P2P connection (e.g., from a donor device (e.g.,

example devices

800 and 900 performing example method 700) in an IAB network via an IAB network for the first device and a second device (e.g., at least a portion of MT portion 106 of IAB node 101 when acting as a sending peer device, at least a portion of MT portion 107 of IAB node 104 when acting as a sending peer device, at least a portion of UE 406 when acting as a sending peer device).

Then, in operation 1302, the first apparatus receives a data unit of the P2P connection from a third device serving the first device in the IAB network (e.g., at least a portion of IAB node 102 when MT portion 106 of IAB node 101 is a receiving peer, at least a portion of IAB node 103 when MT portion 107 of IAB node 104 is a receiving peer, at least a portion of IAB node 401 when UE 406 is a receiving peer, and at least a portion of IAB node 404 when UE 407 is a receiving peer) based on the configuration information received in operation 1301 via an access link 111 when MT portion 106 of IAB node 101 is a receiving peer, an access link 113 when MT portion 107 of IAB node 104 is a receiving peer, and an access link 411 when UE 406 is a receiving peer.

In some embodiments, the configuration information received in operation 1301 may include information regarding at least one of a radio bearer used on an access link for the P2P connection and an identifier of the P2P connection.

In some embodiments, example method 1300 may further include determining an operation of a radio bearer for carrying the data unit on the access link based on the configuration information received in operation 1301.

In some embodiments, the P2P connection may simulate a side link connection between the first device and the second device, and may include a side link PDCP communication layer and a side link SDAP communication layer terminating at the first device and the second device and transparently relayed through the IAB network.

Fig. 14 illustrates an example apparatus 1400 for P2P communication via an IAB network, which may be a first device that is at least part of a receiving peer device, such as MT portion 106 of IAB node 101 when acting as a receiving peer device, in one embodiment; at least a portion of MT portion 107 of IAB node 104 when acting as a receiving peer device; at least a portion of UE 406 when acting as a receiving peer; and at least a portion of the UE 407 when acting as a receiving peer device.

As shown in fig. 14, the example apparatus 1400 may include at least one processor 1401 and at least one memory 1402 that may include computer program code 1403. The at least one memory 1402 and the computer program code 1403 may be configured to, with the at least one processor 1401, cause the apparatus 1400 to perform at least the operations of the example method 1300 described above.

In various embodiments, at least one processor 1401 in the example apparatus 1400 may include, but is not limited to, at least one hardware processor including at least one microprocessor such as a CPU, a portion of at least one software processor, and any other suitable special purpose processor such as a processor developed based on, for example, FPGAs and ASICs. In addition, the at least one processor 1401 may also include at least one other circuit or element not shown in fig. 14.

In various embodiments, at least one memory 1402 in the example device 1400 may include at least one storage medium in various forms, such as volatile memory and/or non-volatile memory. Volatile memory can include, for example, but is not limited to, RAM, cache, and the like. Nonvolatile storage may include, but is not limited to, ROM, hard disk, flash memory, and the like. Further, at least memory 1402 may include, but is not limited to, an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any combination of the foregoing.

Further, in various embodiments, the example device 1400 may also include at least one other circuit, element, and interface, such as at least one I/O interface, at least one antenna element, and the like.

In various embodiments, the circuits, components, elements, and interfaces in the example device 1400, including the at least one processor 1401 and the at least one memory 1402, may be coupled together in any suitable manner, including, but not limited to, electrically, magnetically, optically, electromagnetically, etc., via any suitable connection, including, but not limited to, buses, crossbars, wiring, and/or wireless links.

Fig. 15 illustrates an example device 1500 for P2P communication via an IAB network in one embodiment, which may be a first device that is at least part of a receiving peer device, such as MT portion 106 of IAB node 101 when acting as a receiving peer device; MT portion 107 of IAB node 104 when acting as a receiving peer; at least a portion of UE406 when acting as a receiving peer; and at least a portion of the UE 407 when acting as a receiving peer device.

As shown in fig. 15, an example apparatus 1500 may include means for performing the operations of the example method 1300 described above in various embodiments. For example, apparatus 1500 may include means 1501 for performing operation 1301 of example method 1300 and means 1502 for performing operation 1302 of example method 1300. In one or more further embodiments, at least one I/O interface, at least one antenna element, etc., may also be included in the example device 1500. In some embodiments, examples of the means in apparatus 1500 may comprise circuitry. In some embodiments, examples of the apparatus may also include software modules and any other suitable functional entities. In some embodiments, one or more additional devices may be included in apparatus 1500 for performing one or more additional operations of example method 1300.

In some embodiments, the

example methods

1000 and 1300 may be implemented in the same apparatus. For example, the at least one memory 1102 and the computer program code 1103 in the example apparatus 1100 may also be configured to, with the at least one processor 1101, cause the apparatus 1100 to perform at least the operations of the example method 1300 described above. For example, the at least one memory 1402 and the computer program code 1403 in the example apparatus 1400 may also be configured to, with the at least one processor 1401, cause the apparatus 1400 to perform at least the operations of the example method 1000 described above. For example, means 1201 and 1202 in example apparatus 1200 and means 1501 and 1502 in example apparatus 1500 may be configured in the same apparatus further configured to perform both example method 1000 and example method 1300.

Fig. 16 illustrates an example method 1600 for P2P communication via an IAB network in one embodiment, which may be performed in a first device that is at least part of a transmitting access IAB node, such as IAB node 102 when MT portion 106 of IAB node 101 acts as a transmitting peer in the above example; the MT part 107 of the IAB node 104 is the IAB node 103 when acting as a sending peer; IAB node 401 when UE406 acts as a sending peer; and is an IAB node 404 when the UE407 acts as a sending peer. As shown in fig. 16, the example method 1600 may include

operations

1601, 1602, and 1603.

In operation 1601, a first device may receive configuration information (e.g., configuration information 202 when IAB node 102 is a sending access IAB node, configuration information 203 when IAB node 103 is a sending access IAB node, configuration information 502 when IAB node 401 is a sending access IAB node, and configuration information corresponding to and bearer 404 when IAB node is a sending access IAB node) for a P2P connection (e.g., P2P connection 108 or P2P connection 408) between a donor device in an IAB network (e.g., IAB donor 105 in IAB donor 405) and a third device (e.g., MT portion 106 of IAB node 101, MT portion 107 of IAB node 104, UE406 of a receiving peer, UE node 107 of a receiving peer, UE406 of a receiving peer) from the first device via the IAB network.

Then in operation 1602, the first device may receive a data unit of the P2P connection from the second device via an access link (e.g., access link 111 when MT portion 106 of IAB node 101 is a sending peer device, access link 113 when MT portion 107 of IAB node 104 is a sending peer device, access link 411 when UE 406 is a sending peer device, and access link 415 when UE 407 is a sending peer device).

Then, in operation 1603, the first device may transmit a BAP packet including a BAP header and a data unit based on the configuration information received in operation 1601, wherein the BAP header may include information associated with the P2P connection.

In some embodiments, the configuration information received in operation 1601 may include information about at least one of: a routing identifier for routing the data unit to the next hop device, an identifier of the P2P connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on an access link for the P2P connection, and an identifier of a logical channel used on an access link for the P2P connection and a logical channel identifier for transmitting the BAP packet to the next hop device.

In some embodiments, the information about the P2P connection contained in the BAP header may include at least one of a routing identifier for routing the data unit to a next hop device in the IAB network, an identifier of the P2P connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on an access link for the P2P connection, and an identifier of the second device. For example, in the case where two peers (a second device that is a sending peer and a third device that is a receiving peer) have a P2P connection via the same access IAB node, the identifier of the second device may be used to separate the connections of the two peers.

In some embodiments, the P2P connection may simulate a side link connection between the second device and the third device, and may include a side link PDCP communication layer and a side link SDAP communication layer that terminate at the second device and the third device and transparently relay through the IAB network, as shown in fig. 3 and 6.

Fig. 17 illustrates an example apparatus 1700 for P2P communication via an IAB network in one embodiment, which may be performed in a first device that is at least part of a transmitting access IAB node, such as IAB node 102 when MT portion 106 of IAB node 101 acts as a transmitting peer, IAB node when MT portion 107 of IAB node 101 acts as a transmitting peer, IAB node 401 when UE 406 acts as a transmitting peer, and IAB node 404 when UE407 acts as a transmitting peer.

As shown in fig. 17, the example apparatus 1700 may include at least one processor 1701 and at least one memory 1702, the memory 1702 may include computer program code 1703. The at least one memory 1702 and the computer program code 1703 may be configured to, with the at least one processor 1701, cause the apparatus 1700 to perform at least the operations of the example method 1600 described above.

In various embodiments, the at least one processor 1701 in the example apparatus 1700 may comprise, but is not limited to, at least one hardware processor comprising at least one microprocessor such as a CPU, a portion of at least one hardware processor, and any other suitable special purpose processor such as those developed based on, for example, FPGAs and ASICs. In addition, the at least one processor 1701 may also include at least one other circuit or element not shown in fig. 17.

In various embodiments, the at least one memory 1702 in the example apparatus 1700 may include various forms of at least one storage medium, such as volatile memory and/or non-volatile memory. Volatile memory can include, for example, but is not limited to, RAM, cache, and the like. Nonvolatile storage may include, but is not limited to, ROM, hard disk, flash memory, and the like. Further, at least memory 1702 may include, but is not limited to, an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any combination of the foregoing.

Further, in various embodiments, the example device 1700 may also include at least one other circuit, element, and interface, such as at least one I/O interface, at least one antenna element, and the like.

In various embodiments, the circuits, components, elements, and interfaces in the example device 1700, including the at least one processor 1701 and the at least one memory 1702, may be coupled together in any suitable manner, e.g., electrically, magnetically, optically, electromagnetically, etc., via any suitable connection, including, but not limited to, buses, crossbars, wiring, and/or wireless links.

Fig. 18 illustrates an example device 1800 for P2P communication via an IAB network in one embodiment, which may be a first device that is at least part of a transmitting access IAB node, such as IAB node 102 when MT portion 106 of IAB node 101 acts as a transmitting peer in the above example; the MT part 107 of the IAB node 104 is the IAB node 103 when acting as a sending peer; IAB node 401 when UE 406 acts as a sending peer; and is an IAB node 404 when the UE 407 acts as a transmitting peer.

As shown in fig. 18, an example device 1800 may include means for performing the operations of the example method 1600 described above in various embodiments. For example, apparatus 1800 may include means 1801 for performing operation 1601 of example method 1600, means 1802 for performing step 1602 of example method 1600, and means 1803 for performing step 1803 of example method 1600. In one or more further embodiments, at least one I/O interface, at least one antenna element, etc., may also be included in the example device 1800. In some embodiments, examples of the means in apparatus 1800 may include circuitry. In some embodiments, examples of the apparatus may also include software modules and any other suitable functional entities. In some embodiments, one or more additional means may be included in the device 1800 for performing one or more additional operations of the example method 1600.

Fig. 19 illustrates an example method 1900 for P2P communication via an IAB network in one embodiment that may be performed in a first device that is at least part of a receiving access IAB node, such as, in the examples described above, IAB node 102 when MT portion 106 of IAB node 101 acts as a receiving peer, IAB node 103 when MT portion 107 of IAB node 104 acts as a receiving peer, IAB node 401 when UE 406 acts as a receiving peer, and IAB node 404 when UE 407 acts as a receiving peer. As shown in fig. 19, example method 1900 may include

operations

1901, 1902, and 1903.

In operation 1901, the first device may receive configuration information (e.g., configuration information 202 when IAB node 102 is a receiving access IAB node, configuration information 203 when IAB node 103 is a receiving access IAB node, configuration information 502 when IAB node 401 is a receiving access IAB node, and configuration information corresponding to a P2P connection (e.g., P2P connection 108 or P2P connection 408) between a donor device (e.g., IAB donor 105 and IAB donor 405) of the IAB network, via the IAB network, for the second device (e.g., the donor device of the IAB network, the first device, the UE 406 as a sending peer device, and a third device served by the first device) (e.g., the MT portion 106 of the IAB node 101 as a receiving peer device, the MT portion 107 of the IAB device 104 as a receiving peer device, the UE 406 as a receiving peer device, and the UE 407 as a receiving peer device), and may include respective bearer configuration information for the respective IAB nodes when IAB node 102 is a receiving access IAB node.

Then, in operation 1902, the first device may receive a BAP packet including a BAP header and a data unit of a P2P connection, where the BAP packet may include information associated with the P2P connection.

Then in operation 1903, the first device may send the data unit to the third device via the first access link (e.g., access link 111 when MT portion 106 of IAB node 101 is a receiving peer device, access link 113 when MT portion 107 of IAB node 104 is a receiving peer device, access link 411 when UE 406 is a receiving peer device, and access link 415 when UE 407 is a receiving peer device) based on the configuration information and the BAP header received in operation 1901.

In some embodiments, the configuration information received in operation 1901 may include information about at least one of an identifier of the third device, an identifier of the P2P connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on the first access link of the P2P connection, an identifier of a logical channel used on the first access link for the P2P connection, and an identifier of the first access link.

In some embodiments, the information about the P2P connection included in the BAP header may include at least one of: an identifier of the P2P connection; an identifier of a radio bearer used on a second access link (e.g., access link 111 when MT portion 106 of IAB node 101 is a sending peer, access link 113 when MT portion 107 of IAB node 104 is a sending peer, access link 411 when UE 406 is a sending peer, and access link 415 when UE 407 is a sending peer) between a fourth device serving the second device in the second device and an integrated access and backhaul network for the P2P connection (e.g., IAB node 103 when MT portion 106 of IAB node 101 is a sending peer, IAB node 401 when MT portion 107 of IAB node 104 is a sending peer, and IA node 404 when UE 407 is a sending peer); an identifier of the second access link; and an identifier of the second device. For example, in the case where two peers (in the embodiment of fig. 19, the second device acts as a sending peer and the third device acts as a receiving peer) have a P2P connection via the same access IAB node, the identifier of the second device may be used to separate the connections of the two peers.

In some embodiments, the P2P connection may simulate a side link connection between the second device and the third device, and may include a side link PDCP communication layer and a side link SDAP communication layer terminating at the second device and the third device and transparently relayed through the IAB network.

Fig. 20 illustrates an example apparatus 2000 for P2P communication via an IAB network in one embodiment, which may be performed in a first device that is at least part of a receiving access IAB node, such as IAB node 102 when MT portion 106 of IAB node 101 acts as a receiving peer, IAB node 103 when MT portion 107 of IAB node 104 acts as a receiving peer, IAB node 401 when UE 406 acts as a receiving peer, and IAB node 404 when UE 407 acts as a receiving peer.

As shown in fig. 20, the example apparatus 2000 may include at least one processor 2001 and at least one memory 2002, which may include computer program code 2003. The at least one memory 2002 and the computer program code 2003 may be configured to, with the at least one processor 2001, cause the device 2000 to perform at least the operations of the example method 1900 described above.

In various embodiments, the at least one processor 2001 in the example apparatus 2000 may include, but is not limited to, at least one hardware processor including at least one microprocessor such as a CPU, a portion of at least one software processor, and any other suitable special purpose processor such as a processor developed based on, for example, FPGAs and ASICs. In addition, the at least one processor 2001 may also include at least one other circuit or element not shown in fig. 19.

In various embodiments, at least one memory 2002 in the example apparatus 2000 may include various forms of at least one storage medium, such as volatile memory and/or non-volatile memory. Volatile memory can include, for example, but is not limited to, RAM, cache, and the like. Nonvolatile storage may include, but is not limited to, ROM, hard disk, flash memory, and the like. Further, at least memory 2002 may include, but is not limited to, an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any combination of the foregoing.

Furthermore, in various embodiments, the example apparatus 2000 may also include at least one other circuit, element, and interface, such as at least one I/O interface, at least one antenna element, etc.

In various embodiments, the circuits, components, elements, and interfaces in the example apparatus 2000, including the at least one processor 2001 and the at least one memory 2002, are coupled together in any suitable manner, e.g., electrically, magnetically, optically, electromagnetically, etc., via any suitable connection, including, but not limited to, buses, crossbars, wiring, and/or wireless lines.

Fig. 21 illustrates an example device 2100 for P2P communication via an IAB network in one embodiment, which may be performed in a first device that is at least part of a receiving access IAB node, such as IAB node 102 when MT portion 106 of IAB node 101 acts as a receiving peer, IAB node 103 when MT portion 107 of IAB node 104 acts as a receiving peer, IAB node 401 when UE 406 acts as a receiving peer, and IAB node 404 when UE 407 acts as a receiving peer.

As shown in fig. 21, the example apparatus 2100 may include means for performing the operations of the example method 1900 described above in various embodiments. For example, device 2100 may include means 2101 for performing operation 1901 of example method 1900, means 2102 for performing step 1902 of example method 1900, and means 2103 for performing step 1903 of example method 1900. In one or more further embodiments, at least one I/O interface, at least one antenna element, etc., may also be included in the example device 2100. In some embodiments, examples of the apparatus in device 2100 may include circuitry. In some embodiments, examples of the apparatus may also include software modules and any other suitable functional entities. In some embodiments, one or more additional devices may be included in apparatus 2100 for performing one or more additional operations of example method 1900.

In some embodiments, the

example methods

1600 and 1900 may be implemented in the same apparatus. For example, the at least one memory 1702 and the computer program code 1703 in the example apparatus 1700 may also be configured to, with the at least one processor 1701, cause the apparatus 1700 to perform at least the operations of the example method 1900 described above. For example, the at least one memory 2002 and the computer program code 2003 in the example apparatus 2000 may also be configured to, with the at least one processor 2001, cause the apparatus 2000 to perform at least the operations of the example method 1600 described above. For example, the apparatus in the example device 1800 and the apparatus in the example device 2100 may be configured in the same apparatus further configured to perform both the example method 1600 and the example method 1900.

Another example embodiment may relate to computer program code or instructions that may cause an apparatus to perform at least the methods described above. Another example embodiment may relate to a computer-readable medium having such computer program code or instructions stored thereon. In some embodiments, such computer-readable media may include at least one storage medium in various forms, such as volatile memory and/or non-volatile memory. Volatile memory can include, for example, but is not limited to, RAM, cache, and the like. Nonvolatile memory may include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any combination of the preceding.

Throughout the specification and claims, the words "comprise," "include," and the like are to be construed as inclusive, rather than exclusive or exhaustive, unless the context clearly requires otherwise; that is, in the sense of "including but not limited to," as generally used herein, the term "coupled" refers to two or more elements that may be directly connected, or may be connected through one or more intervening elements. Also, as generally used herein, the term "connected" refers to two or more elements that may be connected directly, or through one or more intervening elements. Furthermore, the words "herein," "above," "below," and words of similar import, when used in this application, shall refer to this application as a whole and not to any particular portions of this application. Where the context allows, words in the specification using the singular or plural number may also include the plural or singular number, respectively. The word "or" refers to a list of two or more items, which encompasses all of the following interpretations of the word: any item in the list, all items in the list, and any combination of items in the list.

Furthermore, conditional language such as "may," e.g., "such as," "such as," etc., as used herein, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, but other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements, and/or states unless specifically stated otherwise or otherwise in the context of use. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that one or more embodiments require features, elements and/or states in any way or that one or more embodiments must include logic for deciding, with or without author input or prompting, whether these features, elements or states are included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment.

While some embodiments have been described, they are presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Indeed, the apparatus, methods, and systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions, and changes in the form of the methods and systems described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the disclosure. For example, when blocks are presented in a given arrangement, alternative embodiments may use different components and/or circuit topologies to perform similar functions, and some blocks may be deleted, moved, added, subdivided, combined, and/or modified. At least one of these blocks may be implemented in a variety of different ways. The order of the blocks may also be changed. Any suitable combination of the elements and acts of some of the above embodiments can be combined to provide further embodiments. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover forms or modifications falling within the scope and spirit of the disclosure.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to, as a first device:

receiving configuration information for a peer-to-peer connection between the first device and a second device from a donor device in an integrated access and backhaul network via the integrated access and backhaul network, and

based on the configuration information, sending the peer-to-peer connected data units via an access link to a third device serving the first device in the integrated access and backhaul network.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to:

a request is sent for establishing the peer-to-peer connection with the second device, the request comprising information about at least one of an identifier of the first device, an identifier of the second device, and an identifier of a data flow associated with the data unit.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the configuration information comprises information about at least one of a radio bearer used on the access link for the peer-to-peer connection and an identifier of the peer-to-peer link.

4. The apparatus of any of claims 1-3, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to:

a radio bearer for transmitting the data unit on the access link is determined based on the configuration information.

5. The apparatus of any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first device is a mobile terminal part of a user equipment or an integrated access and backhaul network node device in the integrated access and backhaul network.

6. The apparatus of any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the peer-to-peer connection emulates a side link connection between the first device and the second device and comprises a side link packet data convergence protocol communication layer and a side link service data adaptation protocol communication layer terminating at the first device and the second device and transparently relayed through the integrated access and backhaul network.

7. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to, as a first device in an integrated access and backhaul network:

receive routing and bearer mapping configuration information for a peer-to-peer connection between a second device and a third device served by the first device from a donor device in an integrated access and backhaul network via the integrated access and backhaul network,

receiving data units of the peer-to-peer connection from the second device via an access link, and

a backhaul adaptive protocol packet is sent based on the routing and bearer mapping configuration information comprising a backhaul adaptive protocol header and the data unit, the backhaul adaptive protocol header comprising information associated with the peer-to-peer connection.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the routing and bearer mapping configuration information comprises information regarding at least one of: a routing identifier for routing the data unit to a next hop device, an identifier of the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on the access link for the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a logical channel used on the access link for the peer-to-peer connection, and an identifier of a logical channel used to send back an adaptation protocol packet to the next hop device.

9. The apparatus of claim 7 or 8, wherein the information associated with the peer-to-peer connection includes at least one of a routing identifier for routing the data unit to a next hop device in the integrated access and backhaul network, an identifier of the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on the access link for the peer-to-peer connection, and an identifier of the second device.

10. The apparatus of any of claims 7 to 9, wherein the peer-to-peer connection emulates a sidelink connection between the second device and the third device and comprises a sidelink packet data convergence protocol communication layer and a sidelink service data adaptation protocol communication layer terminating at the second device and the third device and transparently relayed through the integrated access and backhaul network.

11. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one processor; and

Based on the configuration information, data units of the peer-to-peer connection are received via an access link from a third device serving the first device in the integrated access and backhaul network.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the configuration information comprises information regarding at least one of a radio bearer used on the access link for the peer-to-peer connection and an identifier of the peer-to-peer link.

13. The apparatus of claim 11 or 12, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to:

a radio bearer for carrying the data unit on the access link is determined based on the configuration information.

14. The apparatus of any of claims 11 to 13, wherein the first device is a user equipment or a mobile terminal part of an integrated access and backhaul network node device in the integrated access and backhaul network.

15. The apparatus of any of claims 11 to 14, wherein the peer-to-peer connection emulates a side link connection between the first device and the second device and comprises a side link packet data convergence protocol communication layer and a side link service data adaptation protocol communication layer terminating at the first device and the second device and transparently relayed through the integrated access and backhaul network.

16. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one processor; and

receiving bearer mapping configuration information for a peer-to-peer connection between a second device and a third device served by the first device from a donor device in an integrated access and backhaul network via the integrated access and backhaul network,

receiving a backhaul adaptation protocol packet comprising a backhaul adaptation protocol header and a data unit of the peer-to-peer connection, the backhaul adaptation protocol packet comprising information associated with the peer-to-peer link, and

and transmitting the data unit to the third device via a first access link based on the bearer mapping configuration information and the backhaul adaptation protocol header.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the bearer mapping configuration information comprises information regarding at least one of: an identifier of the third device, an identifier of the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on the first access link for the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a logical channel on the first access link for the peer-to-peer connection, and an identifier of the first access link.

18. The apparatus of claim 16 or 17, wherein the information associated with the peer-to-peer connection comprises at least one of: an identifier of the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on a second access link between a second device in the integrated access and backhaul network for the peer-to-peer connection and a fourth device serving the second device, an identifier of the second access link, and an identifier of the second device.

19. The apparatus of any of claims 16 to 18, wherein the peer-to-peer connection emulates a sidelink connection between the second device and the third device and comprises a sidelink packet data convergence protocol communication layer and a sidelink service data adaptation protocol communication layer, which terminate at the second device and the third device and are transparently relayed through the integrated access and backhaul network.

20. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to operate as a donor device in an integrated access and backhaul network to:

Transmitting first configuration information for a peer-to-peer connection between the first device and a second device to a first device via the integrated access and backhaul network, to enable the first device to transmit data units of the peer-to-peer connection to a third device in the integrated access and backhaul network serving the first device via a first access link,

transmitting second configuration information for the peer-to-peer connection to the second device to enable the second device to receive the data unit via a second access link from a fourth device serving the second device in the integrated access and backhaul network,

transmitting first routing and bearer mapping configuration information for said peer-to-peer connection to said third device, and

and sending second bearer mapping configuration information for the peer-to-peer connection to the fourth device.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to:

a request is received from the first device to establish a peer-to-peer connection with the second device, the request including information regarding at least one of an identifier of the first device, an identifier of the second device, and an identifier of a data stream associated with the data unit.

22. The apparatus of claim 20 or 21, wherein the first configuration information comprises information regarding at least one of a radio bearer used on the first access link for the peer-to-peer connection and an identifier of the peer-to-peer link.

23. The apparatus of any of claims 20 to 22, wherein the second configuration information comprises information regarding at least one of a radio bearer used on the second access link for the peer-to-peer connection and an identifier of the peer-to-peer link.

24. The apparatus of any of claims 20 to 23, wherein the first routing and bearer mapping configuration information comprises information regarding at least one of: a routing identifier for routing the data unit to a next hop device in the integrated access and backhaul network, an identifier for the next hop device, an identifier for a peer-to-peer connection, an identifier for a radio bearer used on the first access link for the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier for a logical channel used on the first access link for the peer-to-peer connection, and a logical channel identifier for transmitting backhaul adaptation protocol packets carrying the data unit to the next hop device.

25. The apparatus of any of claims 20 to 24, wherein the second bearer mapping configuration information comprises information regarding at least one of: an identifier of the second device, an identifier of the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on the second access link for the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier used on a logical channel for the peer-to-peer connection, and an identifier of the second access link.

26. The apparatus of any of claims 20 to 25, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to:

at least one device in the integrated access and backhaul network is determined, the at least one device including the third device and the fourth device, and a routing path is formed for bypassing the peer-to-peer connection of the donor device from the first device to the second device.

27. The apparatus of any of claims 20 to 26, wherein the peer-to-peer connection emulates a side link connection between the first device and the second device and comprises a side link packet data convergence protocol communication layer and a side link service data adaptation protocol communication layer terminating at the first device and the second device and transparently relayed through the integrated access and backhaul network.

28. A method, comprising:

receiving, at a first device, configuration information for a peer-to-peer connection between the first device and a second device from a donor device in an integrated access and backhaul network via the integrated access and backhaul network, and

based on the configuration information, the peer-to-peer connected data units are sent at the first device via an access link to a third device serving the first device in the integrated access and backhaul network.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising:

a request is sent for establishing a peer-to-peer connection with the second device, the request comprising information about at least one of an identifier of the first device, an identifier of the second device, and an identifier of a data flow associated with the data unit.

30. The method of claim 28 or 29, wherein the configuration information comprises information about at least one of a radio bearer used on the access link for the peer-to-peer connection and an identifier of the peer-to-peer link.

31. The method of any one of claims 28 to 30, further comprising:

32. The method according to any of claims 28 to 31, wherein the first device is a user equipment or a mobile terminal part of an integrated access and backhaul network node device in the integrated access and backhaul network.

33. The method of any of claims 28 to 32, wherein the peer-to-peer connection emulates a side link connection between the first device and the second device and comprises a side link packet data convergence protocol communication layer and a side link service data adaptation protocol communication layer, which terminate at the first device and the second device and transparently relay through the integrated access and backhaul network.

34. A method, comprising:

receiving, at a first device in an integrated access and backhaul network, routing and bearer mapping configuration information from a donor device in the integrated access and backhaul network for a peer-to-peer connection between a second device and a third device served by the first device,

receiving, at the first device, the peer-to-peer connected data units from the second device via an access link, and

at the first device, a backhaul adaptive protocol packet including a backhaul adaptive protocol header and the data unit is sent based on the routing and bearer mapping configuration information, the backhaul adaptive protocol header including information associated with the peer-to-peer connection.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the routing and bearer mapping configuration information comprises information regarding at least one of: a routing identifier for routing the data unit to a next hop device, an identifier of the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on the access link for the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a logical channel used on the access link for the peer-to-peer connection, and a logical channel identifier for transmitting the backhaul adaptation protocol packet to the next hop device.

36. The method of claim 34 or 35, wherein the information associated with the peer-to-peer connection comprises at least one of: a routing identifier for routing the data unit to a next hop device in the integrated access and backhaul network, an identifier of the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on the access link for the peer-to-peer connection, and an identifier of the second device.

37. The method of any of claims 34 to 36, wherein the peer-to-peer connection emulates a sidelink connection between the second device and the third device and comprises a sidelink packet data convergence protocol communication layer and a sidelink service data adaptation protocol communication layer, which terminate at the second device and the third device and transparently relay through the integrated access and backhaul network.

38. A method, comprising:

receiving, at a first device via an integrated access and backhaul network, configuration information for a peer-to-peer connection between the first device and a second device from a donor device in the integrated access and backhaul network, and

based on the configuration information, data units of the peer-to-peer connection are received at the first device via an access link from a third device serving the first device in the integrated access and backhaul network.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein the configuration information comprises information regarding at least one of a radio bearer used on the access link for the peer-to-peer connection and an identifier of the peer-to-peer link.

40. The method of claim 38 or 39, further comprising:

at the first device, a radio bearer for carrying the data unit on the access link is determined based on the configuration information.

41. A method as claimed in any one of claims 38 to 40, wherein the first device is a user equipment or a mobile terminal part of an integrated access and backhaul network node device in the integrated access and backhaul network.

42. The method of any of claims 38 to 41, wherein the peer-to-peer connection emulates a side link connection between the first device and the second device and comprises a side link packet data convergence protocol communication layer and a side link service data adaptation protocol communication layer terminating at the first device and the second device and transparently relayed through the integrated access and backhaul network.

43. A method, comprising:

receiving, at the first device, a backhaul adaptation protocol packet comprising a backhaul adaptation header and a data unit of the peer-to-peer connection, the backhaul adaptation protocol packet comprising information associated with the peer-to-peer link, and

the data unit is sent, at the first device, to the third device via a first access link based on the bearer mapping configuration information and the backhaul adaptation protocol header.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein the bearer mapping configuration information comprises information regarding at least one of: an identifier of the third device, an identifier of the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on the first access link for the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a logical channel used on the first access link for the peer-to-peer connection, and an identifier of the first access link.

45. The method of claim 43 or 44, wherein the information associated with the peer-to-peer connection comprises at least one of: an identifier of the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on a second access link between the second device and a fourth device serving the second device in the integrated access and backhaul network for the peer-to-peer connection, and an identifier of the second access link, and an identifier of the second device.

46. A method as claimed in any one of claims 43 to 45, wherein the peer-to-peer connection emulates a side link connection between the second device and the third device and comprises a side link packet data convergence protocol communication layer and a side link service data adaptation protocol communication layer terminating at the second device and transparently relayed through the integrated access and backhaul network.

47. A method, comprising:

transmitting first configuration information for a peer-to-peer connection between a first device and a second device to the first device via an integrated access and backhaul network at a donor device in the integrated access and backhaul network, to enable the first device to transmit data units of the peer-to-peer connection via a first access link to a third device serving the first device in the integrated access and backhaul network,

Transmitting, at the donor device, second configuration information for the peer-to-peer connection to the second device to enable the second device to receive the data unit via a second access link from a fourth device serving the second device in the integrated access and backhaul network,

transmitting, at the donor device, first routing and bearer mapping configuration information for the peer-to-peer connection to the third device, an

Second bearer mapping configuration information for the peer-to-peer connection is sent at the donor device to the fourth device.

48. The method of claim 47, further comprising:

at the donor device, a request is received from the first device to establish the peer-to-peer connection with the second device, the request including information about at least one of an identifier of the first device, an identifier of the second device, and an identifier of a data flow associated with the data unit.

49. The method of claim 47 or 48, wherein the first configuration information comprises information about at least one of a radio bearer used on the first access link for the peer-to-peer connection and an identifier of the peer-to-peer connection.

50. The method of any of claims 47-49, wherein the second configuration information includes at least one of information about at least one of: a radio bearer used on the second access link for the peer-to-peer connection and an identifier of the peer-to-peer link.

51. The method of any of claims 47 to 50, wherein the first routing and bearer mapping configuration information comprises information about at least one of: a routing identifier for routing the data unit to a next hop device in the integrated access and backhaul network, an identifier for the next hop device, an identifier for the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier for a radio bearer used on the first access link for the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier for a logical channel used on the first access link for the peer-to-peer connection, and a logical channel identifier for transmitting backhaul adaptation protocol packets carrying the data unit to the next hop device.

52. The method of any of claims 47 to 51, wherein the second bearer mapping configuration information comprises information about at least one of: an identifier of a second device, an identifier of the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on the second access link for the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a logical channel used on the second access link for the peer-to-peer connection, and an identifier of the second access link.

53. The method of any one of claims 47 to 52, further comprising:

at the donor device, at least one device in the integrated access and backhaul network is determined, the at least one device including the third device and the fourth device, and a routing path is formed for bypassing the peer-to-peer connection of the donor device from the first device to the second device.

54. A method as claimed in any one of claims 47 to 53, wherein the peer-to-peer connection emulates a side link connection between the first device and the second device and comprises a side link packet data convergence protocol communication layer and a side link service data adaptation protocol communication layer terminating at the first device and the second device and transparently relayed through the integrated access and backhaul network.

55. An apparatus as a first apparatus, comprising:

means for receiving configuration information for a peer-to-peer connection between the first device and a second device from a donor device in an integrated access and backhaul network via the integrated access and backhaul network, and

means for sending the peer-to-peer connected data units to a third device in the integrated access and backhaul network serving the first device via an access link based on the configuration information.

56. The apparatus of claim 55, further comprising:

means for sending a request for establishing a peer-to-peer connection with the second device, the request comprising information about at least one of an identifier of the first device, an identifier of the second device, and an identifier of a data flow associated with the data unit.

57. The apparatus of claim 55 or 56, wherein the configuration information comprises information regarding at least one of a radio bearer used on the access link for the peer-to-peer connection and an identifier of the peer-to-peer link.

58. The apparatus of any one of claims 55 to 57, further comprising:

means for determining a radio bearer for transmitting the data unit on the access link based on the configuration information.

59. The apparatus of any of claims 55 to 58, wherein the first apparatus is a user equipment or a mobile terminal part of an integrated access and backhaul network node apparatus in the integrated access and backhaul network.

60. The device of any of claims 55 to 59, wherein the peer-to-peer connection emulates a side link connection between the first device and the second device and includes a side link packet data convergence protocol communication layer and a side link service data adaptation protocol communication layer terminating at the first device and the second device and transparently relayed through the integrated access and backhaul network.

61. A device that is a first device in an integrated access and backhaul network, comprising:

means for receiving routing and bearer mapping configuration information for a peer-to-peer connection between a second device served by the first device and a third device from a donor device in an integrated access and backhaul network via the integrated access and backhaul network,

means for receiving data units of the peer-to-peer connection from the second device via an access link, and

means for sending a backhaul adaptive protocol packet comprising a backhaul adaptive protocol header and the data unit based on the routing and bearer mapping configuration information, the backhaul adaptive protocol header comprising information associated with the peer-to-peer connection.

62. The apparatus of claim 61, wherein the routing and bearer mapping configuration information comprises information regarding at least one of: a routing identifier for routing the data unit to a next hop device, an identifier of the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on the access link for the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a logical channel used on the access link for the peer-to-peer connection, and a logical channel identifier for transmitting the backhaul adaptation protocol packet to the next hop device.

63. The device of claim 61 or 62, wherein the information associated with the peer-to-peer connection comprises at least one of: a routing identifier for routing the data unit to a next hop device in the integrated access and backhaul network, an identifier of the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on the access link for the peer-to-peer connection, and an identifier of the second device.

64. The device of any of claims 61-63, wherein the peer-to-peer connection emulates a side link connection between the second device and the third device and includes a side link packet data convergence protocol communication layer and a side link service data adaptation protocol communication layer that terminate at the second device and the third device and transparently relay through the integrated access and backhaul network.

65. An apparatus as a first apparatus, comprising:

means for receiving data units of the peer-to-peer connection from a third device serving the first device in the integrated access and backhaul network via an access link based on the configuration information.

66. The apparatus of claim 65, wherein the configuration information comprises information regarding at least one of a radio bearer used on the access link for the peer-to-peer connection and an identifier of the peer-to-peer link.

67. The apparatus of claim 65 or 66, further comprising:

means for determining, at the first device, a radio bearer for carrying the data unit on the access link based on the configuration information.

68. The apparatus of any one of claims 65 to 67, wherein the first apparatus is a user equipment or a mobile terminal part of an integrated access and backhaul network node apparatus in the integrated access and backhaul network.

69. The device of any one of claims 65 to 68, wherein the peer-to-peer connection emulates a side link connection between the first device and the second device and includes a side link packet data convergence protocol communication layer and a side link service data adaptation protocol communication layer terminating at the first device and the second device and transparently relayed through the integrated access and backhaul network.

70. A device that is a first device in an integrated access and backhaul network, comprising:

Means for receiving bearer mapping configuration information for a peer-to-peer connection between a second device and a third device served by the first device from a donor device in an integrated access and backhaul network via the integrated access and backhaul network,

apparatus for receiving a backhaul adaptive protocol packet, the backhaul adaptive protocol comprising a backhaul adaptive protocol header and a data unit of the peer-to-peer connection, the backhaul adaptive protocol packet comprising information associated with the peer-to-peer link, and

means for transmitting the data unit to the third device via a first access link based on the bearer mapping configuration information and the backhaul adaptation protocol header.

71. The apparatus of claim 70, wherein the bearer mapping configuration information comprises information regarding at least one of: an identifier of the third device, an identifier of the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on the first access link for the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a logical channel used on the first access link for the peer-to-peer connection, and an identifier of the first access link.

72. The device of claim 70 or 71, wherein the information associated with the peer-to-peer connection comprises at least one of: an identifier of the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on a second access link between a second device in the integrated access and backhaul network for peer-to-peer connection and a fourth device serving the second device, an identifier of the second access link, and an identifier of the second device.

73. The device of any of claims 70 to 72, wherein the peer-to-peer connection emulates a side link connection between the second device and the third device and comprises a side link packet data convergence protocol communication layer and a side link service data adaptation protocol communication layer terminating at the second device and the third device and transparently relayed through the integrated access and backhaul network.

74. An apparatus as a donor device in an integrated access and backhaul network, comprising:

means for sending first configuration information for a peer-to-peer connection between the first device and a second device to a first device via the integrated access and backhaul network, to enable the first device to send data units of the peer-to-peer connection to a third device in the integrated access and backhaul network serving the first device via a first access link,

Means for sending second configuration information for the peer-to-peer connection to the second device to enable the second device to receive the data unit via a second access link from a fourth device serving the second device in the integrated access and backhaul network,

means for sending first routing and bearer mapping configuration information for said peer-to-peer connection to said third device, an

Means for sending second bearer mapping configuration information for the peer-to-peer connection to the fourth device.

75. The apparatus of claim 74, further comprising:

means for receiving a request from the first device for establishing a peer-to-peer connection with the second device, the request comprising information about at least one of an identifier of the first device, an identifier of the second device, and an identifier of a data stream associated with the data unit.

76. The apparatus of claim 74 or 75, wherein the first configuration information comprises information regarding at least one of a radio bearer used on the first access link for the peer-to-peer connection and an identifier of the peer-to-peer link.

77. The apparatus of any of claims 74-76, wherein the second configuration information includes at least one of information regarding at least one of: a radio bearer used on the second access link for the peer-to-peer connection and an identifier of the peer-to-peer link.

78. The apparatus of any of claims 74-77, wherein the first routing and bearer mapping configuration information comprises information regarding at least one of: a routing identifier for routing the data unit to a next hop device in the integrated access and backhaul network, an identifier for the next hop device, an identifier for the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier for a radio bearer used on the first access link for the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier for a logical channel used on the first access link for the peer-to-peer connection, and a logical channel identifier for transmitting backhaul adaptation protocol packets carrying the data unit to the next hop device.

79. The apparatus of any of claims 74-78, wherein the second bearer mapping configuration information comprises information regarding at least one of: an identifier of the second device, an identifier of the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on the second access link for the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a logical channel used on a second access link for the peer-to-peer connection, and an identifier of the second access link.

80. The apparatus of any one of claims 74 to 79, further comprising:

means for determining at least one device in the integrated access and backhaul network, the at least one device comprising the third device and the fourth device, and forming a routing path for bypassing a peer-to-peer connection of the donor device from the first device to the second device.

81. The device of any of claims 74-80, wherein the peer-to-peer connection emulates a side link connection between the first device and the second device and includes a side link packet data convergence protocol communication layer and a side link service data adaptation protocol communication layer that terminate at the first device and the second device and transparently relay through the integrated access and backhaul network.

82. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon for causing the device to perform as a first device:

receiving configuration information for a peer-to-peer connection between the first device and the second device from a donor device in the integrated access and backhaul network via the integrated access and backhaul network, and

And transmitting the data unit of the peer-to-peer connection to a third device serving the first device in the integrated access and backhaul network via an access link based on the configuration information.

83. The computer-readable medium of claim 82, wherein the instructions further cause the device to:

a request is sent for establishing the peer-to-peer connection with the second device, the request comprising information about at least one of an identifier of the first device, an identifier of the third device, and an identifier of a data flow associated with the data unit.

84. The computer-readable medium of claim 82 or 83, wherein the configuration information comprises information regarding at least one of a radio bearer used on the access link for the peer-to-peer connection and an identifier of the peer-to-peer link.

85. The computer-readable medium of any one of claims 82-83, wherein the instructions further cause the device to:

86. The computer readable medium of any one of claims 82 to 85, wherein the first device is a mobile terminal part of a user equipment or an integrated access and backhaul network node device in the integrated access and backhaul network.

87. The computer readable medium of any one of claims 82 to 86, wherein the peer-to-peer connection emulates a sidelink connection between the first device and the second device and includes a sidelink packet data convergence protocol communication layer and a sidelink service data adaptation protocol communication layer that terminate at the first device and the second device and transparently relay through the integrated access and backhaul network.

88. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon for causing the device to act as a first device in an integrated access and backhaul network to:

receive routing and bearer mapping configuration information for a peer-to-peer connection between a second device served by the first device and a third device from a donor device in the integrated access and backhaul network via the integrated access and backhaul network,

89. The computer readable medium of claim 88, wherein the routing and bearer mapping configuration information comprises information regarding at least one of: a routing identifier for routing the data unit to a next hop device, an identifier of the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on the access link for the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a logical channel used on the access link for the peer-to-peer connection, and an identifier of a logical channel used to send the backhaul adaptation protocol packet to the next hop device.

90. The computer readable medium of claim 88 or 89, wherein the information associated with the peer-to-peer connection comprises at least one of: a routing identifier for routing the data unit to a next hop device in the integrated access and backhaul network, an identifier of the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on the access link for the peer-to-peer connection, and an identifier of the second device.

91. The computer readable medium of any one of claims 88 to 90, wherein the peer-to-peer connection emulates a sidelink connection between the second device and the third device and includes a sidelink packet data convergence protocol communication layer and a sidelink service data adaptation protocol communication layer that terminate at the second device and transparently relay through the integrated access and backhaul network.

92. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon for causing the device to act as a first device to:

based on the configuration information, data units of the peer-to-peer connection are received via an access link and from a third device in the integrated access and backhaul network serving the first device.

93. The computer-readable medium of claim 92, wherein the configuration information includes information regarding at least one of a radio bearer used on the access link for the peer-to-peer connection and an identifier of the peer-to-peer link.

94. The computer-readable medium of claim 92 or 93, wherein the instructions further cause the device to:

95. The computer readable medium of any of claims 92-94, wherein the first device is a user equipment or a mobile terminal part of an integrated access and backhaul network node device in an integrated access and backhaul network.

96. The computer readable medium of any one of claims 92 to 95, wherein the peer-to-peer connection emulates a sidelink connection between the first device and the second device and includes a sidelink packet data convergence protocol communication layer and a sidelink service data adaptation protocol communication layer that terminate at the first apparatus and the second device and transparently relay through the integrated access and backhaul network.

97. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon for causing the device to act as a first device in an integrated access and backhaul network to:

bearer mapping configuration information for a peer-to-peer connection between a second device and a third device served by the first device is received from a donor device in an integrated access and backhaul network via the integrated access and backhaul network,

98. The computer-readable medium of claim 97, wherein the bearer mapping configuration information comprises information regarding at least one of: an identifier of the third device, an identifier of the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on the first access link for the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a logical channel used on the first access link for the peer-to-peer connection, and an identifier of the first access link.

99. The computer readable medium of claim 97 or 98, wherein the information associated with the peer-to-peer connection comprises at least one of: an identifier of the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on a second access link between the second device and a fourth device serving the second device in the integrated access and backhaul network, an identifier of the second access link, and an identifier of the second device.

100. The computer readable medium of any one of claims 97-99, wherein the peer-to-peer connection emulates a sidelink connection between the second device and the third device and includes a sidelink packet data convergence protocol communication layer and a sidelink service data adaptation protocol communication layer that terminate at the second device and transparently relay through the integrated access and backhaul network.

101. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus that is a donor device in an integrated access and backhaul network to:

transmitting first configuration information for a peer-to-peer connection between the first device and a second device to a first device via an integrated access and backhaul network, to enable the first device to transmit data units of the peer-to-peer connection via a first access link to a third device serving the first device in the integrated access and backhaul network,

102. The computer-readable medium of claim 101, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to:

103. The computer-readable medium of claim 101 or 102, wherein the first configuration information comprises information regarding at least one of a radio bearer used on the first access link for the peer-to-peer connection and an identifier of the peer-to-peer link.

104. The computer readable medium of any of claims 101 to 103, wherein the second configuration information includes at least one of information about at least one of: a radio bearer used on the second access link for a peer-to-peer connection and an identifier of the peer-to-peer connection.

105. The computer readable medium of any of claims 101-104, wherein the first routing and bearer mapping configuration information comprises information regarding at least one of: a routing identifier for routing the data unit to a next hop device in the integrated access and backhaul network, an identifier for the next hop device, an identifier for the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier for a radio bearer used on the first access link for the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier for a logical channel used on the first access link for the peer-to-peer connection, and a logical channel identifier for transmitting backhaul adaptation protocol packets carrying the data unit to the next hop device.

106. The computer readable medium of any of claims 101-105, wherein the second bearer mapping configuration information comprises information regarding at least one of: an identifier of the second device, an identifier of the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a radio bearer used on the second access link for the peer-to-peer connection, an identifier of a logical channel used on the second access link for the peer-to-peer connection, and an identifier of the second access link.

107. The computer-readable medium of any one of claims 101-106, wherein the instructions further cause the apparatus to:

at least one device in the integrated access and backhaul network is determined, the at least one device including the third device and the fourth device, and a routing path is formed for bypassing a peer-to-peer connection of the donor device from the first device to the second device.

108. The computer readable medium of any one of claims 101 to 107, wherein the peer-to-peer connection emulates a sidelink connection between the first device and the second device and includes a sidelink packet data convergence protocol communication layer and a sidelink service data adaptation protocol communication layer that terminate at the first device and the second device and transparently relay through the integrated access and backhaul network.