CN116711379A

CN116711379A - Wireless communication method, communication device and communication system

Info

Publication number: CN116711379A
Application number: CN202180088406.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 刘菁; 朱元萍
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-01-26
Filing date: 2021-01-26
Publication date: 2023-09-05
Also published as: WO2022160108A1

Abstract

The embodiment of the application provides a wireless communication method, a communication device and a communication system. The method comprises the following steps: the first node obtains first information including at least one of: load information of at least one next-hop node of the first node, interference information of the at least one next-hop node, channel quality between the first node and the at least one next-hop node, and link hop count information of the first node reaching the target node through the at least one next-hop node; the first node determines to transmit the data packet through the second node according to the first information, and the at least one next-hop node comprises the second node. In this scheme, a first node selects a node for transmission of a data packet (such as data or signaling) from among the next-hop nodes of the first node based on information of one or more next-hop nodes of the first node. The method can be used for selecting a proper next-hop node for the first node, and can improve the information transmission efficiency in the routing path.

Description

Wireless communication method, communication device and communication system

Technical Field

The embodiment of the application relates to the technical field of communication, in particular to a wireless communication method, a communication device and a communication system.

Background

In wireless communications, when communicating between User Equipment (UEs), information sent by one UE needs to be forwarded through a route of one or more nodes in the wireless network to reach another UE.

The nodes through which the information sent by the UE passes form a routing path, and how to improve the information transmission efficiency in the routing path is currently needed to be solved.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a wireless communication method, a communication device and a communication system, which are used for improving the information transmission efficiency in a routing path.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a wireless communication method, including: the first node obtains first information, the first information comprising at least one of: load information of at least one next-hop node of the first node, interference information of the at least one next-hop node, channel quality between the first node and the at least one next-hop node, and link hop count information of the first node reaching a target node through the at least one next-hop node; and the first node determines to transmit the data packet through a second node according to the first information, wherein the at least one next-hop node comprises the second node.

Based on the above scheme, the first node selects a node for transmitting a data packet (such as data or signaling) from the next-hop nodes of the first node based on information of one or more next-hop nodes of the first node. The method can be used for selecting a proper next-hop node for the first node, and can improve the information transmission efficiency in the routing path.

In one possible implementation method, the first node receives load information of the at least one next-hop node and/or interference information of the at least one next-hop node from an access network node; or the first node receives load information of a first next-hop node from the first next-hop node and/or interference information of the first next-hop node, wherein the first next-hop node is any one node of the at least one next-hop node.

In one possible implementation, the first node receives a channel quality between the first node and the at least one next hop node from the access network node; alternatively, the first node autonomously determines the channel quality between the first node and the at least one next-hop node.

In one possible implementation method, the first node receives the link hop count information from the access network node, where the link hop count information corresponds to a route identifier and identification information of the next hop node, and the route identifier includes identification information of the target node and a path identifier.

In one possible implementation method, the first node receives the link hop count information from the access network node, where the link hop count indicated by the link hop count information is a minimum link hop count for the first node to reach the target node through the next hop node, and the link hop count information corresponds to the identification information of the next hop node and the identification information of the target node.

In one possible implementation method, the first node receives identification information of a first next-hop node from a first next-hop node, where the first next-hop node is any one of the at least one next-hop node.

In one possible implementation method, the first node receives identification information of a first next-hop node from the first next-hop node, including:

The first node receives identification information of the first next-hop node from the first next-hop node through a side downlink between the first node and the first next-hop node.

In one possible implementation, the first node receives identification information of a target node that can be reached by the first next-hop node from the first next-hop node.

In one possible implementation, the first node receives minimum link hop count information from the first next-hop node of the first next-hop node to reach the reachable target node.

In one possible implementation method, the first node receives first indication information from the access network node, where the first indication information indicates that the first node receives a mapping relationship between a first bearer of the data packet and a second bearer of the data packet sent by the first node, where the first bearer is a backhaul radio link control channel, and the second bearer is a radio bearer or a radio link control channel on a side link between the first node and the at least one next-hop node.

In one possible implementation, the first node sends second indication information to the access network node, where the second indication information indicates that the first node supports side uplink.

In one possible implementation, the first node receives third indication information from the access network node, the third indication information indicating that a side-link of the first node is enabled.

In one possible implementation method, the first node and the second node are both IAB nodes, and the target node is an IAB host node or an access IAB node; or the first node is an IAB host node, the second node is an IAB node, and the target node is an access IAB node.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a wireless communication method, including: a first node receives second indication information from an access network node, wherein the second indication information indicates that a side uplink of the first node is enabled; the first node enables a side uplink of the first node according to the second indication information.

Based on the scheme, the side uplink of the first node can be enabled, so that the first node can communicate with other nodes through the side uplink interface between the first node and the other nodes, and the information transmission efficiency in the routing path can be improved.

In one possible implementation method, before the first node receives the second indication information from the access network node, the first node sends first indication information to the access network node, where the first indication information indicates that the first node supports a side uplink.

In one possible implementation method, the first node is an IAB node, and the access network node is an IAB host node.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a wireless communication method, including: a first node receives indication information from an access network node, wherein the indication information indicates a mapping relation between a first bearer for the first node to receive a data packet and a second bearer for the first node to send the data packet, the first bearer is a backhaul radio link control channel, and the second bearer is a radio bearer or a radio link control channel on a side link between the first node and a next hop node of the first node; and the first node sends the data packet received from the first bearer to the next hop node through the second bearer according to the indication information.

Based on the scheme, the first node can quickly determine the bearing of the sent data packet, so that the information transmission efficiency in the routing path can be improved.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a wireless communication method, including: the method comprises the steps that a first node receives identification information of a second node from an access network node, wherein the first node is a node accessed by first User Equipment (UE), and the second node is a node accessed by second UE; the first node sends a first data packet to the second UE through the second node, the first data packet carrying first information and second information, the first information including data or signaling from the first UE, the second information including one or more of: the access layer identification of the second UE and the identification information of a first transmission channel, wherein the first transmission channel is a channel for transmitting the first information between the second UE and the second node.

Based on the scheme, the first node can obtain the identification information of the node accessed by the second UE from the access network node, and then the first node can send the data packet to the second UE through the second node. Compared with the prior art, the routing path of the data packet can be shortened, and the transmission delay of the data packet is reduced, so that the information transmission efficiency in the routing path is improved.

In one possible implementation method, the first node sends, through the second node, a first data packet to the second UE, including: the first node sends the first data packet to the second node, and the second node is used for sending the first data packet to the second UE; or the first node sends the first data packet to a third node, the third node is used for sending the first data packet to the second UE through the second node, and the third node is an intermediate node between the first node and the second node.

In a possible implementation method, before the first node receives identification information of a second node from the access network node, the first node receives a second data packet from the first UE through a second transmission channel, where the second data packet carries the first information and an application layer identifier of the second UE, and the second transmission channel is a channel for transmitting the first information between the first UE and the first node; and the first node acquires the access layer identifier of the second UE according to the application layer identifier of the second UE.

In a possible implementation method, the first node obtains an access layer identifier of the second UE according to an application identifier of the second UE, including: the first node sends an application layer identification of the second UE to the access network node;

the first node receives an access stratum identification of the second UE from the access network node.

In one possible implementation method, the application layer identifier of the second UE is carried in a medium access control MAC layer header field or a radio link control RLC layer header field of the second data packet.

In one possible implementation, the first node receives identification information of the first transmission channel from the access network node.

In one possible implementation, the second information is carried in a backhaul adaptation protocol BAP layer header field of the first data packet.

In one possible implementation method, the first node receives first indication information from the access network node, where the first indication information indicates that the first node enables a local delivery function.

In one possible implementation method, before the first node receives the first indication information from the access network node, the first node sends second indication information to the access network node, where the second indication information indicates that the first node supports a local delivery function.

In one possible implementation method, the first node and the second node are both IAB nodes, and the access network node is an IAB host node.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a wireless communication method, including: the access network node receives an application layer identification of a second UE from a first node, wherein the first node is a node to which the first UE is accessed; the access network node determines the access layer identification of the second UE according to the application layer identification of the second UE; and the access network node sends the access layer identification of the second UE and the identification information of a second node to the first node, wherein the second node is the node accessed by the second UE.

In one possible implementation method, the access network node sends identification information of a first transmission channel to the first node, where the first transmission channel is a channel for transmitting a data packet from the first UE between the second UE and the second node.

In one possible implementation, the access network node sends first indication information to the first node, the first indication information indicating that the first node enables a local delivery function.

In one possible implementation method, before the access network node sends the first indication information to the first node, the access network node receives second indication information from the first node, where the second indication information indicates that the first node supports a local delivery function.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be a first node, and may also be a chip for the first node. The apparatus has the function of implementing any possible implementation method of the first aspect to the fourth aspect. The functions can be realized by hardware, and can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, where the device may be an access network node, and may also be a chip for the access network node. The apparatus has the function of implementing any possible implementation of the fifth aspect described above. The functions can be realized by hardware, and can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, including a processor, the processor being coupled to a memory, the memory being configured to store a program or instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the device to implement any of the possible implementation methods of the first to fifth aspects described above. The memory may be located within the device or may be located external to the device. And the processor includes one or more.

In a ninth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communications device comprising means for performing the steps of any possible implementation method of the first to fifth aspects described above.

In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, including a processor and an interface circuit, where the processor is configured to control the interface circuit to communicate with other devices, and perform any of the possible implementation methods of the first to fifth aspects. The processor includes one or more.

In an eleventh aspect, embodiments of the present application also provide a computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform any of the possible implementation methods of the first to fifth aspects described above.

In a twelfth aspect, embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product, which when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform any of the possible implementation methods of the first to fifth aspects described above.

In a thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip system, including a processor, where the processor is coupled to a memory, and the memory is configured to store a program or an instruction, where the program or the instruction, when executed by the processor, causes the chip system to implement any possible implementation method of the first aspect to the fifth aspect. The memory may be located within the system-on-chip or may be located outside the system-on-chip. And the processor includes one or more.

In a fourteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, including a first node for performing any of the possible implementation methods of the fourth aspect and an access network node for performing any of the possible implementation methods of the fifth aspect.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a routing path;

fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a routing path;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a routing path;

FIG. 8 is a diagram of a gNB-CU and gNB-DU separation architecture in NR;

FIG. 9 is a diagram of a control plane protocol stack under a CU-DU separation architecture for gNB;

fig. 10 is a schematic diagram of a user plane protocol stack under a CU-DU separation architecture for the gNB;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a two-hop data backhaul scenario;

FIG. 12 is a diagram of a control plane protocol stack for two-hop data backhaul;

fig. 13 is a schematic diagram of a user plane protocol stack of two-hop data backhaul;

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating data transmission in a two-hop data backhaul;

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of a networking scheme;

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example networking scheme;

FIG. 17 is an exemplary diagram of node relationships;

fig. 18 is a diagram of an example radio link failure;

FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram of node communication;

FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram of node communication;

fig. 21 is a schematic diagram of an IAB mesh networking scenario;

fig. 22 is a schematic diagram of an IAB mesh networking scenario;

fig. 23 is a DL data transfer protocol stack;

FIG. 24 is a schematic diagram of a local switch mode data transmission;

FIG. 25 is a flow chart of a local switch in an IAB mesh networking scenario;

fig. 26 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 27 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

As described in the background art, the nodes through which the information sent by the UE passes form a routing path, and how to improve the information transmission efficiency in the routing path is needed to be solved at present. In some cases, for example, due to abnormal links between nodes or failure of the nodes, a certain node in the routing path cannot normally route information to a next hop node or UE of the node, and the node needs to select a rerouted node. How to select a node with a proper rerouting to improve the information transmission efficiency in a routing path is the first problem to be solved by the embodiment of the present application. Or, in the distributed routing scenario, each node determines the next-hop node of the data packet by itself, and how to select an appropriate next-hop node for the node is also a problem to be solved by the embodiment of the present application, that is, how to select an appropriate next-hop node for the node no matter the routing or rerouting of the data packet is the problem to be solved by the embodiment of the present application. For convenience of description, the embodiment of the present application is illustrated by taking rerouting of the data packet as an example, and the scheme of the embodiment of the present application is also applicable to a routing scenario of the data packet, which is not described herein.

To solve the above problems, an embodiment of the present application provides a wireless communication method, as shown in fig. 1, including the following steps:

in step 101, a first node obtains first information.

The first node is any one of nodes in the routing path except the target node. The target node refers to a node accessed by the receiving end UE.

Wherein the first information includes at least one of:

1) Load information of at least one next hop node of the first node;

the load information of a node may be used to reflect the resource occupancy of the node. In general, the heavier a node is, the more resources are occupied by the node, and thus the lower the routing efficiency of the node. Nodes that are relatively lightly loaded are typically selected for routing. Routing refers to selecting an appropriate transmission path for a packet to transmit.

2) Interference information of at least one next hop node of the first node;

interference information for a node may be used to reflect the link quality condition for that node. In general, the greater the interference of a node, the poorer the link quality of the node, which is prone to packet loss. And thus nodes with relatively low interference will typically be selected for routing.

3) Channel quality between the first node and at least one next hop node;

the channel quality between the first node and the next-hop node of the first node may be used to reflect the quality of the information transmission between the first node and the next-hop node of the first node. In general, the better the channel quality, the better the information transmission quality. Nodes with relatively good channel quality are typically selected for routing.

4) The first node reaches the link hop count information of the target node through at least one next hop node.

The link hop count information is used to indicate the number of nodes passing through in the routing path, and each node is a hop. In general, the fewer hops, the smaller the transmission delay, and the faster the information can reach the target node. Nodes with relatively few link hops are typically selected for routing.

Step 102, the first node determines to transmit the data packet through the second node according to the first information, wherein the at least one next-hop node includes the second node.

Optionally, the transmission of the data packet includes routing of the data packet, or rerouting of the data packet. Taking rerouting as an example, based on the foregoing scheme, a first node selects a node for rerouting a data packet (such as data or signaling) from among the next-hop nodes of the first node based on information of one or more next-hop nodes of the first node. The method can be used for selecting a proper next-hop node for the first node, and can improve the information transmission efficiency in the routing path.

Illustratively, referring to fig. 2, a routing path schematic is shown. Node 1 (also referred to as a first node) and node 1 have a link failure between the next-hop nodes in the routing path (i.e., node 4), node 1 needs to select the next-hop node for rerouting. That is, the original path of the data packet is that the node 1 reaches the target node 1 through the node 4, and once the link between the node 1 and the node 4 fails, the original path of the data packet cannot continue to transmit data, and the node 1 needs to select a new path for transmitting (i.e. rerouting) the data packet. In this example, node 1 contains 3 next-hop nodes, namely node 2, node 3 and node 5, that is, node 1 can reach target node 1 through node 2 or node 3 or node 5, respectively. The node 1 selects a next-hop node for rerouting of the data packet based on the first information to be node 3 (also referred to as a second node).

Different implementation methods for the first node to obtain the first information are described below.

In the following description of the embodiments of the present application, an access network node is a node for managing and controlling a node in a routing path. The identification information of a node may be address information of the node (e.g., a backhaul adaptation protocol (backhaul adaptation protocol, BAP) address or an internet protocol (Internet Protocol, IP) address, etc.), or an Identification (ID) of the node, etc.

As an implementation method, the first node receives load information of at least one next-hop node of the first node and/or interference information of at least one next-hop node from the access network node.

As another implementation method, the first node receives load information of each next-hop node and/or interference information of the next-hop node from each next-hop node of the first node respectively. For example, any one of the at least one next-hop nodes of the first node is referred to as a first next-hop node, the first node receives load information of the first next-hop node and/or interference information of the first next-hop node from the first next-hop node.

As one implementation, a first node receives channel quality between the first node and at least one next hop node of the first node from an access network node.

As another implementation, the first node autonomously determines the channel quality between the first node and at least one next-hop node of the first node. Or it is understood that the channel quality between the first node and at least one next hop node of the first node is measured or calculated by the first node.

As an implementation method, a first node receives, from an access network node, link hop count information of the first node reaching a target node through at least one next hop node, where the link hop count information corresponds to a route identifier and identification information of the next hop node, and the route identifier includes identification information and a path identifier of the target node. For example, when the access network node configures the routing table for the first node, the routing table includes identification information of a next-hop node of the first node, a route identification of the first node reaching the target node through the next-hop node, and link hop count information of the first node reaching the target node through the next-hop node.

As another implementation method, the first node receives, from the access network node, link hop count information of the first node reaching the target node through at least one next hop node, where the link hop count indicated by the link hop count information is a minimum link hop count of the first node reaching the target node through the next hop node, and the link hop count information corresponds to identification information of the next hop node and identification information of the target node. For example, the access network node may indicate to the first node the minimum link hop count information for the first node to reach the target node through the at least one next hop node by the indication information.

As an implementation method, the first node may receive, from each next-hop node of the first node, identification information of the next-hop node. Any one of the at least one next-hop nodes of the first node is referred to as a first next-hop node, the first node may receive identification information of the first next-hop node from the first next-hop node. For example, the first next-hop node sends the identification information of the first next-hop node to the first node through an air interface between the first next-hop node and the first node. For another example, the first next-hop node transmits identification information of the first next-hop node to the first node through a side-downlink interface between the first next-hop node and the first node.

As an implementation method, the first node may receive, from the first next-hop node, identification information of a target node that the first next-hop node can reach. That is, the first next-hop node sends the identification information of the target node that the first next-hop node can reach to the first node, so that when the subsequent first node needs to select a node for transmission (such as rerouting), it can be known whether the first next-hop node can be used as a candidate next-hop node. Optionally, the first next-hop node does not send all link hop count information of the first next-hop node reaching the target node to the first node, but sends the minimum link hop count information of the first next-hop node reaching the target node to the first node.

As an implementation method, the first node further receives first indication information from the access network node, where the first indication information indicates a mapping relationship between a first bearer of a data packet received by the first node and a second bearer of a data packet received by the first node, the first bearer being a backhaul radio link control channel (backhaul radio link control channel, BH RLC CH), and the second bearer being a radio bearer (e.g., a data radio bearer or a signaling radio bearer) or a radio link control channel (radio link control channel, RLC CH) on a side link between the first node and at least one next hop node. The first node can learn according to the first indication information: a data packet received from a first bearer should be sent from a second bearer to a next hop node of the first node. It should be noted that the second bearers between the first node and the different next hop nodes are respectively different.

As an implementation method, if the first node supports the sidelink, the first node may send second indication information to the access network node, where the second indication information indicates that the first node supports the sidelink, or indicates that the first node supports a function of sidelink communication, or indicates that the first node supports a sidelink interface. Alternatively, the first node may receive third indication information from the access network node, the third indication information indicating that the side-link of the first node is enabled, so that the first node may enable the side-link of the first node according to the third indication information.

When the above wireless communication method is applied to an access backhaul integrated (Integrated Access and Backhaul, IAB) scenario, the first node and the second node are both IAB nodes, or the first node is an IAB host node (i.e., a DU of an IAB host node) and the second node is an IAB node, or the first node is an IAB node and the second node is an IAB host node (i.e., a DU of an IAB host node), and the access network node is an IAB host node (i.e., a CU of an IAB host node). If the wireless communication method is applied to uplink transmission, the target node is an IAB host node (i.e., a DU of the IAB host node). If the above wireless communication method is applied to downlink transmission, the target node is an access IAB node. Wherein, the access node refers to a node accessed by the UE.

In order to solve the technical problems mentioned in the background art, referring to fig. 3, an embodiment of the present application further provides a wireless communication method, which includes the following steps:

in step 301, the first node receives second indication information from an access network node.

The second indication information indicates that the side-link of the first node is enabled.

In step 302, the first node enables a side uplink of the first node according to the second indication information.

Optionally, before step 301, the first node sends first indication information to the access network node, where the first indication information indicates that the first node supports a side uplink, or indicates that the first node supports a function of side uplink communication, or indicates that the first node supports a side uplink interface.

When the wireless communication method is applied to an IAB scenario, the first node is an IAB node, or the first node is an IAB host node (i.e., a DU of an IAB host node), and the access network node is an IAB host node (i.e., a CU of an IAB host node).

In order to solve the technical problems mentioned in the background art, referring to fig. 4, an embodiment of the present application further provides a wireless communication method, which includes the following steps:

in step 401, the first node receives indication information from an access network node.

The indication information indicates a mapping relationship between a first bearer for the first node to receive the data packet and a second bearer for the first node to transmit the data packet, the first bearer being a backhaul radio link control channel, the second bearer being a radio bearer or a radio link control channel on a sidelink between the first node and a next hop node of the first node.

In step 402, the first node sends the data packet received from the first bearer to the next hop node through the second bearer according to the indication information.

When the wireless communication method is applied to an IAB scenario, the first node is an IAB node, and the access network node is an IAB host node (i.e., a CU of the IAB host node).

As described in the background art, the nodes through which the information sent by the UE passes form a routing path, and how to improve the information transmission efficiency in the routing path is needed to be solved at present. Currently, when one UE sends a data packet to another UE, the data packet sent from the one UE needs to be sent to a user plane node of the core network through a node in the routing path, and then the user plane node sends the data packet to the other UE through the node in the routing path. That is, the transmission of the existing data packet needs to be processed by the core network node, and in this way, the transmission path of the data packet is longer, which causes a larger time delay. How to reduce the transmission delay of the data packet so as to improve the information transmission efficiency in the routing path is a second problem to be solved by the embodiment of the application.

To solve the problem, an embodiment of the present application provides a wireless communication method, as shown in fig. 5, including the steps of:

step 501, a first node receives identification information of a second node from an access network node.

The first node is a node accessed by the first UE, and the second node is a node accessed by the second UE.

In step 502, the first node sends a first data packet to a second UE through a second node.

The first data packet carries first information including data or signaling from the first UE and second information including one or more of: the access layer identification of the second UE and the identification information of a first transmission channel, wherein the first transmission channel is a channel for transmitting first information between the second UE and a second node.

Optionally, the second information is carried in a backhaul adaptation protocol (backhaul adaptation protocol, BAP) layer header field of the first data packet. Based on the scheme, the first node can obtain the identification information of the node accessed by the second UE from the access network node, and then the first node can send the data packet to the second UE through the second node. Compared with the prior art, the transmission of the data packet does not need to be processed by the core network node, the routing path of the data packet can be shortened, and the transmission delay of the data packet is reduced, so that the information transmission efficiency in the routing path is improved.

As an implementation method, in step 502, the first node may send the first data packet to the third node, and then the third node sends the first data packet to the second UE through the second node, where the third node is an intermediate node between the first node and the second node, for example, the third node and the second node may be directly connected, or other intermediate nodes between the third node and the second node may also exist. For example, referring to fig. 6, a schematic diagram of a routing path corresponding to this manner is shown.

As another implementation method, in step 502, the first node may send the first data packet to the second node through an interface (such as Uu port or side uplink interface) between the first node and the second node, and then the second node sends the first data packet to the second UE. For example, referring to fig. 7, a schematic diagram of a routing path corresponding to this manner is shown.

As an implementation method, before the step 501, the first node receives a second data packet from the first UE through a second transmission channel, where the second data packet carries the first information and an application layer identifier of the second UE, the second transmission channel is a channel for transmitting the first information between the first UE and the first node, and then the first node obtains an access layer identifier of the second UE according to the application layer identifier of the second UE, and then generates the first data packet according to the second data packet. Optionally, the application layer identification of the second UE is carried in a medium access control (medium access control, MAC) layer header field or RLC layer header field of the second data packet.

The first node obtains an access layer identifier of the second UE according to the application identifier of the second UE, for example, may be: the first node sends the application layer identification of the second UE to the access network node, and then the first node receives the access layer identification of the second UE from the access network node, namely the access network node determines the access layer identification of the second UE according to the application layer identification of the second UE.

As an implementation method, before the step 502, the first node obtains the identification information of the first transmission channel from the access network node. For example, if the first node sends the quality of service (quality of service, qoS) information corresponding to the second transmission channel to the access network device, the access network node determines the first transmission channel according to the QoS information corresponding to the second transmission channel. The second transmission channel is a channel for transmitting the first information between the first UE and the first node.

As an implementation method, before the step 502, the first node receives first indication information from the access network node, where the first indication information indicates that the first node enables the local delivery function, and the first node enables the local delivery function according to the first indication information. Optionally, before the first node receives the first indication information from the access network node, the first node further sends second indication information to the access network node, where the second indication information indicates that the first node supports the local delivery function.

When the wireless communication method is applied to an IAB scene, the first node and the second node are both IAB nodes, and the access network node is an IAB host node (i.e., CU of the IAB host node).

The detailed embodiments of the above-described various schemes will be described below by taking an example in which the schemes corresponding to fig. 1, 3, 4 and 5 are applied to an IAB scene.

In third generation partnership project (3rd generation partnership project,3GPP) Rel-15NR, the gNB may employ a Centralized Unit (CU) -Distributed Unit (DU) split architecture, i.e.: the gNB consists of one gNB-CU and one or more gNB-DUs. The gNB-CU is connected with the gNB-DU through an F1 interface, and the gNB-CU is connected with a fifth generation (5th generation,5G) core network through an NG interface. As shown in FIG. 8, a gNB-CU and gNB-DU separate structure diagram in NR is shown.

The gNB is a node providing NR User plane and control plane transmissions for a User Equipment (UE), and comprises one or more cells. The gNB is connected to a 5G core network (5G core,5 GC) via an NG interface and to other gNBs via an Xn interface. The Xn-C interface is used for transmitting control plane signaling between the two gNBs, and the Xn-U interface is used for transmitting user plane data between the two gNBs. The interface between the gNB and the UE is called Uu interface. Wherein, the communication interface between the UE and the base station (e.g., gNB, eNB) or the DU accessing the IAB node may be referred to as an air interface.

The gNB-CU is a logical node, and includes a radio resource control (Radio Resource Control, RRC) layer, a traffic data adaptation protocol (Service Data Adaptation Protocol, SDAP) layer, and a packet data convergence protocol (Packet Data Convergence Protocol, PDCP) layer of the gNB for controlling one or more gNB-DUs.

The gNB-DU is a logical node, and includes a radio link control (Radio Link Control, RLC) layer, a medium access control (medium access control, MAC) layer, and a Physical layer (PHY) layer of the gNB. One gNB-DU supports one or more cells, but one cell can only belong to one gNB-DU.

The UE accesses the gNB-CU through the gNB-DU, namely: the PHY/MAC/RLC layer functions peer to the UE are located on the gNB-DU, and the PDCP/SDAP/RRC layer functions peer to the UE are located on the gNB-CU.

As shown in fig. 9, a control plane protocol stack diagram of the gcb adopting CU-DU separation architecture is shown. For the control plane, in the Uplink (UL) direction, the gNB-DU encapsulates the RRC message generated by the UE in an F1 interface application protocol (F1 Application Protocol, F1 AP) message and sends the RRC message to the gNB-CU. In the Downlink (DL) direction, the gNB-CU encapsulates the RRC message in the F1AP message and sends the RRC message to the gNB-DU, and the gNB-DU extracts the RRC message from the F1AP message and maps the RRC message to a signaling radio bearer (signalling radio bearer, SRB) corresponding to the Uu interface (SRB 0/SRB1/SRB 2) and sends the RRC message to the UE.

As shown in fig. 10, a schematic diagram of a user plane protocol stack under the CU-DU separation architecture is shown for the gNB. For the user plane, in the UL direction, the gNB-DU maps UE data packets received from the Uu interface data radio bearers (Data Radio Bearer, DRBs) into corresponding general packet radio service (General Packet Radio Service, GPRS) tunneling protocol (GPRSTunnelingProtocol, GTP) tunnels for transmission to the gNB-CU. In the DL direction, the gNB-CU maps the UE data packet to a corresponding GTP tunnel and sends the UE data packet to the gNB-DU, the gNB-DU extracts the UE data packet from the GTP tunnel, and maps the UE data packet to a DRB corresponding to a Uu interface and sends the UE data packet to the UE.

In 3GPP Rel-15 IAB, two nodes, namely an IAB node (called IAB node) and an IAB donor (called IAB host node, or host IAB node), are introduced. The IAB donor may be a gNB, or an upgraded gNB.

Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram of a two-hop data backhaul scenario. Wherein, return is simply referred to as BH. The IAB network adopts a CU-DU separation architecture, namely: IAB donor is composed of two parts of IAB donor-CU (donor-CU for short) and IAB donor-DU (donor-DU for short), and IAB node is composed of two parts of IAB node-MT (IAB-MT for short) and IAB node-DU (IAB-DU for short). Wherein, the IAB node-MT may also be called IAB node-UE (IAB-UE for short).

For IAB donor, the function of the donor-DU is similar to that of the gNB-DU, and the function of the donor-CU is similar to that of the gNB-CU.

For the IAB node, the function of the IAB-DU is similar to that of the gNB-DU, and the IAB-DU is used for providing access service for its child node, where the child node of the IAB-DU may be a UE, or may be another IAB node. The IAB-MT has the function of a UE to provide data backhaul for its child nodes.

The IAB node may be further divided into an access IAB node and an intermediate IAB node, i.e.: the IAB node accessed by the UE is called an access IAB node, and the IAB node on the path between the access IAB node and the IAB donor is called an intermediate IAB node.

As shown in fig. 11, when the UE accesses the IAB node2, the IAB node2 is referred to as an access IAB node of the UE (or a parent node of the UE), the UE is referred to as a child node of the IAB node2, and a link between the UE and the IAB node2 is referred to as an access link. IAB node1 is referred to as an intermediate IAB node, the parent node of IAB node1 is IAB donor (the child node of IAB donor is IAB node 1), and the child node of IAB node1 is IAB node2 (the parent node of IAB node2 is IAB node 1). The link between IAB node1 and IAB node2, and the link between IAB node1 and IAB node are referred to as backhaul links. Wherein the PHY layer, MAC layer and RLC layer, which are peer to UE, are located on the access IAB node (i.e., IAB 2-DU), and the PDCP layer, SDAP layer and RRC layer, which are peer to UE, are located on the donor-CU. The IAB node adopts an L2 data forwarding architecture.

As shown in fig. 12, a control plane protocol stack diagram of two-hop data backhaul is shown. An F1 interface is established between the access IAB node (i.e. IAB 2-DU) and the IAB donor (i.e. donor-CU). Specifically, if IAB donor adopts a CP-UP separation architecture, an F1-C interface is established between IAB2-DU and the donor CU-CP. The RRC message encapsulation of the UE is transmitted in the F1AP message of the F1-C interface.

Fig. 13 is a schematic diagram of a user plane protocol stack for two-hop data backhaul. If IAB donor adopts CP-UP separation architecture, F1-U interface is established between IAB2-DU and donor CU-UP, and GTP tunnel of per UE bearer is established on the F1-U interface. That is, each UE DRB established on the interface between the UE and the IAB2-DU corresponds to a separate GTP tunnel on the interface between the IAB2-DU and the donor CU-UP.

Fig. 14 is a schematic diagram of data transmission in two-hop data backhaul. And establishing a plurality of UE DRBs on an interface link between the UE and the IAB node2, wherein the DRBs are used for transmitting different services of the UE. And a plurality of backhaul RLC channels (BH RLC CH) are established on the backhaul link between the IAB node2 and the IAB node1 and are used for transmitting backhaul of different services of the UE. Similarly, a plurality of BH RLC CH are also established on the backhaul link between IAB node1 and IAB donor. And establishing GTP tunnels of per UE bearer between IAB node2 and IAB donor CU, wherein each GTP tunnel corresponds to UE DRB on an interface between the UE and the IAB node2 one by one.

In the downstream direction:

1) The donor-CU maps the PDCP protocol data unit (protocol data unit, PDU) of the UE to a corresponding GTP tunnel, determines the target Internet protocol (internet protocol, IP) address (i.e. the IP address of IAB node 2) of the UE data packet, further encapsulates the UE data packet into an IP packet, marks a corresponding differential service code point (Differentiated Services Code Point, DSCP) or a flow label (flow label) in an IP header field, fills the target IP address of the IP packet, and sends the IP packet to the donor-DU in an IP routing mode. Wherein DSCP is used to identify the type of traffic in internet protocol version 4 (Internet Protocol version, ipv 4) and flow label is used to identify the type of traffic in internet protocol version 6 (Internet Protocol version, ipv 6).

2) And according to DSCP or flow label carried in the IP header and the target IP address, and according to the mapping relation 1 configured by the donor-CU, mapping the received UE IP packet onto the corresponding BH RLC CH and sending the UE IP packet to IAB node1. Wherein, the mapping relation 1 configured by the donor-CU for the donor-DU comprises: a mapping relationship between a parameter and a BH RLC CH, the parameter being composed of one or more of the following combinations, including: DSCP, flow label, target IP address.

3) And the IAB node1 maps the received UE IP packet to the corresponding BH RLC CH according to the mapping relation 2 configured by the donor-CU and sends the UE IP packet to the IAB node2. Wherein, the mapping relation 2 configured by the donor-CU for IAB node1 comprises: ingress BH RLC CH (ingress BH RLC CH) and egress BH RLC CH (egress BH RLC CH). ingress BH RLC CH is the BH RLC CH between IAB node1 and IAB donor DU, and egress BH RLC CH is the BH RLC CH between IAB node1 and IAB node2.

4) And the IAB node2 analyzes the received UE IP packet to a GTP layer, extracts the UE PDCP PDU from the GTP tunnel, and maps the UE PDCP PDU to the corresponding UE DRB according to the mapping relation between the GTP tunnel and the UE DRB configured by the donor-CU, and sends the UE PDCP PDU to the UE.

In the uplink direction:

1) The UE maps the UE PDCP PDU to the corresponding UE DRB and sends the UE PDCP PDU to IAB node2.

2) And the IAB node2 maps the PDCP PDU of the UE into the corresponding GTP tunnel according to the mapping relation between the GTP tunnel configured by the donor-CU and the DRB of the UE. Then, the IAB node2 further encapsulates the UE data packet into an IP packet according to the mapping relation 3 configured by the donor-CU, maps the IP packet onto the corresponding BH RLC CH and sends the IP packet to the IAB node1. Wherein, the mapping relation 3 of the donor-CU configuration comprises: the mapping relation between GTP tunnel (i.e. GTP TEID and IP address) and BH RLC CH, and the IP address is the IP address of the donor-CU.

3) And the IAB node1 maps the received UE IP packet to the corresponding BH RLC CH according to the mapping relation 4 configured by the donor-CU and sends the UE IP packet to the donor-DU. Wherein, the mapping relation 4 configured by the donor-CU for IAB node1 comprises: ingress BH RLC CH (ingress BH RLC CH) and egress BH RLC CH (egress BH RLC CH). ingress BH RLC CH is the BH RLC CH between IAB node2 and IAB node1, and egress BH RLC CH is the BH RLC CH between IAB node1 and IAB donor DU.

4) The donor-DU is based on the destination IP address in the UE IP header (i.e.: the IP address of the donor-CU), the UE IP packet is further routed to the donor-CU. And after the donor-CU sends the IP packet to the GTP layer for analysis, the PDCP PDU of the UE is extracted from the GTP tunnel.

In R16, the IAB node supports two networking modes, including: a Spanning Tree (ST) networking system (refer to fig. 15 (a)) and a directed acyclic graph (directed acyclic graph, DAG) networking system (refer to fig. 15 (b)).

Wherein, the ST networking mode supports multi-hop, and each IAB node has only one father node. DAG networking supports multi-hop, multi-connection, where there may be 1 or two parent nodes per IAB node (as shown in fig. 16 (a), (b) and (c)), but only one IAB node (as shown in fig. 16 (b) and (c)), subject to the constraint that one IAB-DU can only be connected to one donor-CU.

Based on the networking mode, each IAB node includes two roles: child nodes and parent nodes. As shown in fig. 17, IAB node1 is a child node of IAB donor and is also a parent node of IAB node 2; IAB node2 is a child node of IAB node1 and is also a parent node of IAB node 3; IAB node3 is a child node of IAB node2 and is also a parent node of the UE.

For the same IAB node, whether data or signaling is transmitted, the data is received at one side and then sent to the other side, for example: the IAB-MT receives the data or the signaling and gives the data or the signaling to the co-station IAB-DU to be sent out, or the IAB-DU receives the data or the signaling and gives the data or the signaling to the co-station IAB-MT to be sent out. Specifically, taking IAB-node2 as an example, for Downlink (DL) transmission, after IAB-MT2 receives DL data/signaling from IAB-DU1, IAB-MT2 sends the DL data/signaling to co-station IAB-DU2 through an internal interface, and IAB-DU2 sends the DL data/signaling to IAB-MT3; for Uplink (UL) transmission, after the IAB-DU2 receives UL data/signaling from the IAB-MT3, the IAB-DU2 is sent to the co-station IAB-MT2 through the internal interface, and the IAB-MT2 is sent to the IAB-DU1.

R16 IAB adopts the route and bearing mapping mode of IAB donor centralized control. Based on the existing protocol stack, a protocol layer is newly introduced, namely: the backhaul adaptation protocol (backhaul adaptation protocol, BAP) layer, as shown in fig. 12 and 13 above, functions primarily for routing and bearer mapping for data/signaling transmission over the backhaul link.

1. Routing

Routing refers to the fact that data/signaling needs to determine the path of transmission before transmission, i.e.: through which next hop node data/signaling is transmitted to the target node.

In R16 IAB, whether DL route or UL route, the donor-CU needs to configure the routing tables for the donor-DU, intermediate IAB node and access IAB node, respectively, namely: and the Routing ID (Routing ID) comprises the BAP address of the target node and a path ID (path ID).

1. Downlink (DL) routing

DONOR-DU: the DONOR-CU configures the mapping relation of DSCP/flow label+IP address of access IAB node for the DONOR-DU. Namely: after the donor-DU receives the DL IP packet from the donor-CU, determining a Routing ID corresponding to the DL IP packet according to the DSCP/flow label value and the target IP address carried in the IP packet header field and according to the mapping relation configured by the donor-CU, then searching a Routing table according to the Routing ID, determining a next hop node of data/signaling transmission, carrying the determined Routing ID in the BAP layer, and transmitting the Routing ID to the next hop node along with the data/signaling.

Intermediate IAB node: the intermediate IAB node receives the DL IP packet from the previous hop node, searches the Routing table according to the Routing ID carried in the BAP layer, and determines the next hop node for data/signaling transmission.

2. Uplink (UL) routing

Accessing IAB node: for data transmission, the donor-CU configures a mapping relation of GTP FTEID < - > Routing ID for accessing IAB node; for signaling transmission, the donor-CU configures a mapping relation of signaling type indication < - > Routing ID for the access IAB node, wherein the signaling type indication is used for indicating Non-UE associated F1AP and UE-associated F1AP. Namely: after receiving the UL IP packet from the UE, the access IAB node determines a Routing ID corresponding to the data/signaling transmission according to the mapping relationship configured by the donor-CU, then searches the Routing table according to the Routing ID, determines a next hop node of the data/signaling transmission, carries the determined Routing ID in the BAP layer, and sends the determined Routing ID to the next hop node along with the data/signaling.

2. Bearer mapping

The bearer mapping refers to that data/signaling is mapped onto a corresponding transmission channel and sent to a next hop node, namely: the data/signaling needs to be determined on which transmission channel (e.g., BH RLC CH) the data/signaling maps to before being sent to the next hop node.

In R16 IAB, the donor-CU needs to configure bearer mapping for the donor-DU, intermediate IAB node and access IAB node, respectively, regardless of DL mapping or UL mapping. As shown in fig. 12 and 13, the method specifically includes:

1. DL mapping:

DONOR-DU: the DONOR-CU configures a mapping relation of DSCP/flow label+IP address of access IAB node egress BH RLC CH ID for the DONOR-DU. Namely: after the donor-DU receives the DL IP packet from the donor-CU, determining to which corresponding egress BH RLC CH the DL IP packet needs to be mapped according to the DSCP/flow label value and the target IP address carried in the IP packet header field and according to the mapping relation configured by the donor-CU, and sending the DL IP packet to the next hop node.

Intermediate IAB node: the donor-CU configures ingress BH RLC CH ID < - > egress BH RLC CH ID mapping for the intermediate IAB node. Namely: after receiving the DL IP packet sent by the previous hop node from ingress BH RLC CH, the intermediate IAB node determines, according to the mapping relationship configured by the donor-CU, to which corresponding egress BH RLC CH the DL IP packet needs to be mapped and sent to the next hop node.

2. UL mapping

Accessing IAB node: for data transmission, the Donor-CU configures a mapping relation of GTE FTEID < - > egress BH RLC CH ID for accessing IAB nodes; for signaling transmission, the Donor-CU configures a mapping relation of F1AP type indication < - > -egress BH RLC CH for the access IAB node, wherein the F1AP type indication is used for indicating a Non-UE associated F1AP message and a UE-associated F1AP message. Namely: after the access IAB node receives the UL IP packet from the Donor-CU, the access IAB node determines to which corresponding egress BH RLC CH the UL IP packet needs to be mapped according to the mapping relation configured by the Donor-CU and sends the UL IP packet to the next hop node.

Since R16 IAB only supports two networking modes, ST and DAG, the rerouting mechanism is limited to the radio link failure (radio link failure, RLF) scenario. As shown in fig. 18, when IAB-node2 detects that RLF occurs on the link with IAB-node4 and the link cannot be restored, IAB-node2 transmits an RLF indication message to its child node IAB-node 1. After receiving the RLF indication information, if the IAB-node1 works in the dual-connection mode, the IAB-node1 triggers a re-routing mechanism, and re-routes UL data originally sent to the IAB-node through the IAB-node2 to be sent to the IAB-node3, namely: these UL data are sent to IAB-donor via IAB-node 3.

In the prior art, only two simple networking forms of spanning trees and directed acyclic graphs are considered, two peer nodes cannot directly communicate, and as one IAB node only has two father nodes at most, a rerouting mechanism is simple, namely: at most, only one candidate path is available for rerouting, and the problem of selecting the candidate path does not exist.

With the development of the network, the mesh networking is a multipoint-to-multipoint peer-to-peer network, namely, direct communication between two peer nodes is newly added, direct communication between any two adjacent nodes is guaranteed, the advantages of self-networking, self-repairing, flexible routing and the like are achieved, the cost and complexity of network deployment can be greatly reduced, and the mesh networking is a trend of future network deployment. In mesh networking, two adjacent nodes can directly communicate with each other, so that once an IAB node discovers a link RLF, there may exist multiple candidate paths available for rerouting, but according to the prior art, the IAB node cannot know link quality, load conditions and the like of the candidate paths, and cannot select a suitable path from the candidate paths to reroute.

Furthermore, the prior art does not support local switching. However, in the mesh networking, two adjacent nodes can directly communicate, so that the possibility of realizing local switch by data/signaling is increased, and the time delay of data/signaling transmission is greatly reduced. Aiming at an IAB mesh networking scene, the embodiment of the application mainly solves two problems:

problem 1: taking rerouting as an example, how if an IAB node selects an appropriate path to reroute data/signaling to guarantee QoS requirements for data/signaling transmission?

Problem 2: how to realize a local switch in an IAB mesh scenario to reduce delay of data transmission and ensure normal data transmission between two communicating UEs?

The embodiment of the application mainly considers the IAB mesh networking scene.

Scene one:

in the existing R16 IAB networking scenario, as shown in fig. 19, peer nodes cannot directly communicate with each other, for example: IAB node1 and IAB node2, IAB node3 and IAB node4, IAB node4 and IAB node5, IAB node6 and IAB node7.

In the IAB mesh networking scenario, as shown in fig. 20, a new connection between two peer nodes is required, so that direct communication between two adjacent nodes is ensured. For example, the connection between IAB node1 and IAB node2, the connection between IAB node3 and IAB node4, the connection between IAB node4 and IAB node5, and the connection between IAB node6 and IAB node7 are newly added.

Once RLF occurs in the link between IAB node4 and IAB node2, IAB node2 may further route DL data to IAB node6 via multiple candidate paths, by IAB node6 to the UE, or IAB node4 may further route UL data to the Donor-CU via multiple candidate paths.

Scene II:

in the IAB mesh networking scenario, as shown in fig. 20, UE1 accessing under IAB node6 communicates with UE2 accessing under IAB node7 by a local switch method. That is, the local switch path between UE1 and UE2 is: UE1< - > IAB node6< - > IAB node7< - > UE2.

It should be noted that, fig. 19 and fig. 20 referred to in the above-mentioned scenario one and scenario two in the embodiment of the present application are only for illustrating a specific example of the embodiment scheme of the present application, and the specific example does not limit the application scenario of the embodiment of the present application. The method can be applied to other scenes with the same problems in practical application.

Example 1

This embodiment corresponds to the embodiment described above with respect to fig. 1 for enabling the selection of an appropriate rerouting node for a node of a routing path.

In the IAB mesh networking scene, connection between two peer nodes is introduced, and direct communication between two adjacent nodes is ensured. In this embodiment, the Donor-CU is abbreviated as Donor-CU, the IAB node1 is abbreviated as IAB1, the IAB node2 is abbreviated as IAB2, and so on, and will not be described herein.

Scheme one: communication between peer IAB nodes over Uu interface

In this scheme, peer IAB nodes communicate with each other through a Uu interface, which means that a DU of one IAB node and an MT of another IAB node communicate with each other through the Uu interface. As shown in fig. 21, communication between the peer nodes IAB1 and IAB2 may be implemented by communication between an IAB1-MT and an IAB2-DU or by communication between an IAB1-DU and an IAB 2-MT.

The present solution is described by taking DL transmission as an example, and the above solution is also applicable to a scenario of UL transmission, which is not described herein again.

Taking downlink data transmission as an example, if RLF occurs in the link between the IAB2-DU and the IAB4-MT, the IAB2 may send the DL data of the UE1 to the IAB6 through other candidate paths, and the IAB6 may further send the DL data to the UE1. Wherein the candidate paths include, but are not limited to:

candidate path 1: IAB2-DU- > IAB1-MT- > IAB1-DU- > IAB3-MT- > IAB3-DU- > IAB6-MT;

candidate path 2: IAB2-DU- > IAB1-MT- > IAB1-DU- > IAB3-MT- > IAB3-DU- > IAB4-MT- > IAB4-DU- > IAB6-MT;

candidate path 3: IAB2-DU- > IAB5-MT- > IAB5-DU- > IAB4-MT- > IAB4-DU- > IAB7-MT- > IAB7-DU- > IAB6-MT;

candidate path 4: IAB2-DU- > IAB5-MT- > IAB5-DU- > IAB7-MT- > IAB7-DU- > IAB6-MT;

……

since IAB2 does not know the condition of each candidate path, for example: quality conditions of each link on the candidate path, load conditions of each IAB node on the candidate path, etc., therefore, how is IAB2 to select an appropriate path from the plurality of candidate paths to reroute downstream data?

In order to solve the above problem, the IAB2 may learn hop count information of each candidate path and load conditions of adjacent IAB nodes, so that an appropriate path may be selected for rerouting.

The method of obtaining hop count information of each candidate path by the IAB node includes, but is not limited to, the following methods 1 to 2:

method 1: when the Donor-CU configures a routing table for the IAB node, the information of the number of hops passing between the next hop node and the target node is newly added aiming at different routing paths, namely: the Routing ID < > is composed of the BAP address of the target node and the path identification path ID.

That is, the Donor-CU sends the BAP address, routing ID, and hop count information of the next hop node to the IAB node. The hop count information has a corresponding relation with the BAP address and Routing ID of the next hop node, and is used for indicating the hop count of the next hop node indicated by the BAP address, when the path indicated by the Routing ID reaches the destination node indicated by the Routing ID. Optionally, the BAP address, routing ID and hop count information of the next hop node are configured through a Routing table.

In the prior art, when the Donor-CU configures a Routing table for an IAB node, the Donor-CU sends a Routing ID and a BAP address of a next-hop node to the IAB node, where the Routing ID and the BAP address of the next-hop node have a correspondence, and are used to indicate that the IAB node may reach a target node indicated by the Routing ID through the next-hop node indicated by the BAP address and a path indicated by the Routing ID. In order for the IAB node to acquire hop count information of each candidate path, the next hop node indicated by the BAP address may be newly added with hop count information of a path indicated by the Routing ID to reach a destination node indicated by the Routing ID based on the existing Routing table.

Taking IAB2 of fig. 21 as an example, the Donor-CU may add hop count information (where the target node is IAB 6) in the routing table configured for IAB 2:

candidate path 1: the BAP address of the next hop node IAB1, routing ID1< - >2 hops;

candidate path 2: the BAP address of the next hop node IAB1 of Routing ID2< - >3 hops;

candidate path 3: the BAP address of the Routing ID3< - > next hop node IAB5 is 3 hops;

candidate path 3: routing ID4< - > BAP address < - >2 hop of next hop node IAB 5.

Namely: the Donor-CU configures the IAB node with the hop count information of the path passing through the next hop node and indicated by the Routing ID to reach the destination node indicated by the Routing ID.

Method 2: the Donor-CU sends the IAB node the shortest hop count information to reach the destination node through the next hop node (this method does not need to change the configuration of the routing table)

That is, the method sends, by the Donor-CU, the BAP address of the next hop node, the BAP address of the target node, and the shortest hop count information to the IAB node, wherein the shortest hop count information has a correspondence relationship with the BAP address of the next hop node and the BAP address of the target node, and is used to indicate the shortest hop count that passes through the next hop node to reach the target node.

Taking IAB2 of fig. 21 as an example, the Donor-CU sends the following information to IAB 2:

BAP address < - > of next hop node IAB1 BAP address < - >2 hop of target node IAB 6;

BAP address of next hop node IAB5 < - > BAP address of target node IAB6 < - >2 hops.

Notably, the above method applies to IAB nodes, namely: the IAB node acquires hop count information for each candidate path from the Donor-CU. Alternatively, the above method can also be applied to a Donor-DU, namely: the Donor-DU obtains hop count information of each candidate path from the Donor-CU so that the Donor-DU selects a proper next hop node for rerouting.

Among them, the methods in which one IAB node knows the load condition of the adjacent IAB node ((hereinafter, taking IAB2 knows the load condition (load/interference information) of the adjacent IAB 1) as an example) include, but are not limited to, the following methods 1 to 5:

method 1: the IAB1-MT reports the load/interference information to the donor-CU through the RRC message, and the donor-CU sends the load/interference information to the IAB2-DU through the F1AP message.

The method can be understood as follows: the IAB node reports the load/interference information to the donor-CU through the RRC message, and the donor-CU sends the load/interference information to the father node or the child node of the IAB node through the F1AP message.

Method 2: the IAB1-DU reports the load/interference information to the donor-CU through the F1AP message, and the donor-CU sends the load/interference information to the IAB2-MT through the RRC message.

The method can be understood as follows: the IAB node reports the load/interference information to the donor-CU through the F1AP message, and the donor-CU sends the load/interference information to the father node or the child node of the IAB node through the RRC message.

Method 3: the IAB1-MT reports the load/interference information to the donor-CU through the RRC message, and the donor-CU sends the load/interference information to the IAB2-MT through the RRC message.

The method can be understood as follows: the IAB node reports the load/interference information to the donor-CU through the RRC message, and the donor-CU sends the load/interference information to the father node or the child node of the IAB node through the RRC message.

Method 4: the IAB1-DU reports the load/interference information to the donor-CU through the F1AP message, and the donor-CU sends the load/interference information to the IAB2-DU through the F1AP message.

The method can be understood as follows: the IAB node reports the load/interference information to the donor-CU through the F1AP message, and the donor-CU sends the load/interference information to the father node or the child node of the IAB node through the F1AP message.

Method 5: IAB1-DU and IAB2-MT, or IAB1-MT and IAB2-DU are transmitted through BAP control PDU.

The method can be understood as follows: the IAB node transmits the load/interference information to the parent node or child node of the IAB node through a BAP control PDU message.

In addition, in the IAB mesh networking scenario, if RLF occurs in the link between the IAB2-DU and the IAB4-MT, the IAB2 may send the DL data of the UE1 to the IAB6 through other candidate paths, and the IAB6 may further send the DL data to the UE1. In addition to the candidate paths listed above, there may be another path:

candidate path a: IAB2-DU- > IAB1-MT- > IAB1-DU- > IAB3-MT- > IAB4-DU- > IAB6-MT.

Candidate path b: IAB2-DU- > IAB5-MT- > IAB5-DU- > IAB7-MT- > IAB6-DU.

The candidate path has a change to the existing mechanism. As described in the prior art, for DL, IAB-MT receives data from the DU of the parent node and transmits the data to the co-station IAB-DU through the internal interface. In the candidate path a and the candidate path b, the IAB-MT (IAB 3-MT in the path a or IAB7-MT in the path b) receives data from the DU of the parent node, and transmits not the same but the DU of the other IAB node. Thus, there are changes to the data transfer implementation of the IAB node, namely: after receiving DL data from a father node, the IAB-MT needs to look at the routing information carried in the data, and if the routing information can find the corresponding configuration in the routing table, the IAB-MT performs routing according to the configuration of the routing table; otherwise, the data is sent to the co-sited IAB-DU via the internal interface.

Therefore, after receiving DL data from a father node, the IAB-MT needs to look at the routing information carried in the data, and if the routing information can find the corresponding configuration in the routing table, the IAB-MT routes according to the configuration of the routing table; otherwise, the data is sent to the co-sited IAB-DU via the internal interface.

Notably, the above method applies to IAB nodes, namely: the IAB node knows the loading of the adjacent IAB node. Alternatively, the above method can also be applied to a Donor-DU, namely: the Donor-DU knows the load condition of the adjacent IAB node so that the Donor-DU selects the proper next hop node for rerouting.

Scheme II: communication between peer IAB nodes through sidelink interface

In this scheme, peer IAB nodes communicate with each other through a sidelink interface, which means that MT of one IAB node and MT of another IAB node communicate with each other through a sidelink interface, or DU of one IAB node and DU of another IAB node communicate with each other through a sidelink interface. As shown in fig. 22, communication between peers IAB1 and IAB2 may be achieved by communication between IAB1-MT and IAB1-MT, or by communication between IAB1-DU and IAB 2-DU.

The present solution is described by taking DL transmission as an example, and the above solution is also applicable to a scenario of UL transmission, which is not described herein again. In addition, in the scheme, the IAB-MT and the IAB-MT are taken as examples for communication through a sidelink interface, and the scheme is also applicable to the scene of communication through the sidelink interface between the IAB-DU and the IAB-DU.

Taking downlink data transmission as an example, if RLF occurs in the link between the IAB2-DU and the IAB4-MT, the IAB2 may send the DL data of the UE1 to the IAB6 through other candidate paths, and the IAB6 may further send the DL data to the UE1. One candidate path is: IAB2-MT- > IAB1-MT- > IAB1-DU- > IAB3-MT- > IAB3-DU- > IAB6-MT. Namely: communication is performed between IAB2 and IAB1 through a sidelink interface.

The specific DL data transmission protocol stack is shown in fig. 23:

the upper diagram of fig. 23 is a protocol stack in which IAB2 routes DL data through IAB4 before RLF occurs in the link between IAB2 and IAB 4.

The lower diagram of fig. 23 is a protocol stack in which, after RLF occurs in the link between IAB2 and IAB4, IAB2 routes DL data through IAB1, i.e., a peer sidelink interface protocol layer is newly added between IAB2-MT and IAB1-MT, where SL PDCP is optional.

Once the IAB2 communicates with the IAB1 via the sidelink interface, several key technologies need to be addressed as follows.

Key technology 1: how does the IAB node at both ends of the sidelink interface learn BAP address information of the other party in order to guarantee the normal routing of data?

Method 1: the two IAB-MTs can learn the BAP address information of the opposite end through a discovery (discovery) procedure.

That is, the BAP address information of the opposite terminal can be known between the two IAB-MTs through the sidelink interface message. As an implementation manner, the sidelink interface message may be a discover message, or an RRC setup related message (for example, may be an RRC setup message, an RRC setup request message, or an RRC setup complete message), or the like.

Method 2: after the Donor-CU knows that a sidelink interface is established between IAB1 and IAB2, the BAP address of the opposite terminal is notified through an RRC message or an F1AP message respectively.

That is, the IAB node receives the BAP address information of the counterpart from the Donor-CU through the RRC message or the F1AP message.

As the BAP addresses of the IAB nodes are uniformly distributed by the Donor-CU, once the Donor-CU knows that a sidelink interface is established between the IAB1 and the IAB2, the BAP addresses of the IAB1 can be notified to the IAB2, and the BAP addresses of the IAB2 can be notified to the IAB1.

The BAP addresses are IAB node granularity, and IAB-MT and IAB-DU in one IAB node share the same BAP address.

Notably, the above method is equally applicable between the donor-DU and the IAB node. Namely: communication between the donor-DU and the IAB node is through a sidelink interface.

Key technology 2: how does the routing information of the sidelink link of the IAB-MT be configured in order to guarantee the normal routing of data?

After establishing a sidelink interface between the IAB1-MT and the IAB2-MT, mutual route information is interacted through the sidelink interface (for example, RRC message of the sidelink interface).

Specifically, along with the existing R16 IAB mechanism, the Donor-CU configures a routing table for each IAB node in the network, i.e.: routing ID < - > is the BAP address of the next hop node, wherein the Routing ID consists of the BAP address of the target node plus the path identification path ID. By configuring the routing table, each IAB node can be made aware of which destination node can be reached by which next-hop node.

Once the sidelink interface is established between the IAB1-MT and the IAB2-MT, the IAB1-MT and the IAB2-MT interact respective routing information through the sidelink interface. For example: the IAB1-MT sends the IAB2-MT the BAP address of the target node, which includes the BAP address of IAB 6. After the IAB2-MT receives the request, it can learn that IAB6 can be reached through IAB1, and save the corresponding relationship between the BAP address of the next hop node IAB1 and the BAP address of the target node IAB 6. That is, the IAB node may send BAP address list information of the target nodes reachable by the IAB node (including BAP addresses of one or more target nodes) to the communication peer IAB node through the sidelink interface.

Optionally, to assist IAB2 in the selection of the best candidate path, IAB1-MT may also send the IAB2-MT the shortest hop count information to be experienced to reach the target node. That is, the IAB node may send the following information to the communication peer IAB node through the sidelink interface, including: the BAP address of the target node that the IAB node can reach, and the shortest hop count information that it has experienced to reach the target node.

And 3, key technology: how does the bearer mapping of the sidelink link of the IAB-MT be configured in order to achieve QoS guarantee for data transmission?

Taking downlink data transmission as an example, after establishing a sidelink interface between the IAB1-MT and the IAB2-MT, the IAB2 receives a DL data packet from the Donor-DU2 through the BH RLC CH and then needs to send the DL data packet to the IAB1 through the sidelink interface according to the determined route. In order to realize the QoS guarantee of the DL data transmission, the DL data packet needs to be mapped to the corresponding DRB or BH RLC CH on the sidelink interface for transmission.

Specifically, the Donor-CU sends ingress BH RLC CH and egress sidelink DRB/RLC CH mappings to IAB 2.

That is, the Donor-CU sends the mapping relationship of BH RLC CH on Uu interface and DRB or RLC CH on sidelink interface to IAB node.

Key technology 4: how does the Donor-CU learn that IAB node supports the sidelink interface, does it need to configure the routing and bearer mapping of the sidelink interface for IAB node?

The IAB node may send an indication to the Donor-CU indicating that the IAB node supports the sidelink interface. The Donor-CU sends an indication message to the IAB node according to the indication message of the IAB node, wherein the indication message is used for indicating the IAB node to enable (enable) or disable (disable) the sidelink interface/transmission function.

Notably, the above method is equally applicable to a donor-DU, namely: the donor-DU reports to the donor-CU whether it supports the capabilities of the sidelink interface, and receives from the donor-CU indication of whether the sidelink interface of the donor-DU is enabled.

The above embodiment mainly solves the problem how to select an appropriate path for rerouting data/signaling by the IAB node, so that the IAB node can select an optimal path for rerouting in a multi-candidate path scene, and ensures the QoS requirement of data/signaling transmission.

Example two

The second embodiment corresponds to the embodiment corresponding to fig. 5, and is used for implementing local transfer between nodes.

Referring to fig. 24, in the case of the IAB mesh networking scenario, the UE1 and the UE2 may perform data transmission in a local switch manner, and the UE1 is accessed to the IAB6, and the UE2 is accessed to the IAB7 for illustration, where the UE1 and the UE2 perform data transmission in a local switch manner, that means that data communicated by the UE1 and the UE2 is directly implemented through communication between the IAB6 and the IAB7, and is not forwarded through a Donor-CU, or a core network UPF, or the like.

The local switch flow in the IAB mesh networking scenario is shown in fig. 25, and includes the following steps:

in step 2501, UE1 sends an UL packet to IAB6, where the UL packet carries an application layer identifier of UE 2.

The application layer refers to an IP layer and layers above the IP layer.

The UL data packet needs to be transmitted to UE2.

For example, after the application layer of UE1 generates a data packet sent to UE2, the data packet is sent to an Access Stratum (AS) layer (i.e., an SDAP layer, a PDCP layer, an RLC layer, a MAC layer, and a PHY layer) of UE1, and the AS layer of UE1 sends the data packet to the IAB6 through an air interface. The data packet carries the application layer identification of UE2.

Alternatively, the application layer identifier of the UE2 may be carried in the MAC layer header field or the RLC layer header field.

It should be noted that UE1 may perceive the application layer identity of UE2, but not the AS layer identity of UE2.

Step 2502, the iab6 sends an RRC message or an F1AP message to the Donor-CU, where the message carries at least one of the following information: AS layer identification of UE1, application layer identification of UE2, qoS information corresponding to data.

The QoS information corresponding to the data may be, for example, a DRB ID of UE1, or a QoS Flow ID (QFI). The AS layer identity of UE1 consists of the cell identity (e.g., physical cell identity (Physical cell Identifier, PCI)) + the unique identity of UE1 within the access cell (e.g., cell radio network temporary identity (Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier, C-RNTI)) to which UE1 is connected, or of the cell global identity (Cell Global Identification, CGI) +the unique identity of UE1 within the access cell (e.g., C-RNTI).

In step 2503, the donor-CU obtains the AS layer identifier of the UE2 according to the application layer identifier of the UE2, obtains the access node identifier (e.g., BAP address of IAB 7) of the UE2, and obtains the DRB ID corresponding to the UE2 according to the QoS information corresponding to the data. And then sending an RRC message or an F1AP message to the IAB6, wherein the message carries at least one of the following information: the AS layer identity of UE2, the BAP address of IAB7, the DRB ID of UE2, and the indication information of enable local switch.

Optionally, the Donor-CU sends enable local switch indication information to the access IAB node, where the indication information has a correspondence with a DRB ID (a DRB indicated by the DRB ID is used to transmit data of UE 1), and the indication information is used to instruct to start a local switch operation on data transmitted on the DRB. For example: after receiving the indication information of enable local switch, the IAB6 knows that the packet needs to perform the local switch operation, and therefore, when UL data from the UE1 is received through the same DRB later, the local switch operation will be performed.

Optionally, the Donor-CU also sends to the access IAB node at least one of the following information: the AS layer identification of the UE2, the BAP address information of the access node of the UE2 and the DRB identification corresponding to the data packet transmission on the air interface of the UE 2. The implementation of this step has the preconditions that: the application layer identity of the UE and the AS layer identity of the UE (e.g., physical cell identity (Physical cell Identifier, PCI) or cell global identity (Cell Global Identification, CGI) +cell radio network temporary identity (Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier, C-RNTI)) mapping relationship needs to be saved on the Donor-CU. For example: after the UE randomly accesses the network, the Donor-CU may learn and store the application layer identity of the UE and the AS layer identity of the UE during the UE initiation of a service or during the UE establishment of a protocol data unit (protocol data unit, PDU) session.

In step 2504, the IAB6 sends UL data to the IAB7 according to the BAP address of the IAB7, where the UL data packet carries the AS layer identifier of the UE2 and the DRB ID of the UE2.

Such as: the IAB6 determines, according to the indication information of enable local switch, to locally route UL data, that is: UL data is routed to IAB7 and further sent by IAB7 to UE2. After the IAB7 receives the UL packet from the IAB6, in order for the IAB7 to know to which UE the UL packet is sent and through which DRB the UL packet is sent to the UE, therefore, when the IAB6 sends the UL packet to the IAB7, the IAB6 carries the AS layer identifier of the UE2 and the DRB ID of the UE2 in the BAP layer, where the DRB ID of the UE2 refers to that the packet transmits the corresponding DRB identifier between the UE2 and the IAB 7. That is, the access IAB node of the UE1 transmits at least one of the following information to the access IAB node of the UE 2: AS layer identification of UE2, and DRB identification corresponding to transmission of the data packet on the air interface of UE2. Alternatively, the information may be sent in the BAP layer.

In step 2505, the iab7 sends an UL packet to the UE2 according to the AS layer identifier of the UE2 and the DRB ID of the UE2.

Based on the scheme, the UE sends an application layer identification of the UE at the opposite communication end to the access IAB node. Alternatively, the application layer identifier of the communication peer UE may be carried in the MAC layer header field or the RLC layer header field. The access IAB node sends at least one of the following information to the Donor-CU: the method comprises the steps of AS layer identification of the home terminal UE, application layer identification of the opposite terminal UE and QoS information corresponding to data. The AS layer identifier of the local terminal UE consists of a cell identifier PCI accessed by the local terminal UE or a unique identifier C-RNTI of CGI+the local terminal UE in an accessed cell. The QoS information corresponding to the data is the empty DRB mark of the data transmission mapping or the QFI corresponding to the data. The Donor-CU sends enable local switch indication information to the access IAB node, wherein the indication information corresponds to the DRB corresponding to the data sent by the home terminal UE and is used for indicating the data transmitted on the DRB to start the local switch operation. Optionally, the Donor-CU also sends to the access IAB node at least one of the following information: the AS layer identification of the opposite terminal UE, the BAP address information of the access node of the opposite terminal UE and the DRB identification corresponding to the data packet in the air interface transmission of the opposite terminal UE. The access IAB node carries the following information at the BAP layer: the AS layer identification of the opposite terminal UE and the DRB identification corresponding to the data packet air interface transmission of the opposite terminal UE.

The embodiment mainly solves the problem of local switch in an IAB mesh scene, reduces the time delay of data transmission and ensures normal data transmission between two communication UEs.

Referring to fig. 26, a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application is provided. The communication device is configured to implement the steps corresponding to the first node or the access network node in the foregoing embodiments, and as shown in fig. 26, the communication device 2600 includes a sending unit 2610, a receiving unit 2620, and a processing unit 2630.

In a first embodiment, the communication device is configured to implement each step of the foregoing embodiments corresponding to the first node:

a receiving unit 2620, configured to obtain first information, where the first information includes at least one of: load information of at least one next-hop node of a first node, interference information of the at least one next-hop node, channel quality between the first node and the at least one next-hop node, and link hop count information of the first node reaching a target node through the at least one next-hop node; a processing unit 2630, configured to determine, according to the first information, transmission of a data packet by a second node, where the at least one next-hop node includes the second node.

In a possible implementation method, the receiving unit 2620 is further configured to receive load information of the at least one next-hop node and/or interference information of the at least one next-hop node from an access network node; or, receiving load information of a first next-hop node and/or interference information of the first next-hop node from the first next-hop node, wherein the first next-hop node is any one node of the at least one next-hop node.

In one possible implementation method, the receiving unit 2620 is further configured to receive a channel quality between the first node and the at least one next hop node from an access network node; alternatively, the processing unit 2630 is further configured to determine the channel quality between the first node and the at least one next-hop node by itself.

In a possible implementation method, the receiving unit 2620 is further configured to receive the link hop count information from an access network node, where the link hop count information corresponds to a route identifier and identification information of the next hop node, and the route identifier includes identification information of the target node and a path identifier.

In one possible implementation method, the receiving unit 2620 is further configured to receive the link hop count information from an access network node, where the link hop count indicated by the link hop count information is a minimum link hop count for the first node to reach the target node through the next hop node, and the link hop count information corresponds to the identification information of the next hop node and the identification information of the target node.

In a possible implementation method, the receiving unit 2620 is further configured to receive identification information of a first next-hop node from a first next-hop node, where the first next-hop node is any one of the at least one next-hop node.

In a possible implementation method, the receiving unit 2620 is configured to receive identification information of a first next-hop node from the first next-hop node, and specifically includes: for receiving identification information of the first next-hop node from the first next-hop node over a side-downlink between the first node and the first next-hop node.

In one possible implementation method, the receiving unit 2620 is further configured to receive identification information of a target node that can be reached by the first next-hop node from the first next-hop node.

In one possible implementation method, the receiving unit 2620 is further configured to receive information of a minimum link hop count of the first next-hop node from the first next-hop node to reach the reachable target node.

In one possible implementation method, the receiving unit 2620 is further configured to receive first indication information from an access network node, where the first indication information indicates a mapping relationship between a first bearer of the data packet received by the first node and a second bearer of the data packet sent by the first node, where the first bearer is a backhaul radio link control channel, and the second bearer is a radio bearer or a radio link control channel on a side link between the first node and the at least one next hop node.

In a possible implementation method, the sending unit 2610 is configured to send second indication information to an access network node, where the second indication information indicates that the first node supports a side uplink.

In one possible implementation method, the receiving unit 2620 is further configured to receive third indication information from the access network node, where the third indication information indicates that a side uplink of the first node is enabled.

In a second embodiment, the communication device is configured to implement each step of the foregoing embodiments corresponding to the first node:

a receiving unit 2620 configured to receive second indication information from an access network node, where the second indication information indicates that a side uplink of the first node is enabled; the processing unit 2630 is configured to enable a side uplink of the first node according to the second indication information.

In a possible implementation method, the sending unit 2610 is configured to send, to the access network node, first indication information before the receiving unit 2620 receives second indication information from the access network node, where the first indication information indicates that the first node supports side uplink.

In a third embodiment, the communication device is configured to implement each step of the foregoing embodiments corresponding to the first node:

A receiving unit 2620, configured to receive indication information from an access network node, where the indication information indicates a mapping relationship between a first bearer for a first node to receive a data packet and a second bearer for the first node to send the data packet, the first bearer being a backhaul radio link control channel, and the second bearer being a radio bearer or a radio link control channel on a side link between the first node and a next hop node of the first node; and a processing unit 2630, configured to send the data packet received from the first bearer to the next hop node through the second bearer according to the indication information.

In a fourth embodiment, the communication device is configured to implement each step of the foregoing embodiments corresponding to the first node:

a receiving unit 2620, configured to receive identification information of a second node from an access network node, where the first node is a node to which a first user equipment UE accesses, and the second node is a node to which a second UE accesses; a sending unit 2610, configured to send, by the second node, a first data packet to the second UE, where the first data packet carries first information and second information, the first information includes data or signaling from the first UE, and the second information includes one or more of the following: the access layer identification of the second UE and the identification information of a first transmission channel, wherein the first transmission channel is a channel for transmitting the first information between the second UE and the second node.

In one possible implementation, the sending unit 2610 is specifically configured to: transmitting the first data packet to the second node, wherein the second node is used for transmitting the first data packet to the second UE; or sending the first data packet to a third node, where the third node is configured to send the first data packet to the second UE through the second node, and the third node is an intermediate node between the first node and the second node.

In a possible implementation method, the receiving unit 2620 is further configured to receive, before receiving identification information of a second node from an access network node, a second data packet from the first UE through a second transmission channel, where the second data packet carries the first information and an application layer identifier of the second UE, and the second transmission channel is a channel for transmitting the first information between the first UE and the first node; and a processing unit 2630, configured to obtain an access layer identifier of the second UE according to the application layer identifier of the second UE.

In one possible implementation, the processing unit 2630 is specifically configured to: transmitting, by the transmitting unit 2610, an application layer identifier of the second UE to the access network node; an access stratum identification of the second UE from the access network node is received by the receiving unit 2620.

In a possible implementation method, the receiving unit 2620 is further configured to receive identification information of the first transmission channel from the access network node.

In a possible implementation method, the receiving unit 2620 is further configured to receive first indication information from the access network node, where the first indication information indicates that the first node enables a local delivery function.

In a possible implementation method, the sending unit 2610 is further configured to send, before the receiving unit 2620 receives the first indication information from the access network node, second indication information to the access network node, where the second indication information indicates that the first node supports a local delivery function.

In a fifth embodiment, the communication device is configured to implement each step of the corresponding access network node in each embodiment above:

a receiving unit 2620, configured to receive an application layer identifier of a second UE from a first node, where the first node is a node to which the first UE accesses; a processing unit 2630, configured to determine an access layer identifier of the second UE according to the application layer identifier of the second UE; a sending unit 2610, configured to send, to the first node, an access layer identifier of the second UE and identifier information of a second node, where the second node is a node to which the second UE accesses.

In a possible implementation method, the sending unit 2610 is further configured to send identification information of a first transmission channel to the first node, where the first transmission channel is a channel for transmitting a data packet from the first UE between the second UE and the second node.

In a possible implementation, the sending unit 2610 is further configured to send first indication information to the first node, where the first indication information indicates that the first node enables a local delivery function.

In a possible implementation method, the receiving unit 2620 is further configured to receive, before the sending unit 2610 sends the first indication information to the first node, second indication information from the first node, where the second indication information indicates that the first node supports a local delivery function.

In one possible implementation, the first node and the second node are both IAB nodes.

Optionally, the communication device may further include a storage unit, where the storage unit is configured to store data or instructions (which may also be referred to as codes or programs), and the respective units may interact or be coupled with the storage unit to implement the corresponding methods or functions. For example, the processing unit 2630 may read data or instructions in the storage unit so that the communication device implements the method in the above-described embodiment.

It should be understood that the above division of units in the communication device is merely a division of logic functions, and may be fully or partially integrated into one physical entity or may be physically separated. And the units in the communication device may all be implemented in the form of software calls via the processing element; or can be realized in hardware; it is also possible that part of the units are implemented in the form of software, which is called by the processing element, and part of the units are implemented in the form of hardware. For example, each unit may be a processing element that is set up separately, may be implemented integrally in a certain chip of the communication device, or may be stored in a memory in the form of a program, and the function of the unit may be called and executed by a certain processing element of the communication device. Furthermore, all or part of these units may be integrated together or may be implemented independently. The processing element described herein may in turn be a processor, which may be an integrated circuit with signal processing capabilities. In implementation, each step of the above method or each unit above may be implemented by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in a processor element or in the form of software called by a processing element.

In one example, the unit in any of the above communication devices may be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above methods, such as: one or more specific integrated circuits (application specific integrated circuit, ASIC), or one or more microprocessors (digital singnal processor, DSP), or one or more field programmable gate arrays (field programmable gate array, FPGA), or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms. For another example, when the unit in the communication device may be implemented in the form of a processing element scheduler, the processing element may be a general purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (central processing unit, CPU) or other processor that may invoke the program. For another example, the units may be integrated together and implemented in the form of a system-on-a-chip (SOC).

Referring to fig. 27, a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application is provided, which is configured to implement the operation of the first node or the access network node in the above embodiment. As shown in fig. 27, the communication apparatus includes: processor 2710 and interface 2730, and optionally, memory 2720. Interface 2730 is used to enable communication with other devices.

The method performed by the first node or the access network node in the above embodiment may be implemented by the processor 2710 invoking a program stored in a memory (which may be the memory 2720 in the first node or the access network node or an external memory). That is, the first node or access network node may include a processor 2710, the processor 2710 invoking a program in a memory to perform the method performed by the first node or access network node in the above method embodiments. The processor here may be an integrated circuit with signal processing capabilities, such as a CPU. The first node or access network node may be implemented by one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above methods. For example: one or more ASICs, or one or more microprocessor DSPs, or one or more FPGAs, etc., or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms. Alternatively, the above implementations may be combined.

Specifically, the functions/implementation procedures of the transmission unit 2610, the reception unit 2620, and the processing unit 2630 in fig. 26 can be implemented by the processor 2710 in the communication device 2700 shown in fig. 27 calling computer executable instructions stored in the memory 2720. Alternatively, the functions/implementation procedures of the processing unit 2630 in fig. 26 may be implemented by the processor 2710 in the communication device 2700 shown in fig. 27 calling computer execution instructions stored in the memory 2720, the functions/implementation procedures of the transmitting unit 2610 and the receiving unit 2620 in fig. 26 may be implemented by the interface 2730 in the communication device 2700 shown in fig. 27, and the functions/implementation procedures of the transmitting unit 2610 and the receiving unit 2620 may be implemented by the processor calling program instructions in the memory to drive the interface 2730, for example.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that: the first, second, etc. numbers referred to in the present application are merely for convenience of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application, but also to indicate the sequence. "and/or", describes an association relationship of an association object, and indicates that there may be three relationships, for example, a and/or B, and may indicate: a exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone. The character "/" generally indicates that the context-dependent object is an "or" relationship. "at least one" means one or more. At least two means two or more. "at least one," "any one," or the like, refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single item(s) or plural items(s). For example, at least one of a, b, or c (species ) may represent: a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, wherein a, b, c may be single or plural. "plurality" means two or more, and the like.

It should be understood that, in various embodiments of the present application, the sequence numbers of the foregoing processes do not mean the order of execution, and the order of execution of the processes should be determined by the functions and internal logic thereof, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

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

In the above embodiments, it may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When loaded and executed on a computer, produces a flow or function in accordance with embodiments of the present application, in whole or in part. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable apparatus. The computer instructions may be stored in or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another, for example, by wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital Subscriber Line (DSL)), or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device including one or more servers, data centers, etc. that can be integrated with the available medium. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a Solid State Disk (SSD)), or the like.

The various illustrative logical blocks and circuits described in connection with the embodiments of the present application may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the general purpose processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a digital signal processor core, or any other similar configuration.

The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software unit executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. The software cells may be stored in random access Memory (Random Access Memory, RAM), flash Memory, read-Only Memory (ROM), EPROM Memory, EEPROM Memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. In an example, a storage medium may be coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC.

These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

In one or more exemplary designs, the above-described functions of the present application may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination of the three. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on a computer-readable medium or transmitted as one or more instructions or code on the computer-readable medium. Computer readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media that facilitate transfer of computer programs from one place to another. A storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. For example, such computer-readable media may include, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that may be used to carry or store program code in the form of instructions or data structures and other data structures that may be read by a general or special purpose computer, or a general or special purpose processor. Further, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium, e.g., if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source via a coaxial cable, fiber optic computer, twisted pair, digital Subscriber Line (DSL), or wireless such as infrared, radio, and microwave, and is also included in the definition of computer-readable medium. The disks (disks) and disks include compact disks, laser disks, optical disks, digital versatile disks (English: digital Versatile Disc; DVD), floppy disk and blu-ray disk where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while disks usually reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above may also be included within the computer-readable media.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that in one or more of the examples described above, the functions described in the present application may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, these functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer.

The foregoing embodiments have been provided for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the present application in further detail, and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the application, but are merely intended to cover any modifications, equivalents, improvements, etc. based on the teachings of the application. The foregoing description of the application will so fully enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the application, and any modifications of the application based on this disclosure should be considered as obvious to those skilled in the art, and the basic principles described herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the spirit and scope of the application. Thus, the disclosure is not limited to the embodiments and designs described herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Although the application has been described in connection with specific features and embodiments thereof, it will be apparent that various modifications and combinations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the application. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are merely exemplary illustrations of the present application as defined in the appended claims and are considered to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations, or equivalents that fall within the scope of the application. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the present application without departing from the scope of the application. Thus, it is intended that the present application also include such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

Claims

A method of wireless communication, comprising:

the first node obtains first information, the first information comprising at least one of: load information of at least one next-hop node of the first node, interference information of the at least one next-hop node, channel quality between the first node and the at least one next-hop node, and link hop count information of the first node reaching a target node through the at least one next-hop node;

And the first node determines to transmit the data packet through a second node according to the first information, wherein the at least one next-hop node comprises the second node.
The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

the first node receives load information of the at least one next-hop node and/or interference information of the at least one next-hop node from an access network node; or alternatively, the process may be performed,

the first node receives load information of a first next-hop node from the first next-hop node and/or interference information of the first next-hop node, wherein the first next-hop node is any one node in the at least one next-hop node.
The method of claim 1 or 2, further comprising:

the first node receiving channel quality between the first node and the at least one next hop node from an access network node; or alternatively, the process may be performed,

the first node autonomously determines a channel quality between the first node and the at least one next-hop node.
A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising:

The first node receives the link hop count information from an access network node, wherein the link hop count information corresponds to a route identifier and the identification information of the next hop node, and the route identifier comprises the identification information of the target node and a route identifier.
A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising:

the first node receives the link hop count information from an access network node, wherein the link hop count indicated by the link hop count information is the minimum link hop count of the first node reaching the target node through the next hop node, and the link hop count information corresponds to the identification information of the next hop node and the identification information of the target node.
The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

the first node receives identification information of a first next-hop node from the first next-hop node, wherein the first next-hop node is any one node in the at least one next-hop node.
The method of claim 6, wherein the first node receiving the identification information of the first next-hop node from a first next-hop node comprises:

The first node receives identification information of the first next-hop node from the first next-hop node through a side downlink between the first node and the first next-hop node.
The method of claim 6 or 7, further comprising:

the first node receives identification information of a target node which can be reached by the first next-hop node from the first next-hop node.
The method as recited in claim 8, further comprising:

the first node receives minimum link hop count information from the first next-hop node of the first next-hop node to reach the reachable target node.
The method of any one of claims 6 to 9, further comprising:

the first node receives first indication information from an access network node, wherein the first indication information indicates that the first node receives a mapping relation between a first bearer of the data packet and a second bearer of the data packet sent by the first node, the first bearer is a backhaul radio link control channel, and the second bearer is a radio bearer or a radio link control channel on a side link between the first node and the at least one next hop node.
The method of any one of claims 6 to 10, further comprising:

the first node sends second indication information to an access network node, the second indication information indicating that the first node supports side uplink.
The method as recited in claim 11, further comprising:

the first node receives third indication information from an access network node, the third indication information indicating that a side uplink of the first node is enabled.
The method of any of claims 1 to 12, wherein the first node and the second node are both IAB nodes, and the target node is an IAB host node or an access IAB node; or alternatively, the process may be performed,

the first node is an IAB host node, the second node is an IAB node, and the target node is an access IAB node.
A method of wireless communication, comprising:

a first node receives second indication information from an access network node, wherein the second indication information indicates that a side uplink of the first node is enabled;

the first node enables a side uplink of the first node according to the second indication information.
The method of claim 14, wherein prior to the first node receiving the second indication information from the access network node, the method further comprises:

The first node sends first indication information to the access network node, wherein the first indication information indicates that the first node supports side uplink.
The method of claim 14 or 15, wherein the first node is an IAB node and the access network node is an IAB host node.
A method of wireless communication, comprising:

a first node receives indication information from an access network node, wherein the indication information indicates a mapping relation between a first bearer for the first node to receive a data packet and a second bearer for the first node to send the data packet, the first bearer is a backhaul radio link control channel, and the second bearer is a radio bearer or a radio link control channel on a side link between the first node and a next hop node of the first node;

and the first node sends the data packet received from the first bearer to the next hop node through the second bearer according to the indication information.
A method of wireless communication, comprising:

the method comprises the steps that a first node receives identification information of a second node from an access network node, wherein the first node is a node accessed by first User Equipment (UE), and the second node is a node accessed by second UE;

The first node sends a first data packet to the second UE through the second node, the first data packet carrying first information and second information, the first information including data or signaling from the first UE, the second information including one or more of: the access layer identification of the second UE and the identification information of a first transmission channel, wherein the first transmission channel is a channel for transmitting the first information between the second UE and the second node.
The method of claim 18, wherein the first node sending a first data packet to the second UE through the second node comprises:

the first node sends the first data packet to the second node, and the second node is used for sending the first data packet to the second UE; or alternatively, the process may be performed,

the first node sends the first data packet to a third node, the third node is used for sending the first data packet to the second UE through the second node, and the third node is an intermediate node between the first node and the second node.
The method of claim 18 or 19, wherein before the first node receives the identification information from the second node of the access network node, further comprising:

The first node receives a second data packet from the first UE through a second transmission channel, wherein the second data packet carries the first information and an application layer identifier of the second UE, and the second transmission channel is a channel for transmitting the first information between the first UE and the first node;

and the first node acquires the access layer identifier of the second UE according to the application layer identifier of the second UE.
The method of claim 20, wherein the first node obtaining the access layer identity of the second UE from the application identity of the second UE comprises:

the first node sends an application layer identification of the second UE to the access network node;

the first node receives an access stratum identification of the second UE from the access network node.
The method of claim 20 or 21, wherein the application layer identification of the second UE is carried in a medium access control, MAC, layer header field or a radio link control, RLC, layer header field of the second data packet.
The method of any one of claims 18 to 22, further comprising:

the first node receives identification information of the first transmission channel from the access network node.
A method according to any of claims 18 to 23, wherein the second information is carried in a backhaul adaptation protocol BAP layer header field of the first data packet.
The method of any one of claims 18 to 24, further comprising:

the first node receives first indication information from the access network node, wherein the first indication information indicates that the first node enables a local transfer function.
The method of claim 25, wherein prior to the first node receiving the first indication information from the access network node, further comprising:

the first node sends second indication information to the access network node, wherein the second indication information indicates that the first node supports a local transfer function.
The method of any of claims 18 to 26, wherein the first node and the second node are both IAB nodes and the access network node is an IAB hosting node.
A method of wireless communication, comprising:

the access network node receives an application layer identification of a second UE from a first node, wherein the first node is a node to which the first UE is accessed;

the access network node determines the access layer identification of the second UE according to the application layer identification of the second UE;

And the access network node sends the access layer identification of the second UE and the identification information of a second node to the first node, wherein the second node is the node accessed by the second UE.
The method as recited in claim 28, further comprising:

the access network node transmits identification information of a first transmission channel to the first node, wherein the first transmission channel is a channel for transmitting data packets from the first UE between the second UE and the second node.
The method of claim 28 or 29, further comprising:

the access network node transmits first indication information to the first node, wherein the first indication information indicates that the first node enables a local transfer function.
The method of claim 30, wherein before the access network node sends the first indication information to the first node, further comprising:

the access network node receives second indication information from the first node, wherein the second indication information indicates that the first node supports a local transfer function.
The method of any of claims 28 to 31, wherein the first node and the second node are both IAB nodes and the access network node is an IAB hosting node.
A communication device, comprising:

a receiving unit, configured to obtain first information, where the first information includes at least one of: load information of at least one next-hop node of a first node, interference information of the at least one next-hop node, channel quality between the first node and the at least one next-hop node, and link hop count information of the first node reaching a target node through the at least one next-hop node;

and the processing unit is used for determining to transmit the data packet through a second node according to the first information, wherein the at least one next-hop node comprises the second node.
The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the receiving unit is further for:

receiving load information of the at least one next-hop node and/or interference information of the at least one next-hop node from an access network node; or alternatively, the process may be performed,

and receiving load information of a first next-hop node and/or interference information of the first next-hop node from the first next-hop node, wherein the first next-hop node is any one node in the at least one next-hop node.
The apparatus of claim 33 or 34, wherein the receiving unit is further configured to receive a channel quality between the first node and the at least one next hop node from an access network node; or alternatively, the process may be performed,

the processing unit is further configured to determine a channel quality between the first node and the at least one next-hop node by itself.
The apparatus according to any of claims 33 to 35, wherein the receiving unit is further configured to receive the link hop count information from an access network node, where the link hop count information corresponds to a route identification and identification information of the next hop node, the route identification including identification information of the target node and a path identification.
The apparatus according to any one of claims 33 to 35, wherein the receiving unit is further configured to receive the link hop count information from an access network node, where the link hop count indicated by the link hop count information is a minimum link hop count for the first node to reach the target node through the next hop node, and the link hop count information corresponds to identification information of the next hop node and identification information of the target node.
The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the receiving unit is further configured to receive identification information of a first next-hop node from the first next-hop node, the first next-hop node being any one of the at least one next-hop node.
The apparatus of claim 38, wherein the receiving means for receiving the identification information of the first next-hop node from the first next-hop node specifically comprises:

for receiving identification information of the first next-hop node from the first next-hop node over a side-downlink between the first node and the first next-hop node.
The apparatus according to claim 38 or 39, wherein the receiving unit is further configured to receive identification information of a target node that can be reached by the first next-hop node from the first next-hop node.
The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the receiving unit is further configured to receive minimum link hop count information for the first next-hop node from the first next-hop node to reach the reachable target node.
The apparatus of any one of claims 38 to 41, wherein the receiving unit is further configured to receive first indication information from an access network node, the first indication information indicating a mapping relationship between a first bearer of the data packet received by the first node and a second bearer of the data packet transmitted by the first node, the first bearer being a backhaul radio link control channel, and the second bearer being a radio bearer or a radio link control channel on a side link between the first node and the at least one next-hop node.
The apparatus according to any of claims 38 to 42, wherein the apparatus further comprises a sending unit configured to send second indication information to an access network node, the second indication information indicating that the first node supports side-uplink.
The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the receiving unit is further configured to receive third indication information from the access network node, the third indication information indicating that side-links of the first node are enabled.
The apparatus of any one of claims 33 to 44, wherein the first node and the second node are both IAB nodes, and the target node is an IAB host node or an access IAB node; or alternatively, the process may be performed,

The first node is an IAB host node, the second node is an IAB node, and the target node is an access IAB node.
A communication device, comprising:

a receiving unit, configured to receive second indication information from an access network node, where the second indication information indicates that a side uplink of the first node is enabled;

and the processing unit is used for enabling the side uplink of the first node according to the second indication information.
The apparatus of claim 46, further comprising a transmitting unit configured to transmit first indication information to the access network node before the receiving unit receives second indication information from the access network node, the first indication information indicating that the first node supports side-uplink.
The apparatus of claim 46 or 47, wherein the first node is an IAB node and the access network node is an IAB-hosting node.
A communication device, comprising:

a receiving unit, configured to receive indication information from an access network node, where the indication information indicates a mapping relationship between a first bearer for a first node to receive a data packet and a second bearer for the first node to send the data packet, where the first bearer is a backhaul radio link control channel, and the second bearer is a radio bearer or a radio link control channel on a side link between the first node and a next hop node of the first node;

And the processing unit is used for sending the data packet received from the first bearer to the next hop node through the second bearer according to the indication information.
A communications apparatus for a first node, comprising:

the receiving unit is used for receiving identification information of a second node from the access network node, wherein the first node is a node accessed by first User Equipment (UE), and the second node is a node accessed by second UE;

a sending unit, configured to send, by the second node, a first data packet to the second UE, where the first data packet carries first information and second information, the first information includes data or signaling from the first UE, and the second information includes one or more of the following: the access layer identification of the second UE and the identification information of a first transmission channel, wherein the first transmission channel is a channel for transmitting the first information between the second UE and the second node.
The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the transmitting unit is specifically configured to:

transmitting the first data packet to the second node, wherein the second node is used for transmitting the first data packet to the second UE; or alternatively, the process may be performed,

And sending the first data packet to a third node, wherein the third node is used for sending the first data packet to the second UE through the second node, and the third node is an intermediate node between the first node and the second node.
The apparatus of claim 50 or 51, wherein the receiving unit is further configured to receive a second data packet from the first UE through a second transmission channel before receiving identification information of a second node from an access network node, the second data packet carrying the first information and an application layer identification of the second UE, the second transmission channel being a channel for transmitting the first information between the first UE and the first node;

the device also comprises a processing unit, which is used for acquiring the access layer identifier of the second UE according to the application layer identifier of the second UE.
The apparatus of claim 52, wherein the processing unit is specifically configured to:

transmitting an application layer identifier of the second UE to the access network node through the transmitting unit;

and receiving an access layer identifier of the second UE from the access network node through the receiving unit.
The apparatus of claim 52 or 53, wherein an application layer identification of the second UE is carried in a medium access control, MAC, layer header field or a radio link control, RLC, layer header field of the second data packet.
The apparatus according to any of claims 50 to 54, wherein the receiving unit is further configured to receive identification information of the first transmission channel from the access network node.
The apparatus of any one of claims 50 to 55, wherein the second information is carried in a backhaul adaptation protocol, BAP, layer header field of the first data packet.
The apparatus according to any of claims 50 to 56, wherein the receiving unit is further configured to receive first indication information from the access network node, the first indication information indicating that the first node enables a local delivery function.
The apparatus of claim 57, wherein the sending unit is further configured to send second indication information to the access network node before the receiving unit receives the first indication information from the access network node, the second indication information indicating that the first node supports a local delivery function.
The apparatus of any of claims 50-58, wherein the first node and the second node are both IAB nodes and the access network node is an IAB hosting node.
A communication device, comprising:

the receiving unit is used for receiving an application layer identifier of a second UE from a first node, wherein the first node is a node accessed by the first UE;

the processing unit is used for determining an access layer identifier of the second UE according to the application layer identifier of the second UE;

and the sending unit is used for sending the access layer identification of the second UE and the identification information of a second node to the first node, wherein the second node is the node accessed by the second UE.
The apparatus of claim 60, wherein the sending unit is further configured to send identification information of a first transmission channel to the first node, wherein the first transmission channel is a channel between the second UE and the second node for transmitting data packets from the first UE.
The apparatus of claim 60 or 61, wherein the sending unit is further configured to send first indication information to the first node, the first indication information indicating that the first node enables a local delivery function.
The apparatus of claim 62, wherein the receiving unit is further configured to receive second indication information from the first node before the sending unit sends the first indication information to the first node, the second indication information indicating that the first node supports a local delivery function.
The apparatus of any one of claims 60 to 63, wherein the first node and the second node are both IAB nodes.
A communication device, comprising: a processor coupled to a memory for storing a program or instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the apparatus to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 27.
A communication device, comprising: a processor coupled to a memory for storing a program or instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the apparatus to perform the method of any of claims 28 to 32.
A communication device for performing the method of any of claims 1 to 27.
A communication device for performing the method of any of claims 28 to 32.
A communication system comprising a communication device as claimed in any one of claims 50 to 59 and a communication device as claimed in any one of claims 60 to 64.
A computer readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 32.
A computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed, implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 32.