DE112016004103T5 - Slice-enabled radio access network architecture for wireless communication - Google Patents

Abstract

Embodiments provide an electronic apparatus for implementing a Radio Access Network (RAN) control entity, the electronic apparatus comprising circuitry for: identifying one or more vertical slices of a RAN, wherein the vertical slices relate to vertical market segments of the RAN, identifying one or more horizontal slices of the RAN, where the horizontal slices refer to network hierarchy segments of the RAN, and slicing the RAN into the one or more vertical and / or horizontal slices; and a radio frequency (RF) circuit coupled to the circuit, the RF circuit for transmitting and / or receiving one or more signals in accordance with the vertical and / or horizontal slices. Embodiments further provide a Radio Access Network (RAN) control entity and a computer readable medium for implementing a Radio Access Network (RAN) control entity.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the priority of the provisional U.S. Patent Application No. 62 / 217,536 , filed on Sep. 11, 2015, the entire specification of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes in the present text.

TECHNICAL AREA

The embodiments described herein generally relate to the field of wireless communication systems, and more particularly relate to the management of the radio access network of a wireless communication system.

BACKGROUND

In Fourth Generation Long Term Evolution (4G-LTE) wireless communication systems, there is a trend towards heterogeneity in network architecture and network applications. Examples of these trends are the development of small cells and relay networks, device-to-device (D2D) communication networks, and machine communication (MTC). With the move to fifth generation (5G) wireless communication systems, there is a desire for improved management of wireless resources.

list of figures

• 1 zeigt eine erste Ansicht des allgemeinen Konzepts des vertikalen und horizontalen Netzwerk-Slicens;
• 2 zeigt eine zweite Ansicht eines Abschnitts des Drahtlosnetzes von 1;
• 3 zeigt, wie ein Funkzugangsnetz (Radio Access Network, RAN) gemäß einer Ausführungsform, die alternativ (oder zusätzlich) zu der in 1 gezeigten ist, in horizontale und vertikale Slices geslicet werden kann;
• 4 zeigt ein detaillierteres Beispiel des horizontalen Slicens in einer Slice-fähigen Drahtlosnetzwerkarchitektur gemäß Beispielen;
• 5 veranschaulicht, wie eine RAN-Steuerungsentität gemäß einer Ausführungsform die horizontalen und vertikalen Slices von 3 steuern kann;
• 6 veranschaulicht ein erstes, dezentralisiertes, Beispiel einer RAN-Steuerungsentität gemäß einer Ausführungsform;
• 7 veranschaulicht ein zweites, zentralisiertes, Beispiel einer RAN-Steuerungsentität gemäß einer Ausführungsform;
• 8 veranschaulicht ein erstes, flaches, Beispiel, wie eine RAN-Steuerungsentität gemäß einer Ausführungsform Slices des Netzwerks steuert;
• 9 veranschaulicht ein zweites, hierarchisches, Beispiel, wie eine RAN-Steuerungsentität gemäß einer Ausführungsform Slices des Netzwerks steuert;
• 10 zeigt ein erstes beispielhaftes Verfahren zum Verwalten eines Funkzugangsnetzes gemäß einer Ausführungsform;
• 11 zeigt ein zweites beispielhaftes Verfahren zum Verwalten eines Funkzugangsnetzes gemäß einer Ausführungsform;
• 12 zeigt ein Beispiel einer RAN-Steuerungsentität gemäß einer Ausführungsform;
• 13 zeigt eine schaubildhafte Darstellung von Hardware-Ressourcen gemäß einer Ausführungsform.

Aspects, features, and advantages of embodiments of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description of embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals designate like elements, and in which:

• 1 shows a first view of the general concept of vertical and horizontal network slicing;
• 2 shows a second view of a portion of the wireless network of 1 ;
• 3 shows how a radio access network (RAN) according to an embodiment, which alternatively (or in addition) to the in 1 can be sliced into horizontal and vertical slices;
• 4 Fig. 12 shows a more detailed example of horizontal slicing in a slice-enabled wireless network architecture according to examples;
• 5 illustrates how a RAN control entity according to one embodiment illustrates the horizontal and vertical slices of 3 can control;
• 6 illustrates a first, decentralized example of a RAN control entity according to an embodiment;
• 7 illustrates a second, centralized, example of a RAN control entity according to one embodiment;
• 8th Figure 12 illustrates a first, flat, example of how a RAN control entity controls slices of the network according to one embodiment;
• 9 Figure 12 illustrates a second, hierarchical, example of how a RAN control entity controls slices of the network according to one embodiment;
• 10 shows a first exemplary method for managing a radio access network according to an embodiment;
• 11 shows a second exemplary method for managing a radio access network according to an embodiment;
• 12 shows an example of a RAN control entity according to an embodiment;
• 13 FIG. 12 is a diagrammatic illustration of hardware resources according to an embodiment. FIG.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers can be used in various drawings to identify the same or similar elements. In the following description, for purposes of explanation and not limitation, specific details are set forth, such as particular structures, architectures, interfaces, techniques, etc., in order to provide a thorough understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. However, one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the present disclosure understands that the various aspects of the claims may be practiced in other examples that depart from these specific details. In certain instances, the description of well-known devices, circuits, and methods are omitted so that the salient points of the description of the present disclosure are not superseded by unnecessary detail.

In Fourth Generation Long Term Evolution (4G-LTE) and LTE-Advanced / Pro wireless communication networks, there is a trend towards heterogeneity in network architecture and the Network applications. Examples of these trends are the development of small cells and relay networks, device-to-device (D2D) communication networks (also known as short-range services) and machine-type communications (MTC). Small cells may be any form of cell smaller than the traditional macro-eNB / base station, for example micro / pico / femto cells. In the course of the development to fifth generation wireless communication networks ( 5G ), the trend toward heterogeneity may be even more pronounced, so that desirably improved methods and apparatus for controlling wireless resources are desirable. Because, for example, it can be assumed that the 5G wireless communication networks cover a wide range of applications (with different types of traffic and requirements), network and user equipment (with different communication and computing capabilities) and commercial markets (ie user cases) traditional voice services (e.g., voice over LTE, VoLTE) and mobile broadband (MBB) will serve, there is a desire to provide control for each of these user cases so that optimized, or at least improved, use of wireless resources is possible.

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the slicing of a Radio Access Network (RAN) architecture of a wireless communication network. The RAN may be the portion of the wireless communication network that implements one or more Radio Access Technologies (RATs), and may be considered to be located at a position that exists between a user device (UE) such as the Example, a mobile phone, smartphone, a connected laptop or any remote-controlled (or easily accessible) machine and provides a connection to the core network (CN), which serves the wireless communication network. The RAN may be implemented using one or more silicon chips residing in the UEs and / or base stations, such as enhanced NodeBs (eNBs), base stations, or the like that form the cellular wireless communication network / system. Examples of RANs include: GRAN (a GSM radio access network); GERAN (essentially an EDGE-enabled GRAN); UTRAN (a UMTS radio access network), and E-UTRAN (a fast and low-latency LTE or LTE Advance / Pro radio access network).

The embodiments described herein discuss the general architecture of network slicing in a radio access network of a wireless communication network, such as a 5G wireless communication network. In particular, embodiments may include the concept of horizontal and vertical network slicing. Vertical slicing may include slicing the radio access network in accordance with vertical markets, where a vertical market may be a single or particular type of communication (ie, defined as a single or particular use case for the communication involved) among the many existing and new types of communication that will be future Wireless communication networks can be executed, in particular including the radio access network may include. A commercial market that can be served over a wireless communications network can also be referred to as a vertical market. Existing types include Mobile Broadband (MBB) and Voice (VoLTE), while the new types of communications may include new types of connectivity services and use cases, such as Machine Type Communications (MTC), Personal Area Networks, and Specialized Health Networks , Machine-to-machine (M2M), enhanced MBB (eMBB), time-critical communication, vehicle communication (V2X) (including vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I)), and the like. The definition of a vertical market is not limited and includes any existing or future logical separation (i.e., segregation, partitioning or the like) of a physical radio access network for exclusive use by the wireless communication for a particular use or type of communication. In some examples, multiple physical radio access networks may be in use, each separated into logically separate radio access networks.

The proposed network slices can be programmable and highly scalable and flexible, taking into account availability, latency, and performance requirements and impacting the battery life, reliability, capacity, security, and speed of the wireless communication network needed in each individual use case.

Network slicing is considered one of the key technologies to meet the diverse needs and diverse services and applications that are believed to support 5G communication networks. This is because, with wireless communication technologies, the further enhancement of spectral efficiency at the radio link level is becoming an ever greater challenge, so that new ways must be found to provide future wireless networks and devices served by those wireless networks that are incessant meet increasing capacity needs. To achieve these goals, 5G and future generations of wireless networks, and in particular the wireless devices that serve them or are served by those wireless networks, continue to evolve to provide a combination of computing and communication and provide end-to-end solutions. This is a paradigm shift from previous generations, where technology development has focused mostly on single-level communication.

To provide the increased capacity in wireless networks, they can be slotted. This may include slicing (i.e., logical partitioning / separating) the traditional large single mobile broadband network into multiple virtual networks to service vertical industries and applications in a more cost and resource efficient manner. Each network slice may have a different network architecture and application, control, packet, and signal processing capabilities and capacities for optimal profitability. New vertical slices (i.e., industry or service types) can be added to an existing slice-capable wireless network at any time rather than using a new dedicated wireless network for that vertical market. Thus, vertical network slicing provides a practical means of separating the traffic - from a vertical application standpoint - from the rest of the general mobile broadband services, thereby virtually avoiding or greatly simplifying the traditional QoS technology problem. Wireless network slicing may include slicing both in the core network and in radio access networks (i.e., it is an end-to-end solution).

In 5G wireless networks and beyond, the capacity scaling of a network may not be as consistent as it was in previous generations. For example, the scaling factor may be higher when the wireless network is closer to a user, and may be lower the deeper we go into the infrastructure of the wireless network. This uneven scaling can be a result of an optimized user experience enabled by the significantly increased detection capabilities (and / or processing resources) available in the wireless devices that use wireless networks. Unlike previous generations of wireless networks, where a network served predominantly as a data line and more uniform (but singular) end-to-end scaling, the better the air interface became, 5G and future generations of wireless networks can at least partially rely on information networks that include diverse (heterogeneous and / or homogeneous) computational, networking and storage capabilities of the wireless networks and wireless devices that they serve and serve.

For example, the overall wireless network can continue to be rapidly scaled up, but network edge computing and networking can grow even faster, making it possible to handle user traffic at the edge of the wireless network (so-called edge cloud applications). User devices may not simply be just "terminals" that terminate a communication link. Instead, they can become a new generation of mobile or fixed networking nodes for a new generation of consumer equipment, machines, and things. For example, a laptop, a tablet, a smartphone, a home gateway, or any other wireless network device (or component device that forms or part of the wireless network device sold to the consumer) may become a computing and networking hub of a network cluster with many devices or things that are used in the environment will be. For example, it can form a Personal Area Network (PAN). Many such mobile or fixed wireless network clusters can form what may be termed an underlying network, a new type of network in Figure 5G and beyond, with devices capable of communicating with each other or directly with the landline networks, and with a computational effort that can be offloaded to larger form factor platforms or to edge cloud base stations (ie entities in the wireless network with larger processing resources, either generally or simply available at the time). This can be done to achieve optimal mobile computing and communication across a virtualized platform across many devices, including the edge cloud.

This new type of wireless network scaling can be driven by a number of factors. For example, the detection of a device is typically local, and therefore the processing of acquired data can also be done locally, and the decisions and actions regarding collected data become local. This trend can continue to increase as the wearable devices and Internet of Things continue to spread. For example, as machines begin to play a greater role in communication than the human user, the overall speed of the communication link can be increased.

The definition of "end-to-end" needs to be questioned, as there are an increasing number of communication links near users and user devices. It will therefore, proposed to provide a cloud architecture framework that may include data centers as well as edge clouds that provide local information and services that are closer to the end users or devices. This may be because, for example, as wireless networks and systems are increasingly being used in businesses, homes, offices, businesses, and automobiles, edge cloud servers are becoming more important - both in terms of performance and privacy data security. These latter factors can be aided by the concern of users (and governments) for secrecy and security. In addition, data centers deep within fixed networks can continue to grow rapidly, as many existing services can be better served with a centralized architecture. The new generation of portable and wearable devices, drones, industrial machines, self-driving cars, and the like, is driving even faster growth in the communication and computing capabilities at the edge of the network and locally in the user environment.

The newly introduced concept of network slicing, particularly of the type providing a wireless network system architecture that includes vertical and horizontal end-to-end (E2E) network slicing, may include changes to the air interface, the radio access network (RAN), and core network (CN) to enable a wireless network system with E2E network slices.

Stated simply, horizontal slicing improves the performance of devices by allowing computing resources to be maintained over time, space, and location over multiple devices that service the wireless network or are served by (ie, within, or on) the wireless network over time, space, and location requirements. to distribute.

Horizontal network slicing is designed to accommodate the new trend in traffic scaling and enable edge cloud computing and offloading of computational effort. The computational resources in the base station and the portable device may be sliced horizontally, and these slices, along with the wearable devices, may be integrated to form a virtual computing platform through a new design of the wireless air interface as described herein to significantly increase the computational capability of future portable and wearable devices. Horizontal slicing increases the device's conductivity and optimizes the user experience.

Network slicing can be broadly envisioned as a form of virtualization technology use to form, share, and organize computational and communication resources of a physical wireless network infrastructure into one or more logically separate radio access networks to flexibly support a variety of use case realizations enable. For example, network slices may be used to slicing a single physical wireless network into multiple logical radio access networks, each of which is designed and optimized for a particular request and / or a particular application / service (i.e., use case). Thus, a network slice can be defined in terms of functionality and traffic flow as independent and can have their own network architecture, their own functional mechanism and their own network deployment. Network slicing, as suggested herein, can simplify the creation and operation of network slices and allows functional reuse and resource sharing of the physical wireless network infrastructure (ie, everything becomes more efficient) while still providing sufficient wireless network resources (communication and processing resources) for the network the wireless network served wireless devices are provided.

Vertical slicing is aimed at supporting various services and applications (i.e., use cases / types of communication). Examples include: Wireless / Mobile Broadband (MBB) communication; Extreme Mobile Broadband (E-MBB) communication; Real-time use case, such as industrial control communication, machine-to-machine communication (MTC / MTC1); Non-real-time use case, such as Internet of Things (IoT) sensor communication, or massively scale machine-to-machine communication (M-MTC / MTC2); Ultra Reliable Machine-to-Machine Communication (U-MTC); Mobile Edge Cloud, for example caching, communication; Vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication; Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) communication; and vehicle-to-all communication (V2X). That is, the present disclosure relates to the provision of network slicing according to any readily definable / distinguishable type of communication that can be performed over a wireless network. Vertical network slicing allows resource sharing between services and applications and can avoid or simplify a traditional QoS technology problem.

By contrast, horizontal network slicing is aimed at extending the capabilities of devices in the wireless network, especially mobile devices, where there are limitations on the ones available to them local resources, and optimizing the user experience. Horizontal network slicing exceeds the physical limits of hardware platforms. Horizontal network slicing allows for resource sharing between network nodes and devices, ie, high performance network nodes or devices can then share their resources (e.g., computation, communication, memory) to extend the capabilities of less powerful network nodes or devices. A simple example may be to use a network base station and / or a mobile smart phone device to supplement the processing and communication capabilities of a wearable device. An end result of horizontal network slicing may be to provide a new generation of mobile (e.g., moving) underlying network clusters where mobile terminals become moving network nodes. Horizontal slicing can provide resource sharing through the air over wireless network nodes. The wireless network air interface used can be an integrated part and a facilitator for horizontal slicing.

Vertical network slicing and horizontal network slicing can form independent slices. The end-to-end traffic flow in a vertical slice may pass between the core network and the terminal devices. The end-to-end traffic flow in a horizontal slice can be local and run between the client and host of a mobile edge calculation service.

In vertical slicing, each of the network nodes can implement similar functions between the separate slices. A dynamic aspect of vertical slicing can be primarily in resource partitioning. With horizontal slicing, however, new functions could be generated in a network node if a slice is supported. For example, a portable device may utilize various functions to support various types of wearable devices. The dynamic aspect of horizontal slicing can therefore lie in the network functions as well as the resource partitioning.

1 shows a first view of the general concept of vertical and horizontal network slicing. It is a complete wireless network 100 shown several vertical slices 110 - 140 each serving a different (or at least separate) vertical market, ie use case. In the example shown, the vertical slice # 1 110 serves mobile broadband communication, the vertical slice # 2 120 serves vehicle-to-vehicle communication, the vertical slice # 3 130 serves security communication, and the vertical slice no. 4 140 serves industrial control communication. These are only exemplary use cases, and the use cases that can be served by a slice-enabled wireless network according to the present disclosure are virtually unlimited.

The wireless network 100 contains a core network layer section 150 (comprising, for example, multiple server / control entities / control sections of eNodeBs, etc.), a radio access network layer section 160 (containing, for example, multiple base stations, eNodeBs, etc.), a device layer section 170 (containing, for example, portable devices such as UEs, vehicles, monitoring devices, industrial devices, etc.) and a private / body device layer section 180 (including, for example, wearable devices such as smart watches, health monitors, Google ™ glasses / Microsoft ™ Hololens devices and the like). The body device section needs to be involved only in some use cases, such as by its inclusion in only the vertical slices # 1 and # 2 in the example of FIG 1 is shown.

In the vertical domain, the physical computation, storage, and radio processing resources in the network infrastructure (designated by the servers and base stations 150/160) and the physical radio resources (in terms of time, frequency, and space) are slated for use case (ie, communication type). to form vertical end-to-end slices. In the horizontal domain, the physical resources (in terms of computation, memory, radio) in adjacent layers of the network hierarchy are sliced to form horizontal slices. In the example shown, there is a first horizontal network slice 190 between the RAN 160 and device works 170 layers, and a second horizontal network slice 195 between the device 170 - and body device works 180-layers. Any given device passing through the wireless network 100 operated as a whole or should be served, and in particular the RAN 160 (and layers below) could work in multiple network slices of one type or the other (or both types). For example, a smartphone may operate in a vertical slice in the Mobile Broadband (MBB) service, in a vertical slice in the healthcare service, and in a horizontal slice that supports wearable devices.

Allowing network slices in the RAN (including the air interfaces used in the RAN) can, in addition to meeting 5G requirements (for example, data rate, latency, number of connections, etc.), lead to further desirable features of the RAN or air interfaces used to enable network slicing and, more generally, 5G, flexibility (ie, supporting flexible radio resource allocation between slices), scalability (ie, simple upscaling by adding new slices), and efficiency (eg, efficient Use of radio and energy resources).

Horizontal slicing may include slicing the network hierarchy, for example, layers of network connectivity and computation (ie, processing resources) capability. This can happen over any number of vertical slices passing through the network 100 for example, everything from all vertical markets down to within one or more vertical slices. This is as the different widths of the two exemplary horizontal slices in 1 The horizontal slice # 1 190 is limited to a single vertical slice, while the horizontal slice # 2 extends over two vertical slices. Examples of network hierarchies or layers may include, for example, a macro network layer, a micro / small cell network layer, a device-to-device communication layer, and the like. Other network layers may also be involved.

2 shows a second view 200 a section of the wireless network 100 from 1 , In particular shows 2 an example of a slice-specific RAN architecture where slices can span multiple levels of the traditional wireless network architecture. For example, the RAN architecture of each of the slices may be dynamically configured depending on factors such as traffic type, traffic load, or QoS requirement. In a first example, slice # 1 210 only needs to work on the macrocell level, while slice # 220 only needs to work on the small cell level. Finally, Slice # 3 230 can work at both the macro and the small cell level. In another example, one slice (eg, slice # 1 210) may open the operation on small cells, while another slice (eg, slice # 230) may decide to do the operation on some of the small cells.

The opening of the operation or the activation of a slice may be referred to as network slice switching, and the decision of an operation or the deactivation of a slice may be referred to as a network slice shutdown. The slice-specific RAN architecture may require a slice-specific control plane or user plane operation, a slice on / off operation, and a slice-based handling of access control and load balancing, as discussed in more detail below.

Horizontal slicing, which involves slicing the network or device computation and communication resources, may result in offloading the computational overhead. Examples include that the base station uses a slice of its computation resource to assist in computing a user device, or that a user device (eg, a smartphone) uses a slice of its computational resource to assist in the computation of one or more associated wearable devices ,

Embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to any particular form of slicing in the vertical direction (markets) or the horizontal direction (network hierarchy or slices).

Embodiments of the present disclosure may provide a management entity that may operate across the control level (C-level) and / or the user-level (U-level) that may provide a management-level entity that may be used to to coordinate the operation of different slices, either horizontal or vertical (or multiple or combined or partial thereof). The management entity may use a flat management architecture or a hierarchical management architecture.

The slicing of the radio access network may be considered as a subject subdivision of the radio access network according to predetermined vertical markets or horizontal network layers (or multiple or partial layers) of the network. This may be considered as a form of logical separation between the wireless resources provided by the radio access network or used by the radio access network. The logical separation of the wireless resources may allow them to be separately defined, managed, and / or (general or specific) provided. This separation may provide the ability to forbid or allow the various slices to interact with one another. Similarly, in some embodiments, one or more slices may be specifically equipped with the ability to manage one or more slices for operational reasons.

In some embodiments, network functions may be completely paged out to a network slice, and the slice may operate in a stand-alone mode, for example a stand-alone millimeter-wave (mmWave) small cell network and a remote D2D network. A mm-wave small cell is one that uses millimeter-sized radio waves (ie, high frequency - for example, 60 GHz).

In some embodiments, one or more network functions may be partially swapped out to a slice and the slice may operate in a non-autonomous mode, for example in an anchor booster architecture, where an anchor booster architecture may include an anchor cell, thereby a control level and mobility anchor to maintain connectivity. In one embodiment, the anchor cell may be a wide coverage cell, for example a macrocell. The anchor booster architecture may further include a booster cell that allows for offloading user level data. In one embodiment, the booster cell may be a small cell and may be used in the supply area of an anchor cell. From the point of view of the device, the control plane and the user plane may be decoupled, i. H. the control plane can be held in the anchor cell while the file plane can be held in the booster cell.

In some example embodiments, the horizontal slices and the vertical slices may be considered intertwined (ie, where the radio access network functions or resources are shared between some of the vertical and horizontal slices), as in the diagram 300 from 3 illustrated. Thus shows 3 as a radio access network (RAN) according to an embodiment, which alternatively (or in addition) to the in 1 can be sliced into horizontal and vertical slices, with the slices being completely independent of traffic flow and operation. The diagram 300 from 1 has a network hierarchy 302 (ie the network layers involved or used) along the y-axis and a radio resource 304 (which represents the use of separate radio resources, such as frequencies, time slots, etc.) along the x-axis. In the example of 1 The vertical slicing is shown to have four vertical slices 306 includes. However, any number of different markets or use cases may be involved. The four vertical markets or use cases shown, which are selected for the vertical slices, are mobile broadband (MBB) 110 , a vehicle communication (V2X) 120, a first machine communication (MTC) 1 ) 130, a second machine communication (MTC 2 ) 140, ie Slice's Slice # 1 - Slice # 4. These are just exemplary options of use cases that could be serviced.

Furthermore, in 3 shown a horizontal slicing, which in this example again four horizontal slices 308 includes. The four horizontal slices shown are a macro network layer 210 , a micro network layer 220 , a device-to-device network layer 230 and a Personal Area Network (PAN) network layer 240 (for example, a wearable device). According to one example, each horizontal slice contains a section of multiple vertical slices. Likewise, each vertical slice contains a portion of each horizontal slice. The separate sections, which are separate in the horizontal and in the vertical direction, may be referred to as a slice section. Thus, in the example of FIG 1 the vertical MBB slice 110 four slice sections: one macro network layer section 112 , a micro-network layer section 114 , a D2D network layer section 116, and a PAN network layer section 118 , Similarly, the vertical V2X slice 120 includes four slice sections: a macro network layer section 122 , a micro-network layer section 124 , a D2D network layer section 126, and a PAN network layer section 128 , Further, the vertical MTC-1 slice 130 includes four slice sections: a macro network layer section 132 , a micro-network layer section 134 , a D2D network layer section 136, and a PAN network layer section 138 and the vertical MTC-2 slice 140 comprises four slice sections: a macro network layer section 142 , a micro-network layer section 144 , a D2D network layer section 146, and a PAN network layer section 148 ,

An example of such an architecture, in a personal area network, is a wearable health sensor that may be part of a dedicated health network. The personal area network layer can then represent a horizontal network slice. The health sensor operating in the service area of the personal area network may be part of a vertical network slice. Similarly, each horizontal network slice could include multiple vertical network slices. Each vertical network slice can have multiple horizontal network slices. Another example is a macrocell (ie, a macro eNB) that serves a number of different use case communications. Likewise, each vertical slice can contain sections of multiple horizontal slices. For example, V2I and V2V layers may exist in a V2X network. In another example, the Mobile Mobile Broadband (MBB) slice includes portions in each of the macro, micro, and device-to-device layers as shown. Thus, embodiments provide a way to provide the wireless resources provided by the radio access network and / or used by the radio access network to logically distribute according to the use case (vertical) and the network layer (horizontal).

Communication and calculation have helped each other to push the boundaries of information and computer technologies ever further. On the network side, the calculation was used to help communication by marginalizing computation and memory. Edge cloud and edge computing help to shorten the communication distance between the source and the destination, thereby improving communication efficiency and reducing the amount of information disseminated across the network. The optimal use of edge cloud and calculation regime varies. In general, the less powerful the end device is and / or the higher the density of devices, the closer the cloud and calculation are to the network edge.

We continue with the device page. As devices become smaller and smaller and evolve from portable devices into wearable devices, and as user expectations of computing power become more and more demanding, we expect future communication to help realize the expected user experience. For example, the network nodes separate some of their computational resources to help compute in the portable device, while the portable devices extract some of their computational resources to help compute the wearable devices. In this way, the network is sliced horizontally. The extracted computation resources and the air interface connecting the two ends form an integrated part capable of providing the required service.

4 FIG. 12 shows a more detailed example of horizontal slicing in a slice-enabled wireless network architecture according to embodiments. The left side shows the traditional 3G or 4G architecture (but only down the RAN). This includes a base station section 410 comprising: an upstream or core network-side communication function 412 , a base station calculation function 414 (ie, the processing resources available from the base station or a closely coupled entity thereof), and a downstream or wireless or device-side communication function 416 (to communicate with the devices served by this base station or other peer base station, for example in the case of a front haul etc.). Furthermore, it is a portable section 420 (eg, a user equipment or similar device) that includes a similar combination of upstream and downstream communication resources and local processing resources. In this case, the upstream communication link is the typical cellular wireless communication link 422 (For example, an OFDM, CDMA or LTE-like route), and a downstream communication link 426 such as a 5G radio access technology (RAT) (for example, an OFDM, CDMA, or LTE-like link), one or more next generation communication links, such as a 5G PAN RAT (which still needs to be developed) ), or another current or next generation PAN wireless communication technology, for example, Bluetooth, Zigbee, or the like. In between is the local calculation function 424 that is, processing resources that reside locally in the portable device. And finally, in the example, there is the body device section 430 which usually only has a single upstream communication link 432 has and a limited local processing resource capability 434 features.

The right side of 4 Figure 1 shows one of the new proposed horizontal network slice concepts, in particular how the processing resources of higher and lower entities in the network can be "combined", ie shared, using the communication and processing resource capabilities of the participating entities. The basic functions are similar and are therefore each as points 410 ' to 434 ' designate and work in a similar way. However, there is now the concept of horizontal slices. In this case, the horizontal slices No. 1 190 and No. 2 195 of 1 shown in more detail. In this basic example, the wearable device is 430 ' able to handle the processing resources 424 ' portable device 420 ' using the communication functions to share processing data (for example, data for processing and the resulting processed data). Similarly, the portable device 420 ' the processing resources 414 ' the base station 410 ' use.

The following is a more detailed description of a portion of the network slicing concept according to the present disclosure. In one example, these functions may be provided as new network function (NFs), which in some cases may be virtualized using, for example, network function virtualization (NFV). These NFs and NFVs may be slice-specific or operate across multiple or all slices. The proposed wireless network, both as a whole (for example, including the core network), but especially the RAN, now knows the Slice by using a newly implemented slice identifier.

5 shows a graph 500 1, which illustrates the building blocks of a slice-enabled radio access network architecture according to one embodiment and, in particular, illustrates how a RAN control entity according to an embodiment illustrates the horizontal and vertical slices of 3 can control. In this figure, a control plane (C-plane) functionality is a first fill type 502 A management level (m-level) functionality is shown as a second fill type 504 and a user-level (u-level) functionality is shown as a third fill type 506 shown. It should be noted that the remaining figures use the same key for the different plane sections. However, the numbering of concrete cases in these layer types in the later figures is made serially with reference to the number of the figure discussed, for example, the 600 series for 6 = Points 602 - 606 , the 700 series for 7 etc.).

In 5 Fig. 3 shows the slice-enabled (and now sliced) radio access network architecture including a number of horizontal RAN slices 308 and a number of vertical RAN slices 306. The vertical or horizontal slices include sections 112 - 148 , as shown. Any given slice section in the matrix may include a portion of control plane functionality and / or a portion of user plane functionality. For example, slice section A, which in this example is the topmost horizontal slice section, includes 112 the vertical MBB market 110 is, both c-level and u-level functionality. By contrast, slice section B, which is the second level horizontal slice section 134 of the vertical MTC-1 market 130, has only u-plane functionality.

The RAN slices in 5 be through a RAN control entity 510 which may contain one or both of c-level 502 and m-level 504 functionality. In the example shown, both types of functionality are included in the RAN control entity that controls and coordinates the network slice operation (the m-level). Thus, the RAN control entity may operate the control plane (C-plane) 502 and the management plane (m-plane) 504. The c-plane 502 may be responsible for establishing and maintaining the connectivity of the network slices. The m level 504 may be responsible for the slice configuration or reconfiguration, for example, the setup and subsequent management of the slices or slice sections, as described in greater detail below. In some embodiments, the c-plane 502 function of the RAN control entity may be the c-plane anchor for slices that do not have a c-plane. At m-level 504, the RAN control entity 510 both in layers 1 (L1, PHY layer) as well as in layers 2 (L2, MAC layer and above, below the IP layer - in the LTE context, the layers 2 Control functions, which are radio resource control (RRC) functions) of the protocol stack, where the L1 control is the normal layer 1 Coordinates (PHY) operations of the slices, and the L2 control (which is a function introduced by this disclosure) coordinates the L2 (RRC) operation of the slices, ie, each slice vertical slice operation. In some examples, the RAN control entity 510 a virtual entity whose functions may be physically distributed at different locations in the radio access network.

6 illustrates a first, decentralized example of a RAN control entity according to an embodiment. In this embodiment, the RAN control entity 510 be distributed across multiple (or all) macro BSs in a wireless communication network (however, for better visibility, only one such macro BS is 610 shown in the figure). In this example, each of the macro BSs may have a RAN control entity function 604 to manage the section or sections of the one or more network slices within the coverage area of the macro BS. In the example of 6 There are three slice sections: slice section # 1-1; Slice Section No. 2-1 and Slice Section No. 3-1. Slice Section # 1-1 may, in one example, be the section of the (vertical) MBB slice 110 in the coverage area of macro OS # 1 610, ie the slice section 112 in 5 , The slice section # 2-1 may, in one example, be the portion of the (vertical) MTC-1 slice 120 in the coverage area of the macro BS # 1 610, ie, the slice portion 122 in 5 , The slice section # 3-1 may, in one example, be the portion of the (vertical) MTC-2 slice 130 in the coverage area of the macro BS # 1 610, ie, the slice portion 132 in 5 , As above with respect to 5 Each slice section may have c-plane and / or u-plane functional sections.

In 6 For example, the macro BS No. 1 610 has an m-level function portion 604, a c-level function portion 602, and a u-level function portion 606, and the plurality of macro BSs constituting the RAN work in concert (ie a decentralized system) to manage the slices of the RAN as a whole. Embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to any particular combination of slices, slice sections, or their individual composition with respect to c-plane, u-plane, or m-plane functionality.

7 illustrates a second, centralized example of a RAN control entity according to one embodiment. In this embodiment, the RAN control entity 510 centrally, for example, in a centralized RAN control unit 710 may be arranged, which manages all slices in its service area, and may extend over several macro BS areas, for example. In this figure, the RAN control unit has 710 both m-level 704 and c-level 706 functional sections that control the various slices as a whole, ie, slice # 1, slice # 2, and slice # 3. In the example of FIG 7 Slice # 1 is the vertical MBB slice 110 Slice # 2 is the vertical V2X slice 120, and slice # 3 is the vertical MTC-1 slice 130. However, there are no limitations to the actual slices used. Further, in the example, Slice # 1 and Slice # 2 are each shown as having both a c-level function portion and a u-level function portion 706, while Slice # 3 is shown to be only has a u-level functional section.

Thus, in accordance with embodiments, the management level control function that controls and coordinates the slices or slice portions (i.e., the RAN control entity) may be either decentralized or centrally provisioned.

According to embodiments, the control functions of Layer 1 (L1 - for example PHY) and Layer 2 (L2 - for example MAC and layers above that provide RRC functions) that can work together to control the u-plane operation, follow a flat architecture or a hierarchical control architecture, as in 8th respectively. 9 illustrated.

In the in 8th The flat control architecture illustrated may be the u-plane control of all vertical and horizontal slices by the RAN control entity 510 to get managed. According to the example of 8th has the RAN control entity 510 both L2 control function section 830 and L1 control function section 835. L2 control function section 830 may be configured to control L2 functional sections 840, 850, 860 of each of the respective slices slice # 1 - slice # 3, 110- 130, to steer. In the same example, the L1 control function section 835 may be configured to control the L1 functional sections 845, 855, 865 of each of the respective Slice Slice # 1 - Slice # 3, 110-130.

In the in 9 The hierarchical control architecture illustrated requires the RAN control entity 510 controlling only a single slice type, for example, a vertical slice that then controls the other types of slices, for example, a horizontal slice. As another example, in V2X it is likely that the vertical slice (V2X) controls the horizontal slice (V2V); however, in Personal Area Networks (PAN), it is likely that the horizontal slice (PAN) controls the vertical slice (for example, a health sensor MTC).

According to the concrete example of 9 has the RAN control entity 510 both an L2 control function section 830 and an L1 control function section 835. The L2 control function section 830 may be configured to control an (overall) L2 control unit operation section 930 of slice No. 1 110, which in turn controls the L2 function sections of each of the horizontal slice sections that make up the vertical slice 110 - ie, horizontal slice sections # 1-1 112, horizontal slice sections # 1-2 114, etc. (for clarity, only two horizontal slice sections are included). Sections of slice # 1 shown). The various vertical slices may be controlled separately and in a variety of ways, as shown by the vertical slice # 2 120, which has only a single L2 control function portion 850 (ie, slice # 2 is controlled in a similar manner to that shown in FIG discussed above 8th is shown).

Thus, examples may provide heterogeneous control of the various vertical slices, as may be necessary in some example implementations of the disclosed sliced RAN technology. The L1 control function can operate in the same or a similar manner. 9 shows exactly the same way applied. Thus, in 9 the L1 control function section 835 may be configured to control an (overall) L2 control unit function section 940 of slice No. 1 110, which in turn controls the L1 function sections of each of the horizontal slice sections forming the vertical slice 110 - ie, the horizontal slice sections # 1-1 112, the horizontal slice sections # 1-2 114, etc. The various vertical slices can be controlled separately and in different ways, as shown by vertical slice # 2 120 that have only a single control function section 855 Slice # 2 is controlled in a manner similar to that discussed above 8th is shown).

10 shows a first exemplary method 1000 for managing a radio access network according to an embodiment. This example is shown in great detail and involves identifying the vertical slices (ie the markets to serve) 1010 and then identifying the involved horizontal slices (ie the one or more network layers) 1020 and then the corresponding slice of the RAN 1030 , It understands itself, that the identification of the vertical and horizontal slicing can also be done in the reverse order or simultaneously. The slice identifier can be executed separately and unsynchronically for each type (horizontal or vertical or sub-type) and can be executed periodically. The RAN can be re-sliced, and the operation of the slices can be changed according to each slice-identification process performed.

11 shows a second exemplary method 1100 for managing a radio access network according to an embodiment. This example is shown in less detail than 10 , The exemplary method then begins and then proceeds to determine whether a slice in a flat architecture or a hierarchical architecture will be controlled 1110. If a flat architecture is followed 1115, the method proceeds to include all slices (and associated slice Sections) by the RAN control entity 510 (according to 8th 1120. The method may return at a later stage, depending on the implementation, to re-test the configuration. If a hierarchical architecture is followed 1117, then the method proceeds to a first slice (and optionally its associated slice sections) by the RAN control entity 510 1130 and then the further slices (and their associated slice sections) by the control function of the first slice (according to FIG 9 1140. The method may return at a later stage, depending on the implementation, to re-test the configuration.

As used herein, the term RAN control entity may mean any circuits, logics, or circuits that are suitable and designed to perform the disclosed methods and control functions. The terms "logic", "circuit" and "circuit" may refer to, may be part of, or may include: an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group). , and / or memory (shared, dedicated, or group) executing one or more software or firmware programs, a combinatorial logic circuit, and / or other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality. In some embodiments, the circuits may be implemented by one or more software or firmware modules, or functions associated with the circuits may be implemented by one or more software or firmware modules. In some embodiments, circuits may include logic that may be at least partially hardware.

Embodiments described herein may be implemented in a system using any suitably configured hardware and / or software. 12 Figure 1 illustrates, for a single embodiment, exemplary components of an electronic device 1200 For example, the RAN control entity according to one embodiment. In embodiments, the electronic device 1200 be, implement, be involved in, or otherwise be part of a user equipment (UE), base station (BS), such as an evolved NodeB (eNB), RAN control unit, or other electronic device or network entity capable of performing the disclosed RAN slicing methods and functions. In some embodiments, the electronic device 1200 an application circuit 1210 a control circuit, such as a baseband circuit 1220, a radio frequency (RF) circuit 1230 , a front-end module (FEM) circuit 1240 and one or more antennas 1250 included, which are coupled together at least as shown.

The application circuit 1210 can contain one or more application processors. For example, the application circuit 1210 a circuit such as one or more single core or multi-core processors. The processor (s) may include a combination of general-purpose processors and specialty processors (eg, graphics processors, application processors, etc.). The processors may be coupled to memory and / or may include memory and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to enable various applications and / or operating systems to run on the system.

The baseband circuit 1220 may include a circuit such as one or more single core or multi-core processors. The baseband circuit 1220 may include one or more baseband processors and / or control logic for processing baseband signals received from a receive signal path of the RF circuit 1230 are received and for generating baseband signals for a transmission signal path of the RF circuit 1230 contain. The baseband processing circuit 1220 can with the application circuit 1210 for generating and processing the baseband signals and for controlling operations of the RF circuit 1230 be connected. For example, the baseband circuit 1220 one in some embodiments Second-generation baseband processor ( 2G ) 1221, a third generation baseband processor ( 3G ) 1222, a fourth generation baseband processor ( 4G ) 1223 and / or other baseband processor (s) 1224 for other existing generations, generations under development, or to be developed in the future (for example, fifth generation ( 5G ), 6G, etc.). The baseband circuit 1220 (For example, one or more of the baseband processors 1221 - 1224 ) can handle various radio control functions that require communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuit 1230 enable. The radio control functions may include, for example, signal modulation or demodulation, coding or decoding, radio frequency shifting, and so on. In some embodiments, modulation or demodulation circuits may be the baseband circuitry 1220 Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), precoding and / or constellation mapping or demapping functionality. In some embodiments, encoding or decoding circuits of the baseband circuit 1220 Convolution, Tail-Biting Convolution, Turbo, Viterbi and / or Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) encode or decode functionality included. Embodiments of modulation or demodulation and encoding or decoding functionality are not limited to these examples, and may include other suitable functionalities in other embodiments.

In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry may be 1220 Elements of a protocol stack, such as Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (EUTRAN) protocol elements, including, for example, Physical Layer (PHY), Media Access Control (MAC), Radio Link Control (RLC), Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) and / or Radio Resource Control (RRC) elements. A central processing unit (CPU) 1226 the baseband circuit 1220 may be configured to operate elements of the protocol stack to signal the PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP, and / or RRC layers. In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry may include one or more digital audio signal processors (DSPs). 1227 contain. The audio DSP (s) 1227 may include elements for compression or decompression and echo cancellation, and in other embodiments may include other suitable processing elements.

The baseband circuit 1220 can also store 1225 contain. The memory 1225 may be used to load and store data and / or instructions for operations performed by the processors of the baseband circuitry 1220 be executed. The memory for a particular embodiment may include a combination of suitable volatile memory and / or non-volatile memory. The memory 1225 may include any combination of different levels of memory, including, for example, read only memory (ROM) having embedded software instructions (eg, firmware), random access memory (eg, dynamic random access memory (DRAM)), cache, buffers, etc. The memory 1225 can be shared among the different processors or can be dedicated to particular processors.

Baseband circuit components may conveniently be combined into a single chip or a single chipset or, in some embodiments, may be placed on the same board. In some embodiments, some or all of the individual components of the baseband circuitry may be 1220 and the application circuit 1210 be implemented together, such as on a system-on-chip (SOC).

In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry may be 1220 enable communication that is compatible with one or more wireless technologies. For example, the baseband circuit 1220 in some embodiments, support communication with an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (EUTRAN) and / or another Wireless Metropolitan Area Network (WMAN), a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), a Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN). Embodiments in which the baseband circuit 1220 configured to support wireless communication of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as a multi-mode baseband circuit.

The RF circuit 1230 may enable communication with wireless networks that use modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. In various embodiments, the RF circuit 1230 Switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. included to enable communication with the wireless network. The RF circuit 1230 may include a receive signal path that may include a circuit for downconverting RF signals received from the FEM circuit 1240 are received, and baseband signals to the baseband circuit 1220 issue. The RF circuit 1230 may also include a transmit signal path that may include a circuit to upconvert baseband signals provided by the baseband circuitry 1220 and RF outputs to the FEM circuit 1240 to send out.

In some embodiments, the RF circuit 1230 a received signal path and include a transmit signal path. The received signal path of the RF circuit 1230 can be a mixer circuit 1231 , an amplifier circuit 1232 and a filter circuit 1233 contain. The transmission signal path of the RF circuit 1230 can the filter circuit 1233 and the mixer circuit 1231 contain. The RF circuit 1230 Also, the synthesizer circuit 1234 may be for synthesizing a frequency for use by the mixer circuit 1231 of the received signal path and the transmission signal path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 1231 of the receive signal path to be configured by the FEM circuit 1240 to downconvert received RF signals based on the synthesized frequency output by synthesizer circuit 1234. The amplifier circuit 1232 may be configured to amplify the downconverted signals and the filter circuit 1233 may be a low pass filter (LPF) or a band pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the downconverted signals to generate output baseband signals. The output baseband signals may be in the baseband circuit 1220 for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signals may be zero frequency baseband signals, although this is not a requirement. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 1231 of the received signal path include passive mixers, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 1231 of the transmit signal path may be configured to input baseband signals based on that provided by the synthesizer circuit 1234 up converted synthesized frequency to RF output signals for the FEM circuit 1240 to generate. The baseband signals may be through the baseband circuitry 1220 and can be filtered by the filter circuit 1233. The filter circuit 1233 may include a low-pass filter (LPF), although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 1231 the received signal path and the mixer circuit 1231 of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers, and may be configured for quadrature downconversion and / or upconvert. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 1231 the received signal path and the mixer circuit 1231 of the transmit signal path includes two or more mixers and may be configured for image rejection (eg, a Hartley image rejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 1231 the received signal path and the mixer circuit 1231 be designed for a direct down-conversion and / or a direct up-conversion. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 1231 the received signal path and the mixer circuit 1231 the transmit signal path for super-heterodyne operation.

In some embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signals may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternative embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signals may be digital baseband signals. In these alternative embodiments, the RF circuit 1230 Analog-to-digital converter (ADW) and digital-to-analog converter (DAW) circuit included, and the baseband circuitry 1220 can include a digital baseband interface to interface with the RF circuit 1230 to communicate.

In some dual-mode embodiments, a separate radio IC circuit may be provided for processing signals for each spectrum, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 1234 a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional-N / N + 1 synthesizer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect since other types of frequency synthesizers may also be suitable. For example, the synthesizer circuit 1234 a delta sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier or a synthesizer comprising a phase locked loop with a frequency divider.

The synthesizer circuit 1234 may be configured to have an output frequency for use by the mixer circuit 1231 the RF circuit 1230 on the basis of a frequency input and a divider control input. In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 1234 be a fractional N / N + 1 synthesizer.

In some embodiments, frequency input may be provided by a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), although this is not a requirement. A divider control input may be either through the baseband circuit 1220 or the application processor 1210 be provided in response to a desired output frequency. In some embodiments, a divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a look-up table based on a the application processor 1210 specified channel.

The synthesizer circuit 1234 the RF circuit 1230 may include a divider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer, and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the divider may be a dual modulus divider (DMD), and the phase accumulator may be a digital phase accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide the input signal by either N or N + 1 (for example, based on a design) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, the DLL may include a set of cascaded tunable delay elements, a phase detector, a charge pump, and a D flip-flop. In these embodiments, the delay elements may be configured to break a VCO period into Nd equal phase packets, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is a single VCO cycle.

In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 1234 be configured to generate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in other embodiments the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and used in conjunction with a quadrature generator and divider circuit, to generate several signals at the carrier frequency with several different phases with respect to each other. In some embodiments, the output frequency may be an LO frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, the RF circuit 1230 an IQ / Polar converter included.

The FEM circuit 1240 may include a receive signal path, which may include a circuit configured to operate on the basis of RF signals received from one or more antennas 1250 were received to amplify the received signals and the amplified versions of the received signals in the RF circuit 1230 for further processing. The FEM circuit 1240 may also include a transmit signal path that may include a circuit configured to receive transmit signals provided by the RF circuit 1230 for transmission through one or more of the one or more antennas 1250 to reinforce.

In some embodiments, the FEM circuit 1240 a TX / RX switch to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEM circuit may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The received signal path of the FEM circuit may include a low-noise amplifier (LNA) to amplify received RF signals and the amplified received RF signals as an output (for example, for the RF circuit 1230 ). The transmission signal path of the FEM circuit 1240 may include a power amplifier (PA) for amplifying input RF signals (for example, by the RF circuit 1230 and one or more filters for generating RF signals for subsequent transmission (eg, through one or more of the one or more antennas 1250 ) contain.

In some embodiments, the electronic device 1200 include other elements such as a memory, a display, a camera, a sensor and / or an input / output (I / O) interface.

In some embodiments, the electronic device 1200 be, implement, contain, or otherwise be part of a RAN entity. In embodiments, the baseband circuit 1220 be adapted to identify one or more vertical slices of a RAN, the vertical slices relating to vertical market segments of the RAN; identify one or more horizontal slices of the RAN, with the horizontal slices refer to network hierarchy segments of the RAN; and slicing the RAN into the one or more vertical and / or horizontal slices. The RF circuit may be configured to transmit and / or receive one or more signals in accordance with the vertical and / or horizontal slices.

In some embodiments, the electronic device of 12 be configured to perform one or more processes, techniques, and / or methods as described herein, or portions thereof. Such a process is in 10 shown. For example, in embodiments where the electronic device is, or implements, or is incorporated into, or is part of, a RAN control entity or part thereof, the process may include, by a Radio Access Network (RAN) - Control entity to identify one or more vertical slices of a RAN, the vertical slices relating to vertical market segments of the RAN; identify, by the RAN control entity, one or more horizontal slices of the RAN, the horizontal slices referring to network hierarchy segments of the RAN; and by the RAN control entity slicing the RAN into the one or more vertical and / or horizontal slices.

13 FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating components in accordance with some example embodiments that are capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (eg, a machine-readable storage medium) and executing one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. More precisely, shows 13 a diagrammatic representation of hardware resources 1300 including one or more processors (or processor cores) 1310, one or more memory devices 1320 and one or more communication resources 1330 , each communicatively via a bus 1340 are coupled.

The processors 1310 (For example, a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), such as a baseband processor , an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC), another processor, or any suitable combination thereof) may be, for example, a processor 1312 and a processor 1314 contain. The storage devices 1320 may include main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof.

The communication resources 1330 For example, interconnect and / or network interface components or other suitable devices may communicate with one or more peripheral devices 1304 and / or one or more databases 1306 over a network 1308 contain. For example, the communication resources 1330 wired communication components (for example, for coupling a Universal Serial Bus (USB)), mobile communication components, Near Field Communication (NFC) components, Bluetooth ^® components (for example, Bluetooth ^® Low Energy), Wi-Fi ^® components and other communication components contain.

The instructions 1350 may include software, a program, an application, an applet, an app, or other executable code to at least one or any of the processors 1310 to carry out one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. The instructions 1350 may be complete or partial in at least one of the processors 1310 (for example, within the processor cache), the storage devices 1320 or any suitable combination thereof. Furthermore, any section of the instructions 1350 to the hardware resources 1300 from any combination of the peripheral devices 1304 and / or the databases 1306 be transmitted. Accordingly, the memory of the processors 1310 , the storage devices 1320 , the peripheral devices 1304 and the databases 1306 Examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

• Beispiel 1 kann sich auf ein Verfahren zum Slicen eines Funkzugangsnetzes in vertikale und horizontale Netzwerk-Slices beziehen. Beispiel 1 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 2 kann sich auf eine Slice-fähige Funkzugangsnetz (Radio Access Network, RAN)-Architektur beziehen, wobei eine RAN-Steuerungsentität die c-Ebene und u-Ebene der zugrunde liegenden RAN-Slices verwaltet. Beispiel 2 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 3 kann die Slice-fähige Funkzugangsnetzwerkarchitektur von Beispiel 2 oder einem anderen Beispiel des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, wobei die RAN-Steuerungsentität physisch verteilt ist oder sich an einem zentralen Ort befindet. Beispiel 3 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 4 kann die Slice-fähige Funkzugangsnetzwerkarchitektur von Beispiel 3 oder einem anderen Beispiel des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, wobei - im verteilten Fall - die RAN-Steuerungsentität am selben Ort wie eine Makro-BS angeordnet ist und nur vertikale und/oder horizontale Slices oder Abschnitte davon verwalten soll, die im Versorgungsbereich der Makro-BS liegen. Beispiel 4 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 5 kann die Slice-fähige Funkzugangsnetzwerkarchitektur von Beispiel 3 oder einem anderen Beispiel des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, wobei - im zentralisierten Fall - die RAN-Steuerungsentität jene Slice-Abschnitte über mehrere BSs hinweg verwalten soll, die in einem Versorgungsbereich der RAN-Steuerungsentität liegen. Beispiel 5 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 6 kann die Slice-fähige Funkzugangsnetzwerkarchitektur der Beispiele 2- 5 oder eines anderen Beispiels des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, die des Weiteren eine Layer 1 (L1)-Steuerungsfunktion und eine Layer 2 (L2)-Steuerungsfunktion umfasst, wobei die L1-Steuerungsfunktion und eine L2-Steuerungsfunktion dazu dienen, eine flache Steuerungsarchitektur oder eine hierarchische Steuerungsarchitektur anzuwenden. Beispiel 6 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 7 kann die Slice-fähige Funkzugangsnetzwerkarchitektur von Beispiel 6 oder einem anderen Beispiel des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, wobei im Fall einer flachen Steuerungsarchitektur alle horizontalen und vertikalen Slices durch die L1- und L2-Steuerungsfunktionen in der RAN-Steuerungsentität verwaltet werden oder wobei im Fall der hierarchischen Steuerungsarchitektur die RAN-Steuerungsentität nur eine Art von Slice, vertikal oder horizontal, steuern soll, und wobei die eine Art von Slice die andere Art von Slice, vertikal oder horizontal, steuern soll. Beispiel 7 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 8 kann ein Verfahren enthalten, das umfasst: Identifizieren, durch eine Funkzugangsnetz(RAN)-Steuerungsentität, einer oder mehrerer vertikaler Slices eines RAN, wobei die vertikalen Slices sich auf vertikale Marktsegmente des RAN beziehen; Identifizieren, durch die RAN-Steuerungsentität, einer oder mehrerer horizontaler Slices des RAN, wobei sich die horizontalen Slices auf Netzwerkhierarchie-Segmente des RAN beziehen; und Slicen, durch die RAN-Steuerungsentität, des RAN in die eine oder die mehreren vertikalen und/oder horizontalen Slices. Beispiel 8 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 9 kann das Verfahren von Beispiel 8 oder einem anderen Beispiel des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, das des Weiteren Folgendes umfasst: Verwalten, durch die RAN-Steuerungsentität, von c-Ebenen- und u-Ebenen-Komponenten einer oder mehrerer vertikaler und/oder horizontaler Slices. Beispiel 9 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 10 kann das Verfahren der Beispiele 8 oder 9 oder eines anderen Beispiels des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, das des Weiteren Folgendes umfasst: Verwalten, durch die RAN-Steuerungsentität, wenn die RAN-Steuerungsentität am selben Ort angeordnet ist wie eine Makro-Basisstation (BS), nur von vertikalen und/oder horizontalen Slices oder Abschnitten davon, die im Versorgungsbereich der Makro-BS liegen. Beispiel 10 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 11 kann das Verfahren der Beispiele 8 oder 9 oder eines anderen Beispiels des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, das des Weiteren Folgendes umfasst: Verwalten, durch die RAN-Steuerungsentität, von vertikalen und/oder horizontalen Slices, die im Versorgungsbereich mehrerer Basisstationen (BSs) liegen. Beispiel 11 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 12 kann das Verfahren von einem der Beispiele 8-11 oder einem anderen Beispiel des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, das des Weiteren Folgendes umfasst: Bereitstellen einer Layer 1 (L1)- und/oder Layer 2 (L2)-Steuerungsfunktion in der RAN-Steuerungsentität. Beispiel 12 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 13 kann das Verfahren von Beispiel 12 oder einem anderen Beispiel des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, das des Weiteren Folgendes umfasst: Verwalten von vertikalen und/oder horizontalen Slices oder Abschnitten davon mit den L1- und L2-Steuerungsfunktionen. Beispiel 13 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 14 kann das Verfahren der Beispiele 8-13 oder eines anderen Beispiels des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, das des Weiteren Folgendes umfasst: physisches Verteilen der RAN-Steuerungsentität über das RAN oder Abschnitt davon hinweg, oder Zentralisieren der RAN-Steuerungsentität an einem zentralen Ort. Beispiel 14 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 15 kann das Verfahren der Beispiele 12-14 oder eines anderen Beispiels des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, das des Weiteren Folgendes umfasst: Verwalten eines Typs der vertikalen oder horizontalen Slices, Verwenden der L1- und/oder L2-Steuerungsfunktion, und wiederum Verwalten des anderen Typs der vertikalen oder horizontalen Slices mit der anderen Slice. Beispiel 15 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 16 kann das Verfahren der Beispiele 8-15 oder eines anderen Beispiels des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, wobei sich die eine oder die mehreren horizontalen Slices beziehen auf: eine Makro-Netzwerk-Slice, eine Mikro-Netzwerk-Slice, eine Vorrichtung-zu-Vorrichtung (D2D)-Slice, ein Personal-Area-Netzwerk, einen nicht-selbstständigen Modus, und eine Anker-Booster-Architektur. Beispiel 16 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 17 kann eine elektronische Vorrichtung zum Implementieren einer Funkzugangsnetz(RAN)-Steuerungsentität enthalten, wobei die elektronische Vorrichtung Folgendes umfasst: eine Basisbandschaltung zum: Identifizieren einer oder mehrerer vertikaler Slices eines RAN, wobei die vertikalen Slices sich auf vertikale Marktsegmente des RAN beziehen; Identifizieren einer oder mehrerer horizontaler Slices des RAN, wobei sich die horizontalen Slices auf Netzwerkhierarchie-Segmente des RAN beziehen; und Slicen des RAN in die eine oder die mehreren vertikalen und/oder horizontalen Slices; und eine Hochfrequenz (HF)-Schaltung, die mit der Basisbandschaltung gekoppelt ist, wobei die HF-Schaltung dazu dient, ein oder mehrere Signale gemäß den vertikalen und/oder horizontalen Slices oder Abschnitten davon zu senden und/oder zu empfangen. Beispiel 17 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 18 kann die elektronische Vorrichtung der Beispiele 17 oder eines anderen Beispiels des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, wobei die RAN-Steuerungsentität dazu dient, eine m-Ebenen-Steuerungsfunktion bereitzustellen, die die Netzwerk-Slices eines gesliceten RAN steuert. Beispiel 18 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 19 kann die elektronische Vorrichtung der Beispiele 17-18 oder eines anderen Beispiels des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, wobei die Basisbandschaltung des Weiteren dazu dient, c-Ebenen- und u-Ebenen-Komponenten einer oder mehrerer vertikaler und/oder horizontaler Slices zu verwalten. Beispiel 19 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 20 kann die elektronische Vorrichtung der Beispiele 17-19 oder eines anderen Beispiels des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, wobei die RAN-Steuerungsentität am selben Ort angeordnet ist wie eine Makro-Basisstation (BS) und die RAN-Steuerungsentität nur vertikale und/oder horizontale Slices oder Abschnitte davon verwalten soll, die im Versorgungsbereich der Makro-BS liegen. Beispiel 20 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 21 kann die elektronische Vorrichtung der Beispiele 17-20 oder eines anderen Beispiels des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, wobei die RAN-Steuerungsentität vertikale und/oder horizontale Slices verwalten soll, die im Versorgungsbereich mehrerer Basisstationen (BSs) liegen. Beispiel 21 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 22 kann die elektronische Vorrichtung der Beispiele 17-21 oder eines anderen Beispiels des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, wobei die RAN-Steuerungsentität des Weiteren eine Layer 1 (L1)- und/oder Layer 2 (L2)-Steuerungsfunktion umfasst und wobei die L1-Steuerungsfunktion die Bitübertragungs (PHY)-Schicht ist und wobei die L2-Steuerungsfunktion die Medium Access Control (MAC)-Schicht und/oder Schichten darüber ist. Diese eine oder mehreren L2-Schichten können die RRC-Funktionen umfassen. Beispiel 22 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 23 kann die elektronische Vorrichtung von Beispiel 22 oder einem anderen Beispiel des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, wobei die L1- und L2-Steuerungsfunktion hierarchisch ist, dergestalt, dass ein oder mehrere niedrigere Schicht-Abschnitte eine Operation jeder Slice steuern und ein oder mehrere höhere Schicht-Abschnitte die MAC-Operation über die Slices hinweg koordinieren. Beispiel 23 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 24 kann die elektronische Vorrichtung der Beispiele 17-23 oder eines anderen Beispiels des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, wobei die L1- und L2-Steuerungsfunktionen dazu dienen, vertikale und/oder horizontale Slices zu verwalten. Beispiel 24 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 25 kann die elektronische Vorrichtung der Beispiele 17-24 oder eines anderen Beispiels des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, wobei die L1- und/oder L2-Steuerungsfunktion dazu dient, einen Typ der vertikalen oder horizontalen Slices zu verwalten, der wiederum den anderen Typ der vertikalen oder horizontalen Slices verwaltet.
• Beispiel 26 kann die elektronische Vorrichtung der Beispiele 17-25 oder eines anderen Beispiels des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, wobei die eine oder die mehreren vertikalen Slices sich auf eine Mobilbreitband (MBB)-Slice, eine Maschinenkommunikations (MTC)-Slice und eine Fahrzeug-zu-Allem (V2X)-Kornmunikations-Slice beziehen. Beispiel 26 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 27 kann die elektronische Vorrichtung der Beispiele 17-26 oder eines anderen Beispiels des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, wobei sich die eine oder die mehreren horizontalen Slices beziehen auf: eine Makro-Netzwerk-Slice, eine Mikro-Netzwerk-Slice, eine Vorrichtung-zu-Vorrichtung (D2D)-Slice, ein Personal-Area-Netzwerk, einen nicht-selbstständigen Modus, und eine Anker-Booster-Architektur. Beispiel 27 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 28 kann eine elektronische Vorrichtung zum Implementieren einer Funkzugangsnetz(RAN)-Steuerungsentität enthalten, wobei die elektronische Vorrichtung Folgendes umfasst: eine Basisbandschaltung zum: Identifizieren einer oder mehrerer vertikaler Slices eines RAN, wobei sich die vertikalen Slices auf einen Nutzungsfall einer Kommunikation des RAN beziehen; Identifizieren einer oder mehrerer horizontaler Slices des RAN, wobei eine horizontale Slice einen definierbaren Netzwerkhierarchie-Abschnitt umfasst, der zu einer Funktionsauslagerung zwischen Entitäten, die die horizontale Slice bilden, befähigt ist; und Slicen des RAN in die eine oder die mehreren vertikalen und/oder horizontalen Slices; und eine Hochfrequenz (HF)-Schaltung, die mit der Basisbandschaltung gekoppelt ist, wobei die HF-Schaltung dazu dient, ein oder mehrere Signale gemäß den vertikalen und/oder horizontalen Slices zu senden und/oder zu empfangen. Beispiel 28 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 29 kann die elektronische Vorrichtung von Beispiel 28 oder eines anderen Beispiels des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, wobei die Basisbandschaltung des Weiteren dazu dient, c-Ebenen- und u-Ebenen-Komponenten von einer oder mehreren vertikalen und/oder horizontalen Slices oder Abschnitten davon zu verwalten. Beispiel 29 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 30 kann die elektronische Vorrichtung der Beispiele 28-29 oder eines anderen Beispiels des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, wobei die eine oder die mehreren vertikalen Slices sich auf abtrennbare Nutzungsfälle einer Kommunikation beziehen, die über das RAN gesendet oder empfangen werden soll, einschließlich eines oder mehrerer von Folgendem: einen Mobilbreitband (MBB)-Nutzungsfall, einen Maschinenkommunikations (MTC)-Nutzungsfall, einen Fahrzeug-zu-Allem (V2X)-Kommunikationsnutzungsfall, einen Gesundheitsnetzwerk-Nutzungsfall, und einen Industrielle-Steuerungs-Nutzungsfall. Beispiel 30 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 31 kann eine Funkzugangsnetz(RAN)-Steuerungsentität zum logischen Slicen eines RAN in eine oder mehrere horizontale oder vertikale Slices enthalten; wobei eine vertikale Slice einen zuvor festgelegten Kommunikationstyp umfasst; und wobei eine horizontale Slice eine zuvor festgelegte Schicht des RAN oder einen systemdefinierbaren Netzwerkhierarchie-Abschnitt umfasst, der zu einer Funktionsauslagerung zwischen Entitäten, die die horizontale Slice bilden, befähigt ist; wobei die RAN-Steuerungsentität mindestens einen Abschnitt umfasst, der die Zuweisung von RAN-Ressourcen gemäß einer Notwendigkeit der einen oder der mehreren horizontalen oder vertikalen Slices steuert. Beispiel 31 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 32 kann die Funkzugangsnetz(RAN)-Steuerungsentität von Beispiel 31 oder eines anderen Beispiels des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, wobei das RAN mindestens zwei vertikale Slices und mindestens zwei horizontale Slices umfasst. Beispiel 32 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 33 kann die Funkzugangsnetz(RAN)-Steuerungsentität der Beispiele 31-32 oder eines anderen Beispiels des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, wobei sich der zuvor festgelegte Kommunikationstyp auf ein Marktsegment bezieht, das das RAN für eine Kommunikation oder einen bestimmten Kommunikationstyp verwendet. Beispiel 33 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 34 kann die Funkzugangsnetz(RAN)-Steuerungsentität der Beispiele 31-33 oder eines anderen Beispiels des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, wobei die Funkzugangsnetz(RAN)-Steuerungsentität über Abschnitte des RAN hinweg verteilt ist. Beispiel 34 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 35 kann die Funkzugangsnetz(RAN)-Steuerungsentität der Beispiele 31-34 oder eines anderen Beispiels des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, wobei die Abschnitte des RAN die eNBs des RAN sind. Beispiel 35 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 36 kann die Funkzugangsnetz(RAN)-Steuerungsentität der Beispiele 31-35 oder eines anderen Beispiels des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, wobei eine zuvor festgelegte Schicht des RAN einen Makro-BS-Schicht, eine kleinere BS-Schicht, eine Vorrichtung-zu-Vorrichtung-Schicht, eine Körpervorrichtungs-Schicht oder eine PAN-Schicht umfasst. Beispiel 36 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 37 kann die Funkzugangsnetz(RAN)-Steuerungsentität von Beispiel 36 oder eines anderen Beispiels des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, wobei eine kleinere Basisstation eine von einer Mikro-BS, Piko-BS, Femto-BS oder kleineren BS umfasst. Beispiel 37 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 38 kann eine Vorrichtung enthalten, die Folgendes umfasst: ein Mittel zum Identifizieren, durch eine Funkzugangsnetz(RAN)-Steuerungsentität, einer oder mehrerer vertikaler Slices eines RAN, wobei die vertikalen Slices sich auf vertikale Marktsegmente des RAN beziehen; ein Mittel zum Identifizieren, durch die RAN-Steuerungsentität, einer oder mehrerer horizontaler Slices des RAN, wobei sich die horizontalen Slices auf Netzwerkhierarchie-Segmente des RAN beziehen; und ein Mittel zum Slicen, durch die RAN-Steuerungsentität, des RAN in die eine oder die mehreren vertikalen und/oder horizontalen Slices. Beispiel 38 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 39 kann die Vorrichtung von Beispiel 38 oder einem anderen Beispiel des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, die des Weiteren Folgendes umfasst: ein Mittel zum Verwalten, durch die RAN-Steuerungsentität, von c-Ebenen- und u-Ebenen-Komponenten einer oder mehrerer vertikaler und/oder horizontaler Slices. Beispiel 39 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 40 kann die Vorrichtung der Beispiele 38 oder 39 oder eines anderen Beispiels des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, die des Weiteren Folgendes umfasst: ein Mittel zum Verwalten, durch die RAN-Steuerungsentität, wenn die RAN-Steuerungsentität am selben Ort angeordnet ist wie eine Makro-Basisstation (BS), nur von vertikalen und/oder horizontalen Slices oder Abschnitten davon, die im Versorgungsbereich der Makro-BS liegen. Beispiel 40 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 41 kann die Vorrichtung von einem der Beispiele 38-39 oder einem anderen Beispiel des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, die des Weiteren Folgendes umfasst: ein Mittel zum Verwalten, durch die RAN-Steuerungsentität, von vertikalen und/oder horizontalen Slices, die im Versorgungsbereich mehrerer Basisstationen (BSs) liegen. Beispiel 41 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 42 kann die Vorrichtung von einem der Beispiele 38-41 oder einem anderen Beispiel des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, die des Weiteren Folgendes umfasst: ein Mittel zum Bereitstellen einer Layer 1 (L1)- und/oder Layer 2 (L2)-Steuerungsfunktion in der RAN-Steuerungsentität. Die L1-Steuerungsfunktion kann eine Bitübertragungs (PHY)-Schicht sein und die L2-Steuerungsfunktion kann eine Medium Access Control (MAC)-Schicht und/oder Schichten darüber sein. Diese eine oder mehreren L2-Schichten können die RRC-Funktionen umfassen. Beispiel 42 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 43 kann die Vorrichtung von Beispiel 42 oder einem anderen Beispiel des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, die des Weiteren Folgendes umfasst: ein Mittel zum Verwalten von vertikalen und/oder horizontalen Slices oder Abschnitten davon mit den L1- und L2-Steuerungsfunktionen. Beispiel 43 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 44 kann die Vorrichtung der Beispiele 38-43 oder eines anderen Beispiels des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, die des Weiteren Folgendes umfasst: ein Mittel zum physisches Verteilen der RAN-Steuerungsentität über das RAN oder Abschnitt davon hinweg, oder Zentralisieren der RAN-Steuerungsentität an einem zentralen Ort. Beispiel 44 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 45 kann die Vorrichtung der Beispiele 42-44 oder eines anderen Beispiels des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, die Folgendes umfasst: ein Mittel zum Verwalten eines Typs der vertikalen oder horizontalen Slices, zum Verwenden der L1- und/oder L2-Steuerungsfunktion, und wiederum zum Verwalten des anderen Typs der vertikalen oder horizontalen Slices mit der anderen Slice. Beispiel 45 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 46 kann die Vorrichtung der Beispiele 38-45 oder eines anderen Beispiels des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, wobei sich die eine oder die mehreren horizontalen Slices beziehen auf: eine Makro-Netzwerk-Slice, eine Mikro-Netzwerk-Slice, eine Vorrichtung-zu-Vorrichtung (D2D)-Slice, ein Personal-Area-Netzwerk, einen nicht-selbstständigen Modus, und eine Anker-Booster-Architektur. Beispiel 46 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 47 kann ein computerlesbares Medium enthalten, das ausführbare Instruktionen umfasst, die, wenn sie durch einen oder mehrere Prozessoren ausgeführt werden, den einen oder die mehreren Prozessoren zu Folgendem veranlassen: Identifizieren, durch eine Funkzugangsnetz(RAN)-Steuerungsentität, einer oder mehrerer vertikaler Slices eines RAN, wobei die vertikalen Slices sich auf vertikale Marktsegmente des RAN beziehen; Identifizieren, durch die RAN-Steuerungsentität, einer oder mehrerer horizontaler Slices des RAN, wobei sich die horizontalen Slices auf Netzwerkschichten des RAN oder einen systemdefinierbaren Netzwerkhierarchie-Abschnitt beziehen, der zu einer Funktionsauslagerung zwischen Entitäten, die die horizontale Slice bilden, befähigt ist; und Slicen, durch die RAN-Steuerungsentität, des RAN in die eine oder die mehreren vertikalen und/oder horizontalen Slices. Beispiel 47 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 48 kann das computerlesbare Medium von Beispiel 47 oder eines anderen Beispiels des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, das des Weiteren Folgendes umfasst: Verwalten, durch die RAN-Steuerungsentität, einer m-Ebenen-Funktionalität des RAN. Beispiel 48 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 49 kann das computerlesbare Medium der Beispiele 47-48 oder eines anderen Beispiels des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, das des Weiteren Folgendes umfasst: Verwalten, durch die RAN-Steuerungsentität, von c-Ebenen- und u-Ebenen-Komponenten von einer oder mehreren vertikalen und/oder horizontalen Slices oder Abschnitten davon. Beispiel 49 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 50 kann das computerlesbare Medium von einem der Beispiele 47-49 oder einem anderen Beispiel des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, wobei sich die RAN-Steuerungsentität am selben Ort befindet wie eine Makro-Basisstation (BS) und die RAN-Steuerungsentität nur vertikale und/oder horizontale Slices oder Abschnitte davon verwaltet, die im Versorgungsbereich der Makro-BS liegen. Beispiel 50 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 51 kann das computerlesbare Medium von einem der Beispiele 47-50 oder einem anderen Beispiel des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, wobei die RAN-Steuerungsentität vertikale und/oder horizontale Slices verwaltet, die im Versorgungsbereich mehrerer Basisstationen (BSs) liegen. Beispiel 51 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 52 kann das computerlesbare Medium von einem der Beispiele 47-51 oder einem anderen Beispiel des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, wobei die RAN-Steuerungsentität eine L1- und/oder L2-Steuerungsfunktion enthält. Beispiel 52 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 53 kann das computerlesbare Medium von einem der Beispiele 47-52 oder einem anderen Beispiel des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, wobei die L1- und L2-Steuerungsfunktionen dazu dienen, vertikale und/oder horizontale Slices zu verwalten. Beispiel 53 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 54 kann das computerlesbare Medium von einem der Beispiele 47-52 oder einem anderen Beispiel des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, wobei die L1- und/oder L2-Steuerungsfunktion dazu dient, einen Typ der vertikalen oder horizontalen Slices zu verwalten, der wiederum den anderen Typ der vertikalen oder horizontalen Slices verwaltet. Beispiel 54 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 55 kann das computerlesbare Medium von einem der Beispiele 47-52 oder einem anderen Beispiel des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, wobei die eine oder die mehreren vertikalen Slices sich auf eine Mobilbreitband (MBB)-Slice, eine Maschinenkommunikations (MTC)-Slice, eine Fahrzeug-zu-Allem (V2X)-Kommunikations-Slice und eine Industrielle Steuerungs-Slice beziehen. Beispiel 55 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 56 kann das computerlesbare Medium von einem der Beispiele 47-52 oder einem anderen Beispiel des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, wobei sich die eine oder die mehreren horizontalen Slices beziehen auf: eine Makro-Netzwerk-Slice, eine Mikro-Netzwerk-Slice, eine Vorrichtung-zu-Vorrichtung (D2D)-Slice, ein Personal-Area-Netzwerk, einen nicht-selbstständigen Modus, und eine Anker-Booster-Architektur. Beispiel 56 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 57 kann ein Verfahren enthalten, das Folgendes umfasst: Identifizieren einer oder mehrerer vertikaler Slices eines RAN, wobei sich die vertikalen Slices auf einen Nutzungsfall einer Kommunikation des RAN beziehen; Identifizieren einer oder mehrerer horizontaler Slices des RAN, wobei eine horizontale Slice einen definierbaren Netzwerkhierarchie-Abschnitt umfasst, der zu einer Funktionsauslagerung zwischen Entitäten, die die horizontale Slice bilden, befähigt ist; und Slicen des RAN in die eine oder die mehreren vertikalen und/oder horizontalen Slices; und wobei das Verfahren des Weiteren Folgendes umfasst: Senden und/oder Empfangen eines oder mehrerer Signale gemäß den vertikalen und/oder horizontalen Slices unter Verwendung einer Hochfrequenz (HF)-Schaltung, die mit der Basisbandschaltung gekoppelt ist. Beispiel 57 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 58 kann das Verfahren von Beispiel 57 oder einem anderen Beispiel des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, das des Weiteren Folgendes umfasst: Verwalten von c-Ebenen- und u-Ebenen-Komponenten von einer oder mehreren vertikalen und/oder horizontalen Slices oder Abschnitten davon. Beispiel 58 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 59 kann das Verfahren der Beispiele 57-58 oder einem anderen Beispiel des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, wobei die eine oder die mehreren vertikalen Slices sich auf abtrennbare Nutzungsfälle einer Kommunikation beziehen, die über das RAN gesendet oder empfangen werden soll, einschließlich eines oder mehrerer von Folgendem: einen Mobilbreitband (MBB)-Nutzungsfall, einen Maschinenkommunikations (MTC)-Nutzungsfall, einen Fahrzeug-zu-Allem (V2X)-Kommunikationsnutzungsfall, einen Gesundheitsnetzwerk-Nutzungsfall, und einen Industrielle-Steuerungs-Nutzungsfall. Beispiel 59 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 60 kann ein Verfahren zum logischen Slicen eines RAN in eine oder mehrere horizontale oder vertikale Slices enthalten, das Folgendes umfasst: Bereitstellen einer vertikalen Slice, die einen zuvor festgelegten Kommunikationstyp umfasst; und Bereitstellen einer horizontalen Slice, die eine zuvor festgelegte Schicht des RAN oder einen systemdefinierbaren Netzwerkhierarchie-Abschnitt umfasst, der zu einer Funktionsauslagerung zwischen Entitäten, die die horizontale Slice bilden, befähigt ist; und Steuern der Zuweisung mindestens eines Abschnitts von RAN-Ressourcen gemäß einer Notwendigkeit der einen oder der mehreren horizontalen oder vertikalen Slices unter Verwendung einer RAN-Steuerungsentität. Beispiel 60 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 61 kann das Verfahren von Beispiel 60 oder einem anderen Beispiel des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, wobei das RAN mindestens zwei vertikale Slices und mindestens zwei horizontale Slices umfasst. Beispiel 61 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 62 kann das Verfahren der Beispiele 60-61 oder eines anderen Beispiels des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, wobei sich der zuvor festgelegte Kommunikationstyp auf ein Marktsegment bezieht, das das RAN für eine Kommunikation oder einen bestimmten Kommunikationstyp verwendet. Beispiel 62 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 63 kann das Verfahren der Beispiele 60-62 oder eines anderen Beispiels des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, die des Weiteren Folgendes umfasst: Verteilen der Funkzugangsnetz(RAN)-Steuerungsentität über Abschnitte des RAN hinweg. Beispiel 63 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiele 64 kann das Verfahren der Beispiele 60-63 oder eines anderen Beispiels des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, wobei die Abschnitte des RAN Basisstationen des RAN sind. Beispiel 64 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 65 kann das Verfahren der Beispiele 60-64 oder eines anderen Beispiels des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, wobei eine zuvor festgelegte Schicht des RAN eine Makro-BS-Schicht, eine kleinere BS-Schicht, eine Vorrichtung-zu-Vorrichtung-Schicht, eine Körpervorrichtungs-Schicht oder eine PAN-Schicht umfasst. Beispiel 65 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 66 kann das Verfahren von Beispiel 65 oder eines anderen Beispiels des vorliegenden Textes enthalten, wobei eine kleinere Basisstation eine von einer Mikro-BS, einer Piko-BS, einer Femto-BS oder einer kleineren BS umfasst. Beispiel 66 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 67 kann eine Basisstations (BS)-Vorrichtung enthalten, die in einem Drahtloskommunikationsnetz arbeiten kann, wobei die Vorrichtung Folgendes umfasst: eine Hochfrequenz (HF)-Schaltung zum Empfangen mindestens einer Kommunikation, die von einer Drahtlosnetzvorrichtung stammt, oder zum Senden mindestens einer Kommunikation zu einer Drahtlosnetzvorrichtung; und eine Funkzugangsnetz-Steuerungsentität nach einem der Beispiele 31-37 oder einem anderen Beispiel des vorliegenden Textes; oder eine Vorrichtung, die ein Mittel oder Module zum Ausführen eines der Verfahrensbeispiele 1, 8-16 oder 57-66 oder eines anderen Beispiels des vorliegenden Textes umfasst; oder die Vorrichtung von einem der Beispiele 2-7, 17-30 oder 38-56 oder einem anderen Beispiel des vorliegenden Textes. Beispiel 67 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 68 kann eine Nutzerausrüstung (UE)-Vorrichtung enthalten, die in einem Drahtloskommunikationsnetz arbeiten kann, wobei die Vorrichtung Folgendes umfasst: eine Hochfrequenz (HF)-Schaltung zum Empfangen oder zum Senden mindestens einer Kommunikation zu einer anderen Vorrichtung in dem Drahtloskommunikationsnetz; und eine Funkzugangsnetz-Steuerungsentität nach einem der Beispiele 31-37 oder einem anderen Beispiel des vorliegenden Textes; oder eine Vorrichtung, die ein Mittel oder Module zum Ausführen eines der Verfahrensbeispiele 1, 8-16 oder 57-66 oder eines anderen Beispiels des vorliegenden Textes umfasst; oder die Vorrichtung von einem der Beispiele 2-7, 17-30 oder 38-56 oder einem anderen Beispiel des vorliegenden Textes. Beispiel 68 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 69 kann eine Vorrichtung enthalten, die ein Mittel umfasst, um ein oder mehrere Elemente eines Verfahrens, das in einem der Beispiele 1, 8-16 oder 57-66 beschrieben ist oder sich darauf bezieht, oder irgend eines sonstigen Verfahrens oder Prozesses, das bzw. der im vorliegenden Text beschrieben ist, auszuführen. Beispiel 69 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 70 kann ein oder mehrere computerlesbare Medien enthalten, die Instruktionen umfassen, um eine elektronische Vorrichtung zu veranlassen, bei Ausführung der Instruktionen durch einen oder mehrere Prozessoren der elektronischen Vorrichtung ein oder mehrere Elemente eines Verfahrens auszuführen, das in einem der Beispiele 1, 8-16 oder 57-66 oder irgend einem anderen Beispiel des vorliegenden Textes beschrieben ist oder sich darauf bezieht, oder die Funktionalität der Vorrichtung oder des Gerätes gemäß einem der Beispiele 2-7, 17-30 oder 38-56 oder einem anderen Beispiel des vorliegenden Textes bereitzustellen. Beispiel 70 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 71 kann eine Vorrichtung enthalten, die Logik, Module und/oder Schaltungen umfasst, um ein oder mehrere Elemente eines Verfahren auszuführen, das in einem der Beispiele 1, 8-16 oder 57-66 oder irgend einem anderen Beispiel des vorliegenden Textes beschrieben ist. Beispiel 71 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 72 kann eine Vorrichtung enthalten, die Folgendes umfasst: einen oder mehrere Prozessoren und ein oder mehrere computerlesbare Medien, die Instruktionen umfassen, die, wenn sie durch den einen oder die mehreren Prozessoren ausgeführt werden, den einen oder die mehreren Prozessoren veranlassen, das Verfahren von einem der Beispiele 1, 8-16 oder 57-66 oder einem anderen Beispiel des vorliegenden Textes auszuführen. Beispiel 72 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 73 kann ein Verfahren zum Kommunizieren in einem Drahtlosnetz enthalten, wie im vorliegenden Text gezeigt und beschrieben. Beispiel 73 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 74 kann ein System für die Bereitstellung einer Drahtloskommunikation enthalten, wie im vorliegenden Text gezeigt und beschrieben. Beispiel 74 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 75 kann eine Vorrichtung für die Bereitstellung einer Drahtloskommunikation enthalten, wie im vorliegenden Text gezeigt und beschrieben. Beispiel 75 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 76 kann eine Vorrichtung enthalten, um ein Netzwerk-Slicing in einem Funkzugangsnetz zu ermöglichen, die eine beliebige Kombination der im vorliegenden Text beschriebenen Vorrichtungen, Entitäten oder Verfahren oder Abschnitte der im vorliegenden Text beschriebenen Vorrichtungen, Entitäten oder Verfahren umfasst. Beispiel 76 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 77 kann ein Funkzugangsnetz enthalten, das eine beliebige Kombination der im vorliegenden Text beschriebenen Vorrichtungen, Entitäten oder Verfahren oder Abschnitte der im vorliegenden Text beschriebenen Vorrichtungen, Entitäten oder Verfahren umfasst. Beispiel 77 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 78 kann eine Vorrichtung zur Verwendung in einem Funkzugangsnetz enthalten, die eine beliebige Kombination der im vorliegenden Text beschriebenen Vorrichtungen, Entitäten oder Verfahren oder Abschnitte der im vorliegenden Text beschriebenen Vorrichtungen, Entitäten oder Verfahren umfasst. Beispiel 78 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.
• Beispiel 79 kann ein Verfahren, eine Technik oder einen Prozess gemäß Beschreibung in, oder in Verbindung mit, einem der Beispiele 2-7, 17-27, 28-30, 31-37, 38-46 oder Abschnitten oder Teilen davon enthalten. Beispiel 79 kann des Weiteren beliebige der anderen Beispiele des vorliegenden Textes enthalten.

Embodiments may be realized according to any of the following examples, which may be used individually or jointly in all variations:

• Example 1 may relate to a method of slicing a radio access network into vertical and horizontal network slices. Further, Example 1 may contain any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 2 may relate to a Radio Access Network (RAN) slice-enabled radio network where a RAN control entity manages the c-level and u-level of the underlying RAN slices. Example 2 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 3 may include the slice-enabled radio access network architecture of Example 2 or another example of the present text, where the RAN control entity is physically distributed or located at a central location. Example 3 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 4 may include the slice-enabled radio access network architecture of Example 3 or another example of the present text, where - in the distributed case - the RAN control entity is located at the same location as a macro BS and only vertical and / or horizontal slices or sections of which is located in the supply area of the macro-BS. Further, Example 4 may contain any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 5 may include the slice-enabled radio access network architecture of Example 3 or another example of the present text, where-in the centralized case-the RAN control entity is to manage those slice sections across multiple BSs residing in a coverage area of the RAN control entity , Example 5 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 6 may include the slice-enabled radio access network architecture of Examples 2-5 or another example of the present text which further includes a layer 1 (L1) control function and a layer 2 (L2) control function, wherein the L1 control function and an L2 control function serve to apply a flat control architecture or a hierarchical control architecture. Example 6 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 7 may include the slice-enabled radio access network architecture of Example 6 or another example of the present text wherein, in the case of a flat control architecture, all horizontal and vertical slices are managed by the L1 and L2 control functions in the RAN control entity or if so In the hierarchical control architecture, the RAN control entity should control only one type of slice, vertical or horizontal, and one type of slice should control the other type of slice, vertical or horizontal. Example 7 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 8 may include a method comprising: identifying, by a Radio Access Network (RAN) control entity, one or more vertical slices of a RAN, the vertical slices relating to vertical market segments of the RAN; Identifying, by the RAN control entity, one or more horizontal slices of the RAN, wherein the horizontal slices refer to network hierarchy segments of the RAN; and slicing, through the RAN control entity, the RAN into the one or more vertical and / or horizontal slices. Example 8 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 9 may include the method of Example 8 or another example of the present text, further comprising: managing, by the RAN control entity, c-plane and u-plane components of one or more vertical and / or horizontal slices. Example 9 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 10 may include the method of Examples 8 or 9 or another example of the present text, further comprising: managing, by the RAN control entity, if the RAN control entity is located at the same location as a macro base station (BS ), only of vertical and / or horizontal slices or portions thereof that are in the coverage area of the macro BS. Example 10 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 11 may include the method of Examples 8 or 9, or another example of the present text, further comprising: managing, by the RAN control entity, vertical and / or horizontal slices located in the coverage area of multiple base stations (BSs) , Example 11 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 12 may include the method of any one of Examples 8-11 or another example of the present text, further comprising: providing a layer 1 (L1) and / or layers 2 (L2) control function in the RAN control entity. Example 12 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 13 may include the method of Example 12 or another example of the present text, further comprising: managing vertical and / or horizontal slices or portions thereof with the L1 and L2 control functions. Example 13 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 14 may include the method of Examples 8-13 or another example of the present text, further comprising: physically distributing the RAN control entity across the RAN or portion thereof, or centralizing the RAN control entity at a central location. Example 14 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 15 may include the method of Examples 12-14 or another example of the present text, further comprising: managing one type of vertical or horizontal slices, using the L1 and / or L2 control function, and in turn managing the other Type of vertical or horizontal slices with the other slice. Example 15 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 16 may include the method of Examples 8-15 or another example of the present text, wherein the one or more horizontal slices refer to: a macro-network slice, a micro-network slice, a device-to-device Device (D2D) slice, a personal area network, a non-autonomous mode, and an anchor booster architecture. Example 16 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 17 may include an electronic device for implementing a Radio Access Network (RAN) control entity, the electronic device comprising: a baseband circuit for: identifying one or more vertical slices of a RAN, the vertical slices relating to vertical market segments of the RAN; Identifying one or more horizontal slices of the RAN, wherein the horizontal slices relate to network hierarchy segments of the RAN; and slicing the RAN into the one or more vertical and / or horizontal slices; and a radio frequency (RF) circuit coupled to the baseband circuit, the RF circuit for transmitting and / or receiving one or more signals in accordance with the vertical and / or horizontal slices or portions thereof. Example 17 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 18 may include the electronic device of Example 17 or another example of the present text, where the RAN control entity serves to provide an m-level control function that controls the network slices of a sliced RAN. Example 18 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 19 may include the electronic device of Examples 17-18 or another example of the present text, wherein the baseband circuitry further serves to manage c-plane and u-plane components of one or more vertical and / or horizontal slices. Example 19 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 20 may include the electronic device of Examples 17-19 or another example of the present text, where the RAN control entity is located in the same location as a macro base station (BS) and the RAN control entity only vertical and / or horizontal slices or manage portions thereof that are in the coverage area of the macro BS. Example 20 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 21 may include the electronic device of Examples 17-20 or another example of the present text, where the RAN control entity is to manage vertical and / or horizontal slices that are within the coverage area of multiple base stations (BSs). Example 21 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 22 may include the electronic device of Examples 17-21 or another example of the present text, wherein the RAN control entity further comprises a layer 1 (L1) and / or layers 2 And wherein the L1 control function is the physical layer (PHY) layer and wherein the L2 control function is the Medium Access Control (MAC) layer and / or layers above it. These one or more L2 layers may include the RRC functions. Example 22 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 23 may include the electronic device of Example 22 or another example of the present text, wherein the L1 and L2 control functions are hierarchical, such that one or more lower layer portions control one operation of each slice and one or more higher level layers Sections coordinate the MAC operation across the slices. Example 23 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 24 may include the electronic device of Examples 17-23 or another example of the present text, where the L1 and L2 control functions serve to manage vertical and / or horizontal slices. Example 24 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 25 may include the electronic device of Examples 17-24 or another example of the present text, where the L1 and / or L2 control function serves to manage one type of vertical or horizontal slices, which in turn is the other type of vertical or horizontal slices.
• Example 26 may include the electronic device of Examples 17-25 or another example of the present text, wherein the one or more vertical slices refer to a Mobile Broadband (MBB) slot, a Machine Communication (MTC) slot and a vehicle-to-mobile Refer to all (V2X) grain communication slice. Example 26 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 27 may include the electronic device of Examples 17-26, or another example of the present text, wherein the one or more horizontal slices refer to: a macro-network slice, a micro-network slice, a device-to Device (D2D) slice, a personal area network, a non-autonomous mode, and an anchor booster architecture. Example 27 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 28 may include an electronic device for implementing a Radio Access Network (RAN) control entity, the electronic device comprising: a baseband circuit for: identifying one or more vertical slices of a RAN, wherein the vertical slices refer to a use case of communication of the RAN ; Identifying one or more horizontal slices of the RAN, wherein a horizontal slice comprises a definable network hierarchy portion capable of function swapping between entities forming the horizontal slice; and slicing the RAN into the one or more vertical and / or horizontal slices; and a radio frequency (RF) circuit coupled to the baseband circuit, the RF circuit for transmitting and / or receiving one or more signals in accordance with the vertical and / or horizontal slices. Example 28 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 29 may include the electronic device of Example 28 or another example of the present text, wherein the baseband circuit is further operative to assign c-plane and u-plane components of one or more vertical and / or horizontal slices or portions thereof manage. Example 29 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 30 may include the electronic device of Examples 28-29 or another example of the present text, wherein the one or more vertical slices relate to severable use cases of a communication to be sent or received over the RAN, including one or more of: a Mobile Broadband (MBB) Use Case, a Machine Communication (MTC) Use Case, a Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) Communication Use Case, a Health Network Use Case, and an Industrial Control Use Case. Example 30 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 31 may include a Radio Access Network (RAN) control entity for logically slicing a RAN into one or more horizontal or vertical slices; wherein a vertical slice comprises a predetermined communication type; and wherein a horizontal slice comprises a predetermined layer of the RAN or a system-definable network hierarchy portion capable of function swapping between entities forming the horizontal slice; wherein the RAN control entity comprises at least a portion that controls the allocation of RAN resources according to a necessity of the one or more horizontal or vertical slices. Example 31 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 32 may include the Radio Access Network (RAN) control entity of Example 31 or another example of the present text, wherein the RAN comprises at least two vertical slices and at least two horizontal slices. Example 32 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 33 may include the Radio Access Network (RAN) control entity of Examples 31-32 or another example of the present text, where the predetermined communication type refers to a market segment that uses the RAN for a communication or a particular type of communication. Example 33 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 34 may include the Radio Access Network (RAN) control entity of Examples 31-33 or another example of the present text wherein the Radio Access Network (RAN) control entity is distributed across portions of the RAN. Example 34 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 35 may include the Radio Access Network (RAN) control entity of Examples 31-34 or another example of the present text, where the portions of the RAN are the eNBs of the RAN. Example 35 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 36 may include the Radio Access Network (RAN) control entity of Examples 31-35 or another example of the present text, where a predetermined layer of the RAN comprises a macro BS layer, a smaller BS layer, a device-to-device layer, a body device layer, or a PAN layer. Example 36 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 37 may include the Radio Access Network (RAN) control entity of Example 36 or another example of the present text, wherein a smaller base station includes one of a micro BS, pico BS, femto BS, or smaller BS. Example 37 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 38 may include an apparatus comprising: means for identifying, by a Radio Access Network (RAN) control entity, one or more vertical slices of a RAN, the vertical slices relating to vertical market segments of the RAN; means for identifying, by the RAN control entity, one or more horizontal slices of the RAN, the horizontal slices relating to network hierarchy segments of the RAN; and means for slicing, by the RAN control entity, the RAN into the one or more vertical and / or horizontal slices. Example 38 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 39 may include the apparatus of Example 38, or another example of the present text, further comprising: means for managing, by the RAN control entity, c-plane and u-plane components of one or more vertical and / or horizontal slices. Example 39 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 40 may include the apparatus of Examples 38 or 39, or another example of the present text, further comprising: means for managing, by the RAN control entity, if the RAN control entity is located at the same location as a macro Base Station (BS), of only vertical and / or horizontal slices or sections thereof that are in the coverage area of the macro BS. Example 40 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 41 may include the apparatus of any of Examples 38-39 or another example of the present text, further comprising: means for managing, by the RAN control entity, vertical and / or horizontal slices that are in the coverage area of multiple Base Stations (BSs) are located. Example 41 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 42 may include the apparatus of any of Examples 38-41 or another example of the present text, further comprising: means for providing a layer 1 (L1) and / or layers 2 (L2) control function in the RAN control entity. The L1 control function may be a physical layer (PHY) layer and the L2 control function may be a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer and / or layers above it. These one or more L2 layers may include the RRC functions. Example 42 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 43 may include the apparatus of Example 42 or another example of the present text, further comprising: means for managing vertical and / or horizontal slices or portions thereof having the L1 and L2 control functions. Example 43 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 44 may include the apparatus of Examples 38-43 or another example of the present text, further comprising: means for physically distributing the RAN control entity across the RAN or portion thereof, or centralizing the RAN control entity on a central place. Example 44 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 45 may include the apparatus of Examples 42-44 or another example of the present text comprising: means for managing a type of vertical or horizontal slices, using the L1 and / or L2 control function, and again Manage the other type of vertical or horizontal slices with the other slice. Example 45 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 46 may include the apparatus of Examples 38-45 or another example of the present text, where the one or more horizontal slices refer to: a macro-network slice, a micro-network slice, a device-to-device Device (D2D) slice, a personal area network, a non-autonomous mode, and an anchor booster architecture. Example 46 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 47 may include a computer readable medium comprising executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: identify, by a Radio Access Network (RAN) control entity, one or more vertical ones Slices of a RAN, where the vertical slices refer to vertical market segments of the RAN; Identifying, by the RAN control entity, one or more horizontal slices of the RAN, wherein the horizontal slices relate to network layers of the RAN or a system-definable network hierarchy section capable of function swapping between entities forming the horizontal slice; and slicing, through the RAN control entity, the RAN into the one or more vertical and / or horizontal slices. Example 47 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 48 may include the computer readable medium of Example 47 or another example of the present text, further comprising: managing, by the RAN control entity, m-level functionality of the RAN. Example 48 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 49 may include the computer-readable medium of Examples 47-48 or another example of the present text, further comprising: managing, by the RAN control entity, c-plane and u-plane components of one or more vertical ones and / or horizontal slices or sections thereof. Example 49 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 50 may include the computer readable medium of any of Examples 47-49 or another example of the present text, where the RAN control entity is in the same location as a macro base station (BS) and the RAN control entity is only vertical and / or manage horizontal slices or portions thereof that are in the coverage area of the macro BS. Example 50 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 51 may include the computer-readable medium of any of Examples 47-50 or another example of the present text, wherein the RAN control entity manages vertical and / or horizontal slices that reside in the coverage area of multiple base stations (BSs). Example 51 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 52 may include the computer-readable medium of any of Examples 47-51 or another example of the present text, wherein the RAN control entity includes an L1 and / or L2 control function. Example 52 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 53 may include the computer-readable medium of any of Examples 47-52 or another example of the present text wherein the L1 and L2 control functions serve to manage vertical and / or horizontal slices. Example 53 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 54 may include the computer-readable medium of any of Examples 47-52 or another example of the present text, where the L1 and / or L2 control functions serve to manage one type of vertical or horizontal slices, which in turn is the other type vertical or horizontal slices. Example 54 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 55 may include the computer-readable medium of any of Examples 47-52 or another example of the present text, wherein the one or more vertical slices refer to a Mobile Broadband (MBB) slot, a Machine Communication (MTC) slot, a vehicle -to-all (V2X) communication slice and an industrial control slice. Example 55 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 56 may include the computer-readable medium of any of Examples 47-52 or another example of the present text, wherein the one or more horizontal slices refer to: a macro-network slice, a micro-network slice, a device -to-device (D2D) slice, a personal area network, a non-autonomous mode, and an anchor booster architecture. Example 56 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 57 may include a method comprising: identifying one or more vertical slices of a RAN, wherein the vertical slices refer to a use case of communication of the RAN; Identifying one or more horizontal slices of the RAN, wherein a horizontal slice comprises a definable network hierarchy portion capable of function swapping between entities forming the horizontal slice; and slicing the RAN into the one or more vertical and / or horizontal slices; and wherein the method further comprises: transmitting and / or receiving one or more signals in accordance with the vertical and / or horizontal slices using a radio frequency (RF) circuit coupled to the baseband circuitry. Example 57 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 58 may include the method of Example 57 or another example of the present text, further comprising: managing c-plane and u-plane components of one or more vertical and / or horizontal slices or portions thereof. Example 58 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 59 may include the method of Examples 57-58 or another example of the present text, wherein the one or more vertical slices relate to severable use cases of a communication to be sent or received over the RAN, including one or more of These include: a Mobile Broadband (MBB) Use Case, a Machine Communication (MTC) Use Case, a Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) Communication Use Case, a Health Network Use Case, and an Industrial Control Use Case. Example 59 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 60 may include a method of logically slicing a RAN into one or more horizontal or vertical slices, comprising: providing a vertical slice that includes a predetermined communication type; and providing a horizontal slice comprising a predetermined layer of the RAN or a system-definable network hierarchy portion capable of function swapping between entities forming the horizontal slice; and controlling the allocation of at least a portion of RAN resources according to a need for the one or more horizontal or vertical slices using a RAN control entity. Example 60 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 61 may include the method of Example 60 or another example of the present text, wherein the RAN comprises at least two vertical slices and at least two horizontal slices. Example 61 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 62 may include the method of Examples 60-61 or another example of the present text, where the predetermined communication type refers to a market segment that uses the RAN for a communication or a particular type of communication. Example 62 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 63 may include the method of Examples 60-62 or another example of the present text, further comprising: distributing the Radio Access Network (RAN) control entity across portions of the RAN. Example 63 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Examples 64 may include the method of Examples 60-63 or another example of the present text, where the portions of the RAN are base stations of the RAN. Example 64 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 65 may include the method of Examples 60-64 or another example of the present text, wherein a predetermined layer of the RAN comprises a macro BS layer, a smaller BS layer, a device-to-device layer, a body device Layer or a PAN layer. Example 65 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 66 may include the method of Example 65 or another example of the present text, wherein a smaller base station comprises one of a micro-BS, a pico-BS, a femto-BS, or a smaller BS. Example 66 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 67 may include a base station (BS) device that may operate in a wireless communication network, the device comprising: a radio frequency (RF) circuit for receiving at least one communication originating from a wireless network device or transmitting at least one communication to a wireless network device; and a radio access network control entity according to any of Examples 31- 37 or another example of the present text; or an apparatus comprising means or modules for carrying out any of the method examples 1, 8-16 or 57-66 or another example of the present text; or the device of any one of Examples 2-7, 17-30 or 38-56 or another example of the present text. Example 67 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 68 may include a user equipment (UE) device that may operate in a wireless communication network, the device comprising: a radio frequency (RF) circuit for receiving or transmitting at least one communication to another device in the wireless communication network; and a radio access network control entity according to any one of examples 31-37 or another example of the present text; or an apparatus comprising means or modules for carrying out any of the method examples 1, 8-16 or 57-66 or another example of the present text; or the device of any one of Examples 2-7, 17-30 or 38-56 or another example of the present text. Example 68 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 69 may include an apparatus comprising means for detecting one or more elements of a method described or referred to in any one of Examples 1, 8-16, or 57-66, or any other method or process or described herein. Example 69 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 70 may include one or more computer-readable media including instructions for causing an electronic device to execute one or more elements of a method as embodied in any of the examples 1, 8, 8, 8, 8, 10, 12, 12 when executing the instructions by one or more processors of the electronic device. 16 or 57-66 or any other example of the present text, or the functionality of the device or apparatus according to any of Examples 2-7, 17-30 or 38-56 or another example of the present text provide. Example 70 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 71 may include an apparatus comprising logic, modules, and / or circuitry to perform one or more elements of a method described in any of Examples 1, 8-16, or 57-66, or any other example of the present text , Example 71 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 72 may include an apparatus comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media including instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method from one of Examples 1, 8-16 or 57-66 or another example of the present text. Example 72 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 73 may include a method for communicating in a wireless network, as shown and described herein. Example 73 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 74 may include a system for providing wireless communication, as shown and described herein. Example 74 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 75 may include an apparatus for providing wireless communication, as shown and described herein. Example 75 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 76 may include means to enable network slicing in a radio access network using any combination of the devices described herein, Entities or methods or portions of the devices, entities or methods described herein. Example 76 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 77 may include a radio access network comprising any combination of the devices, entities, or methods described herein, or portions of the devices, entities, or methods described herein. Example 77 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 78 may include an apparatus for use in a radio access network that includes any combination of the devices, entities, or methods described herein, or portions of the apparatus, entities, or methods described herein. Example 78 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.
• Example 79 may include a method, technique, or process as described in, or in conjunction with, any of Examples 2-7, 17-27, 28-30, 31-37, 38-46, or portions or portions thereof. Example 79 may further include any of the other examples of the present text.

In some examples, in a case where the RAN control entity is physically distributed, the RAN control entity may be located at the same location as the macro BS and manage only the slice sections that are in the coverage area of the macro BS. In some examples, in a case where the RAN control entity is in a central location, the RAN control entity may manage a slice section over a plurality of BSs residing in the coverage area of the RAN control entity.

In some examples, the L1 and L2 control functions may employ a flat control architecture or a hierarchical control architecture, where in a case of a flat control architecture, all horizontal and vertical slices are managed by the L1 and L2 control functions in the RAN control entity. Alternatively, in the case of a hierarchical control architecture, the RAN control entity need only control a single type of slice, horizontal or vertical, where the controlled slice then controls another type of slice, horizontal or vertical.

In some examples, the RAN includes at least two vertical slices and at least two horizontal slices.

In some examples, the predetermined communication type refers to a market segment that uses the RAN for communication.

In some examples, the Radio Access Network (RAN) control entity is distributed across portions of the RAN. In some examples, the portions of the RAN are the base stations (eNBs, for example) of the RAN.

In some examples, the RAN control entity provides an m-level control function that can control the network slices of a sliced RAN. The m-level control function may control one or more of: the identification of vertical markets (or at least one vertical market) that are applicable to the RAN or are to be serviced by the RAN, with each vertically identified vertical market being logically assigned a vertical slice is; identifying horizontal slices (eg, the network layers or relevant portions thereof) for servicing the identified one or more vertical slices that are applicable to the RAN or to be serviced by the RAN; Slicing the RAN into the identified one or more slices (horizontal and / or vertical); Coordinating the operation of the slices, including setting up and dismantling the slices. The m-level functionality may control the c-level and / or u-level of each or all of the identified network slices of the RAN.

In the above, a reference to "layer" may be a reference to a predefined (or definable) portion of the infrastructure, while a reference to "layer" may be a reference to a network protocol layer during operation on or in the network infrastructure or a portion thereof is.

Examples of usage cases or types of communication may include: Wireless / Mobile Broadband (MBB) communication; Extreme Mobile Broadband (E-MBB) communication; Real-time use case, such as industrial control communication, machine-to-machine communication (MTC / MTC1); Non-real-time use case, such as Internet of Things (IoT) sensor communication, or massively scale machine-to-machine communication (M-MTC / MTC2); Ultra Reliable Machine-to-Machine Communication (U-MTC); Mobile Edge Cloud, for example caching, communication; Vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication; Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) communication; and vehicle-to-all communication (V2X). That is, the present disclosure relates to the provision of network slicing according to any readily definable / distinguishable type of communication that can be performed over a wireless network.

In some examples, the Radio Access Network (RAN) control entity is distributed across portions of the RAN. In some examples, the portions of the RAN are the base stations (eNBs, for example) of the RAN, in others, the portion or portions of the RAN may be a UE or other device that is serviced or to be served by the wireless network or RAN or forming (or servicing) a portion thereof, for example, a mobility management engine (MME), a baseband entity (BBU), a remote radio head (RRH), etc. In some examples, in a case where the RAN control entity is physically distributed , the RAN control entity is located at the same location as the macro BS and manages only the slice sections that are in the coverage area of the macro BS lie. In some examples, in a case where the RAN control entity is in a central location, the RAN control entity may manage a slice section across multiple BSs located in the coverage area of the RAN control entity. The RAN control entity may include at least a portion that controls the allocation of the resources of the RAN or the device according to a need for the one or more horizontal or vertical slices, for example computational resources residing in or on a device in the wireless network stand.

As described herein, when in an example or claim an RF circuit is referred to, for example, to form a larger entity within the wireless network, for example a base station, it is intended to include the or an alternative embodiment which does not include an RF circuit, for example, for use in (or to provide for) a distributed form of the entity according to the disclosure. This may be the case, for example, when the entity forms part of a cloud RAN where the radio sections (eg RRH) are not in the same location as or within the same entity as at least a significant portion of the control function (Entity , Module, etc.), for example a BBU. Therefore, no embodiments should be limited only to those having an RF section sending or receiving messages to the wireless network. For example, some implementations may be part of front-haul capabilities, which may be the connections from a centralized or more centralized baseband function (e.g., BBU) to radio front-ends (e.g., RRHs).

As used herein, a reference to a computer program product or a computer-readable medium may include reference to both transitory (eg, physical media) and non-transitory forms (eg, signals or data structures thereof).

Various examples disclosed herein may provide many advantages, such as: providing a full coverage of the served devices for any given amount of core network and / or RAN resources (eg, computation, radio, etc.). ; less control signaling delay and signaling exchange management data overhead between transmission points; the provision of an improved coverage area and at the same time a reduced control signaling exchange between network nodes (including transmission points); a more efficient wireless network (as a whole or over a considerable portion) because, for example, it is possible to have a certain amount of (eg single) physical radio access network infrastructure used by multiple use cases, resulting in less hardware or infrastructure than otherwise used would (for example, double hardware or more, for example, to provide a separate physical radio access network infrastructure for each use case); generally improved performance, efficiency and reliability of the radio access network and maintenance and servicing of the service and quality of service for all devices operating throughout the RAN and within each slice of the RAN.

As described herein, power-on, enable or logical separation, or the like, of the network slice may be equivalent to one another, and the terms may be used interchangeably. Similarly, shutdown, deactivation or logical separation or the like of a network slice may all be mutually equivalent, and the terms may be used interchangeably. A network slice may also be referred to as a logically separate (separate, partitioned, etc.) radio network access or as a logically separate (partitioned, partitioned, etc.) radio network access section. A device operated or to be served by the physical radio access network infrastructure or a network slice may include a UE. However, any other forms of device that may be serviced may be replaced with a reference to an UE herein. A device may be referred to as a wireless network device. However, a wireless network device in the sense of the present text may also mean a serving entity, such as base station, MME, BBU, RRH, etc., depending on the context of use. From an operational point of view, in terms of network slicing disclosed, an access point and a base station be considered similar in use or use.

As described herein, specific examples have been used to explain the disclosed methods and functions (and functional units performing those functions). However, the disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, embodiments of the disclosure are not limited to any specific example, such as: where a particular vertical market is disclosed with respect to a figure, this is only an example and any vertical market may be used instead; where a concrete portion of a slice is disclosed with respect to a figure, any portion of a slice may be used instead; where a RAN of a particular size, type or number of slices (horizontal or vertical) with respect to a figure, any size, type or number of slices may be used instead; where a slice or slice portion of a particular size, type or number (horizontal or vertical) has been disclosed in relation to a figure, any size, type or number of slices or slice portions may be used instead. Furthermore, although a numbering scheme has been used for the slices beginning at 1 above, other numbering schemes may also be implemented. For example, the numbers may instead start at 0, such that slice # 1 may be slice # 0, and the like. Thus, the concrete numbers are non-limiting, except in exemplifying an example of distinction between slices (by different numbering) or an exemplary relationship between numbered slice sections (by successively numbered sub-parts of the same numbered slice).

As used herein, the term "circuit" may refer to, be a part of, or may include: an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group), and / memory (shared, dedicated, or group) executing one or more software or firmware programs, a combinatorial logic circuit, and / or other suitable hardware or software components, including one or more virtual machines incorporating the described one Can provide functionality. In some embodiments, the circuits may be implemented by one or more software or firmware modules, or functions associated with the circuits may be implemented by one or more software or firmware modules. In some embodiments, circuits may include logic that may be at least partially hardware. In some embodiments, the processing or execution may also be decentralized instead of centralized processing or execution.

As used herein, a reference to a (RAN) architecture may include anything that may be any form of special processes, techniques, technologies, implementation details, enhancements to a wireless network, or ways of operating a wireless network (or similar network system entity). , in particular in the RAN, can be defined or presented. Architectures may typically be included, maintained and updated in the standards documents for the particular wireless network technologies in use, for example the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards and the like.

It should be understood that any of the disclosed methods (or corresponding devices, programs, data carriers, etc.) may be executed by either a host or a client, depending on the particular implementation (ie, the disclosed methods or devices are a form of communication and may be carried out as such from any point of view, that is, in a similar way). Further, it is understood that the terms "receive" and "transmit" also include "input" and "output" and are not limited to an RF context of transmitting and receiving radio waves. Therefore, for example, a chip or other device or component for implementing embodiments could generate data to output to another chip, device, or component, or could input data from another chip, device, or component as an input and such output or input could be termed "send" and "receive," including the "send" and "receive" subsets, and "send" and "receive" within an RF context.

For the purposes of this specification, each formulation used in the style of "at least one of A, B or C" and the phrase "at least one of A, B and C" uses a disjunction "and" and a disjunction "and" such in that these formulations comprise all permutations, separated and together, of A, B, C, that is, A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B in any order, A and C in any order, B and C in any order and A, B, C in any order. More or less than three features may be used in such formulations.

In the claims, a reference number between parentheses may not be construed as limiting the claim. The word "comprising" does not exclude the presence of other elements or steps than those set forth in a claim. Furthermore, the terms "one" within the meaning of the present text are defined as one or more than one. Furthermore, the use of introductory phrases, such as "at least one" and "one or more", in the claims should not be construed as implying that the introduction of another claim element by the indefinite article "one "A particular claim containing such an initiated claim element is limited to inventions containing only a single such element, even if the same Claim the introductory phrases include "one or more" or "at least one" and indefinite articles such as "one". The same applies to the use of certain articles. Unless otherwise specified, terms such as "first" and "second" are used to arbitrarily distinguish between the elements that describe those terms. Thus, these terms are not necessarily intended to indicate temporal or other prioritization of such elements. The mere fact that certain measures are mentioned in different claims does not mean that a combination of these measures could not be used to advantage.

Unless otherwise indicated as incompatible or unless the physics or otherwise of the embodiments, examples or claims prevent such combination, the features of the above embodiments and examples and the following claims may be incorporated in any suitable arrangement, particularly those of where this results in a benefit. This is not limited to just one specific benefit, but rather may come from a subsequent benefit. That is, the combination of features is not limited by the forms described, particularly the form (for example, numbering) of the examples, embodiments, or dependencies of the claims. Moreover, this also applies to the phrase "in one embodiment," "according to one embodiment," and the like, which are merely a stylistic form of the formulation and should not be construed as limiting the following features of a separate embodiment to all other cases of the same or similar wording. That is, a reference to "one", "a particular" or "some" embodiment (s) may be a reference to one or more and / or all disclosed embodiments, or combinations thereof. Further, similarly, a reference to "the" embodiment need not be limited to the immediately preceding embodiment.

In the above, a reference to "layer" may be a reference to a predefined (or definable) portion of the infrastructure, while a reference to "layer" may be a reference to a network protocol layer during operation on or in the network infrastructure or a portion thereof is. For purposes of the present text, a vertical slice may be referred to or referred to as a vertical market segment. For purposes of the present text, any machine-executable instructions may perform a disclosed method and may therefore be used interchangeably with the term "method."

The above description of one or more implementations is illustrative and descriptive and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the claims to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings, or may be learned from the practice of various implementations of the disclosure.

QUOTES INCLUDE IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of the documents listed by the applicant has been generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Cited patent literature

• US 62/217536 [0001]

Claims (30)

Machine-executable instructions adapted, when executed by one or more than one processor, to implement a method comprising: Identifying, by a Radio Access Network (RAN) control entity, one or more vertical slices of a RAN, the vertical slices relating to vertical market segments of the RAN; Identifying, by the RAN control entity, one or more horizontal slices of the RAN, wherein the horizontal slices refer to network hierarchy segments of the RAN; and Slicing, through the RAN control entity, the RAN into the one or more vertical and / or horizontal slices. Machine-executable instructions Claim 1 and further comprising: managing, by the RAN control entity, c-plane and u-plane components of one or more vertical and / or horizontal slices. Machine-executable instructions Claim 1 , further comprising: managing, by the RAN control entity, if the RAN control entity is located in the same location as a macro base station (BS), of only vertical and / or horizontal slices or portions thereof in the coverage area of the Macro BS lie. Machine-executable instructions Claim 1 and further comprising: managing, by the RAN control entity, vertical and / or horizontal slices located in the coverage area of a plurality of base stations (BSs). Machine-executable instructions Claim 1 further comprising: providing a layer 1 (L1) and / or layer 2 (L2) control function in the RAN control entity. Machine-executable instructions Claim 5 further comprising: managing vertical and / or horizontal slices or portions thereof with the L1 and L2 control functions. Machine-executable instructions Claim 1 and further comprising: physically distributing the RAN control entity across the RAN or portion thereof, or centralizing the RAN control entity at a central location. Machine-executable instructions Claim 5 further comprising: managing one type of vertical or horizontal slices, using the L1 and / or L2 control function, and again, managing the other type of vertical or horizontal slices with the other slice. Machine-executable instructions Claim 1 wherein the one or more horizontal slices refer to: a macro network slice, a micro network slice, a device-to-device (D2D) slice, a personal area network, a non-autonomous mode , and an anchor booster architecture. An electronic device for implementing a Radio Access Network (RAN) control entity, the electronic device comprising: a circuit for: Identifying one or more vertical slices of a RAN, the vertical slices relating to vertical market segments of the RAN; Identifying one or more horizontal slices of the RAN, wherein the horizontal slices relate to network hierarchy segments of the RAN; and Slicing the RAN into the one or more vertical and / or horizontal slices; and a radio frequency (RF) circuit coupled to the circuit, the RF circuit for transmitting and / or receiving one or more signals in accordance with the vertical and / or horizontal slices or portions thereof. Electronic device after Claim 10 wherein the RAN control entity serves to provide a management-level (m-level) control function that controls the network slices of a sliced RAN. Electronic device after Claim 10 The circuit further serves to manage control plane (C-plane) and user-plane (u-plane) components of one or more vertical and / or horizontal slices. Electronic device after Claim 10 wherein the RAN control entity is located at the same location as a macro base station (BS) and the RAN control entity is to manage only vertical and / or horizontal slices or portions thereof that are within the coverage area of the macro BS. Electronic device after Claim 10 in which the RAN control entity is to manage vertical and / or horizontal slices that are in the coverage area of several base stations (BSs). Electronic device after Claim 10 wherein the RAN control entity further comprises a Layer 1 (L1) and / or Layer 2 (L2) Control function includes; and wherein the L1 control function is the physical layer (PHY) layer and wherein the L2 control function is the Medium Access Control (MAC) layer. Electronic device after Claim 15 wherein the L1 and L2 control functions are hierarchical, such that one or more lower layer portions control an operation of each slice and one or more higher layer portions coordinate the MAC operation across the slices. Electronic device after Claim 10 where the L1 and L2 control functions serve to manage vertical and / or horizontal slices. Electronic device after Claim 10 where the L1 and / or L2 control function serves to manage one type of vertical or horizontal slices, which in turn, manages the other type of vertical or horizontal slices. Electronic device after Claim 10 wherein the one or more vertical slices relate to a Mobile Broadband (MBB) slot, a Machine Communication (MTC) slot, and a Vehicle to All (V2X) communication slice. Electronic device after Claim 10 wherein the one or more horizontal slices refer to: a macro network slice, a micro network slice, a device-to-device (D2D) slice, a personal area network, a non-independent mode, and an anchor booster architecture. An electronic device for implementing a Radio Access Network (RAN) control entity, the electronic device comprising: a circuit for: Identifying one or more vertical slices of a RAN, wherein the vertical slices refer to a use case of communication of the RAN; Identifying one or more horizontal slices of the RAN, wherein a horizontal slice comprises a definable network hierarchy portion capable of function swapping between entities forming the horizontal slice; and Slicing the RAN into the one or more vertical and / or horizontal slices; and a radio frequency (RF) circuit coupled to the circuit, the RF circuit for transmitting and / or receiving one or more signals in accordance with the vertical and / or horizontal slices. Electronic device after Claim 21 The circuit further serves to manage control plane (C-plane) and user-plane (u-plane) components of one or more vertical and / or horizontal slices or portions thereof. Electronic device after Claim 21 wherein the one or more vertical slices relate to severable use cases of a communication to be transmitted or received over the RAN, including one or more of: a mobile broadband (MBB) use case, a machine communication (MTC) use case, a vehicle-to-all (V2X) communication use case, a health network use case, and an industrial control use case. Radio Access Network (RAN) control entity for logically slicing a RAN into one or more horizontal or vertical slices; wherein a vertical slice comprises a predetermined communication type; and wherein a horizontal slice comprises a predetermined layer of the RAN or a system-definable network hierarchy portion capable of function swapping between entities forming the horizontal slice; wherein the RAN control entity comprises at least a portion that controls the allocation of RAN resources according to a necessity of the one or more horizontal or vertical slices. Radio Access Network (RAN) control entity after Claim 24 wherein the RAN comprises at least two vertical slices and at least two horizontal slices. Radio Access Network (RAN) control entity after Claim 24 , where the predetermined communication type refers to a market segment that uses the RAN for a communication or a specific communication type. Radio Access Network (RAN) control entity after Claim 24 wherein the Radio Access Network (RAN) control entity is distributed across sections of the RAN. Radio Access Network (RAN) control entity after Claim 24 , where the sections of the RAN e NodeBs (eNBs) of the RAN are. Radio Access Network (RAN) control entity after Claim 24 wherein a predetermined layer of the RAN comprises a macro base station (BS) layer, a smaller BS layer, a device-to-device layer, a Body device layer or a personal area network (PAN) layer. Radio Access Network (RAN) control entity after Claim 29 wherein a smaller base station comprises one of a micro-BS, a pico-BS, a femto-BS or a smaller BS.

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