WO2009146603A1

WO2009146603A1 - Method, apparatus and system for configuring relay

Info

Publication number: WO2009146603A1
Application number: PCT/CN2009/000617
Authority: WO
Inventors: 高卓; 鲍炜; 武光城
Original assignee: 大唐移动通信设备有限公司
Priority date: 2008-06-04
Filing date: 2009-06-02
Publication date: 2009-12-10
Also published as: CN101600215A

Abstract

The present invention provides a method, an apparatus and a system for configuring a relay, wherein the method includes the following steps: a network node receiving a message including the relay capability information from the relay; the network node analyzing the message and configuring the relay according to the capability information of the relay. Different from the prior art in which the relay is configured in a manual way, the present invention uses the way that the relay actively reports its capability information to the network node, and the network node configures the relay according to the capability information. Thus the efficiency and accuracy are improved, and the problem of an increased cost of the manual configuration and an increased difficulty of maintenance and management can be avoided.

Description

Method, device and system for configuring relay

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to the field of mobile communications technologies, and in particular, to a method, an apparatus, and a system for configuring a relay. Background Art In a conventional cellular mobile communication system, a radio access network usually includes a plurality of base stations (BSs), each of which is responsible for controlling one to a plurality of cells, and different cells are connected to each other to achieve continuous coverage. In order to obtain a higher capacity in a unit area and improve the communication experience of the cell edge users, a cell splitting method is generally used to divide one cell into a plurality of smaller cells, and more BSs are introduced for control.

In future mobile communication systems, such as the Beyond Three Generation (B3G) mobile communication system, the system will provide higher peak data rate and cell throughput, and also requires more bandwidth. Currently, the following 2 GHz is not available. Allocation bandwidth is already small, and some or all of the bandwidth required by B3G systems can only be found in higher frequency bands, such as above 3 GHz. The higher the frequency band, the faster the radio wave propagation is attenuated and the shorter the transmission distance. Therefore, in the same coverage area, more BS is needed to ensure continuous coverage. Since BS usually has a high cost, it will undoubtedly increase the cost of the network.

In order to solve the problem of network cost, various vendors and standardization organizations began to study the introduction of relays into cellular systems to increase coverage. Currently, standardization organizations are studying what functions relays should achieve in different scenarios and what performance to achieve. The cost and cost of relaying different functions are also different. Therefore, only the relays that match the corresponding scenarios can maximize the advantages of relaying.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a schematic diagram of adding coverage by relay in the prior art, where RS indicates a relay, RS1 can extend the cell edge coverage, and RS2 can increase the capacity. In addition, the function of RS3 is to solve the communication problem in the area.

Relays usually only implement simple data processing functions, so the cost is lower than BS, and the use of relays for proper network deployment can achieve the purpose of reducing the cost of the network.

In applications, the resources and data processing methods used by the relay are usually controlled by network nodes such as BS.

1 PIDE090424P Therefore, the BS must know the specific functions of the relay to control it. In a traditional network system, the configuration of the BS to the relay is generally implemented manually. The network technician first knows the model and function of the relay, and then manually performs the configuration of the relay on the control panel of the BS. This will undoubtedly increase labor costs, and it is easy to make mistakes, and it is more difficult to operate and maintain. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of this, the present invention provides a method, an apparatus, and a system for configuring a relay to solve the technical problem that the existing manual configuration has an increased labor cost, is prone to error, and is difficult to operate and maintain.

To this end, the following technical solutions are used in the embodiments of the present invention:

A method for configuring a relay, comprising: receiving, by a network node, a packet that is sent by the relay and including its own capability information; the network node parsing the packet, and performing the relay according to the capability information of the relay Configure it.

The capability information in the packet is composed of specific entries indicating whether the relay supports each function; the network node directly configures the relay according to the entry.

The capability information in the text includes the model of the relay, or an index including a capability level pre-agreed by the relay and the network node; the network node according to the relay model or the An index, determining a function supported by the relay, and configuring the relay.

The relay sends the packet to the network node when the user equipment is in a random access process, when the function is changed, or when the network node requests the report.

The configuring, by the network node, the relay includes: configuring, by the network node, related parameters for each function supported by the relay, and setting a processing policy that matches the relay capability.

An apparatus for configuring a relay, where the apparatus is located on the relay side, the method includes: a message assembling unit, configured to assemble a message including capability information of the relay; and a reporting unit, configured to: The message assembled by the message assembly unit is sent to the network node.

The capability information in the message assembled by the message assembly unit is composed of a specific item indicating whether the relay supports each function, or the capability information in the message assembled by the message assembly unit includes the middle The successor model, or an index of the capability levels pre-agreed by the relay and the network node.

The method further includes: a reporting control unit, configured to send the reporting unit to the network node when the user equipment random access process, when the relay function changes, or when the network node requests reporting

PIDE090424P Message.

An apparatus for configuring a relay, located in a network node, includes: a receiving unit, configured to receive a packet that includes relay capability information from the relay; and a parsing unit, configured to perform, for the packet acquired by the receiving unit Parsing, obtaining relay capability information therein; a configuration unit, configured to configure the relay according to the relay capability information acquired by the parsing unit.

When the capability information obtained by the parsing unit is composed of specific items indicating whether the relay supports various functions, the configuration unit directly configures the relay according to the specific item.

The function list presetting unit is configured to save a list of various function combinations corresponding to various models or capability level indexes of the relay; the capability information obtained by the parsing unit is the model of the relay or the relay After indexing the capability level, the configuration unit searches the function list presetting unit, and configures the relay according to the function combination list matched by the model or capability level index.

The method further includes: a receiving control unit, configured to control the receiving unit to receive the packet from the relay when the user equipment is randomly accessed, when the relay function is changed, or when the network node requests reporting.

A system for configuring a relay, comprising a relay and a network node, wherein the relay sends a packet containing the capability information to the network node; the network node parses the packet according to the capability of the relay Information, configuring the relay.

The network node is a base station, a gateway device, or a radio resource management server.

Different from the prior art, the way in which the relay is configured manually is different. The present invention uses the relay to actively report the capability information of the node to the network node, and then the network node configures the relay according to the capability information, which is not only efficient and accurate. The degree is improved, and the problem of increased cost of manual configuration, increased difficulty in maintenance and management, and the like can be avoided. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a prior art mobile communication system including a relay;

2 is a flowchart of a method for configuring a relay according to the present invention;

3 is a flow chart of a first embodiment of a method according to the present invention;

4 is a flow chart of Embodiment 2 of the method of the present invention;

Figure 5 is a schematic structural view of a relay side device of the present invention;

6 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 1 of a network node side device according to the present invention;

FIG. 结构 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 2 of a network node side device according to the present invention.

3 PIDE090424P The specific configuration is different from the prior art in that the relay is manually configured. The present invention uses the relay to actively report the capability information to the network node, and then the network node configures the relay according to the capability information. Increased efficiency and accuracy, and avoids the cost of manual configuration, the difficulty of maintenance and management.

Referring to FIG. 2, a flowchart of a method for configuring a relay provided by the present invention includes:

Step 201: The relay sends a packet containing the capability information to the network node, for example, the packet can be delivered through the air interface.

Step 202: The network node parses the message, and configures the relay according to the capability information of the relay.

In a specific implementation, the relay may send a packet containing the capability information to the network node in the random access process of the user equipment (UE), or may report the packet to the network node when the function changes, or may be in the network. The node requests to send a packet to the network node when reporting.

The network node includes, but is not limited to, a BS, a gateway device, or a Radio Resource Management (RRM) server.

The method embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to FIG. 3, a flowchart of Embodiment 1 of the method of the present invention includes:

Step 301: The relay sends a packet containing the capability information to the network node, where the capability information is composed of a specific entry indicating whether the relay supports each function.

In step 301, the detailed capability information is relayed, that is, the function of the relay is divided into a plurality of entries, and a detailed function list is reported, including whether each function supports or supports.

See Table 1 for an example of a list of capability information.

Table 1

4 PIDE090424P The RLC function refers to the radio link control function, and the MAC function refers to the medium access control function.

The foregoing Table 1 is only an example. In an actual mobile communication system, some functions supported by the relay can be further refined. For example, the RLC function can be refined into an ARQ function and a flow control function.

In addition, some functions can force relay support, such as codec function, and do not require relay reporting for mandatory functions.

Step 302: The network node receives and parses the packet that includes the capability information reported by the relay. Step 303: The network node completes the configuration of the relay according to each entry of the capability information in the packet.

As already mentioned, the network node includes a BS, a gateway device or an RRM server or the like.

In the process of configuring the relay, the network node completes parameter configuration of each function supported by the relay according to the relay capability information, and uses a processing policy that matches the relay function, for example, if the relay supports the broadcast function, Then, the network node needs to configure the content of the broadcast, the location of the broadcast, and the radio resource used for the broadcast. For example, if the relay does not support the RLC function, the network node cannot use the ARQ function between the relay and the relay, where The network node may send a relay configuration message to the relay through an RRC message (Radio Resource Control, Radio Resource Control message), or a MAC Control Unit (Media Access Control Control Element).

Through the first embodiment, the relay of any combination of functions is applicable, and the relay can replace the function combination, and can be reported to the network node as soon as possible, thereby avoiding the cumbersome, time-consuming, and costly problem of manual configuration of the existing solution. .

Referring to FIG. 4, it is a flowchart of Embodiment 2 of the method according to the present invention, which includes:

Step 401: The relay sends a packet that includes capability information to the network node, where the capability information includes a model of the relay, or an index including a capability level pre-agreed by the relay and the network node.

According to the various function setting functions that the relay may implement, a certain type of relay realizes all the functions of the corresponding function combination, so that the relay only needs to report the index or type information of the capability level to the network node.

A specific implementation is to divide the relay into four types: A, B, C, and D. The index of the capability level is represented by 2 bits. The list of functions supported by these four types of relays is shown in Tables 2 to 5, respectively.

PIDE090424P Table 2

6 PIDE090424P The above list is only an example, and more relay types can be formed depending on whether the functions are supported or not. Step 402: The network node receives and parses the message that is included in the relay and includes the capability information. Step 403: The network node determines, according to the capability information in the packet, that is, according to the relay model or the capability level index of the relay, determining that the relay supports The function that completes the configuration of the relay.

It should be noted that, in the network node in the second embodiment, the function combination of the relay support corresponding to the relay model or the capability level index needs to be saved in advance, for example, when the capability level index reported from the relay is learned. When it is type C, it searches for a list of preset functions, that is, finds Table 3, and then configures the relay.

The network node-to-relay configuration process includes two parts, one is to configure related parameters for each function supported by the relay, and the other is to set a processing policy that matches the relay capability. For details, refer to the first embodiment. For related examples, they are not described here.

In the second embodiment, the capability information reported by the relay to the network node includes only a small amount of information of the relay model or the capability level index, which can save the signaling overhead of the network transmission, and can implement the configuration of the network node to the trunk more quickly. .

Corresponding to the above method, the present invention further provides a device for configuring a relay, which is located on the relay side, and may be a relay device itself, or may be a functional entity located in the relay device, and may be implemented by software. , hardware or a combination of hardware and software.

Referring to FIG. 5, a schematic structural diagram of the device on the relay side includes a message assembling unit 501 and an upper unit 502, wherein:

a message assembling unit 501, configured to assemble a message that includes capability information of the relay;

The capability information in the message assembled by the message assembling unit 501 is composed of a specific item indicating whether the relay supports each function, or the capability information in the message assembled by the message assembling unit 501 includes the The model of the relay, or an index of the capability level pre-agreed by the relay and the network node.

The reporting unit 502 is configured to send the message assembled by the message assembling unit 501 to the network node. Preferably, the apparatus may further comprise:

The reporting control unit 503 is configured to control the reporting unit to send the packet to the network node when the user equipment is randomly accessed, when the relay function changes, or when the network node requests reporting.

The workflow of each unit in the device is as follows:

First, the message assembling unit 501 is started to form a message including relay capability information, and then,

PIDE090424P The reporting control unit 503 controls the reporting unit 502 to send the message to the network node in the UE random access procedure.

In addition, the present invention also provides a device for configuring a relay in a network node, which may be a network node itself or a functional entity located in a network node, and may be implemented by software, hardware or a combination of software and hardware. . The network node includes but is not limited to a BS, a gateway device, an RRM server, and the like.

Referring to FIG. 6, FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 1 of a device located on a network node side, where the device includes a receiving unit 601, a receiving unit 602, and a parsing unit 603, where:

The receiving unit 601 is configured to receive, from the relay, a packet that includes relay capability information.

The parsing unit 602 is configured to parse the packet obtained by the receiving unit 601, and obtain relay capability information therein;

The configuration unit 603 is configured to configure the relay according to the relay capability information acquired by the parsing unit 602.

In the first embodiment of the apparatus, when the capability information obtained by the parsing unit 602 is composed of a specific item indicating whether the relay supports each function, the configuration unit 603 directly refers to the specific item according to the specific item. Follow the configuration.

Preferably, the device embodiment 1 further includes:

The receiving control unit 604 is configured to control the receiving unit 601 to receive the packet from the relay when the user equipment is randomly accessed, when the relay function changes, or when the network node requests reporting.

Referring to FIG. 7, a schematic structural diagram of a second embodiment of the apparatus is shown. In addition to FIG. 6, the apparatus in this embodiment includes a receiving unit 601, a parsing unit 602, a configuration unit 603, and a receiving control unit 604, and further includes a function list pre- Unit 701, at this time,

The function list presetting unit 701 is configured to store a list of various function combinations corresponding to various models or capability level indexes of the relay;

When the capability information obtained by the parsing unit 602 is the model of the relay or the index of the capability level of the relay, the configuration unit 603 searches for the function list presetting unit according to the model or capability. A list of function combinations matched by the level index, and the relay is configured.

In addition, the present invention further provides a system for configuring a relay, including a relay and a network node, wherein the relay sends a message including its own capability information to the network node; The packet is configured according to the capability information of the relay. The network node is a base station, a gateway device, or a radio resource management server.

8 PIDE090424P Different from the prior art, the way in which the relay is configured manually is different. The present invention uses the relay to actively report the capability information of the node to the network node, and then the network node configures the relay according to the capability information, which is not only efficient and accurate. The degree is improved, and the problem of increased cost of manual configuration, increased difficulty in maintenance and management, and the like can be avoided.

The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and it should be noted that those skilled in the art can also make several improvements and retouchings without departing from the principles of the present invention. It should be considered as the scope of protection of the present invention.

9 PIDE090424P

Claims

Claim

A method for configuring a relay, comprising:

Receiving, by the network node, a packet that is sent by the relay and includes capability information of the self;

The network node parses the message and configures the relay according to the capability information of the relay.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein:

The capability information in the packet is composed of specific entries indicating whether the relay supports various functions;

The network node directly configures the relay according to the entry.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein:

The capability information in the message includes a model of the relay, or an index including a capability level pre-agreed by the relay and the network node;

The network node determines, according to the relay model or the index, a function supported by the relay, and configures the relay.

The method according to claim 1, wherein the relay sends the message to the network node when the user equipment randomly accesses, when the function of the user changes, or when the network node requests to report.

The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the configuring, by the network node, the relay comprises:

The network node configures related parameters for each function supported by the relay, and sets a processing policy that matches the relay capability.

A device for configuring a relay, wherein the device is located on the relay side, and includes:

a message assembling unit, configured to assemble a message including capability information of the relay;

7. Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein:

The capability information in the message assembled by the message assembling unit is composed of specific items indicating whether the relay supports various functions,

Or,

The capability information in the message assembled by the message assembling unit includes the model of the relay, or a package

10 PIDE090424P An index of the capability level pre-agreed by the relay with the network node is included.

8. The device according to claim 7, further comprising:

The reporting control unit is configured to send the message to the network node when the reporting unit changes during the random access process of the user equipment, when the relay function changes, or when the network node requests reporting.

A device for configuring a relay, which is located in a network node, and includes: a receiving unit, configured to receive, from the relay, a packet that includes relay capability information;

a parsing unit, configured to parse the packet obtained by the receiving unit, and obtain relay capability information therein;

And a configuration unit, configured to configure the relay according to the relay capability information acquired by the parsing unit.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9 wherein:

11. The device according to claim 9, further comprising:

a function list preset unit, configured to store a list of various function combinations corresponding to various models or capability level indexes;

When the capability information obtained by the parsing unit is the model of the relay or the index of the capability level of the relay, the configuration unit searches for the function list presetting unit, and indexes according to the model or capability level. The matching function combination list configures the relay.

The device according to claim 9, 10 or 11, further comprising: a receiving control unit, configured to control the receiving unit during a random access process of the user equipment, when the relay function changes, or When the node requests reporting, the packet is received from the relay.

13. A system for configuring a relay, comprising a relay and a network node, wherein

Transmitting, by the relay, a packet that includes its own capability information to the network node;

The network node parses the message, and configures the relay according to the capability information of the relay.

The device according to claim 13, wherein the network node is a base station, a gateway device, or a radio resource management server.

11 PIDE090424P