WO2021026706A1

WO2021026706A1 - F1 interface management method and apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2021026706A1
Application number: PCT/CN2019/100096
Authority: WO
Inventors: 朱元萍; 刘菁; 戴明增; 卓义斌
Original assignee: 华为技术有限公司
Priority date: 2019-08-09
Filing date: 2019-08-09
Publication date: 2021-02-18
Also published as: CN114026929A

Abstract

An F1 interface management method and apparatus, the method comprising: a first device receives a first message from a second device, the first message being used to instruct the first device to perform a suspension operation on the connection of an F1 interface of the first device, wherein the F1 interface is an interface between a DU functional entity in the first device and a CU functional entity in the second device, or the F1 interface is an interface between the first device and the second device; and the first device performs a suspension operation on the connection of the F1 interface according to the first message, the suspension operation comprising one or more of the following: interrupting the transmission of an F1AP message of the F1 interface; retaining context information of the first device; interrupting data transmission of a user plane of the F1 interface; and maintaining the signaling connection of the F1 interface. By means of the described method, the rapid and efficient suspension operation on the connection of the 1 interface may be implemented, which thus improves system efficiency.

Description

F1 interface management method and device

Technical field

This application relates to the field of wireless communication technology, and in particular to a method and device for managing an F1 interface.

Background technique

The fifth-generation mobile communication system (5th-generation, 5G) introduces integrated access and backhaul (IAB) network technology, the access link and backhaul link in the IAB network (backhaul link) All adopt wireless transmission schemes to avoid fiber deployment, thereby reducing deployment costs and improving deployment flexibility. In the IAB network, there are IAB nodes (IAB node) and IAB hosts (IAB donor). The terminal side device can access the IAB node (IAB node), so the service data of the terminal side device can be connected to the IAB donor (IAB donor) by the IAB node through the wireless backhaul link for transmission.

In the current discussion on the IAB network, it is determined to introduce a new protocol layer in the wireless backhaul link: the Backhaul Adaptation Protocol (BAP) layer, which is located in the radio link control (RLC) Above the) layer, it can be used to implement data packet routing on the wireless backhaul link, as well as bearer mapping and other functions. An F1 interface can be established between the IAB node and the IAB host for information transmission. The F1 interface supports user plane protocols and control plane protocols. Through the control plane of the F1 interface, the IAB node and the IAB host can perform interface management, perform configuration of the IAB node, and perform terminal-side device context-related configuration. Through the user plane of the F1 interface, the IAB node and the IAB host can perform functions such as transmission of user plane data of the terminal and feedback of the downlink transmission status.

In the current discussion, only the function and role of the F1 interface are discussed. How to manage the F1 interface has not yet a clear solution, which is an urgent problem to be solved.

Summary of the invention

The purpose of the embodiments of the present application is to provide a F1 interface management method and device to solve the problem of how to manage the F1 interface.

In the first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an F1 interface management method, including: a first device receives a first message from a second device, the first message is used to instruct the first device to respond to the first device The F1 interface is connected to perform the suspension operation; the F1 interface is the interface between the distributed unit DU functional entity in the first device and the centralized unit CU functional entity in the second device, or the F1 The interface is the interface between the first device and the second device; the first device performs a suspension operation on the connection of the F1 interface according to the first message, and the suspension operation includes: interrupting the The transmission of F1 application protocol AP messages of the F1 interface, and one or more of the following operations: retain the context information of the first device; interrupt the data transmission of the user plane of the F1 interface; retain the signaling connection of the F1 interface .

In the above method flow, when the second device instructs the first device to perform a suspension operation on the connection of the F1 interface, the management of the F1 interface is realized. By performing the suspension operation on the connection of the F1 interface, the configuration of the F1 interface can be retained, so that the connection of the F1 interface can be quickly restored when the next time it enters the active state.

In a possible design, the context information of the first device includes at least one of the following:

The configuration information of the distributed unit DU functional entity in the first device; the configuration information of the centralized unit CU functional entity in the second device; the context information of the child nodes served by the first device.

In a possible design, the method further includes: the first device instructs the flow control transport protocol SCTP layer to perform the shutdown process of SCTP coupling through the F1AP layer; and/or, the first device passes the F1AP layer Instruct the SCTP layer to close the sending of the SCTP-coupled heartbeat packet, or increase the sending period of the heartbeat packet.

Through the above method, the power consumption and resource consumption of the first device can be reduced, and the resource utilization rate can be improved.

In a possible design, the first message is an F1 application layer protocol AP message sent to the first device through the control of the F1 interface; or, the first message is a radio resource control RRC message.

In a possible design, the method further includes:

The first device sends a second message to the second device, where the second message is used to indicate that the connection of the F1 interface has been suspended.

In a second aspect, an F1 interface management method is provided, which includes: a second device determines to perform a suspension operation on the connection of the F1 interface of the first device; the F1 interface is the distributed unit DU functional entity in the first device and The interface between the functional entities of the centralized unit CU in the second device, or the F1 interface is the interface between the first device and the second device; the second device communicates with the first device The device sends a first message, where the first message is used to instruct the first device to perform a suspension operation on the connection of the F1 interface of the first device.

In the above method flow, the second device instructs the first device to perform a suspension operation on the connection of the F1 interface to realize the management of the F1 interface. By performing the suspension operation on the connection of the F1 interface, the configuration of the F1 interface can be retained, so that the connection of the F1 interface can be quickly restored when the next time it enters the active state.

In a possible design, the second device determining that the connection of the F1 interface of the first device performs the suspension operation includes: when the second device determines that the first device enters the inactive state from the active state, determining Perform a suspension operation for the connection of the F1 interface of the first device; or, when the second device determines that the first device will perform cell handover, it determines to perform the suspension operation for the connection of the F1 interface of the first device.

In a possible design, the method further includes: the second device receiving a second message from the first device, the second message being used to indicate that the connection of the F1 interface has been suspended.

In a third aspect, an F1 interface management method is provided, which includes: a first device receives a third message from a second device, the third message is used to instruct the first device to restore the F1 that the first device has suspended Interface connection; the F1 interface is the interface between the distributed unit DU functional entity in the first device and the centralized unit CU functional entity in the second device, or the F1 interface is the first device An interface between a device and the second device; the first device restores the connection of the F1 interface according to the third message, and the restoration operation includes: restoring the F1 application protocol AP message of the F1 interface , And one or more of the following operations: restore and/or apply the context information of the first device; restore the data transmission of the user plane of the F1 interface; restore the signaling connection of the F1 interface.

In the above method flow, when the second device instructs the first device to restore the connection of the suspended F1 interface, it can quickly restore the context information of the first device, reduce signaling overhead, and reduce the time when the first device enters the active state. Extension.

The configuration information of the distributed unit DU functional entity in the first device; the configuration information of the centralized unit CU functional entity in the second device; the context information of the child node served by the first device.

In a possible design, the third message includes a cell identifier, and the method further includes: the first device activates the cell indicated by the cell identifier; or, the third message includes a cell activation indication Information, the first device activates all cells of the first device according to the cell activation indication information, or the first device is in the active state before suspending the connection of the F1 interface according to the cell activation indication information The cell is activated.

In a possible design, the third message is an F1 application layer protocol AP message sent through the control plane of the F1 interface; or, the third message is a radio resource control RRC message.

In a possible design, the method further includes: the first device sends a fourth message to the second device, where the fourth message is used to indicate that the connection of the F1 interface has been restored.

In a fourth aspect, an F1 interface management method is provided, including: a second device determines to restore the connection of the F1 interface that has been suspended by the first device; the F1 interface is the distributed unit DU functional entity in the first device and The interface between the functional entities of the centralized unit CU in the second device, or the F1 interface is the interface between the first device and the second device; the second device communicates with the first device The device sends a third message, where the third message is used to instruct the first device to resume the connection of the F1 interface.

In the above method flow, when the second device can instruct the first device to restore the connection of the suspended F1 interface, it can quickly restore the context information of the first device, reduce signaling overhead, and reduce the risk of the first device entering the active state. Time delay.

In a possible design, the second device determining to restore the connection of the F1 interface that the first device has suspended includes:

When the second device determines that the first device enters the active state from the inactive state, it determines to restore the connection of the F1 interface; or, the second device determines that the first device will perform cell handover, and The mobile terminal MT functional entity in the first device has completed the handover, and it is determined to restore the connection of the F1 interface.

In a possible design, the third message is an F1 application layer protocol AP message sent to the first device through the control of the F1 interface; or, the third message is a radio resource control RRC message.

In a possible design, the method further includes: the second device receives a fourth message from the first device, where the fourth message is used to indicate that the connection of the F1 interface has been restored.

In a fifth aspect, there is provided an F1 interface management method, including: a first IAB host sends a fifth message to a second IAB host, the fifth message includes a node identifier, and the fifth message is used to obtain the node identifier indication Context information of the IAB node; the first IAB host is the target device newly connected to the IAB node, the second IAB host is the source device connected to the IAB node; the first IAB host receives 2. A sixth message of the IAB host, where the sixth message includes context information of the IAB node.

In the above method flow, the first IAB host obtains the context information of the IAB node through the second IAB host, so that the F1 interface connection with the IAB node can be quickly established, and the delay of the service terminal side device is reduced.

In a possible design, before the first IAB host sends the fifth message to the second IAB host, the method further includes: the first IAB host determines to obtain the context information of the IAB node.

In a possible design, the determination by the first IAB host to acquire the context information of the IAB node includes:

When the first IAB host determines that the IAB node enters the active state from the inactive state, it determines to acquire the context information of the IAB node; or, the first IAB host determines that the IAB node is connected to the first IAB When the host is the host, it is determined to obtain the context information of the IAB node.

In a possible design, the context information of the IAB node includes at least one of the following: configuration information of a distributed unit DU functional entity in the IAB node; a centralized unit CU functional entity hosted by the second IAB Configuration information; context information of the child node served by the IAB node.

In a sixth aspect, an F1 interface management method is provided, including: an IAB host determines that a first IAB node accesses the IAB host through a second IAB node; the first IAB node is a child node of the second IAB node; The IAB host sends indication information to the second IAB node, where the indication information is used to indicate that the first IAB node is an IAB node.

Through the above method, the time required for the first IAB node to enter the active state can be reduced, thereby reducing the time it takes for the terminal side device accessing the first IAB node to enter the RRC connected state from the RRC inactive state.

In a seventh aspect, an F1 interface management method is provided, including: a second IAB node receives indication information from an IAB host, where the indication information is used to indicate that the first IAB node is an IAB node; the first IAB node is the A child node of the second IAB node; when the second IAB node determines that the second IAB node enters the inactive state, and when the first IAB node is determined to be an IAB node according to the indication information, the first IAB node is reserved The context information of the node.

In an eighth aspect, the present application also provides a communication device, which has the method provided in any one of the methods provided in the first to seventh aspects. The communication device can be realized by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units or units corresponding to the above-mentioned functions.

In a possible implementation manner, the communication device includes: a processor configured to support the communication device to perform the corresponding function of the receiving device in the communication method shown above. The communication device may also include a memory, and the storage may be coupled with the processor, which stores program instructions and data necessary for the communication device. Optionally, the communication device further includes a communication interface, which is used to support communication between the communication device and the tag device, the sending device, and the like.

In a possible implementation manner, the communication device includes corresponding functional units, which are respectively used to implement the steps in the above method. The function can be realized by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units corresponding to the above-mentioned functions.

In a possible implementation manner, the structure of the communication device includes a processing unit and a communication unit, and these units can perform corresponding functions in the foregoing method examples. For details, refer to the detailed description in the method examples, and details are not repeated here.

In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores computer-readable instructions. When the computer reads and executes the computer-readable instructions, the computer executes any of the above A possible design approach.

In a tenth aspect, the embodiments of the present application provide a computer program product. When the computer reads and executes the computer program product, the computer executes any of the above-mentioned possible design methods.

In an eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip, which is connected to a memory, and is used to read and execute a software program stored in the memory to implement any of the above-mentioned possible design methods.

In a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip system, which includes a processor and may also include a memory, which is used to implement any of the above-mentioned possible design methods. The chip system can be composed of chips, or it can include chips and other discrete devices.

On the thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a system including the first device in the first aspect and the second device in the second aspect.

On the fourteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a system including the first device in the third aspect and the second device in the fourth aspect.

On the fifteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a system that includes the first IAB host, IAB node, and second IAB host in the fifth aspect.

On the sixteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a system that includes the IAB host, the first IAB node, and the second IAB node in the sixth aspect.

Description of the drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of another network architecture applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

4(a) to 4(b) are schematic diagrams of a protocol stack structure provided by an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart of an F1 interface management method provided by an embodiment of the application;

FIG. 6 is a schematic flowchart of an F1 interface management method provided by an embodiment of the application;

FIG. 7 is a schematic flowchart of an F1 interface management method provided by an embodiment of the application;

FIG. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of this application.

detailed description

The embodiments of the present application will be described in further detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

The embodiments of this application can be applied to various mobile communication systems, such as: new radio (NR) system, long term evolution (LTE) system, advanced long term evolution (LTE-A) Systems, evolved long term evolution (evolved long term evolution, eLTE) systems, future communication systems, and other communication systems, are specifically not limited here.

To facilitate the understanding of the embodiments of the present application, first, the communication system shown in FIG. 1 is taken as an example to describe in detail the communication system applicable to the embodiments of the present application. Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a communication system applicable to the communication method of the embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system includes sub-IAB hosts, IAB nodes, and terminal-side devices. Fig. 2 is another form of the communication system shown in Fig. 1, and the substantially expressed meanings are the same, which will not be repeated here.

In addition, in Figure 1 and Figure 2, the names of the interfaces between the devices are also shown, such as the NR Uu interface between the terminal-side device and the IAB node and the NR Un interface between the IAB node and the IAB host. The name is just an example and does not represent a limitation on the interface. When the communication system version changes, the corresponding name can also be replaced with the name of the corresponding function in other wireless communication networks.

The IAB network shown in FIG. 1 supports multi-hop networking. For example, between the IAB node and the IAB host shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, there may also be one or more intermediate IAB nodes.

The IAB network shown in Figure 1 not only supports multi-hop networking, but also multi-connection networking. There may be at least one transmission path composed of multiple links between the terminal side device served by the IAB node and the IAB host. There may also be one or more transmission paths between the IAB node and the IAB host, and each transmission path may have one or more IAB nodes. On a transmission path, each IAB node regards its neighboring node providing backhaul services as a parent node, and accordingly, each IAB node can be regarded as a child node of its parent node. For example, in the scenarios shown in Figures 1 and 2, the parent node of the IAB node is the IAB host, and the IAB host regards the IAB node as a child node.

It should be noted that the IAB networking scenario shown in Figure 1 is only exemplary. In the IAB scenario where multi-hop and multi-connection are combined, there may be other connection forms. For example, this application can also be applied to dual-connection The scenario can be specifically shown in Figure 3. Figure 3 shows a schematic diagram of the network architecture of the dual connection system. As shown in FIG. 3, the communication system includes Evolved Packet Core (EPC) equipment, base stations, IAB hosts, IAB nodes, and terminal side equipment. Repeat the steps in other situations.

In the embodiments of the present application, a node that supports integrated access and backhaul is referred to as an IAB node, and the IAB node may also be referred to as a relay node (RN). For ease of description, all are referred to as an IAB node below. The IAB node may include at least one mobile terminal (MT) unit and at least one distributed unit (DU). In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, only the IAB node includes an MT unit and a DU as an example for description. The MT unit in the IAB node implements the IAB as a terminal to communicate with the parent node of the IAB node and the IAB host node. The DU in the IAB node provides access services for its attached terminal side devices or other IAB nodes, and can also communicate with the IAB host node based on the F1 interface. Among them, the MT in the IAB node may also be referred to as the MT functional entity in the IAB node, and the DU in the IAB node may also be referred to as the DU functional entity in the IAB node. For the convenience of description, the MT in the IAB node and the MT functional entity in the IAB node are all referred to as "IAB node MT", and the DU in the IAB node and the DU functional entity in the IAB node are all referred to as "IAB node DU".

The IAB node can provide wireless access services for the terminal side device, and the service data or control information of the terminal side device is connected to the IAB donor (IAB donor) or the network side device through the wireless backhaul link by the IAB node for transmission. The IAB host can be an access network element with a complete base station function, or it can be an access network element in the form of a separate centralized unit (CU) and distributed unit (DU). Among them, the CU in the IAB host may also be referred to as the CU functional entity in the IAB host, and the DU in the IAB host may also be referred to as the DU functional entity in the IAB host.

For ease of presentation, in the embodiments of this application, the CU in the IAB host and the CU functional entity in the IAB host are referred to as IAB host CU, and the DU in the IAB host and the DU functional entity in the IAB host are referred to as IAB host DU. Among them, the IAB host CU may also have a separate control plane (CP) and user plane (UP) form. For example, an IAB host CU is composed of one CU-CP and multiple CU-UPs. The application embodiment does not limit this.

The F1 interface involved in the embodiment of this application is the interface between the IAB node DU and the IAB host or the IAB host CU. The F1 interface can also be called F1* interface and other names. For the convenience of description, in the embodiment of this application, It is collectively called F1 interface, but the name is not limited.

It should be noted that the F1 interface may also be an interface between functional entities within a device. For example, for a base station including DU and CU, the F1 interface may be the interface between the DU in the base station and the CU in the base station. .

The F1 interface involved in the embodiment of the present application supports a user plane protocol and a control plane protocol. Exemplarily, as shown in FIG. 4(a), it is a schematic diagram of a protocol stack of a user plane protocol provided in an embodiment of this application. In Figure 4(a), the description is made by taking the terminal side device, the IAB node 2, the IAB node 1, and the IAB host as an example in the link between the terminal side device and the IAB host.

In Figure 4(a), the peer-to-peer protocol layer between the terminal-side device and the IAB host includes the Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer and the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer. The peer-to-peer protocol between the terminal side device and the IAB node 2 includes a radio link control (RLC) layer, a medium access control (MAC) layer, and a physical (Physical, PHY) layer.

On the user plane of the F1 interface between the IAB node 2 and the IAB host, the peer-to-peer protocol includes the general packet radio service (General Packet Radio Service, GPRS) tunneling protocol user plane (GPRS Tunnelling Protocol User Plane, GTP-U) layer, user Datagram Protocol (User Datagram Protocol, UDP) layer and Internet Protocol (Internet Protocol, IP) layer. Optionally, the user plane protocol layer of the F1 interface further includes a PDCP layer and/or an IP security (IP Security, referred to as IPsec) layer. In a possible implementation, the IPsec layer or PDCP layer is located above the IP layer and below the GTP-U layer.

The equivalent protocol layers between the IAB node 2 and the IAB node 1 include a Backhaul Adaptation Protocol (BAP) layer, an RLC layer, a MAC layer, and a PHY layer. Correspondingly, the peer-to-peer protocol between the IAB node 1 and the IAB host includes the BAP layer, the RLC layer, the MAC layer, and the PHY layer.

With reference to FIG. 4(a), exemplarily, as shown in FIG. 4(b), a schematic diagram of a protocol stack of a control plane protocol provided by an embodiment of the present application.

In Figure 4(b), the peer-to-peer protocol between the terminal-side device and the IAB host includes a radio resource control (radio resource control, RRC) layer and a PDCP layer. The peer-to-peer protocol between the terminal side device and the IAB node 2 includes the RLC layer, the MAC layer, and the PHY layer.

The IAB node 2 and the IAB host are on the control plane of the F1 interface, and the peer-to-peer protocols include the F1 application layer protocol (F1 application protocol, F1AP) layer, the stream control transport protocol (stream control transport protocol, SCTP) layer and the IP layer. Optionally, the control plane protocol layer of the F1 interface further includes one or more of the PDCP layer, the IPsec layer, and the datagram transport layer security (DTLS) layer. In a possible implementation, the IPsec layer, PDCP layer, or DTLS layer is located above the IP layer and below the F1AP layer.

The peer-to-peer protocol between the IAB node 2 and the IAB node 1 includes the BAP layer, the RLC layer, the MAC layer, and the PHY layer. Correspondingly, the peer-to-peer protocol between the IAB node 1 and the IAB host includes the BAP layer, the RLC layer, the MAC layer, and the PHY layer.

The BAP layer has at least one of the following capabilities: adding routing information (Routing info) that can be recognized by wireless backhaul nodes to data packets, performing routing based on the routing information that can be recognized by wireless backhaul nodes, and The data packet adds identification information related to the quality of service (quality of service, QoS) requirements that can be identified by the wireless backhaul node, and performs QoS mapping on the multi-segment link including the wireless backhaul node for the data packet. The packet adds data packet type indication information and sends flow control feedback information to nodes with flow control capabilities. It should be noted that the name of the protocol layer with these capabilities is not necessarily the BAP layer, and those skilled in the art can understand that any protocol layer with these capabilities can be understood as the BAP layer in the embodiments of the application.

Wherein, the routing information that can be recognized by the wireless backhaul node may be the identification of the terminal, the identification of the IAB node that the terminal accesses, the identification of the host node, the identification of Donor-DU, the identification of Donor-CU, the identification of the transmission path One or more of the information such as identification.

The QoS mapping on the multi-segment link may be: in the wireless backhaul link, based on the identification of the RB of the terminal carried in the data packet, execute the RLC bearer or RLC channel or logic from the RB of the terminal to the wireless backhaul link. Channel mapping; based on the correspondence between any two or more of the RB, RLC bearer, RLC channel and logical channel of the ingress link and egress link, perform the RB or RLC bearer or RLC from the ingress link Channel or logical channel, RB or RLC bearer or RLC channel or logical channel mapping to the egress link.

The data packet type indication information may be used to indicate that the content encapsulated in the BAP layer contains any one or more of the following types: user plane data of the terminal, RRC message of the terminal, RRC message of the IAB node, IAB node Control layer application messages (such as F1AP messages) on the interface with the host node (or Donor-CU or CU-CP), flow control feedback messages generated by IAB nodes, header compression feedback messages generated by IAB nodes, and BAP layer data PDU, BAP layer control PDU, etc.

The identification information related to the QoS requirements may be the QoS flow identifier (QFI) of the terminal, the RB identifier of the terminal, the differentiated services code point (DSCP), and the Internet Protocol version 6 (internet Protocol version 6, referred to as IPv6), the flow label in the header of the IP data packet, etc.

Exemplarily, a node with flow control capability may be a host node, Donor-DU, Donor-CU, parent node of an IAB node, etc., nodes that provide backhaul services for the IAB node. The content of the flow control feedback information can include one or more of the following information: the cache status and load level of the IAB node, and the status of a certain link of the IAB node (such as link blockage or link recovery ( resume) or link quality information, etc.), including the bandwidth and transmission delay of a certain link of the IAB node, the data packet sequence number lost by the IAB node, and the data packet sequence number that the IAB node has successfully sent to the terminal or its child nodes.

In addition, in a possible situation, the function of the BAP layer can also be extended by any layer (for example, RLC layer, MAC layer, PDCP layer, etc.) or any number of layers included in layer 2, without additional protocol Floor.

It should be noted that the function and role of the protocol layer described above can be referred to the description in the existing standard, and will not be repeated here.

It should be noted that the IAB node MT may have the protocol stack of the UE, and the communication protocol stack between the IAB host and the parent node can refer to the protocol stack of the UE in Figure 4(a) and Figure 4(b). understanding. In this case, the IAB node may also have an RRC layer, and can establish an RRC connection with the IAB host, and communicate based on the RRC layer.

It is understandable that the protocol stack architecture in the IAB network shown in Figures 4(a) to 4(b) of the embodiment of the present application is only an example, and the method provided in the embodiment of the present application does not rely on this example , But this example makes the method provided in the embodiments of the present application easier to understand.

In the embodiment of the present application, the terminal-side device is a device with a wireless transceiver function or a chip that can be installed in the device. Wherein, the device with wireless transceiver function may also be called user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile equipment, user terminal, user agent Or user device. In practical applications, the terminal-side devices in the embodiments of the present application may be mobile phones, tablets, computers with wireless transceiver functions, virtual reality (VR) terminals, augmented reality (augmented) Reality, AR) terminals, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical, and wireless terminals in smart grid (smart grid) , Wireless terminal in transportation safety, wireless terminal in smart city, wireless terminal in smart home, etc. The embodiment of this application does not limit the application scenario. In this application, the aforementioned devices with wireless transceiver functions and chips that can be installed in the devices are collectively referred to as terminal-side devices.

In the embodiments of the present application, the network side device may be a wireless access device under various standards, such as an evolved Node B (eNB), a radio network controller (RNC), or a Node B (Node B). B, NB), base station controller (BSC), base transceiver station (base transceiver station, BTS), home base station (for example, home evolved NodeB, or home Node B, HNB), baseband unit (baseband unit, BBU), the access point (AP), wireless relay node, wireless backhaul node, transmission point (transmission and reception point, TRP or transmission point, TP) in the wireless fidelity (WIFI) system It can also be the gNB or transmission point (TRP or TP) in the 5G (NR) system, one or a group of antenna panels (including multiple antenna panels) of the base station in the 5G system, or it can also constitute a gNB or The network node of the transmission point, such as a baseband unit (BBU), or a DU under a centralized unit-distributed (CU-DU) architecture.

The network architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of this application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application. Those of ordinary skill in the art will know that with the network With the evolution of architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are equally applicable to similar technical problems.

Some scenarios in the embodiments of this application are described by taking the scenario of IAB in a wireless communication network as an example. It should be pointed out that the solutions in the embodiments of this application can also be applied to other wireless communication networks, and the corresponding names can also be other wireless communication networks. Replace the name of the corresponding function in the communication network.

The F1 interface management method provided by the embodiment of the present application involves the suspension of the F1 interface and the restoration of the F1 interface, which will be described separately below.

Example one:

In the embodiment of the present application, when the second device determines to perform the suspension operation on the F1 interface of the first device, it may send a first message to the first device. The first message is used to instruct the first device to The connection of the F1 interface of the first device performs a suspension operation.

The F1 interface may be the interface between the DU functional entity in the first device and the CU functional entity in the second device, or the F1 interface may be the interface between the first device and the second device. Interface between devices.

It should be noted that the connection of the F1 interface may refer to the connection established on the F1 interface, including the signaling connection of the F1 interface, and may also include the user plane connection of the F1 interface. The signaling connection of the F1 interface includes one or more of the following: one or more signaling connections (UE-associated signaling connection) used to transmit UE-associated F1AP messages; used to transmit non-UE The signaling connection (non UE-associated signaling connection) of related F1AP messages. Among them, the user plane connection of the F1 interface can be understood as the GTP-U tunnel established by the F1 interface to transmit the data radio bearer (DRB) corresponding to the data packet of the UE.

There may be many situations in which the first device and the second device are. The following description takes the first device as the IAB node and the second device as the IAB host as an example, and other situations can be deduced by analogy.

In combination with the foregoing description, as shown in FIG. 5, it is a schematic flowchart of an F1 interface management method provided by an embodiment of this application. Referring to Figure 5, the method includes:

Step 500: The IAB host triggers the IAB node to perform a suspension operation on the F1 interface connection between the IAB node and the IAB host.

Exemplarily, when any of the following conditions is met, the IAB host determines to trigger the IAB node to perform the suspension operation on the connection of the F1 interface.

Condition 1: The IAB host determines that the IAB node enters the inactive mode from the active state (active mode). The IAB node is in the active state, which means that its MT part is in RRC connected state, and its DU part maintains the F1 interface connection with the IAB host or IAB host CU, and the cell served by the DU part can provide access services for the UE , The IAB node can provide services for the transmission of UE service data and control signaling. The IAB node is in the inactive state, which means that the MT part is in the RRC inactive state or the RRC idle state. The IAB node cannot provide services for the transmission of UE service data and control signaling. Optionally, its DU part cannot provide access services for the UE. For example, if the IAB host determines to send an RRC release (RRC release) message to the IAB node or the IAB node MT, it can be determined that the IAB node will enter the inactive state.

Condition 2: The IAB host determines to switch the IAB node to the cell.

The cell handover described here may mean that an IAB node switches from a cell served by the same IAB host to another cell served by the IAB host, or it may mean an IAB node switches between cells served by different IAB hosts.

The condition 2 may specifically be when the IAB host determines to send an RRC reconfiguration (RRC reconfiguration) message including a handover command to the IAB node (specifically, to the IAB node MT).

Step 501: The IAB host sends a first message to the IAB node.

The first message is used to instruct the IAB node to perform a suspension operation on the connection of the F1 interface of the IAB node. The F1 interface may be an interface between the IAB node DU and the IAB host CU.

The embodiment of the present application does not limit the name of the first message. For example, the first message may also be referred to as an F1 suspend request message, etc., which will not be described one by one here.

Exemplarily, the first message may be an F1AP message or an RRC message.

When the first message is an F1AP message, the IAB host can send the F1AP message to the IAB node (specifically, to the IAB node DU) through the control plane of the F1 interface.

The first message may also be an RRC release message. In this case, the IAB host CU may send the RRC release message to the IAB node, and the IAB node may thereby determine to perform the suspension operation on the connection of the F1 interface of the IAB node DU. Specifically, the IAB host may send an RRC release message to the IAB node MT, and the IAB node MT may instruct the IAB node DU through the internal interface to perform a suspension operation on the connection of the F1 interface.

Alternatively, the first message may be an RRC reconfiguration message or an RRC release message. At this time, the RRC reconfiguration message or the RRC release message may also include a message container or information element, which is used to instruct the IAB node to perform suspension of the F1 interface connection operating. In this case, the IAB host can send the RRC reconfiguration message or the RRC release message to the IAB node MT, and the IAB node MT can forward the message container or information element to the IAB node DU through the internal interface, and the IAB node DU can thus determine whether to The connection of the interface performs the suspension operation.

Exemplarily, if the IAB host includes a CU and a DU, steps 500 and 501 may be performed by the IAB host CU. In the subsequent steps, the method executed by the IAB host can also be executed by the IAB host CU, which will not be described in detail later.

Exemplarily, if the IAB host CU includes CP and UP, steps 500 and 501 may be performed by the IAB host CU-CP. In the subsequent steps, the method executed by the IAB host can also be executed by the IAB host CU-CP, which will not be described in detail later.

Step 502: After receiving the first message from the IAB host, the IAB node performs a suspension operation on the connection of the F1 interface according to the first message.

In the embodiment of the present application, when the IAB node performs a suspension operation on the connection of the F1 interface, the suspension operation includes: interrupting the transmission of the F1 application protocol AP message of the F1 interface, and one or more of the following operations: reserve The context information of the IAB node; interrupt or stop the data transmission of the user plane of the F1 interface; and reserve the signaling connection of the F1 interface. Among them, the meaning of "interrupting" an operation means to suspend the operation, not to terminate the operation, but to resume the operation.

The context information of the IAB node may include at least one of the following:

The configuration information of the IAB node DU; the configuration information of the IAB host CU; the context information of the child node served by the IAB node. The child node may be a terminal side device or other IAB served by the IAB node node.

Exemplarily, in the embodiment of the present application, the configuration information of the IAB node DU includes but is not limited to: the DU identifier of the IAB node DU; the DU name; the configuration information of the cell served by the IAB node DU.

The configuration information of the cell served by the IAB node DU may include one or more of the following: the cell's NR global cell identifier (CGI); the cell's NR physical-layer cell identity (PCI); The tracking area code (TAC) of the cell, the public land mobile network (PLMN) identification of the service; the supported slice identification; the frequency and transmission bandwidth supported by the cell; the measurement time configuration ( measurement timing configuration, MTC); the radio access network area code (RAN area code, RANAC) to which the cell belongs; the transmission direction supported by the cell, where the transmission direction refers to only supporting downlink transmission, or only supporting uplink transmission, or supporting uplink transmission And downlink transmission; IAB node DU system information; cell activation status. Among them, the activation state of the cell includes two types, activated or deactivated. The cell in the activated state can normally send reference signals, system information broadcasts and other information to provide access services for the terminal; A cell in a state cannot send information such as reference signals and system information broadcasts, and cannot provide access services for terminals.

Exemplarily, in the embodiment of the present application, the configuration information of the IAB host CU includes but is not limited to: the identifier of the IAB host CU; the name of the IAB host CU; the system information of the IAB host CU, etc.

Exemplarily, the context information of the child node may include, for example, one or more of the following: the cell radio network temporary identity (C-RNTI) of the child node, and the special cell (special cell) of the child node. Cell, SpCell) information, secondary cell (Secondary Cell, SCell) information of the child node, data radio bearer (DRB) information of the child node, and GPRS tunnel protocol user plane established by the DRB of the child node on the user plane of the F1 interface (GPRS Tunnelling Protocol User Plane, GTP-U) information, signaling radio bearer (SRB) information of the child node, F1AP identifier assigned by the IAB node for the child node, F1AP identifier assigned by the IAB host for the child node, etc. Among them, the DRB information of the child node may include DRB identification, slice identification, quality of service (quality of service, QoS) parameters, RLC mode, PDCP sequence number (sequence number, SN) length and other information.

Exemplarily, the first message may also include the identity of the cell served by the IAB node. The IAB node may save the activation state of the cell indicated by the cell identifier, or perform a deactivation operation on the cell indicated by the cell identifier.

Exemplarily, the first message may also include cell deactivation indication information, which is used to instruct the IAB node to deactivate all cells it serves, or to deactivate all cells in an active state among the cells it serves;

After the IAB node receives the first message from the IAB host, it can also perform any of the following operations:

1. The F1AP layer instructs the SCTP layer to perform the shutdown process of SCTP association (association). The SCTP coupling here may refer to the SCTP coupling between the IAB node and the IAB host.

The IAB node can send SCTP coupling shutdown instruction information to the SCTP layer through the F1AP layer. According to the SCTP coupling shutdown instruction information, the IAB node sends the shutdown (shutdown) chunk or abort block through the SCTP layer. The message is sent to the other end of the SCTP coupling, that is, the IAB host, thereby starting the shutdown process of the SCTP coupling.

Optionally, before the IAB node sends the message containing shutdown chunk or abort chunk, the IAB node may store at least one of the following information: SCTP coupling that can be used to carry F1AP messages on the F1 interface between the IAB node and the IAB host Quantity; the number of streams in each SCTP coupling; the corresponding relationship between the F1AP message and the SCTP coupling and the stream identifier.

2. Instruct the SCTP layer to close the sending of the SCTP-coupled heartbeat chunk through the F1AP layer, or increase the sending period of the heartbeat chunk.

Among them, the sending period of the heartbeat packet can be increased to the maximum period that the IAB node can set, thereby reducing the number of sending heartbeat packets. Since the heartbeat packet is mainly used to detect the round trip time (RTT) of the link between two devices, the IAB node is in the process of cell handover, or after entering the inactive state, and the parent node of the IAB node The wireless backhaul link between them is blocked and heartbeat packets cannot be transmitted. Therefore, you can avoid sending heartbeat packets that cannot be correctly transmitted by not sending heartbeat packets or increasing the sending period of heartbeat packets, and reduce the resources used to send heartbeat packets. Reduce the resource consumption of IAB nodes.

Optionally, in this case, the IAB node may not shut down the SCTP coupling between the IAB node and the IAB host CU, and at this time, the SCTP coupling between the IAB node and the IAB host CU may continue to be maintained.

Step 503: The IAB node sends a second message to the IAB host, where the second message is used to indicate that the F1 interface connection has been suspended.

Step 503 is an optional step and may not be executed. For example, after step 502, the MT part of the IAB node enters the RRC inactive state, or the SCTP coupling between the IAB node and the IAB host has been turned off, then the step is not executed 503.

The embodiment of the present application does not limit the name of the second message. For example, the second message may be referred to as an F1 suspend response message, etc., which will not be illustrated one by one here.

Exemplarily, the second message may be an F1AP message or an RRC message.

When the second message is an F1AP message, the IAB node may send an F1AP message to the IAB host CU through the control plane of the F1 interface; when the second message is an RRC message, the RRC message may be RRC Reconfiguration Complete (RRC Reconfiguration Complete).

It should be noted that the connection of the F1 interface has been suspended, which means that the IAB node has successfully performed the operation in step 502.

Optionally, if in step 502, the IAB node does not execute the SCTP-coupled shutdown process, it may execute the SCTP-coupled shutdown process after sending the second message.

If the IAB host CU includes CP and UP parts, the first embodiment may also include the following optional steps:

Optionally, the foregoing process further includes the following steps: the IAB host CU-CP sends an eighth message to the IAB host CU-UP, which contains the identifier of the Mth IAB node. The eighth message is used to instruct the IAB host CU-UP to suspend the user plane connection of the F1 interface between it and the Mth IAB node.

Optionally, the eighth message may include one or more designated uplink and/or downlink user plane transmission layer information. The uplink user plane transport layer information may include the uplink tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID) allocated by the IAB host CU-UP for the user plane GTP-U tunnel, the IP address of the IAB host CU-UP, and the like. The downlink user plane transport layer information may include the downlink tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID) allocated by the Mth IAB node for the user plane GTP-U tunnel, the IP address of the Mth IAB node, and so on.

After the IAB host CU-UP receives the eighth message, it can stop the user plane transmission of the F1 interface between it and the Mth IAB node, that is, stop all user plane tunnel transmissions with the Mth IAB node. Optionally, the IAB host CU-UP may also store one or more user plane tunnel information between it and the Mth IAB node. The user plane tunnel information includes one or more of the following: The uplink user plane transport layer information of the user plane tunnel corresponds to the downlink user plane transport layer information of the user plane tunnel, the sequence number of the uplink/downlink transmitted data packet of the user plane tunnel, and the uplink/downlink of the user plane tunnel to be transmitted The sequence number of the packet. The one or more user plane tunnels may be the user plane tunnels corresponding to the one or more uplink and/or downlink user plane transport layer information specified in the eighth message, or may also be the IAB host CU-UP and the Mth user plane tunnel. All user plane tunnels between IAB nodes.

Optionally, the above process also includes the following steps: the IAB host CU-UP sends the YY message to the IAB host CU-CP to indicate that the IAB host CU-UP has completed the F1 interface user plane between the IAB host CU-UP and the Mth IAB node. Connected suspension operation.

In the above method flow, when the IAB host determines that the IAB enters the inactive state, or the IAB node performs cell handover, it can instruct the IAB node to perform the suspension operation on the connection of the F1 interface. By performing a suspension operation on the connection of the F1 interface, the configuration of the F1 interface and the context information of the IAB node can be retained, so that the connection of the F1 interface and the context information of the IAB node can be quickly restored when the activation state is entered next time.

Embodiment two:

In the embodiment of the present application, when the second device determines that it will restore the connection of the F1 interface that the first device has suspended, it may send a third message to the first device, and the third message is used to instruct the first device to restore the connection. The connection of the F1 interface that the first device has been suspended.

Among them, the meaning of the F1 interface can refer to the previous description, and will not be repeated here.

In the second embodiment, there may be a variety of situations for which device the first device and the second device are. The following description is based on the example that the first device is the IAB node and the second device is the IAB host. Other situations can be based on this analogy.

In combination with the foregoing description, as shown in FIG. 6, a schematic flowchart of an F1 interface management method provided by an embodiment of this application. Referring to Figure 6, the method includes:

Step 600: The IAB host determines to restore the connection of the F1 interface that the IAB node has suspended.

Exemplarily, when any of the following conditions is met, the IAB host determines to trigger the IAB node to restore the connection of the suspended F1 interface.

Condition 1: The IAB host determines that the IAB node enters the active mode from the inactive state (inactive mode), and the description of the inactive state and the active state of the IAB node can refer to the description in the previous embodiment. For example, if the IAB host determines to send an RRC resume (RRC resume) message or an RRC setup (RRC setup) message to the IAB node MT, it can determine that the IAB node (specifically, the IAB node MT) will enter the RRC connection State, the IAB node will also enter the active state.

Condition 2: The IAB host determines that the IAB node is handed over from a cell served by the same IAB host to another cell served by the IAB host, and the IAB node MT has completed the handover; or the IAB host determines that the IAB node is serving from another IAB host The cell is switched to the cell served by the IAB donor. Regardless of the cell handover, when the IAB donor CU receives the RRC reconfiguration complete (reconfiguration complete) message fed back by the IAB node MT, it can determine that the IAB node MT has completed the cell handover. In the embodiment of the present application, the cell served by the IAB donor may be the cell of the IAB donor node, for example, the cell served by the IAB donor DU, or the cell served by other IAB nodes connected to the IAB host.

Optionally, step 601: the IAB node instructs the SCTP layer to perform the SCTP coupling establishment process through the F1AP layer. The SCTP coupling here may refer to the SCTP coupling between the IAB node and the IAB host CU.

It should be noted that if the IAB host connected to the IAB node when the F1 interface is suspended is the same IAB host as the IAB host connected when the F1 interface is restored, and the IP addresses of the IAB node and the IAB host have not occurred If the IAB node does not perform the shutdown process of SCTP coupling when performing the suspension operation on the F1 interface, the step 601 may not be performed.

Step 602: The IAB node sends a seventh message to the IAB host.

This step 602 is an optional step. This step is executed when the IAB node can actively request the restoration of the F1 interface.

The seventh message is used to request the IAB host to restore the connection of the F1 interface that has been suspended between the IAB node and the IAB host.

The embodiment of the present application does not limit the name of the seventh message. For example, the seventh message may be called an F1 resume request (F1 resume request) message.

The seventh message may also be an RRC resume request message (for example, RRC resume request sent by the IAB node MT, or RRC resume request 1), which carries a message container or information element, and is used to request the IAB host to resume the connection of the F1 interface.

Step 603: The IAB host sends a third message to the IAB node.

Exemplarily, if the IAB host includes a CU and a DU, steps 600 and 602 may be performed by the IAB host CU.

Exemplarily, if the IAB host CU includes CP and UP, steps 600 and 602 may be performed by the IAB host CU-CP.

The third message is used to instruct the IAB node to restore the connection of the F1 interface that the IAB node has suspended.

The embodiment of the present application does not limit the name of the third message. For example, the first message may also be referred to as an F1 resume (resume) indication message, etc., which will not be illustrated one by one here.

Exemplarily, the third message may be an F1AP message or an RRC message.

When the third message is an F1AP message, the IAB host can send the F1AP message to the IAB node (specifically, the IAB node DU) through the control plane of the F1 interface.

The third message may also be an RRC recovery message or an RRC setup message.

In one case, the IAB host can send the RRC recovery message or the RRC setup message to the IAB node (specifically, the IAB node MT). The RRC recovery message or the RRC setup message includes a message container or information element, which is used to indicate to F1 The connection of the interface is restored. The IAB node MT may forward the message container or information element to the IAB node DU through the internal interface, and the IAB node (which may be the IAB node DU) can thereby determine to perform the restoration operation on the connection of the F1 interface.

In another case, the IAB host can send an RRC recovery message or an RRC setup message to the IAB node (specifically, the IAB node MT), and the IAB node (specifically, the IAB node DU) can determine to perform the recovery operation on the F1 interface connection. . In this case, the IAB node MT may instruct the IAB node DU through the internal interface to perform a restoration operation on the connection of the F1 interface.

Step 604: The IAB node restores the connection of the F1 interface.

In the embodiment of the present application, the restoration operation includes: restoring the transmission of the F1 application protocol AP message of the F1 interface, and one or more of the following operations: restoring and/or applying the context information of the first device; Restore the data transmission of the user plane of the F1 interface; restore the signaling connection of the F1 interface.

It should be noted that the recovery operation can be to restore previously retained information. For example, if the IAB node performs the suspension operation on the F1 interface connection in step 502, the F1 interface connection can be restored through step 604 at this time.

For the specific content of the context information of the IAB node, reference may be made to the description in step 502, which will not be repeated here.

Exemplarily, the third message may also include the identity of the cell served by the IAB node. The IAB node can restore the cell indicated by the cell identifier to the active state.

Exemplarily, the third message may also include cell activation indication information. The cell activation indication information can be used to indicate that all cells of the IAB node are activated, and the IAB node will activate all cells of the IAB node; or, the cell activation indication information can be used to indicate that the F1 interface of the activated IAB node is active before the connection is suspended. When the cell is in the active state, the IAB node may activate the cell in the active state before the connection of the F1 interface is suspended.

Step 605: The IAB node sends a fourth message to the IAB host, where the fourth message is used to indicate that the connection of the F1 interface has been restored.

Step 605 is an optional step, and the IAB node may not send the fourth message.

Wherein, the connection of the F1 interface has been restored, which may mean that the transmission of the F1AP message of the F1 interface has been restored, the context information of the IAB node has been restored, the data transmission of the user plane of the F1 interface has been restored, and the data transmission of the user plane of the F1 interface has been restored. The signaling connection of the F1 interface.

The embodiment of the present application does not limit the name of the fourth message. For example, the fourth message may also be referred to as an F1 recovery response message, etc., which will not be illustrated one by one here.

Exemplarily, the fourth message may be an F1AP message or an RRC message.

When the fourth message is an F1AP message, the IAB node can send an F1AP message to the IAB host CU through the control plane of the F1 interface; when the fourth message is an RRC message, the RRC message can be an RRC setup complete (RRC setup Complete) message or an RRC Resume complete (RRC Resume Complete) or RRC reconfiguration complete (RRC Reconfiguration Romplete) message.

Exemplarily, the fourth message may also include at least one of the cell identity of the cell in which the IAB node has been activated, and the cell identity of the inactive cell.

If the IAB host CU includes the CP and UP parts, the second embodiment may also include the following optional steps:

Optionally, the foregoing process further includes the following steps: the IAB host CU-CP sends a ninth message to the IAB host CU-UP, which contains the identifier of the Mth IAB node. The ninth message is used to instruct the IAB host CU-UP to restore the user plane connection of the F1 interface between it and the Mth IAB node.

Optionally, the ninth message may include one or more designated uplink and/or downlink user plane transmission layer information. The uplink user plane transport layer information may include the uplink tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID) allocated by the IAB host CU-UP for the user plane GTP-U tunnel, the IP address of the IAB host CU-UP, and the like. The downlink user plane transport layer information may include the downlink tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID) allocated by the Mth IAB node for the user plane GTP-U tunnel, the IP address of the Mth IAB node, and so on.

After the IAB host CU-UP receives the ninth message, it can resume all user plane transmissions on the F1 interface between it and the Mth IAB node, that is, continue all user plane tunnel transmissions with the Mth IAB node; or, Resuming transmission of one or more user plane tunnels corresponding to one or more uplink and/or downlink user plane transmission layer information specified in the ninth message.

Optionally, the above process also includes the following steps: the IAB host CU-UP sends the KKth message to the IAB host CU-CP to indicate that the IAB host CU-UP has completed the F1 interface user plane between the IAB host CU-UP and the Mth IAB node. Connection recovery operation.

It should be noted that the method provided in the first embodiment and the method provided in the second embodiment can be used separately or in combination, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

In the above method flow, when the IAB host determines that the IAB enters the active state, or the IAB node performs cell handover, it can instruct the IAB node to restore the connection of the suspended F1 interface, so that the context information of the IAB node can be quickly restored and the trust is reduced. Make the overhead, reduce the time delay for the IAB node to enter the active state.

Example three

If the IAB node changes the connected IAB host when it enters the active state from the inactive state, or the IAB node completes the switch between different IAB hosts, and there is no context information about the IAB node on the new IAB host, for this reason The embodiment of this application provides a method by which the IAB host can quickly obtain the context information of the IAB node.

As shown in FIG. 7, it is a schematic flowchart of a context information management method provided by an embodiment of this application. Referring to Figure 7, the method includes:

Step 701: The first IAB host determines to acquire the context information of the IAB node.

Step 701 includes two situations, which are described separately below.

In case 1, the first IAB host determines that the IAB node enters the active state from the inactive state, and the IAB node is newly connected to the cell served by the first IAB host.

For example, after the first IAB host receives the RRC resume request message (for example, RRC resume request message or RRC resume request 1) from the IAB node, it determines to send the RRC resume message or RRC setup message to the IAB node. At this time, the IAB host can According to the RRC recovery request message sent by the IAB node, it is determined that the IAB node will enter the active state, and whether the IAB node is a node newly connected to the cell served by the first IAB host.

In case 2, the first IAB host determines that the IAB node is newly connected to the first IAB host from the old host node.

For example, the first IAB host receives an RRC reconfiguration complete message from an IAB node (specifically, an IAB node MT). At this time, the first IAB host can determine that the IAB is handed over to the cell served by the first IAB host , And it can be determined that the IAB node MT has been switched.

Step 702: The first IAB host sends a fifth message to the second IAB host.

The fifth message includes the identifier of the IAB node newly connected to the first IAB host, and the fifth message is used to obtain context information of the IAB node indicated by the identifier of the IAB node. Further, the context information of the IAB node may refer to the context information of the IAB node DU.

The first IAB host is the connected device after the IAB node is switched, and the second IAB host is the connected device before the IAB node is switched.

The embodiment of the present application does not limit the name of the fifth message, which will not be illustrated one by one here. The fifth message may be sent through the Xn interface between the first IAB host and the second IAB host.

Step 703: The second IAB host sends a sixth message to the first IAB host.

The sixth message includes context information of the IAB node. The context information of the IAB node includes at least one of the following: configuration information of the IAB node DU; configuration information of the second IAB host CU; and context information of child nodes served by the IAB node.

Exemplarily, the sixth message may be sent through the Xn interface between the first IAB host and the second IAB host.

The configuration information of the cell served by the IAB node DU may include one or more of the following: NR global cell identification code of the cell; NR PCI of the cell; TAC of the cell, PLMN identification of the service; supported slice identification; frequency supported by the cell Point and transmission bandwidth; MTC; RANAC to which the cell belongs; the transmission direction supported by the cell; the system information of the IAB node DU; the activation status of the cell.

Exemplarily, in the embodiment of the present application, the configuration information of the second IAB host CU includes but is not limited to: the identifier of the second IAB host CU; the name of the second IAB host CU; the system information of the second IAB host CU, etc.

Exemplarily, the context information of a child node may include, for example, one or more of the following: cell C-RNTI of the child node, SpCell information of the child node, SCell information of the child node, DRB information of the child node, and child node The GTP-U information established by the DRB of the node on the user plane of the F1 interface, the SRB information of the child node, the F1AP identifier assigned by the IAB node for the child node, and the F1AP identifier assigned by the IAB host for the child node. Among them, the DRB information of the child node may include DRB identification, slice identification, QoS parameters, RLC mode, PDCP SN length and other information.

Through the above process, the first IAB host can quickly obtain the context information of the IAB node, thereby quickly establishing an F1 interface connection with the IAB node, and reducing the delay of the service terminal side device.

Example four

In the traditional technology, if the parent node of the first IAB node is the second IAB node, and the parent node of the second IAB node is the IAB host (specifically, the IAB host DU), when the UE served by the first IAB node in the inactive state To enter the RRC connected state from the RRC inactive state, the first IAB node needs to enter the active state from the inactive state, and the second IAB node needs to re-establish the context of the first IAB node on the F1 interface between it and the IAB host information. If there are multiple IAB nodes between the first IAB node and the IAB host, and some or all of the multiple IAB nodes are in an inactive state, each inactive IAB node must restore itself at the parent node level by level Context information, wait for all IAB nodes on the path between the first IAB node and the IAB host to be in an active state, and the IAB node establishes the UE context on the F1 interface between it and the IAB host, before it can provide the UE with Service, it takes too long for the UE served by the first IAB node to enter the RRC connected state. The embodiment of the present application also provides a method that can reduce the time required for the first IAB node to enter the active state, thereby reducing the time it takes for the UE to enter the RRC connected state from the RRC inactive state.

The following descriptions are divided into different scenarios.

In the first scenario, the first IAB node accesses the IAB host through the second IAB node, that is, the parent node of the first IAB node is the second IAB node.

Step 1: The IAB host determines that the first IAB node accesses the IAB host through the second IAB node.

How the IAB host specifically determines that the first IAB node accesses the IAB host through the second IAB node is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

Step 2: The IAB host sends indication information to the second IAB node, where the indication information is used to indicate that the first IAB node is different from a normal UE and is an IAB node.

Exemplarily, the indication information may be an explicit indication, and the IAB host may send to the second IAB node through the F1 interface the terminal-side device context establishment (UE) of the first IAB node (which may be the first IAB node MT). context setup) message, which includes the indication information.

Exemplarily, the indication information may also be an implicit indication, and the IAB host may send the terminal-side device context establishment of the first IAB node (specifically, the first IAB node MT) to the second IAB node through the F1 interface The (UE context setup) message contains the list of backhaul link RLC channels or RLC bearers to be established, which implicitly indicates that the first IAB node that accesses the second IAB node is an IAB node, not a normal UE.

Through this indication information, the second IAB node can determine that the first IAB node is not a terminal-side device but an IAB node, so that when the first IAB node enters the inactive state, the second IAB node does not delete the first IAB node Context information.

For the specific content of the context information of the first IAB node, please refer to the previous description of the context information of the child nodes, which will not be repeated here.

Exemplarily, step three: the second IAB node receives the indication information from the IAB host, and when the second IAB node determines that the first IAB node enters the inactive state, it reserves the information of the first IAB node according to the indication information. Context information.

By retaining the context information of the first IAB node, the second IAB node can directly restore the context information of the first IAB node when the first IAB node enters the active state again, so that the first IAB node quickly enters the active state and becomes the terminal device as soon as possible And child nodes provide services.

In the second scenario, the first IAB node directly accesses the IAB host, and the IAB host includes DU and CU, that is, the parent node of the first IAB node is the IAB host DU.

Step 1: The IAB host CU determines that the first IAB node accesses the IAB host DU.

How the IAB host CU specifically determines that the first IAB node accesses the IAB host DU is not limited in this embodiment of the application.

Step 2: The IAB host CU sends indication information to the IAB host DU, where the indication information is used to indicate that the first IAB node is different from an ordinary UE and is an IAB node.

Exemplarily, the indication information may be an explicit indication, and the IAB host CU may send the terminal-side device context establishment (UE) of the first IAB node (specifically, the first IAB node MT) to the IAB host DU through the F1 interface. context setup) message, which includes the indication information.

Exemplarily, the indication information may also be an implicit indication. The IAB host CU may send to the IAB host DU through the F1 interface the establishment of the terminal-side device context of the first IAB node (specifically, the first IAB node MT) The (UE context setup) message contains the list of backhaul link RLC channels or RLC bearers to be established, which implicitly indicates that the first IAB node that accesses the second IAB node is an IAB node, not a normal UE.

Through the indication information, the IAB host DU can determine that the first IAB node is not a terminal-side device, but an IAB node, so that when the first IAB node enters the inactive state, the context information of the first IAB node can not be deleted.

Exemplarily, step 3: When the IAB host DU determines that the first IAB node enters the inactive state, retain the context information of the first IAB node according to the indication information.

By retaining the context information of the first IAB node, the IAB host DU can directly restore the context information of the first IAB node when the first IAB node enters the active state again, so that the first IAB node can quickly enter the active state and serve it as soon as possible. Child nodes provide services.

Exemplarily, in the first scenario and the second scenario, if the IAB host includes a CU and a DU, the method executed by the IAB host may be specifically executed by the IAB host CU.

Exemplarily, in the first scenario and the second scenario described above, if the IAB host CU includes CP and UP, the method executed by the IAB host or the IAB host CU may be specifically executed by the IAB host CU-CP.

In the foregoing embodiments provided in this application, the methods provided in the embodiments of this application are introduced from the perspective of interaction between various devices. In order to realize the functions in the method provided by the above embodiments of the application, the IAB node and the IAB host may include a hardware structure and/or software module, and the above functions are implemented in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module . Whether one of the above-mentioned functions is executed in a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module depends on the specific application and design constraint conditions of the technical solution.

Similar to the above-mentioned concept, as shown in FIG. 8, an embodiment of the present application further provides an apparatus 800 for implementing the functions of the first device or the second device or the IAB node or the IAB host in the above method. For example, the device may be a software module or a chip system. In the embodiments of the present application, the chip system may be composed of chips, or may include chips and other discrete devices. The apparatus 800 may include: a processing unit 801 and a communication unit 802.

The division of modules in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative, and is only a logical function division, and there may be other division methods in actual implementation. In addition, the functional modules in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into one processor, or may exist alone physically, or two or more modules may be integrated into one module. The above-mentioned integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional modules.

Exemplarily, when the apparatus 800 implements the function of the first device in the process shown in FIG. 5:

The communication unit 802 is configured to receive a first message from a second device, where the first message is used to instruct the first device to perform a suspension operation on the connection of the F1 interface of the first device; the F1 interface is the first device The interface between the distributed unit DU functional entity in a device and the centralized unit CU functional entity in the second device, or the F1 interface is the interface between the first device and the second device ；

The processing unit 801 is configured to perform a suspension operation on the connection of the F1 interface according to the first message, and the suspension operation includes: interrupting the transmission of the F1 application protocol AP message of the F1 interface, and one of the following or Various operations: interrupt the transmission of the F1 application protocol AP message of the F1 interface; reserve the context information of the first device; interrupt the data transmission of the user plane of the F1 interface; reserve the signaling connection of the F1 interface.

In a possible design, the processing unit 801 is further configured to:

The F1AP layer instructs the flow control transmission protocol SCTP layer to perform the shutdown process of SCTP coupling;

And/or, instruct the SCTP layer to close the sending of the SCTP-coupled heartbeat packet through the F1AP layer, or increase the sending period of the heartbeat packet.

In a possible design, the first message is an F1 application layer protocol AP message sent to the first device through the control of the F1 interface;

Alternatively, the first message is a radio resource control RRC message.

Exemplarily, when the apparatus 800 implements the function of the second device in the process shown in FIG. 5:

The processing unit 801 is configured to determine to perform a suspension operation for the connection of the F1 interface of the first device; the F1 interface is the distributed unit DU functional entity in the first device and the centralized unit CU functional entity in the second device Or the F1 interface is the interface between the first device and the second device;

The communication unit 802 is configured to send a first message to the first device, where the first message is used to instruct the first device to perform a suspension operation on the connection of the F1 interface of the first device.

The first device suspends the F1 interface according to the first message.

In a possible design, the processing unit 801 is specifically configured to:

When it is determined that the first device enters the inactive state from the activated state, it is determined that the connection of the F1 interface of the first device is suspended;

Or, when it is determined that the first device will perform cell handover, it is determined that the connection of the F1 interface of the first device is suspended.

Alternatively, the first message is a radio resource control RRC message.

In a possible design, the communication unit 802 is also used to:

Receive a second message from the first device, where the second message is used to indicate that the connection of the F1 interface has been suspended.

Exemplarily, when the apparatus 800 implements the function of the first device in the process shown in FIG. 6:

The communication unit 802 is configured to receive a third message from the second device, where the third message is used to instruct the first device to resume the connection of the F1 interface that the first device has suspended; the F1 interface is the The interface between the distributed unit DU functional entity in the first device and the centralized unit CU functional entity in the second device, or the F1 interface is the interface between the first device and the second device interface;

The processing unit 801 is configured to restore the connection of the F1 interface according to the third message, and the restoration operation includes: restoring the transmission of the F1 application protocol AP message of the F1 interface, and one or more of the following operations : Restore and/or apply the context information of the first device; restore the data transmission of the user plane of the F1 interface; restore the signaling connection of the F1 interface.

In a possible design, the third message includes a cell identity, and the apparatus further includes:

The processing unit 801 is further configured to activate the cell indicated by the cell identifier;

Or, the third message includes cell activation indication information, and the processing unit 801 is further configured to activate all cells of the first device according to the cell activation indication information, or to activate all the cells of the first device according to the cell activation indication information. The cell in the active state before the connection of the F1 interface is suspended is activated.

In a possible design, the third message is an F1 application layer protocol AP message sent through the control plane of the F1 interface;

Alternatively, the third message is a radio resource control RRC message.

Exemplarily, when the apparatus 800 implements the function of the second device in the process shown in FIG. 6:

The processing unit 801 is configured to determine to restore the connection of the F1 interface that has been suspended by the first device; the F1 interface is the distributed unit DU functional entity in the first device and the centralized unit CU in the second device An interface between functional entities, or the F1 interface is an interface between the first device and the second device;

The communication unit 802 is configured to send a third message to the first device, where the third message is used to instruct the first device to resume the connection of the F1 interface.

In a possible design, the processing unit 801 is specifically configured to:

When it is determined that the first device enters the active state from the inactive state, determining to restore the connection of the F1 interface;

Alternatively, it is determined that the first device will perform cell handover, and the mobile terminal MT functional entity in the first device has completed the handover, and it is determined to restore the connection of the F1 interface.

In a possible design, the third message is an F1 application layer protocol AP message sent to the first device through the control of the F1 interface;

Alternatively, the third message is a radio resource control RRC message.

In a possible design, the communication unit 802 is also used to:

Receive a fourth message from the first device, where the fourth message is used to indicate that the connection of the F1 interface has been restored.

Exemplarily, when the device 800 implements the function of the first IAB host in the process shown in FIG. 7:

The processing unit 801 is configured to send a fifth message to the second IAB host through the communication unit 802, where the fifth message includes a node identifier, and the fifth message is used to obtain context information of the IAB node indicated by the node identifier; The first IAB host is a target device newly connected to the IAB node, and the second IAB host is a source device connected to the IAB node;

The processing unit 801 is configured to receive a sixth message from the second IAB host through the communication unit 802, where the sixth message includes context information of the IAB node.

In a possible design, before the first IAB host sends the fifth message to the second IAB host, the method further includes:

The first IAB host determines to acquire the context information of the IAB node.

In a possible design, the first IAB host determining to acquire the context information of the IAB node includes:

In a possible design, the context information of the IAB node includes at least one of the following: configuration information of the distributed unit DU functional entity in the IAB node; and the centralized unit CU functional entity of the second IAB host Configuration information; context information of the child node served by the IAB node.

Exemplarily, when the device 800 implements the function of the IAB host in the fourth embodiment:

The processing unit 801 is configured to determine that a first IAB node accesses the IAB host through a second IAB node; the first IAB node is a child node of the second IAB node;

The communication unit 802 is configured to send instruction information to the second IAB node, where the instruction information is used to indicate that the first IAB node is an IAB node.

Exemplarily, when the device 800 implements the function of the second IAB node in the fourth embodiment:

The communication unit 802 is configured to receive indication information from an IAB host, where the indication information is used to indicate that the first IAB node is an IAB node; the first IAB node is a child node of the second IAB node;

The processing unit 801 is configured to retain the context information of the first IAB node when it is determined that the second IAB node enters the inactive state, and when it is determined that the first IAB node is an IAB node according to the indication information.

Fig. 9 shows a device 900 provided by an embodiment of the application, and the device shown in Fig. 9 may be a hardware circuit implementation of the device shown in Fig. 8. The communication device can be applied to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 5-7 to perform the functions of the first device or the second device or the first IAB host or the second IAB host or the IAB node or the IAB host in the above method embodiment . For ease of description, FIG. 9 only shows the main components of the communication device.

The apparatus 900 shown in FIG. 9 includes at least one processor 920, configured to implement any of the methods in FIGS. 5 to 7 provided in the embodiments of the present application.

The device 900 may also include at least one memory 930 for storing program instructions and/or data. The memory 930 and the processor 920 are coupled. The coupling in the embodiments of the present application is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units, or modules, and may be in electrical, mechanical or other forms, and is used for information exchange between devices, units or modules. The processor 920 may cooperate with the memory 930 to operate. The processor 920 may execute program instructions stored in the memory 930. At least one of the at least one memory may be included in the processor.

The apparatus 900 may further include a communication interface 910 for communicating with other devices through a transmission medium, so that the apparatus used in the apparatus 900 can communicate with other devices. In the embodiment of the present application, the communication interface may be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module, or other type of communication interface. In the embodiments of the present application, the transceiver may be an independent receiver, an independent transmitter, a transceiver with integrated transceiver functions, or an interface circuit. The processor 920 uses the communication interface 910 to send and receive data, and is used to implement the method executed by the first device or the second device or the first IAB host or the second IAB host or the IAB node or the IAB host in the embodiments corresponding to FIGS. 5-7 For details, please refer to the previous description, which will not be repeated here.

Those skilled in the art should understand that the embodiments of the present application can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, the present application may adopt the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware. Moreover, this application may adopt the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to disk storage, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program codes.

This application is described with reference to flowcharts and/or block diagrams of methods, equipment (systems), and computer program products according to this application. It should be understood that each process and/or block in the flowchart and/or block diagram, and the combination of processes and/or blocks in the flowchart and/or block diagram can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to the processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing equipment to generate a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing equipment are generated It is a device that realizes the functions specified in one process or multiple processes in the flowchart and/or one block or multiple blocks in the block diagram.

These computer program instructions can also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can guide a computer or other programmable data processing equipment to work in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including the instruction device. The device implements the functions specified in one process or multiple processes in the flowchart and/or one block or multiple blocks in the block diagram.

Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the application without departing from the scope of the application. In this way, if these modifications and variations of this application fall within the scope of the claims of this application and their equivalent technologies, this application also intends to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

An F1 interface management method, characterized in that it includes:

The first device receives a first message from the second device, the first message is used to instruct the first device to perform a suspension operation on the connection of the F1 interface of the first device; the F1 interface is the first An interface between a distributed unit DU functional entity in the device and a centralized unit CU functional entity in the second device, or the F1 interface is an interface between the first device and the second device;

The first device performs a suspension operation on the connection of the F1 interface according to the first message, and the suspension operation includes: interrupting the transmission of the F1 application protocol AP message of the F1 interface, and one or more of the following One operation: retain the context information of the first device; interrupt the data transmission of the user plane of the F1 interface; retain the signaling connection of the F1 interface.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the context information of the first device includes at least one of the following:

The configuration information of the distributed unit DU functional entity in the first device; the configuration information of the centralized unit CU functional entity in the second device; the context information of the child nodes served by the first device.
The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the method further comprises:

The first device instructs the SCTP layer of the flow control transport protocol to perform the shutdown process of SCTP coupling through the F1AP layer;

And/or, the first device instructs the SCTP layer to close the sending of the SCTP-coupled heartbeat packet through the F1AP layer, or increase the sending period of the heartbeat packet.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first message is an F1 application layer protocol AP message sent to the first device through the control of the F1 interface;

Alternatively, the first message is a radio resource control RRC message.
An F1 interface management method, characterized in that it includes:

The second device determines to perform the suspension operation for the connection of the F1 interface of the first device; the F1 interface is one of the distributed unit DU functional entity in the first device and the centralized unit CU functional entity in the second device Or the F1 interface is the interface between the first device and the second device;

The second device sends a first message to the first device, where the first message is used to instruct the first device to perform a suspension operation on the connection of the F1 interface of the first device.
The method according to claim 5, wherein the determining by the second device to perform the suspension operation on the F1 interface of the first device comprises:

When the second device determines that the first device enters the inactive state from the active state, it determines to perform the suspension operation on the connection of the F1 interface of the first device;

Alternatively, when the second device determines that the first device will perform cell handover, it determines to perform a suspension operation on the connection of the F1 interface of the first device.
The method according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the first message is an F1 application layer protocol AP message sent to the first device through the control of the F1 interface;

Alternatively, the first message is a radio resource control RRC message.
An F1 interface management method, characterized in that it includes:

The first device receives a third message from the second device, the third message is used to instruct the first device to resume the connection of the F1 interface that the first device has suspended; the F1 interface is the first device The interface between the distributed unit DU functional entity in the second device and the centralized unit CU functional entity in the second device, or the F1 interface is the interface between the first device and the second device;

The first device restores the connection of the F1 interface according to the third message, and the restoration operation includes: restoring the transmission of the F1 application protocol AP message of the F1 interface, and one or more of the following operations: Restore and/or apply the context information of the first device; restore the data transmission of the user plane of the F1 interface; restore the signaling connection of the F1 interface.
The method according to claim 8, wherein the context information of the first device includes at least one of the following:

The configuration information of the distributed unit DU functional entity in the first device; the configuration information of the centralized unit CU functional entity in the second device; the context information of the child nodes served by the first device.
The method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the third message includes a cell identity, and the method further comprises:

The first device activates the cell indicated by the cell identifier;

Alternatively, the third message includes cell activation indication information, and the first device activates all cells of the first device according to the cell activation indication information, or the first device activates all cells of the first device according to the cell activation indication information Activate the cell in the active state before the connection of the F1 interface is suspended.
The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the third message is an F1 application layer protocol AP message sent through the control plane of the F1 interface;

Alternatively, the third message is a radio resource control RRC message.
An F1 interface management method, characterized in that it includes:

The second device determines to restore the connection of the F1 interface that the first device has suspended; the F1 interface is one of the distributed unit DU functional entity in the first device and the centralized unit CU functional entity in the second device Or the F1 interface is the interface between the first device and the second device;

The second device sends a third message to the first device, where the third message is used to instruct the first device to resume the connection of the F1 interface.
The method according to claim 12, wherein the determining by the second device to restore the connection of the F1 interface that the first device has suspended includes:

When the second device determines that the first device enters the active state from the inactive state, it determines to restore the connection of the F1 interface;

Alternatively, the second device determines that the first device will perform cell handover, and the mobile terminal MT functional entity in the first device has completed the handover, and determines to restore the connection of the F1 interface.
A communication device, characterized in that it comprises:

The communication unit is configured to receive a first message from a second device, where the first message is used to instruct the first device to perform a suspension operation on the connection of the F1 interface of the first device; the F1 interface is the first An interface between a distributed unit DU functional entity in the device and a centralized unit CU functional entity in the second device, or the F1 interface is an interface between the first device and the second device;

The processing unit is configured to perform a suspension operation on the connection of the F1 interface according to the first message, and the suspension operation includes: interrupting the transmission of the F1 application protocol AP message of the F1 interface, and one or more of the following One operation: retain the context information of the first device; interrupt the data transmission of the user plane of the F1 interface; retain the signaling connection of the F1 interface.
The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the context information of the first device includes at least one of the following:

The configuration information of the distributed unit DU functional entity in the first device; the configuration information of the centralized unit CU functional entity in the second device; the context information of the child nodes served by the first device.
The device according to claim 14 or 15, wherein the processing unit is further configured to:

The F1AP layer instructs the flow control transmission protocol SCTP layer to perform the shutdown process of SCTP coupling;

And/or, instruct the SCTP layer to close the sending of the SCTP-coupled heartbeat packet through the F1AP layer, or increase the sending period of the heartbeat packet.
The apparatus according to any one of claims 14 to 16, wherein the first message is an F1 application layer protocol AP message sent to the first device through the control of the F1 interface;

Alternatively, the first message is a radio resource control RRC message.
An F1 interface management device, characterized in that it comprises:

The processing unit is configured to determine to perform a suspension operation for the connection of the F1 interface of the first device; the F1 interface is one of the distributed unit DU functional entity in the first device and the centralized unit CU functional entity in the second device Or the F1 interface is the interface between the first device and the second device;

The communication unit is configured to send a first message to the first device, where the first message is used to instruct the first device to perform a suspension operation on the connection of the F1 interface of the first device.
The device according to claim 18, wherein the processing unit is specifically configured to:

When it is determined that the first device enters the inactive state from the activated state, it is determined that the connection of the F1 interface of the first device is suspended;

Or, when it is determined that the first device will perform cell handover, it is determined that the connection of the F1 interface of the first device is suspended.
The apparatus according to claim 18 or 19, wherein the first message is an F1 application layer protocol AP message sent to the first device through the control of the F1 interface;

Alternatively, the first message is a radio resource control RRC message.
An F1 interface management device, characterized in that it comprises:

The communication unit is configured to receive a third message from the second device, where the third message is used to instruct the first device to restore the connection of the F1 interface that the first device has suspended; the F1 interface is the first device The interface between the distributed unit DU functional entity in a device and the centralized unit CU functional entity in the second device, or the F1 interface is the interface between the first device and the second device ；

The processing unit is configured to restore the connection of the F1 interface according to the third message, and the restoration operation includes: restoring the transmission of the F1 application protocol AP message of the F1 interface, and one or more of the following operations: Restore and/or apply the context information of the first device; restore the data transmission of the user plane of the F1 interface; restore the signaling connection of the F1 interface.
The apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the context information of the first device includes at least one of the following:

The configuration information of the distributed unit DU functional entity in the first device; the configuration information of the centralized unit CU functional entity in the second device; the context information of the child nodes served by the first device.
The device according to claim 21 or 22, wherein the third message includes a cell identity, and the device further comprises:

The processing unit is further configured to activate the cell indicated by the cell identifier;

Alternatively, the third message includes cell activation indication information, and the processing unit is further configured to activate all cells of the first device according to the cell activation indication information, or to activate all cells according to the cell activation indication information. The cell in the active state before the connection of the F1 interface is suspended is activated.
The apparatus according to any one of claims 21 to 23, wherein the third message is an F1 application layer protocol AP message sent through the control plane of the F1 interface;

Alternatively, the third message is a radio resource control RRC message.
An F1 interface management device, characterized in that it comprises:

The processing unit is used to determine to restore the connection of the F1 interface that has been suspended by the first device; the F1 interface is the function of the distributed unit DU in the first device and the function of the centralized unit CU in the second device An interface between entities, or the F1 interface is an interface between the first device and the second device;

The communication unit is configured to send a third message to the first device, where the third message is used to instruct the first device to restore the connection of the F1 interface.
The device according to claim 25, wherein the processing unit is specifically configured to:

When it is determined that the first device enters the active state from the inactive state, determining to restore the connection of the F1 interface;

Alternatively, it is determined that the first device will perform cell handover, and the mobile terminal MT functional entity in the first device has completed the handover, and it is determined to restore the connection of the F1 interface.
The apparatus according to claim 25 or 26, wherein the third message is an F1 application layer protocol AP message sent to the first device through the control of the F1 interface;

Alternatively, the third message is a radio resource control RRC message.
A communication device, characterized by comprising: a memory and a processor, the memory is used to store instructions, the processor is used to execute the instructions stored in the memory, and the execution of the instructions stored in the memory is such that: The processor is configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.
A computer-readable storage medium, characterized by comprising computer-readable instructions, when a communication device reads and executes the computer-readable instructions, the communication device is caused to execute any one of claims 1 to 13 Methods.
A computer program product, characterized by comprising computer-readable instructions, when a communication device reads and executes the computer-readable instructions, the communication device executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.