阅读说明：本技术 无线通信网络中的冗余处置 (Redundancy handling in a wireless communication network ) 是由 M·贝格斯特龙 P·施利瓦-贝特林 于 2019-08-07 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及一种在无线通信网络的无线电接入网RAN节点中的方法,其中通信网络提供UE到数据或核心网络的连接,包括：确定(402)冗余连接是要求的或者对UE是有益的；确定(404)能为UE建立的可用冗余选项；以及从要为UE激活的多个可用冗余选项当中选择(406)冗余选项；本发明进一步涉及对应的RAN节点和对应的计算机程序。(The present invention relates to a method in a radio access network, RAN, node of a wireless communication network, wherein the communication network provides connectivity of a UE to a data or core network, comprising: determining (402) that a redundant connection is required or beneficial to the UE; determining (404) available redundancy options that can be established for the UE; and selecting (406) a redundancy option from among a plurality of available redundancy options to be activated for the UE; the invention further relates to a corresponding RAN node and a corresponding computer program.)

1. A method performed by a radio access network, RAN, node (200, 201, 600) of a wireless communication network, wherein the communication network provides connectivity of a UE (100) to a data or core network (300), comprising:

● determining (402) that a redundant connection is required or beneficial to the UE (100);

● determining (404) available redundancy options that can be established for the UE (100); and

● selects (406) a redundancy option from among the plurality of available redundancy options to be activated for the UE (100).

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether redundancy is required or beneficial comprises receiving redundancy information from another radio network node responsible for session management and allocation of IP addresses to UEs, e.g. from a session management function, SMF, (501, 502).

3. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the redundancy information indicates allowed or possible redundancy options to be established or maintained with respect to the UE (100).

4. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein determining available redundancy options may comprise establishing an order of priority for the different options.

5. The method of the preceding claim, wherein the order of priority comprises an order of redundancy levels, wherein each of the options is associated with one of the redundancy levels.

6. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the redundancy information indicates a level of redundancy requested to be established or maintained with respect to the UE (100).

7. The method of the preceding claim, wherein selecting a redundancy option from the plurality of (available) redundancy options comprises selecting a redundancy option corresponding to the requested redundancy level, or selecting a redundancy option corresponding to a higher level than the requested redundancy level.

8. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein each redundancy option is associated with one or more preconditions and/or conditions, and wherein determining available redundancy options comprises determining whether the corresponding one or more preconditions and/or conditions are satisfied.

9. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the preconditions/conditions include at least one of:

● capability of the UE (100) to communicate according to the redundancy option;

● quality of service QoS level to satisfy; and

● level or threshold of radio conditions (signal power, signal quality, signal-to-noise ratio; signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio SINR).

10. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the redundancy options include or relate to one or more of:

● relates to dual connectivity of different RAN nodes (200, 201);

● carrier aggregation;

● multiple RAN nodes of different technologies, e.g., one of a 4G or 5G RAN node, and one of a wireless local area network access network WLAN node;

● a plurality of different units or functions of the same RAN node (200, 201), such as different distribution units, DUs, (230, 231) of said RAN node (200, 201); and

●, e.g. different user plane resources of a central unit CU-UP (220, 221, 222) of the RAN node (200, 201).

11. The method of the preceding claim, wherein the different DUs (230, 231) of the RAN node (200, 201) are associated with different cells.

12. The method according to any of the preceding claims, comprising monitoring whether a currently activated redundancy option for the UE is still active and performing a switch to another redundancy option if the currently activated redundancy option is determined to be inactive.

13. The method of the preceding claim, wherein monitoring whether redundancy options currently activated for the UE are still functional comprises monitoring whether the conditions and/or preconditions are currently fulfilled.

14. A radio network node (200, 201, 600) configured to perform the steps of any of the preceding claims 1-13.

15. A radio network node (200, 201, 600) comprising a processor (620), the processor (620) causing the wireless access node to perform the steps of:

● determining (402) that a redundant connection is required or beneficial to the UE (100);

● determining (404) available redundancy options that can be established for the UE (100); and

● selects (406) a redundancy option from among the plurality of available redundancy options to be activated for the UE (100).

16. The network node (200, 201, 600) according to claim 15, configured to receive redundant information from another radio network node, e.g. a core network node, e.g. an SMF (501, 502).

17. The network node (200, 201, 600) according to claim 15, wherein the redundancy information indicates allowed or possible redundancy options to be established or maintained with respect to the UE (100).

18. The network node (200, 201, 600) according to claim 15, configured to determine an order in which to establish priorities for the different options.

19. The network node (200, 201, 600) according to claim 15, wherein the order of priority comprises an order of redundancy levels, wherein each of the options is associated with one of the redundancy levels.

20. The network node (200, 201, 600) according to claim 15, wherein the redundancy information indicates a level of redundancy requested to be established or maintained with respect to the UE (100).

21. The network node (200, 201, 600) according to claim 15, configured to select a redundancy option corresponding to the requested redundancy level, or to select a redundancy option corresponding to a higher level than the requested redundancy level.

22. The network node (200, 201, 600) according to claim 15, wherein each redundancy option is associated with one or more preconditions and/or conditions, and wherein the network node is configured to determine whether the corresponding one or more preconditions and/or conditions are fulfilled.

23. The network node (200, 201, 600) according to claim 15, wherein the preconditions/conditions comprise at least one of:

● ability of the UE to communicate according to the redundancy options;

● quality of service QoS level to satisfy; and

● level or threshold of radio conditions (signal power, signal quality, signal-to-noise ratio; signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio SINR).

24. The network node (200, 201, 600) according to claim 15, wherein the redundancy options comprise or relate to one or more of:

● relates to dual connectivity of different RAN nodes (200, 201);

● carrier aggregation;

● multiple RAN nodes of different technologies, e.g., one of a 4G or 5G RAN node, and one of a wireless local area network access network WLAN node;

● a plurality of different units or functions of the same RAN node, e.g. different distribution units DU of said RAN node; and

● a plurality of different RAN user plane resources, e.g. different user plane resources of a central unit CU-UP of said RAN node.

25. The network node (200, 201, 600) according to claim 15, configured to monitor whether a currently activated redundancy option for the UE is still functional and to perform a handover to another redundancy option if the currently activated redundancy option is determined to be non-functional.

26. A computer program comprising computer program code which, when executed by a processor, causes an apparatus to perform the steps of the method according to any of claims 1-13.

27. A computer readable storage medium in which computer program code according to claim 26 is stored.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communication systems, and in particular, to handling redundant connections within a wireless communication network.

Background

In order to improve the reliability of connections in 3GPP networks, solutions exist in which packets of data traffic are duplicated and sent over two separate PDU sessions, as described for example in 3GPP TR 23.725 v0.2.0. The data traffic associated with these PDU sessions may then be transported over more or less independent paths from one endpoint to another. For example, data traffic associated with these PDU sessions may be sent through different User Plane Functions (UPFs) that may be served by different hardware, and the links from these UPFs to the Radio Access Network (RAN) may also be somewhat independent of what is served by different hardware, and thus reliability will improve, as a hardware failure on one of these links may not affect the other link, and thus communication can be more robust.

The 3GPP is formulating a new air interface (NR) standard for 5G, which is built on the LTE/EUTRAN standard. According to NR, the RAN comprises a set of access nodes, also referred to as gnbs. In some cases, it may be advantageous to carry different PDU sessions over different gnbs, so that if one gNB fails, there is another gNB in operation and communication will not be interrupted. To achieve this, the core network may indicate to the RAN that Dual Connectivity (DC) should be enabled for the UE so that the UE is connected to two gnbs so that different PDU sessions can be carried over the two gnbs to improve reliability.

Fig. 1 illustrates a method of establishing a redundant session in a 3GPP radio network. This approach may be applicable to both IP and ethernet PDU sessions. Fig. 1 additionally shows a user equipment UE 100 connected to two different radio access nodes or base stations, including a primary NR network node (referred to herein as MgNB 200) and a secondary eNB (referred to herein as SeNB 201). Further, fig. 1 shows an Access and Mobility Function (AMF) 400, a first session management function (SMF 1) 501, a second session management function (SMF 2) 502, a first user plane function (UPF 1) 301 and a second user plane function (UPF 2) 302, both UPF1 and UPF2 being associated with the data network DN 300.

The AMF 400 provides UE-based authentication, authorization, mobility management, etc. Even UEs using multiple access technologies are associated with a single AMF because the AMF is independent of the access technology.

The SMF (SMF 1501 or SMF 2502) is responsible for session management and assigns an IP address to the UE. It may also select and control the UPF for data transmission. If the UE has multiple sessions, e.g., PDU session 1 and PDU session 2, as shown in fig. 1, different SMFs may be assigned to each session to manage them separately and possibly provide different functionality per session. In the example of fig. 1, SMF 1501 manages PDU session 1, and SMF 2502 manages PDU session 2.

The UPF selection may be based on existing mechanisms. The SMF may initiate a corresponding UPF selection based on, for example, UE indication or network configuration. When a PDU session is established, it may be indicated to the RAN to handle two PDU sessions at different gnbs (MgNB 200 and SgNB 201 in the example of fig. 1) using dual connectivity. As shown in fig. 1, initially (prior to dual connectivity setup), both PDU sessions 1 and 2 use MgNB 200. As soon as dual connectivity is set up in the RAN, the second PDU session starts using SgNB 201 and the user plane tunneling is switched to proceed via SgNB.

However, in certain cases, dual connectivity may not be available, for example, if the UE is not within coverage of a gNB that may act as an SgNB for the UE. Thus, the reception by the gNB of an indication from the core network to apply dual connectivity may result in failure to establish a redundant PDU session. In addition, this approach does not consider alternative methods for establishing redundancy.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of embodiments of the present invention to provide flexible handling (or management) of redundancy establishment.

This object is achieved by the independent claims. Advantageous embodiments are described in the dependent claims.

Embodiments relate to a method performed by a radio access network, RAN, node of a wireless communication network, wherein the communication network provides connectivity of a UE to a data (or core) network, comprising:

● determining that a redundant connection is required or beneficial to the UE;

● determining available redundancy options that can be established for the UE; and

● select a redundancy option from among the plurality of available redundancy options to be activated for the UE.

Other embodiments relate to a radio network node comprising a processor that causes the wireless access node to perform the steps of:

● determining that a redundant connection is required or beneficial to the UE;

● determining available redundancy options that can be established for the UE; and

● select a redundancy option from among the plurality of available redundancy options to be activated for the UE.

Further embodiments relate to a computer program and a computer program storage medium, the computer program comprising computer program code executed by a processor, the processor causing a radio network node to perform the steps of the above-described method.

Hereinafter, detailed embodiments of the present invention will be described in order to give a complete and thorough understanding to those skilled in the art. It is noted that these embodiments are illustrative and not intended to be limiting.

Drawings

Fig. 1 illustrates a wireless network that performs dual connectivity according to 3 GPP.

Fig. 2 illustrates an embodiment in which one or more RAN nodes of the network are split into a central unit CU and distributed units DU.

Fig. 3 illustrates a list of information elements of a message received by a RAN node to establish redundancy.

Fig. 4 is a flow diagram of an exemplary method performed in a RAN node to establish redundancy.

Fig. 5 is a flow diagram of another method performed in a RAN node to maintain redundancy.

Fig. 6 is a block diagram illustrating exemplary physical blocks of a gNB.

Fig. 7 is a block diagram illustrating exemplary functional blocks of a gNB.

Fig. 8 schematically illustrates a telecommunications network connected to a host computer via an intermediate network.

Fig. 9 is a general block diagram of a host computer communicating with user equipment via a base station over a partial wireless connection.

Fig. 10 to 13 are flow charts illustrating methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment.

Detailed Description

Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In an embodiment, a radio access network RAN node, e.g. the (first) gNB or MgNB 200 of fig. 1, determines that redundancy is required or beneficial for the UE 100. The RAN node then determines one redundancy option from among the plurality of redundancy options and initiates enabling (executing) the redundancy option for the UE communication.

In an embodiment, determining the redundancy option from among the plurality of redundancy options includes determining which redundancy options (currently) of the plurality of redundancy options are available to the UE 100, and selecting one option from among the available options.

In an embodiment, the RAN node selects one redundancy option from among a plurality of (available) redundancy options based on a priority of the (available) redundancy option.

The RAN node thereto may establish an order of priority (which may also be referred to as a redundancy level) for the different options. The RAN node may then establish the redundancy option with the highest possible priority.

In an embodiment, at least two redundancy options are (currently) available, with option 1 having a higher priority than option 2. If both options are currently available (e.g., if the RAN node is able to establish both options), then option 1 is selected for establishment. Otherwise, if option 1 is not currently available, then setup option 2 is selected.

In an embodiment, each of the options is associated with one or more preconditions or conditions. Such preconditions/conditions may include the capabilities of the UE and/or the (required) quality of service QoS. Such preconditions/conditions may be preconfigured or may be determined by the network. For example, the RAN node may obtain information about the condition and/or the precondition from another network node.

Determining the current availability may include determining whether the precondition/condition is met (e.g., the RAN node determines that option 1 is not available to the UE if the radio quality of the option currently does not meet the condition of the option).

In embodiments, there are a plurality of methods or options involving a plurality of RAN nodes and/or RAN functions. For example, one redundancy option may involve different (physically separate) RAN nodes of different technologies (e.g., LTE/5G and WLAN). Yet another redundancy option may involve different RAN nodes, each associated with a different radio cell (e.g., MeNB 200 and SeNB 201 of fig. 1). Yet another redundancy option may involve physically separate RAN nodes of the same technology. Yet another redundancy option may relate to different RAN (sub-) nodes associated with the same radio cell (e.g. different DUs of the gNB). Yet another redundancy option may involve separate functions of the same physical RAN node (e.g., different CU-UP functions of the gNB CU). Wherein separate functions may be associated with one or more different layers, e.g., different functions associated with a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) layer.

In one embodiment, a core network node, e.g., SMF, sends an indication to a RAN node, e.g., a gNB, that redundancy is required or beneficial to the UE (and/or to (application layer) communications performed with the UE). In response to the indication, the RAN node determines whether and how redundancy may be enabled.

Exemplary redundancy methods or options may be as follows:

A. enable dual connectivity for the UE (involving a second gNB or SgNB);

B. enabling carrier aggregation for the UE;

C. enabling additional use of an alternative RAT (e.g., WLAN) for the UE;

D. enabling service to the UE by using two (or more) units of the RAN node, e.g. different distributed units DU of the gNB, as described below; and

E. the use of separate RAN user plane resources, e.g. different user plane resources of the serving central unit CU-UP of the gNB, as described below, is enabled.

Depending on certain conditions, such as radio conditions, UE capabilities, UE subscription, and/or QoS requirements for data services provided to the UE, the RAN node may select one of the redundancy options. The RAN node may further select the redundancy option based on information received from another node, e.g., from a core network node (SMF).

As discussed, the RAN node may establish an order of priority (which may also be referred to as a redundancy level) for the different options (e.g., for options a-E as shown above). Wherein option a may have the highest priority (level) and option E may have the lowest priority (level). The RAN may then attempt to establish/maintain the redundancy option with the highest possible priority.

The RAN node may, for example, prioritize the establishment of dual connectivity for the UE, if available. If this is not feasible (based on certain conditions), the RAN node may prioritize the establishment of carrier aggregation for the UE. If this is not feasible, the RAN node may prioritize the establishment to use an alternative RAT (e.g., WLAN) for the UE. If this is not feasible, the RAN node may prioritize starting to use two (or more) different UEs for serving the UE. If this is still not feasible, the RAN node may establish use of the individual RAN user plane resources.

In an embodiment, the RAN node determines one of the options based on evaluating one or more of the following conditions:

● if a connection is available on which the UE can obtain service (and on which e.g. redundant PDU sessions can survive);

● if the available connections are good enough, e.g., in terms of signal quality/strength; and/or

● if the UE has the capability to utilize the connection(s).

For example, to establish a redundancy option with dual connectivity, the (5G) gNB may determine whether there are cells available in another gNB, or to establish a redundancy option for carrier aggregation, whether there are cells available in the same gNB, and so on. The gNB may determine those availabilities based on certain UE measurements. In addition, the gNB may send a request to the UE to perform certain measurements and receive certain UE measurements from the UE.

In embodiments for limited UE capabilities, the UE may only have the capability to be served on certain (predefined) frequency bands (or combinations of frequency bands) of the multiple (contiguous) frequency bands. As an example, if the UE is only able to communicate or is served on band a + B or band a + C, and the UE is currently served by a primary gNB (mgnb) on band B, while candidate secondary gnbs (sgnbs) serve only band C, it is not feasible to establish dual connectivity between these gnbs and the UE, as the UE does not support the combination of band B + C. The possibility of establishing carrier aggregation and/or using alternative RATs may also depend on the capabilities of the UE.

In an embodiment, the core network CN sends information to the RAN node, wherein the information comprises an indication of the allowed one or more redundancy options (among the one or more predetermined options).

In an embodiment, such information may be part of a (modified) NGAP PDU session resource setup request, e.g. within a frame of an NGAP PDU session resource setup request as defined in 3GPP TS 38.413v15.0.0.

Another example of communicating the requested level of redundancy is to add such information to the NGAP initial context setup request message of the same 3GPP specification.

As described above, the option of redundancy may be implemented by establishing multiple PDU sessions. Further, in an embodiment, the PDU session resource setup request is sent from an AMF of the Core Network (CN) to the (NG) RAN node. In response to the request, the RAN node may assign resources for one or several PDU sessions over Uu and NG-U.

If the requested level of redundancy cannot be provided, the core network may additionally indicate an action that the RAN node should take, for example to establish another option (and indicate the release of resources to the CN and/or to other nodes) in case PDU session resources are removed.

The availability of redundancy options may change due to changing radio conditions. This change may be due to movement of the UE. Thus, at some point in time, some option for achieving redundancy that was not feasible up to that point in time may become infeasible (or vice versa, at some point in time, some option for achieving redundancy that was not feasible up to that point in time may become feasible).

For example, if dual connectivity has been used up to a certain point in time and the radio conditions to SgNB become so poor that the connection may no longer be good enough to be able to serve the traffic (or at least to a meaningful extent, since packets may be lost too often, etc.), then dual connectivity will no longer work. Or similarly, in the case of carrier aggregation, the secondary cell on which one of the PDU sessions is no longer carried can be maintained.

If the actually used redundancy option becomes useless (e.g., the condition is changing such that it falls below a defined threshold), the RAN node may switch to another redundancy option. Wherein the RAN node may select the option associated with the next lower redundancy level of the available options.

For example, if dual connectivity is applied first and the UE 100 moves out of coverage of the SeNB 201, the gNB may establish carrier aggregation second to achieve (maintain) redundancy.

When evaluating the alternative option(s), the RAN may consider the priority order as described above and/or may consider the allowed redundancy methods as described above.

In an embodiment, different redundancy options may have the same level. Before switching between different levels of options (e.g., switching from option 1 to option 2 after current option 1 becomes useless), the RAN node may establish the same level of redundant options. For example, in the case where the gNB (of the 5G network) has applied the dual connectivity method to achieve redundancy and the UE is away, another gNB may become most suitable to act as SgNB 201 for UE 100, and thus dual connectivity may be maintained using the other gNB as SgNB 201.

If there is no suitable (feasible) redundancy option left, e.g., if the UE moves out of coverage of the SgNB without an alternative SgNB that can be used, and/or there are no other suitable redundancy methods that can be used, the RAN node (gbb) will not be able to maintain (or establish) redundancy with respect to the UE. In this scenario, the RAN node may send corresponding information to the core network. The core network may inform the application function AF (e.g. by PCF) when such information is received. The AF may determine whether the remaining reliability of the "non-redundant" communication is sufficient for the application involving the UE. The AF may for example disable functionality that is not currently available that requires a certain degree of reliability, e.g. by removing the PDU session(s).

As mentioned above, the term gNB is being used within the framework of 5G standardization. The gNB may be implemented as a group of radio network nodes deployed in a disaggregated manner.

Fig. 2 additionally illustrates an exploded gNB or radio access network node deployment according to 3GPP TS 38.401v15.0.2 (e.g., MgNB 200 of fig. 1). Wherein the gNB functionality is distributed to a so-called central unit CU and one or more so-called distributed units DU (gNB-DU). For example, the functional distribution may be selected such that the radio resource control, RRC, layer and the packet data convergence protocol, PDCP, layer reside in a CU, while the radio link control, RLC, medium access control, MAC, and physical PHY layers of the radio interface reside in one or more DUs.

The CU may be further split into a control plane unit CU-CP (gNB-CU-CP 210) and one or more user plane units CU-UP (gNB-CU-UP 220, 221, 222). There may be one or more DUs, such as a gNB-DU 230 and a gNB-DU 231, where each of these DUs may be associated with one or more cells.

The gNB-CU-CP 210 is connected to gNB-DUs 230 and 231 through a logical F1-C interface; the gNB-CU-UP 220, 221, 222 is connected to the gNB-DU via a logical F1-U interface; and the gNB-CU-UP 210 interfaces to any of the gNB-CU-CPs 220, 221, 222 through logic E1.

In an embodiment, the option for redundancy (as discussed above as option D) may be implemented by enabling the DUs 230, 231 that use the gNB 200.

In an embodiment, implementing the option for redundancy (as discussed above as option E) may be by enabling use of separate RAN user plane resources, e.g., different user plane resources (or units) serving a central unit, CU-UP of the gNB.

Although the above embodiments are mainly described in terms of the 3GPP 5G specifications, it should be noted that the present invention may similarly be implemented in any other wireless radio network of similar functionality and/or structure. For example, options D and E may also be implemented in the decomposed LTE base station.

As described above, the (core) network may indicate redundant information to the RAN. The redundancy information may indicate allowed redundancy options/methods (e.g., whether dual connectivity is allowed, whether carrier aggregation is allowed, and/or whether enabling redundancy using another RAT for the UE) or a requested level of redundancy to be established with respect to the UE.

Such an indication may be sent in an NGAP PDU session resource setup request specified in section 9.2.1.1 of 3GPP TS 38.413v15.0.0. The message may be sent by the AMF and it is used to request (NG) the RAN node to allocate resources for one or more PDU session resources over Uu and NG-U.

Fig. 3 illustrates an exemplary enhanced PDU session resource setup request message. This message includes the information element specified in section 9.2.1.1 of the 3GPP TS 38.413v15.0.0. and an additional information element called a redundancy level.

Fig. 4 illustrates a flow chart of an exemplary method 400 performed by a radio network node.

In a first step 402, the RAN node may determine that redundancy is required or beneficial to the UE.

In a second step 404, the RAN node may determine available redundancy options that can be established for the UE.

In a third step 406, the RAN node may select (and establish) one redundancy option from among a plurality of available redundancy options.

In an embodiment, determining that redundancy is required comprises receiving information from another radio network node as described above.

In an embodiment, determining the available redundancy options may include establishing an order of priority (which may also be referred to as a redundancy level) for the different options.

In an embodiment, selecting (and establishing) one redundancy option may comprise selecting (and establishing) a redundancy option of a different option having the highest possible priority among different available options.

Fig. 5 illustrates a flow diagram of a further exemplary method 500 performed by a radio network node.

In a first step 502, the RAN node may determine that the established redundancy option becomes useless.

In a second step 504, the RAN node may determine available redundancy options that can be established to replace the currently established redundancy options.

In a third step 506, the RAN node may switch (de-establish the current redundancy option and establish a new redundancy option) to one of a plurality of available redundancy options.

Fig. 6 illustrates an example radio network node 600 in accordance with one or more embodiments. The radio network node is configured to implement embodiments to enable and/or maintain redundancy as described above.

The radio network node may comprise one or more processing circuits 620 configured to implement the processing, such as by implementing functional means or units for performing one or more aspects described above. In one embodiment, for example, processing circuit(s) 620 implement the functional components or units as respective circuits. The circuitry in this regard may include circuitry dedicated to performing certain functional processing and/or one or more microprocessors in conjunction with memory 630. In embodiments employing memory 630, which may include one or several types of memory, such as Read Only Memory (ROM), random access memory, cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc., memory 630 stores program code that, when executed by one or more microprocessors for executing one or more microprocessors, performs the techniques described herein.

In an embodiment, the radio network node further comprises one or more communication interfaces 610. One or more communication interfaces 610 include various components (e.g., an antenna 640) for transmitting and receiving data and control signals. More particularly, interface(s) 610 include a transmitter configured to use known signal processing techniques, typically in accordance with one or more standards, and to condition signals for transmission (e.g., over the air via one or more antennas 640). Similarly, interface(s) 450 includes a receiver configured to convert received signals (e.g., via antenna(s) 640) into digital samples for processing by one or more processing circuits. The transmitter and/or receiver may also include one or more antennas 640. By utilizing the communication interface(s) 610 and/or antenna(s) 640, the radio network node is able to communicate with other devices to communicate QoS data flows and to manage the mapping of these flows to radio bearers, to remap these flows to different bearers, and/or to remove these flows altogether.

Fig. 7 illustrates a functional block diagram of an exemplary network node 600. The function blocks may include a redundancy option determination module 650 and a redundancy option selection and enabling module 660.

The redundancy option determination module 650 may be configured to perform the first and second steps 402 and 504 of fig. 4 and/or the first and second steps 502 and 504 of fig. 5.

The redundancy option selection and enabling module 660 may be configured to perform the third step 406 of fig. 4 and/or the third step 506 of fig. 5.

It will also be appreciated by those skilled in the art that embodiments herein further include corresponding computer programs. The computer program comprises instructions which, when executed on at least one processor of the network node, cause one or more devices to perform any of the respective processes described above. Further, processes or functionality may be considered to be performed by a single instance or device, or may be split across multiple instances that may be present in a given system, such that the device instances together perform all disclosed functionality.

Embodiments further include a carrier containing such a computer program. The carrier may comprise one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, a radio signal, or a computer readable storage medium. In this regard, a computer program may comprise one or more code modules corresponding to the means or elements described above.

An access network node or RAN node herein may be any type of node capable of communicating with another node by radio signals, e.g. a gNB according to the 3GPP 5G specification, an eNB according to the 3GPP 4G specification or a NodeB according to other 3GPP specifications. Such nodes may also be generally referred to as access points or base stations.

A UE is any type of device capable of communicating with a network node via radio signals, such as, but not limited to, a device capable of performing autonomous wireless communication with one or more other devices, including machine-to-machine (M2M) devices, Machine Type Communication (MTC) devices, User Equipment (UE) (it should be noted that a UE does not necessarily have a "user" in the individual human sense of owning and/or operating the device).

UE may also be referred to as a radio, a radio communication device, a wireless terminal, or simply a terminal-unless the context indicates otherwise, use of any of these terms is intended to include device-to-device UE or device, machine type device or device capable of machine-to-machine communication, wireless device equipped sensors, wireless capable desktop computers, mobile terminals, smart phones, Laptop Embedded Equipment (LEE), laptop installation equipment (LME), USB dongles, and wireless Customer Premises Equipment (CPE). In the discussion herein, a UE may also encompass apparatuses configured to transmit and/or receive data without human interaction, such as machine-to-machine (M2M) devices, Machine Type Communication (MTC) devices, and (wireless) sensors.

In this specification, the current 3GPP terminology is preferably used. It should be noted that 3GPP may change terminology without departing from the present principles.

It is to be noted that although the embodiments described herein focus on NR radio interfaces, the same principles may also be applied to LTE nodes showing a similar (functional and/or structural) structure.

Fig. 8 schematically illustrates a telecommunications network connected to a host computer via an intermediate network. Referring to fig. 8, according to an embodiment, the communication system comprises a telecommunications network a-10, such as a 3GPP type cellular network, comprising an access network a-11, such as a radio access network, and a core network a-14. The access network A-11 includes a plurality of base stations A-12a, A-12b, A-12c, such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs, or other types of wireless access points, each defining a corresponding coverage area A-13a, A-13b, A-13 c. In one aspect, any of base stations A-12a, A-12b, A-12c or any other base station described herein may be considered a network node, such as, for example, a network node described in the present application above. Each base station a-12a, a-12b, a-12c may be connected to the core network a-14 via a wired or wireless connection a-15. A first User Equipment (UE) a-91 located in a coverage area a-13c is configured to wirelessly connect to or be paged by a corresponding base station a-12 c. A second UE a-92 in the coverage area a-13a may be wirelessly connected to a corresponding base station a-12 a. Although multiple UEs a-91, a-92 are illustrated in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to situations where only one UE is in the coverage area or where only one UE is connected to a corresponding base station a-12. In an aspect, any of these UEs, or any other UE described herein, may be considered to be configured to perform aspects of any UE, user terminal, client device, or mobile device described above in this application.

The telecommunications network a-10 is itself connected to a host computer a-30, which host computer a-30 may be embodied in hardware and/or software in a stand-alone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, or as a processing resource in a server farm. The host computers A-30 may be operated by or on behalf of a service provider under the ownership or control of the service provider. The connections a-21, a-22 between the telecommunications network a-10 and the host computer a-30 may extend directly from the core network a-14 to the host computer a-30, or may travel via an optional intermediate network a-20. The intermediate network a-20 may be one or a combination of more than one of a public, private, or hosted network; the intermediate network A-20, if any, may be a backbone network or the Internet; in particular, the intermediate network A-20 may include two or more subnetworks (not shown).

The communication system of fig. 8 as a whole enables connectivity between one of the connected UEs a-91, a-92 and the host computer a-30. This connectivity may be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection a-50. The host computer a-30 and the connected UEs a-91, a-92 are configured to transfer data and/or signaling via the OTT connection a-50 using the access network a-11, the core network a-14, any intermediate networks a-20 and possibly further infrastructure (not shown) as an intermediary. The OTT connection a-50 may be transparent in the sense that the participating communication devices through which the OTT connection a-50 passes are unaware of the routing of the uplink and downlink communications. For example, the base station A-12 may or may not need to be informed of past routes of incoming downlink communications with data originating from the host computer A-30 to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to the connected UE A-91. Similarly, the base station A-12 need not know the future route of outgoing uplink communications originating from the UE A-91 towards the host computer A-30.

According to an embodiment, an example implementation of the UE, base station and host computer discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to fig. 9. Fig. 9 is a general block diagram of a host computer communicating with user equipment via a base station over a partial wireless connection.

Referring to fig. 9, in the communication system B-00, the host computer B-10 includes hardware B-15, the hardware B-15 includes a communication interface B-16, and the communication interface B-16 is configured to set up and maintain a wired or wireless connection with interfaces of different communication devices of the communication system B-00. The host computer B-10 further includes a processing circuit B-18, which processing circuit B-18 may have storage and/or processing capabilities. In particular, the processing circuitry B-18 may comprise one or more programmable processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or a combination of these (not shown) suitable for executing instructions. The host computer B-10 further includes software B-11, which software B-11 is stored in the host computer B-10 or is accessible by the host computer B-10 and is executable by the processing circuitry B-18. The software B-11 includes a host application B-12. The host application B-12 is operable to provide services to remote users, such as UE B-30 connected via an OTT connection B-50 terminating at UE B-30 and host computer B-10. In providing services to remote users, the host application B-12 may provide user data that is transferred using the OTT connection B-50.

The communication system B-00 further comprises a base station B-20 provided in the telecommunication system, and said base station B-20 comprises hardware B-25 enabling it to communicate with a host computer B-10 and a UE B-30. The hardware B-25 may comprise a communication interface B-26 for setting up and maintaining a wired or wireless connection with interfaces of different communication devices of the communication system B-00, and a radio interface B-27 for setting up and maintaining at least a wireless connection B-70 with a UE B-30 located in a coverage area (not shown in fig. 9) served by the base station B-20.

Communication interface B-26 may be configured to facilitate connecting B-60 to host computer B-10. The connection B-60 may be direct or it may pass through the core network of the telecommunications system (not shown in fig. 9) and/or through one or more intermediate networks external to the telecommunications system. In the embodiment shown, the hardware B-25 of the base station B-20 further comprises processing circuitry B-28, which processing circuitry B-28 may comprise one or more programmable processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or a combination of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The base station B-20 further has software B-21 stored internally or accessible via an external connection.

Communication system B-00 further includes UE B-30, which has been mentioned above. Its hardware B-35 may include a radio interface B-37 configured to set up and maintain a wireless connection B-70 with a base station serving the coverage area in which the UE B-30 is currently located. The hardware B-35 of the UE B-30 further includes processing circuitry B-38, which processing circuitry B-38 may include one or more programmable processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or a combination of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The UE B-30 further includes software B-31 which is stored in the host computer B-30 or is accessible by the UE B-30 and is executable by the processing circuitry B-38.

The software B-31 comprises a client application B-32. The client application B-32 is operable to provide services to human or non-human users via the UE B-30 with the support of the host computer B-10. In the host computer B-10, the executing host application B-12 may communicate with the executing client application B-32 via an OTT connection B-50 terminating at the UE B-30 and the host computer B-10. In providing services to the user, the client application B-32 may receive request data from the host application B-12 and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection B-50 may pass both request data and user data. Client application B-32 may interact with the user to generate the user data it provides.

It is noted that the host computer B-10, base station B-20, and UE B-30 illustrated in FIG. 9 may be equivalent to one of the host computers A-30, base stations A-12a, A-12B, A-12c, and one of the UEs A-91, A-92, respectively, of FIG. 8. That is, the internal workings of these entities may be as shown in fig. 9, and independently, the surrounding network topology may be that of fig. 8.

In fig. 9, the OTT connection B-50 has been abstractly drawn to illustrate the communication between the host computer B-10 and the user device B-30 via the base station B-20 without explicitly mentioning any intermediate means and the exact routing of messages via these means. The network infrastructure may determine a route that may be configured to be hidden from either UE B-30 or from the service provider operating host computer B-10, or both. When OTT connection B-50 is active, the network infrastructure may further make decisions by which it dynamically changes routing (e.g., based on network reconfiguration or load balancing considerations).

The radio connection B-70 between the UE B-30 and the base station B-20 is in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE B-30 using the OTT connection B-50, where the radio connection B-70 forms the last leg. More specifically, the teachings of these embodiments can improve one or more of data rate, latency, and/or power consumption associated with one or more devices in communication system B-00 and/or communications performed in communication system B-00, and can thereby provide benefits for OTT user data communications, such as one or more of reduced user latency, relaxed constraints on file size, better responsiveness, and/or extended battery life.

The measurement process may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rates, time delays, and other factors that may improve one or more embodiments. Optional network functionality may also be present for reconfiguring the OTT connection B-50 between the host computer B-10 and the UE B-30 in response to changes in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and/or network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection B-50 may be implemented in the software B-11 of the host computer B-10 or in the software B-31 of the UE B-30 or both.

In an embodiment, a sensor (not shown) may be disposed in or associated with the communication device through which the OTT connection B-50 passes; the sensor may participate in the measuring process by supplying the value of the monitored quantity as exemplified above or supplying the value of another physical quantity from which the software B-11, B-31 can calculate or estimate the monitored quantity. The reconfiguration of OTT connection B-50 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing, etc.; the reconfiguration need not affect base station B-20 and may be unknown or not noticeable to base station B-20.

Such procedures and functionality may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, the measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates B-10 measurements of throughput, propagation time, latency, etc. by the host computer. The measurement can be implemented in the following scenario: the software B-11, B-31, while it monitors propagation time, errors, etc., causes messages to be transmitted, in particular null messages or "dummy" messages, using the OTT connection B-50.

Fig. 10, 11, 12 and 13 are flow diagrams illustrating methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment.

Fig. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating a method implemented in a communication system in accordance with one embodiment.

The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE, which may be those described with reference to fig. 8 and 9. To simplify the present disclosure, only the drawing reference to fig. 10 will be included in this section. In a first step C-10 of the method, the host computer provides user data.

In an optional sub-step C-11 of the first step C-10, the host computer provides user data by executing a host application. In a second step C-20, the host computer initiates a transmission to carry user data to the UE.

In an optional third step C-30, the base station transmits to the UE user data carried in a host computer initiated transmission according to the teachings of embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In an optional fourth step C-40, the UE executes a client application associated with a host application executed by the host computer.

Fig. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating a method implemented in a communication system in accordance with one embodiment.

The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE, which may be those described with reference to fig. 8 and 9. To simplify the present disclosure, only the drawing reference to FIG. 11 will be included in this section. In a first step D-10 of the method, the host computer provides user data.

In an optional sub-step (not shown), the host computer provides user data by executing a host application. In a second step D-20, the host computer initiates a transmission to carry user data to the UE. According to the teachings of embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the transmission may be through a base station. In an optional third step D-30, the UE receives the user data carried in the transmission.

Fig. 12 is a flow diagram illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE, which may be those described with reference to fig. 8 and 9. To simplify the present disclosure, only the drawing reference to fig. 12 will be included in this section. In an optional first step E-10 of the method, the UE receives input data provided by the host computer. Additionally or alternatively, in an optional second step E-20, the UE provides user data. In an optional sub-step E-21 of the second step E-20, the UE provides user data by executing a client application. In a further optional sub-step E-11 of the first step E-10, the UE executes a client application providing user data in response to received input data provided by the host computer. The executed client application may further consider user input received from the user when providing the user data. Regardless of the particular manner in which the user data is provided, in an optional third sub-step E-30, the UE initiates transmission of the user data to the host computer. In a fourth step E-40 of the method, the host computer receives user data transmitted from the UE in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure.

Fig. 13 is a flow chart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE, which may be those described with reference to fig. 8 and 9. To simplify the present disclosure, only the drawing reference to fig. 13 will be included in this section. In an optional first step F-10 of the method, the base station receives user data from the UE according to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In an optional second step F-20, the base station initiates transmission of the received user data to the host computer. In a third step F-30, the host computer receives user data carried in a transmission initiated by the base station.

Further exemplary embodiments are listed below:

a-1. a base station configured to communicate with a User Equipment (UE), the base station comprising a radio interface and processing circuitry configured to perform aspects of example embodiments described throughout this disclosure.

A-2. a communication system comprising a host computer, the host computer comprising:

processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and

a communication interface configured to forward the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a User Equipment (UE),

wherein the cellular network comprises a base station having a radio interface and processing circuitry configured to perform aspects of example embodiments described throughout this disclosure, including aspects related to forwarding user data to the UE.

A-3 the communication system of embodiment a-2, further comprising a base station.

A-4 the communication system of embodiment a-3 further comprising the UE, wherein the UE is configured to communicate with the base station.

The communication system of embodiment a-4, wherein:

the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and

the UE includes processing circuitry configured to execute a client application associated with the host application.

A-6. a method implemented in a base station, including aspects of the example embodiments described throughout this disclosure, including aspects related to transmitting user data to a UE.

A-7. a method implemented in a communication system comprising a host, a base station, and a User Equipment (UE), the method comprising:

at the host computer, providing user data; and

at a host computer, a transmission is initiated to carry user data to a UE via a cellular network that includes a base station, wherein the base station is configured to perform aspects of example embodiments described throughout this disclosure, including aspects related to communicating user data to the UE.

A-8. the method of embodiment a-7, further comprising:

transmitting the user data at the base station.

A-9 the method of embodiment a-8, wherein the user data is provided at the host by executing a host application, the method further comprising:

at the UE, executing a client application associated with the host application.

A-10. a User Equipment (UE) configured to communicate with a base station, the UE comprising a radio interface and processing circuitry configured to perform aspects of example embodiments described throughout this disclosure, including aspects related to receiving user data from a base station.

A-11. a communication system comprising a host computer, the host computer comprising:

processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and

a communication interface configured to forward user data to a cellular network for transmission to a User Equipment (UE),

wherein the UE includes a radio interface and processing circuitry configured to perform aspects of example embodiments described throughout this disclosure, including aspects related to the UE receiving user data from a base station.

A-12 the communication system of embodiment a-11, further comprising the UE.

A-13 the communication system of embodiment a-12, wherein the cellular network further comprises a base station configured to communicate with the UE.

A-14. the communication system of embodiment a-12 or a-13, wherein:

the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and

processing circuitry of the UE is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application.

A-15. a method implemented in a User Equipment (UE), including aspects of the example embodiments described throughout this disclosure, includes aspects related to the UE receiving user data from a base station.

A-16. a method implemented in a communication system comprising a host, a base station, and a User Equipment (UE), the method comprising:

at the host computer, providing user data; and

at a host computer, a transmission is initiated to carry user data to a UE via a cellular network that includes a base station, wherein the UE is configured to perform aspects of example embodiments described throughout this disclosure, including aspects related to the UE receiving user data from the base station.

A-17. the method of embodiment a-16, further comprising:

receiving, at the UE, the user data from the base station.

A-18. a User Equipment (UE) configured to communicate with a base station, the UE comprising a radio interface and processing circuitry configured to perform aspects of example embodiments described throughout this disclosure, including aspects related to the UE transmitting user data to the base station.

A-19. a communication system comprising a host computer, the host computer comprising:

a communication interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a User Equipment (UE) to a base station,

wherein the UE includes a radio interface and processing circuitry configured to perform aspects of example embodiments described throughout this disclosure, including aspects related to the UE transmitting user data to a base station.

A-20 the communication system of embodiments a-19, further comprising the UE.

A-21 the communication system of embodiment a-20, further comprising a base station, wherein the base station comprises a radio interface configured to communicate with the UE and a communication interface configured to forward user data carried by transmissions from the UE to the base station to the host computer.

A-22. the communication system of embodiment a-20 or a-21, wherein:

processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application; and

processing circuitry of the UE is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing the user data.

A-23. the communication system of embodiment a-20 or a-21, wherein:

processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute the host application, thereby providing the requested data; and

processing circuitry of the UE is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing the user data in response to the request data.

A-24. a method implemented in a User Equipment (UE), including aspects of the example embodiments described throughout this disclosure, including aspects related to the UE transmitting user data to a base station.

A-25. the method of embodiment a-24, further comprising:

providing user data; and

the user data is forwarded to the host computer via transmission to the base station.

A-26. a method implemented in a communication system comprising a host, a base station, and a User Equipment (UE), the method comprising:

at the host computer, user data transmitted from the UE to the base station is received, wherein the UE is configured to perform aspects of example embodiments described throughout this disclosure, including aspects related to the UE transmitting user data to the base station.

A-27. the method of embodiment a-26, further comprising:

at the UE, user data is provided to the base station.

A-28. the method of embodiment a-27, further comprising:

at the UE, executing a client application, thereby providing user data to be transmitted; and

at the host computer, executing a host application associated with the client application.

A-29. the method of embodiment a-27, further comprising:

at the UE, executing a client application; and

receiving, at the UE, input data for the client application, the input data being provided at the host computer by execution of a host application associated with the client application,

wherein the user data to be transmitted is provided by the client application in response to the input data.

A-30. a base station configured to communicate with a User Equipment (UE), the base station comprising a radio interface and processing circuitry configured to perform aspects of example embodiments described throughout this disclosure, including aspects related to the base station receiving user data from the UE.

A-31. a communication system comprising a host computer comprising a communication interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a User Equipment (UE) to a base station, wherein the base station comprises a radio interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the base station being configured to perform aspects of example embodiments described throughout this disclosure, including aspects related to the base station receiving user data from the UE.

A-32 the communication system of embodiment a-31, further comprising a base station.

A-33 the communication system of embodiment a-32, further comprising the UE, wherein the UE is configured to communicate with the base station.

The communication system of embodiment a-33, wherein:

processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application;

the UE is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing the user data to be received by the host computer.

A-35. a method implemented in a base station, comprising performing aspects of example embodiments described throughout this disclosure, including aspects related to the base station receiving user data from a User Equipment (UE).

A-36. a method implemented in a communication system comprising a host, a base station, and a User Equipment (UE), the method comprising:

at the host computer, user data originating from transmissions that the base station has received from the UE is received from the base station, wherein one or both of the base station and the UE are configured to perform aspects of example embodiments described throughout this disclosure, including aspects related to the base station receiving user data from the UE and/or aspects related to the UE transmitting user data to the base station.

A-37. the method of embodiment a-36, further comprising:

at a base station, user data is received from a UE.

A-38 the method of embodiment a-37, further comprising:

at the base station, transmission of the received user data is initiated to the host computer.