CN106856616A

CN106856616A - The acquisition methods and device of cell information

Info

Publication number: CN106856616A
Application number: CN201510909722.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 曹怡晋; 刘强
Original assignee: ZTE Corp
Current assignee: ZTE Corp
Priority date: 2015-12-09
Filing date: 2015-12-09
Publication date: 2017-06-16
Also published as: WO2017097052A1

Abstract

The invention provides the acquisition methods and device of a kind of cell information.Wherein, the method includes：Receiving current base station is used to obtain the request message of the Cell Description information that Target cell is configured in target BS；After request message is received, target BS will be sent to for the configured information for indicating target BS to transmit the transmission means of Cell Description information, so that target BS sends the Cell Description information of Target cell according to the transmission means.By the present invention, solve the problems, such as in correlation technique by the cell information acquired in single transmission means it is more unilateral caused by obtain that cell information accuracy is relatively low, and then reached the effect for improving and obtaining cell information accuracy.

Description

Cell information acquisition method and device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of communications, and in particular, to a method and an apparatus for acquiring cell information.

Background

In a Long Term Evolution (LTE) mobile communication system, information transfer between LTE cells can be performed through an S1 interface (interface between a base station and a core network) or an X2 interface (interface between a base station and a base station), but at present, information transferred through standard signaling is very limited, and is generally only used for transmitting cell identification information such as TA \ PLMN, and information other than cell identification cannot be transferred, which affects application effects of some technologies in the LTE technology.

Aiming at the problem of low accuracy of cell information acquisition caused by the fact that cell information acquired by a single transmission mode is relatively one-sided in the related art, an effective solution is not provided.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention provides a method and a device for acquiring cell information, which at least solve the problem of low accuracy of acquiring cell information caused by the fact that cell information acquired by a single transmission mode is more unilateral in the related art.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a region information acquiring method, including: receiving a request message of a current base station for acquiring cell description information of a target cell configured in a target base station; after receiving the request message, sending indication information for indicating a transmission mode of the target base station for transmitting the cell description information to the target base station, so that the target base station sends the cell description information of the target cell according to the transmission mode.

Optionally, before sending, to the target base station, indication information for indicating a transmission manner in which the target base station transmits the cell description information, the method further includes: and determining a first path for sending the request message to the target base station according to the available state indication information of the logic interface between the current base station and the target base station.

Optionally, the determining, according to the available state indication information of the logical interface between the current base station and the target base station, a first path for sending the request message to the target base station includes: judging whether a first logic interface between the current base station and the target base station is available, wherein the first logic interface is arranged between the current base station and the target base station; when the available state indication information indicates that the first logical interface is available, taking a path from the current base station to the target base station through the first logical interface as the first path; and when the available state indication information indicates that the first logical interface is unavailable, taking a path from the current base station to the target base station through a second logical interface as the first path, wherein the second logical interface is arranged between the current base station and a core network element and between the core network element and the target base station.

Optionally, after sending, to the target base station, indication information for indicating a transmission manner in which the target base station transmits the cell description information, the method further includes: and the target base station determines a second path for the target base station to send the cell description information according to the available state indication information of the logic interface between the current base station and the target base station.

Optionally, the transmission mode includes at least one of: the method comprises the following steps of transmitting through standard signaling, transmitting through custom messages and transmitting through custom standard signaling, wherein the definition mode of the custom standard signaling comprises at least one of the following modes: and adding information in the standard signaling and modifying the standard signaling.

Optionally, if the transmission mode is through standard signaling transmission, the sending, by the target base station, the cell description information of the target cell according to the transmission mode includes: the target base station encapsulates the cell description information in the standard signaling and sends the cell description information to the current base station; if the transmission mode is transmission through a custom message, the sending, by the target base station, the cell description information of the target cell according to the transmission mode includes: the target base station defines the identification information of the current base station and the container information for transmitting the cell description information of the target cell in a current message according to a preset rule, and encapsulates the cell description information in the container information to obtain the self-defined message; sending the self-defined message to the current base station; if the transmission mode is through the signaling transmission of the user-defined standard, the target base station sending the cell description information of the target cell according to the transmission mode includes: the target base station modifies the cell information of the target cell contained in the standard signaling into the cell description information, and modifies the destination address in the base station routing information of the target cell contained in the standard signaling into the address of the current base station, so as to obtain the modified standard signaling; sending the modified standard signaling to the current base station, or adding base station routing information from the target base station to the current base station and the cell description information in the standard signaling by the target base station to obtain the modified standard signaling; and sending the modified standard signaling to the current base station.

Optionally, the cell description information includes at least one of: cell configuration information, cell broadcast information, cell characteristic information, and cell performance index information.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for acquiring cell information, including: a receiving module, configured to receive a request message for a current base station to obtain cell description information of a target cell configured in a target base station; a sending module, configured to send, after receiving the request message, indication information for indicating a transmission mode in which the target base station transmits the cell description information to the target base station, so that the target base station sends the cell description information of the target cell according to the transmission mode.

Optionally, the apparatus further comprises: a first determining module, configured to determine, before sending, to the target base station, indication information indicating a transmission manner in which the target base station transmits the cell description information, a first path for sending the request message to the target base station according to available state indication information of a logical interface between the current base station and the target base station.

Optionally, the first determining module includes: a determining unit, configured to determine whether a first logical interface between the current base station and the target base station is available, where the first logical interface is disposed between the current base station and the target base station; a first setting unit, configured to, when the availability status indication information indicates that the first logical interface is available, use a path from the current base station to the target base station through the first logical interface as the first path; and a second setting unit, configured to, when the available state indication information indicates that the first logical interface is unavailable, take a path from the current base station to the target base station through a second logical interface as the first path, where the second logical interface is set between the current base station and a core network element and between the core network element and the target base station.

Optionally, the apparatus further comprises: a second determining module, configured to, after sending, to the target base station, indication information for indicating a transmission manner in which the target base station transmits the cell description information, determine, by the target base station, a second path along which the target base station sends the cell description information according to available state indication information of the logical interface between the current base station and the target base station.

Optionally, the sending module includes: a first processing unit, configured to, when the transmission mode is transmission through a standard signaling, encapsulate, by the target base station, the cell description information in the standard signaling and send the cell description information to the current base station; a second processing unit, configured to, when the transmission mode is transmission through a custom message, define, by the target base station, in a current message, identification information of the current base station and container information for transmitting the cell description information of the target cell according to a predetermined rule, and encapsulate the cell description information in the container information to obtain the custom message; sending the self-defined message to the current base station; a third processing unit, configured to, when the transmission mode is transmission through a customized standard signaling, modify, by the target base station, cell information of the target cell included in the standard signaling into the cell description information, and modify, by the target base station, a destination address in base station routing information of the target cell included in the standard signaling into an address of the current base station, so as to obtain a modified standard signaling; sending the modified standard signaling to the current base station, or sending a fourth processing unit, configured to add, by the target base station, base station routing information from the target base station to the current base station and the cell description information in the standard signaling to obtain the modified standard signaling; and sending the modified standard signaling to the current base station.

According to the invention, a request message for receiving the cell description information of the target cell configured in the target base station is received by the current base station; after receiving the request message, sending indication information for indicating a transmission mode of the target base station for transmitting the cell description information to the target base station, so that the target base station sends the cell description information of the target cell according to the transmission mode. That is to say, the present invention sends the transmission mode of the target base station transmitting the cell description information requested by the current base station to the target base station after receiving the request message, so that the target base station sends various information of the target cell to the current base station according to the transmission mode, thereby realizing the acquisition of detailed cell information by the above mode, further overcoming the problem of low accuracy of acquiring cell information caused by that the cell information acquired by a single transmission mode is more unilateral in the related art, and further achieving the effect of improving the accuracy of acquiring cell information.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the invention without limiting the invention. In the drawings:

fig. 1 is a flowchart of a method for acquiring cell information according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus for acquiring cell information according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a flowchart of the operation of the device for acquiring cell information according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a message flow diagram for acquiring cell information through an X2 port according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a message flow diagram for acquiring cell information through port S1 according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a load management process according to an alternative embodiment of the invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic flow chart of a neighbor cell self-optimization process according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a flow chart of an inter-cell interference coordination process according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a block diagram of a cell information acquisition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 10 is a block diagram (one) of the structure of an apparatus for acquiring cell information according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 11 is a block diagram (ii) of the structure of an apparatus for acquiring cell information according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 12 is a block diagram (iii) of the structure of an apparatus for acquiring cell information according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 13 is a block diagram (iv) of the configuration of the apparatus for acquiring cell information according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The invention will be described in detail hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings in conjunction with embodiments. It should be noted that the embodiments and features of the embodiments in the present application may be combined with each other without conflict.

It should be noted that the terms "first," "second," and the like in the description and claims of the present invention and in the drawings described above are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order.

Example 1

In this embodiment, a method for acquiring cell information is provided, and fig. 1 is a flowchart of a method for acquiring cell information according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 1, the flowchart includes the following steps:

step S102, receiving a request message of a current base station for acquiring cell description information of a target cell configured in a target base station;

step S104, after receiving the request message, sending indication information for indicating a transmission mode of the target base station for transmitting the cell description information to the target base station, so that the target base station sends the cell description information of the target cell according to the transmission mode.

Optionally, in this embodiment, an application scenario of the method for acquiring cell information includes, but is not limited to, being applied to a process of managing a cell, where the scenario of managing a cell may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: load balancing of cells, Neighbor cell Automation (ANR), and inter-cell Interference Coordination (ICIC).

In the above application scenario, it is necessary to obtain cell description information of a target cell, such as cell configuration information, cell broadcast information, cell characteristic information, and cell performance index information, and in order to accurately obtain the above information, the embodiment provides an obtaining method of the above cell information. Specifically, the method for acquiring cell information includes: receiving a request message of a current base station for acquiring cell description information of a target cell configured in a target base station; after receiving the request message, sending indication information for indicating a transmission mode of the target base station for transmitting the cell description information to the target base station, so that the target base station sends the cell description information of the target cell according to the transmission mode. That is to say, in the embodiment of the present invention, after receiving the request message, the transmission mode in which the target base station transmits the cell description information requested by the current base station is sent to the target base station, so that the target base station sends various information of the target cell to the current base station according to the transmission mode, thereby obtaining more comprehensive and more sufficient cell detailed information in the above-mentioned mode, further overcoming the problem of lower accuracy of obtaining cell information due to more sidedness of cell information obtained by a single transmission mode in the related art, and further achieving the effect of improving the accuracy of obtaining cell information.

Optionally, in this embodiment, the transmission manner in which the target base station sends the cell description information of the target cell to the current base station includes, but is not limited to: through standard signaling transmission, through custom message transmission, through custom standard signaling transmission.

For example, the corresponding transmission mode may be configured in real time according to a requirement that the current base station acquires the cell description information of the target cell, where the configuring may include configuring the transmission mode as any one of standard signaling transmission, custom message transmission, and custom standard signaling transmission, for example, custom message transmission, when the current base station needs to acquire the cell description information of the target cell in real time; or, when the current base station needs to periodically obtain the cell description information of the target cell, the transmission mode is configured to be any one of standard signaling transmission, custom message transmission and custom standard signaling transmission, for example, custom standard signaling transmission.

Alternatively, in this embodiment, the above-described method for acquiring cell information may be applied to the device structural framework in the following example. Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus for acquiring cell information according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 2, the following parts are included: a configuration module 21, an activation module 22, an adaptation module 23, an execution module 24, and a functional module 20 and a target cell 25.

The work flow of the above modules is shown in fig. 3:

in step S301, the function module 20 determines whether cell information needs to be acquired, and if the determination result is yes, the function module 20 notifies the start module 22 to acquire cell description information and cell identifier that need to be transmitted.

In step S302, the starting module 22 notifies the adapting module 23 to select a transmission path.

Step S303, the adapting module 23 selects a cell description information transmission mode according to the data configuration of the configuration module 21.

In step S304, the adaptation module 23 notifies the execution module 24 to obtain the cell description information.

In step S305, the execution module 24 notifies the function module 20 of the acquired cell description information.

The definition of each module is as follows:

the configuration module 21: the method is used for configuring transmission modes of the functions for acquiring the cell description information at the X2 port and the S1 port.

The start module 22: the starting module 22 is configured to notify the details of the target cell identifier and the cell description information to be acquired when the functional module 20 needs to acquire the cell description information, and the starting module 22 notifies the adapting module 23 of selecting a path and a transmission mode of the cell description information.

The adaptation module 23: the method is used for judging the path of the cell description information transceiving information and the transmission mode of the cell description information, firstly judging whether the available X2 coupling exists between the current base station and the base station of the target cell, if so, selecting to transmit the cell description information through an X2 port, otherwise, selecting to transmit the cell description information through an S1 port. The adaptation module 23 informs the execution module 24 of the path selection result and the cell description information transmission manner.

The execution module 24: according to the result selected by the adaptation module 23, a cell description information acquisition request message is sent to the base station to which the target cell belongs, and the opposite end waits for replying the cell description information, and when receiving the cell description information sent by the target cell, the function module 20 is notified of the acquired cell description information.

For the configuration module 21, the transmission modes of the functions for acquiring the cell description information at the X2 port and the S1 port are to be configured. The transmission mode for acquiring the cell description information can be the following three modes, one mode is that standard signaling is utilized, namely the required cell description information can be directly transmitted by the existing protocol standard signaling; secondly, a set of cell description information transmission modes is customized, wherein the process of transmitting the cell description information between the base station 1 and the base station 2 can refer to the processes from step S401 to step S402 in fig. 4, or the processes from step S501 to step S504 in fig. 5, which are used for transmitting the cell description information between the base station 1, the core network and the base station 2, in fig. 4 and fig. 5, the cell description information can be carried in the cell information response message, and the cell description information can be transmitted by using the customized message at both the X2 port and the S1 port; and thirdly, modifying and transmitting the existing signaling, namely partially modifying the existing standard signaling for transmitting the cell description information. Different information transmission methods are configured according to the requirements (such as real-time acquisition and periodic acquisition) of cell information required by different functions, and the configuration method in table 1 can be referred to, wherein the transmission of the custom standard signaling is modified by the existing signaling as an example:

TABLE 1

Functional module	X2 mouth	S1 mouth
			Function 1	Standard signaling	Custom messages
Function 2	Standard signaling	Custom standard signaling
			Function 3	Custom messages	Custom messages

For the execution module 24, it needs to adopt a corresponding method to transmit the cell description information according to the result selected by the adaptation module 23, so it needs to define a specific method for transmitting the cell description information, that is, to define a custom message or a custom standard signaling (i.e., modify the existing signaling) for transmitting the cell description information.

The self-defined message format is not limited, and the self-defined message format needs to be defined at the current base station and the target base station side for acquiring the cell description information. For example, a method for defining a container cell is adopted to transmit a code stream value of specific content of cell description information: firstly, defining the identification information (routing field and cell information identification) of required cell description information and code stream information of content, then transferring cell information identification in cell information transfer message, and transferring code stream value of cell description information in container cell.

For a method of custom standard signaling (i.e., modified using existing signaling), a message may be selected that may transmit other information, and the message content may be modified to convey the cell description information that needs to be transmitted. For example, the existing RIM message is used to transmit the LTE cell description information, the modification point is to add the definition of the RIM message between LTE and LTE, two definitions need to be added, one is the routing information from LTE to LTE system, and the other is the application container information transmitted by the LTE cell message, and the modification can be performed by referring to the routing information of LTE inter-system systems and various application containers already defined in the RIM technology in the existing protocol architecture, or a set of container information is redefined.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment, which information transmission method is used is not limited, and since the apparatus shown in fig. 2 is used in interaction with the function module, the selection may be made according to the characteristics of the function corresponding to the function module. When some functions require cell description information to be periodically acquired, a self-defined message mode can be considered, and when some functions require information to be acquired in a single time in real time, the existing message can be considered to be used for modifying acquisition, such as RIM acquisition. This is not limitative at all.

Through the above example, the problem that information cannot be transferred when the X2 port does not exist is solved, and the problem that cell description information (such as configuration information, attribute information, broadcast information, and the like) cannot be transferred is also solved, so that the correctness, accuracy, and reliability of the use of functions such as load balancing, neighbor self-optimization ANR, inter-cell interference coordination ICIC, and the like are greatly improved.

In an optional embodiment, before sending the indication information for indicating the transmission mode of the target base station for transmitting the cell description information to the target base station, the method includes the following steps:

step S11, determining a first path for sending the request message to the target base station according to the available status indication information of the logical interface between the current base station and the target base station.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the above logical interfaces include, but are not limited to: an S1 interface between the base station and the core network, and an X2 interface between the base station and the base station.

Through the steps, the first path for sending the request message to the target base station is determined according to the available state indication information of the S1 interface or the X2 interface between the current base station and the target base station, so that the problem that the cell description information cannot be obtained when the X2 interface fails or does not exist in the related art by obtaining the information through the X2 interface is solved, and the reliability of information obtaining is ensured.

For example, when load management is performed, load information of a neighboring cell needs to be acquired, and when an X2 port does not exist, information that needs to be transmitted through an X2 port cannot be transmitted, but the information can be further transmitted through an S1 interface in the embodiment of the present invention, so that the problem that signaling transmission of the X2 port is still unstable, and a failure easily occurs or cannot be deployed due to a geographical environment is solved.

In an optional embodiment, determining a first path for sending the request message to the target base station according to the available state indication information of the logical interface between the current base station and the target base station includes the following steps:

step S21, determining whether a first logical interface between the current base station and the target base station is available, wherein the first logical interface is configured between the current base station and the target base station;

step S22, when the available status indication information indicates that the first logical interface is available, taking the path from the current base station to the target base station via the first logical interface as the first path;

step S23, when the available status indication information indicates that the first logical interface is not available, taking a path from the current base station to the target base station via a second logical interface as the first path, wherein the second logical interface is disposed between the current base station and a core network element and between the core network element and the target base station.

Optionally, in this embodiment, a first path for sending the request message to the target base station is determined according to available state indication information of an S1 interface or an X2 interface between the current base station and the target base station, and when the S1 interface is in an unavailable state, an available X2 interface is used for message transfer, which further solves the problem that in the related art, information is obtained through an X2 interface, and when an X2 interface fails or does not exist, cell description information cannot be obtained, so that information transfer is unstable, thereby achieving the effect of flexibly selecting a transfer path, and then flexibly transferring various cell description information.

In an optional embodiment, after sending, to the target base station, indication information for indicating a transmission mode in which the target base station transmits the cell description information, the method further includes the following steps:

step S31, the target base station determines a second path for the target base station to send the cell description information according to the available state indication information of the logical interface between the current base station and the target base station.

Through the above steps, when the target base station sends the cell description information to the current base station, the target base station may first determine whether a logical interface between the target base station and the current base station is in an available state, specifically, whether an S1 interface or an X2 interface is in an available state, and determine a second path for the target base station to send the cell description information according to the available state of the S1 interface or the X2 interface, thereby further achieving an effect of ensuring that the target base station can stably and reliably send the cell description information to the current base station.

Optionally, in this embodiment, the transmission manner includes at least one of the following: the method comprises the following steps of transmitting through standard signaling, transmitting through custom messages and transmitting through custom standard signaling, wherein the definition mode of the custom standard signaling transmission comprises at least one of the following modes: adding new information in the standard signaling and modifying the standard signaling.

Through the transmission mode, the target base station sends the cell description information to the current base station, the problem that the accuracy of cell information acquisition is low due to the fact that the cell information acquired through a single transmission mode is relatively one-sided in the related art is further solved, and the effect of improving the accuracy of cell information acquisition is achieved.

In an optional embodiment, if the transmission mode is through standard signaling transmission, the target base station sending the cell description information of the target cell according to the transmission mode includes the following steps:

step S41, the target base station packages the cell description information in the standard signaling and sends the cell description information to the current base station;

if the transmission mode is transmission through the custom message, the target base station sends the cell description information of the target cell according to the transmission mode, and the method comprises the following steps:

step S42, the target base station defines the identification information of the current base station and the container information of the cell description information of the target cell in the current message according to the predetermined rule, and encapsulates the cell description information in the container information to obtain the self-defined message; sending the self-defined message to the current base station;

if the transmission mode is through the user-defined standard signaling transmission, the target base station sends the cell description information of the target cell according to the transmission mode, including the following steps:

step S43, the target base station modifies the cell information of the target cell contained in the standard signaling into cell description information, and modifies the destination address in the base station routing information of the target cell contained in the standard signaling into the address of the current base station, so as to obtain the modified standard signaling; sending the modified standard signaling to the current base station; or,

step S44, the target base station adds the base station route information from the target base station to the current base station and the cell description information in the standard signaling to obtain the modified standard signaling; and sending the modified standard signaling to the current base station.

It should be noted that, in the related art, the cell information transmitted by the target base station in the standard signaling only includes one type of cell information, where the one type of cell information includes but is not limited to one of the following: in other words, in the related art, only one type of cell information can be transmitted at a time through the standard signaling, that is, the cell information transmitted in the standard signaling is single, and is different from the standard signaling that includes more comprehensive cell description information and is transmitted by the target base station in this embodiment, where the cell description information includes at least one of the following: the method comprises the following steps of cell configuration information, cell broadcast information, cell characteristic information and cell performance index information, wherein the cell characteristic information at least comprises information such as target cell load information and interference indication information of a target cell in the related technology.

The transmission mode for acquiring the cell information is defined through the method, and the cell description information of the target cell is sent to the current base station through the corresponding transmission mode, so that the acquired cell information is more comprehensive and sufficient, the problem of low accuracy of acquiring the cell information caused by the fact that the cell information acquired through a single transmission mode is more comprehensive in the related art is further solved, and the effect of improving the accuracy of acquiring the cell information is further achieved.

Optionally, in this embodiment, the cell description information includes at least one of the following: cell configuration information, cell broadcast information, cell characteristic information, and cell performance index information.

In this embodiment, the cell characteristic information at least includes information such as radio load information and interference indication; the performance index information at least includes information such as a handover success rate, an access success rate, a call drop rate, and the like, which is not limited herein.

This embodiment is illustrated below with reference to specific alternative embodiments.

As an optional embodiment, the method for acquiring cell information is mainly applied to an application scenario of cell load management. The current base station may include a load balancing function module 61 and a cell information acquiring device 62, where the cell description information takes cell load information as an example, the current base station takes the base station 1 as an example, and the target base station takes the base station 2 as an example for description.

The load balancing function module 61 utilizes the cell information acquiring device 62 to transmit cell load information at S1, where the cell information is transmitted by using RIM message, and the basic architecture is as shown in fig. 6, and the following describes the cell information acquiring method in this optional embodiment with reference to fig. 6, and mainly includes the following steps:

step S51, first, the configuration module 21 configures the load balancing function to obtain the configuration of the cell load information, as shown in table 2:

TABLE 2

Functional module	X2 mouth	S1 mouth
			Load management function	Standard signaling	RIM messages

Step S52, define RIM message to communicate LTE load information at S1.

Defining ETURAN cell routing information: the Routing Information of the RIM message is carried in the RIM Routing Address under the RIM Transfer Cell under the Inter-system Information Transfer type Cell, and only GERAN-Cell-ID and Target RNC-ID addresses exist at present, as shown in Table 3:

TABLE 3

CHOICE RIM Routing Address
	>GERAN-Cell-ID
>>LAI
	>>RAC
>>CI
	>Target RNC-ID
>>LAI
	>>RAC
>>RNC-ID
	>>Extended RNC-ID

On the basis, an ETURAN-Cell-ID address is added, as shown in the table 4:

TABLE 4

>ETURAN-Cell-ID
	>>TAI
>>>TAC
	>>>PLMN Identity
>>Global eNB ID
	>>>PLMN Identity
>>>CHOICE eNB ID
	>>>>Macro eNB ID
>>>>Home eNB ID

Defining a transmission container and a code stream for transmitting the load information of the ETURAN cell:

a SON Transfer Request Container for acquiring load information of different system modes in the RIM technology is adopted, the Reporting Cell Identifier format in the Container is changed into an ETURAN Cell Identifier format, and meanwhile, the code stream format of the load information of the ETURAN Cell is defined.

Step S53, a cell is configured on the base station 1 in the LTE system (for example, a cell1 is configured), a cell is configured on the base station 2 (for example, a cell2 is configured), an X2 port is configured between the base station 1 and the base station 2, and both the base station 1 and the base station 2 are connected to the core network through an S1 port.

In step S54, the load of the cell1 is increased, and the load balancing function is triggered.

In step S55, the load balancing function module 61 notifies the start module 22 in the cell information acquiring device 62 of the load information of the cell2 that needs to be acquired. The starting module 22 notifies the adaptation module 23 of the load information that the load balancing function module needs to acquire the cell 2.

In step S56, the adapting module 23 determines that the X2 port is available according to the configuration of the configuration module 21, so the standard signaling is selected to transmit the cell load information, and the result is notified to the executing module 24.

In step S57, the execution module 24 sends a standard message for acquiring cell load to the base station 2, and after acquiring the load information of the cell2, transfers the cell2 load information to the load balancing function module 61.

In step S58, the load balancing function module 61 performs a load management function.

Step S59, the X2 coupling between base station 1 and base station 2 is pulled off.

In step S60, the load of the cell1 is increased, and the load balancing function is triggered.

In step S61, the load balancing function module 61 notifies the start module 22 in the cell information acquiring device 62 of the load information of the cell2 that needs to be acquired. The starting module 22 notifies the adaptation module 23 of the load information that the load balancing function module 61 needs to acquire the cell 2.

In step S62, the adaptation module 23 determines that the X2 port is not available according to the configuration of the configuration module 21, so the S1 port is selected to transmit the cell information, and the transmission method is to notify the execution module 24 of the result by using the RIM message.

In step S63, the execution module 24 sends an RIM request message of the SON Transfer Application to the base station 2, where the target cell id is the cell id of the cell 2.

In step S64, after receiving the RIM report message of the SON Transfer of the cell2 sent by the base station 2, the execution module 24 notifies the load balancing function module 61 of the acquired cell information.

In step S65, the load balancing function module 61 determines to execute the load balancing function according to the load information of the cell 2.

As another optional embodiment, the method for acquiring cell information is mainly applied to an application scenario of neighbor self-optimization ANR. This alternative embodiment is described below with reference to fig. 7. The cell description information is exemplified by neighboring cell information, the current base station is exemplified by the base station 1, and the target base station is exemplified by the base station 2. The base station 1 may comprise a neighbour cell self-optimising ANR function module 71 and an acquire cell information means 72.

As shown in fig. 7, the neighboring self-optimizing ANR function module 71 uses the cell information obtaining device 72 to transmit the cell attribute information at the X2 port, where the transmission of the cell information uses a custom message, and mainly includes the following steps:

step S71, configure, in the configuration module 21, the configuration of the neighbor self-optimizing ANR function module 71 to acquire the neighbor information of the cell, as shown in table 5:

TABLE 5

Functional module	X2 mouth	S1 mouth
			ANR function	Custom messages	Custom messages

Step S72, defining information definition identifiers of cell information required by the ANR function, such as whether handover is supported is defined as ho support, whether X2 handover is supported is defined as X2ho support, and whether Black cell is defined as Black, and defining content code stream values of each type of cell information in container cells.

Step S73, configuring a cell (e.g., configuring one cell1) on the LTE base station 1, configuring a cell (e.g., configuring one cell2) on the base station 2, and having no neighboring cell relationship between the cell1 and the cell 2.

In step S74, when the user in the cell1 detects the cell2, the ANR function of the cell1 needs to add the cell2 as a neighboring cell, and the ANR function module 71 notifies the start module 22 of the cell information that needs to be acquired by the cell2, and sends the identifier of the needed cell information to the start module 22.

In step S75, the starting module 22 notifies the adaptation module 23 of the cell attribute information of the cell2 to be acquired by the ANR function, and the adaptation module 23 selects a transfer path and a transmission mode according to the configuration of the configuration module 21, determines that the X2 port is available, selects the custom messaging cell attribute information, and notifies the execution module 24 of the result.

Step S76, the execution module 24 sends a cell information request message to the base station 2, carrying the cell identifier of the cell2, and the identifiers of the required cell information, ho support, X2ho support, and Black.

In step S77, the execution module 24 receives the cell information response message sent by the base station 2, acquires the values of the three cell information, namely, the ho support, the X2ho support, and the Black, from the delivered message container according to the defined value of the cell information content code stream, and notifies the ANR function module 71 of the result.

In step S78, the ANR function module 71 adds the cell2 as a neighboring cell of the cell1, and fills in corresponding cell2 neighboring cell configuration information according to the obtained cell2 cell attribute information.

As another alternative embodiment, the method for acquiring cell information is mainly applied to an application scenario of inter-cell interference coordination ICIC. As shown in fig. 8, the current base station may include an inter-cell interference coordination ICIC function module 81 and a cell information obtaining device 82, where the current base station takes a base station 1 as an example, the target base station takes a base station 2 as an example, and the cell description information takes cell high interference indication information as an example, and the following describes the present alternative embodiment with reference to fig. 8.

The ICIC function block 81 uses the cell information obtaining device 82 to transmit the cell interference information by using the custom message at the S1 port, and transmits the cell interference information by using the standard signaling at the X2 port.

Step S81, the configuration module 21 configures the configuration of the inter-cell interference coordination ICIC function module 81 to acquire the cell interference information, as shown in table 6:

TABLE 6

Functional module	X2 mouth	S1 mouth
			ICIC function	Standard signaling	Custom messages

And step S82, defining the self-defined message format.

The method comprises the steps of defining cell information identification and container cells, defining information identification of high interference indication information in the cell information identification, and defining interference indication content code streams (code stream information of various interference indication conditions needs to be defined) in the container cells.

Step S83, configure a cell (for example, configure one cell1) on the LTE base station 1, configure a cell (for example, configure one cell2) on the base station 2, and there is no X2 port between the base station 1 and the base station 2.

In step S84, when the ICIC function module 81 determines that the high interference indication information of the cell2 needs to be acquired, the start module 22 is notified that the high interference indication information of the cell2 needs to be acquired, and the start module 22 notifies the adaptation module 23 of the high interference indication information of the cell2 that the ICIC function module 81 needs to acquire.

Step S85, the adapting module 23 selects a cell information transmission path and a transmission mode according to the configuration of the configuration module 21, and determines that the X2 port is not available, then selects the S1 port to transmit the cell information, the transmission method is a self-defined method, and notifies the execution module 24 of the result.

Step S86, the execution module 24 sends a cell information request message to the core network, where the cell information request message carries the cell information identifier of the high interference indication information of the cell2 to be acquired and the route identifier of the cell2, and the core network sends a cell information request message to the base station 2, where the cell information request message carries the cell information identifier of the high interference indication information of the cell2 to be acquired.

Step S87, the execution module 24 receives the cell information response information sent by the core network, and obtains the high interference indication information of the cell2 from the cell information container cell according to the defined code stream information, and notifies the ICIC function module 81.

Step S88, the ICIC function module 81 allocates physical resources to the UE in the cell according to the obtained high interference indication information.

Through the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the method according to the above embodiments can be implemented by software plus a necessary general hardware platform, and certainly can also be implemented by hardware, but the former is a better implementation mode in many cases. Based on such understanding, the technical solutions of the present invention may be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium (e.g., ROM/RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk) and includes instructions for enabling a terminal device (e.g., a mobile phone, a computer, a server, or a network device) to execute the method according to the embodiments of the present invention.

Example 2

In this embodiment, a device for acquiring cell information is further provided, where the device is used to implement the foregoing embodiments and preferred embodiments, and details are not repeated for what has been described. As used below, the term "module" may be a combination of software and/or hardware that implements a predetermined function. Although the means described in the embodiments below are preferably implemented in software, an implementation in hardware, or a combination of software and hardware is also possible and contemplated.

Fig. 9 is a block diagram of a cell information acquiring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 9, the apparatus includes:

1) a receiving module 92, configured to receive a request message that is used by a current base station to obtain cell description information of a target cell configured in a target base station;

2) a sending module 94, configured to send, after receiving the request message, indication information for indicating a transmission manner in which the target base station transmits the cell description information to the target base station, so that the target base station sends the cell description information of the target cell according to the transmission manner.

Optionally, in this embodiment, an application scenario of the method for acquiring cell information may include, but is not limited to, being applied to a process of managing a cell, where the scenario of managing the cell may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: load balancing of cells, Neighbor Cell Automation (ANR), and Inter-Cell Interference Coordination (ICIC).

The work flow of the above modules is shown in fig. 3:

in step S301, the starting module 22 obtains the cell description information content and the cell identifier that need to be transferred according to the functional module 20.

The definition of each module is as follows:

The start module 22: the method is used for interacting with the functional module 20, and when the functional module 20 needs to acquire the cell description information, the starting module 22 is notified to notify the details of the target cell identifier and the cell description information to be acquired, and the starting module 22 notifies the adaptation module 23 of selecting a path and a transmission mode of the cell description information.

TABLE 1

For the execution module 24, it needs to adopt a corresponding method to transmit the cell description information according to the result selected by the adaptation module 23, so a specific method for transmitting the cell description information needs to be defined, that is, a customized cell transmission message or a customized standard signaling (i.e., modifying the existing signaling) for transmitting the cell description information needs to be defined.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment, which information transmission method is used is not limited, and since the apparatus shown in fig. 2 is used in interaction with the function module, the selection may be made according to the characteristics of the function corresponding to the function module. When some functions require cell description information to be periodically acquired, a self-defined message mode can be considered, and when some functions require information to be acquired in a single time in real time, the existing message can be considered to be used for modifying acquisition, such as RIM acquisition. In this regard, without any limitation,

In an optional implementation manner, fig. 10 is a block diagram (a) of a structure of an apparatus for acquiring cell information according to an embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 10, the apparatus includes, in addition to all modules shown in fig. 9:

1) a first determining module 102, configured to determine, before sending, to the target base station, indication information for indicating a transmission manner in which the target base station transmits the cell description information, a first path for sending the request message to the target base station according to available state indication information of a logical interface between the current base station and the target base station.

Through the device, the first path for sending the request message to the target base station is determined according to the available state indication information of the S1 interface or the X2 interface between the current base station and the target base station, so that the problem that the cell description information cannot be obtained when the X2 interface fails or does not exist in the related art by obtaining the information through the X2 interface is solved, and the reliability of information acquisition is ensured.

In an optional implementation manner, fig. 11 is a block diagram (ii) of a structure of an apparatus for acquiring cell information according to an embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 11, the first determining module 102 includes:

1) a determining unit 112, configured to determine whether a first logical interface between the current base station and the target base station is available, where the first logical interface is disposed between the current base station and the target base station;

2) a first setting unit 114, configured to use a path from the current base station to the target base station via the first logical interface as the first path when the availability status indication information indicates that the first logical interface is available;

3) a second setting unit 116, configured to, when the available status indication information indicates that the first logical interface is unavailable, take a path from the current base station to the target base station through a second logical interface as the first path, where the second logical interface is set between the current base station and a core network element and between the core network element and the target base station.

In an optional implementation manner, fig. 12 is a block diagram (three) of a structure of an apparatus for acquiring cell information according to an embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 12, the apparatus includes, in addition to the modules shown in fig. 10:

1) a second determining module 122, configured to, after sending, to the target base station, indication information for indicating a transmission manner in which the target base station transmits the cell description information, determine, by the target base station, a second path along which the target base station sends the cell description information according to available state indication information of the logical interface between the current base station and the target base station.

By the device, when the target base station sends the cell description information to the current base station, the target base station can firstly judge whether a logical interface between the target base station and the current base station is in an available state, specifically whether an S1 interface or an X2 interface is in an available state, and determine a second path of the target base station for sending the cell description information according to the available state of the S1 interface or the X2 interface, so that the effect of ensuring that the target base station can stably and reliably send the cell description information to the current base station is further achieved.

In an optional implementation manner, fig. 13 is a block diagram (iv) of a structure of an apparatus for acquiring cell information according to an embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 13, the sending module 94 includes:

1) a first processing unit 132, configured to, when the transmission mode is transmission through a standard signaling, encapsulate the cell description information in the standard signaling and send the cell description information to the current base station by the target base station;

2) a second processing unit 134, configured to, when the transmission mode is transmission through a custom message, define, by the target base station, in a current message, the identification information of the current base station and container information for transmitting the cell description information of the target cell according to a predetermined rule, encapsulate the cell description information in the container information, and send the container information to the current base station;

3) a third processing unit 136, configured to, when the transmission mode is transmission through a customized standard signaling, modify, by the target base station, cell information of the target cell included in the standard signaling into cell description information, and modify, by the target base station, a destination address in the base station routing information of the target cell included in the standard signaling into an address of the current base station, so as to obtain a modified standard signaling; the modified standard signaling is sent to the current base station, or,

the third processing unit 136 may be equivalently replaced by a fourth processing unit 138, where the fourth processing unit 138 is configured to add, by the target base station, base station routing information from the target base station to the current base station and the cell description information in the standard signaling to obtain a modified standard signaling; and sending the modified standard signaling to the current base station.

The transmission mode for acquiring the cell information is defined through the device, and the cell description information of the target cell is sent to the current base station through the corresponding transmission mode, so that the acquired cell information is more comprehensive and sufficient, the problem of low accuracy in acquiring the cell information due to the fact that the cell information acquired through a single transmission mode is relatively one-sided in the related art is further solved, and the effect of improving the accuracy in acquiring the cell information is further achieved.

It should be noted that, the above modules may be implemented by software or hardware, and for the latter, the following may be implemented, but not limited to: the modules are all positioned in the same processor; alternatively, the modules are respectively located in a plurality of processors.

Example 3

The embodiment of the invention also provides a storage medium. For application scenarios and examples of this embodiment, reference may be made to embodiment 1 and embodiment 2, which are not described herein again. Alternatively, in the present embodiment, the storage medium may be configured to store program codes for performing the following steps:

s1, receiving a request that a current base station is used for acquiring the cell description information of a target cell configured in a target base station;

s2, after receiving the request message, sending indication information indicating a transmission mode of the target base station for transmitting the cell description information to the target base station, so that the target base station sends the cell description information of the target cell according to the transmission mode.

Optionally, in this embodiment, the storage medium may include, but is not limited to: a U-disk, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a removable hard disk, a magnetic or optical disk, and other various media capable of storing program codes.

Alternatively, in the present embodiment, the processor executes the above steps S1, S2 according to program codes already stored in the storage medium.

Optionally, the specific examples in this embodiment may refer to the examples described in the above embodiments and optional implementation manners, and this embodiment is not described herein again.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the modules or steps of the present invention described above may be implemented by a general purpose computing device, they may be centralized on a single computing device or distributed across a network of multiple computing devices, and alternatively, they may be implemented by program code executable by a computing device, such that they may be stored in a storage device and executed by a computing device, and in some cases, the steps shown or described may be performed in an order different than that described herein, or they may be separately fabricated into individual integrated circuit modules, or multiple ones of them may be fabricated into a single integrated circuit module. Thus, the present invention is not limited to any specific combination of hardware and software.

The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the present invention, and various modifications and changes may be made by those skilled in the art. Any modification, equivalent replacement, or improvement made within the spirit and principle of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for acquiring cell information is characterized by comprising the following steps:

receiving a request message of a current base station for acquiring cell description information of a target cell configured in a target base station;

after receiving the request message, sending indication information for indicating a transmission mode of the target base station for transmitting the cell description information to the target base station, so that the target base station sends the cell description information of the target cell according to the transmission mode.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein before sending the indication information indicating the transmission mode of the cell description information transmitted by the target base station to the target base station, the method further comprises:

and determining a first path for sending the request message to the target base station according to the available state indication information of the logic interface between the current base station and the target base station.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the determining the first path for sending the request message to the target base station according to the available status indication information of the logical interface between the current base station and the target base station comprises:

judging whether a first logic interface between the current base station and the target base station is available, wherein the first logic interface is arranged between the current base station and the target base station;

when the available state indication information indicates that the first logical interface is available, taking a path from the current base station to the target base station through the first logical interface as the first path;

and when the available state indication information indicates that the first logical interface is unavailable, taking a path from the current base station to the target base station through a second logical interface as the first path, wherein the second logical interface is arranged between the current base station and a core network element and between the core network element and the target base station.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein after sending the indication information indicating the transmission mode of the cell description information from the target base station to the target base station, the method further comprises:

and the target base station determines a second path for the target base station to send the cell description information according to the available state indication information of the logic interface between the current base station and the target base station.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmission mode comprises at least one of: the method comprises the following steps of transmitting through standard signaling, transmitting through custom messages and transmitting through custom standard signaling, wherein the definition mode of the custom standard signaling comprises at least one of the following modes: and adding information in the standard signaling and modifying the standard signaling.

6. The method of claim 5,

if the transmission mode is through standard signaling transmission, the target base station sending the cell description information of the target cell according to the transmission mode includes: the target base station encapsulates the cell description information in the standard signaling and sends the cell description information to the current base station;

if the transmission mode is transmission through a custom message, the sending, by the target base station, the cell description information of the target cell according to the transmission mode includes: the target base station defines the identification information of the current base station and the container information for transmitting the cell description information of the target cell in a current message according to a preset rule, and encapsulates the cell description information in the container information to obtain the self-defined message; sending the self-defined message to the current base station;

if the transmission mode is through the signaling transmission of the user-defined standard, the target base station sending the cell description information of the target cell according to the transmission mode includes: the target base station modifies the cell information of the target cell contained in the standard signaling into the cell description information, and modifies the destination address in the base station routing information of the target cell contained in the standard signaling into the address of the current base station, so as to obtain the modified standard signaling; sending the modified standard signaling to the current base station, or adding base station routing information from the target base station to the current base station and the cell description information in the standard signaling by the target base station to obtain the modified standard signaling; and sending the modified standard signaling to the current base station.

7. The method according to any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the cell description information comprises at least one of: cell configuration information, cell broadcast information, cell characteristic information, and cell performance index information.

8. An apparatus for acquiring cell information, comprising:

a receiving module, configured to receive a request message for a current base station to obtain cell description information of a target cell configured in a target base station;

a sending module, configured to send, after receiving the request message, indication information for indicating a transmission mode in which the target base station transmits the cell description information to the target base station, so that the target base station sends the cell description information of the target cell according to the transmission mode.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising:

a first determining module, configured to determine, before sending, to the target base station, indication information indicating a transmission manner in which the target base station transmits the cell description information, a first path for sending the request message to the target base station according to available state indication information of a logical interface between the current base station and the target base station.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the first determining module comprises:

a determining unit, configured to determine whether a first logical interface between the current base station and the target base station is available, where the first logical interface is disposed between the current base station and the target base station;

a first setting unit, configured to, when the availability status indication information indicates that the first logical interface is available, use a path from the current base station to the target base station through the first logical interface as the first path;

and a second setting unit, configured to, when the available state indication information indicates that the first logical interface is unavailable, take a path from the current base station to the target base station through a second logical interface as the first path, where the second logical interface is set between the current base station and a core network element and between the core network element and the target base station.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising:

a second determining module, configured to, after sending, to the target base station, indication information for indicating a transmission manner in which the target base station transmits the cell description information, determine, by the target base station, a second path along which the target base station sends the cell description information according to available state indication information of the logical interface between the current base station and the target base station.

12. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the transmission mode comprises at least one of: the method comprises the following steps of transmitting through standard signaling, transmitting through custom messages and transmitting through custom standard signaling, wherein the definition mode of the custom standard signaling comprises at least one of the following modes: and adding information in the standard signaling and modifying the standard signaling.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the sending module comprises:

a first processing unit, configured to, when the transmission mode is transmission through a standard signaling, encapsulate, by the target base station, the cell description information in the standard signaling and send the cell description information to the current base station;

a second processing unit, configured to, when the transmission mode is transmission through a custom message, define, by the target base station, in a current message, identification information of the current base station and container information for transmitting the cell description information of the target cell according to a predetermined rule, and encapsulate the cell description information in the container information to obtain the custom message; sending the self-defined message to the current base station;

a third processing unit, configured to, when the transmission mode is transmission through a customized standard signaling, modify, by the target base station, cell information of the target cell included in the standard signaling into the cell description information, and modify, by the target base station, a destination address in base station routing information of the target cell included in the standard signaling into an address of the current base station, so as to obtain a modified standard signaling; sending the modified standard signaling to the current base station, or sending a fourth processing unit, configured to add, by the target base station, base station routing information from the target base station to the current base station and the cell description information in the standard signaling to obtain the modified standard signaling; and sending the modified standard signaling to the current base station.

14. The apparatus according to any of claims 8 to 13, wherein the cell description information comprises at least one of: cell configuration information, cell broadcast information, cell characteristic information, and cell performance index information.