CN111526560A - Method and device for updating serving cell information - Google Patents

Abstract

The present application provides a method and device for updating serving cell information, which relate to the field of communication technologies and are used to simplify the updating process of serving cell information. The method includes the following steps: the CU-CP receives the N serving cell information sent by the DU, where N is a positive integer; then, the CU-CP sends the N serving cell information to the CU-UP; the CU-CP receives the indication sent by the CU-UP information, where the indication information is used to indicate whether the information of one or more serving cells in the N pieces of serving cell information is successfully updated. This application applies to the process of deploying DU.

Description

Method and device for updating serving cell information

technical field

The present application relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular, to a method and device for updating serving cell information.

Background technique

In the fifth generation (5th generation, 5G) communication system, the base station adopts a centralized node (centralized unit, CU)-distributed unit (distributed unit, DU) architecture. Further, the CU can be further divided into a user plane (CU user plane, CU-UP) of a centralized node and a control plane (CU control plane, CU-CP) of a centralized node.

For some reasons (eg deployment of DUs), CU-UP and CU-CP often need to update serving cell information. However, the current update process of the serving cell information is cumbersome, resulting in a longer update time for the serving cell information, which affects the normal use of the access network.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present application provides a method and device for updating serving cell information, so as to reduce the updating time of serving cell information.

To achieve the above purpose, the application provides the following technical solutions:

A first aspect provides a method for updating serving cell information, including: CU-CP receiving N serving cell information sent by DU, where N is a positive integer; CU-CP sending N serving cell information to CU-UP; CU-CP The CP receives the indication information sent by the CU-UP, where the indication information is used to indicate whether the information of one or more serving cells in the N pieces of serving cell information is successfully updated. Based on the above technical solution, the information of the N serving cells is directly sent by the CU-UP to the CU-UP, and the CU-UP determines whether the information of the N serving cells needs to be updated. It can be seen that the technical solution of the present application does not require multiple OAM systems to negotiate, thereby reducing the update time of serving cell information and simplifying the update process of serving cell information. In addition, the update process of serving cell information is usually a part of the DU deployment process. Therefore, by simplifying the update process of the serving cell information, the deployment process and deployment cycle of the DU can be simplified. That is, the technical solution of the present application is beneficial to support the automatic deployment of the access network and save the deployment cost.

In a possible design, the serving cell information includes at least one of the following parameters: a serving cell identifier, a tracking area (TA) identifier to which the serving cell belongs, and a Public Land Mobile Network (Public Land Mobile Network) supported by the serving cell. , PLMN) logo.

In a possible design, the CU-CP receiving the N serving cell information sent by the DU includes: the CU-CP receiving the F1 interface establishment request sent by the DU, and the F1 interface establishment request includes the N serving cell information.

In a possible design, the method further includes: the CU-CP sends F1 interface establishment response information to the DU, where the F1 interface establishment response information includes indication information.

A second aspect provides a method for updating serving cell information, including: CU-UP receives N serving cell information of DUs sent by CU-CP, where N is a positive integer; CU-UP determines whether to update N serving cell information; The CU-UP sends indication information to the CU-CP, where the indication information is used to indicate whether the information of one or more serving cells in the N pieces of serving cell information is successfully updated. Based on the above technical solution, the information of the N serving cells is directly sent by the CU-UP to the CU-UP, and the CU-UP determines whether the information of the N serving cells needs to be updated. It can be seen that the technical solution of the present application does not require multiple OAM systems to negotiate, thereby reducing the update time of serving cell information and simplifying the update process of serving cell information. In addition, the update process of serving cell information is usually a part of the DU deployment process. Therefore, by simplifying the update process of the serving cell information, the deployment process and deployment cycle of the DU can be simplified. That is, the technical solution of the present application is beneficial to support the automatic deployment of the access network and save the deployment cost.

In a possible design, the serving cell information includes at least one of the following parameters: serving cell identifier, tracking area information to which the serving cell belongs, and PLMN identifier supported by the serving cell.

In a possible design, the method further includes: the CU-UP receives the location information of the DU sent by the CU-CP. The CU-UP determines whether to update the information of the N serving cells, including: the CU-UP determines whether to update the information of the N serving cells according to the location information of the DU and the information of the N serving cells.

In a possible design, the location information of the DU includes at least one of the following information: geographic coordinates, network connection information, coverage information, and other coverage information. The network connection information includes an Internet Protocol (Internet Protocol, IP) address. The coverage information includes the antenna downtilt angle and/or downlink transmit power corresponding to each cell supported by the DU. Other coverage information includes: the identity of the macro cell where the DU is located, and/or the identity of the neighboring cells of the DU.

In a possible design, the method further includes: the CU-UP sends notification information to an Operation Administration and Maintenance (OAM) system, where the notification information is used to indicate the information of the M serving cells that have been successfully updated, and the information of the M serving cells is: A non-zero subset of N serving cell information, where M is a positive integer.

In a third aspect, a method for updating serving cell information is provided, including: a DU sends N pieces of serving cell information to a CU-CP, where N is a positive integer; and the DU receives indication information sent by the CU-CP, where the indication information is used to indicate N pieces of serving cell information Whether one or more serving cell information in the serving cell information is updated successfully. Based on the technical solutions of the present application, the DU sends N pieces of serving cell information to the CU-CP, so that the CU-CP and the CU-UP can update the serving cell information. Since there is no need for multiple OAM systems to negotiate in this process, the update time of the serving cell information is reduced, and the update process of the serving cell information is simplified.

In a possible design, the serving cell information includes at least one of the following parameters: serving cell identifier, tracking area information to which the serving cell belongs, and PLMN identifier supported by the serving cell.

In a possible design, the method further includes: the DU sends the location information of the DU to the CU-CP

In a possible design, the location information of the DU includes at least one of the following information: geographic coordinates, network connection information, coverage information, and other coverage information. Wherein, the network connection information includes an IP address. The coverage information includes the antenna downtilt angle and/or downlink transmit power corresponding to each cell supported by the DU. Other coverage information includes: the identity of the macro cell where the DU is located, and/or the identity of the neighboring cells of the DU.

It can be understood that the foregoing DU may be a home distributed node (home DU, HDU), and the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto.

In a fourth aspect, a configuration reporting method is provided, including: the CU obtains K pieces of closed subscriber group (closed subscriber group, CSG) information, where K is a positive integer; then, the CU sends the K pieces of CSG information to a core network device. The CSG information includes a public land mobile network identity (public land mobile network identity, PLMN ID) and at least one CSG ID. Alternatively, the CSG information includes tracking area information and at least one CSG ID. Alternatively, the CSG information includes a cell identity and at least one CSG ID. Based on the above technical solution, since the CSG information includes tracking area information (or cell identity) and at least one CSG ID. Therefore, by sending K pieces of CSG information to the core network device, the CU enables the core network device to know the correspondence between the TA (or cell) and the CSG ID. In this way, when the terminal performs the registration process or other processes, the core network device can allocate an appropriate registration area for the terminal.

In a possible design, the CU sending K pieces of CSG information to the core network device includes: the CU sending Ng interface establishment request information to the core network device, where the Ng interface establishment request information includes K pieces of CSG information.

In one possible design, the CU includes CU-UP and CU-CP. In this case, the CU obtains K pieces of CSG information, including: the CU-CP obtains K pieces of CSG information.

In one possible design, the CU includes CU-UP and CU-CP. In this case, the CU sends K pieces of CSG information to the core network device, including: the CU-CP sends K pieces of CSG information to the core network device.

A fifth aspect provides a CSG management method, comprising: a CU acquiring CSG subscription information corresponding to a terminal from a core network device; and the CU storing the CSG subscription information corresponding to the terminal. The CSG subscription information corresponding to the terminal is used to indicate at least one CSG ID subscribed by the terminal. Based on the above technical solutions, since the core network equipment sends the CSG subscription information corresponding to the terminal to the CU in advance, in some processes, for example, in the process of the terminal preparing to access a CSG cell, the CU can perform the CSG subscription information on the terminal according to the terminal's CSG subscription information. It is not necessary to authenticate the terminal through the core network, thereby reducing the signaling interaction between the access network and the core network and saving signaling overhead.

In a possible design, the CU obtains the CSG subscription information corresponding to the terminal from the core network device, including: the CU receives initial context establishment request information sent by the core network device, where the initial context establishment request information includes CSG subscription information corresponding to the terminal.

In a possible design, the CU obtains the CSG subscription information corresponding to the terminal from the core network device, including: the CU sends the user context modification request information to the core network device, and the user context modification request information includes the information of the terminal; after that, the CU receives the core network device information. User context modification response information sent by the device, where the user context modification response information includes CSG subscription information corresponding to the terminal.

In a possible design, the CU obtains the CSG subscription information corresponding to the terminal from the core network device, including: the CU sends path transfer request information to the core network device, where the path transfer request information includes information of the terminal; after that, the CU receives the core network device. The sent path transfer request response information, where the path transfer request response information includes the CSG subscription information corresponding to the terminal.

In one possible design, the CU includes CU-UP and CU-CP. In this case, the CU obtains the CSG subscription information corresponding to the terminal from the core network device, including: the CU-CP obtains the CSG subscription information corresponding to the terminal from the core network device.

In one possible design, the CU includes CU-UP and CU-CP. In this case, the CU saves the CSG subscription information corresponding to the terminal, including: the CU-UP saves the CSG subscription information corresponding to the terminal.

In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a receiving module configured to receive N serving cell information sent by a DU, where N is a positive integer. A sending module, configured to send the N serving cell information to the CU-UP. The receiving module is further configured to receive indication information sent by the CU-UP, where the indication information is used to indicate whether the information of one or more serving cells in the N pieces of serving cell information is successfully updated.

In a possible design, the serving cell information includes at least one of the following parameters: serving cell identifier, tracking area information to which the serving cell belongs, and PLMN identifier supported by the serving cell.

In a possible design, the receiving module is specifically configured to receive an F1 interface establishment request sent by the DU, and the F1 interface establishment request includes information of N serving cells.

In a possible design, the sending module is further configured to send F1 interface establishment response information to the DU, where the F1 interface establishment response information includes indication information.

It can be understood that, the communication apparatus provided by the sixth aspect is a CU-CP in a specific implementation.

According to a seventh aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, comprising: a receiving module configured to receive N serving cell information of DUs sent by a CU-CP, where N is a positive integer. A processing module, configured to determine whether to update the information of the N serving cells. A sending module, configured to send indication information to the CU-CP, where the indication information is used to indicate whether the information of one or more serving cells in the N pieces of serving cell information is successfully updated.

In a possible design, the serving cell information includes at least one of the following parameters: serving cell identifier, tracking area information to which the serving cell belongs, and PLMN identifier supported by the serving cell.

In a possible design, the receiving module is further configured to receive the location information of the DU sent by the CU-CP. The processing module is specifically configured to determine whether to update the information of the N serving cells according to the location information of the DU and the information of the N serving cells.

In a possible design, the location information of the DU includes at least one of the following information: geographic coordinates, network connection information, coverage information, and other coverage information. Wherein, the network connection information includes an IP address. The coverage information includes the antenna downtilt angle and/or downlink transmit power corresponding to each cell supported by the DU. Other coverage information includes: the identity of the macro cell where the DU is located, and/or the identity of the neighboring cells of the DU.

In a possible design, the sending module is further configured to send notification information to an operation and maintenance management (Operation Administration and Maintenance, OAM) system, where the notification information is used to indicate the information of the M serving cells that have been successfully updated, and the information of the M serving cells is N A non-zero subset of serving cell information, where M is a positive integer.

It can be understood that, the communication apparatus provided by the seventh aspect is CU-UP in a specific implementation.

In an eighth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a sending module, configured to send N serving cell information to a CU-CP, where N is a positive integer; a receiving module, configured to receive the indication information sent by the CU-CP, where The indication information is used to indicate whether the information of one or more serving cells in the N pieces of serving cell information is successfully updated.

In a possible design, the serving cell information includes at least one of the following parameters: serving cell identifier, tracking area information to which the serving cell belongs, and PLMN identifier supported by the serving cell.

In a possible design, the sending module is further configured to send the location information of the DU to the CU-CP.

In a possible design, the location information of the DU includes at least one of the following information: geographic coordinates, network connection information, coverage information, and other coverage information. Wherein, the network connection information includes an IP address. The coverage information includes the antenna downtilt angle and/or downlink transmit power corresponding to each cell supported by the DU. Other coverage information includes: the identity of the macro cell where the DU is located, and/or the identity of the neighboring cells of the DU.

It can be understood that, the communication apparatus provided by the eighth aspect is a DU or an HDU in a specific implementation.

In a ninth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a receiving module configured to acquire K pieces of CSG information, where K is a positive integer. The sending module is used for sending the K pieces of CSG information to the core network device. The CSG information includes a PLMN identifier and at least one CSGID. Alternatively, the CSG information includes tracking area information and at least one CSG ID. Alternatively, the CSG information includes a cell identity and at least one CSG ID.

In a possible design, the sending module is specifically configured to send Ng interface establishment request information to the core network device, where the Ng interface establishment request information includes K pieces of CSG information.

It can be understood that, the communication apparatus provided by the ninth aspect is a CU or a CU-CP in a specific implementation.

According to a tenth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, comprising: a receiving module for acquiring CSG subscription information corresponding to a terminal from a core network device; and a storage module for storing CSG subscription information corresponding to the terminal. The CSG subscription information corresponding to the terminal is used to indicate at least one CSG ID subscribed by the terminal.

In a possible design, the receiving module is specifically configured to receive initial context establishment request information sent by the core network device, where the initial context establishment request information includes CSG subscription information corresponding to the terminal.

In a possible design, the sending module is further configured to send user context modification request information to the core network device, where the user context modification request information includes terminal information. The receiving module is specifically configured to receive user context modification response information sent by the core network device, where the user context modification response information includes CSG subscription information corresponding to the terminal.

In a possible design, the sending module is further configured to send path transfer request information to the core network device, where the path transfer request information includes terminal information. The receiving module is specifically configured to receive path transfer request response information sent by the core network device, where the path transfer request response information includes CSG subscription information corresponding to the terminal.

It can be understood that, the communication apparatus provided in the tenth aspect is a CU or a CU-CP in a specific implementation.

According to an eleventh aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor, which is configured to be coupled to a memory, read instructions in the memory, and implement any one of the first to fifth aspects according to the instructions method described in item.

A twelfth aspect provides a computer-readable storage medium, where instructions are stored in the computer-readable storage medium, when the computer-readable storage medium runs on a communication device, the communication device can execute any one of the first to fifth aspects above Methods.

A thirteenth aspect provides a computer program product comprising instructions which, when run on a communication device, enable the communication device to perform the method of any one of the first to fifth aspects above.

A fourteenth aspect provides a chip, the chip includes a processing module and a communication interface, the communication interface is used for transmitting the received code instruction to the processing module, and the processing module is used for running the code instruction to support the communication device to perform the above-mentioned first aspect To the method of any one of the fifth aspects. The code instructions can come from memory inside the chip or from memory outside the chip. Optionally, the processing module may be a processor, a microprocessor or an integrated circuit integrated on the chip. The communication interface can be an input-output circuit or a transceiver pin on the chip.

Wherein, for the technical effect brought by any one of the design methods from the sixth aspect to the fourteenth aspect, please refer to the beneficial effects in the corresponding method provided above and the technical effect brought by the design method, which is not repeated here. Repeat.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of an access network device according to an embodiment of the present application

3 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of an access network in which an HDU is deployed, according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a hardware structure of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

5 is a flowchart of a method for updating serving cell information according to an embodiment of the present application;

6 is a flowchart of another method for updating serving cell information provided by an embodiment of the present application;

7 is a flowchart of a configuration reporting method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

8 is a flowchart of a CSG management method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

9 is a flowchart of an authentication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed ways

Currently, indoor coverage schemes mainly include the following two:

Solution 1: The base station is separated into a baseband processing unit (Base band Unit, BBU) and a remote radio unit (RadioRemote Unit, RRU), and the BBU and the RRU are connected by optical fibers. Thus, the RRU can be deployed indoors to achieve indoor coverage. However, the connection interface between the RRU and the BBU is a common public radio interface (Common Public Radio Interface, CPRI). Limited by the capacity of CPRI, solution 1 is not suitable for high-capacity scenarios.

Option 2: Deploy micro base stations indoors. Micro base stations have lower transmit power and can be directly connected to gateways. However, the distributed deployment of micro base stations will cause multiple micro base stations to interfere with each other, affecting normal communication of users.

In order to solve the above problems, the industry proposes a new indoor coverage solution: deploying HDU indoors. First, the HDU and CU are divided between the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer and the radio link control protocol (radio link control, RLC) layer, and the F1 interface is used between the HDU and the CU. . Compared with CPRI, the F1 interface is located at a higher layer of the protocol stack, and the capacity required by the F1 interface is smaller, so it can overcome the problem of limited capacity. Second, the HDUs are centrally deployed under the CU, and multiple HDUs under one CU can be coordinated centrally through the CU to avoid mutual interference between the multiple HDUs, thereby ensuring the normal communication of users.

The above is a brief introduction to HDU. In addition, for the specific description of the architecture of the access network in which the HDU is deployed, reference may be made to the following, which will not be repeated here.

To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, some terms involved in the present application are briefly introduced below.

1. Tracking area, registration area (RA)

Tracking area, a geographic area composed of continuous coverage cells, is used for terminal location management. A tracking area can include one or more cells, but a cell can only belong to one tracking area.

The registration area is a continuous geographical area allocated by the network side for the terminal. The registration area may include one tracking area or multiple tracking areas. When the terminal moves in the registration area, the tracking area update process will not be triggered.

2. PLMN ID

The PLMN ID consists of a mobile country code (mobile country code, MCC) and a mobile network code (mobile network code, MNC). The PLMN ID is used to identify the network operator.

3. Tracking area identity (TAI)

The tracking area identifier is composed of a PLMN ID and a tracking area code (TAC). Among them, TAC can also be called tracking area code, used to identify a tracking area.

In the description of this application, unless otherwise stated, "/" means "or", for example, A/B can mean A or B. In this article, "and/or" is only an association relationship to describe the associated objects, which means that there can be three kinds of relationships, for example, A and/or B, which can mean that A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone these three situations. Further, "at least one" means one or more, and "plurality" means two or more. The words "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity and execution order, and the words "first", "second" and the like do not limit certain differences.

It should be noted that, in this application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to represent examples, illustrations or illustrations. Any embodiment or design described in this application as "exemplary" or "such as" should not be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "such as" is intended to present the related concepts in a specific manner.

In addition, the network architecture and service scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are for the purpose of illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application more clearly, and do not constitute limitations on the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application. With the evolution of the network architecture and the emergence of new service scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

The technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, for example, a 5G communication system, a future evolution system, or a variety of communication fusion systems, and so on. The technical solutions provided in this application can be applied to various application scenarios, for example, machine to machine (M2M), macro-micro communication, enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable and ultra-low latency communication (ultra-reliable & low latency communication, uRLLC) and massive IoT communication (massive machine type communication, mMTC) and other scenarios.

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 1 , the communication system includes an access network and a core network. Taking a 5G communication system as an example, the access network is a next generation radio access network (NG-RAN), and the core network is a 5G core network (5G core network, 5GC).

The core network includes various core network equipment, such as access and mobility management function (AMF), user plane function (UPF), session management function (session management function, SMF), etc.

AMF belongs to the core network entity and is mainly responsible for the mobility management processing part, such as: access control, mobility management, attachment and detachment, and SMF selection and other functions. When the AMF provides services for the session in the terminal, it provides storage resources of the control plane for the session to store the session ID, the SMF ID associated with the session ID, and the like.

SMF is mainly used for session management, terminal Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection of endpoints that can manage user plane functions, policy control, or charging function interfaces, and downlink data notification.

UPF can be used for packet routing and forwarding, or QoS processing of user plane data. User data can be accessed to a data network (DN) through the network element.

The above-mentioned AMF, SMF and UPF are only a name, and do not constitute a limitation on the device itself. It can be understood that, in a 5G network and other future networks, AMF, SMF, and UPF may also be other names, which are not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application. For example, the UPF may also be referred to as a UPF network element or a UPF entity, which will be uniformly described here, and will not be repeated below.

Optionally, the core network device may be implemented by one device, or jointly implemented by multiple devices, or may be a functional module in one device, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application. It can be understood that the above-mentioned functional modules may be network elements in hardware devices, software functional modules running on dedicated hardware, or virtualized functional modules instantiated on a platform (eg, a cloud platform).

The access network includes access network equipment. Wherein, the access network device may be a base station or a base station controller for wireless communication. For example, the base station may include various types of base stations, such as a micro base station (also referred to as a small cell), a macro base station, a relay station, an access point, etc., which are not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application. In this embodiment of the present application, the base station may be a global system for mobile communication (GSM), a base transceiver station (BTS) in code division multiple access (CDMA), a wideband code Base station (node B) in wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), evolved base station (evolutional node B, eNB or e-NodeB) in long term evolution (LTE), Internet of Things (internet of things, IoT) or eNB in narrow band-internet of things (NB-IoT), gNB in future 5G mobile communication network or future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN), this application The embodiment does not limit this.

Taking the access network device as a gNB as an example, in a communication system, there is an interface between two gNBs, which is called an Xn interface in this paper. There is an interface between gNB and 5GC, which is called Ng interface in this paper.

The gNB can adopt the CU-DU architecture. That is, the gNB is composed of a CU and at least one DU. In this case, some functions of the gNB are deployed on the CU, and another part of the functions of the gNB are deployed on the DU. Multiple DUs can share the same CU to save costs.

There is an interface between the CU and the DU, which is called the F1 interface in this paper. There is an interface between CU and 5GC, which is called Ng interface in this paper. There is an interface between the two CUs, which is called the Xn interface in this paper. It can be understood that the above interfaces are all logical interfaces. In a 5G network and other future networks, the above interface may also have other names, which are not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

CU and DU are functionally segmented according to the protocol stack. As an implementation manner, the CU is deployed with the radio resource control (radio resource control, RRC) layer, the PDCP layer, and the service data adaptation protocol (service data adaptation protocol, SDAP) layer in the protocol stack; the DU is deployed with the RLC layer in the protocol stack , a media access control (media access control, MAC) layer, and a physical layer (physical layer, PHY). Thus, the CU has the processing capabilities of RRC, PDCP and SDAP. DU has the processing capability of RLC, MAC and PHY. It can be understood that the division of the above functions is only an example, and does not constitute a limitation on the CU and the DU. That is to say, there may also be other functional division manners between the CU and the DU, which are not described in detail in this embodiment of the present application.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the CU can also be divided into CU-CP and CU-UP. The CU-CP and the CU-UP may be deployed on the same physical device, or may be deployed on different physical devices, which are not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

There is an interface between CU-CP and CU-UP, which is called E1 interface in this paper. There is an interface between the CU-CP and the 5GC, referred to herein as the Ng interface (not shown in Figure 2). There is an interface between the CU-CP and the DU, which is called the F1-C interface in this paper. There is an interface between the CU-UP and the DU, which is called the F1-U interface in this paper. It can be understood that the above interfaces are all logical interfaces. In a 5G network and other future networks, the above interface may also have other names, which are not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

Optionally, one DU can be connected to one or more CU-UPs. One CU-UP can connect one or more DUs. A DU can only be connected to one CU-CP. One CU-CP can connect one or more DUs. Only one CU-CP can be connected to a CU-UP. One CU-CP can be connected to one or more CU-UPs.

As an implementation manner, when the CU deploys the RRC layer, the PDCP layer, and the SDAP layer, the CU-CP is responsible for the RRC layer and some functions of the control plane of the PDCP layer, such as for processing signaling radio bearers (signaling radio bearer, SRB) function. The CU-UP is responsible for the SDAP layer and some functions of the user plane of the PDCP layer, such as functions for processing data radio bearers (DRBs).

As shown in FIG. 3 , a schematic diagram of an architecture of an access network in which an HDU is deployed is provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present application.

Wherein, in the scenario where the CU is divided into CU-UP and CU-CP, the HDU and the CU-UP are connected through the F1-U interface, and the HDU and the CU-CP are connected through the F1-C interface.

The HDU management system can be integrated in the CU, or it can be deployed on the same site with the CU. The HDU management system is used to manage the HDU, for example, to manage the installation of the HDU, and to configure related parameters of the HDU.

The HDU gateway is an optional device in the HDU architecture. The gateway of the HDU is used to realize the aggregation of the HDU, so as to reduce the number of F1 interfaces between the HDU and the CU and reduce the cost.

It should be noted that the main difference between the HDU and the DU is that the DU is deployed by the operator; the HDU may not be deployed by the operator, for example, by individuals, homes or companies. HDUs are generally deployed indoors to ensure that terminals can communicate normally indoors.

In this embodiment of the present application, CU-UP, CU-CP, DU, HDU, or core network equipment, etc., may all be implemented by the communication apparatus in FIG. 4 .

As shown in FIG. 4 , the communication device includes: at least one processor 101 , a communication line 102 , a memory 103 and at least one communication interface 104 .

The processor 101 may be a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more processors for controlling the execution of the programs of the present application. integrated circuit.

The communication line 102 is used to transfer information between the aforementioned components.

The communication interface 104, using any device such as a transceiver, is used to communicate with other devices or communication networks, such as Ethernet, RAN, wireless local area networks (WLAN), and the like.

The memory 103 may be read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, random access memory (RAM) or other type of static storage device that can store information and instructions It can also be an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), or other optical disk storage, optical disk storage ( including compact discs, laser discs, compact discs, digital versatile discs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, or capable of carrying or storing desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and capable of being stored by a computer any other medium taken, but not limited to this. The memory may exist independently and be connected to the processor through the communication line 102 . The memory can also be integrated with the processor. The memory provided by the embodiments of the present application may generally be non-volatile. Wherein, the memory 103 is used for storing computer-executed instructions for executing the solution of the present application, and the execution is controlled by the processor 101 . The processor 101 is configured to execute the computer-executed instructions stored in the memory 103, thereby implementing the methods provided by the following embodiments of the present application.

Optionally, the computer-executed instructions in the embodiment of the present application may also be referred to as application code, which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the processor 101 may include one or more CPUs, such as CPU0 and CPU1 in FIG. 4 .

In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication apparatus may include multiple processors, for example, the processor 101 and the processor 107 in FIG. 4 . Each of these processors can be a single-core (single-CPU) processor or a multi-core (multi-CPU) processor. A processor herein may refer to one or more devices, circuits, and/or processing cores for processing data (eg, computer program instructions).

In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication apparatus may further include an output device 105 and an input device 106 . The output device 105 is in communication with the processor 101 and can display information in a variety of ways. For example, the output device 105 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display device, a cathode ray tube (CRT) display device, or a projector (projector) Wait. The input device 106 is in communication with the processor 101 and can receive user input in a variety of ways. For example, the input device 106 may be a mouse, a keyboard, a touch screen device or a sensing device, or the like.

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

Example 1

For ease of description, the OAM system responsible for managing the CU-CP will be referred to as the OAM-CU-CP system, the OAM system responsible for managing the CU-UP will be referred to as the OAM-CU-UP system, and the OAM system responsible for managing the DU will be referred to as the OAM system. For the OAM-DU system.

Taking the operator adding a serving cell information as an example, the current serving cell information update process is as follows: the OAM-DU system, the OAM-CU-CP system, and the OAM-CU-UP system negotiate with each other. If it is confirmed that the serving cell can be added, the DU, CU-CP and CU-UP are notified respectively to add the serving cell information.

Since the negotiation between the OAM systems takes a long time, the update time of the serving cell information is long. In addition, the OAM-DU system, OAM-CU-CP system, and OAM-CU-UP system may belong to equipment of different manufacturers. Since different manufacturers have their own private signaling, these three OAM systems may need to perform signaling adaptation and capability coordination, thereby further increasing the update time of serving cell information.

In order to solve the above technical problem, as shown in FIG. 5 , a method for updating serving cell information provided in an embodiment of the present application includes the following steps:

S501. The DU sends the N serving cell information to the CU-CP. Correspondingly, the CU-CP receives the N serving cell information sent by the DU.

The N serving cell information is pre-configured in the DU, and N is a positive integer.

Optionally, the serving cell information includes at least one of the following parameters: serving cell identity, tracking area information to which the serving cell belongs, and PLMN identity supported by the serving cell. In this embodiment of the present application, the tracking area information includes TAI or TAC.

As an implementation manner, the DU sends an F1 interface establishment request to the CU-CP. Wherein, the F1 interface establishment request is used for requesting to establish an F1 interface. The F1 interface establishment request includes the information of the N serving cells.

S502: The CU-CP sends the N serving cell information to the CU-UP. Correspondingly, the CU-UP receives the N serving cell information sent by the CU-CP.

As an implementation manner, the CU-CP sends configuration update information to the CU-UP, where the configuration update information carries the information of the N serving cells. It can be understood that, in different application scenarios, the configuration update information may have different names, such as a DU addition request message. It can be understood that, after the CU-UP receives the DU addition request message, the CU-UP can learn that a DU is newly added in the network, and obtain the serving cell information of the DU.

S503. The CU-UP determines whether to update the N serving cell information.

Wherein, the update operation of the serving cell information by the CU-UP includes: an add operation and/or a delete operation. It can be understood that the adding operation means that the CU-UP adds the serving cell information to the serving cell record information. The deletion operation means that the CU-UP deletes the serving cell information from the serving cell record information.

It should be noted that the serving cell record information is used to record information of one or more serving cells that the CU-UP can provide services. In other words, if a serving cell information does not exist in the serving cell record information, the CU-UP does not provide services to the cell corresponding to the serving cell information. Optionally, the serving cell record information may be implemented in the form of a list, or implemented in other forms, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto. When the serving cell record information is implemented in the form of a list, the serving cell record information may be referred to as a serving cell list.

Optionally, the N pieces of serving cell information include one or more pieces of first serving cell information and one or more pieces of second serving cell information.

The update operation corresponding to the first serving cell information is an adding operation, that is, the first serving cell information is the serving cell information to be added. In the embodiment of the present application, updating the first serving cell information specifically refers to adding the first serving cell information to the serving cell record information. Correspondingly, not updating the first serving cell information specifically refers to not adding the first serving cell information to the serving cell record information.

The update operation corresponding to the second serving cell information is a deletion operation, that is, the second serving cell information is the serving cell information to be deleted. In the embodiment of the present application, updating the second serving cell information specifically refers to deleting the second serving cell information recorded in the serving cell record information. Correspondingly, not updating the second serving cell information specifically refers to not deleting the second serving cell information recorded in the serving cell record information.

Optionally, the CU-UP may determine whether a piece of serving cell information is the first serving cell information or the second serving cell information according to any one of the following situations.

Scenario 1, the serving cell information further includes operation information, and the operation information is used to indicate an update operation corresponding to the serving cell information, that is, the operation information is used to indicate whether the serving cell information is the first serving cell information or the second serving cell information. In this way, the CU-UP determines whether the serving cell information is the first serving cell information or the second serving cell information according to the operation information included in the serving cell information.

Optionally, the operation information may be represented by at least one bit. For example, taking one bit as an example, "0" indicates that the serving cell information is the first serving cell information, and "1" indicates that the serving cell information is the second serving cell information.

Scenario 2: The position of the serving cell information in the signaling is used to indicate whether the serving cell information is the first serving cell information or the second serving cell information. In this way, the CU-UP determines whether the serving cell information is the first serving cell information or the second serving cell information according to the position of the serving cell information in the signaling. For example, if the serving cell information is located in the first position in the signaling, the serving cell information is the first serving cell information. If the serving cell information is located in the second position in the signaling, the serving cell information is the second serving cell information.

The signaling in the second case may be the configuration update information above, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application. The location of the serving cell information in the signaling specifically refers to a field (or bit field) in the signaling that is used to carry the serving cell information.

The following specifically describes how the CU-UP determines whether to update the first serving cell information.

Manner 1: For any first serving cell information sent by the CU-CP, the CU-UP updates the first serving cell information by default.

Manner 2: The CU-UP may determine whether the cell corresponding to the first serving cell information is located in the service area of the CU-UP according to the tracking area information included in the first serving cell information. If the cell is not located in the service area of the CU-UP, the CU-UP determines not to update the first serving cell information, that is, not to add the first serving cell information to the serving cell record information. If the cell is located in the service area of the CU-UP, the CU-UP determines to update the first serving cell information, that is, adding the first serving cell information to the serving cell record information.

Manner 3: The CU-UP determines whether to update the first serving cell information according to its own capability information. Exemplarily, the capability information of the CU-UP may be used to indicate the number of cells served by the CU-UP. For example, if the number of cells served by the current CU-UP reaches the upper limit value indicated by the capability information, the CU-UP does not update the first serving cell information. If the number of cells served by the current CU-UP does not reach the upper limit value indicated by the capability information, the CU-UP updates the first serving cell information.

It can be understood that the CU-UP may use at least one of the foregoing manners 1 to 3 to determine whether to update the first serving cell information.

In addition, Manners 1 to 3 are only examples provided by the embodiments of the present application, and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit the implementation manner of how the CU-UP determines whether to update the information of the first serving cell.

The following specifically describes how the CU-UP determines whether to update the second serving cell information.

Manner 4: For any second serving cell information sent by the CU-CP, the CU-UP updates the second serving cell information by default.

Manner 5: The CU-UP determines whether to update the second serving cell information according to whether the cell corresponding to the second serving cell information has services. That is, if the cell corresponding to the second serving cell information has services, the CU-UP does not delete the second serving cell information from the serving cell record information. If there is no service in the cell corresponding to the second serving cell information, the CU-UP deletes the second serving cell information from the serving cell record information.

It can be understood that the foregoing manners 4 and 5 are only examples provided by the embodiments of the present application, and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit the implementation manner of how the CU-UP determines whether to update the second serving cell information.

S504. The CU-UP sends indication information to the CU-CP. Correspondingly, the CU-CP receives the indication information sent by the CU-UP.

The indication information is used to indicate whether the information of one or more serving cells in the N pieces of serving cell information is successfully updated.

Optionally, the indication information may adopt one or more of the following implementation manners:

Implementation mode 1. The indication information includes N update result messages, the N update result messages are in one-to-one correspondence with the N serving cell information, and the update result message is used to indicate whether the corresponding serving cell information is successfully updated. .

Exemplarily, the update result message may be represented by one or more bits. For example, taking one bit as an example, "0" indicates that the updating of the serving cell information fails; "1" indicates that the updating of the serving cell information succeeds.

Optionally, the N update result messages may be implemented in the form of bitmaps to reduce signaling overhead.

Optionally, when the update result message indicates that the corresponding serving cell information has not been successfully updated, the update result message may further include: update failure cause information, where the update failure cause information is used to describe the reason for the failure to update the serving cell information. Optionally, the update failure reason information includes a reason index, and each reason index corresponds to a reason for the update failure.

Exemplarily, the reason for the failure to update the first service message information may be: (1) the number of cells served by the current CU-UP reaches the upper limit value indicated by the capability information; (2) the first serving cell information The corresponding cell is not located in the service area of the CU-UP.

Exemplarily, the reason for the failure to update the second serving cell information may be: a cell corresponding to the second serving cell information has services.

Implementation manner 2: The indication information includes at least one of a first message, a second message, a third message, and a fourth message. The first message is used to indicate the information of the first serving cell that has been successfully updated. The second message is used to indicate the successfully updated second serving cell information. The third message is used to indicate the information of the first serving cell that fails to update. The fourth message is used to indicate the information of the second serving cell that has failed to update.

Optionally, the third message may further include update failure cause information corresponding to each information of the first serving cell that fails to update, and the update failure cause information is used to describe the reason for the failure to update the first serving cell information.

Optionally, the fourth message may further include update failure cause information corresponding to each second serving cell information that fails to update, and the update failure cause information is used to describe the reason for the failure to update the second serving cell information.

The foregoing implementation manners 1 and 2 are only examples provided by the embodiments of the present application, and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit the indication information.

Based on the technical solution shown in FIG. 5 , the N pieces of serving cell information are sent by the CU-CP to the CU-UP, and the CU-UP determines whether the N pieces of serving cell information need to be updated. It can be seen that the technical solution of the present application does not require multiple OAM systems to negotiate, thereby reducing the update time of serving cell information and simplifying the update process of serving cell information. In addition, the update process of serving cell information is usually a part of the DU deployment process. Therefore, by simplifying the update process of the serving cell information, the deployment process and deployment cycle of the DU can be simplified. That is, the technical solution of the present application is beneficial to support the automatic deployment of the access network and save the deployment cost.

Optionally, as shown in FIG. 5, after step S503, the method further includes step S505.

S505. The CU-UP sends a notification message to the OAM system.

The notification message shown is used to indicate the information of M serving cells that have been successfully updated, the information of the M serving cells is a non-zero subset of the information of the N serving cells, and M is a positive integer.

The OAM system may be the OAM-CU-UP system mentioned above, that is, an OAM system for managing CU-UP.

In this way, the OAM system can learn the changes of the cells served by the CU-UP in time, so as to better manage the CU-UP.

Optionally, as shown in FIG. 5, after step S104, the method further includes step S106.

S506. The CU-CP sends indication information to the DU.

As an implementation manner, the CU-UP sends F1 interface establishment response information to the DU, where the F1 interface establishment response information includes the indication information.

In this way, the DU can learn whether its serving cell information is successfully updated.

Optionally, as shown in FIG. 6 , steps S501-S503 may be replaced with steps S601-S603.

S601. The DU sends the location information of the DU and the information of the N serving cells to the CU-CP.

The location information of the DU is pre-configured in the DU.

Optionally, the location information of the DU is at least one of the following information: geographic coordinates, network connection information, coverage information, and other coverage information. The geographic coordinates may be coordinates of the global navigation satellite system, such as global positioning system (GPS) coordinates. The network connection information includes an IP address and/or a MAC address. The coverage information includes the antenna downtilt angle and/or downlink transmit power corresponding to each cell supported by the DU. The other coverage information includes: an identifier of a macro cell (or a macro base station) where the DU is located, and/or an identifier of a neighboring cell (or a neighboring base station) of the DU.

Optionally, the location information of the DU and the information of the N serving cells may be sent independently, or may be encapsulated in the same signaling and sent together.

As an implementation manner, the DU sends an F1 interface establishment request to the CU-CP, where the F1 interface establishment request includes location information of the DU and information of N serving cells.

S602: The CU-CP sends the location information of the DU and the information of the N serving cells to the CU-UP.

S603. The CU-UP determines whether to update the information of the N serving cells according to the location information of the DU.

As an implementation manner, the CU-UP determines whether the DU is located in the service area of the CU-UP according to the location information of the DU. If the DU is located in the service area of the CU-UP, the CU-UP refers to the implementation of step S103 to determine whether to update the information of the N serving cells. If the DU is not located in the service area of the CU-UP, the CU-UP does not update the N serving cell information.

Based on the technical solution shown in FIG. 6 , the location information of the DU is used to enable the CU-UP to determine the location of the DU. Therefore, based on the location of the DU, the CU-UP can determine whether the DU is located in the service area of the CU-UP, so that the CU-UP can determine whether to update the serving cell information of the DU, that is, the CU-UP can determine whether the DU is the DU. Provide services. In this way, on the one hand, the CU-UP is prevented from being connected to the DU beyond the service area; on the other hand, the DU is prevented from being deployed under the CU-UP that cannot provide normal services.

It can be understood that the steps performed by the DU in the technical solution shown in FIG. 5 or FIG. 6 can also be performed by the HDU. That is, the technical solution shown in FIG. 5 or FIG. 6 is applicable to the HDU. Based on the above technical solutions, when a new HDU is added to the network and the serving cell information needs to be updated, since there is no need for negotiation between OAM systems, the update time of the serving cell information is reduced, which is conducive to the rapid deployment of HDUs, and thus can be adapted to random deployment of HDUs scene.

Embodiment 2

The network supported by the HDU includes three access types, which are CSG, hybrid subscriber group (HSG), and open subscriber group (OSG). Among them, CSG only supports subscription user access. The HSG supports the access of subscribed users and non-subscribed users, but the priority of subscribed users is higher than that of non-subscribed users. OSG supports all user access. In this embodiment of the present application, any network whose access type is CSG or HSG may be referred to as a CSG network, and each CSG network has a corresponding CSG ID.

In the case where the HDU is deployed, some of the cells served by the CU may be CSG cells. Currently, CU only reports TAI and CSG ID to the core network. In this way, the core network only knows that there are CSG cells in the cells served by the CU, but does not know which cell is the CSG cell, nor which cell corresponding to the TAI is the CSG cell. Therefore, when the core network allocates a corresponding registration area or tracking area to a terminal, the registration area allocated by the core network may not be suitable for the terminal, which affects the normal communication of the terminal. For example, the access type of CSG cell #1 is CSG, and the terminal is not a subscriber of CSG cell #1, so the terminal cannot access CSG cell #1. If the registration area allocated to the terminal by the core network includes CSG cell #1, then when the terminal moves to CSG cell #1, the terminal will not initiate a registration area update process. However, if downlink data arrives at this time, the core network cannot send the downlink data to the terminal through the CSG cell #1, thus causing the data packet to be discarded, thereby affecting the normal communication of the terminal.

In order to solve the above technical problem, as shown in FIG. 7 , a method for configuration reporting is provided in an embodiment of the present application, and the method includes the following steps:

S701. The CU obtains K pieces of CSG information.

Wherein, the K pieces of CSG information come from one or more DUs, and K is a positive integer.

As an implementation manner, the CU may acquire one or more CSG information from one or more DUs, respectively.

It should be noted that the K pieces of CSG information are pre-configured in the CU, and the CU may not execute step S701. That is, step S701 is an optional execution step.

In this embodiment of the present application, the CSG information is used to indicate at least one CSG ID supported by the CU. In this embodiment of the present application, the CSG information is used to indicate the correspondence between the TA and the CSG ID. Alternatively, the CSG information is used to indicate the correspondence between the PLMN and the CSG ID. Alternatively, the CSG information is used to indicate the correspondence between the cell and the CSG ID.

Optionally, the CSG information includes tracking area information and at least one CSG ID. Optionally, the tracking area information is TAI or TAC. It can be understood that the tracking area information included in the CSG information is used to indicate the tracking area corresponding to the CSG information.

Alternatively, the CSG information includes a PLMN identity and at least one CSG ID. It can be understood that the PLMN identifier included in the CSG information is used to indicate the PLMN corresponding to the CSG information.

Alternatively, the CSG information includes a cell identity and at least one CSG ID. It can be understood that the cell identifier included in the CSG information is used to indicate the cell corresponding to the CSG information.

Alternatively, the CSG information includes tracking area information and at least one CSG sub-information. The CSG sub-information includes at least one CSG ID. Moreover, the CSG sub-information further includes at least one of a cell identity and a PLMN identity.

Alternatively, the CSG information includes a PLMN identity and at least one CSG sub-information. The CSG sub-information includes a cell identity and at least one CSG ID.

Optionally, the CSG information may further include an access type. Wherein, the access type includes a first access type and a second access type. The network of the first access type allows access only to subscribers. The network of the second access type allows subscribed users and non-subscribed users to access, but the priority of subscribed users is higher than that of non-subscribed users. The first access type may also be referred to as a CSG access type, or simply referred to as CSG for short. The second access type may also be referred to as an HSG access type, or simply referred to as HSG for short. The range of the network to which the access type is applicable may be a tracking area, or a PLMN, or a cell, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

Optionally, when the CU adopts the architecture shown in FIG. 2 , that is, when the CU is divided into CU-CP and CU-UP, step S701 is specifically implemented as: CU-CP acquires K pieces of CSG information.

S702: The CU sends the K pieces of CSG information to the core network device.

Optionally, when the CU adopts the architecture shown in FIG. 2, that is, when the CU is divided into CU-CP and CU-UP, step S702 is specifically implemented as: CU-CP sends the K CSGs to the core network device. information.

As an implementation manner, the CU sends Ng interface setup request information (Ng setuprequest) to the core network device, where the Ng interface setup request information carries the K pieces of CSG information. Optionally, after receiving the Ng interface setup request information, the core network device sends Ng interface setup response information (Ng setup response) to the CU.

As another implementation manner, the CU transmits radio access network configuration update information (RAN configuration update) to the core network device, where the radio access network configuration update information carries the K pieces of CSG information. Optionally, after receiving the radio access network configuration update information, the core network device sends radio access network configuration update response information (RANconfiguration update ACK) to the CU.

In this embodiment of the present application, the core network device may be an AMF or other core network device, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

Based on the technical solution shown in FIG. 7 , since the CSG information includes tracking area information (or cell identity) and at least one CSG ID. Therefore, by sending K pieces of CSG information to the core network device, the CU enables the core network device to know the correspondence between the TA (or cell) and the CSG ID. In this way, when the terminal performs the registration process or other processes, the core network device can allocate an appropriate registration area for the terminal.

Embodiment 3

In the case where the HDU is deployed, some of the cells served by the CU may be CSG cells. Currently, when a terminal prepares to access a CSG cell, the communication network needs to authenticate the terminal to determine whether the terminal is a subscriber of the CSG cell. Currently, the core network is responsible for the authentication process of the terminal, and the authentication process is cumbersome. Moreover, the core network only authenticates whether the terminal is a CSG subscriber of the current serving cell. This results in that the core network needs to authenticate the terminal once in every handover process (or a moving process, or a process of adding a secondary Node) of the terminal, which further increases signaling overhead.

In order to solve the above technical problem, as shown in FIG. 8, a CSG management method is provided in the embodiment of the present application, and the method includes the following steps:

S801. The CU acquires the CSG subscription information corresponding to the terminal from the core network device.

The CSG subscription information corresponding to the terminal is used to indicate at least one CSG ID subscribed by the terminal. In this embodiment of the present application, the CSG subscription information includes multiple CSG ID information, and each CSG ID information includes one CSG ID.

As an implementation manner, the CSG ID indicated by each CSG ID information in the plurality of CSG ID information is the CSG ID subscribed by the terminal. In other words, the core network device only informs the CU which CSG IDs the terminal has subscribed to.

As another implementation manner, each CSG ID information in the plurality of CSG ID information further includes indication information, where the indication information is used to indicate whether the CSG ID included in the CSG ID information is the CSG ID subscribed by the terminal.

Optionally, the CSG ID information may further include at least one of a PLMN identity, tracking area information and a cell identity. It should be noted that the PLMN identifier included in the CSG ID information is used to indicate the PLMN for which the CSG ID is valid. The tracking area information included in the CSG ID information is used to indicate the tracking area in which the CSG ID is valid. The cell identifier included in the CSG ID information is used to indicate the cell for which the CSG ID is valid.

Optionally, the CSG ID information further includes an access type. Wherein, the access type includes a first access type and a second access type. Wherein, the network of the first access type only allows subscription users to access. The network of the second access type allows subscribed users and non-subscribed users to access, but the priority of subscribed users is higher than that of non-subscribed users. The first access type may also be referred to as a CSG access type, or simply referred to as CSG for short. The second access type may also be referred to as an HSG access type, or simply referred to as HSG for short. The range of the network to which the access type is applicable may be a tracking area, or a PLMN, or a cell, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

Optionally, when the CU adopts the architecture shown in FIG. 2, that is, when the CU is divided into CU-CP and CU-UP, step S801 is specifically implemented as: CU-CP obtains the CSG subscription corresponding to the terminal from the core network device. information.

As an implementation manner, the CU receives initial context setup request information (initial context setup request) sent by a core network device, where the initial context setup request information includes CSG subscription information corresponding to the terminal. After that, the CU sends initial context setup response information (initial context setup response) to the core network device, where the initial context setup response information is a response to the initial context setup request information.

As another implementation manner, the CU sends path switch request information (pathswitch request) to the core network device, where the path switch request information includes information of the terminal. After that, the CU receives path switch request response information (path switch request ACK) sent by the core network device, where the path switch request response information includes CSG subscription information corresponding to the terminal.

As another implementation manner, the CU sends user context modification request information (UE context modification request) to the core network device, where the user context modification request information includes terminal information. After that, the CU receives user context modification response information (UE contextmodification response) sent by the core network device. The user context modification response information includes CSG subscription information corresponding to the terminal.

Optionally, the information about the terminal includes an identifier of the terminal. Exemplarily, the identity of the terminal may be at least one of an IP address, a MAC address, and a radio network temporary identity (radio network temporary identity, RNTI), which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

In this embodiment of the present application, the core network device may be an AMF or other core network device, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

S802. The CU stores the CSG subscription information corresponding to the terminal.

When the CU adopts the architecture shown in FIG. 2 , that is, when the CU is divided into CU-CP and CU-UP, step S302 is specifically implemented as: the CU-CP stores the CSG subscription information corresponding to the terminal.

Based on the technical solution shown in FIG. 8 , since the core network device sends the CSG subscription information corresponding to the terminal to the CU in advance, in some processes, for example, in the process of the terminal preparing to access the CSG cell, the CU may, according to the CSG subscription information of the terminal, , the terminal is authenticated without the need to authenticate the terminal through the core network, thereby reducing the signaling interaction between the access network and the core network and saving signaling overhead.

As shown in FIG. 9 , an authentication method provided by an embodiment of the present application includes the following steps:

S901. The terminal sends an RRC connection request, where the RRC connection request is used to request to establish an RRC connection with the first CSG cell to access the first CSG cell.

The first CSG cell may be any CSG cell, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

S902. The CU determines whether the terminal can access the first CSG cell according to the CSG subscription information of the terminal.

It can be understood that, for the method for acquiring the CSG subscription information of the terminal, reference may be made to the embodiment shown in FIG. 8 , and details are not described herein again.

As an implementation manner, the CU determines whether the terminal is a subscriber of the first CSG cell according to the CSG subscription information of the terminal. If the terminal is not a subscriber of the first CSG cell and the access type of the first CSG cell is CSG, the CU determines that the terminal cannot access the first CSG cell. If the terminal is a subscriber of the first CSG cell, or the access type of the first CSG cell is HSG, the CU determines that the terminal can access the first CSG cell.

If the terminal can access the first CSG cell, the CU executes the following step S903a.

If the terminal cannot access the first CSG cell, the CU executes the following step S903b.

Or, if the terminal cannot access the first CSG cell, the CU determines whether there is a second CSG cell subscribed by the terminal according to the CSG subscription message of the terminal. If there is no second CSG cell subscribed by the terminal, the CU executes the following step S903b. If there is a second CSG cell subscribed by the terminal, the CU sends the UE context establishment process to the DU to which the second CSG cell belongs, so that the DU to which the second CSG cell belongs is used as the auxiliary node of the terminal; after that, the CU executes the following step S903c , to configure the second CSG cell subscribed by the terminal as the auxiliary cell of the terminal.

Optionally, the second CSG cell and the first CSG cell may be located under the same DU, or may be located under different DUs.

Optionally, the second CSG cell and the first CSG cell are located in the same TA.

S903a, the CU sends an RRC setup message to the terminal.

It can be understood that the CU sends an RRC setup message to the terminal to allow the terminal to establish an RRC connection, thereby accessing the first CSG cell.

S903b, the CU sends an RRC release message to the terminal.

It can be understood that the CU sends an RRC release message to the terminal to refuse the terminal to establish an RRC connection, thereby preventing the terminal from connecting to an unsubscribed CSG cell.

Optionally, the RRC release message may also be called an RRC reject message, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

S903c, the CU sends an RRC reconfiguration message to the terminal.

Optionally, the RRC reconfiguration message includes configuration information of the DU to which the second CSG cell belongs. The RRC reconfiguration message is used to reconfigure the RRC connection of the terminal so that the terminal can access the second CSG cell.

Based on the above technical solutions, in the process of the terminal accessing the CSG cell, the CU can authenticate the terminal according to the CSG subscription information of the terminal, and does not need to authenticate the terminal through the core network, thereby reducing the connection between the access network and the core network. The signaling interaction between them can save signaling overhead.

It can be understood that, in order to realize the above-mentioned functions, the communication apparatus includes corresponding hardware structures and/or software modules for executing each function. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in conjunction with the units and algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present application can be implemented in hardware, or in a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is performed by hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality using different methods for each particular application, but such implementations should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

In this embodiment of the present application, the communication device may be divided into functional modules according to the foregoing method examples. For example, each functional module may be divided corresponding to each function, or two or more functions may be integrated into one processing module. The above-mentioned integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware, and can also be implemented in the form of software function modules. It should be noted that, the division of modules in the embodiments of the present application is schematic, and is only a logical function division, and there may be other division manners in actual implementation. The following is an example of dividing each function module corresponding to each function to illustrate:

As shown in FIG. 10 , it is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device includes a receiving module 201 , a processing module 202 , and a sending module 203 . Optionally, the communication device further includes a storage module 204 .

When the schematic structural diagram shown in FIG. 10 is used to implement the DU or HDU in the above embodiment, the sending module 203 is used to perform steps S501 and S506 in FIG. 5 , step S601 in FIG. Other processes of technical solutions.

When the schematic structural diagram shown in FIG. 10 is used to implement the CU-CP in the above embodiment, the receiving module 201 is used to perform steps S501 and S504 in FIG. 5 , step S601 in FIG. Other processes of technical solutions. The sending module 203 is configured to perform step S502 in FIG. 5 , step S602 in FIG. 6 , and/or other processes for the technical solutions described herein.

When the schematic structural diagram shown in FIG. 10 is used to implement the CU-UP in the above embodiment, the receiving module 201 is configured to perform step S502 in FIG. 5 , step S602 in FIG. 6 , and/or for the technical solutions described herein other processes. The processing module 202 is configured to perform step S503 in FIG. 5 , step S603 in FIG. 6 , and/or other processes for the technical solutions described herein. The sending module is configured to perform steps S504 and S505 in FIG. 5 , and/or other processes for the technical solutions described herein.

When the schematic structural diagram shown in FIG. 10 is used to implement the CU in the above embodiment, the receiving module 201 is configured to perform step S701 in FIG. 7 , step S801 in FIG. 8 , step S901 in FIG. 9 , and/or Other processes of the technical solutions described herein. The sending module 203 is configured to perform step S702 in FIG. 7 , steps S903a, S903b or S903c in FIG. 9 , and/or other processes for the technical solutions described herein. The storage module 204 is configured to perform step S802 in FIG. 8 , step S902 in FIG. 9 , and/or other processes for the technical solutions described herein.

When the schematic structural diagram shown in FIG. 10 is used to implement the terminal in the above embodiment, the sending module 203 is configured to perform step S901 in FIG. 9 and/or other processes for the technical solutions described herein. The receiving module 201 is configured to perform steps S903a, S903b or S903c in FIG. 9 , and/or other processes for the technical solutions described herein.

All relevant contents of the steps involved in the foregoing method embodiments can be cited in the functional descriptions of the corresponding functional modules, which will not be repeated here.

As an example, in conjunction with the communication device shown in FIG. 4 , the sending module 203 and the receiving module 201 in FIG. 10 may be implemented by the communication interface 104 in FIG. 4 , and the processing module 202 in FIG. 10 may be implemented by the processing module in FIG. 4 The storage module 204 in FIG. 10 may be implemented by the memory 103 in FIG. 4 , which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

Embodiments of the present application further provide a computer-readable storage medium, where computer instructions are stored in the computer-readable storage medium; when the computer-readable storage medium runs on a communication device, the communication device is made to execute as shown in FIG. 5 . to the method shown in Figure 9. The computer instructions may be stored in or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions may be downloaded from a website site, computer, server, or data center Transmission to another website site, computer, server, or data center by wire (eg, coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (eg, infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or data storage devices including one or more servers, data centers, etc. that can be integrated with the medium. The usable media may be magnetic media (eg, floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media, or semiconductor media (eg, solid state disks (SSDs)), and the like.

An embodiment of the present application further provides a chip, the chip includes a processing module and a communication interface, the communication interface is used to transmit a received code instruction to the processing module, and the code instruction may be from a memory inside the chip or from the chip An external memory or other device, and the process is used for executing code instructions for supporting the communication apparatus to perform the methods shown in FIGS. 5 to 9 . The processing module is a processor, a microprocessor or an integrated circuit integrated on the chip. The communication interface can be an input-output circuit or a transceiver pin.

Embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program product including computer instructions, which, when executed on a communication device, enables the communication device to execute the methods shown in FIGS. 5 to 9 .

The communication device, computer storage medium, chip, and computer program product provided by the above embodiments of the present application are all used to execute the method provided above. Therefore, for the beneficial effects that can be achieved, reference may be made to the beneficial effects corresponding to the methods provided above. The effect will not be repeated here.

Although the application has been described in conjunction with specific features and embodiments thereof, it will be apparent that various modifications and combinations can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the application. Accordingly, this specification and drawings are merely exemplary illustrations of the application as defined by the appended claims, and are deemed to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations or equivalents within the scope of this application. Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is also intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims (27)

1. A method for updating serving cell information, the method comprising:

a control plane CU-CP of the centralized node receives N pieces of service cell information sent by a distributed node DU, wherein N is a positive integer;

the CU-CP sending the N pieces of serving cell information to a user plane CU-UP of a centralized node;

and the CU-CP receives indication information sent by the CU-UP, wherein the indication information is used for indicating whether one or more pieces of serving cell information in the N pieces of serving cell information are updated successfully.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the serving cell information comprises at least one of the following parameters:

the system comprises a service cell identifier, tracking area information of the service cell, and a public land mobile network PLMN identifier supported by the service cell.

3. The method for updating serving cell information according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the CU-CP receives N serving cell information sent by the DU, and comprises:

and the CU-CP receives an F1 interface establishment request sent by the DU, wherein the F1 interface establishment request comprises the N pieces of service cell information.

4. The method for updating serving cell information according to claim 3, wherein the method further comprises:

the CU-CP sends F1 interface setup response information to the DU, wherein the F1 interface setup response information comprises the indication information.

5. A method for updating serving cell information, the method comprising:

a user plane CU-UP of a centralized node receives N pieces of service cell information of a distributed node DU sent by a control plane CU-CP of the centralized node, wherein N is a positive integer;

the CU-UP determines whether to update the N serving cell information;

the CU-UP sends indication information to the CU-CP, wherein the indication information is used for indicating whether one or more pieces of service cell information in the N pieces of service cell information are updated successfully.

6. The method for updating serving cell information according to claim 5, wherein the serving cell information comprises at least one of the following parameters:

the system comprises a service cell identifier, tracking area information of the service cell, and a public land mobile network PLMN identifier supported by the service cell.

7. The method for updating serving cell information according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the method further comprises:

the CU-UP receives the position information of the DU sent by the CU-CP;

the CU-UP determines whether to update the N serving cell information, including:

the CU-UP determines whether to update the N pieces of serving cell information according to the position information of the DU and the N pieces of serving cell information.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the location information of the DU comprises at least one of the following information:

geographic coordinates, network connection information, coverage information, and other coverage information; wherein the network connection information comprises an internet protocol, IP, address; the coverage area information includes an antenna downtilt angle and/or downlink transmission power corresponding to each cell supported by the DU; the other coverage information includes: an identity of a macro cell in which the DU is located, and/or an identity of a neighboring cell of the DU.

9. The method for updating serving cell information according to any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein the method further comprises:

and the CU-UP sends notification information to an operation maintenance management OAM system, wherein the notification information is used for indicating M pieces of service cell information which are updated successfully, the M pieces of service cell information are non-zero subsets of the N pieces of service cell information, and M is a positive integer.

10. A method for updating serving cell information, the method comprising:

the distributed node DU sends N pieces of service cell information to a control surface CU-CP of the centralized node, wherein N is a positive integer;

and the DU receives indication information sent by the CU-CP, wherein the indication information is used for indicating whether one or more pieces of serving cell information in the N pieces of serving cell information are updated successfully.

11. The method for updating serving cell information according to claim 10, wherein the serving cell information comprises at least one of the following parameters:

the system comprises a service cell identifier, tracking area information of the service cell, and a public land mobile network PLMN identifier supported by the service cell.

12. The method for updating serving cell information according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the method further comprises:

and the DU sends the position information of the DU to the CU-CP.

13. The method of updating serving cell information of claim 12, wherein the location information of the DU comprises at least one of the following information:

geographic coordinates, network connection information, coverage information, and other coverage information; wherein the network connection information comprises an internet protocol, IP, address; the coverage area information includes an antenna downtilt angle and/or downlink transmission power corresponding to each cell supported by the DU; the other coverage information includes: an identity of a macro cell in which the DU is located, and/or an identity of a neighboring cell of the DU.

14. A communications apparatus, comprising:

the receiving module is used for receiving N pieces of service cell information sent by the distributed node DU, wherein N is a positive integer;

a sending module, configured to send the N pieces of serving cell information to a user plane CU-UP of a centralized node;

the receiving module is further configured to receive indication information sent by the CU-UP, where the indication information is used to indicate whether one or more pieces of serving cell information in the N pieces of serving cell information are updated successfully.

15. The communications apparatus of claim 14, wherein the serving cell information comprises at least one of the following parameters:

the system comprises a service cell identifier, tracking area information to which the service cell belongs, and a PLMN identifier supported by the service cell.

16. The communications apparatus as claimed in claim 14 or 15, wherein the receiving module is configured to receive N serving cell information sent by a DU, and includes:

receiving an F1 interface establishment request sent by the DU, wherein the F1 interface establishment request comprises the N pieces of serving cell information.

17. The communications apparatus of claim 16, wherein the sending module is further configured to send an F1 interface setup response message to the DU, and the F1 interface setup response message includes the indication information.

18. A communications apparatus, comprising:

the receiving module is used for receiving N pieces of service cell information of the distributed node DU sent by a control plane CU-CP of the centralized node, wherein N is a positive integer;

a processing module for determining whether to update the N serving cell information;

a sending module, configured to send indication information to the CU-CP, where the indication information is used to indicate whether one or more pieces of serving cell information in the N pieces of serving cell information are updated successfully.

19. The communications apparatus of claim 18, wherein the serving cell information comprises at least one of the following parameters:

the system comprises a service cell identifier, tracking area information of the service cell, and a public land mobile network PLMN identifier supported by the service cell.

20. The communication device according to claim 18 or 19,

the receiving module is further configured to receive location information of the DU sent by the CU-CP;

the processing module is specifically configured to determine whether to update the N pieces of serving cell information according to the location information of the DU and the N pieces of serving cell information.

21. The communications apparatus of claim 20, wherein the location information of the DU comprises at least one of the following information:

geographic coordinates, network connection information, coverage information, and other coverage information; wherein the network connection information comprises an internet protocol, IP, address; the coverage area information includes an antenna downtilt angle and/or downlink transmission power corresponding to each cell supported by the DU; the other coverage information includes: an identity of a macro cell in which the DU is located, and/or an identity of a neighboring cell of the DU.

22. The communication device according to any one of claims 18 to 21,

the sending module is further configured to send notification information to an operation, maintenance and management, OAM, system, where the notification information is used to indicate that the update is successful for M serving cell information, where the M serving cell information is a non-zero subset of the N cell information, and M is a positive integer.

23. A communications apparatus, comprising:

a sending module, configured to send information of N serving cells to a control plane CU-CP of a centralized node, where N is a positive integer;

a receiving module, configured to receive indication information sent by the CU-CP, where the indication information is used to indicate whether one or more pieces of serving cell information in the N pieces of serving cell information are updated successfully.

24. The communications apparatus of claim 23, wherein the serving cell information comprises at least one of the following parameters:

the system comprises a service cell identifier, tracking area information of the service cell, and a public land mobile network PLMN identifier supported by the service cell.

25. The communication device according to claim 23 or 24,

the sending module is further configured to send location information of the DU to the CU-CP.

26. The communications apparatus of claim 25, wherein the location information of the DU comprises at least one of the following information:

geographic coordinates, network connection information, coverage information, and other coverage information; wherein the network connection information comprises an internet protocol, IP, address; the coverage area information includes an antenna downtilt angle and/or downlink transmission power corresponding to each cell supported by the DU; the other coverage information includes: an identity of a macro cell in which the DU is located, and/or an identity of a neighboring cell of the DU.

27. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that the computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program comprising program instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to execute the method of updating serving cell information according to any one of claims 1 to 4; or, the program instructions, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the method of updating serving cell information according to any one of claims 5 to 9; alternatively, the program instructions, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the method of updating serving cell information according to any one of claims 10 to 13.

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