WO2024239715A1

WO2024239715A1 - Method and apparatus for wireless access backhaul node integration

Info

Publication number: WO2024239715A1
Application number: PCT/CN2024/075518
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yibin ZHUO; Mingzeng Dai; Haiyan Luo
Original assignee: Lenovo Beijing Ltd
Current assignee: Lenovo Beijing Ltd
Priority date: 2024-02-02
Filing date: 2024-02-02
Publication date: 2024-11-28
Anticipated expiration: 2026-08-02

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a method and apparatus for wireless access backhaul node integration. According to some embodiments of the disclosure, a wireless network node may: support a BS part and an MT part; perform an RRC connection setup procedure with a parent node; and in response to setting up the RRC connection, perform an NG connection setup procedure with a CN entity via the parent node at least by transmitting an NG setup request message to the CN entity, wherein the NG setup request message includes an identifier of the wireless network node or an IP address of the wireless network node.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR WIRELESS ACCESS BACKHAUL NODE INTEGRATION

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communication technology, and more particularly to wireless communication in a wireless access backhaul (WAB) network or a mobile WAB network.

BACKGROUND

A wireless communication system may include one or multiple network communication devices, such as base stations (BSs) , which may support wireless communication for one or multiple user communication devices, which may be otherwise known as user equipment (UE) , or other suitable terminology. The wireless communication system may support wireless communication with one or multiple user communication devices by utilizing resources of the wireless communication system (e.g., time resources (e.g., symbols, slots, subframes, frames, or the like) or frequency resources (e.g., subcarriers, carriers, or the like) . Additionally, the wireless communication system may support wireless communication across various radio access technologies including third generation (3G) radio access technology, fourth generation (4G) radio access technology, fifth generation (5G) (which is also known as new radio (NR) or next generation (NG) ) radio access technology, among other suitable radio access technologies beyond 5G (e.g., sixth generation (6G) ) .

SUMMARY

An article "a" before an element is unrestricted and understood to refer to "at least one" of those elements or "one or more" of those elements. The terms "a, " "at least one, " "one or more, " and "at least one of one or more" may be interchangeable. As used herein, including in the claims, "or" as used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items prefaced by a phrase such as "at least one of" or "one or more of" or "one or both of" ) indicates an inclusive list such that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C) . Also, as used herein, the phrase "based on" shall not be construed as a reference to a closed set of conditions. For example, an example step that is described as "based on condition A" may be based on both a condition A and a condition B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase "based on" shall be construed in the same manner as the phrase "based at least in part on. " Further, as used herein, including in the claims, a "set" may include one or more elements.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a wireless network node. The wireless network node may include: at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory and configured to cause the wireless network node to: support a BS part and a mobile terminal (MT) part; perform a radio resource control (RRC) connection setup procedure with a parent node; and in response to setting up the RRC connection, perform a next generation (NG) connection setup procedure with a core network (CN) entity via the parent node at least by transmitting an NG setup request message to the CN entity, wherein the NG setup request message includes an identifier of the wireless network node or an internet protocol (IP) address of the wireless network node.

In some embodiments, the at least one processor is further configured to cause the wireless network node to transmit an RRC connection setup complete message to the parent node in response to setting up the RRC connection, and wherein the RRC connection setup complete message indicates that the RRC connection is set up with the MT part of the wireless network node.

In some embodiments, the at least one processor is further configured to cause the wireless network node to receive, from one or more of the parent node, a donor node, an operation administration and maintenance (OAM) entity and the CN entity, one or more IP addresses of the wireless network node, which includes the IP address used for the NG connection setup procedure.

In some embodiments, the at least one processor is further configured to cause the wireless network node to transmit a first RRC message to the parent node to request at least one IP address of the one or more IP addresses, and wherein each of the at least one IP address has a respective usage of the following usages: all NG traffic, NG-control plane (NG-C) traffic, NG-user plane (NG-U) traffic, or non-NG traffic.

In some embodiments, the first RRC message is an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) other information message for requesting the at least one IP address or is an RRC message specific for requesting the at least one IP address.

In some embodiments, to receive the one or more IP addresses, the at least one processor is configured to cause the wireless network node to receive a second RRC message indicating the at least one IP address from the parent node.

In some embodiments, the at least one processor is further configured to cause the wireless network node to transmit a third RRC message including at least one IP address of the one or more IP addresses to the parent node or the donor node, each of the at least one IP address having a respective usage of the following usages: all NG traffic, NG-C traffic, NG-U traffic, or non-NG traffic. The at least one IP address is allocated by the OAM entity.

In some embodiments, the third RRC message is an IAB other information message for reporting the at least one IP address or is an RRC message specific for reporting the at least one IP address.

In some embodiments, the first RRC message or the third RRC message is relayed by the parent node to the donor node and the first RRC message or the third RRC message includes an identifier of the MT part of the wireless network node, an identifier of the BS part of the wireless network node, or the identifier of the wireless network node.

In some embodiments, to receive the one or more IP addresses, the at least one processor is configured to cause the wireless network node to: receive a fourth RRC message indicating at least one IP address of the one or more IP addresses from the parent node or the donor node, wherein the at least one IP address is transmitted by the CN entity to the parent node or the donor node via NG application protocol (NGAP) signaling; or receive at least one IP address of the one or more IP addresses from the CN entity via non-access stratum (NAS) signaling. In some embodiments, each of the at least one IP address has a respective usage of the following usages: all NG traffic, NG-C traffic, NG-U traffic, or non-NG traffic.

In some embodiments, the at least one processor is further configured to cause the wireless network node to: receive at least one IP address of the CN entity from one or more of the parent node, a donor node and an OAM entity or from the CN entity via NAS signaling; and establish a transport network layer association (TNLA) with the CN entity using one of the at least one IP address of the CN entity and the IP address of the wireless network node.

In some embodiments, to receive the at least one IP address of the CN entity, the at least one processor is configured to cause the wireless network node to receive a fifth RRC message indicating the at least one IP address of the CN entity from the parent node.

In some embodiments, the second RRC message, the fourth RRC message or the fifth RRC message includes an IAB IP address configuration for configuring the at least one IP address of the wireless network node or the CN entity, or includes a configuration specific for configuring the at least one IP address of the wireless network node or the CN entity.

In some embodiments, the second RRC message, the fourth RRC message or the fifth RRC message is from the donor node and relayed by the parent node, and the second RRC message, the fourth RRC message or the fifth RRC message includes an identifier of the MT part of the wireless network node, an identifier of the BS part of the wireless network node or the identifier of the wireless network node.

In some embodiments, the at least one processor is further configured to cause the wireless network node to receive, from the CN entity via NGAP signaling between the CN entity and the wireless network node, one or more IP addresses of the wireless network node in response to setting up the NG connection.

In some embodiments, the parent node is a donor node or another wireless network node.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a CN entity. The CN entity may include: at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory and configured to cause the CN entity to: perform registration for a wireless network node, wherein the wireless network node supports a BS part and an MT part; and perform an NG connection setup procedure with the wireless network node at least by receiving an NG setup request message from the wireless network node, wherein the NG setup request message includes an identifier of the wireless network node or an IP address of the wireless network node.

In some embodiments, the at least one processor is further configured to cause the CN entity to receive a message requesting the registration for the wireless network node from a parent node of the wireless network node, wherein the message indicates that the registration is for the MT part of the wireless network node.

In some embodiments, the at least one processor is further configured to cause the CN entity to allocate, before the NG connection setup procedure, at least one IP address of the wireless network node, each of which has a respective usage of the following usages: all NG traffic, NG-C traffic, NG-U traffic, or non-NG traffic.

In some embodiments, the at least one processor is configured to cause the CN entity to: transmit the at least one IP address of the wireless network node to a parent node of the wireless network node or a donor node of the wireless network node via a first NGAP signaling; or transmit the at least one IP address of the wireless network node to the wireless network node via NAS signaling.

In some embodiments, the at least one processor is configured to cause the CN entity to receive, from the parent node or the donor node, a second NGAP signaling requesting the at least one IP address of the wireless network node, and wherein the first NGAP signaling and the second NGAP signaling include an identifier of the MT part of the wireless network node, an identifier of the BS part of the wireless network node or the identifier of the wireless network node.

In some embodiments, the at least one processor is further configured to cause the CN entity to transmit, to the wireless network node via NGAP signaling between the CN entity and the wireless network node, one or more IP addresses of the wireless network node in response to setting up the NG connection.

In some embodiments, the at least one processor is further configured to cause the CN entity to receive, before the NG connection setup procedure, at least one IP address of the wireless network node from a parent node of the wireless network node or a donor node of the wireless network node via NGAP signaling.

In some embodiments, the at least one processor is further configured to cause the CN entity to: transmit at least one IP address of the CN entity to the wireless network node via NAS signaling; and establish a TNLA with the CN entity using one of the at least one IP address of the CN entity and the IP address of the wireless network node.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a donor node. The donor node may include: at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory and configured to cause the donor node to: perform an RRC connection setup procedure with a wireless network node, wherein the wireless network node supports a BS part and an MT part; and in response to setting up the RRC connection, receive an RRC connection setup complete message from the wireless network node, wherein the RRC connection setup complete message indicates that the RRC connection is set up with the MT part of the wireless network node, wherein the donor node is a parent node of the wireless network node.

In some embodiments, the at least one processor is further configured to cause the donor node to transmit a message requesting registration for the wireless network node to a CN entity in response to receiving the RRC connection setup complete message, wherein the message indicates that the registration is for the MT part of the wireless network node.

In some embodiments, the at least one processor is further configured to cause the donor node to, in response to setting up the RRC connection, transmit, to the wireless network node, a second RRC message indicating at least one IP address of the wireless network node, each of which has a respective usage of the following usages: all NG traffic, NG-C traffic, NG-U traffic, or non-NG traffic.

In some embodiments, the at least one processor is further configured to cause the donor node to receive, from the wireless network node, a first RRC message for requesting the at least one IP address of the wireless network node in response to setting up the RRC connection.

In some embodiments, the first RRC message is an IAB other information message for requesting the at least one IP address or is an RRC message specific for requesting the at least one IP address.

In some embodiments, the at least one processor is further configured to cause the donor node to receive, from the wireless network node, a third RRC message including at least one IP address of the wireless network node, each of which has a respective usage of the following usages: all NG traffic, NG-C traffic, NG-U traffic, or non-NG traffic. The at least one IP address is allocated by an OAM entity.

In some embodiments, the at least one processor is further configured to cause the donor node to receive, from a CN entity, NGAP signaling indicating at least one IP address of the wireless network node, each of which has a respective usage of the following usages: all NG traffic, NG-C traffic, NG-U traffic, or non-NG traffic.

In some embodiments, the at least one processor is further configured to cause the donor node to transmit, to the wireless network node, a fourth RRC message indicating at least one IP address of a CN entity.

In some embodiments, the second RRC message or the fourth RRC message includes an IAB IP address configuration for configuring the at least one IP address of the wireless network node or the CN entity, or includes a configuration specific for configuring the at least one IP address of the wireless network node or the CN entity.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for wireless communication, including: performing, at a wireless network node, an RRC connection setup procedure with a parent node, wherein the wireless network node supports a BS part and an MT part; in response to setting up the RRC connection, performing, at the wireless network node, an NG connection setup procedure with a CN entity via the parent node at least by transmitting an NG setup request message to the CN entity, wherein the NG setup request message includes an identifier of the wireless network node or an IP address of the wireless network node.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for wireless communication, including: performing registration for a wireless network node, wherein the wireless network node supports a BS part and an MT part; and performing an NG connection setup procedure with the wireless network node at least by receiving an NG setup request message from the wireless network node, wherein the NG setup request message includes an identifier of the wireless network node or an IP address of the wireless network node.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for wireless communication, including: performing, at a donor node, an RRC connection setup procedure with a wireless network node, wherein the wireless network node supports a BS part and an MT part; and in response to setting up the RRC connection, receiving, at the donor node, an RRC connection setup complete message from the wireless network node, wherein the RRC connection setup complete message indicates that the RRC connection is set up with the MT part of the wireless network node, wherein the donor node is a parent node of the wireless network node.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide an apparatus. According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the apparatus may include: at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions; at least one receiving circuitry; at least one transmitting circuitry; and at least one processor coupled to the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium, the at least one receiving circuitry and the at least one transmitting circuitry, wherein the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium and the computer executable instructions may be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform a method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to describe the manner in which the advantages and features of the disclosure can be obtained, a description of the disclosure is rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which are illustrated in the appended drawings. These drawings depict only exemplary embodiments of the disclosure and are not therefore to be considered limiting of its scope.

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary procedure for wireless network node integration in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIGs. 3 and 5 illustrate flowcharts of methods for wireless communication in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of network equipment (NE) in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a processor in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description of the appended drawings is intended as a description of the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure and is not intended to represent the only form in which the present disclosure may be practiced. It should be understood that the same or equivalent functions may be accomplished by different embodiments that are intended to be encompassed within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

Reference will now be made in detail to some embodiments of the present disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. To facilitate understanding, embodiments are provided under a specific network architecture (s) and new service scenarios, such as the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) 5G NR or 6G, 3GPP LTE, and so on. It is contemplated that along with the developments of network architectures and new service scenarios, all embodiments in the present disclosure are also applicable to similar technical problems; and moreover, the terminologies recited in the present disclosure may change, which should not affect the principles of the present disclosure.

In a WAB network, a wireless network node such as a relay node (RN) or a WAB node, a wireless backhaul node, or a wireless backhaul device can provide wireless access services for UEs. For example, a UE can connect to a BS (i.e., a WAB donor) relayed by one or more WAB nodes. The WAB donor may also be called a donor node or a donor base station (e.g., DgNB, Donor gNodeB) . In addition, the wireless link between a WAB donor and a WAB node, or the wireless link between different WAB nodes can be referred to as a "backhaul link. " It should be noted that although, for convenience, some embodiments of the present disclosure use WAB node and WAB donor to describe the WAB network, the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. For example, the entities in a WAB network may have different terminologies but the embodiments may still apply.

A WAB node may include an MT part (i.e., WAB-MT) and a BS part (i.e., WAB-BS) . In some examples, the WAB-MT may be a mobile terminal. When a WAB node connects to its parent node (which may be another WAB node or a WAB donor) , it can be regarded as a UE, i.e., the role of an MT. In some examples, the WAB-MT can be called WAB-UE. That is, the MT part may be referred to as a UE part or UE component. When a WAB node provides service to its child node (which may be another WAB node or a UE) , it can be regarded as a network device, i.e., the role of a BS (e.g., a gNB) .

In some embodiments, a WAB node may be referred to as a “mobile WAB node (MWAB) , " which is a mobile base station acting as a relay between a UE and the network (e.g., a mobile gNB with wireless access backhauling) . The MT part or UE component of the MWAB may be referred to as MWAB-UE and the BS part or BS component of the MWAB may be referred to as MWAB-BS (e.g., MWAB-gNB) . For example, the WAB node may provide a NR access link to UEs and connected wirelessly (using NR) through a donor NG-radio access network (RAN) (NG-RAN) to the 5G Core. In some examples, such mobile base station relay may be mounted on a vehicle and may serve UEs that can be located inside (onboard) or outside (surrounding) the vehicle, or UEs that enter or leave the vehicle.

A WAB donor or the WAB-BS can be an access network element with a complete base station function, or an access network element with a separate form of a centralized unit (CU) and a DU. The WAB donor or the WAB-BS may be connected to the core network (for example, connected to the 5G core (5GC) network) , and provide the wireless backhaul function for the WAB nodes. For example, the CU of a WAB donor may be referred to as a "WAB donor-CU" (or directly referred to as a "CU" ) , and the DU of the WAB donor may be referred to as a "WAB donor-DU. " The WAB donor-CU or the CU of the WAB-BS may be separated into a control plane (CP) and a user plane (UP) . For example, a CU may include one CU-CP and one or more CU-UPs.

Considering the limited coverage of a high frequency band, and in order to ensure coverage performance of the network, multi-hop networking may be adopted in a WAB network. Taking into account the requirements of service transmission reliability, WAB nodes can support dual connectivity (DC) or multi-connectivity to improve transmission reliability, so as to deal with abnormal situations that may occur on the backhaul (BH) link, such as radio link failure (RLF) or blockage, load fluctuations, etc.

In the case where a WAB network supports multi-hop and dual-connection networking, there may be multiple transmission paths between the UE and the WAB donor. A transmission path may include multiple nodes, such as a UE, one or more WAB nodes, and a WAB donor (if the WAB donor is in the form of a separate CU and DU, it may also contain a WAB donor-DU and a WAB donor-CU) . Each WAB node may treat the neighboring node that provides backhaul services for it as a parent node (or parent WAB node) , and each WAB node can be regarded as a child node (or child WAB node) of its parent node.

Technologies for facilitating communications in a WAB network are desired. For example, embodiments of the present disclosure provide example procedures for WAB node integration. For example, solutions for establishing an NG connection between a WAB node and a CN entity are provided. For example, solutions for obtaining an IP address for the WAB node and an IP address of the CN entity are provided. For example, solutions for associating the MT part and the BS part of the WAB node during the integration procedure are provided.

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of wireless communication system 100 in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 1, wireless communication system 100 may include some base stations (e.g., WAB donor 110A and WAB donor 110B) , some WAB nodes (e.g., WAB node 120A, WAB node 120B, and WAB node 120C) , and some UEs (e.g., UE 130A and UE 130B) . Although a specific number of UEs, WAB nodes, and WAB donors is depicted in FIG. 1, it is contemplated that any number of UEs, WAB nodes, and WAB donors may be included in wireless communication system 100. Each of WAB donor 110A, WAB donor 110B, WAB node 120A, WAB node 120B, and WAB node 120C may be directly connected to one or more WAB nodes in accordance with some other embodiments of the present disclosure. Each of WAB donor 110A, WAB donor 110B, WAB node 120A, WAB node 120B, and WAB node 120C may be directly connected to one or more UEs in accordance with some other embodiments of the present disclosure.

Wireless communication system 100 may be compatible with any type of network that is capable of transmitting and receiving wireless communication signals. Wireless communication system 100 may support various radio access technologies. In some implementations, wireless communication system 100 may be a 4G network, such as an LTE network or an LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) network. In some other implementations, wireless communication system 100 may be a NR network, such as a 5G network, a 5G-Advanced (5G-A) network, or a 5G ultra-wideband (5G-UWB) network. In other implementations, wireless communication system 100 may be a combination of a 4G network and a 5G network, or other suitable radio access technology including Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi) , IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX) , and IEEE 802.20. Wireless communication system 100 may support radio access technologies beyond 5G, for example, 6G. Additionally, wireless communication system 100 may support technologies, such as time division multiple access (TDMA) , frequency division multiple access (FDMA) , or code division multiple access (CDMA) , etc.

In the context of the present disclosure, a WAB node (e.g., WAB node 120A, WAB node 120B, or WAB node 120C in FIG. 1) or a WAB donor (e.g., WAB donor 110A and WAB donor 110B in FIG. 1) may also be referred to an NE. An NE may be dispersed throughout a geographic region to form wireless communication system 100. An NE may provide a geographic coverage area for which the NE may support services for one or more UEs within the geographic coverage area. For example, an NE and a UE may support wireless communication of signals related to services (e.g., voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, etc. ) according to one or multiple radio access technologies. In some implementations, an NE may be moveable, for example, a satellite associated with a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or a relay mounted on a moving vehicle. In some implementations, different geographic coverage areas associated with the same or different radio access technologies may overlap, but the different geographic coverage areas may be associated with a different NE.

UE 130A and UE 130B may be dispersed throughout a geographic region of wireless communication system 100. UE 130A and UE 130B may be any type of device configured to operate and/or communicate in a wireless environment. For example, UE 130A or UE 130B may include or may be referred to as a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a subscriber device, a transmitter device, a receiver device, or some other suitable terminology. In some implementations, UE 130A or UE 130B may be referred to as a unit, a station, a terminal, or a client, among other examples. Additionally, or alternatively, UE 130A or UE 130B may be referred to as an Internet-of-Things (IoT) device, an Internet-of-Everything (IoE) device, or machine-type communication (MTC) device, among other examples.

UE 130A and UE 130B may be able to support wireless communication directly with each other or other UEs over a communication link. For example, UE 130A may support wireless communication directly with UE 130B over a device-to-device (D2D) communication link. In some implementations, such as vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) deployments, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) deployments, or cellular-V2X deployments, the communication link between two UEs may be referred to as a sidelink. For example, UE 130A may support wireless communication directly with UE 130B over a PC5 interface. Similarly, an MT of a WAB node and an MT of another WAB node may communication directly with each other over a sidelink.

A WAB donor may support communication with a core network (CN) , or with another WAB donor, or both. For example, WAB donor 110A may interface with WAB donor 110B or the CN (not shown in FIG. 1) through one or more backhaul links (e.g., S1, X2, NG, Xn, or other network interface) . In some implementations, WAB donors may communicate with each other directly. In some other implementations, WAB donors may communicate with each other indirectly (e.g., via the CN) .

The CN may support user authentication, access authorization, tracking, connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. The CN may be an evolved packet core (EPC) , or a 5G core (5GC) , which may include a control plane entity that manages access and mobility (e.g., a mobility management entity (MME) , an access and mobility management functions (AMF) ) and a user plane entity that routes packets or interconnects to external networks (e.g., a serving gateway (S-GW) , a Packet Data Network (PDN) gateway (P-GW) , or a user plane function (UPF) ) . In some implementations, the control plane entity may manage non-access stratum (NAS) functions, such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management (e.g., data bearers, signal bearers, etc. ) for UEs served by a WAB node or a WAB donor associated with the CN.

The CN may communicate with a packet data network over one or more backhaul links (e.g., via an N6 or another network interface) . The packet data network may include an application server. In some implementations, one or more UEs may communicate with the application server. A UE may establish a session (e.g., a protocol data unit (PDU) session, or the like) with the CN via, for example, a WAB donor. The CN may route traffic (e.g., control information, data, and the like) between the UE and the application server using the established session (e.g., the established PDU session) . The PDU session may be an example of a logical connection between the UE and the CN (e.g., one or more network functions of the CN) .

In wireless communication system 100, NEs (e.g., WAB donors and WAB nodes) and UEs may use resources of wireless communication system 100 (e.g., time resources (e.g., symbols, slots, subframes, frames, or the like) or frequency resources (e.g., subcarriers, carriers) ) to perform various operations (e.g., wireless communication) .

In wireless communication system 100, an electromagnetic (EM) spectrum may be split, based on frequency or wavelength, into various classes, frequency bands, frequency channels, etc. By way of example, wireless communication system 100 may support one or multiple operating frequency bands, such as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz –7.125 GHz) , FR2 (24.25 GHz –52.6 GHz) , FR3 (7.125 GHz –24.25 GHz) , FR4 (52.6 GHz –114.25 GHz) , FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz –71 GHz) , and FR5 (114.25 GHz –300 GHz) . In some implementations, NEs and UEs may perform wireless communication over one or more of the operating frequency bands. In some implementations, FR1 may be used by NEs and UEs, among other equipment or devices for cellular communication traffic (e.g., control information, data) . In some implementations, FR2 may be used by NEs and UEs, among other equipment or devices for short-range, high data rate capabilities.

A UE may include computing devices, such as desktop computers, laptop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs) , tablet computers, smart televisions (e.g., televisions connected to the Internet) , set-top boxes, game consoles, security systems (including security cameras) , vehicle on-board computers, network devices (e.g., routers, switches, and modems) , vehicles or the like. According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, a UE may include a portable wireless communication device, a smart phone, a cellular telephone, a flip phone, a device having a subscriber identity module, a personal computer, a selective call receiver, or any other device that is capable of sending and receiving communication signals on a wireless network. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a UE includes wearable devices, such as smart watches, fitness bands, optical head-mounted displays, or the like. Moreover, a UE may be referred to as a subscriber unit, a mobile, a mobile station, a user, a terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a fixed terminal, a subscriber station, a user terminal, or a device, or described using other terminology used in the art. A UE may communicate with an NE (e.g., a WAB donor or a WAB node) via uplink (UL) communication signals. An NE may communicate with a UE via downlink (DL) communication signals.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, an NE (e.g., a wireless network node, a BS, a WAB donor or a WAB node) and a UE may communicate over licensed spectrums, whereas in some other embodiments, an NE and a UE may communicate over unlicensed spectrums. The present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the implementation of any particular wireless communication system architecture or protocol.

Persons skilled in the art should understand that as technology develops and advances, the terminologies described in the present disclosure may change, but should not affect or limit the principles and spirit of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1, WAB node 120A can be directly connected to WAB donors 110A and 110B, and WAB node 120B can be directly connected to WAB donor 110A. WAB donors 110A and 110B are parent nodes of WAB node 120A, and WAB donor 110A is a parent node of WAB node 120B. In other words, WAB nodes 120A and 120B are child WAB nodes of WAB donor 110A, and WAB node 120A is also a child WAB node of WAB donor 110B. WAB node 120C can reach WAB donor 110A by hopping through WAB node 120B. WAB node 120B is a parent WAB node of WAB node 120C. In other words, WAB node 120C is a child WAB node of WAB node 120B.

In some other embodiments of the present disclosure, a WAB node may be connected to WAB node 120C so it can reach WAB donor 110A by hopping through WAB node 120C and WAB node 120B. This WAB node and WAB node 120C may be referred to as the descendant WAB nodes of WAB node 120B.

UEs 130A and 130B can be connected to WAB nodes 120A and 120C, respectively. WAB nodes 120A and 120C may therefore be referred to as access WAB nodes. UL packets (e.g., data or signaling) from UE 130A or UE 130B can be transmitted to a WAB donor (e.g., WAB donor 110A or 110B) via one or more WAB nodes, and then transmitted by the WAB donor to a mobile gateway device (such as the UPF in the 5GC) . DL packets (e.g., data or signaling) can be transmitted from the WAB donor (e.g., WAB donor 110A or 110B) after being received by the gateway device, and then transmitted to UE 130A or 130B through one or more WAB nodes.

For example, referring to FIG. 1, UE 130A may transmit UL data to WAB donor 110A or 110B or receive DL data therefrom via WAB node 120A. UE 130B may transmit UL data to WAB donor 110A or receive DL data therefrom via WAB node 120C and WAB node 120B.

In a WAB deployment such as the wireless communication system 100, the radio link between a WAB donor (e.g., WAB donor 110A or 110B in FIG. 1) and a WAB node or between two WAB nodes may be referred to as a backhaul link (BL) . The radio link between a WAB donor (e.g., WAB donor 110A or 110B in FIG. 1) and a UE or between a WAB node and a UE may be referred to as an access link (AL) . For example, in FIG. 1, radio links 140A to 140D are BLs and radio links 150A and 150B are ALs.

It should be noted that the WAB network shown in FIG. 1 is only for illustrative purposes. There are various WAB networks that support single-hop, single-connection, multi-hop, multi-connection, or any combination thereof. It should be noted that, although embodiments of the present disclosure may be discussed under a specific network architecture (e.g., the WAB architecture) and based on certain specific components (e.g., a WAB donor or a WAB node) , embodiments of the present disclosure are also applicable to other similar network architectures and new service scenarios.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide solutions for WAB node integration. For example, as described above, a WAB node may include an MT part and a BS part. When a WAB node accesses a network, the BS part of the WAB node may need to set up an NG connection to a CN entity (e.g., an AMF) . Embodiments of the present disclosure provide solutions for establishing an NG connection between a WAB node and a CN entity. For example, solutions for allocating an IP address for the WAB node are provided. The IP address of the WAB node can be used by the WAB node for NG (e.g., NG-C or NG-U) and non-NG traffic (e.g., OAM traffic and stream control transport protocol (SCTP) association related traffic) exchange via the backhaul. For example, solutions for obtaining an IP address for the CN entity are provided. For example, solutions for associating the MT part and the BS part of the WAB node during the integration procedure are provided. More details on the embodiments of the present disclosure will be illustrated in the following text in combination with the appended drawings.

FIG. 2 illustrates exemplary procedure 200 for wireless network node integration in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Details described in all of the foregoing embodiments of the present disclosure are applicable for the embodiments shown in FIG. 2.

In FIG. 2, WAB node 210 may include an MT part and a BS part, which may connect to the same CN (e.g., CN entity 230) after the integration procedure. In some embodiments, the MT part and the BS part of WAB node 210 can connect to different CNs. The MT part of WAB node 210 may perform authentication with the CN (e.g., 5GC) . NE 220 may be a parent node of WAB node 210 after the integration procedure.

In some examples, NE 220 may be a donor node (e.g., a gNB which provides network access to UEs via the WAB network) . After the integration procedure, WAB node 210 can directly access a donor node. In the case of a CU-DU split, CU and DU of NE 220 may refer to the CU and the DU of the donor node, respectively.

In some examples, NE 220 may be another WAB node (denoted as WAB node #A) , or more specifically, the BS part of WAB node #A. After the integration procedure, WAB node 210 can access a donor node by hopping through WAB node #A. In the case of a CU-DU split, CU and DU of NE 220 may refer to the CU and the DU of the BS part of WAB node #A, respectively.

In some embodiments, to access the network, WAB node 210 may perform an RRC connection setup procedure with NE 220, and in response to setting up the RRC connection, WAB node 210 may then perform an NG connection setup procedure with CN entity 230 (e.g., an AMF) .

For example, referring to FIG. 2, at 211, WAB node 210 (e.g., the MT of WAB node 210) may transmit an RRC setup request message to NE 220. In some embodiments, in the case of a CU-DU split, the RRC setup request message may be transmitted to the DU of NE 220, which may then transfer this RRC message to the CU of NE 220. For example, the RRC message may be included in an initial UL RRC message transfer message, which may include an identifier allocated for WAB node 210 (e.g., a cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) allocated for the MT of WAB node 210) by the DU of NE 220.

At 213, NE 220 may transmit an RRC setup message to WAB node 210 (e.g., the MT of WAB node 210) . In the case of a CU-DU split, the RRC setup message may be generated by the CU of NE 220, and then encapsulated in a message from the CU of NE 220 to the DU of NE 220. For example, the RRC setup message may be encapsulated in a DL RRC message transfer message.

In response to setting up the RRC connection (e.g., in response to receiving the RRC setup message) , WAB node 210 (e.g., the MT of WAB node 210) may, at 215, transmit an RRC connection setup complete message to NE 220. In the case of a CU-DU split, the RRC connection setup complete message may be transmitted to the DU of NE 220, which may then transfer this RRC message to the CU of NE 220. For example, the RRC message may be included in a UL RRC message transfer message. In some embodiments, the RRC connection setup complete message may indicate that the RRC connection is set up with an MT part of a wireless network node (i.e., the MT part of WAB node 210) , rather than a UE.

In response to receiving the RRC connection setup complete message, NE 220 may transmit, to CN entity 230 at 217, a message requesting registration for WAB node 210. The message may be an NGAP message such as an INITIAL UE MESSAGE message. In some embodiments, the NGAP message may indicate to CN entity 230 that the registration is for an MT part of a wireless network node (i.e., the MT part of WAB node 210) , rather than a UE. In some embodiments, the NGAP message may indicate the temporary mobile subscriber identity (TMSI) , 5G short TMSI (5G-S-TMSI) or 5G-TMSI of WAB node 210 (i.e., TMSI, 5G-S-TMSI, or 5G-TMSI of the MT part of WAB node 210) . In some embodiments, CN entity 230 may allocate an identifier for WAB node 210 (e.g., for the MT part of WAB node 210) during the registration. The identifier allocated for WAB node 210 may be a 5G globally unique temporary UE identifier (5G-GUTI) .

At 221, CN entity 230 may initiate an initial context setup procedure to establish necessary overall initial UE context for WAB node 210 (e.g., the MT part of WAB node 210) at NE 220 (when required) . The initial UE context may include PDU session context, the security key, mobility restriction list, UE radio capability, UE security capabilities, etc.

For example, in the case of a CU-DU split, CN entity 230 may transmit an initial context setup request message to the CU of NE 220, which may then transmit a UE context setup request message to establish the UE context for WAB node 210 (e.g., the MT part of WAB node 210) in the DU of NE 220. The UE context setup request message may encapsulate a security mode command message. The DU of NE 220 may transmit the security mode command message to WAB node 210 (e.g., the MT part of WAB node 210) and may transmit a UE context setup response message to the CU of NE 220. WAB node 210 (e.g., the MT part of WAB node 210) may transmit a security mode complete message to the DU of NE 220 in response to the security mode command message. The DU of NE 220 may encapsulate the security mode complete message in a UL RRC message transfer message and transmit it to the CU of NE 220. The CU of NE 220 may generate an RRC reconfiguration message and encapsulate it in a DL RRC message transfer message to the DU of NE 220. The DU of NE 220 may transmit the RRC reconfiguration message to WAB node 210 (e.g., the MT part of WAB node 210) , which may transmit an RRC reconfiguration complete message to the DU of NE 220 as a response. The DU of NE 220 may encapsulate the RRC reconfiguration complete message in a UL RRC message transfer message and transmit it to the CU of NE 220, which may transmit an initial context setup response message to CN entity 230.

At 223, WAB node 210 (e.g., the BS part of WAB node 210) may establish a TNLA with CN entity 230 using an IP address of CN entity 230 and an IP address of WAB node 210 (e.g., the BS part of WAB node 210) . In some embodiments, WAB node 210 may perform the TNLA establishment in response to setting up the RRC connection (e.g., in response to receiving the RRC setup message) or at any appropriate time. For example, WAB node 210 may perform the TNLA establishment in response to obtaining the above IP addresses.

As will be described in the following text, various methods can be employed to obtain one or more IP addresses of WAB node 210 and one or more IP addresses of CN entity 230.

For example, WAB node 210 can obtain an IP address (es) of its own from one or more of the following entities: its parent node (e.g., NE 220) , a donor node (e.g., NE 220 in the case of single hopping or the donor node of NE 220 in the case of multi-hopping) , an OAM entity (not shown in FIG. 2) and CN entity 230. WAB node 210 can use the obtained IP address (es) for the TNLA establishment as well as the subsequent NG connection setup procedure.

For example, in some embodiments, WAB node 210 can obtain at least one IP address of its own from a parent node (e.g., NE 220) . This scheme is hereinafter referred to as a parent-node-based IP address allocation scheme. In this scheme, either the CU or the DU of the parent node can allocate the at least one IP address. In some embodiments, in either case, WAB node 210 may transmit an RRC message (denoted as RRC MSG #A1) to the CU of the parent node to request the at least one IP address for WAB node 210.

In the case of DU allocation, the CU of the parent node may obtain the requested IP address (es) of WAB node 210 from the DU of the parent node in response to receiving RRC MSG #A1. For example, the CU and DU of the parent node may exchange F1AP messages for requesting and configuring the IP address (es) of WAB node 210. In the case of CU allocation, the CU of the parent node may allocate the requested IP address (es) of WAB node 210. The CU of the parent node may then transmit the IP address (es) of WAB node 210 allocated by the DU or CU of the parent node to WAB node 210 via an RRC message (denoted as RRC MSG #A2) .

In some embodiments, each of the at least one IP address may have a respective usage of the following usages: all NG traffic, NG-C traffic, NG-U traffic, or non-NG traffic. In the context of the present disclosure, all NG traffic can include NG-C traffic and NG-U traffic. That is, the IP address of WAB node 210 can be requested and allocated for a respective usage, e.g., for all NG traffic, NG-C traffic, NG-U traffic or non-NG traffic. In some embodiments, in the case of DU allocation as mentioned above, the exchanged F1AP messages may include an information element (IE) for requesting or configuring an IP address of a WAB node of a respective usage. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, an IP address can be an IPv4 address, an IPv6 address or an IPv6 address prefix.

In some embodiments, RRC MSG #A1 may be an IAB other information message for requesting the at least one IP address of WAB node 210. In some embodiments, the IAB other information message may include an IE for requesting an IP address with a corresponding usage (e.g., all NG traffic, NG-C traffic, NG-U traffic, or non-NG traffic) for a WAB node.

In some embodiments, RRC MSG #A1 may be an RRC message specific for requesting the at least one IP address for a WAB node, for example, a WAB other information message introduced for a WAB node to request an IP address with a corresponding usage. The WAB other information message may include an IE for requesting an IP address with a corresponding usage (e.g., all NG traffic, NG-C traffic, NG-U traffic, or non-NG traffic) for a WAB node.

In some embodiments, RRC MSG #A2 may be an RRC reconfiguration message. RRC MSG #A2 may include an IAB IP address configuration for configuring the at least one IP address of WAB node 210. For example, the RRC reconfiguration message may include an IAB-IP-AddressConfiguration IE with a respective usage (e.g., all NG traffic, NG-U traffic, NG-C traffic or non-NG traffic) for a WAB-node.

In some embodiments, RRC MSG #A2 may be an RRC reconfiguration message. RRC MSG #A2 may include a configuration specific for configuring the at least one IP address of WAB node 210. For example, a WAB-IP-AddressConfiguration IE can be introduced into the RRC reconfiguration message for allocating or configuring an IP address for a WAB node. The WAB-IP-AddressConfiguration IE may be associated with a respective usage (e.g., all NG traffic, NG-U traffic, NG-C traffic or non-NG traffic) of the IP address.

In some embodiments, the IP address of WAB node 210 can be updated via a DL RRC message (e.g., via RRC MSG #A2 as described above) and the old IP address can be replaced by the new one.

In some embodiments, the parent node may notify the CN of the IP address (es) of WAB node 210 allocated by the parent node, such that the CN can recognize the BS part of WAB node 210 during the NG setup procedure. Such notification can be performed at any time before the NG setup and after the IP address allocation. For example, NE 220 may transmit, to CN entity 230, the IP address (es) of WAB node 210 allocated by NE 220 via NGAP signaling between CN entity 230 and NE 220. For example, such notification may include an identifier of WAB node 210, an identifier of the MT part of WAB node 210 or an identifier of the BS part of WAB node 210.

For example, in some embodiments, WAB node 210 can obtain at least one IP address of its own from a donor node (hereinafter, donor-based IP address allocation scheme) . In the case of single hopping, the parent node of WAB node 210 is a donor node and the aforementioned parent-node-based IP address allocation scheme can be applied here.

In the case of multi-hopping, the aforementioned parent-node-based IP address allocation scheme can also be similarly applied, except that WAB node 210 requests the at least one IP address from the donor node via one or more intermediate WAB nodes (e.g., the parent node of WAB node 210 such as NE 220) , the donor node configures the request IP address (es) to WAB node 210 via the one or more intermediate WAB nodes, and the donor node updates the IP address of WAB node 210 via the one or more intermediate WAB nodes.

For example, RRC MSG #A1 may be transmitted from WAB node 210 to the donor node hop-by-hop. For instance, WAB node 210 may transmit RRC MSG #A1 to NE 220, which may then forward the message to the donor node. In some embodiments, RRC MSG #A1 may include an indication (e.g., an IE) for identifying WAB node 210. For example, RRC MSG #A1 may include an identifier of WAB node 210, an identifier of the MT part of WAB node 210 or an identifier of the BS part of WAB node 210. In the context of the present disclosure, an identifier of a WAB node can be, but not limit to, an identifier of the MT part or the BS part of the WAB node. For example, the identifier of WAB node 210 may be the TMSI, 5G-S-TMSI or 5G-TMSI of the MT part of WAB node 210 or the 5G-GUTI of WAB node 210.

For example, RRC MSG #A2 may be transmitted from the donor node to WAB node 210 hop-by-hop. For instance, the donor node may transmit RRC MSG #A2 to NE 220, which may then forward the message to WAB node 210. In some embodiments, RRC MSG #A2 may include an indication (e.g., an IE) for identifying WAB node 210. For example, RRC MSG #A2 may include an identifier of WAB node 210, an identifier of the MT part of WAB node 210 or an identifier of the BS part of WAB node 210.

In some embodiments, the donor node may notify the CN of the IP address (es) of WAB node 210 allocated by the donor node, such that the CN can recognize the BS part of WAB node 210 during the NG setup procedure. Such notification can be performed at any time before the NG setup and after the IP address allocation. For example, the donor node may transmit, to CN entity 230, the IP address (es) of WAB node 210 allocated by the donor node via NGAP signaling between the donor node and NE 220. For example, such notification may include an identifier of WAB node 210, an identifier of the MT part of WAB node 210 or an identifier of the BS part of WAB node 210.

For example, in some embodiments, WAB node 210 can obtain at least one IP address of its own from an OAM entity (not shown in FIG. 2) . This scheme is hereinafter referred to as an OAM-based IP address allocation scheme. In some embodiments, each of the at least one IP address may have a respective usage of the following usages: all NG traffic, NG-C traffic, NG-U traffic, or non-NG traffic.

WAB node 210 may inform the IP address allocated by the OAM entity to its parent node or its donor node. For example, WAB node 210 may transmit an RRC message (denoted as RRC MSG #A3) including the at least one IP address allocated by the OAM entity to the parent node (e.g., NE 220) or the donor node.

In some embodiments, RRC MSG #A3 may be an IAB other information message for reporting the at least one IP address of WAB node 210. In some embodiments, the IAB other information message may include an IE for reporting an IP address with a corresponding usage (e.g., all NG traffic, NG-C traffic, NG-U traffic, or non-NG traffic) for a WAB node.

In some embodiments, RRC MSG #A3 may be an RRC message specific for reporting the at least one IP address, for example, a WAB other information message introduced for a WAB node to report an IP address with a corresponding usage. The WAB other information message may include an IE for reporting an IP address with a corresponding usage (e.g., all NG traffic, NG-C traffic, NG-U traffic, or non-NG traffic) for a WAB node.

In some embodiments, WAB node 210 may transmit the IP address allocated by the OAM entity to the donor node. In the case that WAB node 210 does not directly connect to the donor node, RRC MSG #A3 may be transmitted from WAB node 210 to the donor node hop-by-hop. For instance, WAB node 210 may transmit RRC MSG #A3 to NE 220 (i.e., the parent node) , which may then forward the message to the donor node. In some embodiments, RRC MSG #A3 may include an indication (e.g., an IE) for identifying WAB node 210. For example, RRC MSG #A3 may include an identifier of WAB node 210, an identifier of the MT part of WAB node 210 or an identifier of the BS part of WAB node 210. For example, the identifier of WAB node 210 may be the TMSI, 5G-S-TMSI or 5G-TMSI of the MT part of WAB node 210 or the 5G-GUTI of WAB node 210.

In some embodiments, the parent node or the donor node may notify the CN of the received IP address (es) of WAB node 210 allocated by the OAM entity, such that the CN can recognize the BS part of WAB node 210 during the NG setup procedure. Such notification can be performed at any time before the NG setup and after the IP address allocation. For example, the parent node or the donor node may transmit, to CN entity 230, the IP address (es) of WAB node 210 allocated by the OAM entity via NGAP signaling. For example, such notification may include an identifier of WAB node 210, an identifier of the MT part of WAB node 210 or an identifier of the BS part of WAB node 210. In some embodiments, WAB node 210 may notify the CN of the IP address (es) of WAB node 210 allocated by the OAM entity via the UL NAS signaling between WAB node 210 and CN entity 230.

For example, in some embodiments, WAB node 210 can obtain at least one IP address of its own from the CN such as CN entity 230 (hereinafter, CN-based IP address allocation scheme) . In some embodiments, each of the one or more IP addresses of WAB node 210 may have a respective usage of the following usages: all NG traffic, NG-C traffic, NG-U traffic, or non-NG traffic.

In some embodiments, CN entity 230 may transmit the at least one IP address of WAB node 210 to the donor node of WAB node 210. For example, CN entity 230 may transmit the at least one IP address to the donor node via NGAP signaling between CN entity 230 and the donor node. The donor node may then transmit the at least one IP address allocated by CN entity 230 to WAB node 210 via an RRC message (denoted as RRC MSG #A4) .

In some embodiments, WAB node 210 may first request CN entity 230 to allocate the at least one IP address for WAB node 210. For example, WAB node 210 may first transmit an RRC message (denoted as RRC MSG #A5) to the donor node to request the at least one IP address for WAB node 210. Then, the donor node may forward the request to CN entity 230 via UL NGAP signaling.

In some embodiments, the contents of IP address configuration described with respect to the donor-based IP address allocation scheme may be applied to RRC MSG #A4. For example, the descriptions with respect to RRC MSG #A2 in the donor-based IP address allocation scheme can be applied to RRC MSG #A4. For example, RRC MSG #A4 may be an RRC reconfiguration message. For example, in the case of multi-hopping, RRC MSG #A4 may be transmitted from the donor node to WAB node 210 hop-by-hop. In some embodiments, RRC MSG #A4 may include an indication (e.g., an IE) for identifying WAB node 210.

In some embodiments, the contents of the IP address request described with respect to the donor-based IP address allocation scheme may be applied to RRC MSG #A5. For example, the descriptions with respect to RRC MSG #A1 in the donor-based IP address allocation scheme can be applied to RRC MSG #A5. For example, RRC MSG #A5 may be an IAB other information message or a WAB other information message. For example, RRC MSG #A5 may be transmitted from WAB node 210 to the donor node hop-by-hop in the case of multi-hopping. In some embodiments, RRC MSG #A5 may include an indication (e.g., an IE) for identifying WAB node 210.

In some embodiments, the NGAP singling for requesting or allocating the IP address may include an indication (e.g., an IE) for identifying WAB node 210.

In some embodiments, CN entity 230 may transmit the at least one IP address of WAB node 210 to the parent node of WAB node 210. For example, CN entity 230 may transmit the at least one IP address to NE 220 via NGAP signaling between CN entity 230 and NE 220. NE 220 may then transmit the at least one IP address allocated by CN entity 230 to WAB node 210 via an RRC message (denoted as RRC MSG #A4') .

In some embodiments, WAB node 210 may first request CN entity 230 to allocate the at least one IP address for WAB node 210. For example, WAB node 210 may first transmit an RRC message (denoted as RRC MSG #A5') to the parent node (e.g., NE 220) to request the at least one IP address for WAB node 210. Then, the parent node may forward the request to CN entity 230 via UL NGAP signaling.

In some embodiments, the contents of IP address configuration described with respect to the parent-node-based IP address allocation scheme may be applied to RRC MSG #A4'. For example, the descriptions with respect to RRC MSG #A2 in the parent-node-based IP address allocation scheme can be applied to RRC MSG #A4'. For example, RRC MSG #A4' may be an RRC reconfiguration message. In some embodiments, RRC MSG#A4' may include an indication (e.g., an IE) for identifying WAB node 210. For example, RRC MSG #A4' may include an identifier of WAB node 210, an identifier of the MT part of WAB node 210 or an identifier of the BS part of WAB node 210.

In some embodiments, the contents of the IP address request described with respect to the parent-node-based scheme may be applied to RRC MSG #A5'. For example, the descriptions with respect to RRC MSG #A1 in the parent-node-based IP address allocation scheme can be applied to RRC MSG #A5'. For example, RRC MSG #A5' may be an IAB other information message or a WAB other information message. In some embodiments, RRC MSG #A5' may include an indication (e.g., an IE) for identifying WAB node 210.

In some embodiments, CN entity 230 may transmit the at least one IP address of WAB node 210 to WAB node 210 via, for example, a DL NAS signaling between CN entity 230 and WAB node 210. In some embodiments, WAB node 210 may first request CN entity 230 to allocate the at least one IP address for WAB node 210. For example, WAB node 210 may first transmit UL NAS signaling to CN entity 230 to request the at least one IP address for WAB node 210.

WAB node 210 can obtain an IP address (es) or a transport network layer (TNL) address (es) of CN entity 230 from one or more of the following entities: its parent node (e.g., NE 220) , a donor node (e.g., NE 220 in the case of single hopping or the donor node of NE 220 in the case of multi-hopping) , an OAM entity and CN entity 230. In some embodiments, WAB node 210 may first transmit a message to the above entities to request the IP address (es) or the TNL address (es) of CN entity 230. For convenience, the following will use an IP address as an example for illustration.

For example, in some embodiments, during the integration of WAB node 210, NE 220 (i.e., the parent node) may transmit at least one IP address of CN entity 230 to WAB node 210, as NE 220 has already set up a connection to CN entity 230 and should have the IP address of CN entity 230. NE 220 may transmit the at least one IP address of CN entity 230 to WAB node 210 via a DL RRC message, for example, an RRC reconfiguration message.

In some embodiments, the at least one IP address of CN entity 230 may be transmitted separately from the at least one IP address of WAB node 210, e.g., in separate messages. In some embodiments, the at least one IP address of CN entity 230 may be transmitted to WAB node 210 together with at least one IP address of WAB node 210. For example, in the parent-node-based IP address allocation scheme, NE 220 may transmit, to WAB node 210, RRC MSG #A2 indicating at least one IP address of WAB node 210 allocated by NE 220. RRC MSG #A2 may also indicate at least one IP address of CN entity 230. In some embodiments, the at least one IP address of CN entity 230 and the at least one IP address of WAB node 210 may be included in the same IE (e.g., an IAB-IP-AddressConfiguration IE or a WAB-IP-AddressConfiguration IE) . In some embodiments, the at least one IP address of CN entity 230 and the at least one IP address of WAB node 210 may be included in different IEs. For example, the at least one IP address of CN entity 230 may be included in an IE specific for reporting the IP address of a CN entity.

In some embodiments, during the integration of WAB node 210, a donor node may transmit at least one IP address of CN entity 230 to WAB node 210, as the donor node has already set up a connection to CN entity 230 and should have the IP address of CN entity 230.

In the case of single hopping, the parent node of WAB node 210 is a donor node and the aforementioned method for obtaining the IP address of a CN entity from a parent node can be applied here. For example, NE 220 may transmit the at least one IP address of CN entity 230 to WAB node 210 via a DL RRC message, for example, an RRC reconfiguration message.

In the case of multi-hopping, the aforementioned method for obtaining the IP address of a CN entity from a parent node can also be similarly applied, except that the donor node transmits the IP address of the CN entity to WAB node 210 via the one or more intermediate WAB nodes.

For example, an RRC MSG (denoted as RRC MSG #A6) may be transmitted from the donor node to WAB node 210 hop-by-hop. For instance, the donor node may transmit RRC MSG #A6 to NE 220, which may then forward the message to WAB node 210. In some embodiments, RRC MSG #A6 (e.g., an RRC reconfiguration message) may include an indication (e.g., an IE) for identifying WAB node 210. For example, RRC MSG #A6 may include an identifier of WAB node 210, an identifier of the MT part of WAB node 210 or an identifier of the BS part of WAB node 210.

In some embodiments, the at least one IP address of CN entity 230 may be transmitted separately from the at least one IP address of WAB node 210, e.g., in separate messages. In some embodiments, the at least one IP address of CN entity 230 may be transmitted to WAB node 210 together with at least one IP address of WAB node 210. For example, in the donor-based IP address allocation scheme, the donor node may transmit, to WAB node 210, RRC MSG #A2 indicating at least one IP address of WAB node 210 allocated by the donor node. RRC MSG #A2 may also indicate at least one IP address of CN entity 230. In some embodiments, the at least one IP address of CN entity 230 and the at least one IP address of WAB node 210 may be included in the same IE (e.g., an IAB-IP-AddressConfiguration IE or a WAB-IP-AddressConfiguration IE) . In some embodiments, the at least one IP address of CN entity 230 and the at least one IP address of WAB node 210 may be included in different IEs. For example, the at least one IP address of CN entity 230 may be included in an IE specific for reporting the IP address of a CN entity.

In some embodiments, WAB node 210 can obtain at least one IP address of CN entity 230 from an OAM (not shown in FIG. 2) after establishing OAM connectivity.

For example, in some embodiments, WAB node 210 can obtain at least one IP address of CN entity 230 from the CN (e.g., CN entity 230) via, for example, DL NAS signaling between CN entity 230 and WAB node 210.

In some embodiments, in response to setting up the RRC connection, WAB node 210 may perform an NG connection setup procedure with CN entity 230 via NE 220. For example, at 225, WAB node 210 (e.g., the BS part of WAB node 210) may transmit an NG setup request message to CN entity 230. In some embodiments, the NG setup request message may include information for facilitating CN entity 230 to identify an association between the MT part and BS part of WAB node 210. For example, the NG setup request message may include an identifier of WAB node 210 that can be recognized by CN entity 230. For example, the identifier of WAB node 210 may be the TMSI, 5G-S-TMSI or 5G-TMSI of the MT part of WAB node 210 or the 5G-GUTI of WAB node 210. For example, the NG setup request message may include an IP address of WAB node 210.

In response to a successful NG connection setup, CN entity 230 may transmit an NG setup response message to WAB node 210 at 227. In response to setting up the NG connection CN entity 230, WAB node 210 can start serving UEs or the like.

In some embodiments, WAB node 210 can obtain its IP address from the CN. For example, in response to (e.g., after) setting up the NG connection with CN entity 230, WAB node 210 may receive one or more IP addresses of WAB node 210 from CN entity 230 via NGAP signaling between CN entity 230 and WAB node 210 (e.g., the BS part of WAB node 210) . For example, WAB node 210 (e.g., the BS part of WAB node 210) may first transmit UL NGAP signaling to CN entity 230 to request the one or more IP addresses for WAB node 210. Then, CN entity 230 may allocate the one or more IP addresses and respond the same to WAB node 210. In some embodiments, each of the one or more IP addresses of WAB node 210 may have a respective usage of the following usages: all NG traffic, NG-C traffic, NG-U traffic, or non-NG traffic.

In some embodiments, the above NGAP signaling (e.g., the UL NGAP signaling for requesting an IP address (es) and the DL NGAP signaling for configuring the IP address (es) ) may be an NGAP procedure specific for an IP address request and allocation in a WAB network. In some embodiments, the above NGAP signaling may reuse a known NGAP procedure (e.g., the RAN configuration update procedure) . However, an additional IE for indicating an identifier of the WAB node (e.g., WAB node 210) and an additional IE for requesting or configuring the IP address may be introduced into such a procedure.

It should be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the sequence of the operations in exemplary procedure 200 may be changed and that some of the operations in exemplary procedure 200 may be eliminated or modified, without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. It also should be noted that as procedure 200 is only for illustration, persons skilled in the art may conceive of other integration procedures based thereon which are also within the scope of the present disclosure. Also, methods for allocating an IP address for a WAB node, methods for configuring an IP address of a CN entity, methods for associating an MT part and a BS part of a WAB node at a CN entity and the like described above can be similarly applied in these variations.

FIG. 3 illustrates a flow chart of exemplary method 300 for wireless communications in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Details described in all of the foregoing embodiments of the present disclosure are applicable for the embodiments shown in FIG. 3. In some examples, method 300 may be performed by a NE such as a network node, a wireless network node or a WAB node. In some embodiments, the NE may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the network node to perform the described functions or operations. For the sake of simplicity, the operations in method 300 are described as follows with respect to a wireless network node.

The wireless network node may support a BS part and an MT part. At 311, the wireless network node may perform an RRC connection setup procedure with a parent node. In response to setting up the RRC connection, the wireless network node may, at 313, perform an NG connection setup procedure with a CN entity via the parent node at least by transmitting an NG setup request message to the CN entity. The NG setup request message may include an identifier of the wireless network node or an IP address of the wireless network node.

In some embodiments, the wireless network node may transmit an RRC connection setup complete message to the parent node in response to setting up the RRC connection. The RRC connection setup complete message may indicate that the RRC connection is set up with the MT part of the wireless network node.

In some embodiments, the wireless network node may receive, from one or more of the parent node, a donor node, an OAM entity and the CN entity, one or more IP addresses of the wireless network node, which includes the IP address used for the NG connection setup procedure.

In some embodiments, the wireless network node may transmit a first RRC message to the parent node to request at least one IP address of the one or more IP addresses. Each of the at least one IP address may have a respective usage of the following usages: all NG traffic, NG-C traffic, NG-U traffic, or non-NG traffic.

In some embodiments, to receive the one or more IP addresses, the wireless network node may receive a second RRC message indicating the at least one IP address from the parent node.

In some embodiments, the wireless network node may transmit a third RRC message including at least one IP address of the one or more IP addresses to the parent node or the donor node, each of the at least one IP address having a respective usage of the following usages: all NG traffic, NG-C traffic, NG-U traffic, or non-NG traffic. The at least one IP address is allocated by the OAM entity.

In some embodiments, to receive the one or more IP addresses, the wireless network node may: receive a fourth RRC message indicating at least one IP address of the one or more IP addresses from the parent node or the donor node, wherein the at least one IP address is transmitted by the CN entity to the parent node or the donor node via NGAP signaling; or receive at least one IP address of the one or more IP addresses from the CN entity via NAS signaling. In some embodiments, each of the at least one IP address has a respective usage of the following usages: all NG traffic, NG-C traffic, NG-U traffic, or non-NG traffic.

In some embodiments, the wireless network node may: receive at least one IP address of the CN entity from one or more of the parent node, a donor node and an OAM entity or from the CN entity via NAS signaling; and establish a TNLA with the CN entity using one of the at least one IP address of the CN entity and the IP address of the wireless network node.

In some embodiments, to receive the at least one IP address of the CN entity, the wireless network node may receive a fifth RRC message indicating the at least one IP address of the CN entity from the parent node.

In some embodiments, the wireless network node may receive, from the CN entity via NGAP signaling between the CN entity and the wireless network node, one or more IP addresses of the wireless network node in response to setting up the NG connection.

It should be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the sequence of the operations in exemplary method 300 may be changed and that some of the operations in exemplary method 300 may be eliminated or modified, without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart of exemplary method 400 for wireless communications in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Details described in all of the foregoing embodiments of the present disclosure are applicable for the embodiments shown in FIG. 4. In some examples, method 400 may be performed by a CN entity such as an AMF. In some embodiments, the CN entity may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the CN entity to perform the described functions or operations.

At 411, a CN entity may perform registration for a wireless network node. The wireless network node may support a BS part and an MT part. At 413, the CN entity may perform an NG connection setup procedure with the wireless network node at least by receiving an NG setup request message from the wireless network node. The NG setup request message may include an identifier of the wireless network node or an IP address of the wireless network node.

In some embodiments, the CN entity may receive a message requesting the registration for the wireless network node from a parent node of the wireless network node. The message may indicate that the registration is for the MT part of the wireless network node.

In some embodiments, the CN entity may allocate, before the NG connection setup procedure, at least one IP address of the wireless network node, each of which has a respective usage of the following usages: all NG traffic, NG-C traffic, NG-U traffic, or non-NG traffic.

In some embodiments, the CN entity may: transmit the at least one IP address of the wireless network node to a parent node of the wireless network node or a donor node of the wireless network node via a first NGAP signaling; or transmit the at least one IP address of the wireless network node to the wireless network node via NAS signaling.

In some embodiments, the CN entity may receive, from the parent node or the donor node, a second NGAP signaling requesting the at least one IP address of the wireless network node. The first NGAP signaling and the second NGAP signaling may include an identifier of the MT part of the wireless network node, an identifier of the BS part of the wireless network node or the identifier of the wireless network node.

In some embodiments, the CN entity may transmit, to the wireless network node via NGAP signaling between the CN entity and the wireless network node, one or more IP addresses of the wireless network node in response to setting up the NG connection.

In some embodiments, the CN entity may receive, before the NG connection setup procedure, at least one IP address of the wireless network node from a parent node of the wireless network node or a donor node of the wireless network node via NGAP signaling.

In some embodiments, the CN entity may: transmit at least one IP address of the CN entity to the wireless network node via NAS signaling; and establish a TNLA with the CN entity using one of the at least one IP address of the CN entity and the IP address of the wireless network node.

It should be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the sequence of the operations in exemplary method 400 may be changed and that some of the operations in exemplary method 400 may be eliminated or modified, without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flow chart of exemplary method 500 for wireless communications in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Details described in all of the foregoing embodiments of the present disclosure are applicable for the embodiments shown in FIG. 5. In some examples, method 500 may be performed by a NE such as a BS or a WAB donor. In some embodiments, the NE may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the network node to perform the described functions or operations. For the sake of simplicity, the operations in method 500 are described as follows with respect to a donor node.

At 511, a donor node may perform an RRC connection setup procedure with a wireless network node. The wireless network node may support a BS part and an MT part. In response to setting up the RRC connection, the donor node may, at 513, receive an RRC connection setup complete message from the wireless network node. The RRC connection setup complete message may indicate that the RRC connection is set up with the MT part of the wireless network node. The donor node may be a parent node of the wireless network node.

In some embodiments, the donor node may transmit a message requesting registration for the wireless network node to a CN entity in response to receiving the RRC connection setup complete message. The message may indicate that the registration is for the MT part of the wireless network node.

In some embodiments, in response to setting up the RRC connection, the donor node may transmit, to the wireless network node, a second RRC message indicating at least one IP address of the wireless network node, each of which has a respective usage of the following usages: all NG traffic, NG-C traffic, NG-U traffic, or non-NG traffic.

In some embodiments, the donor node may receive, from the wireless network node, a first RRC message for requesting the at least one IP address of the wireless network node in response to setting up the RRC connection.

In some embodiments, the donor node may receive, from the wireless network node, a third RRC message including at least one IP address of the wireless network node, each of which has a respective usage of the following usages: all NG traffic, NG-C traffic, NG-U traffic, or non-NG traffic. The at least one IP address is allocated by an OAM entity.

In some embodiments, the donor node may receive, from a CN entity, NGAP signaling indicating at least one IP address of the wireless network node, each of which has a respective usage of the following usages: all NG traffic, NG-C traffic, NG-U traffic, or non-NG traffic.

In some embodiments, the donor node may transmit, to the wireless network node, a fourth RRC message indicating at least one IP address of a CN entity.

It should be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the sequence of the operations in exemplary method 500 may be changed and that some of the operations in exemplary method 500 may be eliminated or modified, without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of an NE 600 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. NE 600 may be a network node, a wireless network node, a WAB node, a BS, a WAB donor, a CN entity, or an AMF. The NE 600 may include a processor 602, a memory 604, a controller 606, and a transceiver 608. The processor 602, the memory 604, the controller 606, or the transceiver 608, or various combinations thereof or various components thereof may be examples of means for performing various aspects of the present disclosure as described herein. These components may be coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more interfaces.

The processor 602, the memory 604, the controller 606, or the transceiver 608, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in hardware (e.g., circuitry) . The hardware may include a processor, a DSP, an ASIC, or other programmable logic device, or any combination thereof configured as or otherwise supporting a means for performing the functions described in the present disclosure.

The processor 602 may include an intelligent hardware device (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, an ASIC, an FPGA, or any combination thereof) . In some implementations, the processor 602 may be configured to operate the memory 604. In some other implementations, the memory 604 may be integrated into the processor 602. The processor 602 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in the memory 604 to cause the NE 600 to perform various functions of the present disclosure.

The memory 604 may include volatile or non-volatile memory. The memory 604 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code including instructions when executed by the processor 602 cause the NE 600 to perform various functions described herein. The code may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as the memory 604 or another type of memory. Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A non-transitory storage medium may be any available medium that may be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer.

In some implementations, the processor 602 and the memory 604 coupled with the processor 602 may be configured to cause the NE 600 to perform one or more of the functions described herein (e.g., executing, by the processor 602, instructions stored in the memory 604) . For example, the processor 602 may support wireless communication at the NE 600 in accordance with examples as disclosed herein.

For example, the NE 600 may be configured to support means for performing the operations as described with respect to FIG. 3. For example, the NE 600 may support a BS part and an MT part and may be configured to support: a means for performing an RRC connection setup procedure with a parent node; and a means for performing an NG connection setup procedure with a CN entity via the parent node at least by transmitting an NG setup request message to the CN entity in response to setting up the RRC connection, wherein the NG setup request message includes an identifier of the NE 600 or an IP address of the NE 600.

For example, the NE 600 may be configured to support means for performing the operations as described with respect to FIG. 4. For example, the NE 600 may be configured to support: a means for performing registration for a wireless network node, wherein the wireless network node supports a BS part and an MT part; and a means for performing an NG connection setup procedure with the wireless network node at least by receiving an NG setup request message from the wireless network node, wherein the NG setup request message includes an identifier of the wireless network node or an IP address of the wireless network node.

For example, the NE 600 may be configured to support means for performing the operations as described with respect to FIG. 5. For example, the NE 600 may be configured to support: a means for performing an RRC connection setup procedure with a wireless network node, wherein the wireless network node supports a BS part and an MT part; and a means for receiving an RRC connection setup complete message from the wireless network node in response to setting up the RRC connection, wherein the RRC connection setup complete message indicates that the RRC connection is set up with the MT part of the wireless network node, wherein the NE 600 is a parent node of the wireless network node.

The controller 606 may manage input and output signals for the NE 600. The controller 606 may also manage peripherals not integrated into the NE 600. In some implementations, the controller 606 may utilize an operating system such as or other operating systems. In some implementations, the controller 606 may be implemented as part of the processor 602.

In some implementations, the NE 600 may include at least one transceiver 608. In some other implementations, the NE 600 may have more than one transceiver 608. The transceiver 608 may represent a wireless transceiver. The transceiver 608 may include one or more receiver chains 610, one or more transmitter chains 612, or a combination thereof.

A receiver chain 610 may be configured to receive signals (e.g., control information, data, or packets) over a wireless medium. For example, the receiver chain 610 may include one or more antennas for receive the signal over the air or wireless medium. The receiver chain 610 may include at least one amplifier (e.g., an LNA) configured to amplify the received signal. The receiver chain 610 may include at least one demodulator configured to demodulate the receive signal and obtain the transmitted data by reversing the modulation technique applied during transmission of the signal. The receiver chain 610 may include at least one decoder for decoding the processing the demodulated signal to receive the transmitted data.

A transmitter chain 612 may be configured to generate and transmit signals (e.g., control information, data, or packets) . The transmitter chain 612 may include at least one modulator for modulating data onto a carrier signal, preparing the signal for transmission over a wireless medium. The at least one modulator may be configured to support one or more techniques such as AM, FM, or digital modulation schemes like PSK or QAM. The transmitter chain 612 may also include at least one power amplifier configured to amplify the modulated signal to an appropriate power level suitable for transmission over the wireless medium. The transmitter chain 612 may also include one or more antennas for transmitting the amplified signal into the air or wireless medium.

It should be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the components in exemplary NE 600 may be changed, for example, some of the components in exemplary NE 600 may be omitted or modified or a new component (s) may be added to exemplary NE 600, without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. For example, in some embodiments, the NE 600 may not include the controller 606.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a processor 700 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The processor 700 may be an example of a processor configured to perform various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. The processor 700 may include a controller 702 configured to perform various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. The processor 700 may optionally include at least one memory 704, which may be, for example, an L1/L2/L3 cache. Additionally, or alternatively, the processor 700 may optionally include one or more arithmetic-logic units (ALUs) 706. One or more of these components may be in electronic communication or otherwise coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more interfaces (e.g., buses) .

The processor 700 may be a processor chipset and include a protocol stack (e.g., a software stack) executed by the processor chipset to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, obtaining, retrieving, transmitting, outputting, forwarding, storing, determining, identifying, accessing, writing, reading) in accordance with examples as described herein. The processor chipset may include one or more cores, one or more caches (e.g., memory local to or included in the processor chipset (e.g., the processor 700) or other memory (e.g., random access memory (RAM) , read-only memory (ROM) , dynamic RAM (DRAM) , synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM) , static RAM (SRAM) , ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM) , magnetic RAM (MRAM) , resistive RAM (RRAM) , flash memory, phase change memory (PCM) , and others) .

The controller 702 may be configured to manage and coordinate various operations (e.g., signaling, receiving, obtaining, retrieving, transmitting, outputting, forwarding, storing, determining, identifying, accessing, writing, reading) of the processor 700 to cause the processor 700 to support various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. For example, the controller 702 may operate as a control unit of the processor 700, generating control signals that manage the operation of various components of the processor 700. These control signals include enabling or disabling functional units, selecting data paths, initiating memory access, and coordinating timing of operations.

The controller 702 may be configured to fetch (e.g., obtain, retrieve, receive) instructions from the memory 704 and determine a subsequent instruction (s) to be executed to cause the processor 700 to support various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. The controller 702 may be configured to track memory address of instructions associated with the memory 704. The controller 702 may be configured to decode instructions to determine the operation to be performed and the operands involved. For example, the controller 702 may be configured to interpret the instruction and determine control signals to be output to other components of the processor 700 to cause the processor 700 to support various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. Additionally, or alternatively, the controller 702 may be configured to manage flow of data within the processor 700. The controller 702 may be configured to control transfer of data between registers, ALUs, and other functional units of the processor 700.

The memory 704 may include one or more caches (e.g., memory local to or included in the processor 700 or other memory, such RAM, ROM, DRAM, SDRAM, SRAM, MRAM, flash memory, etc. In some implementations, the memory 704 may reside within or on a processor chipset (e.g., local to the processor 700) . In some other implementations, the memory 704 may reside external to the processor chipset (e.g., remote to the processor 700) .

The memory 704 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code including instructions that, when executed by the processor 700, cause the processor 700 to perform various functions described herein. The code may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as system memory or another type of memory. The controller 702 and/or the processor 700 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in the memory 704 to cause the processor 700 to perform various functions. For example, the processor 700 and/or the controller 702 may be coupled with or to the memory 704, the processor 700, the controller 702, and the memory 704 may be configured to perform various functions described herein. In some examples, the processor 700 may include multiple processors and the memory 704 may include multiple memories. One or more of the multiple processors may be coupled with one or more of the multiple memories, which may, individually or collectively, be configured to perform various functions herein.

The one or more ALUs 706 may be configured to support various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, the one or more ALUs 706 may reside within or on a processor chipset (e.g., the processor 700) . In some other implementations, the one or more ALUs 706 may reside external to the processor chipset (e.g., the processor 700) . One or more ALUs 706 may perform one or more computations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division on data. For example, one or more ALUs 706 may receive input operands and an operation code, which determines an operation to be executed. One or more ALUs 706 be configured with a variety of logical and arithmetic circuits, including adders, subtractors, shifters, and logic gates, to process and manipulate the data according to the operation. Additionally, or alternatively, the one or more ALUs 706 may support logical operations such as AND, OR, exclusive-OR (XOR) , not-OR (NOR) , and not-AND (NAND) , enabling the one or more ALUs 706 to handle conditional operations, comparisons, and bitwise operations.

The processor 700 may support wireless communication in accordance with examples as disclosed herein.

For example, the processor 700 may be configured to support means for performing the operations as described with respect to FIG. 3. For example, the processor 700 may be configured to or operable to support a BS part and an MT part of a wireless network node and support: a means for performing an RRC connection setup procedure with a parent node; and a means for performing an NG connection setup procedure with a CN entity via the parent node at least by transmitting an NG setup request message to the CN entity in response to setting up the RRC connection, wherein the NG setup request message includes an identifier of the wireless network node or an IP address of the wireless network node.

For example, the processor 700 may be configured to support means for performing the operations as described with respect to FIG. 4. For example, the processor 700 may be configured to support: a means for performing registration for a wireless network node, wherein the wireless network node supports a BS part and an MT part; and a means for performing an NG connection setup procedure with the wireless network node at least by receiving an NG setup request message from the wireless network node, wherein the NG setup request message includes an identifier of the wireless network node or an IP address of the wireless network node.

For example, the processor 700 may be configured to support means for performing the operations as described with respect to FIG. 5. For example, the processor 700 may be configured to support: a means for performing an RRC connection setup procedure between a donor node and a wireless network node, wherein the wireless network node supports a BS part and an MT part; and a means for receiving an RRC connection setup complete message from the wireless network node in response to setting up the RRC connection, wherein the RRC connection setup complete message indicates that the RRC connection is set up with the MT part of the wireless network node, wherein the donor node is a parent node of the wireless network node.

It should be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the components in exemplary processor 700 may be changed, for example, some of the components in exemplary processor 700 may be omitted or modified or a new component (s) may be added to exemplary processor 700, without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. For example, in some embodiments, the processor 700 may not include the ALUs 706.

Those having ordinary skill in the art would understand that the operations or steps of the methods described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. Additionally, in some aspects, the operations or steps of the methods may reside as one or any combination or set of codes and/or instructions on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, which may be incorporated into a computer program product.

While this disclosure has been described with specific embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications, and variations may be apparent to those skilled in the art. The disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded with the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein. For example, various components of the embodiments may be interchanged, added, or substituted in other embodiments. Also, all of the elements of each figure are not necessary for the operation of the disclosed embodiments. For example, one of ordinary skill in the art of the disclosed embodiments would be enabled to make and use the teachings of the disclosure by simply employing the elements of the independent claims. Accordingly, embodiments of the disclosure as set forth herein are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

In this document, this document, the terms "comprises, " "comprising, " "includes, " "including, " or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that includes a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. The term "transport" may mean "receive" or "transmit" depending on the context. An element proceeded by "a, " "an, " or the like does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes the element. Also, the term "another" is defined as at least a second or more. The term "having" or the like, as used herein, is defined as "including. " Expressions such as "A and/or B" or "at least one of A and B" may include any and all combinations of words enumerated along with the expression. For instance, the expression "A and/or B" or "at least one of A and B" may include A, B, or both A and B. The wording "the first, " "the second" or the like is only used to clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present disclosure, but is not used to limit the substance of the present disclosure.

Claims

A wireless network node, comprising:

at least one memory; and

at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory and configured to cause the wireless network node to:

support a base station (BS) part and a mobile terminal (MT) part;

perform a radio resource control (RRC) connection setup procedure with a parent node; and

in response to setting up the RRC connection, perform a next generation (NG) connection setup procedure with a core network (CN) entity via the parent node at least by transmitting an NG setup request message to the CN entity,

wherein the NG setup request message comprises an identifier of the wireless network node or an internet protocol (IP) address of the wireless network node.
The wireless network node of Claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the wireless network node to transmit an RRC connection setup complete message to the parent node in response to setting up the RRC connection, and wherein the RRC connection setup complete message indicates that the RRC connection is set up with the MT part of the wireless network node.
The wireless network node of Claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the wireless network node to receive, from one or more of the parent node, a donor node, an operation administration and maintenance (OAM) entity and the CN entity, one or more IP addresses of the wireless network node, which comprises the IP address used for the NG connection setup procedure.
The wireless network node of Claim 3, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the wireless network node to transmit a first RRC message to the parent node to request at least one IP address of the one or more IP addresses, and wherein each of the at least one IP address has a respective usage of the following usages: all NG traffic, NG-control plane (NG-C) traffic, NG-user plane (NG-U) traffic, or non-NG traffic.
The wireless network node of Claim 4, wherein to receive the one or more IP addresses, the at least one processor is configured to cause the wireless network node to receive a second RRC message indicating the at least one IP address from the parent node.
The wireless network node of Claim 3, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the wireless network node to transmit a third RRC message comprising at least one IP address of the one or more IP addresses to the parent node or the donor node, each of the at least one IP address having a respective usage of the following usages: all NG traffic, NG-control plane (NG-C) traffic, NG-user plane (NG-U) traffic, or non-NG traffic; and

wherein the at least one IP address is allocated by the OAM entity.
The wireless network node of Claim 4 or 6, wherein the first RRC message or the third RRC message is relayed by the parent node to the donor node and the first RRC message or the third RRC message comprises an identifier of the MT part of the wireless network node, an identifier of the BS part of the wireless network node, or the identifier of the wireless network node.
The wireless network node of Claim 3, wherein to receive the one or more IP addresses, the at least one processor is configured to cause the wireless network node to:

receive a fourth RRC message indicating at least one IP address of the one or more IP addresses from the parent node or the donor node, wherein the at least one IP address is transmitted by the CN entity to the parent node or the donor node via NG application protocol (NGAP) signaling; or

receive at least one IP address of the one or more IP addresses from the CN entity via non-access stratum (NAS) signaling; and

wherein each of the at least one IP address has a respective usage of the following usages: all NG traffic, NG-control plane (NG-C) traffic, NG-user plane (NG-U) traffic, or non-NG traffic.
The wireless network node of Claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the wireless network node to:

receive at least one IP address of the CN entity from one or more of the parent node, a donor node and an operation administration and maintenance (OAM) entity or from the CN entity via non-access stratum (NAS) signaling; and

establish a transport network layer association (TNLA) with the CN entity using one of the at least one IP address of the CN entity and the IP address of the wireless network node.
The wireless network node of Claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the wireless network node to receive, from the CN entity via NG application protocol (NGAP) signaling between the CN entity and the wireless network node, one or more IP addresses of the wireless network node in response to setting up the NG connection.
A core network (CN) entity, comprising:

at least one memory; and

at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory and configured to cause the CN entity to:

perform registration for a wireless network node, wherein the wireless network node supports a base station (BS) part and a mobile terminal (MT) part; and

perform a next generation (NG) connection setup procedure with the wireless network node at least by receiving an NG setup request message from the wireless network node,

wherein the NG setup request message comprises an identifier of the wireless network node or an internet protocol (IP) address of the wireless network node.
The CN entity of Claim 11, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the CN entity to receive a message requesting the registration for the wireless network node from a parent node of the wireless network node, wherein the message indicates that the registration is for the MT part of the wireless network node.
The CN entity of Claim 11, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the CN entity to allocate, before the NG connection setup procedure, at least one IP address of the wireless network node, each of which has a respective usage of the following usages: all NG traffic, NG-control plane (NG-C) traffic, NG-user plane (NG-U) traffic, or non-NG traffic.
The CN entity of Claim 13, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the CN entity to:

transmit the at least one IP address of the wireless network node to a parent node of the wireless network node or a donor node of the wireless network node via a first NG application protocol (NGAP) signaling; or

transmit the at least one IP address of the wireless network node to the wireless network node via non-access stratum (NAS) signaling.
The CN entity of Claim 14, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the CN entity to receive, from the parent node or the donor node, a second NGAP signaling requesting the at least one IP address of the wireless network node, and wherein the first NGAP signaling and the second NGAP signaling comprise an identifier of the MT part of the wireless network node, an identifier of the BS part of the wireless network node or the identifier of the wireless network node.
The CN entity of Claim 11, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the CN entity to transmit, to the wireless network node via NG application protocol (NGAP) signaling between the CN entity and the wireless network node, one or more IP addresses of the wireless network node in response to setting up the NG connection.
The CN entity of Claim 11, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the CN entity to receive, before the NG connection setup procedure, at least one IP address of the wireless network node from a parent node of the wireless network node or a donor node of the wireless network node via NG application protocol (NGAP) signaling.
The CN entity of Claim 11, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the CN entity to:

transmit at least one IP address of the CN entity to the wireless network node via non-access stratum (NAS) signaling; and

establish a transport network layer association (TNLA) with the CN entity using one of the at least one IP address of the CN entity and the IP address of the wireless network node.
A method for wireless communication, comprising:

performing, at a wireless network node, a radio resource control (RRC) connection setup procedure with a parent node, wherein the wireless network node supports a base station (BS) part and a mobile terminal (MT) part;

in response to setting up the RRC connection, performing, at the wireless network node, a next generation (NG) connection setup procedure with a core network (CN) entity via the parent node at least by transmitting an NG setup request message to the CN entity,

wherein the NG setup request message comprises an identifier of the wireless network node or an internet protocol (IP) address of the wireless network node.
A method for wireless communication, comprising:

performing registration for a wireless network node, wherein the wireless network node supports a base station (BS) part and a mobile terminal (MT) part; and

performing a next generation (NG) connection setup procedure with the wireless network node at least by receiving an NG setup request message from the wireless network node,

wherein the NG setup request message comprises an identifier of the wireless network node or an internet protocol (IP) address of the wireless network node.