Switching method and device

Abstract

An embodiment of the present application provides a handover method and device, wherein a handover method includes: receiving a configuration message sent by a second node to support handover of a first node, wherein the first node includes any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal portion of a relay node, and a distributed unit of a relay node, and the second node includes any one of an anchor node and a centralized unit of an anchor node; and configuring the first node according to the configuration message sent by the second node. The method provided by the present application enables updating the configuration of the first node during the mobile handover process of the first node, thereby continuing to provide services to users accessing the first node.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of wireless communication technology, and more specifically, to a switching method and device. Background Art

[0002] In the research of NR (New Radio Access) network version Release 16, in order to extend the network coverage, the IAB (Integrated Access and Backhaul) project was proposed. The main purpose of this project is to build a multi-hop network architecture. Figure 1The schematic architecture of a multi-hop network is shown, including an anchor node (IAB donor) and two relay nodes (IAB nodes). Users in this multi-hop network can access the network through the anchor node, its distribution unit, or a relay node. For example, users 1, 2, and 3 access the relay network through the anchor node's distribution unit, the distribution unit portion of relay node 1, and the distribution unit portion of relay node 2, respectively. An anchor node can be a standalone base station or a base station composed of a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU). A relay node includes a mobile terminal part and a distribution unit part, wherein the mobile terminal part is used to communicate with the upper-level node of the relay node (e.g., the mobile terminal part of relay node 1 is used to communicate with the anchor node or the distribution unit of the anchor node, and the mobile terminal part of relay node 2 is used to communicate with the distribution unit part of relay node 1), and the distribution unit part is used to communicate with the lower-level node of the relay node (e.g., the distribution unit part of relay node 1 is used to communicate with user 2, and can also be used to communicate with the mobile terminal part of relay node 2). The mobile terminal part of the relay node can be regarded as a user accessing the network, so it has the functions of an ordinary user (non-relay node) (e.g., the mobile terminal part can establish a signaling radio bearer (SRB) with its upper-level node to send radio resource control (RRC) messages, and can also establish a data radio bearer (DRB) to send data). The protocol stacks included in the centralized unit of an anchor node include: the service control plane protocol stack, which includes the Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol layer and the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer; and the service user plane protocol stack, which includes the Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer and the PDCP layer. The protocol stacks included in the distributed unit of an anchor node or the distributed unit portion of a relay node include: the service control plane and user plane protocol stacks, which include the Radio Link Control (RLC) protocol layer, the Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol layer, and the Physical Layer (PHY). The interface between the centralized unit of an anchor node and the distributed unit of an anchor node, and between the centralized unit of an anchor node and the distributed unit of a relay node, is the F1 interface (see 3GPP TS 38.473).

[0003] In a relay network, the link between a relay node and an anchor node or a distribution unit of an anchor node, or between relay nodes, is a backhaul link. One or more different backhaul channel channels are established on the backhaul link, such as Figure 1 Backhaul link channel 1 and backhaul link channel 2 in the backhaul link channel. An example of a backhaul link channel is the backhaul link radio link control protocol layer (RLC) channel, i.e., Backhaul RLC channel. In a relay network, each backhaul link channel is used to send data packets belonging to the same user or different users. The data packet can be a data packet of the user data radio bearer (DRB), a data packet of the user signaling radio bearer (SRB), a data packet of the control plane on the F1 interface, a data packet of the user plane on the F1 interface, or a data packet of a non-F1 interface (such as IPSec (Internet Protocol Security) data packet, SCTP (Stream Control Transmission Protocol) protocol data packet, OAM (Operation Administration and Maintenance) data packet, etc.).

[0004] In order to realize the transmission of user data in a multi-hop relay network, 3GPP defines a new protocol layer, namely the Backhaul Adaptation Protocol layer (BAP). This protocol layer will be configured in the distribution unit of the anchor node and the relay node (such as the mobile terminal part of the relay node, and / or the distribution unit part of the relay node), located above the RLC layer, and its main function is the routing and mapping of data packets. The routing of data packets refers to sending the received data packets to the correct next-hop node so that they can be received by the destination receiving node of the data packet (the destination receiving node can be a relay node, an anchor node, a distribution unit of an anchor node, or a centralized unit of an anchor node. If it is a relay node, it means that the data packet is a data packet of the relay node, such as the control signaling data packet of the F1 interface that the distribution unit of the relay node needs to receive, and the data packet of the user accessing the relay node). The mapping of data packets refers to handing over the data packet to the correct backhaul link channel for transmission.

[0005] A new address (e.g., a BAP address) is defined for nodes in a relay network (e.g., relay nodes, or distribution units of anchor nodes, or centralized units of anchor nodes, or anchor nodes). This address information can be used to identify a node in the relay network and is used for routing data packets within the relay network. If a data packet contains the BAP address of a node (e.g., a relay node, or distribution unit of an anchor node, or centralized unit of an anchor node, or anchor node), it indicates that the destination receiving node of the data packet is the relay node, or that the source sending node of the data packet is the node. Furthermore, multiple paths may exist between an anchor node (or centralized unit of an anchor node, or distribution unit of an anchor node) and a relay node. To indicate different paths, a path identifier (Path ID) is also defined. Different path identifiers indicate different paths to the same node. The data packet's path identifier may also be included in the data packet. After a node in the relay network receives a data packet, it determines the next hop node for the data packet based on the BAP address and / or Path ID contained in the data packet, thereby completing the data packet routing. Summary of the Invention

[0006] In view of the shortcomings of the existing methods, this application proposes a switching method and device to solve the above technical defects.

[0007] In a first aspect, a handover method is provided, applied to a first node, comprising:

[0008] receiving a configuration message sent by a second node for supporting handover of a first node, where the first node includes any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal portion of a relay node, and a distributed unit of a relay node, and the second node includes any one of an anchor node and a centralized unit of an anchor node;

[0009] The first node is configured according to the configuration message sent by the second node.

[0010] Optionally, the configuration message includes at least one of the following:

[0011] The first node needs information related to the address, information related to the configuration of the backhaul link channel, and information related to data routing.

[0012] Optionally, the configuration message may be a radio resource control reconfiguration RRCReconfiguration message, a radio resource control connection reconfiguration RRCConnectionReconfiguration message, or other messages.

[0013] Optionally, the address-related information required by the first node includes at least one of the following:

[0014] Information related to the address of the first node before switching, information related to the address of the first node after switching, information related to the address of the second node before switching, and information related to the address of the second node after switching;

[0015] The address-related information on the first node side before the handover includes at least one of Backhaul Adaptation Protocol layer (BAP) address information of the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node, address information of the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node, one or more transport layer address information used by the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node for transmitting control signaling, and one or more transport layer address information used by the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node for transmitting user data;

[0016] The address-related information on the first node side after the handover includes at least one of BAP address information of the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node, address information of the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node, one or more transport layer address information used by the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node for transmitting control signaling, and one or more transport layer address information used by the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node for transmitting user data;

[0017] The address-related information on the second node side before the handover includes at least one of address information of the anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node, one or more transport layer address information used by the anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node for transmitting control signaling, and one or more transport layer address information used by the anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node for transmitting user data;

[0018] The address-related information on the second node side after switching includes at least one of the address information of the anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node, one or more transport layer address information used by the anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node to transmit control signaling, and one or more transport layer address information used by the anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node to transmit user data.

[0019] Optionally, the information related to the configuration of the backhaul link channel includes at least one of the following:

[0020] Identification information of the backhaul link channel, quality of service (QoS) parameter information of the backhaul link channel, configuration information of the serving backhaul link channel, correspondence information between the backhaul link channel and other backhaul link channels before and after relay node switching, and information related to data carried by the backhaul link channel;

[0021] The correspondence information between the backhaul link channel and other backhaul link channels before and after the relay node is switched includes at least one of information about the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal of the relay node before the relay node is switched, information about the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal of the relay node after the relay node is switched, information about the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal of the relay node, information about the backhaul link channel served by the distribution unit of the relay node before the relay node is switched, information about the backhaul link channel served by the distribution unit of the relay node after the relay node is switched, and information about the backhaul link channel served by the distribution unit of the relay node;

[0022] The information related to the data carried by the return link channel includes information related to the user data radio bearer DRB to which the data belongs, identification information of the QoS of the data, indication information of the type of control signaling to which the data belongs, indication information that the type of data is non-F1 interface data, information of the destination receiving node of the data, information of the source sending node of the data, tunnel terminal identifier TEID of the data (such as GTP-TEID (GTP Tunnel Endpoint Identifier)), indication information of the content of the information contained in the data, and at least one of the path identification information of the data.

[0023] Optionally, the information related to data routing includes at least one of the following:

[0024] BAP address information contained in the data packet, path identification information contained in the data packet, BAP routing identification information of the data packet, identification information of the node receiving the data packet sent by the relay node, identification information of the cell group used by the relay node to send the data packet, and indication information of the cell group used by the relay node to send the data packet.

[0025] In a second aspect, a handover method is provided, which is applied to a second node and includes:

[0026] sending a user context configuration request message to a third node to support handover of the first node, where the first node includes any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal portion of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node; the second node includes any one of an anchor node and a centralized unit of the anchor node; and the third node includes a distribution unit of the anchor node to which the first node is directly connected after the handover, or another relay node other than the first node to which the first node is directly connected after the handover;

[0027] Receive a user context configuration response message sent by the third node.

[0028] Optionally, the user context configuration request message includes at least one of the following:

[0029] One or more of the information included in a defined UE Context Setup request or UE Context Modification Request message, information related to a backhaul link channel served by the distributed unit portion of the third node, and information related to data routing;

[0030] The information related to the backhaul link channel served by the distribution unit of the third node includes at least one of identification information of the backhaul link channel, QoS parameter information of the backhaul link channel, and information related to data carried by the backhaul link channel.

[0031] Optionally, the user context configuration response message includes at least one of the following:

[0032] One or more of the information contained in a defined UE Context Setup Response or UE Context Modification Response message, information about the return link channel accepted by the third node or the distribution unit of the third node, information about the return link channel not accepted by the third node or the distribution unit of the third node, and configuration information of the return link channel generated by the third node or the distribution unit of the third node.

[0033] According to a third aspect, a handover method is provided, which is applied to a second node and includes:

[0034] sending a handover request message to a fourth node to support handover of the first node, where the first node includes any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal portion of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node; the second node includes any one of an anchor node to which the first node is connected before handover and a centralized unit of the anchor node to which the first node is connected before handover; and the fourth node includes any one of an anchor node to which the first node is connected after handover and a centralized unit of the anchor node to which the first node is connected after handover;

[0035] Receive a switching response message sent by the fourth node.

[0036] Optionally, the handover request message includes at least one of the following:

[0037] One or more of the information included in a defined Handover Request message, information related to the address of the first node, information related to the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal portion of the first node, information related to data routing, configuration information of the distribution unit portion of the first node, and information related to configuration of users served by the distribution unit portion of the first node;

[0038] The information related to the address of the first node includes at least one of information related to the address of the first node side before the switching and information related to the address of the second node side before the switching;

[0039] The configuration information of the distributed unit part of the first node includes at least one of identification information, identification information of the connected anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node, configuration information of the serving cell, supported radio resource control RRC version information, and RRC version information of the connected anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node;

[0040] The configuration information of the serving cell includes identification information of the cell, one or more of the information contained in the defined serving cell information ServedCellInformation, system message information, and at least one of the cell service status information;

[0041] The configuration-related information of the user served by the distributed unit part of the first node includes at least one of the identification information of the user's DRB, information related to the QoS of the user's DRB, identification information of the user's signaling radio bearer SRB, user configuration information, and configuration information of the General Packet Radio Service Technology GPRS Tunnel Protocol User Plane GTP-U tunnel on the centralized unit side of the second node for receiving user DRB data.

[0042] Optionally, the handover response message includes at least one of the following:

[0043] One or more of the information included in a defined Handover Request Acknowledge message, information related to the address of the first node, information related to the mobile terminal portion of the first node, information related to data routing, configuration information of the distributed unit portion of the first node, information about cells to be activated, information about cells to be deactivated, reason information for deactivating a cell, and information related to configuration of users served by the distributed unit portion of the first node;

[0044] The information related to the address of the first node includes at least one of information related to the address of the first node before the switch, information related to the address of the second node before the switch, information related to the address of the first node after the switch, and information related to the address of the fourth node after the switch;

[0045] The information related to the mobile terminal portion of the first node includes at least one of identification information of an accepted backhaul link channel, identification information of an unaccepted backhaul link channel, and configuration information related to a served backhaul link channel;

[0046] The configuration-related information of the users served by the distribution unit part of the first node includes at least one of the identification information of the DRB of the admitted users, the identification information of the DRB of the unaccepted users, the identification information of the SRB of the admitted users, the identification information of the SRB of the unaccepted users, the user's configuration information, the configuration information of the GTP-U tunnel for receiving user DRB data on the distribution unit side of the first node, the configuration information of the GTP-U tunnel for receiving user DRB data on the distribution unit side of the first node before switching, the configuration information of the GTP-U tunnel for receiving user DRB data on the centralized unit side of the fourth node, and the configuration information of the GTP-U tunnel for receiving user DRB data on the centralized unit side of the second node before switching.

[0047] In a fourth aspect, a handover method is provided, applied to a first node, including:

[0048] sending a first request message to a second node to support handover of the first node, where the first node includes any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal portion of a relay node, and a distributed unit of a relay node, and the second node includes any one of an anchor node and a centralized unit of an anchor node;

[0049] A first response message sent by the second node is received.

[0050] Optionally, the first request message includes at least one of the following:

[0051] Information related to the address of the first node, information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node, and auxiliary information for obtaining the configuration information of the distribution unit of the first node;

[0052] The information related to the address of the first node includes at least one of information related to the address of the first node side before the switching and information related to the address of the second node side before the switching;

[0053] The information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node includes at least one of the information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the switching and the information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node after the switching;

[0054] The auxiliary information for obtaining the distribution unit configuration information of the first node includes at least one of information related to the mobile terminal of the first node after switching, information related to the mobile terminal of the first node before switching, and information related to the distribution unit of the first node before switching.

[0055] Optionally, the first response message includes at least one of the following:

[0056] Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node after the update, information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the update, information about the cell to be activated, information about the cell to be deactivated, information about the reason for deactivating the cell, and information related to the address of the first node;

[0057] The address-related information of the first node includes at least one of the address-related information on the first node side before switching, the address-related information on the second node side before switching, the address-related information on the first node side after switching, and the address-related information on the second node side after switching.

[0058] In a fifth aspect, a switching method is provided, which is applied to a fourth node and includes:

[0059] receiving a first handover request message sent by a second node, the second node including any one of an anchor node to which the first node is connected before the handover and a centralized unit of anchor nodes to which the first node is connected before the handover, and the fourth node including any one of an anchor node to which the first node is connected after the handover and a centralized unit of anchor nodes to which the first node is connected after the handover;

[0060] Sending a first handover response message to the second node;

[0061] receiving a second request message sent by a first node to support handover of the first node, where the first node includes any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal portion of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node;

[0062] Send a second response message to the first node.

[0063] Optionally, the second request message includes at least one of the following:

[0064] Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the switch, information related to the address of the first node, and auxiliary information for obtaining the configuration information of the distribution unit of the first node;

[0065] The information related to the address of the first node includes any one of the information related to the address of the first node side before the switching and the information related to the address of the fourth node side before the switching;

[0066] The auxiliary information for obtaining the distribution unit configuration information of the first node includes any one of information related to the mobile terminal of the first node after switching, information related to the mobile terminal of the first node before switching, and information related to the distribution unit of the first node before switching.

[0067] Optionally, the second response message includes at least one of the following:

[0068] Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node, information about cells to be activated, information about cells to be deactivated, information about reasons for deactivating cells, and information related to the address of the first node;

[0069] The information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node includes any one of the information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the switching and the information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node after the switching;

[0070] The address-related information of the first node includes any one of the address-related information on the first node side before switching, the address-related information on the second node side before switching, the address-related information on the first node side after switching, and the address-related information on the fourth node side after switching.

[0071] In a sixth aspect, a handover method is provided, applied to a second node, including:

[0072] sending a second handover request message or a third handover request message to a fourth node, where the second node includes any one of an anchor node to which the first node is connected before the handover and a centralized unit of anchor nodes to which the first node is connected before the handover, and the fourth node includes any one of an anchor node to which the first node is connected after the handover and a centralized unit of anchor nodes to which the first node is connected after the handover;

[0073] receiving a second handover response message corresponding to the second handover request message or a third handover response message corresponding to the third handover request message sent by the fourth node;

[0074] A first configuration message corresponding to the second switching response message or a second configuration message corresponding to the third switching response message is sent to the first node to support the first node to switch, and the first node includes any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal part of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node.

[0075] Optionally, the first configuration message or the second configuration message includes at least one of the following:

[0076] Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node, information about cells to be activated, information about cells to be deactivated, information about reasons for deactivating cells, and information related to the address of the first node;

[0077] The information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node includes any one of the information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the switching and the information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node after the switching;

[0078] The address-related information of the first node includes address-related information on the first node side before switching, address-related information on the second node side before switching, address-related information on the first node side after switching, and address-related information on the fourth node side after switching.

[0079] Optionally, the second handover request message or the third handover request message includes at least one of the following:

[0080] Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the switch, and information related to the address of the first node;

[0081] The information on the address of the first node includes any one of information on the address of the first node before the switching and information on the address of the second node before the switching.

[0082] Optionally, the second handover response message or the third handover response message includes at least one of the following:

[0083] Information related to the address of the first node, information about the cell to be activated, information about the cell to be deactivated, and reason information for deactivating the cell;

[0084] The information related to the address of the first node includes any one of information related to the address of the first node before the switching and information related to the address of the first node after the switching.

[0085] Optionally, the address-related information of the first node includes any one of the address-related information on the first node side before switching, the address-related information on the second node side before switching, the address-related information on the first node side after switching, and the address-related information on the second node side after switching.

[0086] In a seventh aspect, a first node device is provided, including:

[0087] a first processing module, configured to receive a configuration message sent by a second node to support handover of the first node, wherein the first node includes any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal portion of a relay node, and a distributed unit of the relay node, and the second node includes any one of an anchor node and a centralized unit of the anchor node;

[0088] The second processing module is configured to configure the first node according to the configuration message sent by the second node.

[0089] In an eighth aspect, a second node device is provided, including:

[0090] a third processing module, configured to send a user context configuration request message to a third node to support handover of the first node, wherein the first node includes any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal portion of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node; the second node includes any one of an anchor node and a centralized unit of the anchor node; and the third node includes a distribution unit of the anchor node to which the first node is directly connected after the handover, or another relay node other than the first node to which the first node is directly connected after the handover;

[0091] The fourth processing module is configured to receive a user context configuration response message sent by the third node.

[0092] In a ninth aspect, a second node device is provided, including:

[0093] a fifth processing module, configured to send a handover request message to a fourth node to support handover of the first node, wherein the first node includes any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal portion of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node; the second node includes any one of an anchor node to which the first node is connected before handover and a centralized unit of the anchor node to which the first node is connected before handover; and the fourth node includes any one of an anchor node to which the first node is connected after handover and a centralized unit of the anchor node to which the first node is connected after handover;

[0094] The sixth processing module is configured to receive a handover response message sent by the fourth node.

[0095] In a tenth aspect, a first node device is provided, including:

[0096] a seventh processing module, configured to send a first request message to a second node to support handover of the first node, wherein the first node includes any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal portion of a relay node, and a distributed unit of the relay node, and the second node includes any one of an anchor node and a centralized unit of the anchor node;

[0097] An eighth processing module is configured to receive a first response message sent by the second node.

[0098] In an eleventh aspect, a fourth node device is provided, including:

[0099] a ninth processing module, configured to receive a first handover request message sent by a second node, where the second node includes any one of an anchor node to which the first node is connected before the handover and a centralized unit of anchor nodes to which the first node is connected before the handover, and the fourth node includes any one of an anchor node to which the first node is connected after the handover and a centralized unit of anchor nodes to which the first node is connected after the handover;

[0100] a tenth processing module, configured to send a first handover response message to the second node;

[0101] an eleventh processing module, configured to receive a second request message sent by a first node, for supporting handover of the first node, where the first node includes any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal portion of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node;

[0102] The twelfth processing module is configured to send a second response message to the first node.

[0103] In a twelfth aspect, a second node device is provided, including:

[0104] a thirteenth processing module, configured to send a second handover request message or a third handover request message to a fourth node, where the second node includes any one of an anchor node to which the first node is connected before the handover and a centralized unit of anchor nodes to which the first node is connected before the handover, and the fourth node includes any one of an anchor node to which the first node is connected after the handover and a centralized unit of anchor nodes to which the first node is connected after the handover;

[0105] A fourteenth processing module, configured to receive a second handover response message corresponding to the second handover request message or a third handover response message corresponding to the third handover request message sent by the fourth node;

[0106] The fifteenth processing module is used to send a first configuration message corresponding to the second switching response message or a second configuration message corresponding to the third switching response message to the first node to support the first node to switch, and the first node includes any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal part of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node.

[0107] According to a thirteenth aspect, a handover method is applied to a fourth node, comprising:

[0108] receiving a third handover request message sent by a second node, where the second node includes any one of an anchor node to which the first node is connected before the handover and a centralized unit of anchor nodes to which the first node is connected before the handover, and the fourth node includes any one of an anchor node to which the first node is connected after the handover and a centralized unit of anchor nodes to which the first node is connected after the handover;

[0109] Sending a third handover response message to the second node;

[0110] A second configuration message is sent to the first node to support the first node in performing handover, where the first node includes any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal part of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node.

[0111] In a fourteenth aspect, a fourth node device includes:

[0112] a sixteenth processing module, configured to receive a third handover request message sent by a second node, where the second node includes any one of an anchor node to which the first node is connected before the handover and a centralized unit of anchor nodes to which the first node is connected before the handover, and the fourth node includes any one of an anchor node to which the first node is connected after the handover and a centralized unit of anchor nodes to which the first node is connected after the handover;

[0113] A seventeenth processing module, configured to send a third handover response message to the second node;

[0114] The eighteenth processing module is configured to send a second configuration message to the first node to support the first node to perform switching. The first node includes any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal part of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node.

[0115] The technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application have at least the following beneficial effects:

[0116] Receive a configuration message sent by the second node to support switching of the first node, the first node includes any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal part of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node, and the second node includes any one of an anchor node and a centralized unit of the anchor node; configure the first node according to the configuration message sent by the second node; in this way, during the mobile switching process of the first node, update the configuration of the first node, such as the configuration of the distribution unit part of the first node, the configuration of the mobile terminal part of the first node, etc., so as to continue to provide services to users accessing the first node.

[0117] Additional aspects and advantages of the present application will be given in part in the following description, which will become apparent from the following description, or will be learned through practice of the present application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0118] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for describing the embodiments of the present application.

[0119] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an existing multi-hop relay network architecture;

[0120] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the movement of a relay node provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0121] Figure 3 A flowchart of a switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0122] Figure 4 A flowchart of another switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0123] Figure 5A flowchart of another switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0124] Figure 6 A flowchart of another switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0125] Figure 7 A flowchart of another switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0126] Figure 8 A flowchart of another switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0127] Figure 8-a A flowchart of another switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0128] Figure 9 Schematic diagram of the signaling interaction process between nodes;

[0129] Figure 10 Schematic diagram of the relay node switching process;

[0130] Figure 11 A schematic diagram of a first method for configuring a distribution unit portion of a relay node;

[0131] Figure 12 A schematic diagram of a second method for configuring a distribution unit portion of a relay node;

[0132] Figure 13 A schematic diagram of a third method for configuring a distribution unit portion of a relay node;

[0133] Figure 14 Schematic diagram of the communication method between the distribution unit part of the relay node and the anchor node;

[0134] Figure 15 A schematic diagram of a fourth method for configuring a distribution unit portion of a relay node;

[0135] Figure 16 A schematic diagram of the structure of a first node device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0136] Figure 17 A schematic diagram of the structure of a second node device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0137] Figure 18 A schematic diagram of the structure of a second node device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0138] Figure 19 A schematic diagram of the structure of a first node device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0139] Figure 20A schematic diagram of the structure of a fourth node device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0140] Figure 21 A schematic diagram of the structure of a second node device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0141] Figure 22 A schematic structural diagram of the fourth node device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0142] The following describes in detail embodiments of the present application, examples of which are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals throughout represent the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain the present application, and are not to be construed as limiting the present application.

[0143] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that, unless expressly stated otherwise, the singular forms "a", "an", "said" and "the" used herein may also include the plural forms. It should be further understood that the term "comprising" used in the specification of the present application refers to the presence of the features, integers, steps, operations, elements and / or components, but does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components and / or groups thereof. It should be understood that when we refer to an element as being "connected" or "coupled" to another element, it may be directly connected or coupled to the other element, or there may be intermediate elements. In addition, "connected" or "coupled" as used herein may include wireless connections or wireless couplings. The term "and / or" used herein includes all or any units and all combinations of one or more associated listed items.

[0144] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of this application clearer, the implementation methods of this application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0145] In real-world networks, relay nodes may be mobile, such as those on buses or trains. In such scenarios, the movement of relay nodes can cause the overall movement of users connected to them. Addressing the mobility of relay nodes remains an ongoing research topic.

[0146] When a relay node is in a mobile state, the upper-level node serving the relay node, the distribution unit of the anchor node, the centralized unit of the anchor node, or the anchor node may change. In order to enable the relay node to continue to provide services to users during the mobile process, the existing technology has the following technical problems:

[0147] (1) The mobile terminal part of the relay node cannot continue to provide services for the backhaul link it serves.

[0148] (2) The configuration of the distribution unit of the relay node may change as the node moves, making it impossible to provide services to users accessing the node.

[0149] These problems cause users who access the relay node to lose connection with the network, affecting the user experience in the relay network.

[0150] In the present application, an anchor node may be a complete base station, a base station including a centralized unit of an anchor node and a distributed unit of an anchor node, or a base station including a control plane portion of the centralized unit of an anchor node, a user plane portion of the centralized unit of an anchor node, and a distributed unit of an anchor node. If the centralized unit of an anchor node is divided into a control plane portion and a user plane portion, the centralized unit of an anchor node in the present invention is used to indicate a control plane portion (CU-CP) of a centralized unit of an anchor node.

[0151] In this application, a relay node is a node that includes a mobile terminal part and a distribution unit part. This node is also an IAB node.

[0152] In this application, the data sent on the backhaul link may be user plane data, such as data carried by DRB, user plane data of the F1 interface, or control plane data, such as data carried by SRB, control plane data of the F1 interface, or non-F1 interface data (such as IPSec protocol data, SCTP protocol data, data from OAM, etc.).

[0153] In this application, the targeted user may be a terminal user, a relay node, or a mobile terminal part of a relay node.

[0154] In this application, the message names are just examples, and other names can be used to name messages. The sequence number of the message does not represent the order in which the messages are executed, but only represents the name of the message.

[0155] The mobile scenarios of relay nodes involved in this application include the following three scenarios: Figure 2 As shown,

[0156] ■ Centralized unit and distributed unit (intra-CU / intra-DU) with the same anchor node

[0157] During the relay node switching process, the centralized unit and distributed unit of the anchor node to which it is connected (directly or through one or more relay nodes) remain unchanged. Figure 2 In (a), after the handover, the mobile relay node is still connected to the same anchor node's centralized unit and the anchor node's distributed unit.

[0158] ■ Centralized units on the same anchor node / distributed units on different anchor nodes (intra-CU / inter-DU)

[0159] During the relay node switching process, the centralized unit of the anchor node to which it is connected (directly or through one or more relay nodes) does not change, but the distributed unit of the anchor node changes. Figure 2 In (b), after the handover, the mobile relay node is still connected to the same centralized unit of the anchor node, but the distribution unit of the anchor node is changed from distribution unit 1 of the anchor node to distribution unit 2 of the anchor node.

[0160] ■Switching between different anchor nodes or centralized units of different anchor nodes (inter-CU)

[0161] During the relay node switching process, the central unit or anchor node to which it is connected (directly or through one or more relay nodes) changes. Figure 2 In (c), after the mobile relay node is switched, the centralized unit of the anchor node to which it is connected changes from the centralized unit of anchor node 1 to the centralized unit of anchor node 2, and the distributed unit of the anchor node to which it is connected changes from the distributed unit of anchor node 1 to the distributed unit of anchor node 2.

[0162] Example 1

[0163] The present application provides a switching method, which is applied to a first node. The flowchart of the method is as follows: Figure 3 As shown, the method includes:

[0164] Step S101, receiving a configuration message sent by a second node to support switching of a first node, the first node including any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal part of a relay node, and a distribution unit of a relay node, and the second node including any one of an anchor node and a centralized unit of an anchor node.

[0165] Step S102: Configure the first node according to the configuration message sent by the second node.

[0166] In an embodiment of the present application, a configuration message sent by a second node is received to support switching of a first node, the first node includes any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal part of a relay node, and a distribution unit of a relay node, and the second node includes any one of an anchor node and a centralized unit of an anchor node; the first node is configured according to the configuration message sent by the second node; in this way, the configuration of the first node, such as the configuration of the distribution unit part of the first node, the configuration of the mobile terminal part of the first node, etc., is updated during the mobile switching process of the first node, thereby continuing to provide services to users accessing the first node.

[0167] Optionally, the configuration message includes at least one of the following:

[0168] The first node needs information related to the address, information related to the configuration of the backhaul link channel, and information related to data routing.

[0169] Optionally, the configuration message may be a radio resource control reconfiguration RRCReconfiguration message, a radio resource control connection reconfiguration RRCConnectionReconfiguration message, or other messages.

[0170] Optionally, the address-related information required by the first node includes at least one of the following:

[0171] Information related to the address of the first node before switching, information related to the address of the first node after switching, information related to the address of the second node before switching, and information related to the address of the second node after switching;

[0172] The address-related information on the first node side before the handover includes at least one of Backhaul Adaptation Protocol layer (BAP) address information of the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node, address information of the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node, one or more transport layer address information used by the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node for transmitting control signaling, and one or more transport layer address information used by the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node for transmitting user data;

[0173] The address-related information on the first node side after the handover includes at least one of BAP address information of the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node, address information of the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node, one or more transport layer address information used by the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node for transmitting control signaling, and one or more transport layer address information used by the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node for transmitting user data;

[0174] The address-related information on the second node side before the handover includes at least one of address information of the anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node, one or more transport layer address information used by the anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node for transmitting control signaling, and one or more transport layer address information used by the anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node for transmitting user data;

[0175] The address-related information on the second node side after switching includes at least one of the address information of the anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node, one or more transport layer address information used by the anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node to transmit control signaling, and one or more transport layer address information used by the anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node to transmit user data.

[0176] Optionally, the information related to the configuration of the backhaul link channel includes at least one of the following:

[0177] Identification information of the backhaul link channel, quality of service (QoS) parameter information of the backhaul link channel, configuration information of the serving backhaul link channel, correspondence information between the backhaul link channel and other backhaul link channels before and after relay node switching, and information related to data carried by the backhaul link channel;

[0178] The correspondence information between the backhaul link channel and other backhaul link channels before and after the relay node is switched includes at least one of information about the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal of the relay node before the relay node is switched, information about the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal of the relay node after the relay node is switched, information about the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal of the relay node, information about the backhaul link channel served by the distribution unit of the relay node before the relay node is switched, information about the backhaul link channel served by the distribution unit of the relay node after the relay node is switched, and information about the backhaul link channel served by the distribution unit of the relay node;

[0179] The information related to the data carried by the return link channel includes information related to the user data radio bearer DRB to which the data belongs, identification information of the QoS of the data, indication information of the type of control signaling to which the data belongs, indication information that the type of data is non-F1 interface data, information of the destination receiving node of the data, information of the source sending node of the data, tunnel terminal identifier TEID of the data (such as GTP-TEID (GTP Tunnel Endpoint Identifier)), indication information of the content of the information contained in the data, and at least one of the path identification information of the data.

[0180] Optionally, the information related to data routing includes at least one of the following:

[0181] BAP address information contained in the data packet, path identification information contained in the data packet, BAP routing identification information of the data packet, identification information of the node receiving the data packet sent by the relay node, identification information of the cell group used by the relay node to send the data packet, and indication information of the cell group used by the relay node to send the data packet.

[0182] Another switching method is provided in the embodiment of the present application and is applied to the second node. The flowchart of the method is as follows: Figure 4 As shown, the method includes:

[0183] Step S201: Send a user context configuration request message to a third node to support the switching of the first node. The first node includes any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal part of a relay node, and a distribution unit of a relay node. The second node includes any one of an anchor node and a centralized unit of an anchor node. The third node includes a distribution unit of an anchor node to which the first node is directly connected after the switching or another relay node other than the first node to which the first node is directly connected after the switching.

[0184] Step S202: Receive a user context configuration response message sent by a third node.

[0185] Optionally, the user context configuration request message includes at least one of the following:

[0186] One or more of the information included in a defined UE Context Setup request or UE Context Modification Request message, information related to a backhaul link channel served by the distributed unit portion of the third node, and information related to data routing;

[0187] The information related to the backhaul link channel served by the distribution unit of the third node includes at least one of identification information of the backhaul link channel, QoS parameter information of the backhaul link channel, and information related to data carried by the backhaul link channel.

[0188] Optionally, the user context configuration response message includes at least one of the following:

[0189] One or more of the information contained in a defined UE Context SetupResponse or UE Context Modification Response message, information about the return link channel accepted by the third node or the distribution unit of the third node, information about the return link channel not accepted by the third node or the distribution unit of the third node, and configuration information of the return link channel generated by the third node or the distribution unit of the third node.

[0190] The application of the embodiments of the present application has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0191] During the relay node mobile switching process, the mobile terminal of the relay node is configured (such as the configuration of the return link channel, address-related information, routing information configuration, etc.) to ensure that the mobile terminal part of the relay node can continue to provide services for the return link.

[0192] Another switching method is provided in the embodiment of the present application and is applied to the second node. The flowchart of the method is as follows: Figure 5 As shown, the method includes:

[0193] Step S301, sending a switching request message to the fourth node to support the switching of the first node, the first node includes any one of the relay node, the mobile terminal part of the relay node, and the distribution unit of the relay node, the second node includes any one of the anchor node connected to the first node before the switching, and the centralized unit of the anchor node connected to the first node before the switching, and the fourth node includes any one of the anchor node connected to the first node after the switching, and the centralized unit of the anchor node connected to the first node after the switching.

[0194] Step S302: Receive a handover response message sent by the fourth node.

[0195] Optionally, the handover request message includes at least one of the following:

[0196] One or more of the information included in a defined Handover Request message, information related to the address of the first node, information related to the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal portion of the first node, information related to data routing, configuration information of the distribution unit portion of the first node, and information related to configuration of users served by the distribution unit portion of the first node;

[0197] The information related to the address of the first node includes at least one of information related to the address of the first node side before the switching and information related to the address of the second node side before the switching;

[0198] The configuration information of the distributed unit part of the first node includes at least one of identification information, identification information of the connected anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node, configuration information of the serving cell, supported radio resource control RRC version information, and RRC version information of the connected anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node;

[0199] The configuration information of the serving cell includes identification information of the cell, one or more of the information contained in the defined serving cell information ServedCellInformation, system message information, and at least one of the cell service status information;

[0200] The configuration-related information of the user served by the distributed unit part of the first node includes at least one of the identification information of the user's DRB, information related to the QoS of the user's DRB, identification information of the user's signaling radio bearer SRB, user configuration information, and configuration information of the General Packet Radio Service Technology GPRS Tunnel Protocol User Plane GTP-U tunnel on the centralized unit side of the second node for receiving user DRB data.

[0201] Optionally, the handover response message includes at least one of the following:

[0202] One or more of the information included in a defined Handover Request Acknowledge message, information related to the address of the first node, information related to the mobile terminal portion of the first node, information related to data routing, configuration information of the distributed unit portion of the first node, information about cells to be activated, information about cells to be deactivated, reason information for deactivating a cell, and information related to configuration of users served by the distributed unit portion of the first node;

[0203] The information related to the address of the first node includes at least one of information related to the address of the first node before the switch, information related to the address of the second node before the switch, information related to the address of the first node after the switch, and information related to the address of the fourth node after the switch;

[0204] The information related to the mobile terminal portion of the first node includes at least one of identification information of an accepted backhaul link channel, identification information of an unaccepted backhaul link channel, and configuration information related to a served backhaul link channel;

[0205] The configuration-related information of the users served by the distribution unit part of the first node includes at least one of the identification information of the DRB of the admitted users, the identification information of the DRB of the unaccepted users, the identification information of the SRB of the admitted users, the identification information of the SRB of the unaccepted users, the user's configuration information, the configuration information of the GTP-U tunnel for receiving user DRB data on the distribution unit side of the first node, the configuration information of the GTP-U tunnel for receiving user DRB data on the distribution unit side of the first node before switching, the configuration information of the GTP-U tunnel for receiving user DRB data on the centralized unit side of the fourth node, and the configuration information of the GTP-U tunnel for receiving user DRB data on the centralized unit side of the second node before switching.

[0206] The application of the embodiments of the present application has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0207] During the mobile switching process of the relay node, the relevant configuration information of the mobile terminal part of the relay node (such as the configuration of the return link channel, address-related information, routing information configuration, etc.) is exchanged between the source node (such as the second node) and the target node (such as the fourth node) to ensure that the mobile terminal part of the relay node can continue to provide services for the return link.

[0208] Another switching method is provided in the embodiment of the present application and is applied to the first node. The flowchart of the method is as follows: Figure 6 As shown, the method includes:

[0209] Step S401, sending a first request message to the second node to support the switching of the first node, the first node includes any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal part of a relay node, and a distribution unit of a relay node, and the second node includes any one of an anchor node and a centralized unit of an anchor node.

[0210] Step S402: Receive a first response message sent by the second node.

[0211] Optionally, the first request message includes at least one of the following:

[0212] Information related to the address of the first node, information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node, and auxiliary information for obtaining the configuration information of the distribution unit of the first node;

[0213] The information related to the address of the first node includes at least one of information related to the address of the first node side before the switching and information related to the address of the second node side before the switching;

[0214] The information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node includes at least one of the information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the switching and the information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node after the switching;

[0215] The auxiliary information for obtaining the distribution unit configuration information of the first node includes at least one of information related to the mobile terminal of the first node after switching, information related to the mobile terminal of the first node before switching, and information related to the distribution unit of the first node before switching.

[0216] Optionally, the first response message includes at least one of the following:

[0217] Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node after the update, information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the update, information about the cell to be activated, information about the cell to be deactivated, information about the reason for deactivating the cell, and information related to the address of the first node;

[0218] The address-related information of the first node includes at least one of the address-related information on the first node side before switching, the address-related information on the second node side before switching, the address-related information on the first node side after switching, and the address-related information on the second node side after switching.

[0219] The application of the embodiments of the present application has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0220] During the relay node movement and handover process, the configuration of the distribution unit part of the relay node is maintained or updated, so as to continue to provide services for users accessing the relay node.

[0221] In the embodiment of the present application, another switching method is provided, which is applied to the fourth node. The flow chart of the method is as follows: Figure 7 As shown, the method includes:

[0222] Step S501, receiving a first switching request message sent by a second node, where the second node includes an anchor node to which the first node is connected before switching, or any one of a centralized unit of an anchor node to which the first node is connected before switching, and the fourth node includes an anchor node to which the first node is connected after switching, or any one of a centralized unit of an anchor node to which the first node is connected after switching.

[0223] Step S502: Send a first handover response message to the second node.

[0224] Step S503: Receive a second request message sent by the first node to support the first node to perform handover, where the first node includes any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal part of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node.

[0225] Step S504: Send a second response message to the first node.

[0226] Optionally, the second request message includes at least one of the following:

[0227] Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the switch, information related to the address of the first node, and auxiliary information for obtaining the configuration information of the distribution unit of the first node;

[0228] The information related to the address of the first node includes any one of the information related to the address of the first node side before the switching and the information related to the address of the fourth node side before the switching;

[0229] The auxiliary information for obtaining the distribution unit configuration information of the first node includes any one of information related to the mobile terminal of the first node after switching, information related to the mobile terminal of the first node before switching, and information related to the distribution unit of the first node before switching.

[0230] Optionally, the second response message includes at least one of the following:

[0231] Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node, information about cells to be activated, information about cells to be deactivated, information about reasons for deactivating cells, and information related to the address of the first node;

[0232] The information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node includes any one of the information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the switching and the information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node after the switching;

[0233] The address-related information of the first node includes any one of the address-related information on the first node side before switching, the address-related information on the second node side before switching, the address-related information on the first node side after switching, and the address-related information on the fourth node side after switching.

[0234] The application of the embodiments of the present application has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0235] During the relay node movement and switching process, the relevant configuration information of the distribution unit part of the relay node is exchanged between the source node (such as the second node) and the target node (such as the fourth node), and the configuration of the distribution unit of the relay node is maintained or updated, so as to continue to provide services to users accessing the relay node.

[0236] Another switching method is provided in the embodiment of the present application and is applied to the second node. The flowchart of the method is as follows: Figure 8 As shown, the method includes:

[0237] Step S601, sending a second switching request message or a third switching request message to the fourth node, the second node includes the anchor node connected before the first node is switched, and any one of the centralized units of the anchor node connected before the first node is switched, and the fourth node includes the anchor node connected after the first node is switched, and any one of the centralized units of the anchor node connected after the first node is switched.

[0238] Step S602: Receive a second handover response message corresponding to the second handover request message or a third handover response message corresponding to the third handover request message sent by the fourth node.

[0239] Step S603, sending a first configuration message corresponding to the second switching response message or a second configuration message corresponding to the third switching response message to the first node to support the first node to switch, the first node includes any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal part of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node.

[0240] Optionally, the first configuration message or the second configuration message includes at least one of the following:

[0241] Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node, information about cells to be activated, information about cells to be deactivated, information about reasons for deactivating cells, and information related to the address of the first node;

[0242] The information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node includes any one of the information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the switching and the information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node after the switching;

[0243] The address-related information of the first node includes address-related information on the first node side before switching, address-related information on the second node side before switching, address-related information on the first node side after switching, and address-related information on the fourth node side after switching.

[0244] Optionally, the second handover request message or the third handover request message includes at least one of the following:

[0245] Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the switch, and information related to the address of the first node;

[0246] The information on the address of the first node includes any one of information on the address of the first node before the switching and information on the address of the second node before the switching.

[0247] Optionally, the second handover response message or the third handover response message includes at least one of the following:

[0248] Information related to the address of the first node, information about the cell to be activated, information about the cell to be deactivated, and reason information for deactivating the cell;

[0249] The information related to the address of the first node includes any one of information related to the address of the first node before the switching and information related to the address of the first node after the switching.

[0250] Optionally, the address-related information of the first node includes any one of the address-related information on the first node side before switching, the address-related information on the second node side before switching, the address-related information on the first node side after switching, and the address-related information on the second node side after switching.

[0251] In the embodiment of the present application, another switching method is provided, which is applied to the fourth node. The flow chart of the method is as follows: Figure 8-a As shown, the method includes:

[0252] Step S701, receiving the third switching request message sent by the second node, the second node includes any one of the anchor node connected to the first node before the switching, and the centralized unit of the anchor node connected to the first node before the switching, and the fourth node includes any one of the anchor node connected to the first node (or the mobile terminal part of the first node) after the switching, and the centralized unit of the anchor node connected after the first node is switched.

[0253] Step S702: Send a third handover response message to the second node.

[0254] Step S703: Send a second configuration message to the first node to support the first node to perform handover. The first node includes any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal part of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node.

[0255] The application of the embodiments of the present application has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0256] During the relay node movement and switching process, the relevant configuration information of the distribution unit part of the relay node is exchanged between the source node (such as the second node) and the target node (such as the fourth node), and the configuration of the distribution unit of the relay node is maintained or updated, so as to continue to provide services to users accessing the relay node.

[0257] The switching method of the above embodiment of the present application is fully and thoroughly introduced through the following embodiments:

[0258] In this application, the information involved in the signaling interaction process includes the following:

[0259] Address-related information required by relay nodes The information is information related to the address required for communication between the distributed unit of the relay node and the anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node, and includes at least one of the following information:

[0260] ■ Address-related information on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) before the handover, which includes at least one of the following:

[0261] ■ The BAP address information of the relay node (or its distribution unit), which is used to indicate the relay node during packet routing before handover. Furthermore, this information may include one or more BAP addresses. This address information may be named "old BAP address" or another name.

[0262] ■ Address information of the relay node (or its distributed unit), such as its IP address. This address information is used to communicate with the anchor node (or its centralized unit) before the handover. The anchor node (or its centralized unit) is the node to which the relay node is connected before the handover. This information may include one or more IP addresses. This address information may be named "old gNB-DU IP address" or another name.

[0263] One or more transport layer addresses used by the relay node (or its distributed unit) for transmitting control signaling, such as an IP address and / or port number. Furthermore, this address may indicate whether it is used to send user-related F1AP control signaling, non-user-related F1AP control signaling, or all F1AP control signaling. This address may be named "old control plane transport layer address of gNB-DU" or another name.

[0264] One or more transport layer addresses used by the relay node (or its distributed unit) to transmit (e.g., receive) user data, such as an IP address and / or a tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID) (e.g., GTP-TEID). This address information can be named "old user plane transport layer address of gNB-DU" or another name. Furthermore, each transport layer address can correspond to a user DRB. Therefore, this information also includes the user DRB information corresponding to each transport layer address (e.g., user DRB identification information).

[0265] ■ Address-related information on the anchor node (or the centralized unit of anchor nodes) before the handover. The anchor node (or the centralized unit of anchor nodes) is the node to which the relay node was connected before the handover. This information includes at least one of the following:

[0266] Address information of the anchor node (or centralized unit of the anchor node), such as IP address information. This information may include one or more IP addresses. This address information may be named "old gNB-CU IP address" or another name.

[0267] One or more transport layer addresses, such as IP addresses and / or port information, used by the anchor node (or its centralized unit) to transmit control signaling. Furthermore, this address information may indicate whether it is used to send user-related F1AP control signaling, non-user-related F1AP control signaling, or all F1AP control signaling. This address information may be named "old control plane transport layer address of gNB-CU" or may be named otherwise.

[0268] One or more transport layer addresses used by the anchor node (or its centralized unit) to transmit user data, such as an IP address and / or a TEID (e.g., a GTP-TEID (GTP Tunnel Endpoint Identifier)). This address information can be named "old user plane transport layer address of gNB-CU" or another name. Furthermore, each transport layer address can correspond to a user DRB. In this case, the information also includes the user DRB information corresponding to each transport layer address (e.g., user DRB identification information).

[0269] ■ Address-related information on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) after the handover, which includes at least one of the following:

[0270] ■ The BAP address information of the relay node (or its distribution unit), which is used to indicate the relay node during packet routing after handover. Furthermore, this information may include one or more BAP addresses. This address information may be named "new BAP address" or another name.

[0271] ■ Address information of the relay node (or its distributed unit), such as its IP address. This address information is used to communicate with the anchor node (or its centralized unit) after handover. The anchor node (or its centralized unit) is the node to which the relay node connects after handover. This information may include one or more IP addresses. This address information may be named "new gNB-DU IP address" or another name.

[0272] One or more transport layer addresses, such as IP addresses and / or port information, used by the relay node (or its distributed unit) to transmit control signaling. Furthermore, this address information may indicate whether it is used to send user-related F1AP control signaling, non-user-related F1AP control signaling, or all F1AP control signaling. This address information may be named "new control plane transport layer address of gNB-DU" or may be named otherwise.

[0273] One or more transport layer addresses used by the relay node (or distributed unit of the relay node) to transmit (e.g., receive) user data, such as an IP address and / or a TEID (e.g., GTP-TEID (GTP Tunnel Endpoint Identifier)). This address information can be named the new user plane transport layer address of gNB-DU, or other names. Furthermore, each transport layer address can correspond to a user DRB, and this information also includes the user DRB information corresponding to each transport layer address (e.g., user DRB identification information).

[0274] ■ Address-related information on the anchor node (or anchor node's centralized unit) after the handover. The anchor node (or anchor node's centralized unit) is the node to which the relay node is connected after the handover. The anchor node (or anchor node's centralized unit) may be the same as or different from the anchor node (or anchor node's centralized unit) to which the relay node was connected before the handover. This information includes at least one of the following:

[0275] Address information of the anchor node (or centralized unit of the anchor node), such as IP address information. This information may include one or more IP addresses. This address information may be named "new gNB-CU IP address" or another name.

[0276] One or more transport layer addresses, such as IP addresses and / or port numbers, used by the anchor node (or its centralized unit) to transmit control signaling. Furthermore, this address may indicate whether it is used to send user-related F1AP control signaling, non-user-related F1AP control signaling, or all F1AP control signaling. This address may be named "new control plane transport layer address of gNB-CU" or another name.

[0277] One or more transport layer addresses used by the anchor node (or its centralized unit) to transmit user data, such as an IP address and / or a TEID (e.g., a GTP-TEID (GTP Tunnel Endpoint Identifier)). This address information can be named the new user plane transport layer address of the gNB-CU, or other names. Furthermore, each transport layer address can correspond to a user DRB. Therefore, this information also includes the user DRB information corresponding to each transport layer address (e.g., user DRB identification information).

[0278] Furthermore, the above information can reflect the correspondence between each other, such as the correspondence between the above "address-related information on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) before switching" and the "address-related information on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) after switching", and the correspondence between the above "address-related information on the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) before switching" and the "address-related information on the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) after switching".

[0279] Configuration information related to the relay node's backhaul link channel In one embodiment, the backhaul link channel is the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal portion of the relay node before the handover. In one embodiment, the backhaul link channel is the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal portion of the relay node after the handover. In one embodiment, the backhaul link channel is the backhaul link channel served by the distribution unit portion of the relay node before the handover. In one embodiment, the backhaul link channel is the backhaul link channel served by the distribution unit portion of the relay node after the handover. For a backhaul link channel, the information includes at least one of the following information:

[0280] ■ Identification information of the backhaul link channel, such as the ID of the backhaul link channel;

[0281] ■For QoS parameter information of the backhaul link channel, refer to TS 38.473;

[0282] ■ Configuration information of the service backhaul link channel, such as RLC layer configuration, configuration information of the logical channel of the backhaul link channel (such as identification information, priority information of the logical channel of the backhaul link), MAC layer configuration, physical layer configuration, etc., can be seen in CellGroupConfiguration;

[0283] ■ Information about the correspondence between the backhaul link channel and other backhaul link channels before and after the relay node is switched, which includes at least one of the following information:

[0284] ■ Information 1: Information about the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal before the relay node is switched (e.g., the backhaul link channel identifier, the backhaul link channel logical channel identifier); further, for the backhaul link channel, the information may also include the identifier of the upper-level node serving the backhaul link channel (e.g., the BAP address), the identifier of the cell group serving the backhaul link channel (e.g., the cell group ID), or the indication of the cell group serving the backhaul link channel (e.g., the master cell group (MCG) or the secondary cell group (SCG)).

[0285] ■ Information 2: Information about the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal after the relay node is switched (e.g., the backhaul link channel identifier, the backhaul link channel logical channel identifier); further, for the backhaul link channel, the information may also include the identifier of the upper-level node serving the backhaul link channel (e.g., the BAP address), the identifier of the cell group serving the backhaul link channel (e.g., the cell group ID), or the indication of the cell group serving the backhaul link channel (e.g., the master cell group (MCG) or the secondary cell group (SCG)).

[0286] ■ Information 3: Information about the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal of the relay node (e.g., the backhaul link channel identifier, the backhaul link channel logical channel identifier); further, for the backhaul link channel, the information may also include the identifier of the upper-level node serving the backhaul link channel (e.g., the BAP address), the identifier of the cell group serving the backhaul link channel (e.g., the Cell Group ID), or the indication of the cell group serving the backhaul link channel (e.g., the Master Cell Group (MCG) or the Secondary Cell Group (SCG)).

[0287] ■ Information 4: Information about the backhaul link channel served by the distribution unit of the relay node before the handover (e.g., backhaul link channel identifier, backhaul link channel logical channel identifier). Furthermore, for the backhaul link channel, this information may also include identification information of the next-level node serving the backhaul link channel (e.g., BAP address, C-RNTI, serving Cell ID, C-RNTI+serving Cell ID, gNB-CU / gNB-DU UE F1AP ID), identification information of the cell group serving the backhaul link channel (e.g., Cell group ID), or indication information of the cell group serving the backhaul link channel (e.g., MCG (master cell group), SCG (secondary cell group), etc.).

[0288] ■ Information 5: Information about the backhaul link channel served by the distributed unit of the relay node after handover (e.g., backhaul link channel identifier, backhaul link channel logical channel identifier). Furthermore, for the backhaul link channel, this information may also include identification information of the next-level node serving the backhaul link channel (e.g., BAP address, C-RNTI, serving Cell ID, C-RNTI+serving Cell ID, gNB-CU / gNB-DU UE F1AP ID), identification information of the cell group serving the backhaul link channel (e.g., Cell group ID), or indication information of the cell group serving the backhaul link channel (e.g., MCG (master cell group), SCG (secondary cell group), etc.).

[0289] ■Information 6: Information about the backhaul link channel served by the distribution unit of the relay node (such as the identifier of the backhaul link channel, the logical channel identifier of the backhaul link channel); further, for the backhaul link channel, it can also include the identification information of the next-level node serving the backhaul link channel (such as BAP address, C-RNTI, serving Cell ID, C-RNTI+serving Cell ID, gNB-CU / gNB-DU UE F1AP ID), or the identification information of the cell group serving the backhaul link channel (such as Cell group ID), or indication information of the cell group serving the backhaul link channel (such as MCG (master cell group), SCG (secondary cell group)).

[0290] The six types of information described above can reflect the corresponding relationships between the various pieces of information. If the information reflects the corresponding relationship between the backhaul link channel served by the distribution unit of the relay node and the backhaul link channel served by its mobile terminal portion, this indicates that (all or part) of the data received on the backhaul link channel served by the distribution unit must be forwarded to the channel served by the corresponding mobile terminal portion for transmission. Conversely, (all or part) of the data received on the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal portion must be forwarded to the channel served by the corresponding distribution unit portion for transmission.

[0291] ■ Information related to data carried by the backhaul link channel. This data may be user plane data or control plane data, or user plane data or control plane data of the F1 interface. This data may be uplink data (data generated by a relay node and sent to an anchor node, such as data generated by a distribution unit of a relay node, or data forwarded by a relay node to an anchor node, such as data received by the relay node from other nodes). This data may also be downlink data (data sent by an anchor node to a relay node, which may be data sent to a distribution unit of the relay node, or data sent to other nodes but requiring forwarding by the relay node). This information may also include both uplink and downlink data. This information includes at least one of the following:

[0292] ■ Information about the user DRB to which the data belongs, such as identification information of the user DRB (this information may indicate the user and DRB to which the data belongs);

[0293] ■ Information about the user SRB to which the data belongs, such as identification information of the user SRB (this information may indicate the user and SRB to which the data belongs);

[0294] ■Data QoS identification information, which can be used to indicate the data QoS information and the user's DRB;

[0295] ■Information indicating the type of control signaling to which the data belongs, where the indicated type may include: non-UE associated F1AP signaling, UE-associated F1AP signaling, UE-associated F1AP signaling containing RRC message of SRB0, UE-associated F1AP signaling containing RRC message of SRB1, UE-associated F1AP signaling containing RRC message of SRB2, and UE-associated F1AP signaling containing RRC message of SRB3. SRB3), user-associated F1 interface signaling without user RRC message (UE-associated F1AP signaling without RRC message); further, the indication information may be used to indicate a combination of one or more of the above types, such as the type indicated by the indication information is “user-associated F1 interface signaling containing RRC messages carried by SRB0” and “user-associated F1 interface signaling without user RRC messages”, such as the type indicated by the indication information is “user-associated F1 interface signaling containing RRC messages carried by SRB0” and “non-user-related F1 interface signaling”;

[0296] ■Indication information indicating that the data type is non-F1 interface data (non-F1 traffic), which indicates that the data carried on the return link channel is non-F1 interface data, such as IPSec protocol data, SCTP protocol data, data from OAM, etc.; further, the indication information can also be used to indicate the type of non-F1 interface data.

[0297] ■ Information about the destination receiving node of the data, such as IP address information and / or BAP address information. The node can be a relay node, an anchor node, a distributed unit of an anchor node, or a centralized unit of an anchor node;

[0298] ■ Information about the source sending node of the data, such as IP address information and / or BAP address information. The node can be a relay node, an anchor node, a distributed unit of an anchor node, or a centralized unit of an anchor node;

[0299] ■ TEID information for the data, such as the GTP-TEID (GTP Tunnel Endpoint Identifier). Different TEID information indicates different data types (e.g., different user DRBs to which the data belongs). The TEID can be the TEID assigned by the centralized unit of the anchor node (UL TEID), the TEID assigned by the distributed unit of the relay node (DL TEID), or both the UL TEID and the DL TEID.

[0300] ■Indication of the content of information contained in the data, such as the content of the DSCP (Differentiated Services Code Point) field, and / or the content of the flow label field, and / or the content of the TC (Traffic Class) field, and / or the content of the DS (DifferServ) field, and / or the content of the ECN (Explicit Cogestion Notification) field contained in the data packet;

[0301] ■Path identification information of the data, such as Path ID. The path indicated by this information is the path used by the data to be transmitted in the relay network.

[0302] Information about data routing at relay nodes The data may be uplink data (data generated by a relay node and sent to an anchor node, such as data generated by a distribution unit of a relay node, or data forwarded by a relay node to an anchor node, such as data received by the relay node from other nodes), downlink data (data sent by an anchor node to a relay node, which may be data sent to a distribution unit of the relay node, or data sent to other nodes but requiring forwarding by the relay node), or both uplink and downlink data. The information may include at least one of the following:

[0303] ■ BAP address information included in the data packet, such as BAP address, which may be the information before or after the relay node is switched, or may include both the information before or after the relay node is switched.

[0304] ■Path identification information contained in the data packet, such as Path ID, which may be information before or after the relay node is switched, or may include both information before and after the relay node is switched.

[0305] ■BAP routing identification information of the data packet, which can indicate the destination receiving node or source sending node of the data packet and the path adopted by the data packet routing, such as BAP address information + path identification information. This information can be before the relay node switches or after the relay node switches, or it can include both the information before the relay node switches and the information after the relay node switches.

[0306] ■Identification information of the node receiving the data packet sent by the relay node, such as BAP address information, and / or C-RNTI information, and / or C-RNTI+serving cell identification information, and / or the node's gNB-CU / gNB-DU F1AP UE ID, etc. This information may be before or after the relay node is switched, or may include both the information before and after the relay node is switched.

[0307] ■ Identification information of the cell group used by the relay node to send data packets, such as Cell group ID information. This information can be before or after the relay node is switched, or it can include both the information before and after the relay node is switched.

[0308] ■Indication information of the cell group used by the relay node to send data packets, such as MCG, SCG. This information can be before the relay node switches, or after the relay node switches, or it can include both the information before the relay node switches and the information after the relay node switches.

[0309] Configuration information of the distribution unit of the relay node, which includes at least one of the following information:

[0310] Identification information, such as gNB-DU ID and / or gNB-DU Name;

[0311] Identification information of the connected anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node), such as the gNB ID, and / or gNB-CU ID, and / or gNB-CU Name, and / or gNB Name;

[0312] ■ Serving cell configuration information, which includes at least one of the following:

[0313] ■Cell identification information, such as NR CGI and / or NR PCI;

[0314] ■One or more of the information contained in the Served Cell Information defined in TS 38.473;

[0315] ■ System information, such as MIB, SIB1, SIB2, etc., refer to one or more of the information contained in gNB-DU SystemInformation and gNB-CU SystemInformation defined in TS 38.473;

[0316] ■Cell service status information, such as in-service, out-of-service, and switching off ongoing, see ServiceStatus defined in TS38.473. Furthermore, it can also indicate whether the cell is in the activated state or the deactivated state.

[0317] ■ For information on supported RRC versions, see gNB-DU RRC Version in TS 38.473;

[0318] ■ RRC version information of the connected anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node), see gNB-DU RRC Version in TS 38.473.

[0319] The first aspect of the present application: switching of the mobile terminal part of the relay node.

[0320] In order to support the handover of the mobile terminal part of the relay node, the relay node needs to perform the following signaling interaction process with the anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node to which it is connected (the anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node may be the node connected before the handover or the node connected after the handover), such as Figure 9 (a) shows:

[0321] Step 1-1: The second node sends a configuration message to the mobile terminal part of the first node. The first node is a relay node (or a distribution unit of a relay node). Furthermore, the relay node is switched. The second node is an anchor node (or a centralized unit of an anchor node). The anchor node (or a centralized unit of an anchor node) may be the node connected before the switch or the node connected after the switch. The configuration message may be the RRCReconfiguration message in TS38.331, the RRCConnectionReconfiguration message in TS36.331, or other messages. In addition to the information defined in the existing protocol, the message also includes at least one of the following information:

[0322] ■ Address-related information required by the first node, which includes at least one of the following:

[0323] ■ Address-related information on the first node side before the handover. For this information, refer to the address-related information on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) before the handover included in the above-mentioned "Address-related information required by the relay node";

[0324] ■ Address-related information on the first node side after the handover. For this information, refer to the address-related information on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) after the handover included in the above-mentioned "Address-related information required by the relay node";

[0325] ■ Address-related information on the second node side before the handover. For this information, refer to the address-related information on the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) before the handover included in the above-mentioned "Address-related information required by the relay node";

[0326] ■ Address-related information on the second node side after the handover. For this information, refer to the address-related information on the anchor node (or the anchor node's centralized unit) side after the handover included in the above-mentioned "address-related information required by the relay node".

[0327] ■ Information related to the configuration of the return link channel. In one embodiment, the return link channel is served by the mobile terminal part of the first node after the first node switches. For this return link channel, the information contained in the information can refer to the above-mentioned "configuration information related to the return link channel of the relay node".

[0328] ■Information related to data routing. In one embodiment, this information is used for data routing after the first node is switched. The information contained in this information can refer to the above-mentioned “information related to data routing of relay nodes”.

[0329] Step 1-1a: Optionally, the first node configures the first node according to the received configuration message.

[0330] Step 1-2: Optionally, the first node or the mobile terminal part of the first node feeds back a configuration completion message to the second node. The configuration message can be the RRCReconfigurationComplete message in TS38.331, the RRCConnectionReconfigurationComplete message in TS36.331, or other messages.

[0331] The configuration message and the configuration completion message in the above steps may be exchanged directly between the first node and the second node, or may be exchanged between the first node and the second node through multiple intermediate nodes.

[0332] The effect of the above steps 1-1 and 1-2 is that the mobile terminal part of the first node can obtain the configuration information after the handover, thereby determining:

[0333] (1) Configuration information of the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal portion of the node after the handover, and / or

[0334] (2) How to route a data packet received by the first node or generated by the first node, and / or

[0335] (3) Determine a return link channel required to transmit a data packet received by the first node or a data packet generated by the first node. The return link channel may be a return link channel served by the mobile terminal part of the first node or a return link channel served by the distribution unit part of the first node.

[0336] In addition, before step 1-1, the interaction process between the second node and the third node may also be included. The third node is the node directly connected to the first node after the switch. The third node may be a distribution unit of the anchor node or another relay node. The interaction process includes the following steps, such as Figure 9 (b) shows:

[0337] Step 1-1-1: The second node sends a user context configuration request message to the third node (or the distributed unit portion of the third node). This message can be a UE Context Setup / Modification Request message defined on the F1 interface or other messages. This message is mainly used to perform the configuration required for providing services to the first node (or the mobile terminal portion of the first node). The message includes at least one of the following information:

[0338] ■One or more of the information contained in the UE Context Setup / Modification request message defined in the existing TS38.473 protocol;

[0339] ■ Information related to the backhaul link channel served by the distributed unit portion of the third node, the information including at least one of the following information:

[0340] ■ Identification information of the backhaul link channel;

[0341] ■For QoS parameter information of the backhaul link channel, refer to TS 38.473;

[0342] ■Information related to the data carried by the return link channel. The data can be uplink data (data sent by the first node to the third node and forwarded by the third node to the anchor node), downlink data (data sent by the anchor node to the third node and sent by the third node to the first node), or both uplink and downlink data. The content of this information can be found in the "Information related to the data carried by the return link channel" in the "Information related to the configuration of the return link channel" defined in step 1-1.

[0343] Information related to data routing. This data can be uplink data (data sent by the first node to the third node and forwarded by the third node to the anchor node), downlink data (data sent by the anchor node to the third node and then sent by the third node to the first node), or both. For details on the content of this information, see the "Information Related to Data Routing" defined in step 1-1.

[0344] Step 1-1-2: The third node (or the distributed unit portion of the third node) sends a user context configuration response message to the second node. This message can be a UE Context Setup / Modification Response message defined on the F1 interface or other message. This message is mainly used to feedback the user context configuration request message. The message includes at least one of the following information:

[0345] ■One or more of the information contained in the UE Context Setup / Modification response message defined in the existing TS38.473 protocol;

[0346] ■ Information about the backhaul link channel received by the third node (or the distribution unit of the third node), such as identification information of the backhaul link channel;

[0347] ■ Information about the backhaul link channel not accepted by the third node (or the distribution unit of the third node), such as identification information of the backhaul link channel;

[0348] ■ Configuration information of the backhaul link channel generated by the third node (or the distribution unit of the third node), such as RLC layer configuration, configuration information of the logical channel of the backhaul link channel (such as identification information, priority information of the logical channel of the backhaul link), MAC layer configuration, physical layer configuration, etc., can be found in CellGroupConfiguration;

[0349] The effect of the above steps 1-1-1 and 1-1-2 is that the third node can obtain the information required to serve the first node and generate the configuration information required to serve the first node, and the second node can obtain the configuration information when the third node serves the first node and generate the configuration information for configuring the first node (such as generating one or more of the configuration information required in step 1-1).

[0350] Furthermore, when the switching of the first node occurs between the centralized units of two different anchor nodes, such as Figure 2 The scenario shown in (c) may further include an interaction process between the second node and the fourth node. The second node is the anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node to which the first node is connected before the switch, and the fourth node is the anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node to which the first node is connected after the switch. The process includes the following steps, such as Figure 9 (c) as shown:

[0351] Step 1-1-a: The second node sends a Handover Request message to the fourth node. This message can be a Handover Request message on the X2 / Xn interface or another message. This message is used to send the fourth node configuration information used by the first node to access the second node. The message includes at least one of the following information:

[0352] ■ One or more of the information contained in the Handover Request message defined in the existing TS38.423 protocol or TS36.423 protocol;

[0353] ■ Information related to the address of the first node, which includes at least one of the following information:

[0354] ■ Address-related information on the first node side before the handover. For this information, refer to the address-related information on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) before the handover included in the above-mentioned "Address-related information required by the relay node";

[0355] ■ Address-related information on the second node side before the handover. For this information, refer to the address-related information on the anchor node (or the anchor node's centralized unit) side before the handover included in the above-mentioned "address-related information required by the relay node".

[0356] ■ Information about the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal portion of the first node, where the backhaul link channel is the channel served by the first node before the handover. The content of this information can be found in the "configuration information about the backhaul link channel of the relay node" (optionally, it does not include the information after the relay node handover included in the "configuration information about the backhaul link channel of the relay node");

[0357] ■Information related to data routing, the contents of which can be found in the above-mentioned “information related to data routing of relay nodes” (optional, excluding information after relay node switching contained in the above-mentioned “information related to data routing of relay nodes”);

[0358] ■ Configuration information of the distribution unit of the first node. This configuration information is the configuration information of the first node before the handover. For the content included in this configuration information, please refer to the above-mentioned “Configuration information of the distribution unit of the relay node”;

[0359] ■ Information related to the configuration of a user served by the distributed unit portion of the first node, where the user accesses the network via the distributed unit portion of the first node, the information including at least one of the following:

[0360] ■The user's DRB identification information;

[0361] ■ Information related to the user's DRB QoS;

[0362] ■User's SRB identification information;

[0363] ■User configuration information, such as PDCP configuration, RLC configuration, SDAP configuration, MAC configuration, physical layer configuration, etc.;

[0364] Configuration information for the GTP-U (GPRS Tunneling Protocol-User plane) tunnel used by the first node's distributed unit to receive user DRB data, such as an IP address and / or TEID. Furthermore, this configuration information is specific to each user's DRB and may vary depending on the user's DRB. Therefore, the configuration information for each GTP-U tunnel also includes information about the corresponding user DRB (e.g., identification information of the user DRB);

[0365] Configuration information for the GTP-U tunnel used by the centralized unit of the second node to receive user DRB data, such as the IP address and / or TEID. Furthermore, this configuration information is specific to each user's DRB. Different user DRBs may have different configuration information. Therefore, the configuration information for each GTP-U tunnel also includes information about the corresponding user DRB (such as the user DRB's identification information).

[0366] Step 1-1-b: The fourth node sends a handover response message to the second node. This message can be a Handover Request Acknowledge message on the X2 / Xn interface or another message. This message is used to send the second node configuration information used by the first node to access the fourth node. This message includes at least one of the following information:

[0367] ■ One or more of the information contained in the Handover RequestAcknowledge message defined in the existing TS38.423 protocol or TS36.423 protocol;

[0368] ■ Information related to the address of the first node, which includes at least one of the following information:

[0369] ■ Address-related information on the first node side before the handover. For this information, refer to the address-related information on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) before the handover included in the above-mentioned "Address-related information required by the relay node";

[0370] ■ Address-related information on the second node side before the handover. For this information, refer to the address-related information on the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) before the handover included in the above-mentioned "Address-related information required by the relay node";

[0371] ■ Address-related information on the first node side after the handover. For this information, refer to the address-related information on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) after the handover included in the above-mentioned "Address-related information required by the relay node";

[0372] ■ Address-related information on the fourth node side after the handover. For this information, refer to the address-related information on the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) side after the handover included in the above-mentioned "address-related information required by the relay node".

[0373] ■ Information related to the mobile terminal portion of the first node, the information including at least one of the following information:

[0374] ■ Identification information of the accepted backhaul link channel, such as the ID of the backhaul link channel;

[0375] ■ Identification information of the unaccepted backhaul link channel, such as the ID of the backhaul link channel;

[0376] ■ Configuration information related to the served backhaul link channel. The content of this information can be found in the above-mentioned “Configuration information related to the backhaul link channel of the relay node”.

[0377] ■Information related to data routing. For this information, refer to the “information related to data routing” defined in step 1-1.

[0378] ■ Configuration information of the distribution unit portion of the first node, which is the configuration information after the first node is switched. For information included in the configuration information, refer to the aforementioned "configuration information of the distribution unit of the relay node" (the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the relay node is connected, as indicated in the information, is the fourth node (or the centralized unit of the fourth node)). Further, the configuration information may also include configuration information before the first node is switched. For information included in the configuration information, refer to the aforementioned "configuration information of the distribution unit of the relay node" (the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the relay node is connected, as indicated in the information, is the second node (or the centralized unit of the second node)).

[0379] ■Information about the cell to be activated, such as the cell identification information (NR CGI, NR PCI);

[0380] ■Information about the cell to be deactivated, such as the cell identification information (NR CGI, NR PCI);

[0381] ■ Reasons for cell deactivation, such as PCI conflict, TA (tracking area) unsupported, etc.

[0382] ■ Information related to the configuration of a user served by the distributed unit portion of the first node, where the user accesses the network via the distributed unit portion of the first node, the information including at least one of the following:

[0383] ■ID information of the DRB of the admitted user;

[0384] ■ID information of the DRB of the user who was not admitted;

[0385] ■ Identification information of the SRB of the admitted user;

[0386] ■ Identification information of the SRB of the user who was not admitted;

[0387] ■User configuration information, such as PDCP configuration, RLC configuration, SDAP configuration, MAC configuration, physical layer configuration, etc.;

[0388] ■ Configuration information of the GTP-U tunnel used by the distribution unit of the first node to receive user DRB data, such as the IP address and / or TEID. Furthermore, this configuration information is specific to each user's DRB. Different user DRBs may have different configuration information. Therefore, this information may further include information about the user DRB corresponding to each tunnel configuration information (such as identification information of the user DRB);

[0389] ■ Configuration information of the GTP-U tunnel used by the distribution unit of the first node before the handover to receive user DRB data, such as the IP address and / or TEID. Furthermore, this configuration information is specific to each user's DRB. Different user DRBs may have different configuration information. Therefore, this information may further include information about the user DRB corresponding to each tunnel configuration information (such as identification information of the user DRB);

[0390] ■ Configuration information of the GTP-U tunnel used by the centralized unit of the fourth node to receive user DRB data, such as an IP address and / or TEID. Furthermore, this configuration information is specific to each user's DRB. Different user DRBs may have different configuration information. Therefore, this information may further include information about the user DRB corresponding to each tunnel configuration information (e.g., identification information of the user DRB);

[0391] Configuration information of the GTP-U tunnel used by the centralized unit of the second node before the handover to receive user DRB data, such as an IP address and / or TEID. Furthermore, this configuration information is specific to each user's DRB. Different user DRBs may have different configuration information. Therefore, this information may further include information about the user DRB corresponding to each tunnel configuration information (e.g., identification information of the user DRB).

[0392] After receiving the handover response message, the second node generates the configuration message in step 1-1 according to the information included in the message.

[0393] The effect of the above steps 1-1-a and 1-1-b is that when the relay node switches between the centralized units of two different anchor nodes, the centralized unit of the source anchor node (i.e., the centralized unit of the second node) can send the configuration information of the relay node before the switch to the centralized unit of the target anchor node (i.e., the centralized unit of the fourth node) (the configuration information includes the configuration information of the mobile terminal part of the relay node, the configuration information of the distribution unit part of the relay node, and the configuration information of the user served by the distribution unit part of the relay node). The centralized unit of the target anchor node can perform the configuration of the relay node after the switch based on the received configuration information, and send the generated configuration information of the switched relay node to the centralized unit of the source anchor node. Finally, the centralized unit of the source anchor node can send the configuration information used during or after the relay node switch to the relay node to facilitate the switching of the relay node.

[0394] Further, combined Figure 2 In different switching scenarios, the signaling interaction process of relay node switching is as follows Figure 10 shown. Figure 10 (a) shows the handover process of a relay node within the centralized unit of the same anchor node. The involved scenarios include intra-CU / intra-DU handover and intra-CU / inter-DU handover. The steps are as follows:

[0395] ■Step 1-a: The second node sends a user context configuration request message to the third node. The third node is the node directly connected to the relay node after switching (it may be the distribution unit of the second node, which may be the distribution unit to which the relay node was connected before switching, or another distribution unit, or another relay node). The content of the message can be found in the description of step 1-1-1 above.

[0396] ■Step 1-b: The third node sends a user context configuration response message to the second node. The content of the message can be found in the description of the above step 1-1-2.

[0397] ■Step 1-c: The second node sends a configuration message to the first node. This message may be sent by the second node to the first node via a third node, or by the second node via another node. The content of this configuration message can be found in the description of step 1-1 above.

[0398] Step 1-d: The first node sends a configuration completion message to the second node. This message may be sent from the first node to the second node via a third node, or via another node. The content of this message can be found in the description of step 1-2 above.

[0399] Figure 10(b) shows the signaling interaction process for relay nodes to switch between centralized units of different anchor nodes. The involved scenarios include inter-CU switching, which includes the following steps:

[0400] ■Step 1-aa: The second node sends a switching request message to the fourth node. The second node is the source anchor node (or the centralized unit of the source anchor node), and the fourth node is the target anchor node (or the centralized unit of the target anchor node). The content of the message can be found in the description of step 1-1-a.

[0401] ■Step 1-bb: The fourth node sends a user context configuration request message to the third node. The third node is the node directly connected after the relay node switches (it may be the distribution unit of the fourth node or another relay node). The content of the message can be found in the description of the above step 1-1-1.

[0402] ■Step 1-cc: The third node sends a user context configuration response message to the fourth node. The content of the message can be found in the description of the above step 1-1-2.

[0403] ■Step 1-dd: The fourth node sends a handover response message to the second node. The content of the message can be found in the description of step 1-1-b.

[0404] ■Step 1-ee: The second node sends a configuration message to the first node. The content of the configuration message can be found in the description of step 1-1 above.

[0405] Step 1-ff: The first node sends a configuration completion message to the fourth node. This message may be sent by the first node through the third node or through another node. The content of this message can be found in the description of steps 1-2 above.

[0406] The effect of the above process is that the relay node can switch within the same anchor node (or the centralized unit of the same anchor node) and between different anchor nodes (centralized units of different anchor nodes). During the switching process, the return link channel served by the mobile terminal part of the relay node can be configured.

[0407] The second aspect of the present application: configuration update and reconfiguration of the distribution unit part during the movement of the relay node.

[0408] During a handover, a relay node requires configuration not only for its mobile terminal but also for its distribution unit. Before the handover, the relay node's distribution unit already has the configuration information necessary to serve users at the source anchor node. After the handover, the relay node's distribution unit configuration may need to change. Existing technologies have not yet addressed the issue of distribution unit configuration changes during a relay node handover.

[0409] To address the above-mentioned issues, the present application proposes the following method. The following method involves a first node, a second node, and a fourth node: the first node is a relay node where a handover occurs; the second node is an anchor node (or a centralized unit of an anchor node), which may be the node to which the first node is connected before the handover or the node to which the first node is connected after the handover; the fourth node is a target anchor node (or a centralized unit of a target anchor node) involved when the relay node switches between different anchor nodes (or centralized units of anchor nodes); in this case, the second node is the source anchor node (or the centralized unit of the source anchor node).

[0410] Method 1: The relay node provides updated configuration information to the anchor node.

[0411] like Figure 11 As shown, the method includes the following steps:

[0412] Step 2-1-1: The first node (or the distribution unit of the first node) sends a first request message to the second node. The message is mainly used to provide the second node with information related to the configuration of the first node. The message includes at least one of the following information:

[0413] ■ Information related to the address of the first node, which includes at least one of the following information:

[0414] ■ Address-related information on the first node side before the handover. For this information, refer to the address-related information on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) before the handover included in the above-mentioned "Address-related information required by the relay node";

[0415] ■ Address-related information on the second node side before the handover. For this information, refer to the address-related information on the anchor node (or the anchor node's centralized unit) side before the handover included in the above-mentioned "address-related information required by the relay node".

[0416] ■ Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node, which includes at least one of the following information:

[0417] ■ Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the handover. The content of this information can be found in the above-mentioned "Configuration Information of the Distribution Unit of the Relay Node" (the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the relay node is connected in this information is the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the first node is connected before the handover);

[0418] ■Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node after the switch. The content contained in this information can be found in the above-mentioned "configuration information of the distribution unit of the relay node" (the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the relay node involved in this information is connected is the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the first node is connected after the switch).

[0419] ■ Auxiliary information for obtaining the configuration information of the distribution unit of the first node, which is used to help the second node obtain the configuration information of the distribution unit of the first node before the handover, and which includes at least one of the following information:

[0420] ■ After the handover, information related to the mobile terminal of the first node, such as the mobile terminal's identification information (e.g., C-RNTI, gNB-CU / gNB-DU UE F1AP ID), the accessed cell, and security-related information (e.g., shortMAC-I);

[0421] ■ Information related to the mobile terminal of the first node before the handover, such as the mobile terminal's identification information (e.g., C-RNTI, gNB-CU / gNB-DU UE F1AP ID), the accessed cell, and security-related information (e.g., shortMAC-I);

[0422] ■ Before handover, information related to the distribution unit of the first node, such as gNB-DU ID, gNB-DU Name, IP address, BAP address, and the gNB ID to which the distribution unit of the first node belongs.

[0423] Step 2-1-2: The second node sends a first response message to the first node (or the distribution unit of the first node). The message is mainly used to update the configuration of the first node (or the distribution unit of the first node). The message includes at least one of the following information:

[0424] ■ Information related to the updated configuration of the distribution unit of the first node. This information is the update of the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node by the second node based on the information received in step 2-1-1. The content of this information can be found in the above-mentioned "Configuration Information of the Distribution Unit of the Relay Node";

[0425] ■ Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the update, which is the information received by the second node from step 2-1-1. The content of this information can be found in the above-mentioned "Configuration information of the distribution unit of the relay node";

[0426] ■Information about the cell to be activated, such as the cell identification information (NR CGI, NR PCI);

[0427] ■Information about the cell to be deactivated, such as the cell identification information (NR CGI, NR PCI);

[0428] ■ Reasons for cell deactivation, such as PCI conflict, TA (tracking area) unsupported, etc.

[0429] ■ Information related to the address of the first node, which includes at least one of the following information:

[0430] ■ Address-related information on the first node side before the handover. For this information, refer to the address-related information on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) before the handover included in the above-mentioned "Address-related information required by the relay node";

[0431] ■ Address-related information on the second node side before the handover. For this information, refer to the address-related information on the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) before the handover included in the above-mentioned "Address-related information required by the relay node";

[0432] ■ Address-related information on the first node side after the handover. For this information, refer to the address-related information on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) after the handover included in the above-mentioned "Address-related information required by the relay node";

[0433] ■ Address-related information on the second node side after the handover. For this information, refer to the address-related information on the anchor node (or the anchor node's centralized unit) side after the handover included in the above-mentioned "address-related information required by the relay node".

[0434] In one embodiment, the above method can be applied in the scenario that after switching, the relay node downloads the configuration information of its distribution unit part from OAM (this information belongs to the configuration information after switching), and then the relay node sends its pre-switching and post-switching configuration information to the anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node to which it is connected after switching.

[0435] The first request message and the first response message may be F1 Setup Request / Response messages, gNB-DU Configuration Update / gNB-DU Configuration Update Acknowledge messages, or other messages.

[0436] The effect of the above steps 2-1-1 and 2-1-2 is that the relay node that undergoes switching provides the anchor node with its configuration information before switching and configuration information after switching, and the anchor node to which the first node accesses after switching reconfigures the distribution unit of the first node.

[0437] Method 2: The target anchor node configures the distribution unit of the relay node.

[0438] like Figure 12 (a), the method comprises the following steps:

[0439] Step 2-2-1: The first node (or the distribution unit of the first node) sends a second request message to the second node. The message is mainly used to provide the second node with information related to the configuration of the first node. The configuration information is information before the handover. The message includes at least one of the following information:

[0440] ■ Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the handover. The content of this information can be found in the above-mentioned "Configuration Information of the Distribution Unit of the Relay Node" (the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the relay node is connected in this information is the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the first node is connected before the handover);

[0441] ■ Information related to the address of the first node, which includes at least one of the following information:

[0442] ■ Address-related information on the first node side before the handover. For this information, refer to the address-related information on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) before the handover included in the above-mentioned "Address-related information required by the relay node";

[0443] ■ Address-related information on the second node side before the handover. For this information, refer to the address-related information on the anchor node (or the anchor node's centralized unit) side before the handover included in the above-mentioned "address-related information required by the relay node".

[0444] ■ Auxiliary information for obtaining the configuration information of the distribution unit of the first node, which is used to help the second node obtain the configuration information of the distribution unit of the first node before the handover, and which includes at least one of the following information:

[0445] ■ After the handover, information related to the mobile terminal of the first node, such as the mobile terminal's identification information (e.g., C-RNTI, gNB-CU / gNB-DU UE F1AP ID), the accessed cell, and security-related information (e.g., shortMAC-I);

[0446] ■ Information related to the mobile terminal of the first node before the handover, such as the mobile terminal's identification information (e.g., C-RNTI, gNB-CU / gNB-DU UE F1AP ID), the accessed cell, and security-related information (e.g., shortMAC-I);

[0447] ■ Before handover, information related to the distribution unit of the first node, such as gNB-DU ID, gNB-DU Name, IP address, BAP address, and the gNB ID to which the distribution unit of the first node belongs.

[0448] Step 2-2-2: The second node sends a second response message to the first node (or the distribution unit of the first node). The message is mainly used to configure the first node (or the distribution unit of the first node). The message includes at least one of the following information:

[0449] ■ Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node, which includes at least one of the following information:

[0450] ■ Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the handover. The content of this information can be found in the above-mentioned "Configuration Information of the Distribution Unit of the Relay Node" (the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the relay node is connected in this information is the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the first node is connected before the handover);

[0451] ■Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node after the switch. The content contained in this information can be found in the above-mentioned "configuration information of the distribution unit of the relay node" (the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the relay node involved in this information is connected is the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the first node is connected after the switch).

[0452] ■Information about the cell to be activated, such as the cell identification information (NR CGI, NR PCI);

[0453] ■Information about the cell to be deactivated, such as the cell identification information (NR CGI, NR PCI);

[0454] ■ Reasons for cell deactivation, such as PCI conflict, TA (tracking area) unsupported, etc.

[0455] ■ Information related to the address of the first node, which includes at least one of the following information:

[0456] ■ Address-related information on the first node side before the handover. For this information, refer to the address-related information on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) before the handover included in the above-mentioned "Address-related information required by the relay node";

[0457] ■ Address-related information on the second node side before the handover. For this information, refer to the address-related information on the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) before the handover included in the above-mentioned "Address-related information required by the relay node";

[0458] ■ Address-related information on the first node side after the handover. For this information, refer to the address-related information on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) after the handover included in the above-mentioned "Address-related information required by the relay node";

[0459] ■ Address-related information on the second node side after the handover. For this information, refer to the address-related information on the anchor node (or the anchor node's centralized unit) side after the handover included in the above-mentioned "address-related information required by the relay node".

[0460] Furthermore, when the relay node switches between two different anchor nodes (or centralized units of different anchor nodes), such as switching from the second node to the fourth node, Figure 12 (b), the above process is as follows:

[0461] Step 2-2-a: The second node (or the centralized unit of the second node) sends a first switching request message to the fourth node (or the centralized unit of the fourth node). The message is mainly used to send the configuration information of the first node in the second node to the fourth node. The information contained in the first switching request message can refer to the content of step 1-1-a in the first aspect of the present invention.

[0462] Step 2-2-b: Optionally, the fourth node sends a first switching response message to the second node. The information contained in the message can refer to the content of step 1-1-b in the first aspect of the present invention.

[0463] Step 2-2-c: The first node sends a second request message to the fourth node.

[0464] This message is mainly used to provide the fourth node with information related to the configuration of the first node. The configuration information is information before the handover. The message includes at least one of the following information:

[0465] ■ Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the handover. The content of this information can be found in the above-mentioned "Configuration Information of the Distribution Unit of the Relay Node" (the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the relay node is connected in this information is the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the first node is connected before the handover);

[0466] ■ Information related to the address of the first node, which includes at least one of the following information:

[0467] ■ Address-related information on the first node side before the handover. For this information, refer to the address-related information on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) before the handover included in the above-mentioned "Address-related information required by the relay node";

[0468] ■ Address-related information on the second node side before the handover. For this information, refer to the address-related information on the anchor node (or the anchor node's centralized unit) side before the handover included in the above-mentioned "address-related information required by the relay node".

[0469] ■ Auxiliary information for obtaining the configuration information of the distribution unit of the first node, which is used to help the fourth node obtain the configuration information of the distribution unit of the first node before the switch, and includes at least one of the following information:

[0470] ■ After the handover, information related to the mobile terminal of the first node, such as the mobile terminal's identification information (e.g., C-RNTI, gNB-CU / gNB-DU UE F1AP ID), the accessed cell, and security-related information (e.g., shortMAC-I);

[0471] ■ Information related to the mobile terminal of the first node before the handover, such as the mobile terminal's identification information (e.g., C-RNTI, gNB-CU / gNB-DU UE F1AP ID), the accessed cell, and security-related information (e.g., shortMAC-I);

[0472] ■ Before handover, information related to the distribution unit of the first node, such as gNB-DU ID, gNB-DU Name, IP address, BAP address, and the gNB ID to which the distribution unit of the first node belongs.

[0473] Step 2-2-d: The fourth node sends a second response message to the first node. The message is mainly used to configure the first node (or the distribution unit of the first node). The message includes at least one of the following information:

[0474] ■ Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node, which includes at least one of the following information:

[0475] ■ Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the handover. The content of this information can be found in the above-mentioned "Configuration Information of the Distribution Unit of the Relay Node" (the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the relay node is connected in this information is the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the first node is connected before the handover);

[0476] ■Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node after the switch. The content contained in this information can be found in the above-mentioned "configuration information of the distribution unit of the relay node" (the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the relay node involved in this information is connected is the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the first node is connected after the switch).

[0477] ■Information about the cell to be activated, such as the cell identification information (NR CGI, NR PCI);

[0478] ■Information about the cell to be deactivated, such as the cell identification information (NR CGI, NR PCI);

[0479] ■ Reasons for cell deactivation, such as PCI conflict, TA (tracking area) unsupported, etc.

[0480] ■ Information related to the address of the first node, which includes at least one of the following information:

[0481] ■ Address-related information on the first node side before the handover. For this information, refer to the address-related information on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) before the handover included in the above-mentioned "Address-related information required by the relay node";

[0482] ■ Address-related information on the second node side before the handover. For this information, refer to the address-related information on the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) before the handover included in the above-mentioned "Address-related information required by the relay node";

[0483] ■ Address-related information on the first node side after the handover. For this information, refer to the address-related information on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) after the handover included in the above-mentioned "Address-related information required by the relay node";

[0484] ■ Address-related information on the fourth node side after the handover. For this information, refer to the address-related information on the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) side after the handover included in the above-mentioned "address-related information required by the relay node".

[0485] In one embodiment, the above steps may be applicable to a scenario where, after a handover, the relay node does not download new configuration information from the OAM. The relay node provides the pre-handover configuration information of its distributed unit to the anchor node (or the anchor node's centralized unit) to which it is connected after the handover, or provides auxiliary information to help the anchor node (or the anchor node's centralized unit) obtain the pre-handover configuration information of the relay node's distributed unit. The anchor node (or the anchor node's centralized unit) to which it is connected after the handover updates the configuration information of the relay node's distributed unit. The second request message and the second response message may be F1 Setup Request / Response messages, gNB-DU Configuration Update / gNB-DU Configuration Update Acknowledge messages, or other messages, respectively. The first handover request message and the first handover response message may be Handover Request / Handover Request Acknowledge messages, respectively, or other messages.

[0486] The effect of the above process is that the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the relay node is connected after switching can obtain the configuration information of its distributed unit before switching from the relay node and configure the distributed unit of the relay node according to the information.

[0487] Method 3: The source anchor node configures the distribution unit of the relay node.

[0488] like Figure 13 As shown, the method includes the following steps:

[0489] Step 2-3-1: The second node (or the centralized unit of the second node) sends a second switching request message to the fourth node (or the centralized unit of the fourth node). The message is mainly used to send the configuration information of the first node in the second node to the fourth node. The information contained in the second switching configuration request message can refer to the content of step 1-1-a in the first aspect of this application.

[0490] Step 2-3-2: Optionally, the fourth node sends a second switching response message to the second node. The information contained in the message can be found in the content of step 1-1-b in the first aspect of this application.

[0491] Step 2-3-3: The second node sends a first configuration message to the first node. The information contained in the message includes at least one of the following information:

[0492] ■ Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node, which includes at least one of the following information:

[0493] ■ Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the handover. The content of this information can be found in the above-mentioned "Configuration Information of the Distribution Unit of the Relay Node" (the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the relay node is connected in this information is the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the first node is connected before the handover);

[0494] ■Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node after the switch. The content contained in this information can be found in the above-mentioned "configuration information of the distribution unit of the relay node" (the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the relay node involved in this information is connected is the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the first node is connected after the switch).

[0495] ■Information about the cell to be activated, such as the cell identification information (NR CGI, NR PCI);

[0496] ■Information about the cell to be deactivated, such as the cell identification information (NR CGI, NR PCI);

[0497] ■ Reasons for cell deactivation, such as PCI conflict, TA (tracking area) unsupported, etc.

[0498] ■ Information related to the address of the first node, which includes at least one of the following information:

[0499] ■ Address-related information on the first node side before the handover. For this information, refer to the address-related information on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) before the handover included in the above-mentioned "Address-related information required by the relay node";

[0500] ■ Address-related information on the second node side before the handover. For this information, refer to the address-related information on the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) before the handover included in the above-mentioned "Address-related information required by the relay node";

[0501] ■ Address-related information on the first node side after the handover. For this information, refer to the address-related information on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) after the handover included in the above-mentioned "Address-related information required by the relay node";

[0502] ■ Address-related information on the fourth node side after the handover. For this information, refer to the address-related information on the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) side after the handover included in the above-mentioned "address-related information required by the relay node".

[0503] In one embodiment, the above process is applicable to a scenario where, during a handover process, the target anchor node (or the centralized unit of the target anchor node) generates a configuration of the distributed unit of the relay node after handover, which is then sent by the source node to the relay node.

[0504] The second handover request message and the second handover response message may be Handover Request / Handover Request Acknowledge messages, respectively, or other messages. The first configuration message may be an RRCReconfiguration message or an RRCConnectionReconfiguration message, a gNB-CU ConfigurationUpdate message, a gNB-DU Configuration Update Acknowledge message, or other messages.

[0505] The effect of the above process is that the source anchor node (or the centralized unit of the source anchor node) to which the relay node is connected obtains the updated configuration information of the relay node from the target anchor node (or the centralized unit of the target anchor node) and sends the updated configuration information to the relay node.

[0506] Method 4: After the relay node switches, its distribution unit still maintains the connection with the centralized unit of the source anchor node.

[0507] In this method, after the relay node is switched, only the mobile terminal part of the relay node is served by the target anchor node (or the centralized unit of the target anchor node), while the distributed unit part of the relay node still maintains the connection with the source anchor node (or the centralized unit of the source anchor node), such as Figure 14 As shown. Figure 14 In this method, the mobile terminal portion of the first node communicates with the fourth node or the centralized unit of the fourth node after the handover, and the two may communicate through one or more intermediate nodes. The distributed unit portion of the first node continues to communicate with the second node or the centralized unit of the second node after the mobile terminal portion is switched, and the two may communicate through one or more intermediate nodes. The data packets sent during this communication process need to be sent by the mobile terminal portion of the first node. In this method, because the distributed unit portion of the first node still maintains a connection with the second node or the centralized unit of the second node, the configuration information of the distributed unit may remain unchanged. In order to implement this method, the following signaling interaction process is required, such as Figure 15 (a) shows:

[0508] Step 2-4-1: The second node sends a third handover request message to the fourth node, where the message includes at least one of the following information:

[0509] ■ Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the handover. The content of this information can be found in the above-mentioned "Configuration Information of the Distribution Unit of the Relay Node" (the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the relay node is connected in this information is the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the first node is connected before the handover, i.e., the second node (or the centralized unit of the second node));

[0510] ■ Information related to the address of the first node, which includes at least one of the following information:

[0511] ■ Address-related information on the first node side before the handover. For this information, refer to the address-related information on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) before the handover included in the above-mentioned "Address-related information required by the relay node";

[0512] ■ Address-related information on the second node side before the handover. For this information, refer to the address-related information on the anchor node (or the anchor node's centralized unit) side before the handover included in the above-mentioned "address-related information required by the relay node".

[0513] Step 2-4-2: The fourth node sends a third handover response message to the second node, where the message includes at least one of the following information:

[0514] ■ Information related to the address of the first node, which includes at least one of the following information:

[0515] ■ Address-related information on the first node side before the handover. For this information, refer to the address-related information on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) before the handover included in the above-mentioned "Address-related information required by the relay node";

[0516] ■ Address-related information on the first node side after the handover. For this information, refer to the address-related information on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) side after the handover included in the above-mentioned "address-related information required by the relay node".

[0517] ■Information about the cell to be activated, such as identification information of one or more cells, such as NR CGI and NR PCI;

[0518] ■Information about the cell to be deactivated, such as identification information of one or more cells, such as NR CGI and NR PCI;

[0519] ■Information about the reason for deactivating the cell, such as PCI conflict, TA (tracking area) unsupported, etc.

[0520] Step 2-4-3: The second node sends a second configuration message to the first node, which includes at least one of the following information:

[0521] ■ Information related to the address of the first node, which includes at least one of the following information:

[0522] ■ Address-related information on the first node side before the handover. For this information, refer to the address-related information on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) before the handover included in the above-mentioned "Address-related information required by the relay node";

[0523] ■ Address-related information on the second node side before the handover. For this information, refer to the address-related information on the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) before the handover included in the above-mentioned "Address-related information required by the relay node";

[0524] ■ Address-related information on the first node side after the handover. For this information, refer to the address-related information on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) after the handover included in the above-mentioned "Address-related information required by the relay node";

[0525] ■ Address-related information on the second node side after the handover. For this information, refer to the address-related information on the anchor node (or the anchor node's centralized unit) side after the handover included in the above-mentioned "address-related information required by the relay node".

[0526] ■Information about the cell to be activated, such as identification information of one or more cells, such as NR CGI and NR PCI;

[0527] ■Information about the cell to be deactivated, such as identification information of one or more cells, such as NR CGI and NR PCI;

[0528] ■Information about the reason for deactivating the cell, such as PCI conflict, TA (tracking area) unsupported, etc.

[0529] Another embodiment of step 2-4-3 is that the fourth node sends the second configuration message to the first node, such as Figure 15 (b) shown.

[0530] The third handover request message and the third handover response message may be Handover Request / Handover Request Acknowledge messages, respectively, or other messages. The second configuration message may be an RRCReconfiguration message or an RRCConnectionReconfiguration message, a gNB-CU ConfigurationUpdate message, a gNB-DU Configuration Update Acknowledge message, or other messages.

[0531] The effect of the above process is that the relay node can maintain the connection with the switched source anchor node or the centralized unit of the source anchor node, and obtain the configuration information of the relay node that needs to be updated through the information interaction between the source anchor node or the centralized unit of the source anchor node and the target anchor node or the centralized unit of the target anchor node, thereby sending the updated configuration information to the relay node.

[0532] Example 2

[0533] Based on the same inventive concept as the above embodiment, the present embodiment further provides a first node device. The structural diagram of the device is as follows: Figure 16 As shown, the first node device 10 includes a first processing module 101 and a second processing module 102 .

[0534] A first processing module 101 is configured to receive a configuration message sent by a second node to support handover of the first node, where the first node includes any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal portion of a relay node, and a distributed unit of a relay node; and the second node includes any one of an anchor node and a centralized unit of an anchor node;

[0535] The second processing module 102 is configured to configure the first node according to the configuration message sent by the second node.

[0536] Optionally, the configuration message includes at least one of the following:

[0537] The first node needs information related to the address, information related to the configuration of the backhaul link channel, and information related to data routing.

[0538] Optionally, the above configuration message may be a radio resource control reconfiguration RRCReconfiguration message, a radio resource control connection reconfiguration RRCConnectionReconfiguration message, or other messages.

[0539] Optionally, the address-related information required by the first node includes at least one of the following:

[0540] Information related to the address of the first node before switching, information related to the address of the first node after switching, information related to the address of the second node before switching, and information related to the address of the second node after switching;

[0541] The address-related information on the first node side before the handover includes at least one of Backhaul Adaptation Protocol layer (BAP) address information of the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node, address information of the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node, one or more transport layer address information used by the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node for transmitting control signaling, and one or more transport layer address information used by the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node for transmitting user data;

[0542] The address-related information on the first node side after the handover includes at least one of BAP address information of the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node, address information of the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node, one or more transport layer address information used by the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node for transmitting control signaling, and one or more transport layer address information used by the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node for transmitting user data;

[0543] The address-related information on the second node side before the handover includes at least one of address information of the anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node, one or more transport layer address information used by the anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node for transmitting control signaling, and one or more transport layer address information used by the anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node for transmitting user data;

[0544] The address-related information on the second node side after switching includes at least one of the address information of the anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node, one or more transport layer address information used by the anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node to transmit control signaling, and one or more transport layer address information used by the anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node to transmit user data.

[0545] Optionally, the information related to the configuration of the backhaul link channel includes at least one of the following:

[0546] Identification information of the backhaul link channel, quality of service (QoS) parameter information of the backhaul link channel, configuration information of the serving backhaul link channel, correspondence information between the backhaul link channel and other backhaul link channels before and after relay node switching, and information related to data carried by the backhaul link channel;

[0547] The correspondence information between the backhaul link channel and other backhaul link channels before and after the relay node is switched includes at least one of information about the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal of the relay node before the relay node is switched, information about the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal of the relay node after the relay node is switched, information about the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal of the relay node, information about the backhaul link channel served by the distribution unit of the relay node before the relay node is switched, information about the backhaul link channel served by the distribution unit of the relay node after the relay node is switched, and information about the backhaul link channel served by the distribution unit of the relay node;

[0548] The information related to the data carried by the return link channel includes at least one of information related to the user data radio bearer DRB to which the data belongs, identification information of the QoS of the data, indication information of the type of control signaling to which the data belongs, indication information that the type of data is non-F1 interface data, information of the destination receiving node of the data, information of the source sending node of the data, tunnel endpoint identification TEID information of the data, indication information of the content of the information contained in the data, and path identification information of the data.

[0549] Optionally, the information related to data routing includes at least one of the following:

[0550] BAP address information contained in the data packet, path identification information contained in the data packet, BAP routing identification information of the data packet, identification information of the node receiving the data packet sent by the relay node, identification information of the cell group used by the relay node to send the data packet, and indication information of the cell group used by the relay node to send the data packet.

[0551] The application of the embodiments of the present application has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0552] In an embodiment of the present application, a configuration message sent by a second node is received to support switching of a first node, the first node includes any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal part of a relay node, and a distribution unit of a relay node, and the second node includes any one of an anchor node and a centralized unit of an anchor node; the first node is configured according to the configuration message sent by the second node; in this way, the configuration of the first node, such as the configuration of the distribution unit part of the first node, the configuration of the mobile terminal part of the first node, etc., is updated during the mobile switching process of the first node, thereby continuing to provide services to users accessing the first node.

[0553] For the contents not described in detail in the first node device provided in the embodiment of the present application, reference can be made to the above-mentioned switching method. The beneficial effects that can be achieved by the first node device provided in the embodiment of the present application are the same as those of the above-mentioned switching method, and will not be repeated here.

[0554] Based on the same inventive concept as the above embodiment, the present embodiment further provides a second node device. The structural diagram of the device is as follows: Figure 17 As shown, the second node device 20 includes a third processing module 201 and a fourth processing module 202 .

[0555] The third processing module 201 is configured to send a user context configuration request message to a third node to support handover of the first node, where the first node includes any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal portion of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node; the second node includes any one of an anchor node and a centralized unit of the anchor node; and the third node includes a distribution unit of an anchor node to which the first node is directly connected after handover, or another relay node other than the first node to which the first node is directly connected after handover.

[0556] The fourth processing module 202 is configured to receive a user context configuration response message sent by a third node.

[0557] Optionally, the user context configuration request message includes at least one of the following:

[0558] One or more of the information included in a defined user equipment context setup establishment or modification request message (UE Context Setup request, UE Context Modification Request), information related to a backhaul link channel served by the distributed unit portion of the third node, and information related to data routing;

[0559] The information related to the backhaul link channel served by the distribution unit of the third node includes at least one of identification information of the backhaul link channel, QoS parameter information of the backhaul link channel, and information related to data carried by the backhaul link channel.

[0560] Optionally, the user context configuration response message includes at least one of the following:

[0561] One or more of the information contained in a defined UE Context Setup Response or UE Context Modification Response message, information about the return link channel accepted by the third node or the distribution unit of the third node, information about the return link channel not accepted by the third node or the distribution unit of the third node, and configuration information of the return link channel generated by the third node or the distribution unit of the third node.

[0562] The application of the embodiments of the present application has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0563] During the relay node mobility and switching process, the relay node configuration is updated, such as the configuration of the distribution unit part of the first node, the configuration of the mobile terminal part of the first node, etc., so as to continue to provide services for users accessing the first node.

[0564] For the contents not described in detail in the second node device provided in the embodiment of the present application, reference can be made to the above-mentioned switching method. The beneficial effects that can be achieved by the second node device provided in the embodiment of the present application are the same as those of the above-mentioned switching method, and will not be repeated here.

[0565] Based on the same inventive concept as the above embodiment, the present embodiment further provides a second node device. The structural diagram of the device is as follows: Figure 18 As shown, the second node device 30 includes a fifth processing module 301 and a sixth processing module 302 .

[0566] a fifth processing module 301, configured to send a handover request message to a fourth node to support handover of the first node, where the first node includes any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal portion of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node; the second node includes any one of an anchor node to which the first node is connected before handover and a centralized unit of the anchor node to which the first node is connected before handover; and the fourth node includes any one of an anchor node to which the first node is connected after handover and a centralized unit of the anchor node to which the first node is connected after handover;

[0567] The sixth processing module 302 is configured to receive a handover response message sent by the fourth node.

[0568] Optionally, the handover request message includes at least one of the following:

[0569] One or more of the information included in a defined Handover Request message, information related to the address of the first node, information related to the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal portion of the first node, information related to data routing, configuration information of the distribution unit portion of the first node, and information related to configuration of users served by the distribution unit portion of the first node;

[0570] The information related to the address of the first node includes at least one of information related to the address of the first node side before the switching and information related to the address of the second node side before the switching;

[0571] The configuration information of the distributed unit part of the first node includes at least one of identification information, identification information of the connected anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node, configuration information of the serving cell, supported radio resource control RRC version information, and RRC version information of the connected anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node;

[0572] The configuration information of the serving cell includes identification information of the cell, one or more of the information contained in the defined serving cell information ServedCellInformation, system message information, and at least one of the cell service status information;

[0573] The configuration-related information of the user served by the distributed unit part of the first node includes at least one of the identification information of the user's DRB, information related to the QoS of the user's DRB, identification information of the user's signaling radio bearer SRB, user configuration information, and configuration information of the General Packet Radio Service Technology GPRS Tunnel Protocol User Plane GTP-U tunnel on the centralized unit side of the second node for receiving user DRB data.

[0574] Optionally, the handover response message includes at least one of the following:

[0575] One or more of the information included in a defined Handover Request Acknowledge message, information related to the address of the first node, information related to the mobile terminal portion of the first node, information related to data routing, configuration information of the distributed unit portion of the first node, information about cells to be activated, information about cells to be deactivated, reason information for deactivating a cell, and information related to configuration of users served by the distributed unit portion of the first node;

[0576] The information related to the address of the first node includes at least one of information related to the address of the first node before the switch, information related to the address of the second node before the switch, information related to the address of the first node after the switch, and information related to the address of the fourth node after the switch;

[0577] The information related to the mobile terminal portion of the first node includes at least one of identification information of an accepted backhaul link channel, identification information of an unaccepted backhaul link channel, and configuration information related to a served backhaul link channel;

[0578] The configuration-related information of the users served by the distribution unit part of the first node includes at least one of the identification information of the DRB of the admitted users, the identification information of the DRB of the unaccepted users, the identification information of the SRB of the admitted users, the identification information of the SRB of the unaccepted users, the user's configuration information, the configuration information of the GTP-U tunnel for receiving user DRB data on the distribution unit side of the first node, the configuration information of the GTP-U tunnel for receiving user DRB data on the distribution unit side of the first node before switching, the configuration information of the GTP-U tunnel for receiving user DRB data on the centralized unit side of the fourth node, and the configuration information of the GTP-U tunnel for receiving user DRB data on the centralized unit side of the second node before switching.

[0579] The application of the embodiments of the present application has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0580] During the relay node mobility and switching process, the relay node configuration is updated, such as the configuration of the distribution unit part of the first node, the configuration of the mobile terminal part of the first node, etc., so as to continue to provide services for users accessing the first node.

[0581] For the contents not described in detail in the second node device provided in the embodiment of the present application, reference can be made to the above-mentioned switching method. The beneficial effects that can be achieved by the second node device provided in the embodiment of the present application are the same as those of the above-mentioned switching method, and will not be repeated here.

[0582] Based on the same inventive concept as the above embodiment, the present embodiment further provides a first node device. The structural diagram of the device is as follows: Figure 19 As shown, the first node device 40 includes a seventh processing module 401 and an eighth processing module 402 .

[0583] a seventh processing module 401, configured to send a first request message to a second node to support handover of the first node, wherein the first node includes any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal portion of a relay node, and a distributed unit of a relay node, and the second node includes any one of an anchor node and a centralized unit of an anchor node;

[0584] The eighth processing module 402 is configured to receive a first response message sent by the second node.

[0585] Optionally, the first request message includes at least one of the following:

[0586] Information related to the address of the first node, information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node, and auxiliary information for obtaining the configuration information of the distribution unit of the first node;

[0587] The information related to the address of the first node includes at least one of information related to the address of the first node side before the switching and information related to the address of the second node side before the switching;

[0588] The information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node includes at least one of the information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the switching and the information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node after the switching;

[0589] The auxiliary information for obtaining the distribution unit configuration information of the first node includes at least one of information related to the mobile terminal of the first node after switching, information related to the mobile terminal of the first node before switching, and information related to the distribution unit of the first node before switching.

[0590] Optionally, the first response message includes at least one of the following:

[0591] Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node after the update, information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the update, information about the cell to be activated, information about the cell to be deactivated, information about the reason for deactivating the cell, and information related to the address of the first node;

[0592] The address-related information of the first node includes at least one of the address-related information on the first node side before switching, the address-related information on the second node side before switching, the address-related information on the first node side after switching, and the address-related information on the second node side after switching.

[0593] The application of the embodiments of the present application has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0594] During the relay node mobility and switching process, the relay node configuration is updated, such as the configuration of the distribution unit part of the first node, the configuration of the mobile terminal part of the first node, etc., so as to continue to provide services for users accessing the first node.

[0595] For the contents not described in detail in the first node device provided in the embodiment of the present application, reference can be made to the above-mentioned switching method. The beneficial effects that can be achieved by the first node device provided in the embodiment of the present application are the same as those of the above-mentioned switching method, and will not be repeated here.

[0596] Based on the same inventive concept as the above embodiment, the present embodiment further provides a fourth node device. The structural diagram of the device is as follows: Figure 20 As shown, the fourth node device 50 includes a ninth processing module 501 , a tenth processing module 502 , an eleventh processing module 503 and a twelfth processing module 504 .

[0597] a ninth processing module 501, configured to receive a first handover request message sent by a second node, where the second node includes any one of an anchor node to which the first node is connected before the handover and a centralized unit of anchor nodes to which the first node is connected before the handover, and the fourth node includes any one of an anchor node to which the first node is connected after the handover and a centralized unit of anchor nodes to which the first node is connected after the handover;

[0598] A tenth processing module 502 is configured to send a first handover response message to the second node;

[0599] an eleventh processing module 503, configured to receive a second request message sent by a first node, for supporting handover of the first node, where the first node includes any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal portion of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node;

[0600] The twelfth processing module 504 is configured to send a second response message to the first node.

[0601] Optionally, the second request message includes at least one of the following:

[0602] Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the switch, information related to the address of the first node, and auxiliary information for obtaining the configuration information of the distribution unit of the first node;

[0603] The information related to the address of the first node includes any one of the information related to the address of the first node side before the switching and the information related to the address of the second node side before the switching;

[0604] The auxiliary information for obtaining the distribution unit configuration information of the first node includes any one of information related to the mobile terminal of the first node after switching, information related to the mobile terminal of the first node before switching, and information related to the distribution unit of the first node before switching.

[0605] Optionally, the second response message includes at least one of the following:

[0606] Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node, information about cells to be activated, information about cells to be deactivated, information about reasons for deactivating cells, and information related to the address of the first node;

[0607] The information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node includes any one of the information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the switching and the information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node after the switching;

[0608] The address-related information of the first node includes any one of the address-related information on the first node side before switching, the address-related information on the second node side before switching, the address-related information on the first node side after switching, and the address-related information on the fourth node side after switching.

[0609] The application of the embodiments of the present application has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0610] During the relay node mobility and switching process, the relay node configuration is updated, such as the configuration of the distribution unit part of the first node, the configuration of the mobile terminal part of the first node, etc., so as to continue to provide services for users accessing the first node.

[0611] For the contents not described in detail in the fourth node device provided in the embodiment of the present application, reference can be made to the above-mentioned switching method. The beneficial effects that can be achieved by the fourth node device provided in the embodiment of the present application are the same as those of the above-mentioned switching method, and will not be repeated here.

[0612] Based on the same inventive concept as the above embodiment, the present embodiment further provides a second node device. The structural diagram of the device is as follows: Figure 21As shown, the second node device 60 includes a thirteenth processing module 601 , a fourteenth processing module 602 and a fifteenth processing module 603 .

[0613] A thirteenth processing module 601 is configured to send a second handover request message or a third handover request message to a fourth node, where the second node includes any one of an anchor node to which the first node is connected before the handover and a centralized unit of anchor nodes to which the first node is connected before the handover, and the fourth node includes any one of an anchor node to which the first node is connected after the handover and a centralized unit of anchor nodes to which the first node is connected after the handover;

[0614] A fourteenth processing module 602 is configured to receive a second handover response message corresponding to the second handover request message or a third handover response message corresponding to the third handover request message sent by the fourth node;

[0615] The fifteenth processing module 603 is used to send a first configuration message corresponding to the second switching response message or a second configuration message corresponding to the third switching response message to the first node to support the first node to switch, and the first node includes any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal part of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node.

[0616] Optionally, the first configuration message or the second configuration message includes at least one of the following:

[0617] Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node, information about cells to be activated, information about cells to be deactivated, information about reasons for deactivating cells, and information related to the address of the first node;

[0618] The information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node includes any one of the information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the switching and the information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node after the switching;

[0619] The address-related information of the first node includes address-related information on the first node side before switching, address-related information on the second node side before switching, address-related information on the first node side after switching, and address-related information on the fourth node side after switching.

[0620] Optionally, the second handover request message or the third handover request message includes at least one of the following:

[0621] Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the switch, and information related to the address of the first node;

[0622] The information on the address of the first node includes any one of information on the address of the first node before the switching and information on the address of the second node before the switching.

[0623] Optionally, the second handover response message or the third handover response message includes at least one of the following:

[0624] Information related to the address of the first node, information about the cell to be activated, information about the cell to be deactivated, and reason information for deactivating the cell;

[0625] The information related to the address of the first node includes any one of information related to the address of the first node before the switching and information related to the address of the first node after the switching.

[0626] Optionally, the address-related information of the first node includes any one of the address-related information on the first node side before switching, the address-related information on the second node side before switching, the address-related information on the first node side after switching, and the address-related information on the second node side after switching.

[0627] The application of the embodiments of the present application has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0628] During the relay node mobility and switching process, the relay node configuration is updated, such as the configuration of the distribution unit part of the first node, the configuration of the mobile terminal part of the first node, etc., so as to continue to provide services for users accessing the first node.

[0629] For the contents not described in detail in the second node device provided in the embodiment of the present application, reference can be made to the above-mentioned switching method. The beneficial effects that can be achieved by the second node device provided in the embodiment of the present application are the same as those of the above-mentioned switching method, and will not be repeated here.

[0630] Based on the same inventive concept as the above embodiment, the present embodiment further provides a fourth node device. The structural diagram of the device is as follows: Figure 22 As shown, the fourth node device 70 includes a sixteenth processing module 701 , a seventeenth processing module 702 and an eighteenth processing module 703 .

[0631] A sixteenth processing module 701 is configured to receive a third handover request message sent by a second node, where the second node includes any one of an anchor node to which the first node is connected before the handover and a centralized unit of anchor nodes to which the first node is connected before the handover, and the fourth node includes any one of an anchor node to which the first node is connected after the handover and a centralized unit of anchor nodes to which the first node is connected after the handover;

[0632] A seventeenth processing module 702 is configured to send a third handover response message to the second node;

[0633] The eighteenth processing module 703 is configured to send a second configuration message to the first node to support the first node to perform handover. The first node includes any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal part of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node.

[0634] The application of the embodiments of the present application has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0635] During the relay node mobility and switching process, the relay node configuration is updated, such as the configuration of the distribution unit part of the first node, the configuration of the mobile terminal part of the first node, etc., so as to continue to provide services for users accessing the first node.

[0636] For the contents not described in detail in the fourth node device provided in the embodiment of the present application, reference can be made to the above-mentioned switching method. The beneficial effects that can be achieved by the fourth node device provided in the embodiment of the present application are the same as those of the above-mentioned switching method, and will not be repeated here.

[0637] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that each block in these structural diagrams and / or block diagrams and / or flow charts, as well as combinations of blocks in these structural diagrams and / or block diagrams and / or flow charts, can be implemented using computer program instructions. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that these computer program instructions can be provided to a general-purpose computer, a specialized computer, or a processor of other programmable data processing methods for implementation, thereby executing the schemes specified in the blocks or multiple blocks of the structural diagrams and / or block diagrams and / or flow charts disclosed in this application through the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing method.

[0638] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the steps, measures, and schemes in the various operations, methods, and processes discussed in this application may be interchanged, modified, combined, or deleted. Furthermore, other steps, measures, and schemes in the various operations, methods, and processes discussed in this application may also be interchanged, modified, rearranged, decomposed, combined, or deleted. Furthermore, steps, measures, and schemes in the prior art that are similar to those disclosed in this application may also be interchanged, modified, rearranged, decomposed, combined, or deleted.

[0639] The above description is only part of the implementation methods of the present application. It should be pointed out that for ordinary technicians in this technical field, several improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the principles of the present application. These improvements and modifications should also be regarded as the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A method performed by a centralized unit (CU) of an integrated backhaul (IAB) anchor node in a wireless communication system, wherein: include: Sending a user context configuration request message to a third node, wherein the user context configuration request message includes backhaul adaptation protocol layer (BAP) address information of the first node; wherein the third node is a target parent IAB node and the first node is a migration IAB node; receiving a user context configuration response message from the third node; Sending a configuration message to the first node through another node, the configuration message including at least one transport layer address information routable through a distribution unit (DU) of a target IAB anchor node, the at least one transport layer address information including at least one Internet Protocol (IP) address; wherein the other node is a source parent IAB node; A configuration completion message is received from the first node through the third node.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein establishing a backhaul link channel between the DU of the target IAB anchor node and the third node; And / or, a backhaul link channel is established between the third node and the first node.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein The configuration message includes at least one of the following: address-related information of the first node; Information related to configuration of a backhaul link channel of the first node; and Information related to data routing of the first node.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein The at least one transport layer address information corresponds to a data type; the at least one IP address includes: A first IP address for transmitting control plane signaling; and / or, a second IP address for transmitting user plane data.

5. The method according to claim 3, wherein: The information related to the configuration of the backhaul link channel of the first node includes identification information of the backhaul link channel, and the backhaul link channel is used for data of the control plane of the F1 interface and data of the non-F1 interface.

6. The method according to claim 3, wherein: The information related to data routing of the first node includes BAP routing identification information, and the BAP routing identification information includes BAP address information and path identification information of a destination receiving node.

7. The method according to claim 3, wherein: The information related to the configuration of the backhaul link channel of the first node and the information related to the data routing of the first node are used for uplink data transmitted by the first node.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first node, the third node and the another node are relay nodes respectively.

9. The method according to claim 5, wherein: The data of the control plane of the F1 interface includes non-user-related F1 interface signaling information and user-related F1 interface signaling information.

10. A method performed by a third node in a wireless communication system, wherein: include: receiving a user context configuration request message from the CU of the IAB anchor node, wherein the user context configuration request message includes BAP address information of the first node; wherein the first node is a migration IAB node; Sending a user context configuration response message to the CU of the IAB anchor node; A configuration message is sent by the CU of the IAB anchor node to the first node via another node, the configuration message including at least one transport layer address information routable via the DU of the target IAB anchor node, the at least one transport layer address information including at least one IP address; wherein the other node is a source parent IAB node; The configuration completion message is sent by the first node to the CU of the IAB anchor node through the third node, where the third node is a target parent IAB node.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein: A backhaul link channel is established between the DU of the target IAB anchor node and the third node and / or between the third node and the first node.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein: The configuration message includes at least one of the following: address-related information of the first node; Information related to configuration of a backhaul link channel of the first node; and Information related to data routing of the first node.

13. The method according to claim 10, wherein: The at least one transport layer address information corresponds to a data type; the at least one IP address includes: A first IP address for transmitting control plane signaling; and / or, a second IP address for transmitting user plane data.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein: The information related to the configuration of the backhaul link channel of the first node includes identification information of the backhaul link channel, and the backhaul link channel is used for data of the control plane of the F1 interface and data of the non-F1 interface.

15. The method according to claim 12, wherein: The information related to data routing of the first node includes BAP routing identification information, and the BAP routing identification information includes BAP address information and path identification information of a destination receiving node.

16. The method according to claim 12, wherein: The information related to the configuration of the backhaul link channel of the first node and the information related to the data routing of the first node are used for uplink data transmitted by the first node.

17. The method according to claim 10, wherein The first node, the third node and the another node are relay nodes respectively.

18. The method according to claim 14, wherein The data of the control plane of the F1 interface includes non-user-related F1 interface signaling information and user-related F1 interface signaling information.

19. A method performed by a first node in a wireless communication system, wherein: include: The user context configuration request message is sent by the CU of the IAB anchor node to the third node, wherein the user context configuration request message includes the BAP address information of the first node; wherein the third node is the target parent IAB node and the first node is the migration IAB node; The user configuration response message is sent by the third node to the CU of the IAB anchor node; receiving, through another node, a configuration message sent by the CU of the IAB anchor node, the configuration message including at least one transport layer address information routable through the DU of the target IAB anchor node, the at least one transport layer address information including at least one IP address; wherein the other node is a source parent IAB node; A configuration completion message is sent to the CU of the IAB anchor node through the third node.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein A backhaul link channel is established between the DU of the target IAB anchor node and the third node and / or between the third node and the first node.

21. The method according to claim 19, wherein The configuration message includes at least one of the following: address-related information of the first node; Information related to configuration of a backhaul link channel of the first node; and Information related to data routing of the first node.

22. The method according to claim 19, wherein The at least one transport layer address information corresponds to a data type; the at least one IP address includes: A first IP address for transmitting control plane signaling; and / or, a second IP address for transmitting user plane data.

23. The method according to claim 21, wherein The information related to the configuration of the backhaul link channel of the first node includes identification information of the backhaul link channel, and the backhaul link channel is used for data of the control plane of the F1 interface and data of the non-F1 interface.

24. The method according to claim 21, wherein The information related to data routing of the first node includes BAP routing identification information, and the BAP routing identification information includes BAP address information and path identification information of a destination receiving node.

25. The method according to claim 21, wherein The information related to the configuration of the backhaul link channel of the first node and the information related to the data routing of the first node are used for uplink data transmitted by the first node.

26. The method according to claim 19, wherein The first node, the third node and the another node are relay nodes respectively.

27. The method according to claim 23, wherein The data of the control plane of the F1 interface includes non-user-related F1 interface signaling information and user-related F1 interface signaling information.

28. An IAB anchor node device, characterized in that: include: transceiver; and a processor coupled to the transceiver and configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

29. A third node device, characterized in that: include: transceiver; and a processor coupled to the transceiver and configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 10-18.

30. A first node device, characterized in that: include: transceiver; and a processor coupled to the transceiver and configured to execute the method of any one of claims 19-27.

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