Method and apparatus for random access

Abstract

Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for random access. The method that can be implemented by a terminal device includes: receiving configuration information for a random access process from a network node. The method also includes: determining, based on the configuration information, an association between a random access resource and a shared channel resource used for the random access process. The association is based at least in part on the configuration of the shared channel resource. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the association between signaling transmissions in a random access process can be flexibly and efficiently configured.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to communication networks, and more particularly, to methods and apparatus for random access. Background Art

[0002] This section introduces various aspects that may help to better understand the present disclosure. Accordingly, the contents stated in this section should be read in this manner and should not be understood as an admission of what is or is not prior art.

[0003] Communication service providers and network operators are constantly faced with the challenge of delivering value and convenience to consumers (e.g., by providing compelling network services and performance). With the rapid development of networking and communication technologies, wireless communication networks such as long-term evolution (LTE) networks and new radio (NR) networks are expected to achieve high service capacity and end-user data rates with lower latency. In order to connect to a network node, a random access (RA) process can be initiated for a terminal device. During the RA process, system information (SI) and synchronization signals (SS) as well as related radio resources and transmission configurations can be notified to the terminal device through control information from the network node. The RA process can enable a terminal device to establish a session for a specific service with a network node. Thus, it is desirable to enhance the configuration and performance of the RA process. Summary of the invention

[0004] This summary is provided to introduce selected concepts in a simplified form that are further described in the following detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0005] Wireless communication networks such as NR / 5G networks are capable of supporting flexible network configurations. Various signaling methods (e.g., four-step method, two-step method, etc.) may be used for the RA process of a terminal device to establish a connection with a network node. For the RA process, there may be a specific association between a synchronization signal and a physical broadcast channel block (also referred to as an SS / PBCH block or SSB for short) and a time-frequency physical random access channel (PRACH) opportunity (also referred to as an RA opportunity or RO for short). In a two-step RA process, a terminal device may send an RA preamble together with a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) to a network node in a message (also referred to as message A or msgA for short), and receive a response message (also referred to as message B or msgB for short) from the network node. msgAPUSCH may be sent in a PUSCH opportunity (PO) configured with one or more resource units (RUs), and the RA preamble may be sent in the RO. It may be necessary to configure signaling transmission for the RA process more flexibly and efficiently, while realizing the association of resource configurations in the RO and PO.

[0006] Various embodiments of the present disclosure propose a solution for RA, which can support adaptive association configuration for RA processes such as two-step RA processes, for example, by providing flexibility in mapping the preamble code associated with the SSB in the RO to the PUSCH RU in the PO, so as to increase the diversity of resource configuration and improve the performance of the RA process.

[0007] It can be understood that the terms "PRACH opportunity", "random access channel (RACH) opportunity" or "RA opportunity" mentioned herein may refer to the time-frequency resources that can be used for preamble transmission in the RA process, which may also be referred to as "random access opportunity (RO)". These terms may be used interchangeably in this document. According to some exemplary embodiments, the RO that can be used for preamble transmission in a two-step RA may be referred to as a two-step RO, and the RO that can be used for preamble transmission in a four-step RA may be referred to as a four-step RO.

[0008] Similarly, it can be understood that the terms "PUSCH opportunity", "uplink shared channel opportunity" or "shared channel opportunity" mentioned herein can refer to the time-frequency resources that can be used for PUSCH transmission during the RA process, which can also be called "physical uplink shared channel opportunity (PO)". These terms can be used interchangeably in this document.

[0009] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a method implemented by a network node is provided. The method comprises: determining an association between an RA resource for an RA process and a shared channel resource based at least in part on a configuration of the shared channel resource. The method further comprises: sending configuration information about the association for the RA process to a terminal device.

[0010] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a device that can be implemented as a network node is provided. The device includes one or more processors and one or more memories including computer program code. The one or more memories and the computer program code are configured to, together with the one or more processors, cause the device to at least implement any step of the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.

[0011] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer readable medium having computer program code thereon, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to implement any step of the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.

[0012] According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a device that can be implemented as a network node is provided. The device includes a determining unit and a sending unit. According to some exemplary embodiments, the determining unit is operable to at least perform the determining step of the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure. The sending unit is operable to at least perform the sending step of the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.

[0013] According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, a method implemented by a terminal device such as a user equipment (UE) is provided. The method includes: receiving configuration information for an RA process from a network node. The method also includes: determining an association between an RA resource for the RA process and a shared channel resource based on the configuration information. The association is based at least in part on the configuration of the shared channel resource.

[0014] Optionally, the method according to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure may further include: implementing the RA process according to the determination of the association between the RA resources and the shared channel resources.

[0015] According to a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus that can be implemented as a terminal device. The apparatus includes one or more processors and one or more memories including computer program codes. The one or more memories and the computer program codes are configured to, together with the one or more processors, enable the apparatus to at least implement any step of the method according to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure.

[0016] According to a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer readable medium having computer program code thereon, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to implement any step of the method according to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure.

[0017] According to an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, a device that can be implemented as a terminal device is provided. The device includes a receiving unit and a determining unit. According to some exemplary embodiments, the receiving unit is operable to at least perform the receiving step of the method according to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure. The determining unit is operable to at least perform the determining step of the method according to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure.

[0018] According to an exemplary embodiment, the RA process may be a two-step RA process.

[0019] According to an exemplary embodiment, the configuration of the shared channel resources may include configuring the shared channel opportunities to have one or more sizes by enabling the shared channel opportunities to be configured with a variable number of physical resource blocks (PRBs).

[0020] According to an exemplary embodiment, the configuration of the shared channel resources may be provided by at least one of the terminal device and the network node.

[0021] According to an exemplary embodiment, the association between the RA resource and the shared channel resource may include a mapping of a preamble in a RA opportunity to a RU in a shared channel opportunity. The time resource configured for the RU may correspond to a SSB associated with the preamble.

[0022] According to an exemplary embodiment, the SSB may be associated with one or more preambles. For example, the one or more preambles may be mapped to one or more shared channel opportunities, the one or more shared channel opportunities having at least one size and configured with the same time resources.

[0023] According to an exemplary embodiment, the RUs in the shared channel opportunity may be identified according to an identification rule. For example, the identification rule may be based at least in part on one or more of the following identification factors:

[0024] A demodulation reference signal (DMRS) identifier configured for the RU, wherein the DMRS identifier may identify at least one of a DMRS antenna port and a DMRS sequence initialization;

[0025] The location of the shared channel opportunity in the frequency domain;

[0026] The location of the shared channel opportunity in the time domain; and

[0027] • The size of the shared channel opportunity, which identifies the number of one or more symbols (eg, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols) and the number of one or more PRBs occupied by the shared channel opportunity.

[0028] According to an exemplary embodiment, the identification factors may have different priorities.

[0029] According to an exemplary embodiment, the mapping of the preamble in the RA opportunity to the RU in the shared channel opportunity may be implemented according to a mapping rule. For example, the mapping rule may include mapping the identifier of the preamble to the identifier of the RU in ascending order based at least in part on the identification factor in a predetermined order. The predetermined order may indicate that among the identification factors, the position of the shared channel opportunity in the time domain has the lowest priority in the mapping of the identifier.

[0030] According to an exemplary embodiment, the predetermined order may further indicate that the size of the shared channel opportunity has a lower priority in the mapping of the identifier than the DMRS identifier and the position of the shared channel opportunity in the frequency domain.

[0031] According to an exemplary embodiment, the predetermined order may further indicate that, among the identification factors, the demodulation reference signal identifier has the highest priority in the mapping of identifiers.

[0032] According to an exemplary embodiment, the mapping of the preamble in the RA opportunity to the RU in the shared channel opportunity may be implemented according to a mapping rule. For example, the mapping rule may be based at least in part on one or more of the following mapping factors:

[0033] Orthogonality of the preamble code;

[0034] the probability of transmission collision on the shared channel opportunity;

[0035] Frequency resources configured for the RU;

[0036] DMRS port (also called DMRS antenna port) configured for the RU;

[0037] Initialize the DMRS sequence configured for the RU;

[0038] The number of preambles mapped to the RU;

[0039] the size of the shared channel opportunity; and

[0040] • Time resources configured for the RU.

[0041] According to an exemplary embodiment, the mapping factors may have different priorities.

[0042] According to an exemplary embodiment, the mapping rule may include mapping preambles having consecutive identifiers to different shared channel opportunities.

[0043] According to an exemplary embodiment, the mapping rule may include mapping a preamble associated with the SSB to a plurality of shared channel opportunities having different sizes.

[0044] According to an exemplary embodiment, a shared channel opportunity associated with the SSB may be configured with different time resources than another shared channel opportunity associated with a different SSB.

[0045] According to a ninth aspect of the present disclosure, a method implemented in a communication system is provided, the communication system may include a host computer, a base station and a UE. The method may include: providing user data at the host computer. Optionally, the method may include: initiating, at the host computer, a transmission carrying the user data for the UE via a cellular network including the base station, the base station may implement any steps of the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.

[0046] According to a tenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a communication system comprising a host computer. The host computer may include: a processing circuit configured to provide user data; and a communication interface configured to forward the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a UE. The cellular network may include a base station having a radio interface and a processing circuit. The processing circuit of the base station may be configured to implement any step of the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.

[0047] According to an eleventh aspect of the present disclosure, a method implemented in a communication system is provided, the communication system may include a host computer, a base station and a UE. The method may include: providing user data at the host computer. Optionally, the method may include: initiating, at the host computer, a transmission carrying the user data for the UE via a cellular network including the base station. The UE may implement any steps of the method according to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure.

[0048] According to a twelfth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a communication system comprising a host computer. The host computer may include: a processing circuit configured to provide user data; and a communication interface configured to forward the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a UE. The UE may include a radio interface and a processing circuit. The processing circuit of the UE may be configured to implement any step of the method according to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure.

[0049] According to the thirteenth aspect of the present disclosure, a method implemented in a communication system is provided, and the communication system may include a host computer, a base station and a UE. The method may include: at the host computer, receiving user data transmitted from the UE to the base station, and the UE may implement any step of the method according to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure.

[0050] According to a fourteenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a communication system comprising a host computer. The host computer may include a communication interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a UE to a base station. The UE may include a radio interface and a processing circuit. The processing circuit of the UE may be configured to implement any step of the method according to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure.

[0051] According to a fifteenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method implemented in a communication system, the communication system may include a host computer, a base station and a UE. The method may include: at the host computer, receiving from the base station user data originating from a transmission that the base station has received from the UE. The base station may implement any steps of the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.

[0052] According to a sixteenth aspect of the present disclosure, a communication system is provided, which may include a host computer. The host computer may include a communication interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a UE to a base station. The base station may include a radio interface and a processing circuit. The processing circuit of the base station may be configured to implement any step of the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0053] The present disclosure itself, preferred modes of use and further objects may best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0054] Figure 1A is a diagram illustrating an exemplary four-step RA process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0055] Figure 1B is a diagram illustrating an exemplary PRACH configuration according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0056] Figure 1C-Figure 1D is a diagram showing an example of association between SSB and PRACH opportunities according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0057] Figure 1E is a diagram showing an example of mapping between SSB and RA preamble codes according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0058] Figure 1F is a diagram illustrating an exemplary preamble code for each SSB of each PRACH opportunity according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0059] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary two-step RA process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0060] Figure 3Ais a diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of a PUSCH slot according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0061] Figure 3B is a diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of preamble to PUSCH RU mapping according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0062] Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0063] Figure 5 is a flow chart illustrating another method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0064] Figure 6 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0065] Figure 7 is a block diagram illustrating another apparatus according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0066] Figure 8 is a block diagram illustrating yet another apparatus according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0067] Fig. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a telecommunications network connected to a host computer via an intermediate network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0068] Fig.10 is a block diagram illustrating a host computer communicating with a UE over a partially wireless connection via a base station according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0069] Fig.11 is a flow chart showing a method implemented in a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0070] Fig.12 is a flow chart showing a method implemented in a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0071] Fig.13 is a flowchart showing a method implemented in a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0072] Fig.14 is a flow chart showing a method implemented in a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0073] Embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that these embodiments are discussed only to enable those skilled in the art to better understand and thereby realize the present disclosure, rather than to imply any limitation in terms of the scope of the present disclosure. References to features, advantages or similar language throughout the specification do not mean that all features and advantages that can be implemented in accordance with the present disclosure should be in or in any single embodiment of the present disclosure. On the contrary, the language related to the features and advantages is understood to mean that the specific features, advantages or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiments are included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. In addition, the features, advantages and characteristics of the present disclosure described can be combined in one or more embodiments in any suitable manner. Those skilled in the relevant art will recognize that the present disclosure can be practiced without one or more specific features or advantages of a specific embodiment. In other cases, additional features and advantages can be found in certain embodiments, which may not appear in all embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0074] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that complies with any suitable communication standard, such as NR, Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced LTE, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), etc. In addition, the communication between terminal devices and network nodes in the communication network can be implemented according to any suitable communication protocol, including but not limited to first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), 4G, 4.5G, 5G communication protocols and / or any other protocol currently known or developed in the future.

[0075] The term "network node" refers to a network device in a communication network through which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services from it. A network node may refer to a base station (BS), an access point (AP), a multi-cell / multicast coordination entity (MCE), a controller, or any other suitable device in a wireless communication network. A BS may be, for example, a Node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), a next generation NodeB (gNodeB or gNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a repeater, a low power node such as a femtocell, a picocell, and the like.

[0076] Some further examples of network nodes include: MSR radio equipment such as a multi-standard radio (MSR) BS, a network controller such as a radio network controller (RNC) or a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a transmission point, a transmission node and / or a positioning node, etc. However, more generally, a network node may represent any suitable device (or group of devices) that is capable of, configured to, arranged to and / or operable to enable and / or provide a terminal device with access to a wireless communication network or to provide some services to a terminal device that has access to the wireless communication network.

[0077] The term "terminal device" refers to any end device that can access a communication network and receive services therefrom. As an example and not limitation, a terminal device may refer to a mobile terminal, a user equipment (UE), or other suitable device. A UE may be, for example, a subscriber station, a portable subscriber station, a mobile station (MS), or an access terminal (AT). A terminal device may include, but is not limited to, a portable computer, an image capture terminal device such as a digital camera, a game terminal device, a music storage and playback device, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a tablet computer, a wearable device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a vehicle, etc.

[0078] As another specific example, in an Internet of Things (IoT) scenario, a terminal device may also be referred to as an IoT device, and refers to a machine or other device that implements monitoring, sensing and / or measurement, etc. and transmits the results of such monitoring, sensing and / or measurement, etc. to another terminal device and / or a network device. In this case, the terminal device may be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which may be referred to as a machine type communication (MTC) device in the context of the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

[0079] As a specific example, the terminal device may be a UE implementing the 3GPP Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) standard. Specific examples of such machines or devices are sensors, metering equipment such as power meters, industrial machinery, or household or personal devices such as refrigerators, televisions, personal wearables such as watches, etc. In other scenarios, the terminal device may represent a vehicle or other equipment, such as a medical instrument capable of monitoring, sensing and / or reporting its operating status or other functions related to its operation.

[0080] As used herein, the terms "first", "second", etc. refer to different elements. Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the singular forms "one" and "an" are also intended to include the plural forms. The terms "include", "comprise", "have", "contain", "include" and / or "comprises" used in the text indicate the presence of the described features, elements and / or components, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and / or combinations thereof. The term "based on" should be understood as "based at least in part". The terms "one embodiment" and "embodiment" will be interpreted as "at least one embodiment". The term "another embodiment" should be understood as "at least one other embodiment". Other definitions may be explicitly and implicitly included below.

[0081] Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide a variety of telecommunication services such as voice, video, data, messaging, broadcast, etc. As mentioned above, in order to connect to a network node such as a gNB in ​​a wireless communication network, a terminal device such as a UE may need to implement a RA procedure in order to exchange basic information and messages for communication link establishment with the network node.

[0082] Figure 1A is a diagram showing an exemplary four-step RA process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 1A As shown, the UE may detect a synchronization signal (SS) by receiving 101 SSBs (e.g., a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH)) from the gNB. The UE may decode 102 some system information (e.g., remaining minimum system information (RMSI) and other system information (OSI)) broadcast in the downlink (DL). The UE may then send 103 a PRACH preamble (message1 / msg1) in the uplink (UL). The gNB may reply 104 with a random access response (RAR, message2 / msg2). In response to the RAR, the UE may send 105 identification information (message3 / msg3) of the UE on a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). The gNB may then send 106 a contention resolution message (CRM, message4 / msg4) to the UE.

[0083] In this exemplary process, the UE sends message3 / msg3 on PUSCH after receiving the timing advance command in the RAR, which allows message3 / msg3 on PUSCH to be received with timing accuracy within the cyclic prefix (CP). Without this timing advance, a very large CP may be required to demodulate and detect message3 / msg3 on PUSCH unless the communication system is applied in a cell with a very small distance between the UE and the gNB. Since the NR system can also support larger cells, a timing advance command needs to be provided to the UE, so this RA process requires a four-step approach.

[0084] In the NR system, the time and frequency resources on which the PRACH preamble is sent can be defined as PRACH opportunities. Different PRACH configurations can be specified for FR1 (frequency range 1) paired spectrum, FR1 unpaired spectrum, and FR2 (frequency range 2) in the case of unpaired spectrum. The specified PRACH configuration can be maintained in the PRACH configuration table. The time resources and preamble formats used for PRACH transmission can be configured by a PRACH configuration index, which indicates a row in the PRACH configuration table. For example, at least a portion of the PRACH configuration for preamble format 0 for FR1 unpaired spectrum is shown in Table 1.

[0085] Table 1

[0086]

[0087] In Table 1, the x value indicates the PRACH configuration period (in system frame numbers), and the y value indicates the system frame within each PRACH configuration period on which the PRACH opportunity is configured. For example, if y is set to 0, it means that the PRACH opportunity is configured only in the first frame of each PRACH configuration period. The values ​​in the column "Subframe Number" indicate on which subframes the PRACH opportunity is configured. The values ​​in the "Start Symbol" column are symbol indexes.

[0088] In the case of time division duplex (TDD), the semi-statically configured DL part and / or the actually transmitted SSB may overwrite some time domain PRACH opportunities defined in the PRACH configuration table or invalidate some time domain PRACH opportunities defined in the PRACH configuration table. More specifically, the PRACH opportunities in the UL part are always valid, and for the PRACH opportunities in a specific part (e.g., a part with flexible symbols in an NR time slot), as long as it does not precede or collide with the SSB in the RACH time slot, and there are at least Q symbols after the last symbol of the SSB and the DL part, the PRACH opportunities in the specific part are valid. For example, Q can be set to 0 or 2 according to the PRACH format and the subcarrier spacing.

[0089] Figure 1B is a diagram showing an exemplary PRACH configuration according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the frequency domain, the NR system can support multiple frequency multiplexed PRACH opportunities in the same time domain PRACH opportunity. This is mainly due to the support of analog beam scanning in the NR system, so that the PRACH opportunities associated with one SSB are configured at the same time instance but at different frequency locations. Figure 1B As shown, the number of frequency division multiplexed (FDMed) PRACH opportunities in one time domain PRACH opportunity can be 1, 2, 4, or 8, and the PRACH configuration period can be 10ms, 20ms, 40ms, 80ms, or 160ms. As previously described, a row in the PRACH / RACH configuration table can specify a time domain PRACH opportunity pattern for one PRACH configuration period.

[0090] According to an exemplary embodiment, a maximum of 64 sequences may be used as RA preambles for each PRACH opportunity in each cell. A radio resource control (RRC) parameter (e.g., totalNumberOfRA-Preambles) may be used to determine how many of these 64 sequences are used as RA preambles in each PRACH opportunity in each cell. These 64 sequences may be configured in the following manner: first, including all available cyclic shifts of the root Zadoff-Chu sequence, and second, in order of increasing root index until 64 preambles are generated for the PRACH opportunity.

[0091] According to some exemplary embodiments, there may be an association between an SSB and a PRACH opportunity. For example, a one-to-one association between an SSB and a PRACH opportunity may be supported in an NR system (e.g., one SSB per PRACH opportunity). Similarly, a one-to-many and / or many-to-one association between an SSB and a PRACH opportunity may also be supported in an NR system.

[0092] Figure 1C-Figure 1D is a diagram showing an example of association between SSB and PRACH opportunities according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 1C In the example of one SSB per PRACH opportunity shown, SSB0, SSB1, SSB2, and SSB3 are associated with four different PRACH opportunities, respectively. Figure 1D In the example of two SSBs per PRACH opportunity shown, SSB0 and SSB1 are associated with one PRACH opportunity, and SSB2 and SSB3 are associated with another PRACH opportunity. Figure 1C or Figure 1D The shown association between SSB and PRACH opportunities is by way of example only, and other suitable associations between SSB and PRACH opportunities with appropriate PRACH preamble formats may also be implemented.

[0093] According to an exemplary embodiment, the gNB may send each SSB to the UE using a different SSB beam. In response to receiving the SSB from the gNB, the UE detects the best SSB beam and selects a PRACH preamble from one or more PRACH preambles mapped to the corresponding SSB. The UE may then send the selected PRACH preamble to the gNB in ​​the associated PRACH opportunity. When the gNB detects the PRACH preamble sent from the UE, the gNB indirectly knows the best SSB beam for the UE based on the association between the PRACH preamble and the corresponding SSB mapped to the SSB beam, so that the best SSB beam can be used to send signals to / receive signals from the UE.

[0094] According to some exemplary embodiments, the preamble associated with each SSB may be configured by two RRC parameters ssb-perRACH-OccasionAndCB-PreamblesPerSSB and totalNumberOfRA-Preambles, which may be indicated by an information element (IE) such as RACH-ConfigCommon in a system information block (e.g., SIB1). Specific rules for mapping SSBs to RA preambles may be defined. For example, N SSBs associated with one PRACH opportunity and R contention-based (CB) preambles for each SSB of each valid PRACH opportunity may be provided to the UE by the parameter ssb-perRACH-OccasionAndCB-PreamblesPerSSB. If N<1, one SSB is mapped to 1 / N consecutive valid PRACH opportunities, and the R contention-based preambles with consecutive indices associated with the SSB of each valid PRACH opportunity start at preamble index 0. If N≥1, SSB n associated with each valid PRACH opportunity is mapped to 1 / N consecutive valid PRACH opportunities, and the R contention-based preambles with consecutive indices associated with the SSB of each valid PRACH opportunity start at preamble index 0. SSB (0≤n SSB ≤N-1) associated with R contention-based preambles with consecutive indices starting at preamble index in It is provided by the parameter totalNumberOfRA-Preambles and is an integer multiple of N.

[0095] Figure 1E is a diagram showing an example of mapping between SSB and RA preamble according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In this example, the number of PRACH slots in one PRACH configuration period is 2, the number of PRACH opportunities in one PRACH slot is 4, and the number of SSBs in one PRACH opportunity is 2. Figure 1E As shown, the mapping between SSB and PRACH preamble code can be achieved by continuously placing M SSB A preamble is associated with each SSB to complete the For example, the preamble can be obtained as follows:

[0096] - First, in increasing order of preamble index within a single PRACH opportunity;

[0097] - secondly, in increasing order of frequency resource indexes of PRACH opportunities used for frequency reuse; and

[0098] -Third, in ascending chronological order.

[0099] Figure 1Fis a diagram showing an exemplary preamble for each SSB per PRACH opportunity according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In this embodiment, for each SSB, the associated preamble for each PRACH opportunity is further divided into two groups for contention-based random access (CBRA) and contention-free random access (CFRA). The number of contention-based (CB) preambles per SSB per PRACH opportunity can be signaled via an RRC parameter (e.g., CB-preambles-per-SSB). The preamble indexes for CBRA and CFRA are consecutively mapped to one SSB in one PRACH opportunity, such as Figure 1F shown.

[0100] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary two-step RA process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 1A The process shown in Figure 2 In the process shown, the UE can detect the SS by receiving 201 SSB (e.g., including PSS, SSS, and PBCH) from the gNB, and decoding 202 system information broadcast in the DL (e.g., remaining minimum system information (RMSI) and other system information (OSI)). Figure 1A Compared to the four-step approach shown, implementation Figure 2 A UE that follows the procedure in can complete random access in only two steps. First, the UE sends 203a / 203b message A (msgA) to the gNB, which includes the RA preamble and higher layer data (such as RRC connection request with possible some payload on PUSCH). Second, the gNB sends 204 RAR (also called message B or msgB) to the UE, which includes UE identifier allocation, timing advance information, contention resolution information, etc.

[0101] To distinguish between legacy UEs implementing the four-step RA procedure and UEs implementing the two-step RA procedure, separate PRACH resources (defined by RO and preamble sequence) may be configured for the two-step RA procedure and the four-step RA procedure. In the two-step RA procedure, the UE may send a preamble and msgA PUSCH (also referred to as msgA payload) in one message, called message A. The number of preambles (e.g., one or more preambles) mapped to one PUSCH resource unit (RU) may be configurable. A PUSCH RU for two-step RA may be defined as a PUSCH opportunity (PO) and at least one of a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) port and a DMRS sequence that may be used for msgA payload transmission.

[0102] For two-step RA, some agreement may be reached on the mapping between the preamble in the RO and the PUSCH RU. For example, the network may have the flexibility to support at least one of the following options:

[0103] Option I: One-to-one mapping between the preamble in the RO and the RU in the associated PO;

[0104] Option II: One-to-many mapping between preambles in RO and RUs in associated PO; and

[0105] • Option III: Many-to-one mapping between the preamble in the RO and the RU in the associated PO.

[0106] For four-step RA, the preamble within a single RO can be associated with different SSBs (e.g. Figure 1E As shown), where each SSB points to a different beam direction. For two-step RA, the mapping of SSB to preamble and RO may be different for different mapping schemes applied between the RA preamble in the RO and the associated PUSCH RU. Without careful design of the mapping of RA preamble to PUSCH RU, multiple PUSCH transmissions in different transmit (TX) beam directions may be multiplexed in the same PO, or these PUSCH transmissions may be mapped to different POs that are frequency division multiplexed at the same time instance. Both of these situations may lead to multi-beam reception problems for PUSCH decoding at the network node, especially when analog beamforming is utilized. In the case of digital beamforming, multiple receive (RX) beams can be used to receive signals simultaneously, but high collision problems may occur when multiple transmissions using beams with small beam differences are at the same time. Therefore, it may be necessary to adaptively implement the mapping of RA preambles associated with SSBs to PUSCH RUs based on the configuration of the preambles and PUSCH RUs in RA procedures such as the two-step RA procedure.

[0107] In a solution proposed according to some exemplary embodiments, an association between RA resources and shared channel resources for uplink messages (e.g., message A containing a preamble and PUSCH) in a RA process may be determined based at least in part on a flexible resource configuration for the RA process. According to exemplary embodiments, the proposed solution may allow a gNB and / or a UE to determine a mapping of a preamble associated with an SSB to a PUSCH RU for a two-step RA process. According to some exemplary embodiments, the association between RA resources and shared channel resources may be adapted to a configuration of the shared channel resources, which may be variable. For example, the configuration of the shared channel resources may vary so that the PUSCH RU may be configured with a different number of physical resource blocks (PRBs). According to some exemplary embodiments, when considering the association between RO and PO, appropriate ordering of some factors may be considered for the mapping between RA preambles and PUSCH RUs. In addition, the orthogonality of preamble sequences (also referred to as "orthogonality of preambles") and the collision of PUSCH transmissions in PO may also be considered to improve the detection and decoding performance of msgA in two-step RA. The proposed solution can improve resource utilization and the performance of PUSCH transmission during RA (especially for analog beamforming) while providing flexibility for the mapping of preambles associated with SSB to PUSCH RUs.

[0108] According to some exemplary embodiments, a flexible mapping configuration may support a variable number of SSBs and / or a variable PUSCH RU size. The spectral efficiency of the msgA PUSCH is expected to be typically significantly lower than that of a dynamically scheduled PUSCH (e.g., in a four-step RA) because the network may not typically apply link adaptation to msgA PUSCH transmissions. Therefore, assuming that channel conditions are relatively poor even when the UE is in good channel conditions, the msgA resources and payload sizes are conservative. This means that the number of PUSCH resource units needs to be controlled to prevent them from being overused. One possible approach is to have fine granularity in the number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) allocated to the POs. For example, the number of POs needs to be set to any non-zero integer up to a certain limit, such as the number of POs that can be accommodated in the active bandwidth portion.

[0109] Figure 3A is a diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of a PUSCH slot according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The exemplary configuration may allow multi-user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) reception. A PUSCH slot (e.g., a "msgA PUSCH slot") may include a set of resources containing one or more POs. A PUSCH slot may occur periodically and have a known symbol length and frequency position. For Figure 3AIn the msgA PUSCH slot shown, the starting subcarrier is f0 and the starting symbol is t0. As mentioned above, a PUSCH RU can be defined as a PO with DMRS ports and / or DMRS sequences that can be used for msgA PUSCH transmission. For example, there can be two PUSCH RUs in a PO, each PUSCH RU corresponding to a DMRS port and / or a DMRS sequence. A PUSCH RU can occupy a set of consecutive subcarriers and symbols (for example, when frequency hopping is not used). Figure 3A As shown, a PO (which may be indicated by a PUSCH RU index n) may have "K" PRBs. The parameter K may vary, and a given PRB may correspond to a PO of different sizes. Considering the association between the preamble and the PUSCH RU, the parameter K may be identified by which preamble is used. According to some exemplary embodiments, the value of the parameter K may be selected by the UE. Alternatively or additionally, the value of the parameter K may be indicated in system information from the gNB. Optionally, the UE may randomly select the starting PUSCH RU index n.

[0110] Figure 3B is a diagram showing an exemplary configuration for mapping of preamble codes to PUSCH RUs according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 3B In the exemplary configuration shown, the preamble in a set of ROs is mapped to a set of POs in the msgA PUSCH slot. These POs can have different sizes, such as K=4, K=8, and K=16. For the case of K=4, each PO occupies 4 PRBs and 3 orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols on the frequency. Similarly, for the case of K=8, each PO occupies 8 PRBs and 3 OFDM symbols on the frequency, and for the case of K=16, each PO occupies 16 PRBs and 3 OFDM symbols on the frequency.

[0111] exist Figure 3B In the example of FIG, each PO contains two PUSCH RUs, and each PUSCH RU is associated with a different DMRS transmission. The different DMRS transmissions can be DMRS antenna ports, DMRS with different sequence initializations (or equivalently, different DMRS scrambling identifiers (IDs)), or a combination of DMRS antenna ports and DMRS sequence initializations. Each PUSCH RU can be mapped to a preamble set including one or more preambles. Figure 3BIn , PUSCH RU {DMRS0} and {DMRS1} correspond to PRACH preamble sets {Preamble Set0} and {Preamble Set1}, respectively. For example, PUSCH RU {0} and {1} in PO{0} correspond to PRACH preambles {0,8} and {4,12}, respectively. Multiple POs frequency-division multiplexed (FDMed) in a given set of OFDM symbols may correspond to a specific SSB. Figure 3B In the example of , PO occupying symbols 0 to 2 corresponds to SSB0, PO occupying symbols 2 to 5 corresponds to SSB1, etc. There are 28 preambles associated with the PUSCH RU corresponding to each SSB.

[0112] like Figure 3B As shown, a two-to-one mapping is applied between the preamble in the RO and the PUSCH RU in the PO. According to an exemplary embodiment, an SSB to RO and preamble mapping rule may be defined, for example, mapping the preamble in one RO associated with all PUSCH RUs in one time domain PO to one SSB, so that multiple UEs with the same or similar beam directions may be indirectly grouped into one time domain PO, because the UE that detects the SSB beam in that direction as the best beam may select the associated preamble for msgA preamble transmission. The exemplary SSB to RO and preamble mapping rule enables the gNB to receive a group of UEs in a common best direction for the group of UEs in one time domain PO, especially when analog beamforming is used. Here, the time domain PO may include one or more POs (for example, 4 POs with K=4, 2 POs with K=8, and 1 PO with K=16, as shown in FIG. 1 ). Figure 3B As shown), they can be frequency division multiplexed at one time instance.

[0113] Understandably, Figure 3A or Figure 3B The configurations of PO size and mapping of preamble codes associated with SSB to PUSCH RUs shown are only examples, and other suitable configurations (e.g., one-to-one mapping or one-to-many mapping between preamble codes and PUSCH RUs) can also be implemented based on appropriate criteria.

[0114] According to an exemplary embodiment, in order to allow the same analog beamformer to be used for SSB, PRACH, and msgAPUSCH, each time domain PO may correspond to one SSB, which may be achieved by the following formula:

[0115]

[0116] in is the number of preambles used for two-step RA in one RO and one SSB, M (M ≥ 1) is the number of preambles mapped to each PUSCH RU, N DMRS is the number of DMRS (or PUSCH RU) used for one PO, S is the number of different PO sizes, N PO (k) is the number of POs multiplexed in a time domain PO with PO size index k.

[0117] According to an exemplary embodiment, the PUSCH RUs may be identified or numbered in a specific order taking into account one or more factors (e.g., DMRS antenna ports and / or scrambling, frequency-division multiplexed POs, time-division multiplexed (TDMed) POs, POs for each PO size). For example, the PUSCH RUs may be provided as follows Figure 3B The specific order of numbering PUSCH RUs shown in FIG: first, by DMRS antenna port and / or scrambling; second, by frequency; third, by PO size; and then, by time.

[0118] According to an exemplary embodiment, the preambles from the RO may be mapped to the PUSCH RUs sequentially, M at a time, taking into account at least one of the following factors:

[0119] The possibility of having preambles with different cyclic shifts or different root sequences on the same PO and / or on POs with correlations above a predefined correlation threshold (for this case, it can be understood that preambles with different cyclic shifts are orthogonal, while preambles with different root sequences are not orthogonal);

[0120] The possibility of collision of PUSCH transmissions on one PUSCH opportunity (e.g., preambles with consecutive preamble IDs can be mapped to different POs if the number of preambles is not too large);

[0121] The frequency of the PUSCH RU;

[0122] Antenna port and / or DMRS scrambling of the PUSCH RU;

[0123] The number of preambles mapped to one PUSCH RU;

[0124] PUSCH RU (and PO) time / frequency size (e.g., multiple PUSCH RU sizes need to be able to correspond to the possibility of one SSB, which facilitates the UE to select different sizes depending on the link quality and the size of the payload to be transmitted);

[0125] • The timing of the PUSCH RU (e.g., different SSBs may be associated with different sets of PUSCH symbols).

[0126] According to an embodiment, an exemplary mapping of preamble codes to PUSCH RUs may be as follows:

[0127] - Step A: Map the preamble to the PUSCH RU by considering the frequency of the PUSCH RU

[0128] (For example, the mapping may be based at least in part on cyclic shifts of the preamble, which may be orthogonal);

[0129] - Step B: Map the preamble to the PUSCH RU by taking into account the antenna port and / or DMRS scrambling of the PUSCH RU (e.g., the mapping may be based at least in part on the root index of the preamble, which may not be orthogonal);

[0130] -Step C: If the M preambles are not mapped to each PUSCH RU, go to step A and repeat steps AC;

[0131] - Step D: Map the preamble to the PUSCH RU by taking into account the PUSCH RU (and PO) time / frequency size (e.g., the mapping may be based at least in part on different PO sizes so that a PUSCH RU in POs of multiple sizes can correspond to an SSB); and

[0132] - Step E: Map the preamble to the PUSCH RU by considering the OFDM symbols containing the PUSCH (e.g., different SSBs can be mapped to different PUSCH symbols).

[0133] For example, an exemplary mapping of RA preamble code to PUSCH RU can be implemented according to the following formula:

[0134]

[0135] in:

[0136] ·n RA is the index of the RA preamble;

[0137] k is the index of the size of PO;

[0138] ·n PO,f and n PO,t is the index of PO in frequency and time, which in some embodiments may be defined as and Where n is the index of PO and 0≤n <N· S is the number of different PO sizes, N is the number of SSBs per RO;

[0139] ·nDMRS is the index of the DMRS port and / or scrambling;

[0140] · 0 ≤ m′ < M allows multiple preambles to be mapped to one PUSCH RU;

[0141] · M (M ≥ 1) is the number of preambles mapped to each PUSCH RU;

[0142] · n DMRS is the total number of DMRS ports and / or DMRS initializations (also referred to as "scrambling ID");

[0143] · N po (k) is the number of POs multiplexed in a time-domain PO with PO size index k;

[0144] · is the offset that allows the preamble for two-step RA to follow the four-step RA preamble in the RO for an SSB;

[0145] · is the number of preambles mapped to an SSB in an RO. For example, for the case of N ≥ 1, and for the case of N < 1, where is the total number of preambles in the RO.

[0146] According to some exemplary embodiments, the number of PRACH preambles can be much larger than the number of POs because preambles use relatively fewer time-frequency resources compared to PUSCH. Thus, the number of PRACH preambles in the RO can be more than the PUSCH RUs corresponding to the RO. This can be seen in the Figure 3B exemplary RO-to-PO mapping shown.

[0147] In the Figure 3B example, the preambles in the first RO are mapped to SSB0 and SSB1, while the preambles in the second RO are mapped to SSB2 and SSB3. Since each SSB has 14 PUSCH RUs and 2 PRACH preambles are mapped to each PUSCH RU, each SSB requires 28 preambles. Thus, in this example, only 56 out of the 64 preambles in the RO are needed to support the msgA PUSCH time slot. It can be observed that an integer number of preambles cannot be mapped to these 14 PUSCH RUs such that there are 64 preambles. Therefore, an appropriate mechanism can be applied to map a subset of the preambles in the RO to the PUSCH RUs.

[0148] According to some exemplary embodiments, at one time instance, a PO for one size may overlap with a PO for another size, or these POs with different sizes may be separated in the frequency domain.

[0149] It can be appreciated that the parameters, variables and settings related to signaling transmission and resource allocation described herein are merely examples. Other suitable message settings, associated configuration parameters and their specific values ​​may also be applicable to implement the proposed method.

[0150] It should be noted that some embodiments of the present disclosure are described primarily with respect to 5G or NR specifications, which are used as non-limiting examples of specific exemplary network configurations and system deployments. As such, the description of the exemplary embodiments given here specifically refers to terms directly related thereto. Such terms are only used in the context of the non-limiting examples and embodiments presented, and naturally do not limit the present disclosure in any way. Instead, any other system configuration or radio technology may be used equally, as long as the exemplary embodiments described here are applicable.

[0151] Figure 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method 400 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 4 The method 400 shown in the figure may be implemented by a network node or an apparatus communicatively coupled to the network node. According to an exemplary embodiment, the network node may include a base station such as a gNB. The network node may be configured to communicate with one or more terminal devices (e.g., UEs) that are capable of supporting one or more RA methods, such as two-step RA and / or four-step RA.

[0152] according to Figure 4 In the exemplary method 400 shown, the network node may determine the association between the RA resources and the shared channel resources for the RA process based at least in part on the configuration of the shared channel resources, as shown in box 402. The configuration of the shared channel resources may be variable. According to some exemplary embodiments, the RA process may be a two-step RA process. The RA resources and the shared channel resources may be used for UL messages in the RA process (e.g., message A including the RA preamble and the PUSCH). The network node may send configuration information related to the association for the RA process to the terminal device, as shown in box 404. For example, the configuration information may be carried in a broadcast information block (e.g., SIB1) sent from the network node to the terminal device. Optionally, the terminal device may access the network node based on the association between the RA resources and the shared channel resources.

[0153] Figure 5 is a flow chart illustrating a method 500 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 5The method 500 shown may be implemented by a terminal device or an apparatus communicatively coupled to a terminal device. According to an exemplary embodiment, a terminal device such as a UE may be configured to communicate with a network node such as a gNB by supporting one or more RA methods such as two-step RA and / or four-step RA.

[0154] according to Figure 5 In the exemplary method 500 shown in FIG. 1 , a terminal device may receive information from a network node (e.g., Figure 4 The network node described in the embodiment of the present invention receives configuration information for an RA procedure (e.g., a two-step RA procedure), as shown in block 502. Based on the configuration information, the terminal device can determine an association between an RA resource and a shared channel resource for the RA procedure, as shown in block 504. The association can be based at least in part on a configuration of the shared channel resource. The configuration of the shared channel resource can be variable. Optionally, the terminal device can implement the RA procedure based on the determination of the association between the RA resource and the shared channel resource.

[0155] According to some exemplary embodiments, the configuration of the shared channel resources may include: by enabling the shared channel opportunity to be configured with a variable number of PRBs (e.g., Figure 3B The configuration of the shared channel resource may be provided by at least one of the terminal device and the network node.

[0156] According to some exemplary embodiments, the association between the RA resources and the shared channel resources may include: mapping of the preamble in the RA opportunity (e.g., PRACH opportunity) to the RU in the shared channel opportunity (e.g., PUSCH opportunity). Optionally, the time resources configured for the RU (e.g., OFDM symbols for PUSCH) may correspond to the SSB associated with the preamble (e.g., each time domain PO may correspond to one SSB).

[0157] According to some exemplary embodiments, an SSB may be associated with one or more preambles, and the one or more preambles may be mapped to one or more shared channel opportunities having at least one size and configured with the same time resources. In this case, the SSB may be mapped to multiple frequency-division multiplexed POs of the same size, and / or multiple POs of different sizes.

[0158] According to some exemplary embodiments, the RU in the shared channel opportunity may be identified according to an identification rule. For example, the identification rule may be based at least in part on one or more of the following identification factors (which may optionally have different priorities):

[0159] DMRS identifier configured for the RU (e.g., the DMRS identifier may identify at least one of a DMRS antenna port and a DMRS sequence initialization);

[0160] The location of the shared channel opportunity in the frequency domain (eg, the frequency location of the shared channel opportunity);

[0161] The location of the shared channel opportunity in the time domain (eg, the time location of the shared channel opportunity);

[0162] as well as

[0163] • The size of the shared channel opportunity, which may identify the number of one or more symbols (eg, OFDM symbols) and the number of one or more PRBs occupied by the shared channel opportunity.

[0164] According to some exemplary embodiments, the mapping of the preamble in the RA opportunity to the RU in the shared channel opportunity may be implemented according to a mapping rule. In an embodiment, the mapping rule may include: mapping the identifier of the preamble to the identifier of the RU in ascending order based at least in part on the identification factor in a predetermined order. The predetermined order may indicate that: among the identification factors, the position of the shared channel opportunity in the time domain has the lowest priority in the mapping of the identifier. For example, the preamble may be identified using an integer index, and the indexes arranged in ascending order may be mapped to the identification factors of the RU in a predetermined order, including: first mapping to an identification factor different from the position of the shared channel opportunity in the time domain, and then mapping to the position of the shared channel opportunity in the time domain.

[0165] According to some exemplary embodiments, the predetermined order may also indicate that the size of the shared channel opportunity has a lower priority in the mapping of the identifier than the DMRS identifier and the position of the shared channel opportunity in the frequency domain. For example, the index of the preamble may be mapped to the size of the shared channel opportunity after being mapped to the DMRS identifier and the position of the shared channel opportunity in the frequency domain.

[0166] According to some exemplary embodiments, the predetermined order may also indicate that, among the identification factors, the DMRS identifier has the highest priority in the mapping of the identifier. For example, the index of the preamble may be mapped to the DMRS identifier before being mapped to the position of the shared channel opportunity in the frequency domain.

[0167] According to some exemplary embodiments, the mapping of the preamble in the RA opportunity to the RU in the shared channel opportunity may be implemented according to a mapping rule. For example, the mapping rule may be based at least in part on one or more of the following mapping factors (which may optionally have different priorities):

[0168] Orthogonality of the preamble (which may be related to the root sequence and cyclic shift of the preamble);

[0169] The probability of transmission collisions on a shared channel opportunity;

[0170] Frequency resources configured for RU;

[0171] DMRS ports configured for the RU;

[0172] Initialize the DMRS sequence configured for the RU;

[0173] The number of preambles mapped to the RU;

[0174] The size of the shared channel opportunity; and

[0175] Time resources configured for RU.

[0176] According to some example embodiments, the mapping rule may include mapping preambles having an orthogonality higher than a first orthogonality threshold to one or more shared channel opportunities configured with time-frequency resources and having a correlation higher than a predefined correlation threshold.

[0177] According to some exemplary embodiments, the mapping rule may include mapping preambles with orthogonality lower than a second orthogonality threshold to different DMRS ports. Alternatively or additionally, the mapping rule may include mapping preambles with orthogonality lower than a third orthogonality threshold to different DMRS sequences.

[0178] According to some exemplary embodiments, the mapping rule may include: mapping preambles having consecutive IDs to different shared channel opportunities.

[0179] According to some example embodiments, the mapping rule may include mapping a preamble associated with the SSB to a plurality of shared channel opportunities having different sizes.

[0180] According to some example embodiments, a shared channel opportunity associated with the SSB may be configured with different time resources (eg, one or more OFDM symbols) than another shared channel opportunity associated with a different SSB.

[0181] The solution proposed according to one or more exemplary embodiments may enable mapping of SSB to RO and msgA preambles and PO in a RA process such as a two-step RA process. In some exemplary embodiments, RA preambles may be adaptively mapped to PUSCH RUs in a two-step RA, for example by considering one or more factors (e.g., ordering of PUSCH RUs, ordering of preamble and PO sizes, orthogonality of preamble sequences, probability of collision between POs, etc.). Various rules and parameters may be used to support variable configuration of PO size and application of beamforming in a two-step RA process, so as to enhance flexibility of transmission configuration and performance of signaling processing, and improve resource utilization.

[0182] Figures 4 to 5 The various blocks shown in the can be viewed as method steps, and / or operations generated by the operation of computer program code, and / or multiple coupled logic circuit elements configured to perform related functions. The schematic flow charts described above are generally described as logic flow charts. Thus, the depicted order and labeled steps indicate a specific embodiment of the proposed method. Other steps and methods can be envisioned, which are equivalent to one or more steps or parts thereof of the illustrated method in function, logic or effect. In addition, the order in which a particular method occurs may or may not strictly follow the order of the corresponding steps shown.

[0183] Figure 6 6 is a block diagram showing an apparatus 600 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 6 As shown, the apparatus 600 may include one or more processors (e.g., processor 601) and one or more memories (e.g., memory 602 storing computer program code 603). The memory 602 may be a non-transitory machine / processor / computer readable storage medium. According to some exemplary embodiments, the apparatus 600 may be implemented as an integrated circuit chip or module, which may be inserted into or installed in a computer system such as a computer system. Figure 4 The network node described herein may be inserted into or installed in a Figure 5 In this case, the apparatus 600 may be implemented as described in Figure 4 A network node as described, or as described with respect to Figure 5 The terminal device described.

[0184] In some implementations, the one or more memories 602 and the computer program code 603 may be configured to work with the one or more processors 601 to cause the apparatus 600 to at least implement the Figure 4In other implementations, the one or more memories 602 and the computer program code 603 may be configured to work with the one or more processors 601 to cause the apparatus 600 to at least implement the method described in conjunction with Figure 5 Alternatively or additionally, the one or more memories 602 and the computer program code 603 may be configured to, together with the one or more processors 601, enable the apparatus 600 to at least implement more or fewer operations to realize the method proposed according to the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0185] Figure 7 is a block diagram showing an apparatus 700 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 7 As shown, the apparatus 700 may include a determining unit 701 and a sending unit 702. In an exemplary embodiment, the apparatus 700 may be implemented in a network node such as a gNB. The determining unit 701 may be operable to perform the operations in box 402, and the sending unit 702 may be operable to perform the operations in box 404. Optionally, the determining unit 701 and / or the sending unit 702 may be operable to perform more or less operations to implement the method proposed according to the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0186] Figure 8 8 is a block diagram showing an apparatus 800 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 8 As shown, the apparatus 800 may include a receiving unit 801 and a determining unit 802. In an exemplary embodiment, the apparatus 800 may be implemented in a terminal device such as a UE. The receiving unit 801 may be operable to perform the operation in box 502, and the determining unit 802 may be operable to perform the operation in box 504. Optionally, the receiving unit 801 and / or the determining unit 802 may be operable to perform more or less operations to implement the method proposed according to the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0187] Fig. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a telecommunications network connected to a host computer via an intermediary network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0188] refer to Fig. 9According to an embodiment, a communication system includes a telecommunication network 910 (such as a cellular network of the 3GPP type), which includes an access network 911 (such as a radio access network) and a core network 914. The access network 911 includes a plurality of base stations 912a, 912b, 912c, such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs or other types of wireless access points, each of which defines a corresponding coverage area 913a, 913b, 913c. Each base station 912a, 912b, 912c may be connected to the core network 914 via a wired or wireless connection 915. A first UE 991 located in the coverage area 913c is configured to be wirelessly connected to the corresponding base station 912c or to be paged by the corresponding base station 912c. A second UE 992 in the coverage area 913a may be wirelessly connected to the corresponding base station 912a. Although multiple UEs 991, 992 are shown in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to the case where a single UE is in the coverage area or a single UE is connected to the corresponding base station 912.

[0189] The telecommunications network 910 itself is connected to a host computer 930, which may be embodied in the hardware and / or software of a standalone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, or as a processing resource in a server farm. The host computer 930 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider, or may be operated by or on behalf of a service provider. The connections 921 and 922 between the telecommunications network 910 and the host computer 930 may extend directly from the core network 914 to the host computer 930, or may pass through an optional intermediate network 920. The intermediate network 920 may be one of a public network, a private network, or a managed network, or a combination of more than one of these; the intermediate network 920 (if any) may be a backbone network or the Internet; in particular, the intermediate network 920 may include two or more sub-networks (not shown).

[0190] Fig. 9The communication system generally realizes the connection between the connected UE 991, 992 and the host computer 930. The connection can be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection 950. The host computer 930 and the connected UE 991, 992 are configured to use the access network 911, the core network 914, any intermediate network 920 and possible other infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries to transmit data and / or signaling via the OTT connection 950. The OTT connection 950 can be transparent in terms of the fact that the participating communication devices through which the OTT connection 950 passes do not know the routes of the uplink and downlink communications. For example, the base station 912 may not be informed or need not be informed of the past routes of the inflow type downlink communication with data from the host computer 930 to be forwarded (e.g., switched) to the connected UE 991. Similarly, the base station 912 does not need to know the future routes of the outflow type uplink communication from the UE 991 to the host computer 930.

[0191] Fig.10 is a block diagram illustrating a host computer communicating with a UE over a partially wireless connection via a base station according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0192] Now refer to Fig.10 Describe the example implementation of the UE, base station and host computer discussed in the previous paragraphs according to the embodiment. In the communication system 1000, the host computer 1010 includes hardware 1015, the hardware 1015 includes a communication interface 1016, and the communication interface 1016 is configured to establish and maintain a wired or wireless connection with the interface of different communication devices of the communication system 1000. The host computer 1010 also includes: a processing circuit 1018, which may have storage and / or processing capabilities. In particular, the processing circuit 1018 may include one or more programmable processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or a combination of these components (not shown) suitable for executing instructions. The host computer 1010 also includes software 1011, which is stored in the host computer 1010 or can be accessed by the host computer 1010 and can be executed by the processing circuit 1018. The software 1011 includes a host application 1012. The host application 1012 is operable to provide services to a remote user, such as a UE 1030 connected via an OTT connection 1050 terminating at the UE 1030 and the host computer 1010. In providing services to the remote user, the host application 1012 may provide user data transmitted using the OTT connection 1050.

[0193] The communication system 1000 also includes a base station 1020 provided in the telecommunication system, and the base station 1020 includes hardware 1025 that enables it to communicate with the host computer 1010 and the UE 1030. The hardware 1025 may include a communication interface 1026 for establishing and maintaining a wired or wireless connection with different communication devices of the communication system 1000, and a communication interface 1026 for establishing and maintaining a connection with a network located in a coverage area ( Fig.10 The communication interface 1026 may be configured to facilitate a connection 1060 to the host computer 1010. The connection 1060 may be direct, or it may pass through a core network (eg, a wireless network) of the telecommunications system. Fig.10 1020) and / or traverse one or more intermediate networks external to the telecommunications system. In the illustrated embodiment, the hardware 1025 of the base station 1020 also includes processing circuitry 1028, which may include one or more programmable processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or a combination of these components (not shown) suitable for executing instructions. The base station 1020 also has software 1021 stored internally or accessible via an external connection.

[0194] The communication system 1000 also includes the UE 1030 already cited. Its hardware 1035 may include a radio interface 1037, which is configured to establish and maintain a wireless connection 1070 with a base station serving the coverage area where the UE 1030 is currently located. The hardware 1035 of the UE 1030 also includes a processing circuit 1038, which may include one or more programmable processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or a combination of these components (not shown) suitable for executing instructions. The UE 1030 also includes software 1031, which is stored in the UE 1030 or can be accessed by the UE 1030 and can be executed by the processing circuit 1038. The software 1031 includes a client application 1032. The client application 1032 is operable to provide services to human users or non-human users via the UE 1030 under the support of the host computer 1010. In the host computer 1010, the executing host application 1012 can communicate with the executing client application 1032 via the OTT connection 1050 that terminates at the UE 1030 and the host computer 1010. When providing services to the user, the client application 1032 can receive request data from the host application 1012 and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 1050 can transmit both the request data and the user data. The client application 1032 can interact with the user to generate the user data it provides.

[0195] It should be noted that Fig.10The host computer 1010, base station 1020 and UE 1030 shown in FIG. 1 can be respectively connected to Fig. 9 The host computer 930, one of the base stations 912a, 912b, 912c, and one of the UEs 991, 992 may be similar or identical. That is, the internal workings of these entities may be similar to Fig.10 As shown, and independently, the surrounding network topology can be Fig. 9 network topology.

[0196] exist Fig.10 In FIG. 1 , an OTT connection 1050 has been abstractly drawn to illustrate communication between a host computer 1010 and a UE 1030 via a base station 1020, without explicitly involving any intermediate devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices. The network infrastructure may determine the routing, which may be configured to hide the routing from the UE 1030 or the service provider operating the host computer 1010, or both. When the OTT connection 1050 is active, the network infrastructure may further make decisions to dynamically change the routing (e.g., based on load balancing considerations or reconfiguration of the network).

[0197] The wireless connection 1070 between the UE 1030 and the base station 1020 is based on the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of the OTT service provided to the UE 1030 using the OTT connection 1050, wherein the wireless connection 1070 forms the last segment. More specifically, the teachings of these embodiments can improve latency and power consumption, thereby providing advantages such as lower complexity, reduced time required to access a cell, better responsiveness, and extended battery life.

[0198] A measurement process may be provided to monitor data rates, latency, and other factors improved by one or more embodiments. In response to changes in the measurement results, there may also be an optional network function for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1050 between the host computer 1010 and the UE 1030. The measurement process and / or network function for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1050 may be implemented in the software 1011 and hardware 1015 of the host computer 1010, or in the software 1031 and hardware 1035 of the UE 1030, or in both. In an embodiment, a sensor (not shown) may be deployed in or associated with a communication device through which the OTT connection 1050 passes; the sensor may participate in the measurement process by providing the values ​​of the monitoring quantities exemplified above, or by providing the values ​​of other physical quantities from which the software 1011, 1031 can calculate or estimate the monitoring quantities. The reconfiguration of the OTT connection 1050 may include message formats, retransmission settings, preferred routes, etc.; the reconfiguration does not need to affect the base station 1020, and the base station 1020 may not know or be aware of the reconfiguration. These processes and functions may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, the measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates host computer 1010 to measure throughput, propagation time, latency, etc. The measurements may be implemented in the following manner: Software 1011 and 1031 use OTT connection 1050 to cause messages (particularly empty messages or "dummy" messages) to be transmitted while it monitors propagation time, errors, etc.

[0199] Fig.11 1 is a flow chart showing a method implemented in a communication system according to an embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE, which can be reference Fig. 9 and Fig.10 To simplify the present disclosure, only the Fig.11 . In step 1110, the host computer provides user data. In sub-step 1111 of step 1110 (which may be optional), the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step 1120, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. In step 1130 (which may be optional), in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure, the base station transmits the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the host computer to the UE. In step 1140 (which may also be optional), the UE executes a client application associated with the host application executed by the host computer.

[0200] Fig.12 1 is a flow chart showing a method implemented in a communication system according to an embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE, which can be reference Fig. 9 and Fig.10To simplify this disclosure, only the Fig.12 Reference is made to the accompanying drawings of the present invention. In step 1210 of the method, the host computer provides user data. In an optional sub-step (not shown), the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step 1220, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. According to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure, the transmission may pass through a base station. In step 1230 (which may be optional), the UE receives the user data carried in the transmission.

[0201] Fig.13 1 is a flow chart showing a method implemented in a communication system according to an embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE, which can be reference Fig. 9 and Fig.10 To simplify this disclosure, only the Fig.13 . In step 1310 (which may be optional), the UE receives input data provided by the host computer. Additionally or optionally, in step 1320, the UE provides user data. In sub-step 1321 (which may be optional) of step 1320, the UE provides user data by executing a client application. In sub-step 1311 (which may be optional) of step 1310, the UE executes a client application, which provides user data in response to the received input data provided by the host computer. When providing user data, the executed client application may also consider user input received from the user. Regardless of the specific manner of providing user data, the UE initiates the transmission of user data to the host computer in sub-step 1330 (which may be optional). In step 1340 of the method, according to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure, the host computer receives user data transmitted from the UE.

[0202] Fig.14 1 is a flow chart showing a method implemented in a communication system according to an embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE, which can be reference Fig. 9 and Fig.10 To simplify this disclosure, only the Fig.14 In step 1410 (which may be optional), according to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure, the base station receives user data from the UE. In step 1420 (which may be optional), the base station initiates a transmission of the received user data to the host computer. In step 1430 (which may be optional), the host computer receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the base station.

[0203] In general, various exemplary embodiments may be implemented in hardware or dedicated chips, circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. For example, some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device, although the disclosure is not limited thereto. Although various aspects of the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other graphical representations, it is understood that the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuits or logic, general hardware or controllers, or other computing devices, or some combination thereof, as non-limiting examples.

[0204] As such, it should be appreciated that at least some aspects of the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be practiced in various components such as integrated circuit chips and modules. It should therefore be understood that the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in an apparatus embodied as an integrated circuit, wherein the integrated circuit may include at least circuitry (and possible firmware) for embodying one or more of a data processor, a digital signal processor, a baseband circuit, and a radio frequency circuit that may be configured to operate in accordance with the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0205] It should be understood that at least some aspects of the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be embodied in computer executable instructions executed by one or more computers or other devices, such as in one or more program modules. Typically, a program module includes routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that implement specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types when executed by a processor in a computer or other device. Computer executable instructions may be stored on computer readable media such as hard disks, optical disks, removable storage media, solid-state memory, random access memory (RAM), etc. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the functions of program modules may be combined or distributed as needed in various embodiments. In addition, the functions may be embodied in whole or in part in firmware or hardware equivalents (such as integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), etc.).

[0206] The present disclosure includes any novel feature or feature combination explicitly disclosed herein or arbitrarily summarized thereof. In view of the foregoing description, various modifications and adaptations to the aforementioned exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may become apparent to those skilled in the relevant art when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, any and all modifications will still fall within the scope of the non-limiting and exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A method (500) implemented by a terminal device, comprising: receiving (502) configuration information for a random access procedure from a network node; as well as Determining (504) an association between a random access resource and a shared channel resource for the random access procedure based on the configuration information, wherein the association is based at least in part on the configuration of the shared channel resource; wherein the association between the random access resource and the shared channel resource comprises: A mapping of a preamble in a random access opportunity to a resource unit in a shared channel opportunity, wherein the time resources configured for the resource unit correspond to a synchronization signal and a physical broadcast channel block associated with the preamble.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The configuration of the shared channel resources includes configuring the shared channel opportunities to have one or more sizes by enabling the shared channel opportunities to be configured with a variable number of physical resource blocks.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The configuration of the shared channel resources is provided by at least one of the terminal device and the network node.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The synchronization signal and the physical broadcast channel block are associated with one or more preambles, and wherein the one or more preambles are mapped to one or more shared channel opportunities, the one or more shared channel opportunities having at least one size and configured with the same time resources.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein: The resource units in the shared channel opportunity are identified according to an identification rule, and wherein the identification rule is based at least in part on one or more of the following identification factors: a demodulation reference signal identifier configured for the resource unit, wherein the demodulation reference signal identifier identifies at least one of a demodulation reference signal antenna port and a demodulation reference signal sequence initialization; The location of the shared channel opportunity in the frequency domain; The location of the shared channel opportunity in the time domain; and The size of the shared channel opportunity identifies the number of one or more symbols and the number of one or more physical resource blocks occupied by the shared channel opportunity.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein: The identification factors have different priorities.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein: The mapping of the preamble in the random access opportunity to the resource element in the shared channel opportunity is according to a mapping rule, and wherein the mapping rule comprises: The identifiers of the preambles are mapped in ascending order to identifiers of resource units based at least in part on the identification factors in a predetermined order, wherein the predetermined order indicates that among the identification factors, the position of the shared channel opportunity in the time domain has the lowest priority in the mapping of identifiers.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein: The predetermined order further indicates that the size of the shared channel opportunity has a lower priority in the mapping of the identifiers than the demodulation reference signal identifiers and the positions of the shared channel opportunities in the frequency domain.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein: The predetermined order further indicates that, among the identification factors, the demodulation reference signal identifier has the highest priority in the mapping of identifiers.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The mapping of the preamble in the random access opportunity to the resource elements in the shared channel opportunity is according to a mapping rule, and wherein the mapping rule is based at least in part on one or more of the following mapping factors: Orthogonality of preamble codes; a probability of transmission collision in the shared channel opportunity; frequency resources configured for the resource unit; a demodulation reference signal port configured for the resource unit; Initializing a demodulation reference signal sequence configured for the resource unit; the number of preambles mapped to the resource unit; The size of the shared channel opportunity; and The time resource configured for the resource unit.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein: The mapping factors have different priorities.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein: The mapping rules include: Preambles with consecutive identifiers are mapped to different shared channel opportunities.

13. The method according to claim 10, wherein: The mapping rules include: A preamble associated with the synchronization signal and a physical broadcast channel block is mapped to a plurality of shared channel opportunities having different sizes.

14. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein: The shared channel opportunity associated with the synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block is configured with a different time resource than another shared channel opportunity associated with a different synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, further comprising: The random access procedure is performed according to the determination of the association between the random access resource and the shared channel resource.

16. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein: The random access procedure is a two-step random access procedure.

17. A method (400) implemented by a network node, comprising: Based at least in part on a configuration of a shared channel resource, determining (402) an association between a random access resource for a random access procedure and the shared channel resource; as well as Sending (404) configuration information related to the association for the random access procedure to a terminal device; wherein the association between the random access resource and the shared channel resource comprises: A mapping of a preamble in a random access opportunity to a resource unit in a shared channel opportunity, wherein the time resources configured for the resource unit correspond to a synchronization signal and a physical broadcast channel block associated with the preamble.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein: The configuration of the shared channel resources includes configuring the shared channel opportunities to have one or more sizes by enabling the shared channel opportunities to be configured with a variable number of physical resource blocks.

19. The method according to claim 17, wherein: The configuration of the shared channel resources is provided by at least one of the terminal device and the network node.

20. The method according to claim 17, wherein: The synchronization signal and the physical broadcast channel block are associated with one or more preambles, and wherein the one or more preambles are mapped to one or more shared channel opportunities, the one or more shared channel opportunities having at least one size and configured with the same time resources.

21. The method according to claim 17, wherein: The resource units in the shared channel opportunity are identified according to an identification rule, and wherein the identification rule is based at least in part on one or more of the following identification factors: a demodulation reference signal identifier configured for the resource unit, wherein the demodulation reference signal identifier identifies at least one of a demodulation reference signal antenna port and a demodulation reference signal sequence initialization; The location of the shared channel opportunity in the frequency domain; The location of the shared channel opportunity in the time domain; and The size of the shared channel opportunity identifies the number of one or more symbols and the number of one or more physical resource blocks occupied by the shared channel opportunity.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein: The identification factors have different priorities.

23. The method according to claim 21, wherein: The mapping of the preamble in the random access opportunity to the resource element in the shared channel opportunity is according to a mapping rule, and wherein the mapping rule comprises: The identifiers of the preambles are mapped in ascending order to identifiers of resource units based at least in part on the identification factors in a predetermined order, wherein the predetermined order indicates that among the identification factors, the position of the shared channel opportunity in the time domain has the lowest priority in the mapping of identifiers.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein: The predetermined order further indicates that the size of the shared channel opportunity has a lower priority in the mapping of the identifiers than the demodulation reference signal identifiers and the positions of the shared channel opportunities in the frequency domain.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein: The predetermined order further indicates that, among the identification factors, the demodulation reference signal identifier has the highest priority in the mapping of identifiers.

26. The method of claim 17, wherein: The mapping of the preamble in the random access opportunity to the resource elements in the shared channel opportunity is according to a mapping rule, and wherein the mapping rule is based at least in part on one or more of the following mapping factors: Orthogonality of preamble codes; a probability of transmission collision in the shared channel opportunity; frequency resources configured for the resource unit; a demodulation reference signal port configured for the resource unit; Initializing a demodulation reference signal sequence configured for the resource unit; the number of preambles mapped to the resource unit; The size of the shared channel opportunity; and The time resource configured for the resource unit.

27. The method according to claim 26, wherein: The mapping factors have different priorities.

28. The method according to claim 26, wherein: The mapping rules include: Preambles with consecutive identifiers are mapped to different shared channel opportunities.

29. The method according to any one of claims 23 to 28, wherein: The mapping rules include: A preamble associated with the synchronization signal and a physical broadcast channel block is mapped to a plurality of shared channel opportunities having different sizes.

30. The method according to any one of claims 23 to 28, wherein: The shared channel opportunity associated with the synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block is configured with a different time resource than another shared channel opportunity associated with a different synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block.

31. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 28, wherein: The random access procedure is a two-step random access procedure.

32. A terminal device (600), comprising: one or more processors (601); as well as one or more memories (602) including computer program code (603), The one or more memories (602) and the computer program code (603) are configured to, together with the one or more processors (601), cause the terminal device (600) to at least: receiving configuration information for a random access procedure from a network node; and Determining, according to the configuration information, an association between a random access resource and a shared channel resource for the random access procedure, wherein the association is based at least in part on the configuration of the shared channel resource; wherein the association between the random access resource and the shared channel resource comprises: A mapping of a preamble in a random access opportunity to a resource unit in a shared channel opportunity, wherein the time resources configured for the resource unit correspond to a synchronization signal and a physical broadcast channel block associated with the preamble.

33. The terminal device according to claim 32, wherein: The one or more memories and the computer program code are configured to, together with the one or more processors, cause the terminal device to implement the method according to any one of claims 2-16.

34. A network node (600), comprising: one or more processors (601); as well as one or more memories (602) including computer program code (603), The one or more memories (602) and the computer program code (603) are configured to, together with the one or more processors (601), cause the network node (600) to: determining an association between a random access resource for a random access procedure and the shared channel resource based at least in part on a configuration of the shared channel resource; and Sending configuration information related to the association used for the random access process to a terminal device; wherein the association between the random access resource and the shared channel resource comprises: A mapping of a preamble in a random access opportunity to a resource unit in a shared channel opportunity, wherein the time resources configured for the resource unit correspond to a synchronization signal and a physical broadcast channel block associated with the preamble.

35. The network node according to claim 34, wherein: The one or more memories and the computer program code are configured to, together with the one or more processors, cause the network node to implement a method according to any one of claims 18-31.

36. A computer readable medium storing a computer program code (603) for use with a computer, wherein the computer program code (603) comprises code for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1-16.

37. A computer readable medium storing a computer program code (603) for use with a computer, wherein the computer program code (603) comprises code for implementing the method according to any one of claims 17-31.

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