Bearer mapping in IAB node

Abstract

According to some embodiments, a method performed by an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) network node includes receiving a backhaul channel configuration from the network node. The backhaul channel configuration includes a mapping of one or more service identifiers to one or more wireless backhaul channels. The method also includes: receiving incoming service for transmission on the wireless backhaul channel; determining a wireless backhaul channel for transmitting the incoming service based on a type of the incoming service and a mapping of the one or more service identifiers to the one or more wireless backhaul channels; and transmitting the received incoming service on the determined wireless backhaul channel.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Certain embodiments relate to wireless communications, and more particularly, to mapping bearer channels and backhaul channels in an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) network node. Background Art

[0002] Generally, all terms used herein will be interpreted according to their common meanings in the relevant technical field, unless different meanings are explicitly given and / or implied from the context (where different meanings are used). Unless otherwise clearly stated, all references to a (a / an) / the element, device, assembly, part, step, etc. will be openly interpreted as referring to at least one instance of the element, device, assembly, part, step, etc. Unless a step is clearly described as after or before another step and / or in the case where it is implied that a step must be after or before another step, the steps of any method disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the precise order disclosed. In any appropriate case, any feature of any one of the embodiments disclosed herein may be applied to any other embodiment. Similarly, any advantage of any one of the embodiments may be applied to any other embodiment, and vice versa. From the following description, other purposes, features and advantages of the attached embodiments will be clear.

[0003] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) specifications include integrated access and radio access backhaul (IAB) in fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR). The following is a general overview of the IAB protocol and architecture.

[0004] The use of short-range mmWave spectrum in NR leads to dense deployments with multi-hop backhaul. However, fiber to each base station is too expensive and sometimes even impossible (e.g., historical sites). The main IAB principle is to use wireless links for backhaul (instead of fiber) to enable flexible and dense deployment of cells without densifying the transport network. Use case scenarios for IAB may include coverage extension, deployment of massive small cells, and fixed wireless access (FWA) (e.g., to residential / office buildings). The larger bandwidth available for NR in the mmWave spectrum provides the opportunity for self-backhaul without overly limiting the spectrum available for access links. In addition to this, the inherent multi-beam and multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) support in NR reduces cross-link interference between backhaul and access links, thereby facilitating higher densification.

[0005] Some solutions (e.g., TR 38.874) leverage NR’s Central Unit (CU) / Distributed Unit (DU) split architecture, where the IAB node hosts the DU portion that is controlled by the Central Unit. The IAB node also has a Mobile Termination (MT) portion for communicating with its parent node.

[0006] The specifications for IAB can reuse existing functions and interfaces defined in NR. Specifically, MT, gNB-DU, gNB-CU, User Plane Function (UPF), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) and Session Management Function (SMF) and corresponding interfaces NR Uu (between MT and gNB), F1, NG, X2 and N4 are used as the baseline for the IAB architecture. Modifications or enhancements to these functions and interfaces used to support IAB are explained in the context of the architecture discussion. Additional functionality such as multi-hop forwarding is included in the architecture discussion because it is necessary to understand the IAB operation and some aspects may need to be standardized.

[0007] The Mobile Termination (MT) function is defined as a component of the IAB Node. The MT is referred to as a function residing on the IAB Node that terminates the radio interface layer of the backhaul Uu interface towards the IAB Donor or other IAB nodes.

[0008] Figure 1 is a reference diagram of the IAB in standalone mode, which contains one IAB Donor and multiple IAB nodes. The IAB Donor is considered as a single logical node, which includes a set of functions (such as gNB-DU, gNB-CU-CP, gNB-CU-UP) and may include other functions. In a deployment, the IAB Donor may be split according to these functions, which may all be collocated or non-collocated, as allowed by the 3GPP Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN) architecture. When such a split is applied, IAB-related aspects may arise. Moreover, in the event that it becomes apparent that some functions currently associated with the IAB Donor do not perform IAB specific tasks, they may eventually be moved out of the donor.

[0009] Figure 2 The baseline user plane protocol stack of IAB is shown. As shown in the figure, the Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) is provided between the User Equipment (UE) and the Donor IAB via the backhaul channel through IAB nodes 1 and 2.

[0010] Figures 3A-3C The baseline control plane protocol stack of IAB is shown in FIG. Figure 3A In the IAB protocol, the radio resource control (RRC) protocol is provided between the UE and the donor IAB CU-UP via the backhaul channel by the IAB node. Figure 3B In the RRC protocol between the IAB node MT and the donor IAB CU-CP is provided by the IAB node through the backhaul channel. Figure 3C In the embodiment, F1-AP is provided from the IAB node DU to the IAB donor CU-UP through the IAB node via a backhaul channel.

[0011] The chosen protocol stack reuses the current CU-DU split specification, where the full user plane F1-U (GTP-U / UDP / IP) is terminated at the IAB node (like a normal DU), and the full control plane F1-C (F1-AP / SCTP / IP) is also terminated at the IAB node (like a normal DU). Network Domain Security (NDS) is adopted to protect UP and CP traffic (IPsec in the case of UP and Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS) in the case of CP). IPsec can also be used for CP protection instead of DTLS (the DTLS layer is not used in this case).

[0012] In IAB nodes and IAB donors, it is called Backhaul Adaptation Protocol (BAP) (in Figures 3A-3C A new protocol layer (labeled “Adaptation” in the IAB) is used to route packets to suitable downstream / upstream nodes and also map UE bearer data to appropriate backhaul Radio Link Control (RLC) channels (and also between ingress and egress backhaul RLC channels in intermediate IAB nodes) to meet the end-to-end Quality of Service (QoS) requirements of the bearer.

[0013] Routing and bearer mapping (e.g., mapping of backhaul RLC channels) are adaptation layer functions. The transmit (TX) part of the adaptation layer performs routing and "bearer mapping". The receive (RX) part of the adaptation layer performs bearer demapping. For packets relayed by an IAB node, the service data unit (SDU) is forwarded from the RX part of the adaptation layer to the TX part of the adaptation layer (for the next hop).

[0014] The BAP entity may be included in both the MT part and the DU part of the IAB node protocol stack.Modeling the BAP layer in this way facilitates the implementation of the routing and mapping functionality of the adaptation layer.

[0015] Before describing the operation of the two BAP entities, the first thing to consider is whether the radio bearers carrying CP / UP traffic for the MT functionality of the IAB node should be handled separately from the backhaul RLC channel. The backhaul RLC channel is used to carry traffic to / from the IAB DU functionality, which may be intended for UEs served by the IAB node or for child IAB nodes. The radio bearers and backhaul RLC channels can be handled separately by adopting different logical channel IDs.

[0016] Figure 4 and 5 The packet flow in the downlink direction is shown. Figure 6 and 7 The packet flow in the uplink direction is shown.

[0017] Figure 4is a flow chart illustrating an example of bearer mapping in an IAB node for downstream transmission. Figure 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of functions performed by a BAP entity for downstream transmission.

[0018] For downlink, when a packet arrives at the IAB donor DU (from the donor CU) and is first processed by the upper layers (because there is no MT BAP layer at the donor DU), then if the packet is destined to a UE directly connected to the IAB donor DU, or it is F1-AP traffic destined to the IAB donor DU, it is forwarded to higher layers (IP / UDP / GTP-U for UP and IP / SCTP / F1-AP for CP). Otherwise (i.e., it will be forwarded further downstream), it is forwarded to the DU BAP layer.

[0019] When a packet arrives at the IAB node (from the parent IAB node or the IAB donor DU) via the backhaul RLC channel, it is first processed by the MTBAP layer, and then if the packet is destined for a UE directly connected to the IAB node or is destined for the F1-AP service at the DU of the IAB node, it is forwarded to higher layers (IP / UDP / GTP-U for UP and IP / SCTP / F1-AP for CP). Otherwise (i.e., it will be forwarded further downstream), it is forwarded to the DU BAP layer.

[0020] In both cases above, when forwarded to the DU BAP layer, the DU BAP determines to which route (ie, to which child node) the packet will be forwarded, and determines which backhaul RLC channel within the route will be used to forward the packet downstream.

[0021] Figure 6 is a flow chart illustrating an example of bearer mapping in an IAB node for upstream transmission. Figure 7 is a flow chart illustrating an example of functions performed by a BAP entity for upstream transmission.

[0022] For uplink, when a packet arrives at an IAB donor DU (from a child IAB node) via the backhaul RLC channel, it is first processed by the DU BAP layer and forwarded to the donor CU (no routing functionality is required since a donor DU can be connected to at most one donor CU).

[0023] When a packet arrives at the IAB node in the uplink direction, if it is coming from a child IAB node via the backhaul RLC channel, it is first processed by the DU BAP layer and, because each uplink packet is destined to be forwarded to the donor CU, it is passed to the MT BAP layer. If the packet comes from a UE directly connected to the IAB node, or it is F1-AP traffic originating from the IAB node, it is first processed by higher layers (IP / UDP / GTP-U for UP and IP / SCTP / F1-AP for CP) and forwarded to the MT BAP layer.

[0024] In both forwarding examples above, the MT BAP determines which route (ie, which parent node) the packet will be forwarded to, and determines which backhaul RLC channel within that route will be used to forward the packet upstream.

[0025] The IAB network supports multiple connectivity. There may be more than one route towards an IAB node (i.e., an IAB node may have more than one parent node). The two proposed methods for IAB multiple connectivity are: (a) an IAB node with multiple MT entities, each connected to a different parent node (or cell of a parent node); and (b) using the dual connectivity concept of NR, where the MT part of the IAB node is connected to two different cell groups, one belonging to a primary cell group (MCG) and the other to a secondary cell group (SCG).

[0026] Currently in NR, dual connectivity is supported by setting up multiple UE bearer contexts in the DU of the serving UE. These different UE contexts are identified as part of the F1-U (GTP tunnel) to the DU of the serving UE. Figure 8 An example is shown in .

[0027] Figure 8 is a functional diagram showing NR dual connectivity to a UE. The dual connectivity aspects are transparent to the UE application layer. The UE sends / receives data from a data radio bearer (DRB), which can be configured as an MCG, SCG, or split DRB. For a split DRB, the split point is below the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) and relies on various NR PDCP functions to handle reordering, retransmission, and duplicate removal.

[0028] The NR-DC framework can be reused to set up multiple connectivity to the IAB node. Using NR-DC for the IAB node requires some changes to the user plane. The reason for the change is that the IAB node does not terminate the PDCP for F1-U services. Similarly, the parent node of the IAB does not terminate the F1-U for other IAB nodes (but the forwarding is handled by the adaptation layer). The architecture based on full F1-U support for the IAB node does not assume that there is any CU-UP function for the service to the IAB node (but the DU handles IP routing). Similarly, the IP address of the NR DC is terminated in the UPF, which is inconsistent with the architecture.

[0029] A simplified version of NR DC can be adopted to support multi-path that is still consistent with existing architectural assumptions and avoids additional complexity such as tunneling in tunneling, assuming the following: (a) split bearer is not supported, which avoids the introduction of CU-UP functionality and reordering functionality, etc.; (b) each path should be associated with a separate BAP routing identifier, which avoids GTP tunnels to the parent node (carrying the GTP tunnel to the IAB node); and (c) each path should be associated with its own IP address so that the path is visible at the F1 application layer so that paths through different donor DUs can be established.

[0030] Using these assumptions, it is possible to support redundancy and basic load balancing on the F1 application layer using things like multipath Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) and smart load balancing of UE GTP tunnels to different paths. Later versions may include more advanced load balancing mechanisms for IAB nodes.

[0031] The user plane can support a simplified version of NR DC for IAB nodes, where each path is seen as a separate IP connection, which the application layer (F1-C / F1-U) can use for redundancy and basic load balancing. This is described in 3GPP38.874 Section 9.7.9.

[0032] Using NR-DC to support multiple connectivity of IAB nodes includes the following assumptions: (a) only MCG or SCG backhaul bearers are supported, and split backhaul bearers are not supported; (b) each separate connection to a given IAB node is associated with a separate BAP identifier (e.g., address, path, address+path); and (c) each separate connection is associated with at least one separate IP address, thereby supporting multiple connections to use different donor DUs and allowing end nodes (IAB nodes, CUs) to select which connection to use.

[0033] Figure 9-11 An example dual connectivity scenario is shown. Fig. 9 A startup scene is shown.

[0034] Fig. 9 is a connectivity diagram showing single connectivity before DC is established. IAB Node 1 is connected to the Transport Network Layer (TNL) via IAB Node 2 and Donor DU 1. Donor DU 1 routes any packet destined for IP Address 1 of IAB Node 1 to IAB Node 2 over wireless backhaul. The routing is based on BAP Identifier 1 associated with IP Address 1.

[0035] The donor CU determines (eg, based on IAB Node 1 RRC level measurements, IAB Node capabilities, etc.) that IAB Node 1 should establish dual connectivity to IAB Node 3. Existing NR DC RRC procedures are used to establish an SCG connection to IAB Node 3.

[0036] As part of the message, the donor CU configures the BAP identifier for the SCG link to IAB Node 3. The donor CU also configures one or more backhaul RLC channels between IAB Node 1 and IAB Node 3 and a new BAP route for the new connection. After the new path is established on the BAP, a new IP address 2 can be assigned to IAB Node 1 for the new connection. The end result is Fig.10 Shown in.

[0037] Fig.10 is a connectivity diagram showing multi-connectivity after DC setup. IAB Node 1 is connected via 2 paths, where each path has a separate IP address and can be used for F1-C / U application layer redundancy.

[0038] The donor CU, which is responsible for setting up the DC to the IAB node, configures a separate BAP identifier for each connection, enabling allocation of a separate IP address for each connection.

[0039] When a child IAB node is connected to a parent IAB node that supports multiple connections (e.g. Fig.11 As shown for IAB node 0 in FIG. 1 ), a child IAB node may also use multiple connections. For this reason, multiple BAP identifiers may be assigned to a child IAB node. When an IAB node receives multiple BAP identifiers, it may request a separate IP address for each BAP identifier.

[0040] Fig.11 is a connectivity diagram showing multiple connectivity at intermediate nodes (resulting in multiple connectivity at end nodes). An IAB child node connected to one or more upstream IAB nodes using NR-DC may be assigned multiple BAP identifiers and IP addresses to enable it to use multiple connectivity.

[0041] The setup and configuration (ie, integration) of the IAB node is the first step in the operation of the IAB node. The integration process includes the following steps.

[0042] The first step is MT setup. During MT setup, MT selects a parent node and authenticates with AMF (Uu procedure). AMF authorizes MT at gNB, and gNB establishes SRB with MT (Uu procedure). gNB can establish DRB and PDU session with MT. PDU session can be used for OAM connectivity.

[0043] The second step is backhaul setup. Backhaul setup consists of establishing a backhaul RLC channel between the IAB node MT and the parent node. Configuration is done by the CU-CP (e.g. using RRC). To do this, the CU-CP of the MT needs to know that the MT belongs to the IAB node and not the UE, which it can deduce, for example, from the MT authorization. The backhaul RLC channel is marked with the corresponding priority / QoS level on the IAB node MT and the parent node.

[0044] Backhaul setup also includes establishing (one or more) adaptive routes between the IAB node MT and the IAB donor DU. This includes configuring (one or more) adaptive route identifiers on the IAB node MT and the IAB donor DU, and configuring routing entries on the ancestor nodes of all IAB nodes for the new route identifiers.

[0045] Backhaul setup also includes assigning IP addresses to IAB nodes for adaptive interfaces that are routable from wired fronthaul via adaptive routing. The IP addresses must be specific to the donor DU so that the CU can send IP packets to the IAB node via a specific IAB donor DU and new adaptive routing. The IAB donor DU must support a pool of IP addresses that are routable from wired fronthaul for all descendant IAB nodes.

[0046] If IP assignment is done by CU, then CU must know the available IP address pool for IAB nodes of IAB Donor DU. If IP assignment is done via DHCPv4 / 6 with DHCP proxy on IAB Donor DU, then the transport mechanism of ARP / NDP above the adaptation layer can be defined. IP address allocation can include additional options.

[0047] The third step is DU setup. During DU setup, the DU establishes F1-C and cell activation using IP on the adaptation layer (procedures defined in TS 38.401 clause 8.5: F1 startup and cell activation). This includes OAM support for IAB node DU via the backhaul IP layer.

[0048] The recommended architecture option (Option 1a in TR 38.874) allows IP address assignment to be managed within the RAN without core network involvement. In this regard, the above baseline allows DHCP-based IP address assignment and OAM setup after IP address assignment without the need for the MT to establish a PDU session. The three parts of the overall IAB node integration process are discussed below.

[0049] During MT functionality establishment, the IAB node first connects via its MT functionality using the RRC establishment procedure. After the RRC connection is established, the MT functionality of the IAB node can perform NAS level registration and authentication, but does not require PDU session establishment, such as Fig.12 as shown in .

[0050] After NAS registration, a UE context for the IAB node can be created in the RAN (without any PDU session resources). In this way, no SMF / UPF functionality supporting the IAB node is required. NAS Rel-15 has separated NAS registration from PDU session establishment, so that only registration can be performed without setting up a PDU session, and a UE context can be set up in the RAN without using PDU session resources.

[0051] For backhaul setup, after the UE context of the IAB node is set up in the RAN, the RAN establishes one or more backhaul bearers, which can be used for IP address assignment to the IAB node. For the case where the IAB node does not communicate directly with the IAB donor node, but communicates with the IAB donor node via other (already attached / connected) IAB nodes, the forwarding information in all intermediate IAB nodes is updated due to the setup of the new IAB node.

[0052] For DU functionality setup, after establishing connectivity to the operator's internal network, the DU functionality of the IAB node and its cells / sectors needs to be configured by OAM before the DU can send an F1 setup request message to its corresponding CU (i.e. IAB-CU). The recommended architecture option of IAB supports full IP connectivity to the IAB node, making it possible for the DU functionality to have direct IP connectivity to OAM, instead of relying on MT functionality to establish a special PDU session for OAM in the core network.

[0053] After configuring the DU functionality of the IAB node, the IAB node becomes operable as a DU and the UE will not be able to distinguish it from other gNBs. The IAB node can start serving the UE like any other DU / gNB.

[0054] The procedure for initial IAB node access can be based on the UE initial access signaling flow, which is slightly modified to meet the IAB node requirements. At the same time, for the activation of the IAB node DU cell, the F1 start and cell activation procedures defined in TS 38.401 can be reused as is. Taking the above into account, the procedure for integrating the IAB node into the NG-RAN is described below and in Fig.12 Shown in.

[0055] Fig.12 is a sequence diagram showing the IAB node integration process. IAB initial access and MT functionality setup includes the following steps.

[0056] 1. The IAB node sends an RRCSetupRequest message to the gNB-DU.

[0057] 2. The gNB-DU includes the RRC message and if the IAB node is allowed, the gNB-DU includes the corresponding lower layer configuration for the NR Uu interface in the INITIAL UL RRCTRANSFER message and transmits it to the gNB-CU. The INITIAL UL RRRC TRANSFER message includes the C-RNTI allocated by the gNB-DU.

[0058] 3. The gNB-CU allocates the gNB-CU UE F1AP ID to the IAB node and generates an RRCSetup message to the IAB node. The RRC message is encapsulated in the DL RRC MESSAGE TRANSFER message.

[0059] 4. The gNB-DU sends an RRCSetup message to the IAB node.

[0060] 5. The IAB node sends an RRC CONNECTION SETUP COMPLETE message to the gNB-DU. The S-NSSAI IE in the RRC CONNECTION SETUP COMPLETE message indicates the IAB node.

[0061] 6. The gNB-DU encapsulates the RRC message in an uplink RRC MESSAGE TRANSFER message and sends it to the gNB-CU.

[0062] 7. The gNB-CU sends an INITIAL UE MESSAGE to the AMF. This can be a dedicated AMF serving only IAB nodes.

[0063] At this point, the IAB node will perform registration (including authentication and key generation) without establishing a PDU session.

[0064] 8.AMF sends an INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message to the gNB-CU.

[0065] 9. The gNB-CU sends an IAB CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message to establish the IAB node context in the gNB-DU. This message may also encapsulate a SecurityModeCommand message.

[0066] 10. The gNB-DU sends a SecurityModeCommand message to the IAB node.

[0067] 11. The gNB-DU sends an IAB CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message to the gNB-CU.

[0068] 12. The IAB node responds with a SecurityModeComplete message.

[0069] 13. The gNB-DU encapsulates the RRC message in a UL RRC MESSAGE TRANSFER message and sends it to the gNB-CU.

[0070] 14. The gNB-CU generates an RRCReconfiguration message and encapsulates it in a downlink RRC MESSAGETRANSFER message. The RRCReconfiguration message may include the configuration of one or more IAB backhaul bearers.

[0071] 15. The gNB-DU sends an RRCReconfiguration message to the IAB node.

[0072] 16. The IAB node sends an RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the gNB-DU.

[0073] 17. The gNB-DU encapsulates the RRC message in an uplink RRC MESSAGE TRANSFER message and sends it to the gNB-CU.

[0074] 18. The gNB-CU sends an INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message to the AMF.

[0075] At this point, the IAB node has established one or more backhaul bearers that can be used to create TNL connectivity to the gNB-CU and obtain a TNL address (e.g., IP address and port assignment). Next, the IAB node can activate its cell and become operational using the F1 Startup and Cell Activation procedures described in TS 38.401.

[0076] After activating its cell, the IAB node is operational and can serve the UE.The UE may connect to the IAB node via the UE Initial Access procedure described in TS 38.401.

[0077] The IAB network also uses bearer mapping. The IAB node needs to multiplex the UE DRBs to the backhaul RLC channel. The following two options can be considered for bearer mapping in the IAB node.

[0078] Option 1 is a one-to-one mapping between UE DRBs and backhaul RLC channels. Fig.13 An example is shown in FIG.

[0079] Fig.13 is a mapping diagram showing an example of a one-to-one mapping between UE DRBs and backhaul RLC channels. In this option, each UE DRB is mapped to a separate backhaul RLC channel. In addition, each backhaul RLC channel is mapped to a separate backhaul RLC channel on the next hop. The number of backhaul RLC channels established is equal to the number of UE DRBs established.

[0080] Identifiers (e.g., for UEs and / or DRBs) may be needed (e.g., if multiple backhaul RLC channels are multiplexed into a single backhaul logical channel). Which exact identifiers are needed, and which of the identifier(s) are placed within the adaptation layer header depends on the architecture / protocol.

[0081] Option 2 is a many-to-one mapping between UE DRBs and backhaul RLC channels. Fig.14 An example is shown in FIG.

[0082] Fig.14 is a mapping diagram showing an example of many-to-one mapping between UE DRBs and backhaul RLC channels. For many-to-one mapping, several UE DRBs are multiplexed onto a single backhaul RLC channel based on specific parameters such as bearer QoS profiles. Other information such as hop counts may also be configured. The IAB node may multiplex UE DRBs into a single backhaul RLC channel even if the DRBs belong to different UEs. In addition, packets from one backhaul RLC channel may be mapped to different backhaul RLC channels on the next hop. All services mapped to a single backhaul RLC channel receive the same QoS treatment on the air interface.

[0083] Because the backhaul RLC channel multiplexes data from / to multiple bearers, possibly even from / to different UEs, each data block transmitted in the backhaul RLC channel needs to contain an identifier of the UE, DRB, and / or IAB node with which it is associated. Which exact identifiers are needed, and which of the (one or more) identifiers are placed within the adaptation layer header depends on the architecture / protocol. Some IAB networks may support both N:1 and 1:1 mappings.

[0084] Radio bearer is a concept used in both LTE and NR. Radio bearer provides the transport of data packets or signaling messages over the radio interface. Each radio bearer is typically associated with an instance of PDCP and RLC protocols on both the UE side and the network side.

[0085] In legacy LTE, the UE is configured with an RRC configuration that includes information on both lower layer aspects and higher layer aspects in one common information element (IE) (radioResourceConfigDedicated). In NR (and also LTE rel-15, where LTE can be used in dual connectivity mode with non-standalone NR cells), the structure has been modified so that the lower layer configuration and the higher layer configuration are split into different IEs.

[0086] The upper layer aspects (PDCP and SDAP) are configured using the radioBearerConfig IE, while the lower layer configuration is done via the cellGroupConfig IE as part of the RRCReconfiguration message.

[0087] The structure of the different messages / IEs is shown below.

[0088]

[0089] If the UE is operating in standalone mode, it will typically have only one radio bearer configuration in the radioBearerConfig IE, which contains the higher layer configuration of that bearer. If the UE is operating in dual connectivity (DC) mode or is preparing for DC (because it may have secondary node terminated bearers without any radio resources allocated to the secondary node, which is called a secondary node terminated MCG bearer), the radioBearerConfig2 IE contains the bearers associated with the secondary node.

[0090] The radioBearerConfig IE contains the security settings of the bearer (e.g., encryption / integrity protection algorithms) and the configuration of the SDAP and PDCP layers.

[0091] A UE may be configured with one or more cell group configurations (cellGroupConfig) (in rel-15 this is limited to a maximum of two). In the cell group configuration, a lot of information about the cells associated with the cell group is provided.

[0092] If the UE is operating in single connectivity, it will have only one cell group configuration containing the configuration of the primary cell (PCell) and secondary cell (SCell) (if any) operating in carrier aggregation (CA) mode. This cell group is called the primary cell group (MCG) configuration. If the UE is operating in DC, it will have an additional cell group configuration called the secondary cell group (SCG) configuration, which contains the configuration of the primary secondary cell (PSCell) and secondary cell (SCell) (if any) if the UE is also operating in CA mode in the SCG.

[0093] In addition to the MCG / SCG cell (PCell, PSCell, SCell) configuration, the cell group configuration also contains the RLC bearer configuration (RLC-BearerConfig), which is used to define the lower layer configuration of a given bearer (i.e., RLC / MAC). In the RLC bearer configuration, the servedRadioBearer IE associates the RLC bearer configuration with a specific bearer (which can be a data radio bearer (DRB) or a signaling radio bearer (SRB)).

[0094] A bearer may be associated with more than one RLC bearer configuration (if the bearer is a split bearer using MCG and SCG, or it is a bearer belonging to only MCG or SCG, but using replication via carrier aggregation (called CA replication)). In this case, the PDCP configuration (pdcpConfig) contains the moreThanOneRLC IE that links PDCP with two RLC bearers.

[0095] As can be seen in the signaling, a radio bearer can be identified by a DRB ID or SRB ID and a logical channel. The DRB / SRB ID is used for different purposes, such as input to PDCP ciphering and / or integrity protection. The logical channel is used for MAC multiplexing.

[0096] There are some challenges. For example, as described above, the IAB network may establish a backhaul RLC channel (or backhaul bearer) between an IAB node and its parent node (i.e., another IAB node or a donor DU) for supporting wireless backhaul services associated with UEs connected to the IAB node and UEs connected to other (child) IAB nodes (which are connected to the IAB node). The backhaul RLC channel may be managed by the donor CU and set up to the IAB node using RRC signaling, similar to how DRB / RLC bearers are managed to the UE.

[0097] The backhaul RLC channel carries end-user traffic transported in the GTP-U / UDP / IP tunnel, and F1-AP signaling transported in SCTP / IP. In addition, any IP service can be backhauled on the backhaul RLC channel, such as the Operation and Maintenance (OAM) interface and IP traffic associated with other devices at the same site as the IAB node, including LTE base stations, Wi-Fi base stations, CCTV cameras, weather stations, etc.

[0098] To ensure appropriate QoS treatment (e.g., prioritization) of different types of traffic, it is beneficial if the operator can control the mapping of traffic to backhaul RLC channels. For IAB nodes, this includes control of the uplink mapping of different types of traffic to backhaul RLC channels over the radio backhaul interface. In the downlink, this function is handled by the donor gNB or donor gNB-DU.

[0099] The problem is that the management of the backhaul RLC channel can be done by another node (CU) and is also expected to be dynamic based on changing business needs. A simple approach could be to configure a "static" mapping in the IAB node during its initial integration process (e.g., via OAM), etc. An example is shown below:

[0100] Non-UE-associated F1 signaling => BH RLC channel 1

[0101] UE-associated F1 signaling => BH RLC channel 2

[0102] GTP-U data (with 5Q1=1) => BH RLC channel 3

[0103] GTP-U data (with 5Q1=2) => BH RLC channel 4

[0104] LTE user data (with QCI=1) => BH RLC channel 3

[0105] OAM signaling => BH RLC channel 5

[0106] However, there are some problems with this static approach. The IAB node is not aware of the QoS treatment of each backhaul RLC channel. For example, if a backhaul RLC channel is not set up, the IAB node will not know how to map the traffic that was previously associated with that backhaul RLC channel. The number of backhaul RLC channels can change dynamically (for example, if a 1:1 mapping is to be performed, or if the number of backhaul RLC channels for N:1 mapping needs to be changed), which means that the mapping needs to be changed, however, it is not clear how the IAB node can do this. Summary of the invention

[0107] As described above, there are currently certain challenges in mapping traffic to an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) backhaul channel. Certain aspects of the present disclosure and its embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. For example, certain embodiments map uplink traffic in the IAB to a desired backhaul radio link control (RLC) channel (or bearer) and downlink mapping in an IAB donor node.

[0108] The first set of embodiments is based on explicitly indicating which types of services should be mapped on each backhaul RLC channel when the backhaul RLC channel is established / modified (e.g., in radio resource control (RRC) signaling to an IAB node, or in F1 signaling to a donor distributed unit (DU). The backhaul RLC channel can be identified using a logical channel identifier (LCID) or a specific backhaul RLC channel identifier. Because multiple types of services can share the same backhaul RLC channel, information can be encoded as a list of service types (e.g., user data associated with different quality of service (QoS) levels, F1 signaling, etc.) per backhaul RLC channel (more example service types are described below).

[0109] To support 1:1 mapping between user equipment (UE) bearers and backhaul RLC channels, specific embodiments indicate a specific general packet radio service (GPRS) tunneling protocol (GTP) tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID) to be associated with the backhaul RLC channel. This can be performed in various ways. For example, it can be performed during the establishment of the backhaul RLC channel (e.g., in an information element (IE) within the backhaul RLC channel configuration containing the associated TEID), during the reconfiguration of the backhaul RLC channel (e.g., in an IE within the backhaul RLC channel configuration containing the associated TEID), or it can be performed independently of the backhaul RLC channel configuration (e.g., it can be a mapping information containing the backhaul RLC channel to TEID mapping maintained at the radio resource control (RRC) level, rather than an IE within the backhaul RLC channel configuration containing the GTP TEID).

[0110] N:1 support may also be configured similarly to the 1:1 mapping described above, except that more than one GTP TEID may be associated with one backhaul RLC channel. This may also be performed in various ways. For example, it may be performed during the setup of the backhaul RLC channel (e.g., in an IE within the backhaul RLC channel configuration containing the associated TEID), during the reconfiguration of the backhaul RLC channel (e.g., in an IE within the backhaul RLC channel configuration containing the associated TEID), or it may be performed independently of the backhaul RLC channel configuration (e.g., it may be mapping information containing the backhaul RLC channel to TEID mapping maintained at the RRC level, rather than an IE within the backhaul RLC channel configuration containing the GTP TEID).

[0111] Signaling GTP TEID has advantages and disadvantages over signaling more generic service types (e.g., identified with QoS parameters). The advantage of signaling GTP TEID is that it facilitates flexible mapping, however the disadvantage is the increased amount of signaling, since the TEID needs to be updated when a UE bearer is added or removed. For these reasons, the above embodiments may be used in a complementary manner. Optionally, some embodiments indicate a "default" backhaul RLC channel (e.g., in RRC signaling) on ​​which all service types that are not explicitly indicated should be mapped. Thus, there is no need to signal mapping for service types that are only rarely used or do not require any specific QoS treatment.

[0112] A limitation of the first set of embodiments is that they are not completely future proof, because if a new traffic type is introduced in the future (which is identified using a new mechanism), it may require updating the specification (e.g., RRC) to add an indication of the new traffic type to the standard, as well as updating all existing implementations in the network to support the new signaling. For this reason, in the second set of embodiments, the mapping occurs in two steps.

[0113] In the first step, a mapping from a service type or UE bearer to a generic parameter value is performed. The mapping may be controlled by implementation in the IAB node or by operator configuration. For end-user UE bearer mapping, the first step may also be performed by using F1 signaling from the CU to the DU function of the IAB node (e.g., to provide a mapping from GTP TEID, 5G QoS indicator (5QI) and / or IP address to generic parameters).

[0114] In the second step, a mapping from the common parameter value to the backhaul RLC channel is performed. The second step may be configured by the CU (eg, using RRC signaling). It is also possible to configure the mapping from several values ​​of the common parameter to the same backhaul RLC channel.

[0115] The generic parameter value may include an IPv4 Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP) or an IPv6 flow label. Alternatively, the generic parameter may be an integer of any length (e.g., 8 bits). For example, when the IAB node provides IP services to external nodes (e.g., CCTV cameras, Wi-Fi access points that use DSCP or flow labels), it is advantageous to use DSCP or flow labels. Integers also work in those cases because the IAB node can map from DSCP or flow labels to integers.

[0116] These embodiments are future proof as operators can introduce new traffic types by configuring mappings to generic parameter values, thereby enabling the mapping via RRC to backhaul RLC channels to be configured. No specification changes (eg, RRC specifications or implementations) are required.

[0117] In addition to the bearer mapping within a specific link, certain embodiments may use similar mechanisms as described above to control the mapping of multiple links to IAB nodes connected via more than one link. An example of this is mapping certain services (e.g., F1-AP signaling) on ​​one link while sending data on another link.

[0118] According to some embodiments, a first network node in an IAB network including at least one of an access IAB network node and an intermediate IAB network node, an IAB donor CU network node, and an IAB donor DU network node performs a method. The method includes receiving a return channel configuration from a second network node. The return channel configuration includes a mapping of one or more service identifiers to one or more wireless return channels. The method also includes receiving incoming traffic on an ingress link for transmission on a wireless return channel; determining a wireless return channel on an egress link for transmitting the incoming traffic based on a type of the incoming traffic and a mapping of one or more service identifiers to one or more wireless return channels; and transmitting the received incoming traffic on the determined wireless return channel on the egress link.

[0119] In a particular embodiment, receiving the backhaul channel configuration includes receiving RRC signaling or F1 signaling from the second network node.

[0120] In a specific embodiment, the service identifier includes a service type. For example, the service type may include one or more of the following: F1 service, OAM service, GTP service, and 5QI. In a specific embodiment, the service identifier includes GTPTEID. In a specific embodiment, the backhaul channel configuration also includes an identifier of a default wireless backhaul channel.

[0121] In a particular embodiment, each of the one or more traffic identifiers includes a first traffic identifier, and the method further includes receiving a mapping of one or more second traffic identifiers to the one or more first traffic identifiers. Determining a wireless backhaul channel on the egress link for transmitting the incoming traffic is based on the mapping of the one or more second traffic identifiers to the one or more first traffic identifiers and the mapping of the one or more first traffic identifiers to the one or more wireless backhaul channels.

[0122] In certain embodiments, the one or more first identifiers include one of: a DSCP and an IP flow label.

[0123] In a specific embodiment, the second service identifier includes a service type. In a specific embodiment, the service type includes one or more of the following: F1 service, OAM service, GTP service, and 5QI. In a specific embodiment, the second service identifier includes a GTP TEID.

[0124] In certain embodiments, the mapping of the one or more second service identifiers to the one or more first service identifiers further includes an identification of a default first service identifier.

[0125] In a particular embodiment, the first network node is an access IAB network node and the second network node is an IAB donor CU.

[0126] According to some embodiments, a network node comprises processing circuitry operable to perform any of the network node methods described above.

[0127] Also disclosed is a computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer readable program code, which when executed by a processing circuit is operable to perform any of the methods performed by the above-described network node.

[0128] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantages.For example, certain embodiments facilitate configuring mapping of end-user bearers to backhaul RLC channels in an IAB node, even if the backhaul RLC channel is controlled by another node and the mapping is changed dynamically.

[0129] Certain embodiments support mapping based on traffic type (e.g., F1 signaling, OAM, data with 5QI=1, etc.) and specific mapping for specific bearers (e.g., identified by GTP TEIDs). Some embodiments map different types of traffic on the same backhaul RLC channel (e.g., signaling a list of GTP TEIDs or traffic types that should be mapped on the same backhaul RLC channel).

[0130] Certain embodiments are signaling efficient because only traffic types that require a specific mapping need to be signaled, while other traffic types will use the default backhaul RLC channel (which may be hard-coded (eg, backhaul RLC channel 1) or indicated via signaling).

[0131] A particular advantage of some embodiments is forward compatibility, as operators can introduce new traffic types and still support configurable mapping to backhaul RLC channels without changing the RRC / F1 specification. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0132] For a more complete understanding of the disclosed embodiments and their features and advantages, reference is now made to the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0133] Figure 1 is a reference diagram of IAB in standalone mode, which includes an IAB donor and multiple IAB nodes;

[0134] Figure 2 shows a baseline user plane protocol stack for IAB;

[0135] Figures 3A-3C shows a baseline control plane protocol stack for IAB;

[0136] Figure 4 is a flow chart illustrating an example of bearer mapping in an IAB node for downstream transmission;

[0137] Figure 5 is a flow chart illustrating an example of functions performed by a BAP entity for downstream transmission;

[0138] Figure 6 is a flow chart illustrating an example of bearer mapping in an IAB node for upstream transmission;

[0139] Figure 7 is a flow chart illustrating an example of functions performed by a BAP entity for upstream transmission;

[0140] Figure 8 is a functional diagram illustrating NR dual connectivity to a UE;

[0141] Fig. 9 is a connectivity diagram showing single connectivity before DC establishment;

[0142] Fig.10 is a connectivity diagram showing multiple connectivity after DC establishment;

[0143] Fig.11 is a connectivity graph showing multi-connectivity at intermediate nodes (leading to multi-connectivity at end nodes);

[0144] Fig.12 is a sequence diagram showing the IAB node integration process;

[0145] Fig.13 is a mapping diagram showing an example of a one-to-one mapping between a UE DRB and a backhaul RLC channel;

[0146] Fig.14 is a mapping diagram showing an example of many-to-one mapping between UE DRBs and backhaul RLC channels;

[0147] Fig.15 is a block diagram illustrating an example wireless network;

[0148] Fig.16 illustrates an example network node according to certain embodiments;

[0149] Fig.17 is a flow chart illustrating an example method in a network node according to certain embodiments;

[0150] Fig.18 A schematic block diagram of a network node in a wireless network according to some embodiments is shown;

[0151] Fig.19 illustrates an example virtualized environment according to certain embodiments;

[0152] Fig. 20illustrates an example telecommunications network connected to a host computer via an intermediate network in accordance with certain embodiments;

[0153] Fig.21 illustrates an example host computer communicating with a user device via a base station over a partially wireless connection in accordance with certain embodiments;

[0154] Fig. 22 is a flow chart illustrating a method implemented according to certain embodiments;

[0155] Fig.23 is a flow chart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to certain embodiments;

[0156] Fig.24 is a flow chart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to certain embodiments; and

[0157] Fig.25 is a flow chart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to certain embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0158] As described above, there are currently certain challenges in mapping traffic to an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) backhaul channel. Certain aspects of the present disclosure and embodiments thereof may provide solutions to these or other challenges.

[0159] Specific embodiments are more fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, other embodiments are included within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein, and the disclosed subject matter should not be interpreted as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0160] The terms "setup" and "configuration" may be used interchangeably herein. The terms "backhaul RLC channel" and "backhaul RLC bearer" may also be used interchangeably herein.

[0161] In a first set of embodiments, the Central Unit (CU) is responsible for managing the backhaul Radio Link Control (RLC) channel to the IAB node. Backhaul RLC channel management in uplink and backhaul RLC channel mapping can be configured to the Mobile Terminal (MT) part of the IAB node via the Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol.

[0162] The RRC protocol can provide information to the MT so that the MT can map different types of services to backhaul RLC channels, such as: (a) mapping services received from the IAB child node (e.g., based on the ingress bearer); (b) mapping F1-C signaling; (c) mapping operations and management (OAM) services; and (d) mapping F1-U tunnels (identified by GTP TEID) associated with user equipment (UE) data radio bearers (DRBs) connected to the IAB node.

[0163] The ingress bearer based mapping in the intermediate IAB nodes may use the same logical channel identifier (LCID).Specific embodiments use RRC to signal the mapping of F1-C, F1-U and other services to the access IAB node.

[0164] When setting up the backhaul RLC channel, some embodiments define explicit service types (e.g., F1-C, OAM, GTP TEID, "other", etc.) to indicate which services should be mapped on each channel. The limitation is that in some cases, an operator may want several types of services to share the same backhaul RLC channel, which makes the signaling more complex (e.g., a list of lists is required). The GTP TEID is a dynamic parameter, which means that when a new UE bearer is added, the GTP TEID will need to be signaled to the IAB MT at the RRC level to handle the mapping to the backhaul RLC channel, even if the UE bearer should be mapped on an already existing backhaul RLC channel.

[0165] The second set of embodiments includes intermediate steps where traffic is first mapped to intermediate identifiers (e.g., Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP) / flow labels) based on F1-C signaling and / or OAM, and then RRC configures the mapping from the intermediate parameters to the backhaul RLC channel.

[0166] In the following examples, "Px" represents an intermediate identifier:

[0167]

[0168] The second group of embodiments includes the following advantages. No RRC signaling needs to be performed when adding a new UE bearer that uses a fifth generation (5G) quality of service (QoS) indication (5QI) that can be mapped on an existing backhaul RLC channel. Specific embodiments support backhaul of long term evolution (LTE) services or any other services to different backhaul RLC channels based on operator configuration. Operators can support mapping for operator defined 5QIs. Specific embodiments can support 1:1 mapping by configuring parameters using F1-AP signaling.

[0169] Any intermediate parameter may be used for this (eg, an integer of sufficient size).As another example, similar to the DSCP / flow label based donor DU mapping to the backhaul RLC channel, certain embodiments may also use it for uplink mapping in the IAB node.

[0170] Using two-step mapping for uplink traffic in the IAB node has several advantages. It enables operators to backhaul new traffic types in the future and map the traffic to the backhaul RLC channel without going through 3GPP standardization. It supports all traffic types F1-C, F1-U (both 1:1 mapping and N:1 mapping), OAM, LTE backhaul, etc. It avoids RRC signaling (which causes latency) in the case of adding new UE bearers that can be mapped to existing backhaul RLC channels.

[0171] To optimize signaling, certain embodiments may preconfigure and / or signal an indication associated with a backhaul RLC channel that the backhaul RLC channel is the default channel. In this way, a node performing uplink or downlink mapping may map all services associated with parameter values ​​for which no mapping is configured to the default backhaul RLC channel. The default indication may be included in RRC signaling for uplink mapping in the IAB node and in F1-AP signaling to the donor DU for use in the downlink. Alternatively, the default backhaul RLC channel may be configured directly in the DU or IAB node.

[0172] Fig.15 An example wireless network according to certain embodiments is shown. The wireless network may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular and / or radio network or other similar type of system. In some embodiments, the wireless network may be configured to operate according to a specific standard or other type of predefined rules or procedures. Thus, a specific embodiment of the wireless network may implement a communication standard such as a global system for mobile communications (GSM), a universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), a long term evolution (LTE), a new air interface (NR) and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G or 5G standard; a wireless local area network (WLAN) standard such as an IEEE 802.11 standard; and / or any other suitable wireless communication standard such as a global interoperability for microwave access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave and / or ZigBee standard.

[0173] The network 106 may include one or more backhaul networks, core networks, IP networks, public switched telephone networks (PSTN), packet data networks, optical networks, wide area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), wired networks, wireless networks, metropolitan area networks, and other networks that enable communications between devices.

[0174] The network node 160 and the WD 110 include various components described in more detail below. These components work together to provide network node and / or wireless device functionality, such as providing wireless connections in a wireless network. In different embodiments, the wireless network may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, base stations, controllers, wireless devices, relay stations, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals (whether via wired or wireless connections).

[0175] As used herein, a network node refers to a device capable of, configured to, arranged to, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a wireless device and / or with other network nodes or devices in a wireless network to enable and / or provide wireless access to the wireless device and / or perform other functions (e.g., management) in the wireless network.

[0176] Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs), and NR NodeBs (gNBs). Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, in other words, their transmit power levels) and may then also be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations.

[0177] The base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling the relay. The network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station, such as a centralized digital unit and / or a remote radio unit (RRU), which is sometimes referred to as a remote radio head (RRH). Such a remote radio unit may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio device. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS). Yet another further example of a network node includes a multi-standard radio (MSR) device (such as an 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, a multi-cell / multicast coordination entity (MCE), a core network node (e.g., MSC, MME), an O&M node, an OSS node, a SON node, a positioning node (e.g., E-SMLC) and / or an MDT.

[0178] As another example, a network node may be a virtual network node, as described in more detail below. 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 access to a wireless network for a wireless device or to provide some service to a wireless device that has accessed a wireless network.

[0179] exist Fig.15 In FIG. 1 , the network node 160 includes a processing circuit 170, a device readable medium 180, an interface 190, an auxiliary device 184, a power supply 186, a power supply circuit 187, and an antenna 162. Fig.15 The network node 160 illustrated in the example wireless network of FIG. 1 may represent an apparatus including the illustrated combination of hardware components, but other embodiments may include network nodes having different combinations of components.

[0180] It is to be understood that the network node includes any suitable combination of hardware and / or software required to perform the tasks, features, functions, and methods disclosed herein. In addition, although the components of the network node 160 are depicted as a single box nested within multiple boxes or within a larger box, in reality, the network node may include multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component (e.g., the device readable medium 180 may include multiple separate hard drives and multiple RAM modules).

[0181] Similarly, the network node 160 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., NodeB components and RNC components, or BTS components and BSC components, etc.), each of which may have its own corresponding components. In certain scenarios where the network node 160 includes multiple individual components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the individual components may be shared between several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such scenarios, each unique NodeB and RNC pair may be considered a single individual network node in some instances.

[0182] In some embodiments, the network node 160 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be repeated (e.g., separate device-readable media 180 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., the same antenna 162 may be shared by the RATs). The network node 160 may also include multiple sets of various illustrated components for different wireless technologies (such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, or Bluetooth wireless technologies) integrated into the network node 160. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or chipsets and other components within the network node 160.

[0183] The processing circuit 170 is configured to perform any determination, calculation, or similar operation (e.g., certain obtaining operations) described herein as being provided by the network node. These operations performed by the processing circuit 170 may include processing information obtained by the processing circuit 170 by, for example, converting the obtained information to other information, comparing the obtained information or the converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or the converted information, and making determinations as a result of the processing.

[0184] The processing circuit 170 may include a combination of one or more of the following: a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a central processing unit, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic operable to provide network node 160 functionality alone or in conjunction with other network node 160 components (such as device readable medium 180).

[0185] For example, processing circuit 170 may execute instructions stored in device-readable medium 180 or in a memory within processing circuit 170. Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features, functions, or benefits discussed herein. In some embodiments, processing circuit 170 may include a system on a chip (SOC).

[0186] In some embodiments, processing circuitry 170 may include one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 172 and baseband processing circuitry 174. In some embodiments, radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 172 and baseband processing circuitry 174 may be on separate chips (or chipsets), boards, or units (such as a radio unit and a digital unit). In alternative embodiments, some or all of RF transceiver circuitry 172 and baseband processing circuitry 174 may be on the same chip or chipset, board, or unit.

[0187] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as being provided by a network node, base station, eNB, gNB, or other such network device may be performed by a processing circuit 170 executing instructions stored on a device-readable medium 180 or a memory within the processing circuit 170. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuit 170 without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable medium (such as in a hardwired manner). In any of those embodiments, the processing circuit 170 may be configured to perform the described functionality, whether or not executing instructions stored on a device-readable storage medium. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to only the processing circuit 170 or other components of the network node 160, but are enjoyed by the network node 160 as a whole and / or by end users and wireless networks generally.

[0188] Device-readable medium 180 may include any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory, including without limitation: permanent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (e.g., hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., flash drive, compact disk (CD), or digital video disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory device that stores information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by processing circuit 170. Device-readable medium 180 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including computer programs, software, applications (including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc.), and / or other instructions that are executable by processing circuit 170 and utilized by network node 160. Device-readable medium 180 may be used to store any computations performed by processing circuit 170 and / or any data received via interface 190. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 170 and device readable medium 180 may be considered integrated.

[0189] Interface 190 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between network node 160, network 106, and / or WD 110. As shown, interface 190 includes port(s) / terminal(s) 194 for sending data to and receiving data from network 106 via a wired connection, for example. Interface 190 also includes radio front end circuitry 192, which may be coupled to antenna 162 or, in some embodiments, be part of antenna 162.

[0190] The radio front end circuit 192 includes a filter 198 and an amplifier 196. The radio front end circuit 192 can be connected to the antenna 162 and the processing circuit 170. The radio front end circuit can be configured to adjust the signal transmitted between the antenna 162 and the processing circuit 170. The radio front end circuit 192 can receive digital data to be sent to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. The radio front end circuit 192 can use a combination of a filter 198 and / or an amplifier 196 to convert the digital data into a radio signal with suitable channel and bandwidth parameters. The radio signal can then be transmitted via the antenna 162. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 162 can collect the radio signal, which is then converted into digital data by the radio front end circuit 192. The digital data can be passed to the processing circuit 170. In other embodiments, the interface may include different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0191] In some alternative embodiments, the network node 160 may not include a separate radio front end circuit 192, but rather the processing circuit 170 may include the radio front end circuit and may be connected to the antenna 162 without a separate radio front end circuit 192. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuit 172 may be considered part of the interface 190. In still other embodiments, the interface 190 may include one or more ports or terminals 194, the radio front end circuit 192, and the RF transceiver circuit 172 as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the interface 190 may communicate with the baseband processing circuit 174, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0192] Antenna 162 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. Antenna 162 may be coupled to radio front-end circuit 192 and may be any type of antenna capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data and / or signals. In some embodiments, antenna 162 may include one or more omnidirectional, sector or flat panel antennas operable to transmit / receive radio signals between, for example, 2 GHz and 66 GHz. Omnidirectional antennas may be used to transmit / receive radio signals in any direction, sector antennas may be used to transmit / receive radio signals from a device within a specific area, and flat panel antennas may be line of sight antennas for transmitting / receiving radio signals on a relatively straight line. In some instances, the use of more than one antenna may be referred to as MIMO. In some embodiments, antenna 162 may be separated from network node 160 and may be connected to network node 160 via an interface or port.

[0193] Antenna 162, interface 190 and / or processing circuit 170 can be configured to perform any receiving operation and / or certain obtaining operation described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and / or signal can be received from a wireless device, another network node and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, antenna 162, interface 190 and / or processing circuit 170 can be configured to perform any transmitting operation described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and / or signal can be transmitted to a wireless device, another network node and / or any other network equipment.

[0194] The power supply circuit 187 may include or be coupled to a power management circuit and is configured to supply power to the components of the network node 160 for performing the functionality described herein. The power supply circuit 187 may receive power from the power supply 186. The power supply 186 and / or the power supply circuit 187 may be configured to provide power to the various components of the network node 160 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at the voltage and current levels required by each respective component). The power supply 186 may be included in the power supply circuit 187 and / or the network node 160 or external to the power supply circuit 187 and / or the network node 160.

[0195] For example, the network node 160 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., an electrical outlet) via an input circuit or interface such as a cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to the power circuit 187. As a further example, the power source 186 may include a power source in the form of a battery or battery pack connected to or integrated in the power circuit 187. If the external power source fails, the battery may provide backup power. Other types of power sources may also be used, such as photovoltaic devices.

[0196] Alternative embodiments of network node 160 may include Fig.15 160, which may be responsible for providing certain aspects of the functionality of the network node, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 160 may include a user interface device to allow information to be entered into the network node 160 and to allow information to be output from the network node 160. This may allow a user to perform diagnostics, maintenance, repair, and other management functions on the network node 160.

[0197] As used herein, a wireless device (WD) refers to a device capable of, configured to, arranged to, and / or operable to wirelessly communicate with a network node and / or other wireless devices. Unless otherwise indicated, the term WD may be used interchangeably with a user equipment (UE) herein. Wireless communication may involve transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information through the air.

[0198] In some embodiments, WD can be configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, WD can be designed to transmit information to the network according to a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to a request from the network.

[0199] Examples of WD include, but are not limited to, smartphones, mobile phones, cellular phones, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, desktop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless cameras, game consoles or devices, music storage devices, playback devices, wearable terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, tablet computers, laptops, laptop embedded equipment (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), smart devices, wireless customer premises equipment (CPE), vehicle mounted wireless terminal devices, etc. WD may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example, by implementing 3GPP standards for sidelink communication, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), and in this case may be referred to as a D2D communication device.

[0200] As another specific example, in an Internet of Things (IoT) scenario, a WD may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurement and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurement to another WD and / or a network node. The WD in this case may be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which may be referred to as an MTC device in the 3GPP context. As an example, a WD may be a UE that implements the 3GPP Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) standard. Examples of such machines or devices are sensors, metering devices (such as power meters), industrial machinery, or household or personal devices (e.g., refrigerators, televisions, etc.), personal wearable devices (e.g., watches, fitness trackers, etc.).

[0201] In other scenarios, a WD may represent a vehicle or other device that can monitor and / or report its operating state or other functions associated with its operation. A WD as described above may represent an endpoint of a wireless connection, in which case the device may be referred to as a wireless terminal. In addition, a WD as described above may be mobile, in which case it may also be referred to as a mobile device or mobile terminal.

[0202] As shown, wireless device 110 includes antenna 111, interface 114, processing circuit 120, device-readable medium 130, user interface device 132, auxiliary device 134, power supply 136, and power supply circuit 137. WD 110 may include multiple sets of one or more of the illustrated components for different wireless technologies supported by WD 110 (such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, WiMAX, or Bluetooth wireless technologies, to name a few). These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or chipsets as other components within WD 110.

[0203] Antenna 111 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to send and / or receive wireless signals, and is connected to interface 114. In some alternative embodiments, antenna 111 may be separated from WD 110 and may be connected to WD 110 via an interface or port. Antenna 111, interface 114 and / or processing circuit 120 may be configured to perform any receiving or transmitting operation described herein as being performed by WD. Any information, data and / or signal may be received from a network node and / or another WD. In some embodiments, radio front-end circuitry and / or antenna 111 may be considered as an interface.

[0204] As shown, the interface 114 includes a radio front end circuit 112 and an antenna 111. The radio front end circuit 112 includes one or more filters 118 and an amplifier 116. The radio front end circuit 112 is connected to the antenna 111 and the processing circuit 120, and is configured to condition the signals passed between the antenna 111 and the processing circuit 120. The radio front end circuit 112 may be coupled to the antenna 111 or be part of the antenna 111. In some embodiments, the WD 110 may not include a separate radio front end circuit 112; instead, the processing circuit 120 may include the radio front end circuit and may be connected to the antenna 111. Similarly, in some embodiments, some or all of the RF transceiver circuit 122 may be considered part of the interface 114.

[0205] The radio front end circuit 112 can receive digital data to be sent to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. The radio front end circuit 112 can use a combination of filters 118 and / or amplifiers 116 to convert the digital data into a radio signal with suitable channel and bandwidth parameters. The radio signal can then be transmitted via antenna 111. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 111 can collect the radio signal, which is then converted into digital data by the radio front end circuit 112. The digital data can be passed to the processing circuit 120. In other embodiments, the interface may include different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0206] The processing circuit 120 may include a combination of one or more of the following: a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a central processing unit, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or a combination of hardware, software, and / or encoded logic operable to provide WD110 functionality alone or in conjunction with other WD 110 components (such as device readable medium 130). Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features or benefits discussed herein. For example, the processing circuit 120 may execute instructions stored in the device readable medium 130 or in a memory within the processing circuit 120 to provide the functionality disclosed herein.

[0207] As shown, the processing circuit 120 includes one or more of the RF transceiver circuit 122, the baseband processing circuit 124, and the application processing circuit 126. In other embodiments, the processing circuit may include different components and / or different combinations of components. In some embodiments, the processing circuit 120 of the WD 110 may include a SOC. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuit 122, the baseband processing circuit 124, and the application processing circuit 126 may be on a separate chip or chipset.

[0208] In alternative embodiments, part or all of the baseband processing circuitry 124 and the application processing circuitry 126 may be combined into one chip or chipset, and the RF transceiver circuitry 122 may be on a separate chip or chipset. In still other alternative embodiments, part or all of the RF transceiver circuitry 122 and the baseband processing circuitry 124 may be on the same chip or chipset, and the application processing circuitry 126 may be on a separate chip or chipset. In still other alternative embodiments, part or all of the RF transceiver circuitry 122, the baseband processing circuitry 124, and the application processing circuitry 126 may be combined in the same chip or chipset. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuitry 122 may be part of the interface 114. The RF transceiver circuitry 122 may condition RF signals for the processing circuitry 120.

[0209] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as being performed by the WD may be provided by processing circuitry 120 executing instructions stored on device-readable medium 130, which in certain embodiments may be a computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by processing circuitry 120 without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hardwired manner.

[0210] In any of those embodiments, whether or not executing instructions stored on a device-readable storage medium, processing circuit 120 may be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to only processing circuit 120 or other components of WD 110, but are enjoyed by WD 110 and / or by end users and wireless networks generally.

[0211] Processing circuit 120 may be configured to perform any determination, calculation, or similar operation (e.g., certain acquisition operations) described herein as being performed by WD. Such operations as performed by processing circuit 120 may include processing information obtained by processing circuit 120 by, for example, converting the obtained information to other information, comparing the obtained information or the converted information to information stored by WD 110, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or the converted information, and making determinations as a result of the processing.

[0212] Device-readable medium 130 may be operable to store computer programs, software, applications (including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc.), and / or other instructions that are executable by processing circuit 120. Device-readable medium 130 may include computer memory (e.g., random access memory (RAM) or read-only memory (ROM)), mass storage media (e.g., hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., compact disk (CD) or digital video disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory device that stores information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by processing circuit 120. In some embodiments, processing circuit 120 and device-readable medium 130 may be integrated.

[0213] The user interface device 132 may provide a component that allows a human user to interact with the WD 110. Such interaction may have many forms, such as visual, auditory, tactile, etc. The user interface device 132 may be operable to generate output to the user and allow the user to provide input to the WD 110. The type of interaction may vary depending on the type of user interface device 132 installed in the WD 110. For example, if the WD 110 is a smart phone, the interaction may be via a touch screen; if the WD 110 is a smart meter, the interaction may be through a screen that provides usage (e.g., the number of gallons used) or a speaker that provides an audible alarm (e.g., if smoke is detected).

[0214] The user interface device 132 may include an input interface, a device and a circuit, and an output interface, a device and a circuit. The user interface device 132 is configured to allow information to be input into the WD 110, and is connected to the processing circuit 120 to allow the processing circuit 120 to process the input information. The user interface device 132 may include, for example, a microphone, proximity or other sensors, a key / button, a touch display, one or more photographing devices, a USB port or other input circuits. The user interface device 132 is also configured to allow information to be output from the WD 110, and allows the processing circuit 120 to output information from the WD 110. The user interface device 132 may include, for example, a speaker, a display, a vibration circuit, a USB port, a headphone jack or other output circuits. Using one or more input and output interfaces, devices and circuits of the user interface device 132, the WD 110 may communicate with an end user and / or a wireless network, and allow them to benefit from the functionality described herein.

[0215] Auxiliary device 134 is operable to provide more specific functionality that may not generally be performed by a WD. This may include specialized sensors for taking measurements for various purposes, interfaces for additional types of communications (such as wired communications), etc. The contents and types of components of auxiliary device 134 may vary depending on the embodiment and / or scenario.

[0216] The power supply 136 may be in the form of a battery or battery pack in some embodiments. Other types of power supplies may also be used, such as an external power source (e.g., an electrical outlet), a photovoltaic device, or a power battery. The WD 110 may further include a power supply circuit 137 for delivering power from the power supply 136 to various parts of the WD 110 that require power from the power supply 136 to perform any functionality described or indicated herein. The power supply circuit 137 may include a power management circuit in some embodiments.

[0217] The power circuit 137 may additionally or alternatively be operable to receive power from an external power source; in which case the WD 110 may be connectable to an external power source (such as an electrical outlet) via an input circuit or interface (such as a power cable). The power circuit 137 may also be operable in certain embodiments to deliver power from the external power source to the power source 136. This may be used, for example, for charging the power source 136. The power circuit 137 may perform any formatting, conversion, or other modification to the power from the power source 136 to make the power suitable for the corresponding components of the WD 110 to which the power is supplied.

[0218] Although the subject matter described herein may be implemented in any suitable type of system using any suitable components, the subject matter described herein is not limited to wireless networks such as Fig.15 The embodiments disclosed herein are described with reference to the example wireless network illustrated in FIG. Fig.15 The wireless network of FIG. 1 depicts only the network 106, the network nodes 160 and 160b, and the WDs 110, 110b, and 110c. In practice, the wireless network may further include any additional elements suitable for supporting communication between wireless devices or between a wireless device and another communication device (such as a landline, a service provider, or any other network node or terminal device). In the illustrated components, the network node 160 and the wireless device (WD) 110 are depicted with additional details. The wireless network may provide communication and other types of services to one or more wireless devices to facilitate the wireless devices to access and / or use services provided by or via the wireless network.

[0219] Fig.16 An example user equipment is shown in accordance with certain embodiments. As used herein, a user equipment or UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the associated device. Alternatively, the UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to or operation by a human user but may not be, or may not initially be, associated with a particular human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, the UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to or operation by an end user, but may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter). UE 200 may be any UE identified by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a NB-IoT UE, a Machine Type Communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE. As described in Fig.15 UE 200 illustrated in FIG. 1 is an example of a WD configured to communicate in accordance with one or more communication standards promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as 3GPP's GSM, UMTS, LTE, and / or NR standards. As mentioned previously, the terms WD and UE may be used interchangeably. Thus, although Fig.16 It is a UE, but the components discussed in this article are also applicable to WD, and vice versa.

[0220] exist Fig.16 In the embodiment, UE 200 includes a processing circuit 201, which is operatively coupled to an input / output interface 205, a radio frequency (RF) interface 209, a network connection interface 211, a memory 215 (including a random access memory (RAM) 217, a read-only memory (ROM) 219, and a storage medium 221, etc.), a communication subsystem 231, a power supply 213, and / or any other components or any combination thereof. The storage medium 221 includes an operating system 223, an application 225, and data 227. In other embodiments, the storage medium 221 may include other similar types of information. Some UEs may use Fig.16All components shown in the UE may be used, or only a subset of the components may be used. The level of integration between components may vary from one UE to another. In addition, some UEs may contain multiple instances of components, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0221] exist Fig.16 , processing circuit 201 may be configured to process computer instructions and data. Processing circuit 201 may be configured to implement any sequential state machine that operates to execute machine instructions stored in a memory as a machine-readable computer program, such as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, FPGA, ASIC, etc.); programmable logic together with suitable firmware; one or more stored programs, general-purpose processors (such as microprocessors or digital signal processors (DSPs)) together with suitable software; or any combination of the above. For example, processing circuit 201 may include two central processing units (CPUs). Data may be information in a form suitable for use by a computer.

[0222] In the depicted embodiment, the input / output interface 205 may be configured to provide a communication interface to an input device, an output device, or both. The UE 200 may be configured to use an output device via the input / output interface 205 .

[0223] The output device may use the same type of interface port as the input device. For example, a USB port may be used to provide input to and output from the UE 200. The output device may be a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, a transmitter, a smart card, another output device, or any combination thereof.

[0224] UE 200 can be configured to use input devices via input / output interface 205 to allow a user to capture information into UE 200. The input devices may include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a track pad, a scroll wheel, a smart card, etc. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from the user. The sensor may be, for example, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, a light sensor, a proximity sensor, another similar sensor, or any combination thereof. For example, the input device may be an accelerometer, a magnetometer, a digital camera, a microphone, and a light sensor.

[0225] exist Fig.16In the embodiment of the present invention, the RF interface 209 can be configured to provide a communication interface to RF components such as transmitters, receivers, and antennas. The network connection interface 211 can be configured to provide a communication interface to the network 243a. The network 243a can include a wired and / or wireless network, such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another similar network, or any combination thereof. For example, the network 243a can include a Wi-Fi network. The network connection interface 211 can be configured to include a receiver and a transmitter interface for communicating with one or more other devices through a communication network according to one or more communication protocols (such as Ethernet, TCP / IP, SONET, ATM, etc.). The network connection interface 211 can implement receiver and transmitter functionality suitable for communication network links (e.g., optical, electrical, etc.). The transmitter and receiver functions can share circuit components, software, or firmware, or alternatively can be implemented separately.

[0226] RAM 217 may be configured to interface to processing circuit 201 via bus 202 to provide storage or caching of data or computer instructions during execution of software programs such as an operating system, application programs, and device drivers. ROM 219 may be configured to provide computer instructions or data to processing circuit 201. For example, ROM 219 may be configured to store unchanging low-level system code or data for basic system functions, such as basic input and output (I / O), booting, or receiving keystrokes from a keyboard, which is stored in non-volatile memory.

[0227] The storage medium 221 may be configured to include a memory such as a RAM, a ROM, a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a removable cartridge disk, or a flash drive. In one example, the storage medium 221 may be configured to include an operating system 223, an application 225 (such as a web browser application, a widget or gadget engine, or another application), and a data file 227. The storage medium 221 may store any of a variety of operating systems or combinations of operating systems for use by the UE 200.

[0228] The storage medium 221 may be configured to include many physical drive units, such as a redundant array of independent disks (RAID), a floppy disk drive, a flash memory, a USB flash drive, an external hard drive, a thumb drive, a pen drive, a key drive, a high-density digital versatile disk (HD-DVD) optical drive, an internal hard drive, a Blu-ray optical drive, a holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical drive, an external mini dual in-line memory module (DIMM), a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), an external micro DIMM SDRAM, a smart card memory (such as a subscriber identity module or a removable user identity (SIM / RUIM)) module, other memory or any combination thereof. The storage medium 221 may allow the UE 200 to access computer executable instructions, applications, etc. stored on a temporary or non-temporary memory medium to unload data or upload data. An article (such as an article utilizing a communication system) may be tangibly embodied in the storage medium 221, which may include a device-readable medium.

[0229] exist Fig.16 In the embodiment, the processing circuit 201 can be configured to communicate with the network 243b using the communication subsystem 231. The network 243a and the network 243b can be the same one or more networks or different one or more networks. The communication subsystem 231 can be configured to include one or more transceivers for communicating with the network 243b. For example, the communication subsystem 231 can be configured to include one or more transceivers for communicating with the network 243b according to one or more communication protocols (such as IEEE 802.2, CDMA, WCDMA, GSM, LTE, UTRAN, WiMax, etc.) and one or more remote transceivers of another device (such as another WD, UE or base station of a radio access network (RAN)) capable of wireless communication. Each transceiver can include a transmitter 233 and / or a receiver 235 to respectively implement the transmitter or receiver functionality (e.g., frequency allocation, etc.) suitable for the RAN link. In addition, the transmitter 233 and the receiver 235 of each transceiver can share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively can be implemented separately.

[0230] In the illustrated embodiment, the communication functions of the communication subsystem 231 may include data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communication (such as Bluetooth, near field communication), location-based communication (such as using a global positioning system (GPS) to determine the location), another similar communication function, or any combination thereof. For example, the communication subsystem 231 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, Bluetooth communication, and GPS communication. The network 243b may include a wired and / or wireless network, such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another similar network, or any combination thereof. For example, the network 243b may be a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, and / or a near field network. The power supply 213 may be configured to provide alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) power to the components of the UE 200.

[0231] The features, benefits and / or functions described herein may be implemented in one of the components of UE 200, or may be divided across multiple components of UE 200. In addition, the features, benefits and / or functions described herein may be implemented in any combination of hardware, software or firmware. In one example, the communication subsystem 231 may be configured to include any of the components described herein. In addition, the processing circuit 201 may be configured to communicate with any of such components via the bus 202. In another example, any of such components may be represented by program instructions stored in a memory, which perform the corresponding functions described herein when executed by the processing circuit 201. In another example, the functionality of any of such components may be divided between the processing circuit 201 and the communication subsystem 231. In another example, the non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and the computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0232] Fig.17 is a flow chart illustrating an example method in a network node according to certain embodiments. In certain embodiments, Fig.17 One or more steps may be performed by Fig.15 The described network node 160 is performed. The network node includes an IAB network node.

[0233] The method starts at step 1712, where a network node (eg, network node 160) receives a backhaul channel configuration from a second network node. The backhaul channel configuration includes a mapping of one or more service identifiers to one or more wireless backhaul channels.

[0234] For example, receiving the backhaul channel configuration may include receiving RRC signaling or F1 signaling from the second network node. The type of signaling depends on the type of network node (eg, access IAB node, intermediate IAB node, donor IAB node, etc.).

[0235] In some embodiments, when the backhaul channel is configured or reconfigured, a backhaul channel configuration may be received for each wireless backhaul channel. In some embodiments, the network node may receive a mapping of all wireless backhaul channels in one configuration (e.g., a table mapping one or more service identifiers to one or more wireless backhaul channels).

[0236] In some embodiments, receiving the backhaul channel configuration may include receiving the configuration from a network operator through a provisioning interface.The network node may receive the backhaul configuration according to any of the embodiments and examples above.

[0237] In certain embodiments, the service identifier includes a service type. For example, the service type may include one or more of the following: F1 service, OAM service, GTP service, and 5QI. The mapping associates a specific service type with one or more wireless backhaul channels.

[0238] In other embodiments, the traffic identifier comprises a GTP TEID.The mapping associates a particular tunnel with one or more wireless backhaul channels.

[0239] The association of the service identifier with the wireless backhaul channel may be based on the QoS attributes of the wireless backhaul channel and the service.The backhaul channel configuration may include a 1:1 or many-to-many mapping according to any of the above embodiments and examples.

[0240] In certain embodiments, the backhaul channel configuration also includes an identification of a default wireless backhaul channel. For example, a service type that is not explicitly associated with any wireless backhaul channel may be associated with a default wireless backhaul channel. The use of a default wireless backhaul channel simplifies signaling and configuration.

[0241] Some embodiments may include a one-step mapping of a service identifier to a wireless backhaul channel. Other embodiments may include a two-step mapping of a service identifier to a wireless backhaul channel. For example, the service identifier received in step 1712 may include a first service identifier, which may include a generic identifier such as an integer, a DSCP, an IP flow label, etc. Such embodiments may include optional step 1714.

[0242] At step 1714, the network node may receive a mapping of one or more second service identifiers to one or more first service identifiers. For example, the first service identifier may associate a generic service class with each wireless backhaul channel. The network operator may configure the network node with a mapping of specific service types to generic service classes, resulting in a two-step mapping of first identifiers to second identifiers to wireless backhaul channels. The second service identifier may include any of the service identifiers described above with respect to step 1712, or any other identifier described in the embodiments and examples above.

[0243] At step 1716, the network node receives incoming traffic on the ingress link for transmission on the wireless backhaul channel on the egress link. For example, an IAB donor node may receive downlink traffic intended for a UE, an IAB access node may receive uplink traffic from a UE and intended for an IAB donor node, an IAB intermediate node may receive uplink or downlink traffic, etc. In either direction, the network node needs to relay traffic via the wireless backhaul channel.

[0244] At step 1718, the network node determines a wireless backhaul channel for transmitting the incoming traffic based on the type of the incoming traffic and the mapping of one or more traffic identifiers to one or more wireless backhaul channels. For example, in a one-step process, the network node may directly map the incoming traffic to the wireless backhaul channel based on the traffic type of the incoming traffic or the identifier of the channel on which the incoming traffic was received. In a two-step process, the network node may determine the wireless backhaul channel using the two-step mapping described with respect to step 1714.

[0245] At step 1720, the network node transmits the received incoming traffic on the determined wireless backhaul channel on the egress link.

[0246] Can Fig.17 Method 1700 may be modified, added, or omitted. In addition, Fig.17 One or more steps in the method may be performed in parallel or in any suitable order.

[0247] Fig.18 A wireless network (e.g., Fig.15 The device includes a network node (e.g., Fig.15 The network node 160 shown in FIG. 17 ). The device 1700 is operable to implement the reference Fig.17 The example methods described herein may also be implemented in any other process or method disclosed herein. Fig.17 The method is not necessarily performed only by the device 1700. At least some operations of the method may be performed by one or more other entities.

[0248] The virtual device 1700 may include processing circuitry, which may include one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers, and other digital hardware (which may include a digital signal processor (DSP), dedicated digital logic, etc.). The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in a memory, which may include one or several types of memory, such as a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory, a cache memory, a flash memory device, an optical storage device, etc. In several embodiments, the program code stored in the memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and / or data communication protocols and instructions for implementing one or more of the techniques described herein.

[0249] In some implementations, the processing circuitry may be used to cause the receiving module 1702 , the determining module 1704 , the transmitting module 1706 , and any other suitable units of the device 1700 to perform corresponding functions according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0250] like Fig.18 As shown in , the device 1700 includes a receiving module 1702 configured to receive incoming traffic and a return channel configuration according to any embodiments and examples described herein. The determining module 1704 is configured to determine a wireless return channel for relaying the incoming traffic according to any embodiments and examples described herein. The transmitting module 1706 is configured to relay the incoming traffic on the wireless return channel on the egress link according to any embodiments and examples described herein.

[0251] Fig.19 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a virtualized environment 300 in which the functionality implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In this context, virtualization means creating a virtual version of a device or apparatus, which may include a virtualized hardware platform, storage, and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization may be applied to a node (e.g., a virtualized base station or a virtualized radio access node) or to a device (e.g., a UE, a wireless device, or any other type of communication device) or a component thereof, and involves an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components (e.g., via one or more applications, components, functions, virtual machines, or containers executed on one or more physical processing nodes in one or more networks).

[0252] In some embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines implemented in one or more virtual environments 300 hosted by one or more of the hardware nodes 330. Furthermore, in embodiments where the virtual nodes are not radio access nodes or do not require radio connectivity (e.g., core network nodes), then the network nodes may be fully virtualized.

[0253] Functionality may be implemented by one or more applications 320 (which may alternatively be referred to as software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) that operate to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein. Applications 320 run in a virtualized environment 300 that provides hardware 330 including processing circuitry 360 and memory 390. Memory 390 contains instructions 395 executable by processing circuitry 360, whereby applications 320 operate to provide one or more of the features, benefits, and / or functionality disclosed herein.

[0254] The virtualized environment 300 includes a general or dedicated network hardware device 330, which includes a set of one or more processors or processing circuits 360, which may be commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) processors, specialized application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or any other type of processing circuit, including digital or analog hardware components or dedicated processors. Each hardware device may include a memory 390-1, which may be a non-persistent memory for temporarily storing instructions 395 or software executed by the processing circuit 360. Each hardware device may include one or more network interface controllers (NICs) 370 (also known as network interface cards), which include a physical network interface 380. Each hardware device may also include a non-transitory, permanent machine-readable storage medium 390-2 in which software 395 and / or instructions executable by the processing circuit 360 are stored. The software 395 may include any type of software, including software for instantiating one or more virtualization layers 350 (also known as hypervisors), software to execute virtual machines 340, and software that allows it to perform the functions, features, and / or benefits described with respect to some embodiments described herein.

[0255] The virtual machines 340 include virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interfaces, and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 350 or hypervisor. Different embodiments of instances of the virtual devices 320 may be implemented on one or more of the virtual machines 340, and may be implemented in different ways.

[0256] During operation, processing circuitry 360 executes software 395 to instantiate a hypervisor or virtualization layer 350, which may sometimes be referred to as a virtual machine monitor (VMM). Virtualization layer 350 may present to virtual machines 340 a virtual operating platform that appears to be networked hardware.

[0257] As in Fig.19, hardware 330 may be a standalone network node with common or specific components. Hardware 330 may include antenna 3225 and may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 330 may be part of a larger hardware cluster (e.g., such as in a data center or customer premises equipment (CPE)), where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration (MANO) 3100, which, among other things, oversees life cycle management of application 320.

[0258] Virtualization of hardware is referred to in some contexts as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV can be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry-standard high-volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage devices (which can be located in data centers and customer premises equipment).

[0259] In the context of NFV, a virtual machine 340 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executed on a physical, non-virtual machine. Each of the virtual machines 340 and the portion of the hardware 330 on which it executes (whether it is hardware dedicated to that virtual machine and / or hardware shared by that virtual machine with other virtual machines 340) forms a separate virtual network element (VNE).

[0260] Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function (VNF) is responsible for handling specific network functions running in one or more virtual machines 340 on top of the hardware networking infrastructure 330 and corresponds to Fig.19 Application 320.

[0261] In some embodiments, one or more radio units 3200, each including one or more transmitters 3220 and one or more receivers 3210, may be coupled to one or more antennas 3225. The radio units 3200 may communicate directly with the hardware nodes 330 via one or more suitable network interfaces and may be used in conjunction with virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or base station.

[0262] In some embodiments, some signaling may be implemented with the aid of a control system 3230 , which may alternatively be used for communication between the hardware node 330 and the radio unit 3200 .

[0263] refer to Fig. 20According to an embodiment, a communication system includes a telecommunication network 410, such as a 3GPP type cellular network, which includes an access network 411 (such as a radio access network) and a core network 414. The access network 411 includes a plurality of base stations 412a, 412b, 412c, such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs or other types of wireless access points, each defining a corresponding coverage area 413a, 413b, 413c. Each base station 412a, 412b, 412c is connectable to the core network 414 via a wired or wireless connection 415. A first UE 491 located in the coverage area 413c is configured to be wirelessly connected to the corresponding base station 412c or to be paged by the corresponding base station 412c. A second UE 492 in the coverage area 413a can be wirelessly connected to the corresponding base station 412a. Although multiple UEs 491, 492 are illustrated in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to situations where a single UE is in the coverage area or where a single UE is connected to the corresponding base station 412.

[0264] The telecommunications network 410 itself is connected to a host computer 430, which may be embodied in the hardware and / or software of a stand-alone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, or as a processing resource in a server farm. The host computer 430 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 421 and 422 between the telecommunications network 410 and the host computer 430 may extend directly from the core network 414 to the host computer 430 or may be via an optional intermediate network 420. The intermediate network 420 may be one of a public, private, or managed network or a combination of more than one of a public, private, or managed network; the intermediate network 420 (if any) may be a backbone network or the Internet; in particular, the intermediate network 420 may include two or more sub-networks (not shown).

[0265] Fig. 20The communication system as a whole implements connectivity between connected UEs 491, 492 and a host computer 430. The connectivity may be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection 450. The host computer 430 and the connected UEs 491, 492 are configured to communicate data and / or signaling via the OTT connection 450 using the access network 411, the core network 414, any intermediate networks 420, and possibly additional infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. The OTT connection 450 may be transparent in the sense that the participating communication devices through which the OTT connection 450 passes are unaware of the routing of uplink and downlink communications. For example, the base station 412 may not or need not be informed of the past routing of incoming downlink communications having data originating from the host computer 430 to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to the connected UE 491. Similarly, the base station 412 does not need to know the future routing of outgoing uplink communications originating from the UE 491 toward the host computer 430.

[0266] Fig.21 An example host computer according to some embodiments communicates with a user device via a base station through a partially wireless connection. According to an embodiment, reference will now be made to Fig.21 Describe the example implementation of the UE, base station and host computer discussed in the previous paragraph. In the communication system 500, the host computer 510 includes hardware 515, which includes a communication interface 516, which is configured to set up and maintain a wired or wireless connection of the interface with different communication devices of the communication system 500. The host computer 510 further includes a processing circuit 518, which may have storage and / or processing capabilities. In particular, the processing circuit 518 may include one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or a combination of these (not shown) suitable for executing instructions. The host computer 510 further includes software 511, which is stored in the host computer 510 or can be accessed by the host computer 510 and can be executed by the processing circuit 518. The software 511 includes a host application 512. The host application 512 may be operable to provide services to a remote user (such as a UE 530), which is connected via an OTT connection 550 terminated at the UE 530 and the host computer 510. In providing services to remote users, the host application 512 may provide user data to be transmitted using the OTT connection 550 .

[0267] The communication system 500 also includes a base station 520, which is provided in the telecommunication system and includes hardware 525 that enables it to communicate with the host computer 510 and the UE 530. The hardware 525 may include a communication interface 526 for setting up and maintaining wired or wireless connections with different communication devices of the communication system 500, and a communication interface 526 for setting up and maintaining connections with the base stations located in the coverage area (in the coverage area) served by the base station 520. Fig.21 The communication interface 526 may be configured to facilitate a connection 560 to the host computer 510. The connection 560 may be direct or it may pass through a core network of the telecommunication system (in the example of FIG. Fig.21 ) and / or through one or more intermediate networks external to the telecommunications system. In the illustrated embodiment, the hardware 525 of the base station 520 also includes processing circuitry 528, which may include one or more programmable processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or a combination of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The base station 520 further has software 521 stored internally or accessible via an external connection.

[0268] The communication system 500 also includes the UE 530 already mentioned. Its hardware 535 may include a radio interface 537 configured to set up and maintain a wireless connection 570 with a base station serving the coverage area where the UE 530 is currently located. The hardware 535 of the UE 530 also includes a processing circuit 538, which may include one or more programmable processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or a combination of these (not shown) suitable for executing instructions. The UE 530 further includes software 531, which is stored in the UE 530 or accessible by the UE 530 and can be executed by the processing circuit 538. The software 531 includes a client application 532. The client application 532 may be operable to provide services to human or non-human users via the UE 530 with the support of the host computer 510. In the host computer 510, the executed host application 512 can communicate with the executed client application 532 via an OTT connection 550 terminated at the UE 530 and the host computer 510. When providing services to users, client application 532 can receive request data from host application 512 and provide user data in response to the request data. OTT connection 550 can transmit both request data and user data. Client application 532 can interact with the user to generate the user data it provides.

[0269] Notice Fig.19 The host computer 510, base station 520 and UE 530 shown in the figure can be respectively Fig. 20The host computer 430, one of the base stations 412a, 412b, 412c, and one of the UEs 491, 492 may be similar or identical. That is, the internal workings of these entities may be similar to those in Fig. 20 As shown in , and independently, the surrounding network topology can be Fig.21 The surrounding network topology.

[0270] exist Fig.21 In , an OTT connection 550 has been abstractly drawn to illustrate the communication between the host computer 510 and the UE 530 via the base station 520, without explicitly mentioning any intermediate devices and the precise routing of the messages via these devices. The network infrastructure can determine the routing, which can be configured to hide the routing from the UE 530 or from the service provider operating the host computer 510, or from both. While the OTT connection 550 is active, the network infrastructure can further make decisions whereby it dynamically changes the routing (e.g., based on reconfiguration of the network or load balancing considerations).

[0271] The wireless connection 570 between the UE 530 and the base station 520 is in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 530 using the OTT connection 550, in which the wireless connection 570 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments can improve signaling overhead and reduce latency, and thereby provide benefits such as reduced user waiting time, better responsiveness, and extended battery life.

[0272] A measurement process may be provided for monitoring data rates, latency, and other factors improved by one or more embodiments. There may further be an optional network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 550 between the host computer 510 and the UE 530 in response to changes in the measurement results. The measurement process and / or network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 550 may be implemented in the software 511 and hardware 515 of the host computer 510 or in the software 531 and hardware 535 or both of the UE 530. In an embodiment, a sensor (not shown) may be deployed in or associated with a communication device through which the OTT connection 550 passes; the sensor may participate in the measurement process by supplying the values ​​of the monitoring quantities exemplified above or supplying the values ​​of other physical quantities according to which the software 511, 531 can calculate or estimate the monitoring quantities. The reconfiguration of the OTT connection 550 may include message formats, retransmission settings, preferred routes, etc.; the reconfiguration does not need to affect the base station 520, and it may be unknown or imperceptible to the base station 520. Such processes and functionality may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, the measurements may involve dedicated UE signaling that facilitates measurement of throughput, propagation time, latency, etc. by the host computer 510. The measurements may be achieved because the software 511 and 531 causes the use of the OTT connection 550 to transmit messages, particularly empty or "dummy" messages, as it monitors propagation time, errors, etc.

[0273] Fig. 22 is a flow chart illustrating 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 may be a reference Fig. 20 and 21 To simplify this disclosure, only the Fig. 22 Attached figure reference.

[0274] In step 610, the host computer provides user data. In sub-step 611 of step 610 (which may be optional), the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step 620, the host computer initiates a transmission to the UE carrying the user data. In step 630 (which may be optional), in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the base station transmits the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the host computer to the UE. In step 640 (which may also be optional), the UE executes a client application associated with the host application executed by the host computer.

[0275] Fig.23 is a flow chart illustrating 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 may be a reference Fig. 20 and21 To simplify this disclosure, only the Fig.23 Attached figure reference.

[0276] In step 710 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 720, the host computer initiates a transmission to the UE carrying the user data. According to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the transmission can be delivered via a base station. In step 730 (which may be optional), the UE receives the user data carried in the transmission.

[0277] Fig.24 is a flow chart illustrating 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 may be a reference Fig. 20 and 21 To simplify this disclosure, only the Fig.24 Attached figure reference.

[0278] In step 810 (which may be optional), the UE receives input data provided by the host computer. Additionally or alternatively, in step 820, the UE provides user data. In sub-step 821 of step 820 (which may be optional), the UE provides user data by executing a client application. In sub-step 811 of step 810 (which may be optional), the UE executes a client application that provides user data as a reaction to the received input data provided by the host computer. When providing user data, the executed client application may further consider user input received from the user. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data is provided, the UE initiates transmission of the user data to the host computer in sub-step 830 (which may be optional). In step 840 of the method, the host computer receives user data transmitted from the UE in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure.

[0279] Fig.25 is a flow chart illustrating 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 may be a reference Fig. 20 and 21 To simplify this disclosure, only the Fig.25 Attached figure reference.

[0280] In step 910 (which may be optional), the base station receives user data from the UE in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 920 (which may be optional), the base station initiates transmission of the received data to the host computer. In step 930 (which may be optional), the host computer receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the base station.

[0281] The term unit may have the conventional meaning in the field of electronic equipment, electrical devices and / or electronic devices and may include, for example, electrical and / or electronic circuits, devices, modules, processors, memories, logical solid-state and / or discrete devices, computer programs or instructions for performing corresponding tasks, processes, calculations, output and / or display functions, etc., such as those described in this document.

[0282] Without departing from the scope of the present invention, the system and equipment disclosed herein may be modified, added, or omitted. The components of the system and equipment may be integrated or separated. In addition, the operation of the system and equipment may be performed by more, less, or other components. In addition, any suitable logic including software, hardware, and / or other logic may be used to perform the operation of the system and equipment. As used in this document, "each" refers to each member of a set or each member of a subset of a set.

[0283] Without departing from the scope of the present invention, the methods disclosed herein may be modified, added, or omitted. The methods may include more, less, or other steps. In addition, the steps may be performed in any suitable order.

[0284] The foregoing description sets forth many specific details. However, it should be understood that embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other cases, well-known circuits, structures, and techniques are not shown in detail to avoid obscuring the understanding of this specification. With the included description, one of ordinary skill in the art will be able to implement appropriate functionality without undue experimentation.

[0285] References in the specification to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "an example embodiment," etc. indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but each embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Furthermore, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in conjunction with an embodiment, it is claimed that it is within the knowledge of those skilled in the art to implement such feature, structure, or characteristic in conjunction with other embodiments (whether or not explicitly described).

[0286] Although the present disclosure has been described according to certain embodiments, the changes and substitutions of the embodiments will be clear to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the above description of the embodiments does not limit the present disclosure. Other changes, substitutions, and variations are possible without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the following claims.

Claims

1. A method performed by a first network node in an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) network, the integrated access and backhaul (IAB) network comprising at least one of an access IAB network node and an intermediate IAB network node, an IAB donor central unit (CU) network node, and an IAB donor distributed unit (DU) network node, the method comprising: receiving (1712) a backhaul channel configuration from a second network node, the backhaul channel configuration comprising a mapping of one or more first service identifiers to one or more wireless backhaul channels; receiving (1714) a mapping of one or more second service identifiers to the one or more first service identifiers; receiving (1716) incoming traffic on an ingress link for transmission on a wireless backhaul channel; determining (1718) a wireless backhaul channel on an egress link for transmitting the incoming traffic based on the type of the incoming traffic, the mapping of one or more second traffic identifiers to the one or more first traffic identifiers, and the mapping of one or more first traffic identifiers to one or more wireless backhaul channels; as well as The received incoming traffic is transmitted (1720) over the determined wireless backhaul channel on the egress link.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Receiving the backhaul channel configuration includes receiving radio resource control (RRC) signaling from the second network node.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Receiving the backhaul channel configuration includes receiving F1 signaling from the second network node.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The first service identifier includes a service type.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein: The service type includes one or more of the following: F1 service, operation and maintenance (OAM) service, general packet radio service (GPRS) tunneling protocol (GTP) service, and fifth generation (5G) quality of service (QoS) indicator (5QI).

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The first traffic identifier comprises a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol (GTP) Tunnel Endpoint Identifier (TEID).

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The backhaul channel configuration also includes an identifier of a default wireless backhaul channel.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The one or more first identifiers include one of: an Internet Protocol (IP) Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP) and an IP flow label.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The second service identifier includes a service type.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein: The service type includes one or more of the following: F1 service, operation and maintenance (OAM) service, general packet radio service (GPRS) tunneling protocol (GTP) service, and fifth generation (5G) quality of service (QoS) indicator (5QI).

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The second traffic identifier comprises a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol (GTP) Tunnel Endpoint Identifier (TEID).

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The mapping of one or more second service identifiers to the one or more first service identifiers further comprises an identification of a default first service identifier.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The first network node is the access IAB network node.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The second network node is the IAB donor CU.

15. A first network node (160) in an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) network, the integrated access and backhaul (IAB) network comprising at least one of an access IAB network node and an intermediate IAB network node, an IAB donor central unit (CU) network node, and an IAB donor distributed unit (DU) network node, the first network node comprising a processing circuit (170), the processing circuit (170) being operable to: receiving a backhaul channel configuration from a second network node, the backhaul channel configuration comprising a mapping of one or more first service identifiers to one or more wireless backhaul channels; receiving a mapping of one or more second service identifiers to the one or more first service identifiers; receiving incoming traffic on an ingress link for transmission on a wireless backhaul channel; determining a wireless backhaul channel on an egress link for transmitting the incoming traffic based on the type of the incoming traffic, the mapping of one or more second traffic identifiers to the one or more first traffic identifiers, and the mapping of one or more first traffic identifiers to one or more wireless backhaul channels; as well as The received incoming traffic is transmitted on the determined wireless backhaul channel on the egress link.

16. The network node according to claim 15, wherein: The processing circuit is operable to receive the backhaul channel configuration by receiving radio resource control (RRC) signaling from the second network node.

17. The network node according to claim 15, wherein: The processing circuit is operable to receive the backhaul channel configuration by receiving F1 signaling from the second network node.

18. The network node according to any one of claims 15 to 17, wherein: The first service identifier includes a service type.

19. The network node according to claim 18, wherein: The service type includes one or more of the following: F1 service, operation and maintenance (OAM) service, general packet radio service (GPRS) tunneling protocol (GTP) service, and fifth generation (5G) quality of service (QoS) indicator (5QI).

20. The network node according to any one of claims 15 to 17, wherein: The first traffic identifier comprises a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol (GTP) Tunnel Endpoint Identifier (TEID).

21. The network node according to any one of claims 15 to 17, wherein: The backhaul channel configuration also includes an identifier of a default wireless backhaul channel.

22. The network node according to claim 15, wherein: The one or more first identifiers include one of: an Internet Protocol (IP) Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP) and an IP flow label.

23. The network node according to claim 15, wherein: The second service identifier includes a service type.

24. The network node according to claim 23, wherein: The service type includes one or more of the following: F1 service, operation and maintenance (OAM) service, general packet radio service (GPRS) tunneling protocol (GTP) service, and fifth generation (5G) quality of service (QoS) indicator (5QI).

25. The network node according to claim 15, wherein: The second traffic identifier comprises a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol (GTP) Tunnel Endpoint Identifier (TEID).

26. The network node according to claim 15, wherein: The mapping of one or more second service identifiers to the one or more first service identifiers further comprises an identification of a default first service identifier.

27. The network node according to any one of claims 15 to 17, wherein: The first network node is the access IAB network node.

28. The network node according to any one of claims 15 to 17, wherein: The second network node is the IAB donor CU.

29. A computer program product comprising computer readable program code which, when executed by a processing circuit, causes the processing circuit to perform the method of any one of claims 1-14.

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