Uplink packet copy transmission

Abstract

A system, method, apparatus, or computer-readable medium for uplink packet copy transmission is provided. A hosting radio access network (RAN) node hosting a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity may determine a location of a primary radio link control (RLC) entity. The hosting RAN node may transmit the location of the primary RLC entity to an assisting RAN node.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, including but not limited to systems and methods for uplink packet copy transmissions. Background Art

[0002] The third generation partnership project (3GPP), a standards organization, is currently specifying a new radio interface called 5G New Radio (5G NR) and the next generation packet core network (NG-CN or NGC). 5G NR has three main components: 5G access network (5G-AN), 5G core network (5GC) and user equipment (UE). To facilitate the implementation of different data services and requirements, the elements of 5GC (also known as network functions) have been simplified, and some of them are software-based so that they can be adjusted as needed. Summary of the invention

[0003] The example embodiments disclosed herein are intended to address issues related to one or more of the problems existing in the prior art, as well as to provide additional features that will become clear with reference to the following detailed description when combined with the accompanying drawings. According to various embodiments, example systems, methods, devices, and computer program products are disclosed herein. However, it should be understood that these embodiments are presented as examples and not restrictive, and it will be clear to those of ordinary skill in the art who read this disclosure that various modifications can be made to the disclosed embodiments while remaining within the scope of this disclosure.

[0004] At least one aspect relates to a system, method, apparatus, or computer-readable medium. A hosting radio access network (RAN) node hosting a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity may determine a location of a primary radio link control (RLC) entity. The hosting RAN node may transmit the location of the primary RLC entity to an assisting RAN node.

[0005] In some embodiments, the hosting RAN node may determine an initial state of uplink replication of at least one secondary RLC entity at the assisting RAN node. In some embodiments, the hosting RAN node may transmit to the assisting RAN node the initial state of uplink replication of at least one secondary RLC entity at the assisting RAN node. In some embodiments, the hosting RAN node may determine an initial state of uplink replication of all secondary nodes including the at least one secondary RLC entity at the assisting RAN node.

[0006] In some embodiments, when the location of the primary RLC entity is not at the assisting node, the assisting node may be caused to store an initial state of uplink replication of at least one secondary RLC entity at the assisting RAN node. In some embodiments, when the location of the primary RLC entity is at the assisting node, the assisting node may be caused to store an initial state of uplink replication of at least one secondary RLC entity at the assisting RAN node other than the primary RLC entity. In some embodiments, the hosting RAN node may transmit the initial state of uplink replication of at least one RLC entity at the assisting RAN node and the initial state of uplink replication of at least one secondary RLC entity at the hosting RAN node to the wireless communication device directly or via the assisting node via a radio resource control (RRC) message.

[0007] In some embodiments, the hosting RAN node may determine an initial state of uplink replication of at least one secondary RLC entity at another assisting RAN node. In some embodiments, the hosting RAN node may transmit to another assisting RAN node the initial state of uplink replication of at least one secondary RLC entity at another assisting RAN node.

[0008] In some embodiments, the hosting RAN node may determine an initial state of uplink duplication of at least one secondary RLC entity at the hosting RAN node. In some embodiments, the hosting RAN node may determine a number of secondary RLC entities to be activated at the assisting RAN node. In some embodiments, the hosting RAN node may transmit to the assisting RAN node the number of secondary RLC entities to be activated at the assisting RAN node.

[0009] In some embodiments, the assisting RAN node may be caused to determine an initial state of uplink replication of at least one secondary RLC entity at the assisting RAN node based on the location of the primary RLC entity and the number of secondary RLC entities to be activated at the assisting RAN node. In some embodiments, the hosting RAN node may receive the initial state of uplink replication of at least one secondary RLC entity at the assisting RAN node from the assisting RAN node. In some embodiments, the hosting RAN node may transmit the initial state of uplink replication of at least one RLC entity at the assisting RAN node and the initial state of uplink replication of at least one secondary RLC entity at the hosting RAN node to the wireless communication device directly or via the assisting node via a radio resource control (RRC) message.

[0010] In some embodiments, the hosting RAN node may include a master node (MN) and the assisting RAN node may include a secondary node (SN). In some embodiments, the hosting RAN node may include a secondary node (SN) and the assisting RAN node may include a master node (MN). In some embodiments, the hosting RAN node may include a centralized unit (CU) and the assisting RAN node may include a distributed unit (DU).

[0011] At least one aspect relates to a system, method, apparatus, or computer-readable medium. An assisting radio access network (RAN) node may receive a location of a primary radio link control (RLC) entity from a hosting RAN node hosting a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity. In some embodiments, the assisting RAN node may receive from the hosting RAN node an initial state of an uplink replication of at least one secondary RLC entity at the assisting RAN node.

[0012] In some embodiments, when the location of the primary RLC entity is not at the assisting node, the assisting node may store an initial state of uplink replication of at least one secondary RLC entity at the assisting RAN node. In some embodiments, when the location of the primary RLC entity is at the assisting node, the assisting node may store an initial state of uplink replication of at least one secondary RLC entity at the assisting RAN node other than the primary RLC entity. In some embodiments, the initial state of uplink replication of at least one RLC entity at the assisting RAN node and the initial state of uplink replication of at least one secondary RLC entity at the hosting RAN node may be transmitted to the wireless communication device via a radio resource control (RRC) message.

[0013] In some embodiments, the assisting RAN node may receive from the hosting RAN node the number of secondary RLC entities to be activated at the assisting RAN node. In some embodiments, the assisting RAN node may determine an initial state of uplink replication of at least one secondary RLC entity at the assisting RAN node based on the location of the primary RLC entity and the number of secondary RLC entities to be activated at the assisting RAN node. In some embodiments, the assisting RAN node may transmit to the hosting RAN node the initial state of uplink replication of at least one secondary RLC entity at the assisting RAN node. In some embodiments, the initial state of uplink replication of at least one RLC entity at the assisting RAN node and the initial state of uplink replication of at least one secondary RLC entity at the hosting RAN node may be transmitted to the wireless communication device via a radio resource control (RRC) message.

[0014] In some embodiments, the hosting RAN node may include a master node (MN) and the assisting RAN node may include a secondary node (SN). In some embodiments, the hosting RAN node may include a secondary node (SN) and the assisting RAN node may include a master node (MN). In some embodiments, the hosting RAN node may include a centralized unit (CU) and the assisting RAN node may include a distributed unit (DU). BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Various example embodiments of the present solution are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings or figures. The drawings are provided for illustrative purposes only and depict only example embodiments of the present solution to facilitate the reader's understanding of the present solution. Therefore, the drawings should not be considered as limiting the breadth, scope or applicability of the present solution. It should be noted that for clarity and ease of description, these drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale.

[0016] Figure 1 shows an example cellular communication network in which the techniques disclosed herein may be implemented according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0017] Figure 2 A block diagram showing example base station and user equipment apparatus according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0018] Figure 3 A block diagram of R15 Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) replication with two Radio Link Control (RLC) entities is shown;

[0019] Figure 4 A block diagram illustrating PDCP duplication with more than one secondary LC entity (e.g., Master Node (MN) terminated split bearer);

[0020] Figure 5 A block diagram illustrating PDCP duplication with more than one secondary RLC entity (e.g., secondary node (SN) terminated split bearer);

[0021] Figure 6 A block diagram showing PDCP duplication with more than one secondary RLC entity (CU-DU split gNB) is shown;

[0022] Figure 7 A communication diagram showing data flow in a scenario where a node hosting a PDCP signal sends an initial state of an uplink (UL) duplicate to a MN-terminated bearer as an assisting node;

[0023] Figure 8 A communication diagram showing data flows in a scenario where a node hosting a PDCP signal sends an initial state of UL duplication to a split bearer terminated by an SN acting as an assisting node;

[0024] Fig. 9 A communication diagram showing data flows in a scenario where a node hosting a PDCP signal sends an initial state of UL duplication to a CU-DU split entity acting as an assisting node;

[0025] Fig.10 A communication diagram showing data flow in a scenario where an assisting node determines an initial state of UL duplication of a bearer terminated with a MN;

[0026] Fig.11 A communication diagram showing data flows in a scenario of assisting a node in determining an initial state of UL duplication of a bearer terminated with an SN;

[0027] Fig.12 A communication diagram showing data flow in a scenario where an assisting node determines an initial state of UL duplication with a CU-DU split entity; and

[0028] Fig.13 A flow chart showing a method for uplink packet copy transmission is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] Various example embodiments of the present solution are described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings so that a person of ordinary skill in the art can make and use the present solution. As is clear to a person of ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, various changes or modifications may be made to the examples described herein without departing from the scope of the present solution. Therefore, the present solution is not limited to the example embodiments and applications described and illustrated herein. In addition, the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methods disclosed herein are merely example methods. Based on design preferences, the specific order or hierarchy of steps of the disclosed methods or processes may be rearranged while remaining within the scope of the present solution. Therefore, unless otherwise expressly stated, a person of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the methods and techniques disclosed herein present various steps or actions in an example order, and that the present solution is not limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

[0030] The following acronyms are used throughout this disclosure:

[0031]

[0032]

[0033]

[0034] 1. Mobile communication technology and environment

[0035] Figure 1An example wireless communication network and / or system 100 is shown in which the techniques disclosed herein may be implemented according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the following discussion, the wireless communication network 100 may be any wireless network, such as a cellular network or a narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) network, and is referred to herein as "network 100." Such an example network 100 includes a base station 102 (hereinafter referred to as "BS 102"; also referred to as a wireless communication node) and a user equipment device 104 (hereinafter referred to as "UE 104"; also referred to as a wireless communication device) that may communicate with each other via a communication link 110 (e.g., a wireless communication channel), and a cluster of cells 126, 130, 132, 134, 136, 138, 140 covering a geographic area 101. Figure 1 1, BS 102 and UE 104 are contained within the respective geographic boundaries of cell 126. Each of the other cells 130, 132, 134, 136, 138, 140 may include at least one base station operating within its allocated bandwidth to provide adequate wireless coverage to its intended users.

[0036] For example, BS 102 may operate with the allocated channel transmission bandwidth to provide sufficient coverage to UE 104. BS 102 and UE 104 may communicate via downlink radio frames 118 and uplink radio frames 124, respectively. Each radio frame 118 / 124 may be further divided into subframes 120 / 127, which may include data symbols 122 / 128. In the present disclosure, BS 102 and UE 104 are described herein as non-limiting examples of "communication nodes", which may generally implement the methods disclosed herein. According to various embodiments of the present solution, such communication nodes may be capable of wireless and / or wired communications.

[0037] Figure 2 A block diagram of an example wireless communication system 200 for transmitting and receiving wireless communication signals (e.g., OFDM / OFDMA signals) according to some embodiments of the present solution is shown. The system 200 may include components and elements configured to support known or conventional operating features that need not be described in detail herein. In an illustrative embodiment, the system 200 may be used in applications such as Figure 1 Data symbols are communicated (eg, transmitted and received) in a wireless communication environment such as the wireless communication environment 100 of FIG. 1 , as described above.

[0038] System 200 generally includes a base station 202 (hereinafter referred to as "BS 202") and a user equipment device 204 (hereinafter referred to as "UE 204"). BS 202 includes a BS (base station) transceiver module 210, a BS antenna 212, a BS processor module 214, a BS memory module 216, and a network communication module 218, each of which is coupled to and interconnected with each other via a data communication bus 220 as needed. UE 204 includes a UE (user equipment) transceiver module 230, a UE antenna 232, a UE memory module 234, and a UE processor module 236, each of which is coupled to and interconnected with each other via a data communication bus 240 as needed. BS 202 communicates with UE 204 via a communication channel 250, which can be any wireless channel or other medium suitable for data transmission as described herein.

[0039] As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the system 200 may also include Figure 2 Any number of other modules outside the modules shown. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the various illustrative blocks, modules, circuits, and processing logic described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in hardware, computer-readable software, firmware, or any actual combination thereof. In order to clearly illustrate this interchangeability and compatibility of hardware, firmware, and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps are generally described according to their functions. Whether such functions are implemented as hardware, firmware, or software may depend on specific applications and design constraints imposed on the entire system. People familiar with the concepts described herein can implement such functions in a suitable manner for each specific application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the present disclosure.

[0040] According to some embodiments, the UE transceiver 230 may be referred to herein as an "uplink" transceiver 230, which includes a radio frequency (RF) transmitter and an RF receiver, each of which includes a circuit system coupled to an antenna 232. A duplex switch (not shown) may alternately couple the uplink transmitter or receiver to the uplink antenna in a time duplex manner. Similarly, according to some embodiments, the BS transceiver 210 may be referred to herein as a "downlink" transceiver 210, which includes an RF transmitter and an RF receiver, each of which includes a circuit system coupled to an antenna 212. The downlink duplex switch may alternately couple the downlink transmitter or receiver to the downlink antenna 212 in a time duplex manner. The operation of the two transceiver modules 210 and 230 may be coordinated in time such that the uplink receiver circuit system is coupled to the uplink antenna 232 for transmission reception over the wireless transmission link 250 when the downlink transmitter is coupled to the downlink antenna 212. Conversely, the operation of the two transceivers 210 and 230 may be coordinated in time such that the downlink receiver is coupled to the downlink antenna 212 for reception of transmissions over the wireless transmission link 250 when the uplink transmitter is coupled to the uplink antenna 232. In some embodiments, there is tight time synchronization with minimal guard times between changes in duplex direction.

[0041] The UE transceiver 230 and the base station transceiver 210 are configured to communicate via a wireless data communication link 250 and cooperate with an appropriately configured RF antenna arrangement 212 / 232 capable of supporting a specific wireless communication protocol and modulation scheme. In some illustrative embodiments, the UE transceiver 210 and the base station transceiver 210 are configured to support industry standards such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) and emerging 5G standards. However, it should be understood that the present disclosure is not necessarily limited to application to specific standards and related protocols. Instead, the UE transceiver 230 and the base station transceiver 210 can be configured to support alternative or additional wireless data communication protocols, including future standards or variants thereof.

[0042] According to various embodiments, for example, BS 202 may be an evolved Node B (eNB), a serving eNB, a target eNB, a femtocell or a microcell. In some embodiments, UE 204 may be implemented in various types of user equipment, such as a mobile phone, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a wearable computing device, etc. Processor modules 214 and 236 may be implemented or implemented with a general purpose processor, a content addressable memory, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, any suitable programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. In this way, the processor may be implemented as a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a state machine, etc. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors combined with a digital signal processor core, or any other such configuration.

[0043] In addition, the steps of the methods or algorithms described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented directly in hardware, in firmware, in software modules executed by the processor modules 214 and 236, respectively, or in any practical combination thereof. The memory modules 216 and 234 may be implemented as RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, removable disk, CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. In this regard, the memory modules 216 and 234 may be coupled to the processor modules 210 and 230, respectively, so that the processor modules 210 and 230 may read information from and write information to the memory modules 216 and 234, respectively. The memory modules 216 and 234 may also be integrated into their respective processor modules 210 and 230. In some embodiments, the memory modules 216 and 234 may each include a cache memory for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during the execution of instructions to be executed by the processor modules 210 and 230, respectively. Memory modules 216 and 234 may also each include non-volatile memory for storing instructions to be executed by processor modules 210 and 230, respectively.

[0044] The network communication module 218 generally represents the hardware, software, firmware, processing logic and / or other components of the base station 202 for enabling bidirectional communication between the base station transceiver 210 and other network components and communication nodes configured to communicate with the network base station 202. For example, the network communication module 218 can be configured to support Internet or WiMAX services. In a typical deployment (without limitation), the network communication module 218 provides an 802.3 Ethernet interface so that the base station transceiver 210 can communicate with a conventional Ethernet-based computer network. In this way, the network communication module 218 can include a physical interface for connection to a computer network (e.g., a mobile switching center (MSC)). The terms "configured for", "configured to" and their variations as used herein with respect to the specified operation or function refer to devices, components, circuits, structures, machines, signals, etc. that are physically constructed, programmed, formatted and / or arranged to perform the specified operation or function.

[0045] The Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model (referred to herein as the "Open Systems Interconnection Model") is a concept and logical layout that defines network communications used by systems (e.g., wireless communication devices, wireless communication nodes) that are open to interconnection and communication with other systems. The model is divided into seven subcomponents or layers, each of which represents a conceptual set of services provided to its upper and lower layers. The OSI model also defines a logical network and effectively describes computer packet transmission by using different layer protocols. The OSI model may also be referred to as a seven-layer OSI model or a seven-layer model. In some embodiments, the first layer may be a physical layer. In some embodiments, the second layer may be a media access control (MAC) layer. In some embodiments, the third layer may be a radio link control (RLC) layer. In some embodiments, the fourth layer may be a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer. In some embodiments, the fifth layer may be a radio resource control (RRC) layer. In some embodiments, the sixth layer may be a non-access stratum (NAS) layer or an Internet Protocol (IP) layer, and the seventh layer is another layer.

[0046] 2. System and method for uplink packet copy transmission

[0047] In order to ensure ultra-reliable low-latency communication (uRLLC) over 5G wireless networks, a packet replication function of the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer may be introduced in 5G. When replication is configured for a dedicated radio bearer (DRB) having more than two radio link control (RLC) entities associated with a PDCP entity, the radio resource control (RRC) may notify the user equipment (UE) of the initial state of the UL PDCP replication (activated or deactivated for each RLC entity). The transmission PDCP entity on the UE side may replicate the PDCP protocol data unit (PDU) and submit the copy to each activated RLC entity indicated by the initial state information as soon as the DRB is established. However, if there is no coordination between radio access network (RAN) nodes, the RAN network cannot configure the initial state of the UL PDCP replication for each RLC entity of the user equipment (UE). This may be because the RLC entities associated with the PDCP entity may be located at different RAN nodes, such as at the master node (MN) or the secondary node (SN) in the case of a dual connection (DC) split bearer, or at different distributed units (DUs) in the case of a CU-DU split architecture.

[0048] In 3GPP Release 15, PDCP duplication activation or deactivation can be configured for each DRB. Figure 3 , depicts a block diagram of a system 300 for uplink packet duplication transmission. The system 300 may include a node (e.g., a RAN node) hosting a PDCP 305. When a DRB configured with UL PDCP duplication is added to a UE, the UE will establish two RLC entities to support UL PDCP duplication, one RLC entity is a primary RLC entity, and the other RLC entity is a secondary RLC entity. The logical channel corresponding to the primary RLC entity 310A may be referred to as a primary logical channel 315A, and the logical channel corresponding to the secondary RLC entity 310B may be a secondary logical channel 315B.

[0049] Since PDCP duplication activation or deactivation is configured for each DRB in R15, the RAN node hosting the PDCP entity can directly sign the initial state of the UL PDCP duplication of this established DRB to the UE through an RRC message. Therefore, there may be no coordination between RAN nodes involved. If the initial state of UL PDCP duplication is activated for the DRB, the PDCP entity in the UE can duplicate the PDCP PDU and submit the duplicated PDU to the two RLC entities for initial data transmission. Otherwise, if the initial state of UL PDCP duplication for the DRB is deactivated, the PDCP entity in the UE can submit the PDCP PDU to the primary RLC entity.

[0050] In 3GPP Release 16, PDCP replication can support more than two RLC entities. In the presence of one primary RLC entity and more than one secondary RLC entity 310B, PDCP replication activation / deactivation can be configured for each RLC entity 310A and 310B. The primary RLC entity 310A can always be activated. However, if there is no coordination between RAN nodes, the RAN network cannot configure the initial state of UL PDCP replication for each RLC entity of the UE. This may be because the RLC entities associated with the PDCP entities are located at different RAN nodes, for example, at the MN 405 in the MCG 415 and the SN 410 in the SCG 420 in the case of DC split bearer (such as Figure 4 The system 400 and Figure 5 ), or in the case of a CU DU split architecture, located at different DUs 610A and 610B communicatively coupled to a CU 605 hosting the PCDP (as shown in system 500 in FIG. 1 ). Figure 6 425B). In an example, logical channels may be supported via MAC1 425A and MAC2 425B.

[0051] There are two solutions to solve how to configure the initial state of UL duplication of RLC entities at different RAN nodes. The first solution may require the node hosting the PDCP signal to send the initial state of UL duplication to the assisting node, such as in conjunction with Figures 7 to 9 A second solution may involve assisting a node in determining its own initial state of UL replication, such as in conjunction with Figures 10 to 12 Described in detail.

[0052] A. The node hosting the PDCP signal sends the initial status of the uplink (UL) duplication to the bearer terminated by the MN as the assisting node

[0053] Reference now Figure 7 , depicts a communication diagram of a data flow 700 in a scenario where a node hosting a PDCP signal sends an initial state of an uplink (UL) duplication to a MN-terminated bearer as an assisting node. For a MN-terminated DRB to be established under a DC architecture as seen in the data flow 700, it is shown how a node hosting a PDCP (MN) signal (e.g., gNB MN 405) sends an initial state of an UL duplication of an RLC entity to an assisting node (e.g., gNB SN 410).

[0054] At 705, for a MN-terminated DRB to be established, the MN node may determine the following for the DRB: the location of the primary RLC entity (at the MN or SN), and the initial state of the UL duplication of all secondary RLC entities (RLC activated or deactivated).

[0055] At 710, the MN may send an SN add request message to the SN to establish a DRB, including the following information of the MN-terminated DRB: information of the initial state of the UL duplication of the assisting node (used to indicate that each secondary RLC entity at the SN is activated or deactivated), and information of the primary RLC indication (used to indicate whether the primary RLC entity is located at the SN). The indication may be an explicit indication, such as a true or false value, or an implicit indication, such as the number of secondary RLC entities at the assisting node or the number of secondary RLC entities at the hosting node combined with the total number of secondary RLC entities of the DRB. The assisting node may infer whether the primary RLC entity is located at the assisting node based on such number information.

[0056] At 715, after receiving the SN Add Request message sent by the MN, for the DRB to be established, if the information indicated by the master RLC indicates that the master RLC entity is not at the SN, the SN may apply and store its own initial states of all RLC entities indicated by the information of the initial state of the UL duplication of the assisting node. Otherwise, if the master RLC entity is at the SN, the SN may apply and store its own initial states of the RLC entities, excluding the initial state of the master RLC entity of the primary logical channel called SCG. The master RLC entity is always activated for UL duplication. The SN may send an SN Add Response to the MN.

[0057] At 720, the MN may send an RRC reconfiguration message to the UE, including the initial state of UL duplication of all secondary RLCs in both the MCG and SCG for the DRB. At 725, the UE may send an RRC reconfiguration complete message to the RAN network. At 730, after the DRB has been established, the transmitting PDCP entity on the UE side may duplicate the PDCP PDU and send the copy to each activated RLC entity indicated by the initial state of the UL duplication configuration.

[0058] At 735, after configuration, the RAN network may dynamically control PDCP UL duplication during transmission. At 740, the RAN node may send a MAC CE to the UE. The MAC CE may be used to dynamically control whether each secondary RLC entity configured for the DRB should be activated or deactivated (e.g., which RLC entity should be used for UL duplicate transmission). The primary RLC entity cannot be deactivated. The UE applies the received MAC CE command regardless of the original UL duplication state.

[0059] B. The node hosting the PDCP signal sends the initial status of the UL duplication to the SN terminated split bearer as the assisting node

[0060] Reference now Figure 8, depicts a communication diagram of data flow 800 in a scenario where a node hosting a PDCP signal sends an initial state of UL duplication to a split bearer terminated by an SN as an assisting node. At 805, the MN node sends an SN add request message to the SN. At 810, for an SN terminated DRB to be established, the SN may determine the following for the DRB: the location of the primary RLC entity (at the MN or the SN), and the initial state of the UL duplication of all secondary RLC entities of the DRB (RLC activated or deactivated).

[0061] At 815, the SN may send an SN add response message to the MN, including the following information of the DRB terminated by the SN: information of the initial state of the UL duplication of the assisting node (used to indicate that each secondary RLC entity at the MN is activated or deactivated), and information of the primary RLC indication (used to indicate whether the primary RLC entity is located at the MN). The indication may be an explicit indication, such as a true or false value, or an implicit indication, such as the number of secondary RLC entities at the assisting node or the number of secondary RLC entities at the hosting node combined with the total number of secondary RLC entities of the DRB. The assisting node may infer whether the primary RLC entity is located at the assisting node based on such number information.

[0062] After receiving the SN Add Response message sent by the SN, for the DRB to be established, if the information indicated by the primary RLC indicates that the primary RLC entity is not at the MN, the MN can apply and store its own initial states of all RLC entities indicated by the information of the initial state of the UL duplication of the assisting node. Otherwise, if the primary RLC entity is at the MN, the MN can apply and store its own initial states of the RLC entities, excluding the initial state of the primary RLC entity of the primary logical channel called MCG. The primary RLC entity is always activated for UL duplication.

[0063] At 820, the SN may send an RRC reconfiguration message to the UE, including the initial state of UL duplication of all secondary RLCs in both the MCG and SCG for the DRB. At 825, the UE may send an RRC reconfiguration complete message to the RAN network. At 830, after the DRB has been established, the transmitting PDCP entity on the UE side may duplicate the PDCP PDU and submit the copy to each activated RLC entity indicated by the initial state of the UL duplication configuration. At 835, after configuration, the RAN network may dynamically control the PDCP UL duplication during transmission.

[0064] At 840, the RAN node may send a MAC CE to the UE. The MAC CE may be used to dynamically control whether each secondary RLC entity configured for the DRB should be activated or deactivated (e.g., which RLC entity should be used for UL duplicate transmission). The primary RLC entity cannot be deactivated. The UE may apply the received MAC CE command regardless of the original UL duplication state.

[0065] C. The node hosting the PDCP signal sends the initial status of UL duplication to the CU-DU split entity acting as the assisting node

[0066] Reference now Fig. 9 , depicts a communication diagram of data flow 900 in a scenario where a node hosting a PDCP signal sends an initial state of UL duplication to a CU-DU split entity as an assisting node. At 905, for a DRB to be established at more than one DU, the CU may determine the following for the DRB: the location of the primary RLC entity (which DU), and the initial state of the UL duplication (RLC activated or deactivated) for all secondary RLC entities of the DRB.

[0067] At 910, the CU may send a UE context establishment message to different DUs to establish a UE context for the DRB, including the following information of the DRB: information of the initial state of the UL duplication of the assisting node (used to indicate that each secondary RLC entity at the DU is activated or deactivated), and information of the primary RLC indication (used to indicate whether the primary RLC entity is located at the DU). The indication may be an explicit indication, such as a true or false value, or an implicit indication, such as the number of secondary RLC entities at the assisting node or the number of secondary RLC entities at the hosting node combined with the total number of secondary RLC entities of the DRB. The assisting node may infer whether the primary RLC entity is located at the assisting node based on such number information.

[0068] At 915, after receiving the UE context establishment message sent by the CU, for the DRB to be established, if the information indicated by the primary RLC indicates that the primary RLC entity is not at the DU, the DU can apply and store its own initial states of all RLC entities indicated by the information of the initial state of the UL replication of the assisting node. Otherwise, if the primary RLC entity is at the DU, the DU can apply and store the initial states of its own RLC entities, excluding the initial state of the primary RLC entity called the primary logical channel. The primary RLC entity can always be activated for UL replication. The DU can send a UE context establishment response to the CU.

[0069] At 920, the RAN node may send an RRC reconfiguration message to the UE, including the initial state of UL duplication of all secondary RLCs in DU1 and DU2 for the DRB. At 925, the UE sends an RRC reconfiguration complete message to the RAN network. At 930, after the DRB has been established, the transmitting PDCP entity on the UE side may duplicate the PDCP PDU and submit the copy to each activated RLC entity indicated by the initial state of the UL duplication configuration.

[0070] At 935, after configuration, the RAN network may dynamically control PDCP UL duplication during transmission. At 940, the RAN node may send a MAC CE to the UE. The MAC CE may be used to dynamically control whether each secondary RLC entity configured for the DRB should be activated or deactivated (e.g., which RLC entity should be used for UL duplicate transmission). The primary RLC entity cannot be deactivated. The UE may apply the received MAC CE command regardless of the original UL duplication state.

[0071] D. Assisting Node Determines Initial State of UL Duplication of Bearers Terminated with MN

[0072] Reference now Fig.10 , depicts a communication diagram of data flow 1000 in a scenario where an assisting node determines an initial state of UL duplication of a bearer terminated with a MN. At 1005, for a MN-terminated DRB to be established, the MN node may determine the following for the DRB: the location of the primary RLC entity (at the MN or SN), and the initial state of the UL duplication of the secondary RLC entity of the MN (RLC activated or deactivated).

[0073] At 1010, the MN may send an SN add request message to the SN to establish a DRB, including the following information of the MN-terminated DRB: information of the number of activated secondary RLCs of the assisting node (used to indicate how the secondary RLC entity should be activated at the SN for UL duplication), and information of the primary RLC indication (used to indicate whether the primary RLC entity is located at the SN). The indication may be an explicit indication, such as a true or false value, or an implicit indication, such as the number of secondary RLC entities at the assisting node or the number of secondary RLC entities at the hosting node combined with the total number of secondary RLC entities of the DRB. The assisting node may infer whether the primary RLC entity is located at the assisting node based on such number information. It should be noted that if there is no information of the number of activated secondary RLCs of the assisting node, the assisting node may determine how the secondary RLC of the assisting node needs to be activated for UL duplication. For example, when the minimum activation number is zero, the maximum activation number may be the number of secondary RLC entities at the assisting node.

[0074] At 1015, after receiving the SN add request message sent by the MN, for the DRB to be established, the SN may determine the initial state (e.g., activated or deactivated) of each RLC entity at the SN taking into account the information indicated by the primary RLC and the information of the number of activated secondary RLCs of the assisting node. The primary RLC entity may always be configured to be activated for UL duplication.

[0075] At 1020, the SN may send an SN add response to the MN, including the following information of the DRB terminated by the MN: information of the initial state of the UL duplication of the assisting node (used to indicate that each secondary RLC entity at the SN is activated or deactivated). At 1025, the MN may send an RRC reconfiguration message to the UE, including the initial state of the UL duplication of all secondary RLCs in both the MCG and SCG for the DRB. At 1030, the UE may send an RRC reconfiguration complete message to the RAN network.

[0076] At 1035, after the DRB has been established, the transmitting PDCP entity at the UE side may duplicate the PDCP PDU and submit the copies to each activated RLC entity indicated by the initial state of the UL duplication configuration. At 1040, after configuration, the RAN network may dynamically control the PDCP UL duplication during transmission.

[0077] At 1045, the RAN node may send a MAC CE to the UE. The MAC CE may be used to dynamically control whether each secondary RLC entity configured for the DRB should be activated or deactivated (e.g., which RLC entity should be used for UL duplicate transmission). The primary RLC entity may not be deactivated. The UE may apply the received MAC CE command regardless of the original UL duplication state.

[0078] E. Assisting Node Determines Initial State of UL Duplication with SN Terminated Bearers

[0079] Reference now Fig.11 , depicts a communication diagram of data flow 1100 in a scenario of assisting a node to determine an initial state of UL duplication of a bearer terminated with an SN. At 1105, the MN node sends an SN add request message to the SN. At 1110, for an SN terminated DRB to be established, the SN may determine the following for the DRB: the location of the primary RLC entity (at the MN or the SN), and the initial state of the UL duplication of the secondary RLC entity at the SN (RLC activated or deactivated).

[0080] At 1115, the SN may send an SN add response message to the MN, including the following information of the DRB terminated by the SN: information of the number of activated secondary RLCs of the assisting node (used to indicate how the secondary RLC entity should be activated for UL duplication at the MN), and information of the primary RLC indication (used to indicate whether the primary RLC entity is located at the MN). The indication may be an explicit indication, such as a true or false value, or an implicit indication, such as the number of secondary RLC entities at the assisting node or the number of secondary RLC entities at the hosting node combined with the total number of secondary RLC entities of the DRB. The assisting node may infer whether the primary RLC entity is located at the assisting node based on such number information. It should be noted that if there is no information of the number of activated secondary RLCs of the assisting node, the assisting node may determine how the secondary RLC of the assisting node needs to be activated for UL duplication. For example, when the minimum activation number is zero, the maximum activation number may be the number of secondary RLC entities at the assisting node.

[0081] At 1120, after receiving the SN add response message sent by the SN, for the DRB to be established, the SN may determine the initial state (e.g., activated or deactivated) of each RLC entity at the MN taking into account the information indicated by the primary RLC and the information of the number of activated secondary RLCs of the assisting node. The primary RLC entity may always be configured to be activated for UL duplication.

[0082] At 1125, the MN may send an SN Modify Request to the SN, including the following information of the DRB terminated by the SN: Information of the initial state of the UL duplication of the assisting node (used to indicate that each secondary RLC entity at the MN is activated or deactivated). At 1130, the SN may send an RRC Reconfiguration message to the UE, including the initial state of the UL duplication of all secondary RLCs in both the MCG and SCG for the DRB. At 1135, the UE may send an RRC Reconfiguration Complete message to the RAN network. At 1140, after the DRB has been established, the transmission PDCP entity on the UE side may duplicate the PDCP PDU and submit the copy to each activated RLC entity indicated by the initial state of the UL duplication configuration.

[0083] At 1145, after configuration, the RAN network may dynamically control PDCP UL duplication during transmission. At 1150, the RAN node may send a MAC CE to the UE. The MAC CE may be used to dynamically control whether each secondary RLC entity configured for the DRB should be activated or deactivated (e.g., which RLC entity should be used for UL duplicate transmission). The primary RLC entity will not be deactivated. The UE may apply the received MAC CE command regardless of the original UL duplication state.

[0084] F. Assisting Node Determines Initial State of UL Duplication with CU-DU Split Entity

[0085] Reference now Fig.12 , depicts a communication diagram of data flow 1200 in a scenario where an assisting node determines an initial state of UL duplication with a CU-DU split entity. At 1205, for a DRB to be established at more than one DU, the CU may determine the following for the DRB: the location of the primary RLC entity (which DU).

[0086] At 1210, the CU may send a UE context establishment message to different DUs to establish a UE context for the DRB, including the following information of the DRB: information on the number of activated secondary RLCs of the assisting node (used to indicate how the secondary RLC entity should be activated for UL duplication at the DU), and information on the primary RLC indication (used to indicate whether the primary RLC entity is located at the DU). The indication may be an explicit indication, such as a true or false value, or an implicit indication, such as the number of secondary RLC entities at the assisting node or the number of secondary RLC entities at the hosting node combined with the total number of secondary RLC entities of the DRB. The assisting node may infer whether the primary RLC entity is located at the assisting node based on such number information. It should be noted that if there is no information on the number of activated secondary RLCs of the assisting node, the assisting node may determine how the secondary RLC of the assisting node needs to be activated for UL duplication. For example, the minimum activation number is zero, and the maximum activation number may be the number of secondary RLC entities at the assisting node.

[0087] At 1215, after receiving the UE context setup message sent by the CU, for the DRB to be established, the DU may determine the initial state (e.g., activated or deactivated) of each RLC entity at the DU taking into account the information indicated by the primary RLC and the information on the number of activated secondary RLCs of the assisting node. The primary RLC entity may always be configured to be activated for UL duplication.

[0088] At 1220, the DU may send a UE context setup response to the CU. At 1225, the RAN node may send an RRC reconfiguration message to the UE, including the initial state of UL duplication of all secondary RLCs in DU1 and DU2 for the DRB. At 1230, the UE may send an RRC reconfiguration complete message to the RAN network. At 1235, after the DRB has been established, the transmitting PDCP entity on the UE side may duplicate the PDCP PDU and submit the copy to each activated RLC entity indicated by the initial state of the UL duplication configuration.

[0089] At 1240, after configuration, the RAN network may dynamically control PDCP UL duplication during transmission. At 1245, the RAN node may send a MAC CE to the UE. The MAC CE may be used to dynamically control whether each secondary RLC entity configured for the DRB should be activated or deactivated (e.g., which RLC entity should be used for UL duplicate transmission). The primary RLC entity cannot be deactivated. The UE may apply the received MAC CE command regardless of the original UL duplication state.

[0090] G. Uplink Packet Copy Transmission Process

[0091] Reference now Fig.13 , depicts a flow chart of a process or method 1300 for uplink packet copy transmission. The method 1300 may be combined with Figures 1 to 12 In short, a hosting radio access network (RAN) node may determine a location of a primary radio link control (RLC) entity (1305). The hosting RAN node may transmit the location of the primary RLC entity (1310). The assisting RAN node may receive the location of the primary RLC entity (1315). The hosting RAN node and the assisting RAN node may process an initial state of an uplink (UL) duplication (1320 and 1320'). The hosting RAN node and the assisting RAN node may transmit an initial state of the UL duplication (1325 and 1325').

[0092] In more detail, the hosting radio access network (RAN) node may identify or determine the location of a primary radio link control (RLC) entity (1305). The hosting RAN node may store, maintain, or otherwise host a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity (e.g., PDCP entity 305). The primary RLC entity (e.g., primary RLC entity 310A) may be established and maintained from a radio resource control (RRC) layer. The location of the primary RLC entity may be referenced using an address according to RLC. The PDCP entity may be established and maintained by the hosting RAN node at the PDCP protocol layer.

[0093] The hosting RAN node may send, provide or transmit the location of the primary RLC entity (1310). The location of the primary RLC entity may be transmitted to the assisting RAN node. In some embodiments, the hosting RAN node may transmit the location of the primary RLC entity included in the transmitting node add request (e.g., 710, 805, 1010, and 1105). In some embodiments, the hosting RAN node may transmit the location of the primary RLC entity included in the UE context establishment request (e.g., 910 and 1210). The assisting RAN node may then retrieve, identify or otherwise receive the location of the primary RLC entity (1315). In some embodiments, the assisting RAN node may receive a transmitting node add request (e.g., 710, 805, 1010, and 1105) including the location of the primary RLC entity from the hosting RAN node. In some embodiments, the assisting RAN node may transmit the location of the primary RLC entity included in the UE context establishment request (e.g., 910 and 1210). In some embodiments, the hosting RAN node may include, be, or correspond to a primary node (MN), and the assisting RAN node may include, be, or correspond to a secondary node (SN). Vice versa, in some embodiments, the hosting RAN node may include, be or correspond to a secondary node (SN), and the assisting RAN node may include, be or correspond to a master node (MN). In some embodiments, the hosting RAN node may include, be or correspond to a central unit (CU), and the assisting RAN node may include, be or correspond to a distributed unit (DU).

[0094] The hosting RAN node and the assisting RAN node may process an initial state of uplink (UL) duplication (1320 and 1320'). In some embodiments, the hosting RAN node may identify or determine an initial state of UL duplication for one or more secondary nodes at the assisting RAN node. In some embodiments, the hosting RAN node may identify or determine an initial state of UL duplication for at least one secondary RLC entity (e.g., secondary RLC 310B) at the assisting RAN node. In some embodiments, the hosting RAN node may identify or determine an initial state of UL duplication for all secondary nodes including the secondary RLC entity at the assisting RAN node. In some embodiments, once determined, the hosting RAN node may transmit the initial state of UL duplication to the assisting RAN node.

[0095] Then, the assisting RAN node may retrieve, identify, or receive the initial state of UL duplication of one or more secondary nodes at the assisting node from the hosting RAN node. In some embodiments, the assisting RAN node may identify or determine the initial state of UL duplication of at least one secondary RLC entity (e.g., secondary RLC 310B) at the assisting RAN node. In some embodiments, the assisting RAN node may retrieve, identify, or receive the initial state of UL duplication of all secondary nodes including the secondary RLC entities at the assisting RAN node.

[0096] In some embodiments, the hosting RAN node may identify or determine an initial state of UL duplication of at least one secondary RLC entity at another assisting RAN node. The another assisting RAN node may include, for example, another distributed unit (e.g., DU2). In some embodiments, the hosting RAN node may send, provide or transmit an initial state of UL duplication of at least one secondary RLC entity at another assisting RAN node. The another assisting RAN node may perform the same functions as the first assisting RAN node.

[0097] After receiving the initial state of the UL duplication from the hosting RAN node, the assisting RAN node may determine whether the location of the primary RLC entity is at the assisting RAN node. When the location of the primary RLC entity is not at the assisting RAN node, the assisting RAN node may maintain or store the initial state of the UL duplication of at least one secondary RLC entity at the assisting node. On the other hand, when the location of the primary RLC entity is at the assisting RAN node, the assisting RAN node may maintain or store the initial state of the UL duplication of at least one secondary RLC entity at the assisting RAN node. The initial state of the UL duplication of the primary RLC entity may not be stored.

[0098] In some embodiments, the hosting RAN node may identify or determine an initial state of UL duplication of at least one secondary RLC entity at the hosting RAN node itself. In some embodiments, the hosting RAN node may send, provide or transmit the initial state of UL duplication at the hosting RAN node to the assisting RAN node. The assisting RAN node may then retrieve, identify or receive the initial state of UL duplication at the hosting RAN node from the hosting RAN node. In some embodiments, the hosting RAN node may identify, calculate or determine the number of secondary RLC entities to be activated at the assisting RAN node. The hosting RAN node may send, provide, transmit the number of secondary RLC entities to the assisting RAN node. In some embodiments, the assisting RAN node may then retrieve, identify or receive the number of secondary RLC entities to be activated from the hosting RAN node.

[0099] In some embodiments, the assisting node may identify or determine an initial state of UL duplication of at least one secondary RLC node at the assisting RAN node. The determination of the initial state of the UL duplication may be based on the location of the primary RLC entity and the number of secondary RLC entities to be activated at the assisting RAN node. In some embodiments, the assisting RAN node may send, provide or transmit the determined initial state of UL duplication of at least one secondary RLC entity at the assisting RAN node to the hosting RAN node. The hosting RAN node may then retrieve, identify or receive the initial state of UL duplication of at least one secondary RLC entity at the assisting RAN node from the assisting RAN node.

[0100] The hosting RAN node and the assisting RAN node may send, provide, or transmit an initial state of UL duplication (1325 and 1325'). In some embodiments, the hosting RAN node may send, provide, or transmit an initial state of UL duplication of one or more RLC entities at the assisting node to the wireless communication device (e.g., UE 104). In some embodiments, the hosting RAN node may send, provide, or transmit an initial state of UL duplication of one or more secondary RLC entities at the hosting RAN node to the wireless communication device (e.g., UE 104). The initial state of UL duplication at the assisting RAN node may be transmitted to the wireless communication device directly or via the assisting node using a radio resource control (RRC) message (e.g., MAC-CE 740, 840, 940, 1045, 1150, and 1245). The initial state of UL duplication at the hosting RAN node may be transmitted to the wireless communication device directly or via the assisting node using an RRC message (e.g., MAC-CE 740, 840, 940, 1045, 1150, 1245).

[0101] Although various embodiments of the present solution have been described above, it should be understood that they are presented as examples rather than limitations. Similarly, various figures may depict example architectures or configurations, which are provided to enable those of ordinary skill in the art to understand the example features and functions of the present solution. However, those of ordinary skill in the art understand that the solution is not limited to the example architectures or configurations shown, but may be implemented using various alternative architectures and configurations. In addition, as those of ordinary skill in the art understand, one or more features of an embodiment may be combined with one or more features of another embodiment described herein. Therefore, the breadth and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the above-described illustrative embodiments.

[0102] It should also be understood that any reference to an element using names such as "first," "second," etc., herein generally does not limit the number or order of these elements. Instead, these names can be used herein as a convenient means of distinguishing between two or more elements or instances of an element. Therefore, reference to a first element and a second element does not mean that only two elements can be used, or that the first element must precede the second element in some way.

[0103] In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that any of a variety of different methods and techniques may be used to represent information and signals. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, and symbols cited in the above description may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0104] It is also understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that any of the various illustrative logic blocks, modules, processors, components, circuits, methods, and functions described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented by electronic hardware (e.g., digital implementation, analog implementation, or a combination of the two), firmware, various forms of programs or design codes in conjunction with instructions (for convenience, they may be referred to herein as "software" or "software modules"), or any combination of these technologies. In order to clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware, firmware, and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been generally described above according to their functions. Whether such functions are implemented as hardware, firmware, software, or a combination of these technologies depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the entire system. A skilled technician may implement the described functions in various ways for each specific application, but such implementation decisions will not result in a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0105] In addition, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the various illustrative logic blocks, modules, devices, components, and circuits described herein may be implemented or performed within an integrated circuit (IC), which may include a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, or any combination thereof. The logic blocks, modules, and circuits may also include antennas and / or transceivers to communicate with various components within a network or within a device. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in an alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in combination with a DSP core, or any other suitable configuration for performing the functions described herein.

[0106] If implemented in software, these functions can be stored as one or more instructions or codes on a computer-readable medium. Therefore, the steps of the method or algorithm disclosed herein can be implemented as software stored on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include both computer storage media and communication media, including any medium that can transfer a computer program or code from one place to another. The storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access. As an example and not limitation, such a computer-readable medium can include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, disk storage or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer.

[0107] In this document, the term "module" as used herein refers to software, firmware, hardware, and any combination of these elements for performing the relevant functions described herein. In addition, for the purpose of discussion, various modules are described as discrete modules; however, as is clear to one of ordinary skill in the art, two or more modules may be combined to form a single module that performs the associated functions according to an embodiment of the present solution.

[0108] In addition, memory or other storage devices and communication components can be used in the embodiment of the present solution. It should be understood that, for the sake of clarity, the above description has described the embodiment of the present solution with reference to different functional units and processors. However, it is clear that any suitable functional distribution between different functional units, processing logic elements or domains can be used without departing from the present solution. For example, the functions performed by a separate processing logic element or controller can be performed by the same processing logic element or controller. Therefore, reference to a specific functional unit is only a reference to an appropriate manner for providing the described function, rather than representing a strict logical or physical structure or organization.

[0109] Various modifications to the embodiments described in this disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Therefore, this disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but is to be consistent with the widest scope consistent with the novel features and principles disclosed herein, as described in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method comprising: The location of the primary radio link control RLC entity is determined by a hosting radio access network RAN ​​node hosting a packet data convergence protocol PDCP entity; transmitting, by the hosting RAN node to an assisting RAN node, the location of the primary RLC entity to indicate whether the primary RLC entity is located at the assisting RAN node; determining, by the hosting RAN node, an initial state of an uplink duplication of at least one secondary RLC entity at the assisting RAN node as one of RLC activated or deactivated; as well as The initial state of the uplink duplication of the at least one secondary RLC entity at the assisting RAN node is transmitted by the hosting RAN node to the assisting RAN node.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the hosting RAN node comprises a master node (MN) and the assisting RAN node comprises a secondary node (SN).

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the hosting RAN node comprises a secondary node (SN), and the assisting RAN node comprises a master node (MN).

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the hosting RAN node comprises a centralized unit (CU) and the assisting RAN node comprises a distributed unit (DU).

5. A method comprising: receiving, by the assisting radio access network RAN ​​node from a hosting RAN node hosting a packet data convergence protocol PDCP entity, a location of the primary radio link control RLC entity indicating whether the primary RLC entity is located at the assisting RAN node; as well as An initial state of an uplink duplication of at least one secondary RLC entity at the assisting RAN node is received by the assisting RAN node from the hosting RAN node as one of RLC activation or deactivation.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the hosting RAN node comprises a master node (MN) and the assisting RAN node comprises a secondary node (SN).

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the hosting RAN node comprises a secondary node (SN), and the assisting RAN node comprises a master node (MN).

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the hosting RAN node comprises a centralized unit (CU) and the assisting RAN node comprises a distributed unit (DU).

9. A hosted radio access network RAN ​​node, the hosted RAN node hosting a Packet Data Convergence Protocol PDCP entity, the hosted RAN node comprising at least one processor, the at least one processor being configured to: Determining a location of a primary radio link control RLC entity; transmitting, via a transmitter, the location of the primary RLC entity to an assisting RAN node to indicate whether the primary RLC entity is located at the assisting RAN node; determining an initial state of an uplink duplication of at least one secondary RLC entity at the assisting RAN node as one of RLC activated or deactivated; as well as The initial state of the uplink duplication of the at least one secondary RLC entity at the assisting RAN node is transmitted to the assisting RAN node via the transmitter.

10. The hosting RAN node according to claim 9, wherein the hosting RAN node comprises a master node MN and the assisting RAN node comprises a secondary node SN.

11. The hosting RAN node according to claim 9, wherein the hosting RAN node comprises a secondary node (SN) and the assisting RAN node comprises a master node (MN).

12. The hosting RAN node according to claim 9, wherein the hosting RAN node comprises a centralized unit (CU) and the assisting RAN node comprises a distributed unit (DU).

13. An assisting radio access network RAN ​​node, comprising at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receiving, via a receiver, from a hosting RAN node hosting a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) entity, a location of the primary Radio Link Control (RLC) entity indicating whether the primary RLC entity is located at the assisting RAN node; and An initial state of an uplink duplication of at least one secondary RLC entity at the assisting RAN node is received from the hosting RAN node via the receiver, being one of RLC activated or deactivated.

14. The assisting RAN node according to claim 13, wherein the hosting RAN node comprises a master node MN and the assisting RAN node comprises a secondary node SN.

15. The assisting RAN node according to claim 13, wherein the hosting RAN node comprises a secondary node (SN), and the assisting RAN node comprises a primary node (MN).

16. The assisting RAN node according to claim 13, wherein the hosting RAN node comprises a centralized unit (CU) and the assisting RAN node comprises a distributed unit (DU).

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