Controlling uplink duplication in the Packet Data Convergence Protocol layer

Abstract

A system, method, apparatus, or computer-readable medium for controlling uplink (UL) duplication is presented. An auxiliary radio access network (RAN) node may receive radio link control (RLC) activation information associated with a dedicated radio bearer (DRB) for uplink duplication from a hosting RAN node hosting a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity. Based on the RLC activation information, the auxiliary RAN node may set a media access control (MAC) control element (CE) frame.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to wireless communication, including but not limited to systems and methods for controlling uplink (UL) duplication. Background Art

[0002] The standardization organization 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is currently specifying a new radio interface called 5G New Radio (5G NR) and a next-generation packet core network (NG-CN or NGC). 5G NR will have three main components: a 5G access network (5G-AN), a 5G core network (5GC), and a user equipment (UE). To facilitate the implementation of different data services and requirements, the units of the 5GC (also referred to as network functions) have been simplified, and some of them are software-based, enabling them to be adapted as needed. Summary of the Invention

[0003] Exemplary embodiments disclosed herein relate to solving one or more problems related to those presented in the prior art, and providing additional features that will become apparent when the following detailed description is considered in conjunction 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 by way of example and not limitation, and it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art who have 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 is directed to a system, a method, a device, or a computer-readable medium. An auxiliary radio access network (RAN) node may receive radio link control (RLC) activation information associated with a dedicated radio bearer (DRB) for uplink duplication from a hosting RAN node hosting a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity. Based on the RLC activation information, the auxiliary RAN node may set a media access control (MAC) control element (CE) frame.

[0005] In some embodiments, the RLC activation information may be determined by the hosting RAN node, and the RLC activation information includes information of a secondary RLC entity in at least one of an active state or an inactive state.

[0006] In some embodiments, the secondary RAN node may send first information to the serving RAN node in an uplink packet, where the first information includes at least one of the following: radio quality information of the RLC entity at the secondary RAN node, or an identifier of a proposed RLC entity for uplink duplication at the secondary node. The RLC activation information may be determined by the serving RAN node based on the first information.

[0007] In some embodiments, the RLC activation information may include information on secondary RLC entities in at least one of an active state or an inactive state in all RAN nodes other than the secondary RAN node.

[0008] In some embodiments, the secondary RAN node may determine information on secondary RLC entities in at least one of an active state or an inactive state for uplink duplication in the secondary RAN node. In some embodiments, the secondary RAN node may send first information to the serving RAN node in an uplink packet, where the first information includes at least one of the following: radio quality information of the RLC entity at the secondary RAN node, or information on secondary RLC entities in at least one of an active state or an inactive state for uplink duplication in the secondary RAN node.

[0009] In some embodiments, the secondary RAN node may send RLC activation information from the serving RAN node via a downlink packet. In some embodiments, when the RLC activation information includes information on all secondary RLC entities of a DRB, the secondary RAN node may incorporate the RLC activation information into a MAC CE frame.

[0010] In some embodiments, when the RLC activation information only includes information on secondary RLC entities in at least one of an active state or an inactive state in all RAN nodes other than the secondary RAN node, the secondary RAN node may determine information on secondary RLC entities in at least one of an active state or an inactive state in the secondary RAN node. The secondary RAN node may combine the information on secondary RLC entities in at least one of an active state or an inactive state in the secondary RAN node and the information on secondary RLC entities in an active state or an inactive state for a DRB in other RAN nodes into combined information. The secondary RAN node may incorporate the combined information into a MAC CE frame.

[0011] In some embodiments, the secondary RAN node may send a MAC CE frame to a wireless communication device. The wireless communication device may send replicated data via the activated RLC entity indicated by the MAC CE frame.

[0012] In some embodiments, an uplink packet may include a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol User Plane (GTP-U) Protocol Data Unit (PDU). In some embodiments, a downlink packet may include a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol User Plane (GTP-U) Protocol Data Unit (PDU).

[0013] In some embodiments, a hosted RAN node may be a Centralized Unit (CU) including a CU User Plane (CU-UP) and a CU Control Plane (CU-CP). Together with the hosted RAN node, an auxiliary RAN node may set up a New Radio User Plane (NR-U) tunnel for a DRB. The CU-CP may send a request message to the CU-UP to establish or modify resources of the DRB at the CU-UP. The request message may include one or more cell group replication quantity information. Each of the one or more cell group replication quantity information may be used for a specific cell group of the DRB to indicate the quantity of PDCP replication for this cell group, and may include at least one of the following: the RLC quantity of the specific cell group, the number of UP transport layer addresses of the specific cell group, the UP quantity of the specific cell group, the UP tunnel quantity of the specific cell group, the packet replication quantity of the specific cell group, or the identifier of the specific cell group.

[0014] In some embodiments, the CU-UP may send a response message to the CU-CP. The response message may include information on the UP transport layer quantity at the CU-UP and the identifier of the specific cell group. The information on the UP transport layer quantity of the specific cell group may be indicated by one or more cell group replication quantity information of the specific cell group. Each of the UP transport layer information may include a transport layer address and a GPRS Tunneling Protocol (GTP) tunnel endpoint identifier. In some embodiments, the first UP transport layer information of each cell group is used for the primary path or the split secondary path of PDCP replication.

[0015] At least one aspect is directed to a system, a method, an apparatus, or a computer-readable medium. A hosted Radio Access Network (RAN) node hosting a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) entity may send Radio Link Control (RLC) activation information associated with a Dedicated Radio Bearer (DRB) for uplink replication to an auxiliary RAN node. According to the RLC activation information, the hosted RAN node may cause the auxiliary RAN node to set up a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) frame.

[0016] In some embodiments, the RLC activation information may be determined by a serving RAN node, and the RLC activation information includes information about a secondary RLC entity in at least one of an active state or an inactive state.

[0017] In some embodiments, the serving RAN node may receive first information in an uplink packet from an auxiliary RAN node, the first information including at least one of the following: radio quality information of an RLC entity at the auxiliary RAN node, or an identity of a proposed RLC entity for uplink duplication at the auxiliary node. The RLC activation information may be determined by the serving RAN node based on the first information.

[0018] In some embodiments, the RLC activation information may include information about secondary RLC entities in at least one of an active state or an inactive state in all RAN nodes other than the auxiliary RAN node.

[0019] In some embodiments, the serving RAN node may cause the auxiliary RAN node to determine information about a secondary RLC entity in at least one of an active state or an inactive state for uplink duplication in the auxiliary RAN node. In some embodiments, the serving RAN node may receive first information in an uplink packet from the auxiliary RAN node, the first information including at least one of the following: radio quality information of an RLC entity at the auxiliary RAN node, or information about a secondary RLC entity in at least one of an active state or an inactive state for uplink duplication in the auxiliary RAN node.

[0020] In some embodiments, the serving RAN node may send the RLC activation information to the auxiliary RAN node via a downlink packet. In some embodiments, when the RLC activation information includes information about all secondary RLC entities of a DRB, the serving RAN node may cause the auxiliary RAN node to incorporate the RLC activation information into a MAC CE frame.

[0021] In some embodiments, when the RLC activation information only includes the information of the secondary RLC entities in at least one of the active state or the inactive state in all RAN nodes except the secondary RAN node, the hosting RAN node may cause the secondary RAN node to determine the information of the secondary RLC entities in at least one of the active state or the inactive state in the secondary RAN node. In some embodiments, the hosting RAN node may cause the secondary RAN node to combine the information of the secondary RLC entities in at least one of the active state or the inactive state in the secondary RAN node and the information of the secondary RLC entities in the active state or the inactive state of the DRB in other RAN nodes into combined information. In some embodiments, the hosting RAN node may cause the secondary RAN node to incorporate the combined information into a MAC CE frame.

[0022] In some embodiments, the hosting RAN node may cause the secondary RAN node to send a MAC CE frame to a wireless communication device. The wireless communication device may transmit replicated data via the activated RLC entities indicated by the MAC CE frame.

[0023] In some embodiments, the uplink packet may include a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol User Plane (GTP-U) Protocol Data Unit (PDU). In some embodiments, the downlink packet may include a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol User Plane (GTP-U) Protocol Data Unit (PDU).

[0024] In some embodiments, the hosting RAN node may be a Centralized Unit (CU) including a CU User Plane (CU-UP) and a CU Control Plane (CU-CP). Together with the hosting RAN node, the secondary RAN node may set up a New Radio User Plane (NR-U) tunnel for the DRB. The CU-CP may send a request message to the CU-UP to establish or modify the resources of the DRB at the CU-UP. The request message may include one or more cell group replication quantity information. Each of the one or more cell group replication quantity information may be used for a specific cell group of the DRB and may include at least one of the following: the RLC quantity of the specific cell group, the number of UP transport layer addresses of the specific cell group, the UP quantity of the specific cell group, the number of UP tunnels of the specific cell group, or the identifier of the specific cell group.

[0025] In some embodiments, the CU-UP may send a response message to the CU-CP. The response message may include information on the number of UP transport layers at the CU-UP and an identifier of a specific cell group. The information on the number of UP transport layers of the specific cell group may be indicated by the number of cell group duplication information of one or more cell groups in the specific cell group. Each of the UP transport layer information may include a transport layer address and a GPRS tunneling protocol (GTP) tunnel endpoint identifier. In some embodiments, the first UP transport layer information of each cell group is used for the primary path of PDCP duplication or the split secondary path. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Various exemplary embodiments of the present solution are described in detail below with reference to the following figures or drawings. The drawings are provided for illustrative purposes only and depict only the exemplary embodiments of the present solution to facilitate the reader's understanding of the present solution. Therefore, the drawings should not be considered as a limitation on the breadth, scope, or applicability of the present solution. It should be noted that these drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale for clarity and ease of illustration.

[0027] Figure 1 FIG. shows an example cellular communication network in which the techniques disclosed herein may be implemented in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0028] Figure 2 FIG. shows a block diagram of an example base station and user equipment terminal in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0029] Figure 3 FIG. shows a block diagram of a system for packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) duplication in a dual-connectivity architecture in accordance with an illustrative embodiment;

[0030] Figure 4 FIG. shows a block diagram of a system for packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) duplication in an architecture for central unit (CU) and distributed unit (DU) split in accordance with an illustrative embodiment;

[0031] Figure 5 FIG. shows a sequence diagram of a method for uplink (UL) duplication using a hosting node that determines a media access control (MAC) control element (CE) in a dual-connectivity architecture in accordance with an illustrative embodiment;

[0032] Figure 6 FIG. shows a sequence diagram of a method for uplink (UL) duplication using a master node that determines a media access control (MAC) control element (CE) in an architecture for central unit (CU) and distributed unit (DU) split in accordance with an illustrative embodiment;

[0033] Figure 7A sequence diagram showing a method for uplink (UL) duplication using a secondary node that determines a media access control (MAC) control element (CE) in a dual-connectivity architecture according to an illustrative embodiment;

[0034] Figure 8 A sequence diagram showing a method for uplink (UL) duplication using a secondary node that determines a media access control (MAC) control element (CE) in an architecture with a split between a central unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) according to an illustrative embodiment;

[0035] Figure 9 A sequence diagram showing a method for uplink (UL) duplication via a user plane tunnel between a primary node and a secondary node in a central unit (CU) control plane (CP) and user plane (UP) architecture according to an illustrative embodiment; and

[0036] Figure 10 A functional frequency band diagram showing a method for controlling uplink (UL) duplication according to an illustrative embodiment. Detailed Description

[0037] Various exemplary embodiments of the present solution are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those of ordinary skill in the art can make and use the present solution. As will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, after reading this disclosure, various changes or modifications can 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 exemplary embodiments and applications described and illustrated herein. In addition, the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methods disclosed herein is merely an example method. Based on design preferences, the specific order or hierarchy of steps of the disclosed method or process can be rearranged while remaining within the scope of the present solution. Therefore, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that the methods and techniques disclosed herein present various steps or actions in a sample order, and the present solution is not limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented, unless otherwise expressly stated.

[0038] The following acronyms are used in this disclosure:

[0039]

[0040]

[0041]

[0042] 1. Mobile communication technology and environment

[0043] Figure 1FIG. 0 shows an example wireless communication network and / or system 100 in which the techniques disclosed herein may be implemented, in accordance with 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 the "network 100". Such an example network 100 includes base stations 102 (hereinafter referred to as "BS 102"; also referred to as wireless communication nodes) and user equipment terminals 104 (hereinafter referred to as "UE 104"; also referred to as wireless communication devices) 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, and 140 that cover a geographical area 101. In Figure 1 FIG. 1, BS 102 and UE 104 are included within the respective geographical boundaries of cell 126. Each of the other cells 130, 132, 134, 136, 138, and 140 may include at least one base station operating within its allocated bandwidth to provide sufficient wireless coverage to its intended users.

[0044] For example, BS 102 may operate at an allocated channel transmission bandwidth to provide sufficient coverage to UE 104. BS 102 and UE 104 may communicate via a downlink radio frame 118 and an uplink radio frame 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" that may generally practice the methods disclosed herein. According to various embodiments of the present solution, such communication nodes are capable of wireless and / or wired communication.

[0045] Figure 2 FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of an example wireless communication system 200 for transmitting and receiving wireless communication signals (e.g., OFDM / OFDMA signals), in accordance with some embodiments of the present solution. System 200 may include components and elements configured to support known or conventional operating features that are not described in detail herein. In one illustrative embodiment, system 200 may be used to communicate transmit (e.g., send and receive) data symbols in a wireless communication environment 100 such as Figure 1 FIG. 10, as described above.

[0046] System 200 generally includes a base station 202 (hereinafter referred to as "BS 202") and a user equipment terminal 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 module being coupled and interconnected with each other via a data communication bus 220 as required. 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 module being coupled and interconnected with each other via a data communication bus 240 as required. BS 202 communicates with UE 204 via a communication channel 250, which can be any wireless channel or other medium suitable for the transmission of the data described herein.

[0047] As will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art, system 200 may also include any number of modules other than Figure 2 the modules shown. Those skilled in the art should understand that the various illustrative blocks, modules, circuits, and processing logics described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented in hardware, computer-readable software, firmware, or any practical combination thereof. To clearly illustrate the interchangeability and compatibility of hardware, firmware, and software, the various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps are generally described in terms of their functions. Whether such function is implemented as hardware, firmware, or software may depend on the particular application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those familiar with the concepts described herein may implement such function in a manner suitable for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present disclosure.

[0048] 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 is coupled to the circuitry of antenna 232. A duplex switch (not shown) may alternatively couple the uplink transmitter or receiver to the uplink antenna in a time-division duplexing 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 is coupled to the circuitry of antenna 212. The downlink duplex switch may alternatively couple the downlink transmitter or receiver to the downlink antenna 212 in a time-division duplexing manner. The operations of the two transceiver modules 210 and 230 may be coordinated in time such that while the downlink transmitter is coupled to the downlink antenna 212, the uplink receiver is coupled to the uplink antenna 232 for receiving transmissions over the wireless transmission link 250. Conversely, the operations 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 receiving transmissions on the wireless transmission link 250 while the uplink transmitter is coupled to the uplink antenna 232. In some embodiments, there is a tight time synchronization with a minimum guard time between changes in the duplex direction.

[0049] The UE transceiver 230 and the base station transceiver 210 are configured to communicate via the wireless data communication link 250 and cooperate with a suitably configured RF antenna device 212 / 232 capable of supporting a particular 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 in application to a particular standard and associated protocol. Instead, the UE transceiver 230 and the base station transceiver 210 may be configured to support alternative or additional wireless data communication protocols, including future standards or variants thereof.

[0050] According to various embodiments, the BS 202 can be, for example, an evolved Node B (eNB), serving BS, target BS, femtocell, or picocell. In some embodiments, the UE 204 can be embodied in various types of user equipment such as a mobile phone, smartphone, personal digital assistant (PDA), tablet computer, laptop computer, wearable computing device, and the like. The processor modules 214 and 236 can be implemented or realized using a general-purpose processor, content addressable memory, digital signal processor, application specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, any suitable programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. In this manner, the processor can be implemented as a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, state machine, and the like. The processor can also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with digital signal processor cores, or any other such configuration.

[0051] Additionally, the steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be embodied directly in hardware, firmware, software modules executed respectively by the processor modules 214 and 236, or in any practical combination thereof. The memory modules 216 and 234 can be implemented as RAM memory, flash memory, ROM read-only 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 can be coupled respectively to the processor modules 210 and 230 such that the processor modules 210 and 230 can read information from and write information to the memory modules 216 and 234 respectively. The memory modules 216 and 234 can also be integrated into their respective processor modules 210 and 230. In some embodiments, the memory modules 216 and 234 can each include a cache memory for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during the execution of instructions to be executed respectively by the processor modules 210 and 230. The memory modules 216 and 234 can also each include non-volatile memory for storing the instructions to be executed respectively by the processor modules 210 and 230.

[0052] The network communication module 218 generally represents the hardware, software, firmware, processing logic, and / or other components of the BS 202 that enable two-way communication between the base station transceiver 210 and other network components and communication nodes configured to communicate with the base station 202. For example, the network communication module 218 may be configured to support Internet or WiMAX services. In a typical deployment, but not limited to, the network communication module 218 provides an 802.3 Ethernet interface that enables the base station transceiver 210 to communicate with a traditional computer network based on Ethernet. In this way, the network communication module 218 may include a physical interface for connecting to a computer network (e.g., a Mobile Switching Center (MSC)). As used herein, the terms “configured to,” “configured for,” and variations thereof with respect to a specified operation or function refer to a device, component, circuit, structure, machine, signal, etc. that is physically constructed, programmed, formatted, and / or arranged to perform the specified operation or function.

[0053] The Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model (referred to herein as the “Open Systems Interconnection model”) is a conceptual and logical layout that defines the network communication 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 collection 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 the seven-layer OSI model or the seven-layer model. In some embodiments, the first layer may be the physical layer. In some embodiments, the second layer may be the Media Access Control (MAC) layer. In some embodiments, the third layer may be the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer. In some embodiments, the fourth layer may be the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer. In some embodiments, the fifth layer may be the Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer. In some embodiments, the sixth layer may be the Non-Access (NSA) layer or the Internet Protocol (IP) layer, and the seventh layer is another layer.

[0054] 2. Systems and Methods for Controlling Uplink Duplication in the Packet Data Convergence Protocol Layer

[0055] To ensure ultra-reliable low latency communication (uRLLC) on 5G wireless networks, a packet duplication function at the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer can be used. When duplication is configured for a dedicated radio bearer (DRB) with more than two Radio Link Control (RLC) entities associated with a PDCP entity, the duplication performed at the PDCP can include submitting the same PDCP protocol data unit (PDU) multiple times: once for each RLC entity activated for the radio bearer. Utilizing multiple independent transmission paths, packet duplication can increase reliability and reduce latency.

[0056] After configuration, for uplink (UL) duplication during data transmission, the RAN network can dynamically control the PDCP duplication state (RLC activation state) of the UE via a MAC control element sent to the UE. The MAC CE can be used to dynamically control whether each of the secondary RLC entities configured for the DRB should be activated or deactivated. The configured primary RLC entity can always be activated. The UE can apply the received Media Access Control (MAC) control element (CE) command and can send the duplicated data to the RAN via the activated RLC indicated by the MAC CE.

[0057] The MAC CE sent to the UE can include the activation states of all secondary RLCs associated with the PDCP entity of the DRB. The secondary RLC entities of different cell groups can be located in different RAN nodes. However, under some methods, without coordination between RAN nodes, each RAN node may not be able to utilize the activation states of all secondary RLCs of all cell groups to construct the MAC CE.

[0058] To address these and other issues, the systems and methods discussed herein can utilize the activation states of all secondary RLCs of the DRB to construct the MAC CE to dynamically control UL duplication. The MAC CE sent to the UE can include the activation states of all secondary RLCs associated with the PDCP entity of the DRB. The secondary RLC entities of different cell groups can be located in different RAN nodes. The node hosting the PDCP and the secondary node can send and receive user data traffic via an NR-U tunnel (NR user plane tunnel) between the node hosting the PDCP and the secondary node.

[0059] Now refer to Figure 3, depicts a block diagram of a system 300 for packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) duplication in a dual-connectivity architecture. System 300 may include a master node (MN) 305 in a master cell group (MCG) 315 and a secondary node (SN) 310 in a secondary cell group (SCG) 320. The MN may include or host a PDCP entity 325. The MN 305 may also include secondary RLC entities 330A and 330B. The SN 310 may also include a primary RLC entity 335A and a secondary RLC entity 330C. The primary RLC entity 345A and the secondary RLC entities 330A to 330C may be connected to the PDCP entity 325 via respective NR-U tunnels 340A–D. The secondary RLC entities 330A and 330B may be associated with a MAC entity 345A. The primary RLC entity 335A and the secondary RLC entity 330C may be associated with a MAC entity 345B. In system 300, the secondary RLC entities 330A–C associated with the PDCP entity 325 of the MCG 315 and the SCG 320 may be located at the MN 305 and the SN 310, respectively. Under other methods, neither the MN 305 nor the SN 310 can utilize all secondary RLC activation states (e.g., active and / or inactive states) of the MCG 315 and the SCG 320 to construct a MAC CE. This may be because for the secondary RLC activation states of another node, each node may only fill random values into the MAC CE. This may cause the UE to transmit duplicate data via an incorrect RLC entity.

[0060] Now refer to Figure 4, which depicts a block diagram of a system 400 for packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) replication in an architecture for central unit (CU) and distributed unit (DU) split. The system 400 may include a central unit (CU) 405, a first distributed unit (DU) 410A, and a second DU 410B. The CU 405 may host a PDCP entity 415. The first DU 410A may belong to a secondary node cell group 420A and may include secondary RLC entities 425A and 425B. The secondary RLC entities 425A and 425B may be associated with a MAC 440A. The second DU 410B may belong to a secondary node cell group 420B and may include a primary RLC entity 430 and a secondary RLC entity 425C. The primary RLC entity 430 and the secondary RLC entity 425C may be associated with a MAC 440B. The primary RLC entity 430 and the secondary RLC entities 425A–C may be connected to the PDCP entity 415 via respective NR-U tunnels 435A–D. In the system 400, the secondary RLC entities 425A–C associated with the PDCP entity 415 of different cell groups 420A and 420B may be located at the DU1 410A and the DU2 410B, respectively. Under other methods, neither the DU1 410A nor the DU2 410B can utilize the activation states of all the secondary RLC entities 425A–C of all the cell groups 420 and 420B at the DU1 410A and the DU2 410B to construct a MAC CE. This may be because for the secondary RLC activation states of another node, each node may only fill random values into the MAC CE. This may cause the UE to transmit replicated data via incorrect RLC entities.

[0061] Now refer to Figure 5 , which depicts a sequence diagram of an example method 500 for uplink (UL) replication using a hosting node that determines a media access control (MAC) control element (CE) in a dual-connectivity architecture. Under the method 500, RLC setup DRBs (520) for UL replication transmission may be utilized at both the MN510 and the SN 515. The PDCP may be located at the MN 510. The SN515 may send an uplink GTP-U PDU (e.g., auxiliary information data) (525) to the MN via an NR-U tunnel between the MN and the SN. The uplink GTP-U PDU may include at least one of the following information: radio quality information of one or more RLCs at the secondary node (SN), and RLC activation suggestions of one or more RLCs for UL replication at the secondary node (SN), etc.

[0062] The node (MN 510) hosting PDCP may determine or decide on the activation and / or deactivation (sometimes simply referred to as "activation") status (530) of all one or more secondary RLCs of the DRB for UL duplicate transmission at MN 510 and SN 515. This decision may be based on the UL radio quality information of one or more RLCs at MN 510 and SN 515 and the RLC activation suggestions of one or more RLCs for UL duplicate at MN 510 and SN 515. MN 510 may know the information of its own node, and MN 510 may know the information of SN 515 through the auxiliary information data sent by SN 515.

[0063] After the decision, the node (MN 510) hosting PDCP may send a downlink GTP-U PDU (e.g., DL user data) (535) to SN 515 via the NR-U tunnel between the MN and the SN. The GTP-U PDU may include the RLC activation and / or deactivation information of all one or more secondary RLCs of the DRB for UL duplicate in the GTP-U PDU at MN 510 and SN 515. Considering UL duplicate, the secondary node (SN 515) may receive the RLC activation and / or deactivation information included in the DL user data and may include the RLC activation and / or deactivation information into the MAC CE frame. SN 515 sends the MAC CE to UE 505 to notify UE 505 of the RLC activation status (540). UE 505 may apply the received MAC CE command and may transmit the duplicate data to the RAN via one or more activated RLCs indicated by the MAC CE (545).

[0064] Now refer to Figure 6 , a sequence diagram of a method 600 for determining a master node of a media access control (MAC) control element (CE) for uplink (UL) duplicate in an architecture with a split of a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) is depicted. RLCs for UL duplicate transmission may be set for DRB at one or more DUs 615A and 615B (620). PDCP may be located at the CU node 610. The secondary nodes (DUs 615A and 615B) may send uplink GTP-U PDUs (e.g., auxiliary information data) (625A and 625B) to the CU 610 via the NR-U tunnel between the CU 610 and the DUs 615A and 615B. The GTP-U PDU may include at least one of the following information: the radio quality information of one or more RLCs at the secondary node (DU), and the RLC activation suggestions of one or more RLCs for UL duplicate at the secondary node (DU), etc.

[0065] The node hosting PDCP (CU 610) can receive auxiliary information data from one or more DUs 615A and 615B. The CU 610 can determine the activation and / or deactivation (or activation and / or deactivation) status (630) of all one or more secondary RLCs of the DRBs for UL replicated transmission at all one or more DUs. This determination can be based on the UL radio quality information of one or more RLCs at all one or more DUs, and the RLC activation suggestions of one or more RLCs for UL replication at all one or more DUs. Through the auxiliary information data sent by the DU, the CU can know / become aware of the above information at the DU.

[0066] After the determination, the node hosting PDCP (CU 610) can send a downlink GTP-U PDU (e.g., DL user data) (635) to one or more DUs 615A and 615B (e.g., 615A as depicted) via the NR-U tunnel between the CU 610 and the DU 615A or 615B. The GTP-U PDU can include the RLC activation / deactivation information of all one or more secondary RLCs of the DRBs for UL replication in the GTP-U PDU. Considering UL replication, the auxiliary node (DU 615A or 615B) can receive the RLC activation and / or deactivation information included in the DL user data. The auxiliary node can include the RLC activation / deactivation information into the MAC CE frame. The DU can send the MAC CE to the UE 605 to notify the UE 605 of the RLC activation status (640). The UE605 can apply the received MAC CE command and can transmit the replicated data to the RAN via one or more activated RLCs indicated by the MAC CE (645).

[0067] Now refer to Figure 7, which depicts a sequence diagram of method 700 for uplink (UL) duplication using an auxiliary node that determines a media access control (MAC) control element (CE) in a dual-connectivity architecture. The RLC setup DRB (720) for UL duplication transmission can be utilized at both the MN 710 and the SN 715. The PDCP can be located at the MN 710. The auxiliary node (SN 715) can determine, specify, or decide the activation and / or deactivation status of one or more secondary RLCs for UL duplication transmission at the SN 715 (725). After the decision, the auxiliary node (SN 715) can send an uplink GTP-U PDU (e.g., auxiliary information data) to the MN 710 via the NR-U tunnel between the MN 710 and the SN 715 (730). The GTP-U PDU can include the following information: the radio quality information of one or more RLCs at the auxiliary node (SN 715), and the RLC activation information of one or more secondary RLCs for UL duplication at the auxiliary node (SN 715), etc.

[0068] The node hosting the PDCP (MN 710) determines the activation and / or deactivation status of one or more secondary RLCs for UL duplication transmission at the MN 710 (735). The MN 710 can obtain the following information to be considered when making the decision: the radio quality information of one or more RLCs at the other node (SN715), and the RLC activation information of one or more secondary RLCs for UL duplication at the other node (SN 715). After the decision, the node hosting the PDCP (MN 710) can send a downlink GTP-U PDU (e.g., DL user data) to the SN 715 via the NR-U tunnel between the MN 710 and the SN715 (740). The GTP-UPDU can include the RLC activation and / or deactivation information of one or more secondary RLCs for UL duplication at the MN 710. In some embodiments, the GTP-U PDU can include the radio quality information of one or more RLCs at the auxiliary node (MN710).

[0069] Considering UL duplication, the secondary node (SN 715) can obtain the RLC activation and / or deactivation information included in the DL user data, and can merge the activation information of one or more secondary RLCs at the MN 710 and SN 715 to construct, generate, or provide a MAC CE frame (745). The secondary node (SN 715) can include the RLC activation and / or deactivation information of all one or more secondary RLCs of the DRBs at the MN 710 and SN 715 into the MAC CE frame. The SN 715 can send a MAC CE to the UE 705 to notify the UE 705 of the RLC activation status (750). The UE 705 can apply the received MAC CE command (in the MAC CE frame) and transmit the duplicated data to the RAN via one or more activated RLCs indicated by the MAC CE frame (755).

[0070] Now referring to Figure 8 , a sequence diagram of a method 800 for determining a secondary node for a media access control (MAC) control element (CE) for uplink (UL) duplication in an architecture utilizing a split of a central unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) is depicted. One or more RLCs for UL duplication transmission at more than one or more DUs 815A and 815B can be utilized to set up DRBs (820). The PDCP can be located at the CU 810 node. The secondary node (DU1 815A) can decide on the activation and / or deactivation status of one or more secondary RLCs for UL duplication transmission at the DU1 815A (825).

[0071] After the decision, the secondary node (DU1 815A) sends an uplink GTP-U PDU (e.g., auxiliary information data) to the CU 810 via an NR-U tunnel between the CU 810 and the DU1 815A (830). The GTP-U PDU can include the following information: the radio quality information of one or more RLCs at the secondary node (DU1 815A), and the RLC activation information of one or more secondary RLCs for UL duplication at the secondary node (DU1 815A), etc. The node (CU 810) hosting the PDCP can send a downlink GTP-U PDU (e.g., DL user data) to the DU2 815B via an NR-U tunnel between the CU 810 and the DU2 815B (8305), and the downlink GTP-U PDU includes the RLC activation information of one or more secondary RLCs for UL duplication in the GTP-U PDU at the DU1 815A, and optionally includes the radio quality information of one or more RLCs in the GTP-U PDU at the secondary node (DU1 815A).

[0072] DU2 815B can determine the activation and / or deactivation status (840) of one or more secondary RLCs for UL replicated transmission at DU2 815B. DU2 815B can use or consider the following information when making the determination: radio quality information of one or more RLCs at another node (DU1 815A), and RLC activation information of one or more secondary RLCs for UL replication at another node (DU1 815A). DU2 815B can combine the activation information of all one or more secondary RLCs of the DRB at DU1 815A and DU2 815B to construct a MAC CE (845), such as generating or constructing a MAC CE frame.

[0073] DU2 815B can include the RLC activation and / or deactivation information of all one or more secondary RLCs of the DRB at DU1 815A and DU2 815B into the MAC CE frame. DU2 815B sends the MAC CE frame to UE 805 to notify UE 805 of the RLC activation status (850). UE 805 can apply the received MAC CE command (e.g., in the MAC CE frame) and transmit replicated data to the RAN via one or more activated RLCs indicated by the MAC CE frame (855).

[0074] Now referring to Figure 9 , a sequence diagram of method 900 for uplink (UL) replication via a user plane tunnel between a master node and a secondary node in a centralized unit (CU) control plane (CP) and user plane (UP) architecture is depicted. CU-CP 915 can send a bearer context establishment request message (925) to CU-UP 920. The bearer context establishment request message can include one or more cell group replication quantity information. Each cell group replication quantity information of a specific cell group of the DRB can be used to indicate the number of PDCP replications for this cell group. Each cell group replication quantity information of a specific cell group of the DRB can include at least one of the following information: the number of RLCs in the cell group, the number of UP transport layer addresses in the cell group, the number of UPs in the cell group, the number of UP tunnels in the cell group, the packet replication quantity, and the corresponding cell group ID, etc. The cell group ID can be used to distinguish different cell groups. (For example, 0 = MCG cell group, 1 = SCG cell group).

[0075] The CU-UP 920 can receive a bearer context establishment request message. The CU-UP 920 can include in the bearer context establishment response message the corresponding number of UP transport layer information at the CU-UP 920 and the cell group ID of a specific cell group. The information on the number of UP transport layers for each cell group can be indicated by the corresponding received cell group duplication number information. Each UP transport layer information contains the following information: transport layer address, GTP tunnel endpoint identifier. The CU-UP 920 can send the bearer context establishment response message (930) to the CU-CP 915.

[0076] After receiving the bearer context establishment response message sent by the CU-UP 920, the CU-CP 915 can know the UP transport layer information of each cell group at the CU-UP 920 and can regard the first UP transport layer information of each cell group as the primary path or the split secondary path for PDCP duplication. The CU-CP 915 can send a UE context establishment request message to each secondary node hosting the cell group to transfer the UP transport layer information at the CU-UP 920 of the cell group (MCG 905 or SCG 910) to the secondary nodes (935A and 935B). The secondary nodes 905 or 910 can send a UE context establishment response message to the CU-CP 915 to notify the UP transport layer information of the cell group (MCG 905 or SCG 910) at the corresponding secondary nodes 905 or 910 (940A and 940B).

[0077] After receiving the UE context establishment response message from different secondary nodes configured in the MCG 905 or SCG 910, the CU-CP 915 can send a bearer context modification request message to the CU-UP 920 to notify the UP of the transport layer information of all cell groups (both MCG 905 and SCG 910) (950). The CU-UP 920 can know the UP transport layer information at the secondary nodes, and the secondary nodes know the UP transport layer information at the CP-UP. A user plane tunnel can be set up between the CU-UP 920 (PDCP hosting node) and the secondary nodes (955). The CU-UP 920 and the secondary nodes can send and receive user data traffic via such a tunnel.

[0078] Now referring to Figure 10 depicts a functional band diagram of a method 1000 for controlling uplink (UL) duplication. The method 1000 can be implemented in conjunction with the present text Figures 1 to 9Any component described in detail is used to perform or implement. In short, the secondary RAN node and the hosting RAN node can set up DRBs (1005 and 1005'). The secondary RAN node determines information about the RLC entity (1010). The secondary RAN node can send information about the secondary RAN node (1015). The hosting RAN node can receive information about the secondary RAN node (1015). The hosting RAN node can determine RLC activation information (1020). The hosting RAN node can send RLC activation information (1025). The secondary RAN node can receive the RLC activation information (1030). The secondary RAN node can determine whether the RLC activation information includes all secondary RLC entities (1035). If the RLC activation information is determined to include all, the secondary RAN node can merge the RLC activation information (1040). On the other hand, if the RLC activation information is determined to partially include, the secondary RAN node can merge the information about the RLC entity (1045). The secondary RAN node can set up the MAC CE frame for transmission to the UE (1050).

[0079] More specifically, the secondary RAN node and the hosting RAN node can establish or set up DRBs (1005 and 1005'). The DRBs can be set up using the RLC entities at the secondary RAN node and the hosting RAN node. Each RLC entity can be in an active state or an inactive state. The hosting RAN node can maintain, include, or host the PDCP entity. In some embodiments, in a CU-DU split architecture, the hosting RAN node can reside on the CU of the gNB, while the secondary RAN node can reside on the DU of the gNB. In some embodiments, the CU can include CU-UP and CU-CP.

[0080] When establishing or modifying the resources of a DRB, the CU-CP may send, provide, or transmit a request message to the CU-UP. The request message may identify or include one or more cell group replication quantity information. Each of the one or more cell group replication quantity information may be used for a specific cell group of the DRB. Each of the one or more cell group replication quantity information may be used to indicate the number of PDCP replications for this cell group. Each of the one or more cell group replication quantity information may identify or include the RLC quantity of a specific cell group, the number of UP transport layer addresses of a specific cell group, the UP quantity of a specific cell group, the number of UP tunnels of a specific cell group, the packet replication quantity of a specific cell group, or the identifier of a specific cell group, etc. The RLC quantity of a specific cell group may identify or refer to the RLC entity used for the specific cell group. The number of UP transport layer addresses may identify or include a network address (e.g., Internet Protocol (IP) address and port number). The UP quantity of a specific cell group may identify or refer to the number of user plane tunnels. The packet replication quantity may identify or refer to the number of replicated packets.

[0081] In response, the CU-UP may provide, transmit, or send a response message to the CU-CP. The response message may identify or include information on the UP transport layer quantity at the CU-UP and the identifier of a specific cell group. The information on the UP transport layer quantity may be indicated by one or more cell group replication quantity information used for the specific cell group. The information on the UP transport layer quantity may identify or refer to the information on the transport bearer quantity. For the UP transport layer information, the information element (IE) may identify the transport bearer associated with the DRB. Each of the UP transport layer information may identify or include a transport layer address and a GPRS Tunnel Protocol (GTP) tunnel endpoint identifier. The transport layer address in the UP transport layer information may be the network address to be used for user plane transmission (e.g., IP address). The IE of the UP transport layer information may contain the transport layer address and the GTP tunnel endpoint identifier.

[0082] The CU-CP can regard the first UP transport layer information of each cell group as the primary path or the split secondary path for PDCP duplication. In some embodiments, the CU-UP can use the UP transport layer information or apply the UP transport layer information to each corresponding cell group. In an application, the CU-UP can identify one of the UP transport layer information as the primary path for PDCP duplication and identify the other as the split secondary path for PDCP duplication. The primary path can correspond to the user plane transport of the cell group mainly used for PDCP duplication of the primary RLC entity. The primary RLC entity can always be activated. The split secondary path can correspond to the user plane transport in other cell groups to be used for fallback to split bearer operation. For example, all secondary RLC entities can be deactivated (while turning off the PDCP duplication function), and the PDCP entity can use the primary path and the split secondary path to transmit different packets.

[0083] The secondary RAN node can identify or determine information (1010) about the RLC entity. The secondary RAN node can host or include one or more RLC entities such as at least one primary RLC entity and at least one secondary RLC entity. The secondary RAN node can determine information about the secondary RLC entity for uplink duplication in the secondary RAN node. In some embodiments, the determination of the information can be in response to setting up a DRB between the hosting RAN node and the secondary RAN node with the RLC entity for uplink duplication. For each secondary RLC entity, the secondary RAN node can identify the state of the secondary RLC entity as being in an active state or a non-active state.

[0084] In some embodiments, the secondary RAN node can identify or determine the radio quality information of the RLC entities (e.g., the primary RLC entity and the secondary RLC entity) at the secondary RAN node. The radio quality information can indicate the performance of the RLC entity in the network (e.g., NR) such as data rate, throughput, packet loss, radio quality of the air interface, and jitter. In some embodiments, the secondary RAN node can identify, select, or determine the identity of each proposed or potential RLC entity for uplink duplication at the secondary RAN node. The determination can be based on the radio quality information of the RLC entities at the secondary RAN node. For example, the secondary RAN node can select some of the RLC entities with better radio quality for recommendation for activation, while identifying the other RLC entities with poorer radio quality as not recommended for activation. In some embodiments, the secondary RAN node can compare the radio quality information with the selection criteria to determine whether to select the RLC entity. The selection criteria can identify or define the radio quality at which the corresponding RLC entity is selected for recommendation for activation.

[0085] An auxiliary RAN node may provide, transmit, or otherwise send information (1015) about the auxiliary RAN node to a hosted RAN node. In some embodiments, the auxiliary RAN node may send information about the secondary RLC entities that are in an active or inactive state for uplink duplication in the auxiliary RAN node. In some embodiments, the auxiliary RAN node may send radio quality information of the RLC entities (including the primary RLC entity and the secondary RLC entities) at the auxiliary RAN node. In some embodiments, the auxiliary RAN node may send the identity of each RLC entity for uplink duplication at the auxiliary RAN node. One or more of the information may be sent from the auxiliary RAN node to the hosted RAN node via an uplink packet. In some embodiments, the uplink packet may be or include a GTP-U PDU.

[0086] A hosted RAN node may retrieve, identify, or otherwise receive information (1020) about the auxiliary RAN node. In some embodiments, the hosted RAN node may receive information about the secondary RLC entities that are in an active or inactive state for uplink duplication in the auxiliary RAN node. In some embodiments, the hosted RAN node may receive radio quality information of the RLC entities (including the primary and secondary RLC entities) at the auxiliary RAN node. In some embodiments, the hosted RAN node may receive the identity of each RLC entity for uplink duplication at the auxiliary RAN node.

[0087] The hosted RAN node may identify or determine RLC activation information (1025). Based on the information received from the auxiliary RAN node, the hosted RAN node may determine the RLC activation information. The RLC activation information may include information about one or more secondary RLC entities of a DRB that are in an active or inactive state. For example, for uplink duplication transmission, the RLC activation information may specify, indicate, or identify which secondary RLC entities of the DRB will be in an active or inactive state. When determining the RLC activation information, the hosted RAN node may select or identify the state (e.g., active or inactive state) of one or more secondary RLC entities at the auxiliary RAN node based on the information received from the auxiliary RAN node. The information used for determination may include the radio quality of the RLC entities at the auxiliary RAN node, and the identity of each proposed RLC entity provided by the auxiliary RAN node. The secondary RLC entities identified by the hosted RAN node may be the same as or different from the proposed RLC entities provided by the auxiliary RAN node.

[0088] In some embodiments, the serving RAN node may identify or determine information about the RLC entities at the serving RAN node and one or more secondary RAN nodes (excluding the secondary node providing the information) for a DRB. The information about the RLC entities at the serving RAN node and one or more secondary RAN nodes may also be used to determine RLC activation information. In some embodiments, the RLC activation information may indicate, identify, or otherwise include information about the secondary RLC entities in one or more RAN nodes other than the secondary RAN node. For uplink duplicate transmission, the RLC activation information may specify, indicate, or identify which secondary RLC entities at RAN nodes other than the secondary RAN node will be in an active state or an inactive state. In some embodiments, the serving RAN node may merge or add the RLC activation information for the secondary RLC entities in RAN nodes other than the secondary node providing the information with the RLC activation information for the secondary RLC entities at the secondary RAN node.

[0089] The serving RAN node may provide, transmit, or otherwise send the RLC activation information (1030) to the secondary RAN node. The RLC activation information may be associated with the DRB for uplink duplicate. The RLC activation information may be sent from the serving RAN node to the secondary RAN node via a downlink packet. In some embodiments, the downlink packet may be or include a GTP-U PDU. In some embodiments, the serving RAN node may insert or include the active or inactive state of the secondary RLC entity at the secondary RAN node into the RLC activation information for transmission to the secondary node. In some embodiments, the serving RAN node may insert or include the active or inactive state of the secondary RLC entity at other RAN nodes of the DRB into the RLC activation information for transmission.

[0090] The secondary RAN node may retrieve, identify, or receive the RLC activation information (1035) from the serving RAN node. In some embodiments, the secondary RAN node may receive the RLC activation information from the serving RAN node via a downlink packet. In some embodiments, the RLC activation information received from the serving RAN node may identify or include the active or inactive state of the secondary RLC entity at the secondary RAN node of the DRB. In some embodiments, the RLC activation information received from the serving RAN node may identify or include the active or inactive state of the secondary RLC entity at other RAN nodes of the DRB.

[0091] The secondary RAN node can identify or determine whether the RLC activation information includes all secondary RLC entities (1040). After receiving the RLC activation information from the serving RAN node, the secondary RAN node can parse the RLC activation information. In some embodiments, the secondary RAN node can parse the downlink packet to identify the RLC activation information. Based on the parsing of the RLC activation information, the secondary RAN node can determine whether the RLC activation information contains or includes information of all secondary RLC entities of the DRB. When the RLC activation information includes information of all secondary RLC entities, the secondary RAN node can determine that the information included in the RLC activation information is complete. When the RLC activation information includes information of secondary RLC entities in one or more RAN nodes other than the secondary RAN node, the secondary RAN node can determine that the RLC activation is partial.

[0092] If the RLC activation information is determined to be complete, the secondary RAN node can add or merge the RLC activation information (1045). The secondary RAN node can merge the RLC activation information into the MAC CE frame to be sent to the UE. The RLC activation information to be added to the MAC CE can include the status of the secondary RLC entities of the DRB (e.g., activated or deactivated). On the other hand, if it is determined that the RLC activation information is partially included, the secondary RAN node can add or merge information about the RLC entities (1050). For the merging, the secondary RAN node can determine the information of the RLC entities at the secondary RAN node (e.g., in the same manner as in (1010)). This information can indicate or identify the status of the RLC entities at the secondary RAN node (e.g., activated or deactivated). Using this determination, the secondary RAN node can merge the determined information of the RLC entities at the secondary RAN node with the information of the secondary RLC entities of the DRB in other RAN nodes provided by the serving RAN node. The merged information can indicate or identify the status of the RLC entities on all RAN nodes of the DRB (e.g., activated or deactivated). The secondary RAN node can merge the merged information into the MAC CE.

[0093] The secondary RAN node may establish or set a MAC CE frame to be sent to the UE (1055). Based on the RLC activation information, the secondary RAN node may set the MAC CE frame. The set MAC CE frame may identify or include the RLC activation information of the RLC entity in the RAN node for the DRB. For example, the MAC CE frame may indicate the status (e.g., active or inactive) of the RLC entities on all RAN nodes across the DRB. With this setting, the secondary RAN node may provide, transmit, or send the MAC CE to the UE (also referred to herein as a wireless communication device). Upon receiving the MAC CE, the UE may apply the specification of the MAC CE frame when sending duplicate data. The UE may provide, transmit, or send the duplicate data according to the RLC activation information indicated by the MAC CE frame. In some embodiments, the UE may send the duplicate data via the RLC entity indicated as active in the RLC activation information.

[0094] Although various embodiments of the present solution have been described above, it should be understood that they are presented by way of example only and not as limitations. Similarly, the 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, these persons should understand that the present solution is not limited to the example architectures or configurations shown, but may be implemented using various alternative architectures and configurations. In addition, as understood by those of ordinary skill in the art, one or more features of one 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 illustrative embodiments.

[0095] It should also be understood that any reference herein to a unit using designations such as "first", "second", etc. generally does not limit the number or order of these units. Instead, these designations may be used herein as a convenient means to distinguish between two or more units or instances of a unit. Thus, the reference to a first unit and a second unit does not mean that only two units can be used, or that the first unit must precede the second unit in some manner.

[0096] In addition, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that various different technologies and processes may be used to represent information and signals. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, and symbols (e.g., which may be referred to in the above description) may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0097] Those of ordinary skill in the art should also understand that any of the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, processors, devices, circuits, methods, and functions described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented by electronic hardware (e.g., digital implementations, analog implementations, or combinations of both), firmware, various forms of programs or design code incorporating instructions (for convenience, which may be referred to herein as "software" or "software modules"), or any combination of these techniques. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware, firmware, and software, the various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above in terms of their functional aspects. Whether this functionality is implemented as hardware, firmware, software, or a combination of these techniques depends on the particular application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans can implement the described functionality in various ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions do not result in a departure from the scope of this disclosure.

[0098] In addition, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, devices, components, and circuits described herein can be implemented within or performed by an integrated circuit (IC), which can 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 logical blocks, modules, and circuits can further include an antenna and / or a transceiver to communicate with various components within a network or within a device. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor, but in an alternative, the processor can be any conventional processor, controller, or state machine. The processor can also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a combination of multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors combined with a DSP core, or any other suitable configuration that performs the functions described herein.

[0099] If implemented in software, the functionality can be stored as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Thus, the steps of the methods or algorithms disclosed herein can be implemented as software stored on a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium includes both computer storage media and communication media, where the communication media includes any medium that can enable a computer program or code to be transferred from one place to another. The storage media can be any available medium accessible by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such computer-readable media can include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM, or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer.

[0100] In the present application, the term "module" as used herein refers to software, firmware, hardware, and any combination of these units for performing the associated functions described herein. Additionally, for purposes of discussion, various modules are described as discrete modules; however, as will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, in accordance with embodiments of the present solution, two or more modules may be combined to form a single module that performs the associated functions.

[0101] Furthermore, in embodiments of the present solution, a memory or other storage device and communication components may be employed. It should be understood that, for clarity, the embodiments of the present solution have been described above with reference to different functional units and processors. However, it is apparent that any suitable functional distribution between different functional units, processing logic units, or domains may be used without departing from the present solution. For example, functions shown to be performed by separate processing logic units or controllers may be performed by the same processing logic unit or controller. Thus, the reference to specific functional units is merely a reference to the appropriate means for providing the described functionality, rather than indicating a strict logical or physical structure or organization.

[0102] Various modifications to the embodiments described in this disclosure will be 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 the disclosure. Therefore, this disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but rather to embrace the widest scope consistent with the novel features and principles disclosed herein, as set forth in the following claims.

Claims

1. A wireless communication method, comprising: receiving, by an auxiliary radio access network (RAN) node, from a hosting RAN node hosting a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity, radio link control (RLC) activation information associated with a dedicated radio bearer (DRB) for uplink duplication; and setting, by the auxiliary RAN node, a media access control (MAC) control element (CE) frame according to the RLC activation information to identify the state of each secondary RLC entity of the DRB as an active state or a non-active state, wherein the RLC activation information includes information about the secondary RLC entities in at least one of the active state or the non-active state in all RAN nodes other than the auxiliary RAN node.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the RLC activation information is determined by the hosting RAN node, and the RLC activation information includes information about the secondary RLC entities in at least one of the active state or the non-active state.

3. The method according to claim 2, comprising: sending, by the auxiliary RAN node, first information to the hosting RAN node in an uplink packet, the first information including at least one of the following: radio quality information of an RLC entity at the auxiliary RAN node, or an identifier of a proposed RLC entity for the uplink duplication at the auxiliary node, wherein the RLC activation information is determined by the hosting RAN node according to the first information.

4. The method according to claim 1, comprising: determining, by the auxiliary RAN node, information about the secondary RLC entities in at least one of the active state or the non-active state for uplink duplication in the auxiliary RAN node; and sending, by the auxiliary RAN node, first information to the hosting RAN node in an uplink packet, the first information including at least one of the following: radio quality information of an RLC entity at the auxiliary RAN node, or information about the secondary RLC entities in at least one of the active state or the non-active state in the auxiliary RAN node.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising: receiving, by the auxiliary RAN node, the RLC activation information from the hosting RAN node via a downlink packet; and when the RLC activation information includes information about all secondary RLC entities of the DRB, merging, by the auxiliary RAN node, the RLC activation information into the MAC CE frame; and when the RLC activation information only includes information about the secondary RLC entities in at least one of the active state or the non-active state in all RAN nodes other than the auxiliary RAN node, determining, by the auxiliary RAN node, information about the secondary RLC entities in at least one of the active state or the non-active state in the auxiliary RAN node, The information of the secondary RLC entities in the serving RAN node in at least one of the active state or the inactive state and the information of the secondary RLC entities in other RAN nodes for the DRB in the active state or the inactive state are merged by the serving RAN node into merged information, and the serving RAN node merges the merged information into the MAC CE frame.

6. The method according to claim 5, comprising: The serving RAN node sends the MAC CE frame to a wireless communication device, wherein the wireless communication device sends replicated data via the activated RLC entity indicated by the MAC CE frame.

7. The method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein, the uplink packet comprises a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunnel Protocol User Plane (GTP-U) Protocol Data Unit (PDU).

8. The method according to claim 5, wherein, the downlink packet comprises a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunnel Protocol User Plane (GTP-U) Protocol Data Unit (PDU).

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein, the hosting RAN node is a Centralized Unit (CU), the Centralized Unit comprises a CU User Plane (CU-UP) and a CU Control Plane (CU-CP), and the method comprises: the serving RAN node sets a New Radio User Plane (NR-U) tunnel with the hosting RAN node for the DRB, wherein, the CU-CP sends a request message to the CU-UP to establish or modify resources for the DRB at the CU-UP, the request message comprises one or more cell group replication quantity information, and each of the one or more cell group replication quantity information for a specific cell group for the DRB indicates the quantity of PDCP replication for the cell group, and comprises at least one of the following: the RLC quantity of the specific cell group, the quantity of UP transport layer addresses of the specific cell group, the quantity of UPs of the specific cell group, the quantity of UP tunnels of the specific cell group, the packet replication quantity of the specific cell group, or the identifier of the specific cell group.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein, the CU-UP sends a response message to the CU-CP, the response message comprises information on the quantity of UP transport layers at the CU-UP and the identifier of the specific cell group, wherein the information on the quantity of UP transport layers of the specific cell group is indicated by the one or more cell group replication quantity information for the specific cell group, and each of the UP transport layer information comprises a transport layer address and a GPRS Tunnel Protocol (GTP) tunnel endpoint identifier.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein, the first UP transport layer information of each cell group is for the primary path or the split secondary path of PDCP replication.

12. A wireless communication method, comprising: A managed radio access network (RAN) node hosting a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity sends radio link control (RLC) activation information associated with a dedicated radio bearer (DRB) for uplink duplication to an auxiliary RAN node; and Based on the RLC activation information, the managed RAN node causes the auxiliary RAN node to set a media access control (MAC) control element (CE) frame to identify the state of each secondary RLC entity of the DRB as an active state or a non-active state, wherein the RLC activation information includes information about the secondary RLC entities in at least one of the active state or the non-active state in all RAN nodes except the auxiliary RAN node.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein, the RLC activation information is determined by the managed RAN node, and the RLC activation information includes information about the secondary RLC entities in at least one of the active state or the non-active state.

14. The method according to claim 13, comprising: The managed RAN node receives first information from the auxiliary RAN node in an uplink packet, the first information including at least one of the following: radio quality information of the RLC entity at the auxiliary RAN node, or an identifier of the proposed RLC entity for the uplink duplication at the auxiliary node, wherein the RLC activation information is determined by the managed RAN node based on the first information.

15. The method according to claim 12, comprising: The managed RAN node causes the auxiliary RAN node to determine information about the secondary RLC entities in at least one of the active state or the non-active state for uplink duplication in the auxiliary RAN node; and The managed RAN node receives first information from the auxiliary RAN node in an uplink packet, the first information including at least one of the following: radio quality information of the RLC entity at the auxiliary RAN node, or information about the secondary RLC entities in at least one of the active state or the non-active state for uplink duplication in the auxiliary RAN node.

16. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 15, comprising: The managed RAN node sends the RLC activation information to the auxiliary RAN node via a downlink packet; and When the RLC activation information includes information about all secondary RLC entities of the DRB, the managed RAN node causes the auxiliary RAN node to incorporate the RLC activation information into the MAC CE frame; and When the RLC activation information only includes information about the secondary RLC entities in at least one of the active state or the non-active state in all RAN nodes except the auxiliary RAN node, the managed RAN node causes the auxiliary RAN node to: Determine the information of the secondary RLC entity in the auxiliary RAN node that is in at least one of the active state or the inactive state. Combine the information of the secondary RLC entity in the auxiliary RAN node that is in at least one of the active state or the inactive state and the information of the secondary RLC entity in other RAN nodes for the DRB that is in the active state or the inactive state into combined information, and Combine the combined information into the MAC CE frame.

17. The method according to claim 16, comprising: Causing the auxiliary RAN node to send the MAC CE frame to the wireless communication device by the hosting RAN node, wherein the wireless communication device sends replicated data via the activated RLC entity indicated by the MAC CE frame.

18. The method according to claim 14 or 15, wherein, The uplink packet includes a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunnel Protocol User Plane (GTP-U) Protocol Data Unit (PDU).

19. The method according to claim 16, wherein, The downlink packet includes a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunnel Protocol User Plane (GTP-U) Protocol Data Unit (PDU).

20. The method according to claim 12, wherein the hosting RAN node is a Centralized Unit (CU), the Centralized Unit (CU) includes a CU User Plane (CU-UP) and a CU Control Plane (CU-CP), the method comprising: Setting a new radio user plane (NR-U) tunnel for the DRB with the auxiliary RAN node by the hosting RAN node, wherein the CU-CP sends a request message to the CU-UP to establish or modify the resources of the DRB at the CU-UP, the request message includes one or more cell group replication quantity information, and each of the one or more cell group replication quantity information for a specific cell group for the DRB is used to indicate the PDCP replication quantity of the cell group, and includes at least one of the following: the RLC quantity of the specific cell group, the number of UP transport layer addresses of the specific cell group, the UP quantity of the specific cell group, the number of UP tunnels of the specific cell group, the packet replication quantity of the specific cell group, or the identifier of the specific cell group.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein, The CU-UP sends a response message to the CU-CP, the response message includes the information of the UP transport layer quantity at the CU-UP and the identifier of the specific cell group, wherein the information of the UP transport layer quantity of the specific cell group is indicated by one or more cell group replication quantity information for the specific cell group, and each of the UP transport layer information includes a transport layer address and a GPRS Tunnel Protocol (GTP) tunnel endpoint identifier.

22. The method according to claim 12, wherein, The first UP transport layer information of each mini-group is used for the primary path of PDCP duplication or the split secondary path.

23. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, enable the one or more processors to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 22.

24. A wireless communication device comprising one or more processors configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 22.

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