Establishing signaling connections in wireless networks

Abstract

Various aspects relate to establishing a signaling connection between a radio access network (RAN) node and a first scheduling entity. The RAN node may communicate with the first scheduling entity (e.g., a secondary gNB) using a first radio access technology (RAT) and communicate with a second scheduling entity (e.g., a primary eNB) using a second RAT in a dual connectivity (DC) mode of operation. The RAN node and the first scheduling entity may support sending, by the second scheduling entity, information for a first signaling connection between the RAN node and the first scheduling entity over a second signaling connection (e.g., when the second signaling connection is more reliable than the first signaling connection). To establish the second signaling connection, the RAN node and the first scheduling entity may signal support for the second signaling connection and exchange Internet protocol information for the second signaling connection.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This patent application claims priority to and the benefits of: Non-provisional application No. 17 / 225,021 filed with the U.S. Patent Office on April 7, 2021; and Provisional application No. 63 / 007,338 filed with the U.S. Patent Office on April 8, 2020, which are assigned to the assignee of this application and are hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference, as if fully set forth in their entirety below and for all applicable purposes. Technical Field

[0003]

[0013] Generally speaking, the techniques discussed below relate to wireless communication systems, and more particularly, the techniques discussed below relate to techniques for establishing signaling connections in wireless networks such as Integrated Access Backhaul (IAB) networks. Background Art

[0004] A next generation wireless communication system (e.g., 5GS) may include a 5G core network and a 5G radio access network (RAN), such as a new radio (NR)-RAN. NR-RAN supports communication via one or more cells. For example, a wireless communication device such as a user equipment (UE) may access a first cell of another wireless communication device such as a first base station (e.g., gNB) and / or access a second cell of a second base station.

[0005] In such a 5G NR wireless communication network, resources can be shared between the access network and the backhaul network. For example, the wireless spectrum can be used for both the access link (e.g., the link between a scheduling entity such as a base station and a scheduled entity such as a user equipment (UE)) and the backhaul link (e.g., the link between the scheduling entity and the core network). In such an integrated access backhaul (IAB) network, the shared wireless carrier can be time-divided into multiple frames, subframes, and time slots. In some IAB network configurations, one or more time slots can be allocated for access communications, while other time slots can be allocated for backhaul communications. Summary of the invention

[0006] In order to provide a basic understanding of one or more aspects of the present disclosure, an overview of these aspects is given below. This overview is not an exhaustive overview of all expected features of the present disclosure, and is neither intended to identify the key or important elements of all aspects of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to describe the scope of any or all aspects of the present disclosure. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects of the present disclosure in a form as a preface to a more detailed description given later.

[0007] In some examples, a method for wireless communication at a radio access network (RAN) node is disclosed. The method may include: communicating with a first scheduling entity over a first communication path using a first radio access technology (RAT); communicating with a second scheduling entity over a second communication path using a second RAT different from the first RAT; and generating a first message, the first message indicating that the RAN node supports the transmission of information for a first signaling connection with the first scheduling entity via a second signaling connection over the second communication path. The first signaling connection is associated with a first Internet Protocol (IP) address information. The method may also include: sending the first message to the second scheduling entity via the second communication path; and receiving a second message from the second scheduling entity via the second communication path. The second message indicates that the first scheduling entity supports the transmission of the information for the first signaling connection via the second signaling connection over the second communication path, and the second message includes second IP address information different from the first IP address information from the first scheduling entity. The method may also include: using the second IP address information to establish the second signaling connection to the first scheduling entity over the second communication path; and transmitting the information for the first signaling connection via the second signaling connection over the second communication path.

[0008] In some examples, a radio access network (RAN) node may include a transceiver, a memory, and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory. The processor and the memory may be configured to: communicate with a first scheduling entity via a first communication path using a first radio access technology (RAT); communicate with a second scheduling entity via a second communication path using a second RAT different from the first RAT; and generate a first message indicating that the RAN node supports the transmission of information for a first signaling connection with the first scheduling entity via a second signaling connection via the second communication path. The first signaling connection is associated with a first Internet Protocol (IP) address information. The processor and the memory may also be configured to: send the first message to the second scheduling entity via the second communication path; and receive a second message from the second scheduling entity via the second communication path. The second message indicates that the first scheduling entity supports the transmission of the information for the first signaling connection via the second signaling connection via the second communication path, and the second message includes second IP address information different from the first IP address information from the first scheduling entity. The processor and the memory may also be configured to: establish the second signaling connection to the first scheduling entity over the second communication path using the second IP address information; and transmit the information for the first signaling connection via the second signaling connection over the second communication path.

[0009] In some examples, a radio access network (RAN) node may include: a unit for communicating with a first scheduling entity via a first communication path using a first radio access technology (RAT); a unit for communicating with a second scheduling entity via a second communication path using a second RAT different from the first RAT; and a unit for generating a first message, the first message indicating that the RAN node supports the transmission of information for a first signaling connection with the first scheduling entity via a second signaling connection via the second communication path. The first signaling connection is associated with first Internet Protocol (IP) address information. The RAN node may also include: a unit for sending the first message to the second scheduling entity via the second communication path; and a unit for receiving a second message from the second scheduling entity via the second communication path. The second message indicates that the first scheduling entity supports the transmission of the information for the first signaling connection via the second signaling connection via the second communication path, and the second message includes second IP address information different from the first IP address information from the first scheduling entity. The RAN node may further include: a unit for establishing the second signaling connection to the first scheduling entity through the second communication path using the second IP address information; and a unit for transmitting the information for the first signaling connection via the second signaling connection through the second communication path.

[0010] In some examples, an article for use by a radio access network (RAN) node includes a non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored therein instructions executable by one or more processors of the RAN node to: communicate with a first scheduling entity over a first communication path using a first radio access technology (RAT); communicate with a second scheduling entity over a second communication path using a second RAT different from the first RAT; and generate a first message indicating that the RAN node supports transmission of information for a first signaling connection with the first scheduling entity via a second signaling connection over the second communication path. The first signaling connection is associated with first Internet Protocol (IP) address information. The computer-readable medium also has stored therein instructions executable by one or more processors of the user equipment to: send the first message to the second scheduling entity via the second communication path; and receive a second message from the second scheduling entity via the second communication path. The second message indicates that the first scheduling entity supports the transmission of the information for the first signaling connection via the second signaling connection over the second communication path, and the second message includes second IP address information different from the first IP address information from the first scheduling entity. The computer-readable medium also stores therein instructions that can be executed by one or more processors of the user equipment to perform the following operations: using the second IP address information to establish the second signaling connection to the first scheduling entity via the second communication path; and transmitting the information for the first signaling connection via the second signaling connection via the second communication path.

[0011] In some examples, a method for wireless communication at a first scheduling entity is disclosed. The method may include: communicating with a RAN node via a first communication path; and receiving a first message from a second scheduling entity. The first message indicates that the RAN node supports the transmission of information for a first signaling connection with the first scheduling entity via a second signaling connection via a second communication path associated with the second scheduling entity, the first signaling connection being associated with a first Internet Protocol (IP) address information, and receiving the first message includes: receiving the first message via a base station interface. The method may also include: determining that the RAN node is connected to the first scheduling entity via a third signaling connection; and after determining that the RAN node is connected to the first scheduling entity via the third signaling connection, sending a confirmation to the second scheduling entity via the base station interface. The confirmation includes a second IP address information associated with the first scheduling entity. The method may also include: using the second IP address information to establish the second signaling connection to the RAN node via the second communication path via the base station interface; and transmitting the information for the first signaling connection via the second signaling connection via the second communication path.

[0012] In some examples, a first scheduling entity may include a transceiver, a memory, and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory. The processor and the memory may be configured to: communicate with a RAN node via a first communication path; and receive a first message from a second scheduling entity. The first message indicates that the RAN node supports the transmission of information for a first signaling connection with the first scheduling entity via a second signaling connection via a second communication path associated with the second scheduling entity, the first signaling connection being associated with a first Internet Protocol (IP) address information, and receiving the first message includes: receiving the first message via a base station interface. The processor and the memory may also be configured to: determine that the RAN node is connected to the first scheduling entity via a third signaling connection; and after determining that the RAN node is connected to the first scheduling entity via the third signaling connection, send a confirmation to the second scheduling entity via the base station interface. The confirmation includes a second IP address information associated with the first scheduling entity. The processor and the memory may also be configured to: use the second IP address information to establish the second signaling connection to the RAN node via the second communication path via the base station interface; and transmit the information for the first signaling connection via the second signaling connection via the second communication path.

[0013] In some examples, a first scheduling entity may include: a unit for communicating with a RAN node via a first communication path; and a unit for receiving a first message from a second scheduling entity. The first message indicates that the RAN node supports the transmission of information for a first signaling connection with the first scheduling entity via a second signaling connection via a second communication path associated with the second scheduling entity, the first signaling connection being associated with a first Internet Protocol (IP) address information, and receiving the first message includes: receiving the first message via a base station interface. The first scheduling entity may also include: a unit for determining that the RAN node is connected to the first scheduling entity via a third signaling connection; and a unit for sending a confirmation to the second scheduling entity via the base station interface after determining that the RAN node is connected to the first scheduling entity via the third signaling connection. The confirmation includes a second IP address information associated with the first scheduling entity. The first scheduling entity may also include: a unit for using the second IP address information to establish the second signaling connection to the RAN node via the second communication path via the base station interface; and a unit for transmitting the information for the first signaling connection via the second signaling connection via the second communication path.

[0014] In some examples, an article for use by a first scheduling entity includes a non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored therein instructions executable by one or more processors of the first scheduling entity to: communicate with a RAN node via a first communication path; and receive a first message from a second scheduling entity. The first message indicates that the RAN node supports transmission of information for a first signaling connection with the first scheduling entity via a second signaling connection via a second communication path associated with the second scheduling entity, the first signaling connection being associated with first Internet Protocol (IP) address information, and receiving the first message includes: receiving the first message via a base station interface. The computer-readable medium also has stored therein instructions executable by one or more processors of the user equipment to: determine that the RAN node is connected to the first scheduling entity via a third signaling connection; and after determining that the RAN node is connected to the first scheduling entity via the third signaling connection, send an acknowledgment to the second scheduling entity via the base station interface. The acknowledgment includes second IP address information associated with the first scheduling entity. The computer-readable medium also stores therein instructions executable by one or more processors of the user equipment to perform the following operations: using the second IP address information to establish the second signaling connection to the RAN node via the base station interface through the second communication path; and transmitting the information for the first signaling connection via the second signaling connection through the second communication path.

[0015] After reviewing the following detailed description, these and other aspects of the present disclosure will become more fully understood. After reviewing the following description of the specific, example aspects of the present disclosure in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, other aspects, features and examples of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art. Although the features of the present disclosure may be discussed below with respect to certain examples and accompanying drawings, all examples of the present disclosure may include one or more features in the advantageous features discussed herein. In other words, although one or more examples may be discussed as having certain advantageous features, one or more features in these features may also be used according to the various examples of the present disclosure discussed herein. In a similar manner, although the example aspects may be discussed below as equipment, system or method examples, it should be understood that these example aspects can be implemented in various devices, systems and methods. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system according to some aspects.

[0017] Figure 2is a conceptual illustration of an example of a radio access network (RAN) in accordance with some aspects.

[0018] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating the organization of wireless resources in an air interface utilizing orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) according to some aspects.

[0019] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a network configuration including an integrated access backhaul (IAB) network in accordance with some aspects.

[0020] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of IAB node functionality within an IAB network in accordance with some aspects.

[0021] Figure 6 is a block diagram of an example of a wireless communication system with dual connectivity in accordance with some aspects.

[0022] Figure 7 is a block diagram of another example of a wireless communication system with dual connectivity in accordance with some aspects.

[0023] Figure 8 is a conceptual illustration of a protocol stack according to some aspects.

[0024] Fig. 9 is a signaling diagram illustrating an example of conveying support for a signaling path in accordance with some aspects.

[0025] Fig.10 is a flow chart illustrating an example wireless communication method for indicating support for an alternate path to establish a communication path with a node in accordance with some aspects.

[0026] Fig.11 is a flow chart illustrating an example wireless communication method for facilitating establishment of a communication path between two nodes in accordance with some aspects.

[0027] Fig.12 is a flow chart illustrating an example wireless communication method for establishing a communication path with a node supporting an alternate path in accordance with some aspects.

[0028] Fig.13 is a signaling diagram illustrating another example of conveying support for a signaling path in accordance with some aspects.

[0029] Fig.14 is a block diagram of an example of a wireless communication system in accordance with some aspects.

[0030] Fig.15 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for a RAN node employing a processing system according to some aspects.

[0031] Fig.16 is a flow chart illustrating an example wireless communication method for establishing a communication path to a scheduling entity in accordance with some aspects.

[0032] Fig.17 is a flow chart illustrating an example wireless communication method for establishing a communication path between a RAN node and a scheduling entity in accordance with some aspects.

[0033] Fig.18 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for a base station employing a processing system according to some aspects.

[0034] Fig.19 is a flow chart illustrating an example wireless communication method for communicating information to establish a communication path in accordance with some aspects.

[0035] Fig. 20 is a flow chart illustrating an example wireless communication method for mapping traffic on a communication path according to some aspects.

[0036] Fig.21 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a hardware implementation of a scheduling entity employing a processing system in accordance with some aspects.

[0037] Fig. 22 is a flow chart illustrating an example wireless communication method for establishing a communication path to a RAN node in accordance with some aspects.

[0038] Fig.23 is a flow chart illustrating an example wireless communication method for establishing a communication path using Internet Protocol information in accordance with some aspects. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039] The detailed description set forth below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings is intended as a description of various configurations and is not intended to represent the only configurations in which the concepts described herein may be implemented. In order to provide a thorough understanding of each concept, the detailed description includes specific details. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts may be implemented without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form to avoid blurring such concepts.

[0040] Although various aspects and examples are described in this application by illustrating some examples, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that additional implementations and use cases may be generated in many different arrangements and scenarios. The innovations described herein can be implemented across many different platform types, devices, systems, shapes, sizes, and packaging arrangements. For example, various aspects and / or uses can be generated via integrated chip examples and other devices based on non-module components (e.g., end-user devices, vehicles, communication devices, computing devices, industrial devices, retail / purchase devices, medical devices, artificial intelligence (AI) enabled devices, etc.). Although some examples may or may not be specifically for use cases or applications, there may be a variety of applicable scopes for the described innovations. Implementations may have a range from chip-level or modular components to non-modular, non-chip-level implementations, and further to aggregated, distributed, or original equipment manufacturer (OEM) devices or systems incorporating one or more aspects of the described innovations. In some actual settings, the devices incorporating the described aspects and features may also necessarily include additional components and features for the implementation and implementation of the claimed and described examples. For example, the transmission and reception of wireless signals necessarily include multiple components for analog and digital purposes (e.g., hardware components including antennas, radio frequency (RF) chains, power amplifiers, modulators, buffers, processors, interleavers, adders / summers, etc.). The innovations described herein are intended to be implemented in a variety of devices, chip-level components, systems, distributed arrangements, end-user devices, etc., having different sizes, shapes, and configurations.

[0041] Various aspects of the present disclosure relate to establishing a signaling connection between a radio access network (RAN) node and a first scheduling entity. The RAN node may communicate with a first scheduling entity (e.g., a secondary gNB) and a second scheduling entity (e.g., a master eNB (MeNB)) in a dual connectivity (DC) mode of operation. In the DC mode of operation, the first scheduling entity may communicate using a first radio access technology (RAT) and the second scheduling entity may communicate using a second RAT. The first RAT may be, for example, NR, and the second RAT may be, for example, long term evolution (LTE).

[0042] The RAN node and the first scheduling entity may support an alternative signaling path for information that is typically sent through a first signaling connection between the RAN node and the first scheduling entity. In some examples, the alternative signaling path may involve a second signaling connection through a second scheduling entity. In some examples, when the second signaling connection is more reliable than the first signaling connection, the RAN node or the first scheduling entity may choose to establish a second signaling connection. In order to establish the second signaling connection, the RAN node and the first scheduling entity may signal support for the second signaling connection and then exchange Internet Protocol information for the second signaling connection. In some examples, the RAN node is a sub-integrated access backhaul network (IAB) node operating in DC mode, the first scheduling entity is a DC secondary gNB (e.g., which includes an NR IAB donor control unit), and the second scheduling entity is a DC primary eNB (e.g., an LTE MeNB). In this case, the first signaling connection may be an F1 control (F1-C) connection, and the second signaling connection may include a radio resource control signaling connection.

[0043] The various concepts presented throughout this disclosure may be implemented in a wide variety of telecommunication systems, network architectures and communication standards. Figure 1 , various aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated with reference to a wireless communication system 100, by way of illustrative example and not limitation. The wireless communication system 100 includes three interacting domains: a core network 102, a radio access network (RAN) 104, and a user equipment (UE) 106. By means of the wireless communication system 100, the UE 106 may be implemented to perform data communications with an external data network 110, such as (but not limited to) the Internet.

[0044] The RAN 104 may implement any one or more suitable wireless communication technologies to provide radio access to the UE 106. As one example, the RAN 104 may operate according to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) New Radio (NR) specification, often referred to as 5G. As another example, the RAN 104 may operate according to a hybrid of 5G NR and Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (eUTRAN) standards, often referred to as Long Term Evolution (LTE). 3GPP refers to this hybrid RAN as the Next Generation RAN or NG-RAN. In another example, the RAN 104 may operate according to both LTE and 5G NR standards. Of course, many other examples may be utilized within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0045] As shown, RAN 104 includes multiple base stations 108. In a broad sense, a base station is a network unit in a radio access network that is responsible for radio transmission and reception to or from a UE in one or more cells. In different technologies, standards or contexts, those skilled in the art may refer to base stations as base transceivers (BTS), wireless base stations, wireless transceivers, transceiver function units, basic service sets (BSS), extended service sets (ESS), access points (APs), node Bs (NBs), evolved node Bs (eNBs), gNodeBs (gNBs), transmission and reception points (TRPs), or some other suitable terminology. In some examples, a base station may include two or more TRPs that may be co-located or non-co-located. Each TRP may communicate on the same or different carrier frequencies in the same or different frequency bands. In an example where RAN 104 operates according to both LTE and 5G NR standards, one of the base stations 108 may be an LTE base station, and the other base station may be a 5G NR base station.

[0046] The radio access network 104 is also shown as supporting wireless communications for multiple mobile devices. In the 3GPP standard, a mobile device may be referred to as a user equipment (UE) 106, but those skilled in the art may also refer to it as a mobile station (MS), a user station, a mobile unit, a user unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a wireless communication device, a remote device, a mobile user station, an access terminal (AT), a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a mobile phone, a terminal, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, or some other appropriate term. UE 106 may be a device that provides access to network services to a user. In an example where RAN 104 operates according to both LTE and 5G NR standards, UE 106 may be an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network-new radio dual connectivity (EN-DC) UE that is capable of simultaneously connecting to an LTE base station and an NR base station to receive data packets from both the LTE base station and the NR base station.

[0047] In this document, a mobile device does not necessarily need to have the ability to move, and it can be stationary. The term mobile device or mobile device broadly refers to a wide variety of devices and technologies. A UE may include multiple hardware structural components that are sized, shaped, and arranged to facilitate communication; such components may include antennas, antenna arrays, RF chains, amplifiers, one or more processors, etc. that are electrically coupled to each other. For example, some non-limiting examples of mobile devices include mobile stations, cellular (cell) phones, smart phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, laptops, personal computers (PCs), notebooks, netbooks, smart books, tablet devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and a wide variety of embedded systems, for example, corresponding to the Internet of Things (IoT).

[0048] In addition, the mobile device may be a car or other means of transportation, a remote sensor or actuator, a robot or robotic device, a satellite radio unit, a global positioning system (GPS) device, an object tracking device, a drone, a multi-rotor helicopter, a quadcopter, a remote control device, a consumer device and / or a wearable device such as glasses, a wearable camera, a virtual reality device, a smart watch, a health or fitness tracker, a digital audio player (e.g., an MP3 player), a camera, a game console, etc. In addition, the mobile device may be a digital home or smart home device, such as a home audio, video, and / or multimedia device, a home appliance, a vending machine, smart lighting, a home security system, a smart meter, etc. In addition, the mobile device may be a smart energy device, a security device, a solar panel or solar array, a municipal infrastructure device that controls power (e.g., a smart grid), lighting, water, etc., an industrial automation and enterprise device, a logistics controller, an agricultural device, etc. In addition, the mobile device may provide connected medicine or telemedicine support (i.e., healthcare at a distance). Telemedicine devices may include telemedicine monitoring devices and telemedicine management devices, whose communications may be given priority or priority access relative to other types of information, for example, in terms of priority access for the transmission of critical service data, and / or related QoS for the transmission of critical service data.

[0049] Wireless communication between RAN 104 and UE 106 can be described as utilizing an air interface. Transmissions from a base station (e.g., base station 108) to one or more UEs (e.g., UE 106) over the air interface can be referred to as downlink (DL) transmissions. In some examples, the term downlink can refer to point-to-multipoint transmissions originating from a base station (e.g., base station 108). Another way to describe this point-to-multipoint transmission scheme can be to use the term broadcast channel multiplexing. Transmissions from a UE (e.g., UE 106) to a base station (e.g., base station 108) can be referred to as uplink (UL) transmissions. In some examples, the term uplink can refer to point-to-point transmissions originating from a UE (e.g., UE 106).

[0050] In some examples, access to the air interface may be scheduled, wherein a scheduling entity (e.g., a base station 108) allocates resources for communication between some or all devices and apparatuses within its service area or cell. In the present disclosure, as further discussed below, a scheduling entity may be responsible for scheduling, assigning, reconfiguring, and releasing resources for one or more scheduled entities (e.g., UEs). That is, for scheduled communications, multiple UEs 106 (which may be scheduled entities) may use resources allocated by the scheduling entity 108.

[0051] Base station 108 is not the only entity that can act as a scheduling entity. That is, in some examples, a UE can act as a scheduling entity, scheduling resources for one or more scheduled entities (e.g., one or more other UEs). For example, a UE can communicate with other UEs in a peer-to-peer or device-to-device manner and / or in a relay configuration.

[0052] like Figure 1 As shown, the scheduling entity 108 can broadcast downlink traffic 112 to one or more scheduled entities 106. In a broad sense, the scheduling entity 108 is a node or device responsible for scheduling traffic in the wireless communication network, including downlink traffic 112, and in some examples, uplink traffic 116 and / or uplink control information 118 from one or more scheduled entities 106 to the scheduling entity 108. On the other hand, the scheduled entity 106 is a node or device that receives downlink control information 114 (including but not limited to scheduling information (e.g., grants), synchronization or timing information, or other control information) from another entity in the wireless communication network (e.g., the scheduling entity 108).

[0053] In addition, uplink and / or downlink control information and / or traffic information may be divided into frames, subframes, time slots and / or symbols by time. As used herein, a symbol may refer to a time unit in which each subcarrier carries a resource element (RE) in an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) waveform. In some examples, a time slot may carry 7 or 14 OFDM symbols. A subframe may refer to a duration of 1 millisecond (ms). Multiple subframes or time slots may be combined to form a single frame or radio frame. Within the present disclosure, a frame may refer to a predetermined duration (e.g., 10ms) for wireless transmission, wherein each frame is composed of, for example, 10 subframes (1ms per subframe). Of course, these definitions are not required, and any suitable scheme for organizing waveforms may be utilized, and the various time divisions of waveforms may have any suitable duration.

[0054] Typically, base stations 108 may include a backhaul interface for communicating with a backhaul portion 120 of a wireless communication system. Backhaul 120 may provide a link between base stations 108 and core network 102. Additionally, in some examples, a backhaul network may provide interconnections between respective base stations 108. Various types of backhaul interfaces may be used, such as a direct physical connection, a virtual network, or a backhaul interface using any suitable transport network.

[0055] The core network 102 may be part of the wireless communication system 100 and may be independent of the radio access technology used in the RAN 104. In some examples, the core network 102 may be configured according to 5G standards (e.g., 5GC). In other examples, the core network 102 may be configured according to 4G Evolved Packet Core (EPC) or any other appropriate standard or configuration.

[0056] Now refer to Figure 2 , by way of example and not limitation, a schematic diagram of a RAN 200 is provided. In some examples, the RAN 200 may be similar to the one described above and in Figure 1 The same as the RAN 104 shown in FIG.

[0057] The geographic area covered by the RAN 200 may be divided into a plurality of cellular regions (cells), which a user equipment (UE) may uniquely identify based on an identity broadcast from an access point or base station. Figure 2 Cells 202, 204, 206, and 208 are shown, each of which may include one or more sectors (not shown). A sector is a sub-area of ​​a cell. All sectors in a cell are served by the same base station. A radio link in a sector may be identified by a single logical identifier belonging to the sector. In a cell divided into multiple sectors, multiple sectors in a cell may be formed by multiple groups of antennas, each of which is responsible for communicating with a UE in a portion of the cell.

[0058] Various base station arrangements can be used. Figure 2 , two base stations 210 and 212 are shown in cells 202 and 204; and a third base station 214 is shown as being used to control a remote radio head (RRH) 216 in cell 206. That is, the base station may have an integrated antenna, or may be connected to an antenna or RRH via a feeder cable. In the example shown, cells 202, 204, and 206 may be referred to as macro cells, since base stations 210, 212, and 214 support cells having large sizes. In addition, base station 218 is shown in cell 208, which may overlap with one or more macro cells. In this example, cell 208 may be referred to as a small cell (e.g., a micro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, a home base station, a home node B, a home eNodeB, etc.), since base station 218 supports cells having relatively small sizes. The cell size setting may be performed according to the system design and component constraints.

[0059] It should be understood that the radio access network 200 may include any number of wireless base stations and cells. In addition, relay nodes may be deployed to extend the size or coverage area of ​​a given cell. Base stations 210, 212, 214, 218 provide wireless access points to the core network for any number of mobile devices. In some examples, base stations 210, 212, 214, and / or 218 may be similar to those described above and in Figure 1 The base station / scheduling entity 108 shown in FIG.

[0060] Figure 2 Also included is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) 220, which may be a drone or a quadcopter. UAV 220 may be configured to act as a base station, or more specifically, as a mobile base station. That is, in some examples, the cell may not necessarily be stationary, and the geographic area of ​​the cell may move depending on the location of the mobile base station (such as UAV 220).

[0061] In the RAN 200, a cell may include UEs that may communicate with one or more sectors of each cell. In addition, each base station 210, 212, 214, and 218 may be configured to provide services to the core network 102 (see FIG. 1 ) to all UEs in the corresponding cell. Figure 1 ) access point. For example, UEs 222 and 224 may communicate with base station 210; UEs 226 and 228 may communicate with base station 212; UEs 230 and 232 may communicate with base station 214 via RRH 216; and UE 234 may communicate with base station 218. In some examples, UEs 222, 224, 226, 228, 230, 232, 234, 236, 240, and / or 242 may communicate with the base stations described above and Figure 1 200. In some examples, UAV 220 (e.g., a quadcopter) may be a mobile network node and may be configured to act as a UE. For example, UAV 220 may operate in cell 202 by communicating with base station 210.

[0062] In other aspects of RAN 200, sidelink signals can be used between UEs without relying on scheduling or control information from a base station. Sidelink communications can be implemented in a device-to-device (D2D) network, a peer-to-peer (P2P) network, a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) network, a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) network, and / or other suitable sidelink networks. For example, two or more UEs (e.g., UE 238, 240, and 242) can communicate with each other using P2P or sidelink signals 237 without relaying the communication through a base station. In some examples, UE 238, 240, and 242 can each act as a scheduling entity or a sending sidelink device and / or a scheduled entity or a receiving sidelink device to schedule resources and transmit sidelink signals 237 between them without relying on scheduling or control information from a base station. In other examples, two or more UEs (e.g., UEs 226 and 228) within the coverage area of ​​a base station (e.g., base station 212) may also transmit sidelink signals 227 via a direct link (sidelink) without transmitting the communication through base station 212. In this example, base station 212 may allocate resources to UEs 226 and 228 for sidelink communication.

[0063] In the radio access network 200, the ability of a UE to communicate while moving (independent of its location) is called mobility. This is usually done in an access and mobility management function (AMF, not shown, Figure 1 The AMF establishes, maintains and releases various physical channels between the UE and the radio access network under the control of the core network 102 in the core network, where the AMF may include a security context management function unit (SCMF) that manages the security context for both control plane and user plane functions, and a security anchor function unit (SEAF) that performs authentication.

[0064] The radio access network 200 may use DL-based mobility or UL-based mobility to implement mobility and handover (i.e., the UE's connection is switched from one radio channel to another). In a network configured for DL-based mobility, during a call with a scheduling entity, or at any other time, the UE may monitor various parameters of the signal from its serving cell and various parameters of neighboring cells. Based on the quality of these parameters, the UE may maintain communication with one or more of the neighboring cells. During this time, if the UE moves from one cell to another, or if the signal quality from a neighboring cell exceeds the signal quality from the serving cell for a given amount of time, the UE may perform a handoff or handover from the serving cell to the neighboring (target) cell. For example, a UE 224 (shown as a vehicle, but any suitable form of UE may be used) may move from a geographic area corresponding to its serving cell 202 to a geographic area corresponding to a neighboring cell 206. When the signal strength or quality from a neighboring cell 206 exceeds the signal strength or quality of the serving cell 202 for a given amount of time, the UE 224 may send a report message to its serving base station 210 indicating the condition. In response, UE 224 may receive a handover command, and the UE may perform a handover to cell 206 .

[0065] In a network configured for UL-based mobility, the network can use the UL reference signal from each UE to select a serving cell for each UE. In some examples, base stations 210, 212, and 214 / 216 can broadcast unified synchronization signals (e.g., a unified primary synchronization signal (PSS), a unified secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and a unified physical broadcast channel (PBCH)). UEs 222, 224, 226, 228, 230, and 232 can receive these unified synchronization signals, derive carrier frequency and time slot timing based on these synchronization signals, and send an uplink pilot or reference signal in response to the derived timing. The uplink pilot signal sent by a UE (e.g., UE 224) can be received simultaneously by two or more cells (e.g., base stations 210 and 214 / 216) in the radio access network 200. Each of these cells may measure the strength of the pilot signal, and the radio access network (e.g., one or more of the base stations 210 and 214 / 216 and / or a central node in the core network) may determine a serving cell for the UE 224. As the UE 224 moves through the radio access network 200, the network may continue to monitor the uplink pilot signals sent by the UE 224. When the signal strength or quality of the pilot signal measured by the neighboring cell exceeds the signal strength or quality measured by the serving cell, the network 200 may handover the UE 224 from the serving cell to the neighboring cell with or without notifying the UE 224.

[0066] Although the synchronization signals transmitted by base stations 210, 212 and 214 / 216 may be uniform, the synchronization signal may not identify a specific cell, but may identify a region of multiple cells operating on the same frequency and / or using the same timing. The use of regions in a 5G network or other next generation communication network implements an uplink-based mobility framework and improves the efficiency of both the UE and the network, since the number of mobility messages that need to be exchanged between the UE and the network can be reduced.

[0067] In various implementations, the air interface in the radio access network 200 may use a licensed spectrum, an unlicensed spectrum, or a shared spectrum. Licensed spectrum typically provides exclusive use of a portion of the spectrum with the help of a mobile network operator purchasing a license from a government regulator. Unlicensed spectrum provides shared use of a portion of the spectrum without the need for a government-authorized license. Although some technical rules generally still need to be followed to access the unlicensed spectrum, in general, any operator or device can obtain access. Shared spectrum can fall between licensed spectrum and unlicensed spectrum, where some technical rules or restrictions may be required to access the spectrum, but the spectrum can still be shared by multiple operators and / or multiple RATs. For example, a license holder of a portion of a licensed spectrum may provide licensed shared access (LSA) to share the spectrum with other parties (e.g., with appropriate licensee-determined conditions to obtain access).

[0068] The air interface in the radio access network 200 may use one or more multiplexing and multiple access algorithms to enable simultaneous communication of various devices. For example, the 5G NR specification provides multiple access for UL transmissions from UEs 222 and 224 to the base station 210, and multiplexing of DL transmissions from the base station 210 to one or more UEs 222 and 224 using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) with a cyclic prefix (CP). In addition, for UL transmissions, the 5G NR specification provides support for discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) with CP (also known as single carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA)). However, within the scope of the present disclosure, multiplexing and multiple access are not limited to the above schemes, and may be provided using time division multiple access (TDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), sparse code multiple access (SCMA), resource extension multiple access (RSMA), or other appropriate multiple access schemes. In addition, multiplexing of DL transmissions from base station 210 to UEs 222 and 224 may be provided using time division multiplexing (TDM), code division multiplexing (CDM), frequency division multiplexing (FDM), orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), sparse code multiplexing (SCM), or other suitable multiplexing schemes.

[0069] The air interface in the radio access network 200 may also use one or more duplex algorithms. Duplex refers to a point-to-point communication link, in which two endpoints can communicate with each other in two directions. Full-duplex means that two endpoints can communicate with each other simultaneously. Half-duplex means that at a certain time, only one endpoint can send information to the other endpoint. Half-duplex simulation is frequently used for wireless links using time division duplex (TDD). In TDD, transmissions in different directions on a given channel are separated from each other using time division multiplexing. That is, at certain times, the channel is dedicated to transmission in one direction, and at other times, the channel is dedicated to transmission in the other direction, where the direction can change very quickly (e.g., several times per subframe change). In wireless links, full-duplex channels generally rely on physical isolation of transmitters and receivers and suitable interference cancellation techniques. Full-duplex simulation is frequently implemented for wireless links using frequency division duplex (FDD) or space division duplex (SDD). In FDD, transmissions in different directions operate at different carrier frequencies. In SDD, transmissions in different directions on a given channel are separated from each other using spatial division multiplexing (SDM). In other examples, full-duplex communication can be implemented within an unpaired spectrum (e.g., within a single carrier bandwidth), where transmissions in different directions occur within different sub-bands of the carrier bandwidth. This type of full-duplex communication can be referred to as sub-band full-duplex (SBFD), also known as flexible duplex.

[0070] Reference will be made to OFDM waveforms (an example of which is given in Figure 3 Various aspects of the present disclosure are described in detail with reference to Figure 1 (schematically shown in Figure 2). It should be understood by those skilled in the art that various aspects of the present disclosure can be applied to SC-FDMA waveforms in substantially the same manner as described below herein. That is, although some examples of the present disclosure may focus on OFDM links for clarity, it should be understood that the same principles can also be applied to SC-FDMA waveforms.

[0071] Now refer to Figure 3 , shows an expanded view of an example subframe 302 showing an OFDM resource grid. However, as will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, the physical (PHY) layer transmission structure for any particular application may differ from the examples described herein, depending on any number of factors. Here, time is in the horizontal direction, in units of OFDM symbols, and frequency is in the vertical direction, in units of subcarriers of a carrier.

[0072] Resource grid 304 can be used to schematically represent the time-frequency resources for a given antenna port. That is, in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) implementation with multiple available antenna ports, corresponding multiple resource grids 304 can be available for communication. Resource grid 304 is divided into multiple resource elements (RE) 306. RE (which is 1 carrier × 1 symbol) is the smallest discrete part of the time-frequency grid and contains a single complex value representing data from a physical channel or signal. Depending on the modulation used in a specific implementation, each RF can represent one or more bits of information. In some examples, a block of REs can be referred to as a physical resource block (PRB) or more simply a resource block (RB) 308, which contains any appropriate number of consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain. In one example, an RB can include 12 subcarriers, regardless of the number of digital schemes used. In some examples, depending on the digital scheme, an RB can include any appropriate number of consecutive OFDM symbols in the time domain. In the present disclosure, it is assumed that a single RB (e.g., RB 308) corresponds entirely to a single communication direction (for a given device, a sending or receiving direction).

[0073] A set of resource blocks, whether contiguous or discontinuous, is referred to herein as a resource block group (RBG), a subband, or a bandwidth part (BWP). A subband or BWP set may span the entire bandwidth. Scheduling a scheduled entity (e.g., a UE) for downlink, uplink, or sidelink transmission typically involves scheduling one or more resource elements 306 within one or more subbands or bandwidth parts (BWPs). Thus, a UE typically utilizes only a subset of a resource grid 304. In some examples, an RB may be the smallest unit of resources that may be allocated to a UE. Thus, the more RBs scheduled for a UE, and the higher the modulation scheme selected for the air interface, the higher the data rate for the UE. The RBs may be scheduled by a scheduling entity, such as a base station (e.g., a gNB, eNB, etc.), or may be self-scheduled by a UE implementing D2D sidelink communication.

[0074] In this diagram, RB 308 is shown as occupying less than the entire bandwidth of subframe 302, with some subcarriers shown above and below RB 308. In a given implementation, subframe 302 may have a bandwidth corresponding to any number of one or more RBs 308. Furthermore, in this diagram, while RB 308 is shown as occupying less than the entire duration of subframe 302, this is merely one possible example.

[0075] Each 1 ms subframe 302 may consist of one or more adjacent time slots. Figure 3In the example shown in , a subframe 302 includes four time slots 310 as an illustrative example. In some examples, the time slot can be defined according to a specified number of OFDM symbols with a given cyclic prefix (CP) length. For example, a time slot can include 7 or 14 OFDM symbols with a nominal CP. Other examples may include micro-slots (sometimes referred to as shortened transmission time intervals (TTIs)) with shorter durations (e.g., one to three OFDM symbols). In some cases, these micro-slots or shortened transmission time intervals (TTIs) may be sent by occupying resources scheduled for ongoing time slot transmissions for the same or different UEs. Any number of resource blocks can be utilized within a subframe or time slot.

[0076] An expanded view of one of the time slots 310 shows that the time slot 310 includes a control region 312 and a data region 314. In general, the control region 312 may carry control channels, and the data region 314 may carry data channels. Of course, a time slot may contain all DL, all UL, or at least one DL portion and at least one UL portion. Figure 3 The structure shown in is only an example, and a different time slot structure may be utilized, and the different time slot structure may include one or more regions in each of the control region and the data region.

[0077] Despite Figure 3 Although not shown in the figure, various REs 306 within RB 308 may be scheduled to carry one or more physical channels, including control channels, shared channels, data channels, etc. Other REs 306 within RB 308 may also carry pilot or reference signals. These pilot or reference signals may provide a receiving device with channel estimation for the corresponding channel, which may enable coherent demodulation / detection of control and / or data channels within RB 308.

[0078] In some examples, time slot 310 may be used for broadcast, multicast, groupcast, or unicast communications. For example, broadcast, multicast, or groupcast communications may refer to point-to-multipoint transmissions from one device (e.g., a base station, UE, or other similar device) to other devices. Here, broadcast communications are delivered to all devices, while multicast or groupcast communications are delivered to multiple intended recipient devices. Unicast communications may refer to point-to-point transmissions from one device to a single other device.

[0079] In an example of cellular communication on a cellular carrier via a Uu interface, for DL ​​transmission, a scheduling entity (e.g., a base station) may allocate one or more REs 306 (e.g., within a control region 312) to carry DL control information including one or more DL control channels (such as a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)) to one or more scheduled entities (e.g., UEs). The PDCCH carries downlink control information (DCI), including, but not limited to, power control commands (e.g., one or more open-loop power control parameters and / or one or more closed-loop power control parameters), scheduling information, grants, and / or assignments of REs for DL ​​and UL transmissions. The PDCCH may also carry hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback transmissions, such as acknowledgements (ACKs) or negative acknowledgements (NACKs). HARQ is a technique well known to those skilled in the art, wherein the integrity of a packet transmission may be checked for accuracy at the receiving side, for example, using any appropriate integrity check mechanism, such as a checksum or a cyclic redundancy check (CRC). If the integrity of the transmission is confirmed, an ACK may be sent, and if the integrity of the transmission is not confirmed, a NACK may be sent. In response to the NACK, the transmitting device may send a HARQ retransmission, which may implement append combining, incremental redundancy, and the like.

[0080] The base station may also allocate one or more REs 306 (e.g., in the control region 312 or the data region 314) to carry other DL signals, such as a demodulation reference signal (DMRS); a phase tracking reference signal (PT-RS); a channel state information (CSI) reference signal (CSI-RS); and a synchronization signal block (SSB). The SSBs may be broadcast at regular intervals based on a period (e.g., 5, 10, 20, 30, 80, or 130 ms). The SSBs include a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a symbol synchronization signal (SSS), and a physical broadcast control channel (PBCH). The UE may utilize the PSS and SSS to achieve radio frame, subframe, time slot, and symbol synchronization in the time domain, identify the center of the channel (system) bandwidth in the frequency domain, and identify the physical cell identity (PCI) of the cell.

[0081] The PBCH in the SSB may also include a master information block (MIB) containing various system information and parameters for decoding a system information block (SIB). For example, the SIB may be, for example, SystemInformationType1 (SIB1), which may include various additional (remaining) system information. The MIB and SIB1 together provide minimum system information (SI) for initial access. Examples of system information sent in the MIB may include, but are not limited to, subcarrier spacing (e.g., default downlink digital scheme), system frame number, configuration of the PDCCH control resource set (CORESET) (e.g., PDCCH CORESET0), cell barring indicator, cell reselection indicator, raster offset, and search space of SIB1. Examples of remaining minimum system information (RMSI) sent in SIB1 may include, but are not limited to, random access search space, paging search space, downlink configuration information, and uplink configuration data. The base station may also send other system information (OSI).

[0082] In an UL transmission, a scheduled entity (e.g., a UE) may utilize one or more REs 306 to carry UL control information (UCI) including one or more UL control channels, such as a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), to a scheduling entity. UCI may include a variety of packet types and categories, including pilots, reference signals, and information configured to enable or assist in decoding uplink data transmissions. Examples of uplink reference signals may include sounding reference signals (SRS) and uplink DMRS. In some examples, UCI may include a scheduling request (SR), i.e., a request for a scheduling entity to schedule an uplink transmission. Here, in response to the SR sent on the UCI, the scheduling entity may send downlink control information (DCI), which may schedule resources for uplink packet transmissions. UCI may also include HARQ feedback, channel state feedback (CSF) (such as a CSI report), or any other appropriate UCI.

[0083] In addition to control information, one or more REs 306 (e.g., within the data region 314) may also be allocated for user data traffic. Such data traffic may be carried on one or more traffic channels (e.g., for DL ​​transmission, a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH); or for UL transmission, a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)). In some examples, one or more REs 306 within the data region 314 may be configured to carry other signals (such as one or more SIBs and DMRS).

[0084] In an example of sidelink communication on a sidelink carrier via a proximity service (ProSe) PC5 interface, a control region 312 of a time slot 310 may include a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) including sidelink control information (SCI) sent by an initiating (transmitting) sidelink device (e.g., a Tx V2X device or other Tx UE) toward a set of one or more other receiving sidelink devices (e.g., an Rx V2X device or some other Rx UE). A data region 314 of the time slot 310 may include a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) including sidelink data traffic sent by an initiating (transmitting) sidelink device within resources reserved by the transmitting sidelink device via the SCI on the sidelink carrier. Other information may also be sent in various REs 306 within the time slot 310. For example, HARQ feedback information may be sent from a receiving sidelink device to a transmitting sidelink device in a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) within the time slot 310. In addition, one or more reference signals (such as a sidelink SSB, a sidelink CSI-RS, a sidelink SRS and / or a sidelink positioning reference signal (PRS)) may be sent within time slot 310 .

[0085] These physical channels described above are typically multiplexed and mapped to transport channels for processing at the medium access control (MAC) layer. Transport channels carry blocks of information called transport blocks (TBs). The transport block size (TBS), which may correspond to the number of bits of information, may be a controlled parameter based on the modulation and coding scheme (MCS) and the number of RBs in a given transmission.

[0086] Referenced above Figure 1-3 The channels or carriers described are not necessarily all channels or carriers that may be used between a scheduling entity and a scheduled entity, and those skilled in the art will recognize that other channels or carriers may be utilized in addition to those shown, such as other traffic, control, and feedback channels.

[0087] Figure 4 4 is a high-level diagram that provides one example of an integrated access backhaul (IAB) network configuration 400 that can be used in some examples. In the diagram, a communication network 402 (such as an IAB network) is coupled to a remote network 404 (such as a primary backhaul network or a mobile core network). In such an IAB network 402, wireless spectrum can be used for both access links and backhaul links. In some examples, the wireless spectrum can utilize millimeter wave (mmWave) or sub-6 GHz carrier frequencies.

[0088] IAB Network 402 can be similar to Figure 2, because the IAB network 402 can be divided into multiple cells 406, 408, 410, 412, and 414, each of which can be served by a corresponding IAB node 416, 418, 420, 422, and 424. Each of the IAB nodes 416-424 can be an access point, a base station (BS), an eNB, a gNB, or other nodes that utilize a wireless spectrum (e.g., a radio frequency (RF) spectrum) to support access to one or more UEs located within the cells 406-414 served by the IAB node.

[0089] exist Figure 4 In the example shown, IAB node 416 communicates with UEs 426 and 428 via wireless access links 430 and 432, IAB node 418 communicates with UE 434 via wireless access link 436, and IAB node 422 communicates with UE 438 via wireless access link 440. IAB nodes 416-424 are also interconnected via one or more wireless backhaul links 442, 444, 446, 448, 450, and 452. Each of the wireless backhaul links 442-452 can utilize the same wireless spectrum (e.g., radio frequency (RF) spectrum) as access links 430-440 to backhaul access to / from remote network 404. This can be referred to as wireless self-backhaul. Such wireless self-backhaul can enable rapid and easy deployment of highly dense small cell networks. That is, the wireless spectrum used for communications between gNBs and UEs may be used for backhaul communications between any number of IAB nodes to form the IAB network 402, without requiring each new gNB deployment to be equipped with its own hardwired backhaul connection.

[0090] exist Figure 4 In the example shown, IAB node 416 communicates with IAB node 420 via wireless backhaul link 442, IAB node 420 communicates with IAB node 422 via wireless backhaul link 444, IAB node 422 communicates with IAB node 424 via wireless backhaul link 446, IAB node 424 communicates with IAB node 418 via wireless backhaul link 448, IAB node 418 communicates with IAB node 416 via wireless backhaul link 450, and IAB node 418 communicates with IAB node 420 via wireless backhaul link 452. Figure 4 As shown, each IAB node 41 - 424 may be connected to two or more other IAB nodes via respective wireless backhaul links 442 - 452 for robustness.

[0091] Some or all of the IAB nodes 416-424 may also be connected via a wired backhaul link (e.g., fiber, coaxial cable, Ethernet, copper wire, etc.) and / or a microwave backhaul link. Thus, the IAB network 402 may support both wired / microwave and wireless backhaul services. At least one of the IAB nodes (e.g., IAB node 424) may be a border IAB node (also referred to herein as an IAB donor node), which also provides a communication link 454 to the remote network 404. For example, the IAB donor node 424 may include a wired (e.g., fiber, coaxial cable, Ethernet, copper wire), microwave, or other suitable link 454 to the remote network 404.

[0092] In order to facilitate wireless communication between IAB nodes 416-424 and between IAB nodes 416-424 and UEs served by IAB nodes 416-424, each IAB node 416-424 can be configured to operate as both a scheduling entity and a scheduled entity. Therefore, an IAB node (e.g., IAB node 416) can use the same wireless spectrum to send access services to / from the UE, and then backhaul the access services to / from the UE remote network 404. For example, in order to backhaul access services to / from IAB node 418, IAB node 418 can communicate with IAB node 420 to send backhaul access services via wireless backhaul link 442, IAB node 420 can communicate with IAB node 422 to send backhaul access services via wireless backhaul link 444, and IAB node 422 can communicate with IAB node 424 to send backhaul access services via wireless backhaul link 446. In this example, IAB nodes 420 and 422 may each operate as both a scheduling entity and a scheduled entity to backhaul access traffic to / from IAB node 416. Thus, communications between a pair of IAB nodes may be individually scheduled by one of the IAB nodes within the pair.

[0093] In other examples, the IAB node may schedule wireless backhaul communications between other IAB node pairs. For example, the IAB node 424 may operate as a scheduling entity of the IAB network 402, and the IAB nodes 416, 420, and 422 each operate as a scheduled entity to backhaul access services to / from the IAB node 416. In this example, the IAB node 424 may schedule wireless backhaul communications between each IAB node pair (e.g., between the IAB node 416 and the IAB node 420, between the IAB node 420 and the IAB node 422, and between the IAB node 422 and the IAB node 420). As another example, the IAB node 422 may operate as a scheduling entity to schedule wireless backhaul communications between the IAB nodes 416 and 420 and also between the IAB node 420 and the IAB node 422. Then, the IAB node 422 may operate as a scheduled entity to allow the IAB node 424 to schedule wireless backhaul communications between them.

[0094] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of IAB node functions within the IAB network 500. Figure 5 In the example shown, the IAB node 502 is shown as being coupled to the core network 504 via a wired connection. The IAB node 502 may be referred to herein as an IAB donor node, which may be, for example, an enhanced gNB including functionality for controlling the IAB network 500. In some examples, the IAB donor node 502 may include a central unit (CU) 506 and a distributed unit (DU) 508. The CU 506 is configured to operate as a centralized network node (or central entity) within the IAB network 500. For example, the CU 506 may include radio resource control (RRC) layer functionality and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer functionality to control / configure other nodes (e.g., IAB nodes and UEs) within the IAB network 500. In some aspects, RRC signaling may be used for various functions, including establishing and releasing user data bearers, as an example. In some examples, RRC signaling messages may be transmitted over signaling radio bearers (e.g., SRB 1 and SRB 2).

[0095] The DU 508 is configured to operate as a scheduling entity to schedule scheduled entities (e.g., other IAB nodes and UEs) of the IAB donor node 502. For example, the DU 508 of the IAB donor node 502 may operate as a scheduling entity to schedule the IAB nodes 510 and 512 and the UEs 514 and 516. Thus, the DU 508 of the IAB donor node 502 may schedule communications with the IAB nodes 510 and 512 via corresponding backhaul links, and schedule communications with the UEs 514 and 516 via corresponding access links. In some examples, the DU 508 may include radio link control (RLC), medium access control (MAC), and physical (PHY) layer functions to implement operations as a scheduling entity.

[0096] Each of the IAB nodes 510 and 512 may be configured as a layer 2 (L2) relay node, which includes a corresponding DU 520 and a mobile terminal (MT) unit 518, so that each L2 relay IAB node 510 and 512 can function as a scheduling entity and a scheduled entity. For example, the MT unit 518 within each of the L2 relay IAB nodes 510 and 512 is configured to operate as a scheduled entity that can be scheduled by the IAB donor node 502. Each MT unit 518 within the L2 relay IAB nodes 510 and 512 also facilitates communication with the IAB donor node 502 via a corresponding backhaul link. In addition, the DU 520 within each of the L2 relay IAB nodes 510 and 512 operates similarly to the DU 508 within the IAB donor node 502 to serve as a scheduling entity to schedule one or more corresponding scheduled entities (e.g., other IAB nodes and / or UEs) of the L2 relay IAB nodes 510 and 512.

[0097] For example, the DU 520 of the L2 relay IAB node 512 serves as a scheduling entity to schedule communication with the UE 522 via the access link, and the DU 520 of the L2 relay AAB node 510 serves as a scheduling entity to schedule communication with the MT unit 518 of the L2 relay IAB nodes 526 and 526 via the corresponding backhaul link and communication with the UE 528 via the access link. Each of the L2 relay IAB nodes 524 and 526 also includes a corresponding DU 520, which serves as a scheduling entity to communicate with the corresponding UEs 530 and 532. Therefore, in Figure 5In the network topology shown, since the IAB donor node 502 is configured to control each of the other nodes in the IAB network, the IAB donor node 502 is the parent IAB node of the child IAB nodes 510, 512, 524, and 536. In addition, the IAB node 510 is also the parent IAB node of the child IAB nodes 524 and 526. For example, the CU 506 and the DU 508 within the IAB donor node 502 can be used as the parent IAB node of the child IAB nodes 510, 512, 524, and 526, and the DU 520 within the IAB node 510 can be used as the parent IAB node of the child IAB nodes 524 and 526. The MT unit 518 within the IAB nodes 510, 512, 524, and 526 can also be used as a child IAB node.

[0098] In a mobile IAB network, one or more of the L2 relay IAB nodes 510, 512, 524, and / or 526 may be mobile within the IAB network 500. For example, the L2 relay IAB node (e.g., IAB node 524) may be a mobile IAB node installed on a bus, train, taxi, platoon vehicle, or other movable object.

[0099] The present disclosure relates in some aspects to Figure 4 IAB Network 402, Figure 5 Such a signaling connection may be used to backhaul access services (e.g., via IAB backhaul) or to transmit other types of services. For ease of description, various aspects of establishing such a signaling connection will be described in the context of an IAB-based architecture. It should be understood that these aspects may also be applicable to other types of architectures (e.g., non-IAB architectures). In the following description, the term IAB node is used to refer to an IAB node (e.g., Figure 5 510, 512, 524, and 526), ​​rather than an IAB donor node (e.g., Figure 5 IAB donor node 502).

[0100] In some examples, the IAB node can operate in a dual connectivity (DC) mode to simultaneously connect to a first scheduling entity and a second scheduling entity to receive data packets from and send data packets to each of the first scheduling entity and the second scheduling entity. In some examples, the first scheduling entity can communicate using a first radio access technology (RAT), and the first scheduling entity can also communicate using a second RAT different from the first RAT. For example, the first RAT can be NR and the second RAT can be LTE.

[0101] In some examples, the IAB node can operate in an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network-New Radio Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) mode to simultaneously connect to an NR base station (an example of a first scheduling entity) and an LTE base station (an example of a second scheduling entity) to receive data packets from and send data packets to each of the NR base station and the LTE base station. Figure 6 An example of a wireless communication system 600 is shown in which an IAB node 602 (which may be referred to herein as a RAN node) operates in EN-DC mode with a secondary gNB (SgNB) 604 and a master eNB (MeNB) 606. In some examples, the IAB node 602 may correspond to Figure 4 and 5 Any IAB node (except the IAB donor node) shown in any one or more of the figures. For example, IAB node 602 may correspond to Figure 5 In some examples, the SgNB 604 may correspond to the IAB node 510 or the IAB node 524. Figure 1 The scheduling entity 108, Figure 2 Base station 210, 212, 214 or 216 or Figure 4 and 5 In some examples, the MeNB 606 may correspond to any one or more of the IAB donor nodes (e.g., the IAB donor node 502). Figure 1 The scheduling entity 108 or Figure 2 base station 210, 212, 214 or 216.

[0102] exist Figure 6 , the IAB node 602 has an LTE link 608 to the MeNB 606 and an NR link 610 to the SgNB 604. The MeNB 406 and the SgNB 604 can communicate via an X2 or Xn (X2 / Xn) interface 624. For convenience, the following discussion may simply refer to the X2 interface. It should be understood that references to the X2 interface may also apply to the Xn interface. The IAB node 602 may use the NR link 610 for the backhaul of the access service. In this context, the backhaul may be broadly understood to include the fronthaul and / or the midhaul.

[0103] like Figure 6 As shown in the example of , SgNB 604 includes an IAB donor CU 612 (SgNB CU) and an IAB donor DU 614 (SgNB DU). In some examples, the IAB donor CU 612 can be further split into an IAB donor CU-CP for the control plane and an IAB donor CU-UP for the user plane.

[0104] As above combined Figure 5As discussed, the IAB DU of the IAB node (i.e., the IABDU scheduled for the IAB MT of the IAB node) resides in the parent IAB node of the IAB node. Figure 6 In the example of , the IAB DU of the IAB node 602 is the IAB donor DU 614 in the SgNB 604.

[0105] Figure 7 Different network topologies are shown (e.g., similar to Figure 5 ), where there are multiple IAB backhaul links / hops between the IAB node 602 and the SgNB 604 (the IAB donor node of the IAB node 602). In this example, the IAB node 702 includes an IAB MT 704 and an IAB DU 706. The IAB node 702 has an Internet Protocol (IP) connection 708 to the SgNB 604 (e.g., via a backhaul link), which enables the IAB donor DU 614 of the SgNB 604 to schedule the IAB MT 704 of the IAB node 702. Since in this example, the IAB node 702 is the parent node of the IAB node 602, the IAB DU 706 schedules the IAB MT 616 of the IAB node 602. In other examples, there may be multiple IAB nodes between the IAB node 602 and the SgNB 604 (e.g., Figure 5 In some examples, the IAB node 702 may correspond to Figure 4 and 5 Any IAB node (except the IAB donor node) shown in any one or more of the figures.

[0106] Refer again Figure 6 , the IAB node 602 includes an IAB MT 616 having UE functionality connected to the SgNB 604 via an NR link 610 to the IAB donor DU 614 of the SgNB 604. The IAB node 612 and the SgNB 604 may support an F1 interface. The F1 interface provides a mechanism to interconnect the IAB control unit (e.g., PDCP layer and higher layers) and the IAB distributed unit (e.g., RLC layer and lower layers). Thus, in Figure 6 In the example of , the IAB DU 618 of the IAB node 602 can have an F1 interface to the IAB donor CU 612 of the SgNB 604. In some aspects, the F1 interface can provide control plane and user plane functions (e.g., interface management, system information management, UE context management, RRC message transmission, etc.). F1AP is an application protocol for the F1 interface, which in some examples defines the signaling procedures for F1 signaling. The F1 interface supports F1-C signaling on the control plane and F1-user (F1-U) signaling on the user plane. Figure 6 An example of such a NR path for F1-C signaling 620 is shown.

[0107] As described above, the IAB node 602 may use the NR link 610 for backhauling to the SgNB 604. However, the NR link 410 may not be as reliable as another type of link (e.g., in some cases, a wireless NR link may not be as reliable as a wired connection). This problem may be exacerbated if the backhaul is performed via multiple wireless hops (e.g., as described above in conjunction with Figure 5 and 7 This lack of reliability may be problematic for the F1-C interface because the F1-C interface carries various signaling messages.

[0108] In some examples, to improve the reliability of the F1-C interface, an alternative path 622 through the MeNB 606 may be used to transmit F1-C signaling between the IAB node 602 and the IAB donor CU 612. This approach uses a signaling bearer between the IAB MT 616 and the MeNB 616, and uses an X2 / Xn interface 624 between the MeNB 606 and the IAB donor CU 612. In some aspects, the X2 or Xn interface provides control plane and user plane functions (e.g., interface management, UE context management, mobility management, dual connectivity, etc.) between RAN nodes (e.g., gNB, IAB donor node, eNB, etc.). X2AP (or XnAP) is an application protocol for X2 (Xn), which defines a signaling process for X2 (Xn) in some examples. For convenience, the following discussion may simply refer to X2AP. It should be understood that references to X2AP may also apply to XnAP. In some examples, UE-associated X2AP messages may be used to deliver F1-C services. For example, the X2AP interface may transmit IP packets of the F1-C interface, which includes the F1AP discussed above and other stream control transmission protocol (SCTP) information between the MeNB and the IAB donor node. In some aspects, SCTP is a transport layer protocol that can provide reliable transmission of messages, message sequencing, congestion control, etc.

[0109] For F1AP transmission in EN-DC, Signaling Radio Bearer 2 (SRB2) can be used to transmit all F1AP messages. LTE DL Information Transmission and UL Information Transmission RRC procedures use SRB2 and can therefore be used for F1AP transmission. The container carrying the F1AP message can be carried directly in the LTE RRC (e.g., there may be no additional NR RRC container). In some examples, Figure 8 The protocol stack shown may be used to transmit F1AP messages.

[0110] Figure 8 800 for wireless communication between an IAB node 802, a MeNB 804, and an IAB donor node 806. In some examples, the IAB node 802 may correspond to any of the following: Figure 4 and 5 Any one or more of the illustrated IAB nodes (except the IAB donor node) or Figure 6 In some examples, MeNB 804 may correspond to any one or more of the following: Figure 1 The scheduling entity 108, Figure 2 Base station 210, 212, 214 or 216, or Figure 6 In some examples, the IAB donor node 806 may correspond to any one or more of the following: Figure 1 The scheduling entity 108, Figure 2 Base station 210, 212, 214 or 216, Figure 4 and 5 Any one or more of the IAB donor nodes (eg, IAB donor node 502), or Figure 6 SgNB 604.

[0111] The F1AP protocol, SCTP 810, and Internet Protocol (IP) 812 are used for communication between the IAB node 802 and the IAB donor node 806. The LTE Uu interface between the IAB node 802 and the MeNB 804 uses LTE RRC 814, LTE Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) 816, and LTE Radio Link Control (RLC) 818. The X2-C (or Xn-C) interface between the MeNB 804 and the IAB donor node 806 uses an X2AP (or XnAP) interface 820, SCTP 822, Network Domain Security (NDS) 824, and IP 826. For convenience, the following discussion may simply refer to the X2-C interface. It should be understood that references to the X2-C interface may also apply to the Xn-C interface.

[0112] The present disclosure relates in some aspects to methods for establishing LTE and X2 / Xn paths for at least one signaling connection that would otherwise be carried by an NR path (e.g., Figure 6In some examples, the LTE and X2 / Xn paths may be primary signaling paths. In some examples, the LTE and X2 / Xn paths may be alternate paths. In some examples, establishing the LTE and X2 / Xn paths may involve specifying IP address configurations to be used by endpoints of the LTE and X2 / Xn paths. In some examples, the IP addresses specified for the LTE and X2 / Xn paths are different from the IP addresses used for the NR path because the same SCTP endpoints (e.g., Figure 6 The IAB DU 618 and the IAB donor CU 612 in the example of FIG. 6A may be the aggregation entity for both paths.

[0113] Fig. 9 900 is a diagram showing an example of signaling 900 for establishing a communication path in a wireless communication network (e.g., an IAB network). For example, signaling 900 can be used to establish LTE and X2 paths for F1-C. The LTE and X2 paths can also be used in addition to or instead of the NR path (e.g., for F1-C or other communications). In some examples, similar signaling can be used to establish LTE and Xn paths for F1-C.

[0114] exist Fig. 9 In the example shown, the IAB MT 902 in communication with the MeNB 904 establishes a communication path to the IAB donor CU 906 via the MeNB 904. In some examples, the IAB MT 902 may correspond to any one of the following: Figure 4 and 5 any one or more of the IAB nodes shown in the figure (except the IAB donor node), Figure 6 IAB node 602, or Figure 8 In some examples, the MeNB 904 may correspond to any one or more of the following: Figure 1 The scheduling entity 108, Figure 2 Base station 210, 212, 214 or 216, Figure 6 MeNB 606 in, or Figure 8 In some examples, the IAB donor CU 906 may correspond to any one or more of the following: Figure 1 The scheduling entity 108, Figure 2 Base station 210, 212, 214 or 216, Figure 4 and 5 Any one or more of the IAB donor nodes, Figure 6 IAB Donor CU612, or Figure 8The IAB donor node 806 of the present invention. The features disclosed herein can be used for various forms of multi-RAT dual connectivity, including NR-DC. For NR-DC, any suitable master node (MN) can provide the functionality of MeNB 904, and the secondary node (SN) can be an IAB donor node, which includes the functionality of IAB donor CU 906.

[0115] exist Fig. 9 At 908, the IAB MT 902 indicates support for LTE and X2 paths to the MeNB 904 in an LTE RRC message. The message (e.g., request) may include first IP address information (e.g., of the IAB MT 902). In some examples, the message may be a 3GPP message (e.g., an RRC message), such as a UE capability message, an RRC connection setup complete message, an RRC connection reconfiguration complete message, an UL information transfer message, or any other RRC message.

[0116] In some examples, the first IP address information in the message may include an IP address or an IP address prefix. In some examples, the IP address may be a link-local IPv4 address, an IPv6 address, or an IPv6 address prefix. The IP address information may represent an IP address of an IAB node including an IAB MT 902 for LTE and X2 paths.

[0117] In some examples, the IAB MT 902 may send the message at 908 before configuring the IAB donor CU 906 (e.g., the IAB donor CU of the SgNB) for the IAB MT 902. In some examples, the IAB MT 902 may send the message after configuring the IAB donor CU 906 for the IAB MT 902.

[0118] At 910, the MeNB 904 sends an indication of support for LTE and X2 paths to the IAB donor CU 906 in an X2AP message (or, for the Xn interface example, an XnAP message) on behalf of the IAB MT 902. The message may include the first IP address information. Alternatively or in addition, the MeNB 904 may send the first IP address information in a separate X2AP message. In some examples, the X2AP message may be an X2AP SgNB / Secondary Node (SgNB / SN) Add Request message. In some examples, the X2AP message may be an X2AP SgNB / SN Modify Request message.

[0119] At 912, the IAB donor CU 906 sends an indication of its support for LTE and X2 paths in an X2AP message (e.g., an acknowledgement message in response to the message at 910). The message may include the second IP address information. Alternatively or in addition, the IAB donor CU 906 may send the second IP address information in a separate X2AP message. In some examples, the X2AP message may be a SgNB / SN Add Request Acknowledge message. In some examples, the X2AP message may be a SgNB / SN Modify Request Acknowledge message.

[0120] In some examples, the second IP address information may include an IP address or an IP address prefix. In some examples, the IP address may be a link-local IPv4 address, an IPv6 address, or an IPv6 address prefix. In some examples, the second IP address information may represent the IP address of the IAB donor CU 906 for the LTE and X2 paths. In some examples, the second IP address information may represent the IP address assigned by the IAB donor CU 906 to be used by the IAB node (including the IAB MT 902) for the LTE and X2 paths. In some examples, the second IP address information may include address information for both the IAB donor CU 906 and the IAB node including the IAB MT 902.

[0121] At 914, MeNB 904 sends an indication to IAB MT 902 via an LTE RRC message that IAB donor CU 906 supports LTE and X2 paths. The message may include second IP address information. MeNB 904 also establishes a forwarding path for the exchange of F1-C transport service messages between IAB MT 902 and IAB donor CU 906. The forwarding path may be based on the LTE SRBs that MeNB 904 and IAB MT 902 have and the UE identifier used on the X2 connection with IAB donor CU 905. The RRC message at 914 may be an RRC connection reconfiguration message, an RRC DL information transfer message, or some other RRC message.

[0122] At 916 and 918, based on the indication received from MeNB 904 and the first and / or second IP address information, IABMT 902 establishes an SCTP connection with IAB donor CU 906 via the LTE and X2AP path. Alternatively, IAB MT 902 may use the IP address information to establish an alternative IP endpoint for an existing SCTP connection that IAB MT 902 has with IAB donor CU 906.

[0123] As described above, the IP address information may be signaled and / or used in different ways in different examples. In some examples, the first IP address information includes the IAB address of the IAB node (including the IAB MT 902) for the LTE and X2 paths, and the second IP address message includes the IP address of the IAB donor DU associated with the IAB donor CU 906 for the LTE and X2 paths. In some examples, the first IP address information is omitted, and the second IP address information includes the IP address of the IAB donor node (including the IAB donor CU 906) for the LTE and X2 paths. In this case, the IAB node (including the IAB MT 902) may disclose its own IP address when it establishes an SCTP connection over the LTE and X2 paths, or the IAB node may transmit the IP address for the LTE and X2 paths to the IAB donor DU (associated with the IAB donor CU 906) using SCTP internal signaling. In some examples, the first IP address information is omitted, and the second IP address information includes an IP address to be used by the IAB node (including the IAB MT 902) for the LTE and X2 paths, and IP address information of the IAB donor node (including the IAB donor CU 906) for the LTE and X2 paths. In some examples, the IAB node (including the IAB MT 902) and the IAB donor node (including the IAB donor CU 906) can transmit X2-C via the LTE and X2 paths using the above-exchanged IP address information.

[0124] In some examples, the MeNB 904 and / or IAB donor CU 906 may provide information about the policy for use of LTE and X2 paths (e.g., for a subset of F1AP messages or for backup purposes). In some examples, this information may be included in the X2AP or RRC messages discussed above.

[0125] Fig.10 1 is an example method 1000 illustrating a path for an IAB node to establish an SCTP connection with an IAB donor node via a master node according to some aspects of the present disclosure. As described below, some or all of the illustrated features may be omitted in certain implementations within the scope of the present disclosure, and some of the illustrated features are not required for implementation of all embodiments. In some examples, the method 1000 may be composed of Fig.15 1500 (e.g., performed by processing system 1514). In some examples, method 1000 may be performed by, for example, Figure 4 , Figure 5 , Figure 6 , Figure 8 , Fig. 9Any one or more of the IAB nodes disclosed in the figures (e.g., the IAB nodes including the IAB MT 902) and Fig.13 In some examples, the method 1000 may be performed by any suitable device or unit for performing the functions or algorithms described below.

[0126] At block 1002, the IAB node may send an RRC message to the master node, the RRC message including an indication that the IAB node supports an alternative path to the IAB donor node. The message may optionally include IP address information from the IAB node. For example, the IAB MT of the IAB node may send the message described above in Fig. 9 The LTE RRC message described at 908.

[0127] At block 1004, the IAB node may receive an RRC message from the master node, the RRC message including an indication that the IAB donor node supports the alternate path and including IP address information from the IAB donor node. For example, the IAB MT of the IAB node may receive the RRC message described above in Fig. 9 The LTE RRC message described at 914.

[0128] The IAB node may derive at least one IP address from the IP address information at block 1006. For example, the IAB node may determine an IP address to use for the alternate path and / or an IP address of an IAB donor node for the alternate path.

[0129] The IAB node may establish an SCTP connection to the IAB donor node using the IP address and the signaling bearer with the master node at block 1008. Alternatively, the IAB node may use this information to add a path to an existing SCTP connection to the IAB donor node.

[0130] At block 1010, the IAB nodes may exchange F1-C packets via the SCTP connection. In some examples, the F1-C packets may be exchanged with the IAB donor node using the SCTP connection established at block 1008. In some examples, the F1-C packets may be exchanged with the IAB donor node using the SCTP path added at block 1008.

[0131] The IP address information discussed above can take various forms and can be sent in various ways. In some examples, the IP address information can be sent by the IAB node to the master node and used as the IP address of the IAB node. In some examples, the IP address information can be received by the IAB node from the master node and used as the IP address of the relay or the IP address of the IAB donor node. In some examples, the IP address information can be received by the IAB node and include the IP address of the IAB donor node, wherein the IAB node sends its own IP address to the IP address of the IAB donor node via SCTP signaling. In some examples, the IP address information can include an IP address or an IP prefix. In some examples, the selection of an IP address can include the selection of an IP address associated with an IP prefix.

[0132] The RRC message sent by the IAB node may be a UE capability information message (which may be referred to as a UECapabilityInformation message), an RRC setup complete message (which may be referred to as an RRCSetupComplete message), an RRC connection reconfiguration complete message (which may be referred to as an RRCConnectionReconfigurationComplete message), or an uplink information transfer message (which may be referred to as an ULInformationTransfer message). The RRC message received by the IAB MT may be an RRC connection reconfiguration message (which may be referred to as an RRCConnectionReconfiguration message) or a downlink information transfer message (which may be referred to as a DLInformationTransfer message).

[0133] Fig.11 1 is a flow chart illustrating an example method 1100 for scheduling an entity to implement an alternative path for an F1-C connection between an IAB node and an IAB donor node according to some aspects of the present disclosure. As described below, within the scope of the present disclosure, some or all of the illustrated features may be omitted in certain implementations, and some of the illustrated features are not required for implementation of all embodiments. In some examples, the method 1100 may be performed by Fig.18 The scheduling entity 1800 shown is performed (e.g., by the processing system 1814). In some examples, the method 1100 can be performed by a base station or a scheduling entity disclosed in any one or more of the following figures: Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 4 , Figure 5 , Figure 6 (e.g., MeNB 606), Figure 8 (e.g., MeNB804), Fig. 9(e.g., MeNB 904) and Fig.13 (eg, MeNB 1304). In some examples, method 1100 can be performed by any suitable device or unit for performing the functions or algorithms described below.

[0134] At block 1102, the scheduling entity may receive an RRC message from the IAB node, the RRC message including an indication that the IAB node supports an alternative path to the IAB donor node (optionally including IP address information from the IAB node). For example, the scheduling entity may receive the RRC message described above in Fig. 9 In some examples, the RRC information received from the IAB node may be a UE capability information message, an RRC setup complete message, an RRC connection reconfiguration complete message, or a UL information transmission message.

[0135] At block 1104, the scheduling entity may identify an IAB donor node associated with the IAB node. Fig. 9 In the example of , the MeNB 904 may determine that the IAB donor CU 906 is associated with the IAB MT 902 .

[0136] At block 1106, the scheduling entity may send an X2AP message to the IAB donor node, the X2AP message including an indication that the IAB node supports an alternative path to the IAB donor node. The message may optionally include IP address information from the IAB node. For example, the scheduling entity may send the X2AP message described above in Fig. 9 In some examples, the X2AP message sent to the IAB donor node may be an SgNB add request message or an SgNB modify request message.

[0137] At block 1108, the scheduling entity may receive an X2AP confirmation message from the IAB donor node, the X2AP confirmation message including an indication that the IAB donor node supports the alternative path. The message may also include IP address information from the IAB donor node. For example, the scheduling entity may receive the X2AP confirmation message described above in Fig. 9 In some examples, the X2AP message received from the donor node may be an SgNB add request confirm message or an SgNB modify request confirm message.

[0138] At block 1110, the scheduling entity may send an RRC message to the IAB node, the RRC message including an indication that the IAB donor node supports the alternative path. The message may also include IP address information from the IAB donor node. For example, the scheduling entity may include the IP address information in the above Fig. 9The LTE RRC message described at 914 is sent to the IAB MT of the IAB node. In some examples, the RRC message sent to the IAB MT may be a RRCConnectionReconfiguration message or a DLInformationTransfer message.

[0139] At block 1112, the scheduling entity may exchange IP packets between a signaling bearer with the IAB node and an X2AP association with the IAB donor node.

[0140] Fig.12 1 is a flow chart illustrating an example method 1200 for a scheduling entity including an IAB donor CU to implement an alternative path for an F1-C connection with an IAB node via another scheduling entity (e.g., a master node) according to some aspects of the present disclosure. As described below, within the scope of the present disclosure, some or all of the illustrated features may be omitted in certain implementations, and some of the illustrated features are not required for implementation of all embodiments. In some examples, the method 1200 may be performed by Fig.21 The scheduling entity 2100 shown is executed (e.g., by the processing system 2114). In some examples, the method can be performed by the IAB donor node disclosed in any of the following figures: Figure 4 , Figure 5 , Figure 6 (e.g., SgNB 604), Figure 8 (e.g., IAB donor node 806), Fig. 9 (eg, an IAB donor node including an IAB donor CU 906) and Fig.13 (eg, an IAB donor node including the IAB donor CU 1302 .) In some examples, the method 1200 may be performed by any suitable device or means for performing the functions or algorithms described below.

[0141] At block 1202, a first scheduling entity may receive an X2AP message from a second scheduling entity. The message may include an IAB node identifier and an indication of support for an alternative path to the IAB node. For example, the first scheduling entity may receive the message as described above in Fig. 9 In some examples, the X2AP information received from the second scheduling entity may be an SgNB add request message or an SgNB modify request message.

[0142] At block 1204, the first scheduling entity may match the IAB node identifier with a first path connection to the IAB node. For example, the first scheduling entity may determine that the IAB node has previously established a connection to the first scheduling entity (eg, via a NR link).

[0143] At block 1206, the first scheduling entity may send a confirmation message regarding the establishment of the alternative path to the second scheduling entity. The confirmation message may include IP address information (e.g., the IP address of the IAB donor node). For example, the first scheduling entity may send the confirmation message described above in Fig. 9 In some examples, the X2AP information sent to the second scheduling entity may be an SgNB add request confirmation message or an SgNB modify request confirmation message.

[0144] The first scheduling entity may establish a SCTP connection with the IAB node using the IP address and the IAB node identifier at block 1208. Alternatively, the first scheduling entity may use this information to add a path to an existing SCTP connection to the IAB node.

[0145] At block 1210, the first scheduling entity may exchange F1-C packets with the IAB node using the F1-C transport service message via the X2AP association with the master node. In some examples, the F1-C packets may be exchanged with the IAB node using the SCTP connection established at block 1208. In some examples, the F1-C packets may be exchanged with the IAB node using the SCTP path added at block 1208.

[0146] The IP address information discussed above can take various forms and can be sent in various ways. In some examples, the second IP address information can include the IP address of the IAB node. Upon receiving the IP address information from the second scheduling entity, the first scheduling entity can derive the IP address of the IAB node from the second IP address information and exchange IP packets via the path using the IP address of the IAB node. In some examples, the IP address information can include an IP address or an IP prefix. In some examples, the selection of the IP address can include the selection of the IP address associated with the IP prefix.

[0147] Fig.13 1 is a diagram showing another example of signaling for establishing a communication path in a wireless communication network 1300 (eg, an IAB network). Fig.13 In the example shown, an IAB donor CU 1302 in communication with a MeNB 1304 establishes a communication path to an IAB MT 1306 via the MeNB 1304. In some examples, the IAB donor CU 1302 may correspond to any one or more of the following: Figure 1 The scheduling entity 108, Figure 2 Base station 210, 212, 214 or 216, Figure 4 and 5 Any one or more of the IAB donor nodes, Figure 6IAB Donor CU 612, Figure 8 IAB donor node 806, or Fig. 9 In some examples, the MeNB 1304 may correspond to any one or more of the following: Figure 1 The scheduling entity 108, Figure 2 Base station 210, 212, 214 or 216, Figure 6 MeNB 606 Figure 8 MeNB 804, or Fig. 9 In some examples, the IAB MT 1306 may correspond to any one of the following: Figure 4 and 5 any one or more of the IAB nodes shown in the figure (except the IAB donor node), Figure 6 IAB MT 616, Figure 8 IAB node 802, or Fig. 9 IAB MT 902.

[0148] exist Fig.13 At 1308, the IAB donor CU 1302 indicates support for LTE and X2 path (or Xn path) to the MeNB 1304 in a message. The message may include IP address information (e.g., the IP address of the IAB donor CU 130 and / or the IP address of the IAB MT 1306). Alternatively or additionally, the IAB donor CU 1302 may send the IP address information in a separate message.

[0149] At 1310, the MeNB 1304 sends an indication of support for LTE and X2 paths to the IAB MT 1306 on behalf of the IAB donor CU 1302. The message may include IP address information. Alternatively or in addition, the MeNB 1304 may send the IP address information in a separate message.

[0150] At 1312, the IAB MT 1306 sends an indication of its support for LTE and X2 paths. The message may include IP address information (eg, of the IAB MT 1306).

[0151] At 1314, the MeNB 1304 sends an indication to the IAB donor CU 1302 that the IAB MT 1306 supports LTE and X2 paths (e.g., the MeNB sends an acknowledgment of the message at 1308). The message at 1314 may include the IP address information received at 1312. The MeNB 1304 also establishes a forwarding path for the exchange of F1-C transport service messages between the IAB donor CU 1302 and the IAB MT 1306. The forwarding path may be based on the LTE SRBs that the MeNB 1304 and the IAB MT 1306 have and the UE identifier used on the X2 connection with the IAB donor CU 1302.

[0152] At 1316 and 1318, based on the indication received from MeNB 1304 and the first and / or second IP address information, IAB donor CU 1302 establishes an SCTP connection with IAB MT 1306 via LTE and X2 paths. Alternatively, IAB donor CU 1302 may use the IP address information to establish an alternative IP endpoint for an existing SCTP connection that IAB donor CU 1301 has with IAB MT 1306.

[0153] In view of the above Figure 6-13 In the described example, a path for a first signaling connection (e.g., NR F1-C connection) may be established between a RAN node (e.g., IAB node) and a first scheduling entity (e.g., IAB donor node) using a second signaling connection via a second scheduling entity (e.g., such as a base station (e.g., MeNB)). Here, the second signaling connection may include an LTE-RRC connection between the IAB node and the second scheduling entity and a base station interface (e.g., X2 interface) between the second scheduling entity station and the first scheduling entity.

[0154] In an example where the second scheduling entity includes CU and DU functionality, an alternative path for the first signaling connection may be provided using a path other than the base station interface. For example, the first signaling connection may be alternatively routed to the CU of the first scheduling entity via the DU of the second scheduling entity. Fig.14 An example of this alternative is shown in .

[0155] Fig.14 A wireless communication system including an IAB node 1402, a first scheduling entity 1404 (IAB donor node 1), and a second scheduling entity 1406 (IAB donor node 2) is shown. In some examples, the IAB node 1402 may correspond to any one of the following: Figure 4 and 5 any one or more of the IAB nodes shown in the figure (except the IAB donor node), Figure 6IAB node 602, Figure 8 IAB node 802, or Fig. 9 In some examples, the first scheduling entity 1404 may correspond to any one or more of the following: Figure 1 The scheduling entity 108, Figure 2 Base station 210, 212, 214 or 216, Figure 4 and 5 Any one or more of the IAB donor nodes, or Figure 6 SgNB 604, Figure 8 IAB donor node 806, or Fig. 9 In some examples, the second scheduling entity 1406 may correspond to any one or more of the following: Figure 1 The scheduling entity 108, Figure 2 Base station 210, 212, 214 or 216, Figure 4 and 5 Any one or more of the IAB donor nodes, or Figure 6 SgNB 604, Figure 8 IAB donor node 806, or Fig. 9 IAB donor CU906.

[0156] exist Fig.14 In the embodiment, the IAB MT 1408 of the IAB node 1402 (RAN node) is connected to the first scheduling entity 1404 using the NR-Uu radio interface 1410. The first scheduling entity 140 has a split CU-DU architecture, including an IAB donor CU 1412 (CU1) and an IAB donor DU 1414 (DU 1). The IAB DU 1416 of the IAB node 1402 has an F1-C connection 1418 to the IAB donor CU 1412 established via the IAB donor DU 1 1414.

[0157] The IAB donor DU 1414 (source IAB donor DU) may be the same as or different from the IAB donor DU (e.g., of the first scheduling entity 1404) via which the F1 traffic is forwarded between the IAB DU 1416 and the IAB donor CU 1412. For example, there may be multiple IAB backhaul links / hops between the IAB node 1402 and the first scheduling entity 1404, or the first scheduling entity 1404 may include multiple donor DUs.

[0158] In some examples, the IAB DU 1416 establishes an F1-C connection to an IAB donor CU 1420 (CU 2) of the second scheduling entity 1406 via the first scheduling entity 1404. The following are two example scenarios.

[0159] In some examples, the IAB node 1402 may be dual connected to first and second scheduling entities 1404 and 1406. For example, the first scheduling entity 1404 may be a primary node and the second scheduling entity 1406 may be a secondary node, where the connection to the first scheduling entity 1404 is more reliable.

[0160] In some examples, the IAB node 1402 may be single-connected to the first scheduling entity 1404. In this case, at a certain point in time, the IAB node 1402 may be switched to a new parent DU that is a donor DU of the second scheduling entity 1406 or to a DU of the IAB node controlled by the second scheduling entity 1406. For example, the first scheduling entity 1404 may be a source node for switching, and the second scheduling entity 1406 may be a target node for switching. In some examples, the IAB node 1402, the first scheduling entity 1404, and the second scheduling entity 1406 may pre-establish an F1-C connection between the IAB donor DU 1414 and the IAB donor CU 1420 via a source path before performing the switching.

[0161] In any of the above dual connectivity or single connectivity scenarios, in some examples, two different options can be used to establish a path for F1-C signaling. The first option involves using the base station interface (X2 or Xn) 1422 to establish a path for F1-C signaling. Therefore, the signaling is combined with the above Fig. 9 The signaling discussed is similar.

[0162] The second option involves going through Fig.14 The illustrated IAB donor DU 1414 (source IAB donor DU) establishes an F1-C path 1424 to an IAB donor CU 1420 (target IAB donor CU). In this case, the IAB donor DU 1414 and the IAB donor CU 1420 may establish an IP, SCTP, or F1-C connection to carry F1-C traffic between the IAB donor DU 1414 and the IAB donor CU 1420. Additionally, the IAB donor CU 1412 configures a mapping between the traffic exchanged and the signaling bearer with the IAB node 1402. As described above, traffic between the IAB DU 1416 and the IAB donor CU 1420 may be exchanged via one or more IAB donor DUs. The following are additional example details for the second option.

[0163] In some examples, the IAB donor CU 1412 (source IAB donor DU) can provide IP address information for the IAB DU 1416 to the IAB node 1402 using RRC signaling or F1AP, and / or provide IP address information for the IAB DU 1416 to the IAB donor CU 1420 via the X2 / Xn interface 1422. The IP address information can be used to establish an SCTP connection 1426 or add a path to an existing SCTP connection 1416 via an IAB donor DU (e.g., IAB donor DU 1414), and to exchange F1-C packets between the IAB DU 1416 and the IAB donor CU 1420.

[0164] In some examples, IAB donor CU 1412 may request the IP address information from IAB donor DU 1414 so that F1-C traffic to IAB DU 1416 may be routed via IAB donor DU 1414.

[0165] In some examples, IAB donor CU 1412 may provide IP address information for IAB donor DU 1414 to IAB donor CU 1420 and / or provide IAB donor DU 1414 with an IP address for IAB donor CU 1420. The IP address information may be used to establish an SCTP connection or an F1-C connection between IAB donor DU 1414 and IAB donor CU 1420.

[0166] The IAB donor CU 1420 may obtain / request IP address information for the IAB donor DU 1414 from the IAB donor DU 1414 using the SCTP or F1-C connection between the IAB donor DU 1414 and the IAB donor CU 1420. The IP address information may be used to establish an SCTP connection or add a path to an existing SCTP connection via an IAB donor DU (e.g., the IAB donor DU 1414), and to exchange F1-C packets between the IAB donor DU 1414 and the IAB donor CU 1420.

[0167] In some examples, IAB donor CU 1412 may send first IP address information of IAB donor DU 1414 to IAB donor CU 1420, and / or IAB donor CU 1412 may send second IP address information of IAB donor CU 1420 to IAB donor DU 1414. At least one of the first or second IP address information may be used to establish a communication path for a first signaling connection, wherein the communication path is between IAB donor DU 1414 and IAB donor CU 1420.

[0168] In some examples, the first scheduling entity 1404 may assign IP address information to the IAB node 1402, wherein the IP address information is selected such that communications for a signaling connection between the IAB node 1402 and the IAB donor CU 1420 (which uses the IP address information) are routed through the IAB donor DU 1414 and bypass the IAB donor CU 1412. The first scheduling entity 1404 may send the IP address information to the IAB node 1402 and / or the IAB donor CU 1420. In some examples, to establish a signaling connection between the IAB DU 1416 and the IAB donor CU 1420 via the IAB donor DU 1414 while bypassing the IAB donor CU 1412, one or more of the following operations may be used.

[0169] In some examples, establishing the signaling connection involves using an existing IP connection between IAB donor DU 1414 and IAB donor CU 1420. In this case, IAB donor DU 1415 is an intermediate entity between the two peers (IAB DU 1416 and IAB donor CU 1420). IAB donor CU 1412 may assign an IP address to IAB DU 1416 so that traffic between IAB DU 1416 and IAB donor CU 1420 may be routed via IAB donor DU 1414 in either direction.

[0170] In some examples, a connection is established between the IAB donor DU 1414 and the IAB donor CU 1420 on the basis of an existing IP connection. One example of the connection is SCTP. Another example is F1-C on the basis of SCTP. In this case, the IAB donor DU 1414 or the IAB donor CU 1420 will have each other's IP addresses to create a new connection. The IAB donor CU 1402 assigns an IP address to the IAB node 1402 so that it sends to the IAB donor CU 1420 carrying the source IP address, and the destination IP address of the IAB donor CU 1412 is routed via the IAB donor DU 1414. The IAB donor DU 414 forwards the service to the IAB donor CU 1420 using the established connection. Similarly, the IAB donor CU 1420 uses the connection with the IAB donor DU 1414 to send services to the IAB node 1402, for example, in tunnel mode. Therefore, the IAB donor DU 1414 may forward the traffic to the IAB node 1402 using the IP address of the IAB node 1402 embedded in the traffic.

[0171] Fig.151 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation of a RAN node 1500 employing a processing system 1514. In some examples, the RAN node 150 may be such as Figure 4-6 In some examples, the RAN node 1500 may be or include a child IAB node or a parent IAB node as shown in any one or more of the figures. Figure 6 IAB node 602, Figure 8 IAB node 802, Fig. 9 IAB MT 902, Fig.13 IAB MT 1306 or Fig.14 IAB node 1402.

[0172] The RAN node 1500 may be implemented using a processing system 1514 including one or more processors 1504. The processor 1504 includes a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), a state machine, a gating logic, a discrete hardware circuit, and other suitable hardware configured to perform various functions described throughout the present disclosure. In various examples, the RAN node 1500 may be configured to perform any one or more of the functions described herein. That is, the processor 1504 as used in the RAN node 1500 may be used to implement any one or more of the processes and procedures described below.

[0173] In this example, the processing system 1514 can be implemented using a bus architecture (generally represented by bus 1502). Bus 1502 can include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges, depending on the specific application and overall design constraints of the processing system 1512. Bus 1502 can communicatively couple various circuits including one or more processors (generally represented by processor 1504), memory 1505, and computer readable media (generally represented by computer readable media 1506). Bus 1502 can also link various other circuits such as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art and are therefore not further described. Bus interface 1508 provides an interface between bus 1502 and transceiver 1510 and between bus 1502 and optional interface 1512. Transceiver 1510 provides a communication interface or unit for communicating with various other devices over a wireless transmission medium. In some examples, interface 1512 may provide a communication interface or unit for communicating with various other devices and equipment (e.g., other devices located in the same device as RAN node 1500 or other external devices) through an internal bus or an external transmission medium (such as an Ethernet cable). In some examples, interface 1512 may include a user interface (e.g., a keypad, a display, a speaker, a microphone, a joystick).

[0174] The processor 1504 is responsible for managing the bus 1502 and general processing, including executing software stored on the computer-readable medium 1506. When executed by the processor 1504, the software causes the processing system 1514 to perform various functions described below for any particular device. The computer-readable medium 1506 and the memory 1505 can also be used to store data manipulated by the processor 1504 when executing the software. For example, the memory 1505 can store connection information 1515 (e.g., IP address information, etc.) used to establish and use signaling connections as discussed herein.

[0175] One or more processors 1504 in the processing system can execute software. Whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or other terms, software should be broadly interpreted to mean instructions, instruction sets, codes, code segments, program codes, programs, subroutines, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc. The software may reside on a computer-readable medium 1506.

[0176] Computer readable medium 1506 may be a non-transitory computer readable medium. For example, non-transitory computer readable media include magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disks, floppy disks, tapes), optical disks (e.g., compact disks (CDs) or digital versatile disks (DVDs)), smart cards, flash memory devices (e.g., card, stick, or key drive), random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), registers, removable disks, and any other suitable medium for storing software and / or instructions that can be accessed and read by a computer. Computer readable medium 1506 may reside in processing system 1514, outside processing system 1514, or distributed across multiple entities including processing system 1514. Computer readable medium 1506 may be embodied in a computer program product. For example, a computer program product may include a computer readable medium in a packaging material. Those skilled in the art will recognize how to best implement the described functionality presented throughout this disclosure depending on the particular application and the overall design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0177] The RAN node 1500 may be configured to perform any one or more of the operations described herein (e.g., as described above in conjunction with Figure 1-14 Described, and combined as follows Fig.16 and / or Fig.17In some examples, processor 1504, such as used in RAN node 1500, may include circuits configured for various functions.

[0178] The processor 1504 may include a communication and processing circuit 1541. The communication and processing circuit 1541 may include one or more hardware components that provide a physical structure for performing various processes associated with wireless communication as described herein (e.g., signal reception and / or signal transmission). The communication and processing circuit 1541 may also include one or more hardware components that provide a physical structure for performing various processes associated with signal processing as described herein (e.g., processing received signals and / or processing signals for transmission). In some examples, the communication and processing circuit 1541 may include two or more transmit / receive chains, each configured to process signals of different RAT (or RAN) types. The communication and processing circuit 1541 may also be configured to execute communication and processing software 1551 included on the computer-readable medium 1506 to implement one or more functions described herein.

[0179] In an example where the RAN node 1500 is a child IAB node, the communication and processing circuit 1541 may also be configured to communicate with the parent IAB node via a first link (e.g., a backhaul link) and communicate with a set of one or more child nodes (e.g., UE or child IAB nodes) via a corresponding second link (e.g., an access or backhaul link). In an example where the RAN node 1500 is a parent IAB node, the communication and processing circuit 1541 may also be configured to communicate with the child IAB node via a first link (e.g., a backhaul link).

[0180] In some implementations where the communication involves receiving information, the communication and processing circuitry 1541 may obtain information from a component of the RAN node 1500 (e.g., from a transceiver 1510 that receives information via a radio frequency signal or some other type of signaling suitable for an applicable communication medium), process (e.g., decode) the information, and output the processed information. For example, the communication and processing circuitry 1541 may output the information to another component of the processor 1504, the memory 1505, or the bus interface 1508. In some examples, the communication and processor 1541 may receive one or more of a signal, a message, other information, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 1541 may receive information via one or more channels. In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 1541 may include the functionality of a unit for receiving. In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 1541 may include the functionality of a unit for decoding.

[0181] In some implementations where the communication involves sending (e.g., transmitting) information, the communication and processing circuitry 1541 may obtain information (e.g., from another component of the processor 1504, the memory 1505, or the bus interface 1508), process (e.g., encode) the information, and output the processed information. For example, the communication and processing circuitry 1541 may output the information to the transceiver 1510 (e.g., which transmits the information via an RF signal or some other type of signal suitable for an applicable communication medium). In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 1541 may transmit one or more of a signal, a message, other information, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 1541 may transmit the information via one or more channels. In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 1541 may include the functionality of a unit for transmitting (e.g., a unit for transmitting). In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 1541 may include the functionality of a unit for encoding.

[0182] In some examples, communication and processing circuitry 1541 may include functionality of a unit for transmitting information, for example, via a communication path (e.g., as described herein in Fig. 9 916 and 918 and / or Fig.10 Box 1010 and / or Fig.16 For example, the communication and processing circuit 1541 may encode information (e.g., signaling) and send the encoded information on the designated resource to another node according to the communication protocol. As another example, the communication and processing circuit 1541 may receive information on the designated resource using a communication protocol (e.g., SCTP) and decode the received information to recover the information (e.g., signaling) sent by another node.

[0183] Processor 1504 may include message processing circuitry 1542 configured to perform message processing related operations as discussed herein (e.g., in conjunction with Figure 6-14 In some examples, message processing circuitry 1542 may include functionality of a unit for generating a message (e.g., as described herein in Fig. 9 908 and / or Fig.10 Box 1002 and / or Fig.16 In some examples, the message processing circuit 1542 may include the functionality of a unit for sending a message (e.g., as described herein in Fig. 9 908 and / or Fig.10 Box 1002 and / or Fig.16 In some examples, the message processing circuit 1542 may include functionality of a unit for sending a request (e.g., as described herein in Fig. 9 908 and / or Fig.10 Box 1002 and / or Fig.17 In some examples, the message processing circuit 1542 may include the functionality of a unit for receiving a message (e.g., as described herein in Fig. 9 914 and / or Fig.10 Box 1004 and / or Fig.16 In some examples, the message processing circuit 1542 may include the functionality of a unit for receiving IP information (e.g., as described herein in Fig. 9 914 and / or Fig.10 Box 1004 and / or Fig.17 The message processing circuit 1542 may also be configured to execute message processing software 1552 included on the computer-readable medium 1506 to implement one or more of the functions described herein.

[0184] Processor 1504 may include connection establishment circuitry 1543 configured to perform connection establishment related operations as discussed herein (e.g., in conjunction with Figure 6-14 In some examples, the connection establishment circuit 1543 may include the functionality of a unit for establishing a communication path using IP address information (e.g., as described herein in Fig. 9 916 and 918 and / or Fig.10 Boxes 1006 and 1008 and / or Fig.16 Box 1612 and / or Fig.17 In some examples, the connection establishment circuit 1543 may include the functionality of a unit for establishing a connection (e.g., as described herein with respect to Fig.14 F1-C connection 1418 and / or Fig.17 The connection establishment circuit 1543 may also be configured to execute connection establishment software 1553 included on the computer readable medium 1506 to implement one or more of the functions described herein.

[0185] Fig.16 1 is a flow chart illustrating a method 1600 for a RAN node according to some examples. As described below, within the scope of the present disclosure, some or all of the illustrated features may be omitted in certain implementations, and some of the illustrated features are not required for implementation of all embodiments. In some examples, the method 1600 may be Fig.15The method 1600 is performed by the RAN node 1500 shown in FIG. In some examples, the RAN node may be an IAB node. In some examples, the method 1600 may be performed by any suitable device or unit for performing the functions or algorithms described below.

[0186] At block 1602, the RAN node may communicate with a first scheduling entity over a first communication path using a first radio access technology (RAT). Fig.15 The communication and processing circuits 1541 and transceiver 1510 shown and described may provide means for communicating with an SgNB via a NR link.

[0187] At block 1604, the RAN node may communicate with the second scheduling entity via a second communication path using a second RAT different from the first RAT. Fig.15 The communication and processing circuitry 1541 and transceiver 1510 shown and described may provide means for communicating with the MeNB via an LTE link.

[0188] At block 1606, the RAN node may generate a first message indicating that the RAN node supports transmission of information for a first signaling connection with a first scheduling entity via a second signaling connection over a second communication path, wherein the first signaling connection is associated with the first Internet Protocol (IP) address information. Fig.15 Shown and described Fig.15 The message processing circuit 1542 may provide for generating an indication of Fig. 9 The unit of the RRC message supporting LTE and X2 / Xn paths described at 908. In some examples, the first message may include the second IP address information from the RAN node.

[0189] In some examples, the first signaling connection uses a first signaling protocol and the second signaling connection uses a second signaling protocol different from the first signaling protocol. In some examples, the first signaling connection uses a first radio access technology (RAT) and the second signaling connection uses a second RAT different from the first RAT. In some examples, the first signaling connection may include an F1 control (F1-C) connection between an integrated access backhaul (IAB) distributed unit of the RAN node and an IAB donor control unit of the first scheduling entity. In some examples, the second signaling connection may include a radio resource control (RRC) connection between the second scheduling entity and an integrated access backhaul (IAB) mobile terminal (MT) of the RAN node.

[0190] In some examples, the first message may be a 3GPP message (eg, a radio resource control (RRC) message), such as a UECapabilityInformation message, an RRCSetupComplete message, an RRCConnectionReconfigurationComplete message, or a ULInformationTransfer message.

[0191] At block 1608, the RAN node may send a first message to the second scheduling entity via the second communication path. Fig.15 The message processing circuit 1542 together with the communication and processing circuit 1541 and the transceiver 1510 may provide a unit for sending an RRC message via uplink resources (eg, PUSCH) scheduled by the second scheduling entity.

[0192] At block 1610, the RAN node may receive a second message from the second scheduling entity via the second communication path, wherein the second message indicates that the first scheduling entity supports transmission of information for the first signaling connection via the second signaling connection over the second communication path, and wherein the second message includes second IP address information different from the first IP address information from the first scheduling entity. For example, Fig.15 The message processing circuit 1542 together with the communication and processing circuit 1541 and the transceiver 1510 can provide a method for receiving an RRC message (e.g., as in Fig. 9 In some examples, the second message may be a 3GPP message, such as an RRCConnectionReconfiguration message or a DLInformationTransfer message.

[0193] In some examples, the first IP address information may include an IP address of the first scheduling entity. In some examples, the first IP address information may include an IP address assigned by the first scheduling entity to the RAN node. In some examples, the first IP address information may include an IP address prefix, and the method may include selecting at least one of an IP address for the RAN node or an IP address for the first scheduling entity based on the IP address prefix.

[0194] At block 1612, the RAN node may use the second IP address information to establish a second signaling connection to the first scheduling entity via the second communication path. Fig.15 The connection establishment circuit 1543 is combined with the above Fig.15The communication and processing circuitry 1541 and transceiver 1510 shown and described together may provide means for establishing an SCTP connection with an IAB donor CU (e.g., as in Fig. 9 In some examples, establishing the communication path via the second signaling connection using the first IP address information may include: deriving at least one IP address from the first IP address information.

[0195] At block 1614, the RAN node may transmit information for the first signaling connection via the second signaling connection over the second communication path. For example, the communication and processing circuitry 1541 and the transceiver 1510 may provide a means for sending and receiving signaling over the SCTP connection (e.g., as in Fig. 9 916 and 918 of the specification).

[0196] In some examples, the RAN node may include an integrated access backhaul (IAB) distributed unit, and the first scheduling entity may include an IAB donor control unit. In some examples, the second scheduling entity may include a primary base station for a dual connectivity operation mode of the RAN node, and the first scheduling entity may include a secondary base station for the dual connectivity operation mode.

[0197] In some examples, establishing a communication path via a second signaling connection using the first IP address information may include: establishing a stream control transmission protocol (SCTP) connection with the first scheduling entity. In some examples, transmitting information for the first signaling connection via the communication path may include: exchanging F1 control (F1-C) packets with the first scheduling entity via the SCTP connection.

[0198] In some examples, establishing a communication path via the second signaling connection using the first IP address information may include: establishing a path to the first scheduling entity in a stream control transmission protocol (SCTP) connection. In some examples, transmitting information for the first signaling connection via the communication path may include: exchanging F1 control (F1-C) packets with the first scheduling entity via the path.

[0199] In some examples, the method may also include sending second IP address information from the RAN node to the first scheduling entity via a stream control transmission protocol (SCTP) connection.

[0200] In some examples, the RAN node may include an integrated access backhaul (IAB) distributed unit and an IAB mobile terminal, the second scheduling entity may include a first IAB donor distributed unit and a first IAB donor control unit, and the first scheduling entity may include a second IAB donor distributed unit and a second IAB donor control unit. In some examples, the method may also include: receiving second IP address information for the RAN node from the second scheduling entity, and using the second IP address information for the RAN node to establish a communication path to the first scheduling entity for a first signaling connection, the communication path passing through the first IAB donor distributed unit and bypassing the first IAB donor control unit. In some examples, the method may also include: establishing a first F1 control (F1-C) connection between the IAB distributed unit and the first IAB donor control unit (CU), wherein the first signaling connection may include a second F1-C connection between the IAB distributed unit and the second IAB donor control unit. In some examples, the method may also include: sending a request to the second scheduling entity to establish a first signaling connection for a dual-connectivity operation mode of the RAN node with the second scheduling entity and the first scheduling entity. In some examples, the method may also include: sending a request to the second scheduling entity to establish a first signaling connection for the RAN node to switch from the second scheduling entity to the first scheduling entity.

[0201] In some examples, the method may further include: receiving third IP address information for the RAN node from the second scheduling entity. In some examples, the method may further include: using the third IP address information for the RAN node to establish a second signaling connection to the first scheduling entity, the second signaling connection passing through the first integrated access backhaul (IAB) donor distributed unit and bypassing the second scheduling entity. For example, the signaling path may bypass Fig.14 As another example, the signaling path may bypass Fig.14 The scheduling entity 1404 (eg, the signal path may pass through a parent DU of the IAB node 1408, which is not the DU 1414).

[0202] Fig.17 1 is a flow chart illustrating a method 1700 for a RAN node according to some examples. As described below, within the scope of the present disclosure, some or all of the illustrated features may be omitted in certain implementations, and some of the illustrated features are not required for implementation of all embodiments. In some examples, the method 1700 may be Fig.15 The method 1700 is performed by the RAN node 1700 shown in . In some instances, the RAN node may be an IAB node. In some examples, the method 1700 may be performed by any suitable device or unit for performing the functions or algorithms described below.

[0203] At block 1702, the RAN node may establish a first signaling connection between an IAB distributed unit of the RAN node and a first IAB donor control unit of a first scheduling entity. Fig.15 The connection establishment circuit 1543 is combined with the above Fig.15 The communication and processing circuitry 1541 and transceiver 1510 shown and described together may provide for establishing communication between the CU of a serving base station and the DU of a RAN node. Fig.14 The F1-C connection 1418 units.

[0204] At block 1704, the RAN node may send a request to a first IAB donor control unit of the first scheduling entity, wherein the request is to establish a second signaling connection between an IAB distributed unit of the RAN node and a second IAB donor control unit of the second scheduling entity. Fig.15 The message processing circuit 1542 is combined with the above Fig.15 The communication and processing circuitry 1541 and transceiver 1510 shown and described may provide means for transmitting an RRC message via uplink resources (eg, PUSCH) scheduled by a base station.

[0205] At block 1706, the RAN node may receive first Internet Protocol (IP) address information of a first IAB donor distributed unit of the first scheduling entity from a first IAB donor control unit of the first scheduling entity after sending the request. Fig.15 The message processing circuit 1542 together with the communication and processing circuit 1541 and the transceiver 1510 may provide a means for receiving information.

[0206] At block 1708, the RAN node may establish a communication path for a second signaling connection between the IAB distributed unit of the RAN node and a second IAB donor control unit of the second scheduling entity using the first IP address information. Fig.15 The message processing circuit 1542 together with the communication and processing circuit 1541 and the transceiver 1510 can provide a method for receiving a message including the first IP information (eg, as in Fig. 9 Unit of the RRC message described at 914).

[0207] At block 1710, the RAN node may transmit information for a second signaling connection via the communication path. For example, the communication and processing circuitry 1541 and the transceiver 1510 may provide a means for sending and receiving signaling over an SCTP connection (e.g., as in Fig. 9 916 and 918 of the specification).

[0208] In some examples, the first signaling connection may include a first F1 control (F1-C) connection, and the second signaling connection may include a second F1-C connection. In some examples, the method may also include: receiving second Internet Protocol (IP) address information of a second IAB donor control unit of the second scheduling entity from the first scheduling entity, and using the second IP address information to establish a communication path for the first signaling connection. In some examples, the request is to establish a second signaling connection for a dual-connection operation mode of the RAN node with the first scheduling entity and the second scheduling entity. In some examples, the request is to establish a second signaling connection for switching the RAN node from the first scheduling entity to the second scheduling entity.

[0209] Fig.18 1800 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation of a scheduling entity 1800 employing a processing system 1814. According to various examples of the present disclosure, an element or any portion of an element or any combination of elements may be implemented using a processing system 1814 including one or more processors 1804. In some implementations, the scheduling entity 1800 may correspond to Figure 1 In some examples, the scheduling entity 800 may be or include Figure 6 MeNB606, Figure 8 MeNB 804, Fig. 9 MeNB 904, Fig.13 MeNB 1304 or Fig.14 Scheduling entity 1404.

[0210] Processing system 1814 can be used with Fig.15 The processing system 1514 shown is substantially the same, including a bus interface 1808, a bus 1802, a memory 1805, a processor 1804, and a computer-readable medium 1806. The memory 1805 can store connection information 1815 (e.g., IP address information, etc.) for establishing and using signaling connections as discussed herein. In addition, the scheduling entity 1800 can include an interface 1812 (e.g., a network interface) that provides a means for communicating with various other devices within the core network and at least one radio access network.

[0211] The scheduling entity 1800 may be configured to perform any one or more of the operations described herein (e.g., as described above in conjunction with Figure 1-14 Described, and combined as follows Fig.19 In some examples, the processor 1804 used in the scheduling entity 1800 may include circuits configured for various functions.

[0212] Processor 1804 may include communication and processing circuitry 1841. Communication and processing circuitry 1841 may include one or more hardware components that provide a physical structure for performing various processes related to communication as described herein (e.g., signal reception and / or signal transmission). Communication and processing circuitry 1841 may also include one or more hardware components that provide a physical structure for performing various processes related to signal processing as described herein (e.g., processing received signals and / or processing signals for transmission). Communication and processing circuitry 1841 may also be configured to execute communication and processing software 1851 included on computer-readable medium 1806 to implement one or more functions described herein.

[0213] In examples where the IAB node is an IAB donor node, the communication and processing circuitry 1841 may be configured to communicate with a parent IAB node and / or a child IAB node in the IAB network via one or more backhaul links.

[0214] In some implementations where the communication involves receiving information, the communication and processing circuitry 1841 may obtain information from a component of the scheduling entity 1800 (e.g., from a transceiver 1810 that receives information via a radio frequency signal or some other type of signaling suitable for an applicable communication medium), process (e.g., decode) the information, and output the processed information. For example, the communication and processing circuitry 1841 may output the information to another component of the processor 1804, the memory 1805, or the bus interface 1808. In some examples, the communication and processor 1841 may receive one or more of a signal, a message, other information, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 1841 may receive information via one or more channels. In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 1841 may include functionality of a unit for receiving.

[0215] In some implementations where the communication involves sending (e.g., transmitting) information, the communication and processing circuitry 1841 may obtain information (e.g., from another component of the processor 1804, the memory 1805, or the bus interface 1808), process (e.g., encode) the information, and output the processed information. For example, the communication and processing circuitry 1841 may output the information to the transceiver 1810 (e.g., which transmits the information via an RF signal or some other type of signal suitable for an applicable communication medium). In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 1841 may transmit one or more of a signal, a message, other information, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 1841 may transmit the information via one or more channels. In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 1841 may include functionality of a unit for transmitting (e.g., a unit for transmitting).

[0216] In some examples, communication and processing circuitry 1841 may include functionality of a unit for transmitting information, for example, via a communication path (e.g., as described herein in Fig. 9 916 and 918 and / or Fig.11 Box 1112 and / or Fig.19 1912 of 20 and / or described at block 2010 of 20). For example, the communication and processing circuit 1841 may encode information (e.g., signaling) and send the encoded information on the designated resources to another node according to the communication protocol. As another example, the communication and processing circuit 1841 may receive information on the designated resources using the communication protocol and decode the received information to recover the information (e.g., signaling) sent by another node. As another example, the communication and processing circuit 1841 may map a service from one node to another node (e.g., on a signaling bearer).

[0217] Processor 1804 may include message processing circuitry 1842 configured to perform message processing related operations as discussed herein (e.g., in conjunction with Figure 6-14 Message processing circuit 1842 may include the functionality of a unit for receiving a message (e.g., as described herein in Fig. 9 908 and / or Fig.11 Box 1102 and / or Fig.19 Message processing circuit 1842 may include functionality of a unit for receiving a request (e.g., as described herein in Fig. 9 908 and / or Fig.11 Box 1102 and / or Fig. 20 In some examples, the message processing circuit 1842 may include the functionality of a unit for sending a message (e.g., as described herein in Fig. 9 910 and / or Fig.11 Block 1106 and / or Fig.19 Message processing circuit 1842 may include the functionality of a unit for sending IP information (e.g., as described herein in Fig. 9 910 and / or Fig.11 Block 1106 and / or Fig. 20 Message processing circuit 1842 may include functionality of a unit for receiving an acknowledgement (e.g., as described herein in Fig. 9 912 and / or Fig.11 Box 1108 and / or Fig.19 Message processing circuit 1842 may include functionality of a unit for sending a message (e.g., as described herein in Fig. 9 914 and / or Fig.11Box 1110 and / or Fig.19 The message processing circuit 1842 may also be configured to execute message processing software 1852 included on the computer-readable medium 1806 to implement one or more of the functions described herein.

[0218] Processor 1804 may include connection circuitry 1843 configured to perform connection-related operations as discussed herein (e.g., in conjunction with Figure 6-14 The connection circuit 1843 may include functionality for identifying a unit for a scheduling entity (e.g., as described herein in Fig. 9 908 and / or Fig.11 Box 1104 and / or Fig.19 The connection circuit 1843 may include functionality of a unit for establishing a communication path using IP address information (e.g., as described herein in Fig. 9 914 and / or Fig.11 Blocks 1110 and 1112 and / or Fig. 20 The connection circuit 1843 may also be configured to execute connection software 1853 included on the computer-readable medium 1806 to implement one or more of the functions described herein.

[0219] Fig.19 1 is a flow chart illustrating a method 1900 for a second scheduling entity according to some examples. As described below, within the scope of the present disclosure, some or all of the illustrated features may be omitted in certain implementations, and some of the illustrated features are not required for implementation of all embodiments. In some examples, the method 1900 may be Fig.18 The scheduling entity 1800 shown in is executed. In some examples, the method 1900 can be executed by any suitable device or unit for performing the functions or algorithms described below.

[0220] At block 1902, a second scheduling entity may receive a first message from a RAN node, wherein the first message indicates that the RAN node supports transmission of information for a first signaling connection via a second signaling connection. Fig.18 The message processing circuit 1842 is combined with the above Fig.18 The communication and processing circuitry 1841 and transceiver 1810 shown and described may provide means for receiving an RRC message indicating support for LTE and X2 / Xn paths, such as Fig. 9 908 of the description.

[0221] In some examples, receiving the first message may include: receiving the first message from the RAN node via the second signaling connection. In some examples, the first message may be a 3GPP message, such as a UECapabilityInformation message, an RRCSetupComplete message, an RRCConnectionReconfigurationComplete, or a ULInformationTransfer message.

[0222] In some examples, the first signaling connection uses a first signaling protocol and the second signaling connection uses a second signaling protocol different from the first signaling protocol. In some examples, the first signaling connection uses a first radio access technology (RAT) and the second signaling connection uses a second RAT different from the first RAT. In some examples, the first signaling connection may include an F1 control (F1-C) connection between an integrated access backhaul (IAB) distributed unit of the RAN node and an IAB donor control unit of the first scheduling entity. In some examples, the second signaling connection may include a radio resource control (RRC) connection between the second scheduling entity and an integrated access backhaul (IAB) mobile terminal (MT) of the RAN node.

[0223] At block 1904, the second scheduling entity may identify a first scheduling entity associated with the RAN node. Fig.18 The connection circuit 1843 is combined with the above Fig.18 The communication and processing circuitry 1841 and transceiver 1810 shown and described may provide means for identifying an IAB donor node associated with an IAB RAN node.

[0224] At block 1906, the second scheduling entity may send a second message to the first scheduling entity, wherein the second message indicates that the RAN node supports transmission of information for the first signaling connection via the second signaling connection. Fig.18 The message processing circuit 1842 together with the communication and processing circuit 1841 and the transceiver 1810 may provide a unit for sending an X2AP message to the IAB donor node.

[0225] In some examples, sending the second message may include sending the second message to the first scheduling entity via a base station interface. In some examples, the second message may be a 3GPP message, such as a secondary gNB (SgNB) add request message or an SgNB modify request message. In some examples, the first message may include the second IP address information from the RAN node, and the second message may include the second IP address information from the RAN node.

[0226] At block 1908, the second scheduling entity may receive an acknowledgment from the first scheduling entity after sending the second message. Fig.18 The message processing circuit 1842 together with the communication and processing circuit 1841 and the transceiver 1810 may provide a means for receiving an X2AP confirm message from an IAB donor node.

[0227] In some examples, receiving the confirmation may include: receiving a confirmation from the first scheduling entity via the base station interface. In some examples, the confirmation indicates that the first scheduling entity supports the transmission of information for the first signaling connection via the second signaling connection. In some examples, the confirmation may include a secondary gNB (SgNB) add request confirmation message or an SgNB modify request confirmation message.

[0228] In some examples, the confirmation may include first Internet Protocol (IP) address information associated with the first scheduling entity. In some examples, the first IP address information may include an IP address prefix. In some examples, the first IP address information may include an IP address of the first scheduling entity. In some examples, the first IP address information may include an IP address assigned to the RAN node by the first scheduling entity.

[0229] At block 1910, the second scheduling entity may send a third message to the RAN node, wherein the third message indicates that the first scheduling entity supports transmission of information for the first signaling connection via the second signaling connection. Fig.18 The message processing circuit 1842 together with the communication and processing circuit 1841 and the transceiver 1810 may provide for sending an RRC message (eg, as in Fig. 9 914 of the description).

[0230] In some examples, sending the third message may include: sending the third message to the RAN node via the second signaling connection. In some examples, the third message may include an RRCConnectionReconfiguration message or a DLInformationTransfer message.

[0231] At block 1912, the second scheduling entity may transmit information for a first signaling connection between the RAN node and the first scheduling entity, wherein transmitting the information may include communicating with the RAN node via the second signaling connection and communicating with the first scheduling entity via a base station interface. Fig.18 The message processing circuit 1842 together with the communication and processing circuit 1841 and the transceiver 1810 may provide a means for exchanging IP packets between a signaling bearer with an IAB RAN node and an X2AP association with an IAB donor node.

[0232] In some examples, the RAN node may include an integrated access backhaul (IAB) distributed unit, and the first scheduling entity may include an IAB donor control unit. In some examples, the second scheduling entity may include a primary base station for a dual connectivity operation mode of the RAN node, and the first scheduling entity may include a secondary base station for the dual connectivity operation mode.

[0233] In some examples, the RAN node may include an integrated access backhaul (IAB) distributed unit and an IAB mobile terminal, and the second scheduling entity may include a first IAB donor distributed unit and a first IAB donor control unit, and the first scheduling entity may include a second IAB donor distributed unit and a second IAB donor control unit. In some examples, the method may also include: selecting Internet Protocol (IP) address information for the RAN node to route information for a first signaling connection between the RAN node and the second IAB donor control unit, the first signaling connection passing through the first IAB donor distributed unit and bypassing the first IAB donor control unit; and sending the IP address information for the RAN node to at least one of the RAN node or the second IAB donor control unit. In some examples, the method may also include: establishing a first F1 control (F1-C) connection between the IAB distributed unit and the first IAB donor control unit (CU), wherein the first signaling connection may include a second F1-C connection between the IAB distributed unit and the second IAB donor control unit. In some examples, the method may also include sending at least one of the following: first Internet Protocol (IP) address information of a first IAB donor distributed unit from an IAB donor control unit of a second scheduling entity to a second IAB donor control unit of a second IAB donor distributed unit, or second IP address information of a second IAB donor control unit from an IAB donor control unit of a first scheduling entity to a first IAB donor distributed unit; and using at least one of the first IP address information or the second IP address information to establish a communication path for a first signaling connection, wherein the communication path is between the first IAB donor distributed unit and the second IAB donor control unit. In some examples, the method may also include mapping the service on the communication path to a signaling bearer between the second scheduling entity and the RAN node. In some examples, the method may also include receiving from the RAN node a request for establishing a first signaling connection for a dual-connectivity operation mode of the RAN node with the second scheduling entity and the first scheduling entity, or receiving from the RAN node a request for establishing a first signaling connection for switching the RAN node from the second scheduling entity to the first scheduling entity.

[0234] Fig. 202 is a flow chart illustrating a method 2000 for a second scheduling entity according to some examples. As described below, within the scope of the present disclosure, some or all of the illustrated features may be omitted in certain implementations, and some of the illustrated features are not required for implementation of all embodiments. In some examples, the method 2000 may be composed of Fig.18 The scheduling entity 1800 shown in is executed. In some examples, the method 2000 can be executed by any suitable device or unit for performing the functions or algorithms described below.

[0235] At block 2002, a second scheduling entity may establish a first signaling connection between an IAB distributed unit of a RAN node and a first IAB donor control unit of the second scheduling entity. Fig.18 The message processing circuit 1842 is combined with the above Fig.18 The communication and processing circuitry 1841 and transceiver 1810 shown and described together may provide for establishing a communication channel between the CU of the second scheduling entity and the DU of the RAN node. Fig.14 The F1-C connection 1418 units.

[0236] At block 2004, the second scheduling entity may receive a request from the RAN node to establish a second signaling connection between the IAB distributed unit of the RAN node and the second IAB donor control unit of the first scheduling entity. Fig.18 The message processing circuit 1842 together with the communication and processing circuit 1841 and the transceiver 1810 may provide a unit for receiving an RRC message indicating support for LTE and X2 / Xn paths, such as in Fig. 9 908 of the description.

[0237] At block 2006, the second scheduling entity may send first Internet Protocol (IP) address information of the first IAB donor distributed unit of the second scheduling entity to at least one of the IAB distributed unit of the RAN node or the second IAB donor control unit of the first scheduling entity after receiving the request. Fig.18 The message processing circuit 1842 together with the communication and processing circuit 1841 and the transceiver 1810 can provide a method for sending a message including the first IP address information (for example, as in Fig. 9 As another example, Fig.18 The message processing circuit 1842 together with the communication and processing circuit 1841 and the transceiver 1810 can provide a message processing circuit 1842 that includes the first IP address information (for example, as in Fig. 9 The X2AP message described at 911 is sent to the unit of the IAB donor control unit.

[0238] At block 2008, the second scheduling entity may use the first IP address information to establish a communication path for a second signaling connection between the IAB distributed unit of the RAN node and the second IAB donor control unit of the first scheduling entity. Fig.18 The message processing circuit 1842 together with the communication and processing circuit 1841 and the transceiver 1810 may provide a unit for establishing an SCTP connection to an IAB donor node or adding a path to an existing SCTP connection to an IAB donor node.

[0239] At block 2010, the second scheduling entity may map the traffic on the communication path to a signaling bearer between the first scheduling entity and the RAN node. For example, the communication and processing circuit 1841 and the transceiver 1810 may provide a unit for exchanging IP packets between a signaling bearer with the IAB RAN node and an X2AP association with the IAB donor node.

[0240] In some examples, the method may further include: sending the second IP address information of the first IAB donor distributed unit to the second IAB donor control unit or sending the third IP address information of the second IAB donor control unit to at least one of the first IAB donor distributed unit, and using at least one of the second IP address information or the third IP address information to establish a communication path for the second signaling connection, wherein the communication path is between the first IAB donor distributed unit and the second IAB donor control unit. In some examples, the first signaling connection may include a first F1 control (F1-C) connection, and the second signaling connection may include a second F1-C connection. In some examples, the method may further include: receiving the second Internet Protocol (IP) address information of the second IAB donor control unit of the first scheduling entity from the first scheduling entity, and using the second IP address information to establish a communication path for the second signaling connection. In some examples, the request is to establish a second signaling connection for a dual-connection operation mode of the RAN node with the first scheduling entity and the second scheduling entity. In some examples, the request is to establish a second signaling connection for switching the RAN node from the second scheduling entity to the first scheduling entity.

[0241] Fig.21 2104. The scheduling entity 2100 may correspond to a processing system 2114. Figure 1 In some examples, the scheduling entity 800 may be or include Figure 6IAB Donor CU 612, Figure 8 IAB donor node 806, Fig. 9 IAB Donor CU 906, Fig.13 IAB Donor CU 1302 or Fig.14 Scheduling entity 1406.

[0242] Processing system 2114 can be used with Fig.15 The processing system 1514 shown is substantially the same, including a bus interface 2108, a bus 2102, a memory 2105, a processor 2104, and a computer-readable medium 2106. The memory 2105 can store connection information 2115 (e.g., IP address information, etc.) for establishing and using signaling connections as discussed herein. In addition, the scheduling entity 2100 can include an interface 2112 (e.g., a network interface) that provides a means for communicating with various other devices within the core network and at least one radio access network.

[0243] The scheduling entity 2100 may be configured to perform any one or more of the operations described herein (e.g., as described above in conjunction with Figure 1-14 Described, and combined as follows Fig. 22 and / or Fig.23 In some examples, the processor 2104 used in the scheduling entity 2100 may include circuits configured for various functions.

[0244] The processor 2104 may include a communication and processing circuit 2141. The communication and processing circuit 2141 may include one or more hardware components that provide a physical structure for performing various processes related to communication as described herein (e.g., signal reception and / or signal transmission). The communication and processing circuit 2141 may also include one or more hardware components that provide a physical structure for performing various processes related to signal processing as described herein (e.g., processing received signals and / or processing signals for transmission). The communication and processing circuit 2141 may also be configured to execute communication and processing software 2151 included on the computer-readable medium 2106 to implement one or more functions described herein.

[0245] In examples where the IAB node is an IAB donor node, the communication and processing circuitry 2141 may be configured to communicate with a parent IAB node and / or child IAB nodes in the IAB network via one or more backhaul links.

[0246] In some implementations where the communication involves receiving information, the communication and processing circuitry 2141 may obtain information from a component of the scheduling entity 2100 (e.g., from a transceiver 2110 that receives information via a radio frequency signal or some other type of signaling suitable for an applicable communication medium), process (e.g., decode) the information, and output the processed information. For example, the communication and processing circuitry 2141 may output the information to another component of the processor 2104, the memory 2105, or the bus interface 2108. In some examples, the communication and processor 2141 may receive one or more of a signal, a message, other information, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 2141 may receive information via one or more channels. In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 2141 may include functionality of a unit for receiving.

[0247] In some implementations where the communication involves sending (e.g., transmitting) information, the communication and processing circuitry 2141 may obtain information (e.g., from another component of the processor 2104, the memory 2105, or the bus interface 2108), process (e.g., encode) the information, and output the processed information. For example, the communication and processing circuitry 2141 may output the information to the transceiver 2110 (e.g., which transmits the information via an RF signal or some other type of signal suitable for an applicable communication medium). In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 2141 may transmit one or more of a signal, a message, other information, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 2141 may transmit the information via one or more channels. In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 2141 may include functionality of a unit for transmitting (e.g., a unit for transmitting).

[0248] In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 2141 may include functionality of a unit for, for example, transmitting information via a communication path (e.g., as described herein in Fig. 9 916 and 921 and / or Fig.12 Box 1210 and / or Fig. 22 Boxes 2202 and 2212 and / or Fig.23 For example, the communication and processing circuit 2141 may encode information (e.g., signaling) and send the encoded information on the designated resource to another node according to the communication protocol. As another example, the communication and processing circuit 1841 may receive information on the designated resource using a communication protocol (e.g., SCTP) and decode the received information to recover the information (e.g., signaling) sent by another node.

[0249] Processor 2104 may include message processing circuitry 2142 configured to perform message processing related operations as discussed herein (e.g., in conjunction with Figure 6-14Message processing circuit 2142 may include the functionality of a unit for receiving a message (e.g., as described herein in Fig. 9 910 and / or Fig.12 Box 1202 and / or Fig. 22 Message processing circuit 2142 may include functionality of a unit for receiving IP information (e.g., as described herein in Fig. 9 910 and / or Fig.12 Box 1202 and / or Fig.23 Message processing circuit 2142 may include functionality of a unit for sending an acknowledgement (e.g., as described herein in Fig. 9 912 and / or Fig.12 Box 1206 and / or Fig. 22 The message processing circuit 2142 may also be configured to execute message processing software 2152 included on the computer-readable medium 2106 to implement one or more of the functions described herein.

[0250] Processor 2104 may include connection establishment circuitry 2143 configured to perform connection establishment related operations as discussed herein (e.g., in conjunction with Figure 6-14 The connection establishment circuit 2143 may include functionality for determining a unit for connecting a RAN node to the scheduling entity 2100 (e.g., as described herein in Fig. 9 910 and 912 and / or Fig.12 Box 1204 and / or Fig. 22 The connection establishment circuit 2143 may include the functionality of a unit for establishing a communication path using the IP address information (e.g., as described herein in Fig. 9 916 and 918 and / or Fig.12 Box 1208 and / or Fig. 22 Box 2210 and / or Fig.23 The connection establishment circuit 2143 may also be configured to execute connection establishment software 2153 included on the computer readable medium 2106 to implement one or more of the functions described herein.

[0251] Fig. 22 2200 is a flowchart illustrating a method 2200 for a first scheduling entity according to some examples. As described below, within the scope of the present disclosure, some or all of the illustrated features may be omitted in certain implementations, and some of the illustrated features are not required for implementation of all embodiments. In some examples, the method 2200 may be composed of Fig.18The scheduling entity 1800 shown in is executed. In some examples, the method 2100 can be executed by any suitable device or unit for performing the functions or algorithms described below.

[0252] At block 2202, the first scheduling entity may communicate with the RAN node via a first communication path. Fig.21 The communication and processing circuitry 2141 and transceiver 2110 shown and described may provide means for communicating with an IAB node via a NR link.

[0253] At block 2204, the first scheduling entity may receive a first message from the second scheduling entity, wherein the first message indicates that the RAN node supports transmission of information for a first signaling connection with the first scheduling entity via a second signaling connection over a second communication path associated with the second scheduling entity, wherein the first signaling connection is associated with first Internet Protocol (IP) address information, and wherein receiving the first message comprises: receiving the first message via a base station interface. For example, Fig.21 The message processing circuit 2142 is combined with the above Fig.21 The communication and processing circuitry 2141 and transceiver 2110 shown and described may provide means for receiving an X2AP message including an indication of support from a second scheduling entity serving the IAB node.

[0254] In some examples, the first signaling connection uses a first signaling protocol and the second signaling connection uses a second signaling protocol different from the first signaling protocol. In some examples, the first signaling connection uses a first radio access technology (RAT) and the second signaling connection uses a second RAT different from the first RAT. In some examples, the first signaling connection may include an F1 control (F1-C) connection between an integrated access backhaul (IAB) distributed unit of the RAN node and an IAB donor control unit of the first scheduling entity. In some examples, the second signaling connection may include a radio resource control (RRC) connection between the second scheduling entity and an integrated access backhaul (IAB) mobile terminal (MT) of the RAN node.

[0255] In some examples, the first message may include second IP address information from the RAN node. In some examples, the method may further include: deriving an IP address for the RAN node from the second IP address information. In some examples, the second IP address information may include an IP address prefix, and the method may include: selecting an IP address for the RAN node based on the IP address prefix.

[0256] In some examples, the first message may include a secondary gNB (SgNB) add request message or an SgNB modification request message.

[0257] At block 2206, the first scheduling entity may determine that the RAN node is connected to the first scheduling entity via a third signaling connection. Fig.21 The message processing circuit 2142 together with the communication and processing circuit 2141 and the transceiver 2110 may provide a means for determining that the connection is made via an IAB donor CU of a second scheduling entity serving the RAN node.

[0258] At block 2208, after determining that the RAN node is connected to the first scheduling entity via the third signaling connection, the first scheduling entity may send an acknowledgment to the second scheduling entity via the base station interface, wherein the acknowledgment may include second IP address information associated with the first scheduling entity. Fig.21 The message processing circuit 2142 together with the communication and processing circuit 2141 and the transceiver 2110 may provide a means for sending an X2AP confirmation message including the first IP address information to the second scheduling entity serving the RAN node.

[0259] In some examples, the first IP address information may include an IP address of the first scheduling entity. In some examples, the first IP address information may include an IP address assigned to the RAN node by the first scheduling entity.

[0260] In some examples, the confirmation indicates that the first scheduling entity supports transmission of information for the first signaling connection via the second signaling connection.

[0261] In some examples, the confirmation may include a secondary gNB (SgNB) add request confirm message or a SgNB modify request confirm message.

[0262] At block 2210, the first scheduling entity may use the second IP address information to establish a second signaling connection to the RAN node via the base station interface over the second communication path. Fig.21 The message processing circuit 2142 together with the communication and processing circuit 2141 and the transceiver 2110 can provide a DU establishment via a second scheduling entity serving the RAN node. Fig.14 The path 1424 units.

[0263] At block 2212, the first scheduling entity may transmit information for the first signaling connection via the second signaling connection via the second communication path. For example, the communication and processing circuitry 2141 and the transceiver 2110 may provide a unit for sending and receiving signaling via the SCTP connection (e.g., as in Fig. 9 916 and 918 of the specification).

[0264] In some examples, the RAN node may include an integrated access backhaul (IAB) distributed unit, and the first scheduling entity may include an IAB donor control unit. In some examples, the second scheduling entity may include a primary base station for a dual connectivity operation mode of the RAN node, and the first scheduling entity may include a secondary base station for the dual connectivity operation mode.

[0265] In some examples, establishing a communication path to the RAN node via the base station interface using the first IP address information may include: establishing a stream control transmission protocol (SCTP) connection with the RAN node. In some examples, transmitting information for the first signaling connection via the communication path may include: exchanging F1 control (F1-C) packets with the RAN node via the SCTP connection.

[0266] In some examples, establishing a communication path to the RAN node via the base station interface using the first IP address information may include: establishing the path in a stream control transmission protocol (SCTP) connection to the RAN node. In some examples, transmitting information for the first signaling connection via the communication path may include: exchanging F1 control (F1-C) packets with the RAN node via the path.

[0267] In some examples, the method may also include receiving second IP address information from the RAN node via a stream control transmission protocol (SCTP) connection.

[0268] In some examples, the RAN node may include an integrated access backhaul (IAB) distributed unit and an IAB mobile terminal, and the second scheduling entity may include a first IAB donor distributed unit and a first IAB donor control unit, and the first scheduling entity may include a second IAB donor distributed unit and a second IAB donor control unit. In some examples, the method may also include: receiving second IP address information of the first IAB donor distributed unit from the first IAB donor control unit. In some examples, the method may also include: using the second IP address information of the first IAB donor distributed unit to establish a connection between the first IAB donor distributed unit and the second IAB donor control unit. In some examples, the method may also include: receiving second IP address information of the RAN node from the second scheduling entity; and using the second IP address information for the RAN node to establish a communication path to the RAN node for the first signaling connection, the communication path passing through the first IAB donor distributed unit and bypassing the first IAB donor control unit.

[0269] In some examples, the method may also include: receiving third IP address information of a first integrated access backhaul (IAB) donor distributed unit of the second scheduling entity from a first IAB donor control unit of the second scheduling entity. In some examples, the method may also include: using the third IP address information of the first IAB donor distributed unit to establish a connection between the first IAB donor distributed unit and a second IAB donor control unit of the RAN node. In some examples, the method may also include: receiving third IP address information for the RAN node from the second scheduling entity; using the third IP address information to establish a second signaling connection to the RAN node, the second signaling connection passing through the first IAB donor distributed unit and bypassing the second scheduling entity. For example, the signaling path may bypass Fig.14 As another example, the signaling path may bypass Fig.14 The scheduling entity 1404 (eg, the signal path may pass through a parent DU of the IAB node 1408, which is not the DU 1414).

[0270] Fig.23 2300 for a first scheduling entity according to some examples. As described below, within the scope of the present disclosure, some or all of the illustrated features may be omitted in certain implementations, and some of the illustrated features are not required for implementation of all embodiments. In some examples, the method 2300 may be composed of Fig.21 The scheduling entity 2100 shown in is executed. In some examples, the method 2300 can be executed by any suitable device or unit for performing the functions or algorithms described below.

[0271] At block 2302, a first scheduling entity may receive first Internet Protocol (IP) address information of a distributed unit of a RAN node from a second scheduling entity. Fig.21 The message processing circuit 2142 is combined with the above Fig.21 The communication and processing circuitry 2141 and transceiver 2110 shown and described may provide means for receiving an X2AP message including first IP address information from a second scheduling entity serving a RAN node.

[0272] At block 2304, the first scheduling entity may use the first IP address information to establish a communication path for signaling between a first IAB donor control unit of the first scheduling entity and a distributed unit of the RAN node, the communication path passing through a first IAB donor distributed unit of a second scheduling entity and bypassing a second IAB donor control unit of the second scheduling entity. For example, Fig.21 The message processing circuit 2142 is combined with the above Fig.21The communication and processing circuitry 2141 and transceiver 2110 shown and described together may provide for establishing a DU via a second scheduling entity serving a RAN node. Fig.14 The path of 1423 units.

[0273] At block 2306, the first scheduling entity may transmit signaling via the communication path. For example, Fig.21 The message processing circuit 2142 and the above combination Fig.21 The communication and processing circuitry 2141 and transceiver 2110 shown and described together may provide a means for sending and receiving signaling over an SCTP connection (e.g., as in Fig. 9 916 and 918 of the specification).

[0274] In some examples, the signaling may include F1 control (F1-C) signaling. In some examples, the method may also include: receiving second IP address information of a second IAB donor distributed unit of the second scheduling entity from the second scheduling entity; using the second IP address information to establish a first connection between the first IAB distributed unit of the second scheduling entity and the first IAB donor control unit of the first scheduling entity; and using the first connection to establish a communication path. In some examples, the method may also include: sending a request for the first IP address information to the second scheduling entity. In some examples, using the first connection to establish a communication path may include: establishing a stream control transmission protocol (SCTP) connection with a RAN node. In some examples, transmitting signaling via the communication path may include: exchanging F1 control (F1-C) packets with the RAN node via the SCTP connection. In some examples, establishing a communication path using the first connection may include: establishing a path in a stream control transmission protocol (SCTP) connection to the RAN node. In some examples, transmitting signaling via the communication path may include: exchanging F1 control (F1-C) packets with the RAN node via the path.

[0275] The following provides a summary of several aspects of the disclosure.

[0276] Aspect 1: A method for wireless communication at a radio access network (RAN) node, the method comprising: communicating with a first scheduling entity via a first communication path using a first radio access technology (RAT); communicating with a second scheduling entity via a second communication path using a second RAT different from the first RAT; generating a first message, the first message indicating that the RAN node supports the transmission of information for a first signaling connection with the first scheduling entity via a second signaling connection via the second communication path, wherein the first signaling connection is associated with a first Internet Protocol (IP) address information; sending the first message to the second scheduling entity via the second communication path; receiving a second message from the second scheduling entity via the second communication path, wherein the second message indicates that the first scheduling entity supports the transmission of the information for the first signaling connection via the second signaling connection via the second communication path, and wherein the second message includes second IP address information different from the first IP address information from the first scheduling entity; using the second IP address information to establish the second signaling connection to the first scheduling entity via the second communication path; and transmitting the information for the first signaling connection via the second signaling connection via the second communication path.

[0277] Aspect 2: The method according to aspect 1, wherein: the RAN node includes an integrated access backhaul (IAB) distributed unit; and the first scheduling entity includes an IAB donor control unit.

[0278] Aspect 3: A method according to aspect 1 or 2, wherein: the second scheduling entity includes a primary base station for a dual connectivity operation mode of the RAN node; and the first scheduling entity includes a secondary base station for the dual connectivity operation mode.

[0279] Aspect 4: A method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 3, wherein: the second scheduling entity includes a secondary base station for a dual connection operation mode; and the first scheduling entity includes a primary base station for the dual connection operation mode of the RAN node.

[0280] Aspect 5: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 4, wherein the use of the second IP address information to establish the second signaling connection includes: establishing a stream control transmission protocol (SCTP) connection with the first scheduling entity.

[0281] Aspect 6: The method according to aspect 5, wherein transmitting the information for the first signaling connection via the second communication path includes: exchanging F1 control (F1-C) packets with the first scheduling entity via the SCTP connection.

[0282] Aspect 7: A method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 6, wherein the use of the second IP address information to establish the second signaling connection includes: establishing a first path in a stream control transmission protocol (SCTP) connection to the first scheduling entity.

[0283] Aspect 8: The method according to Aspect 7, wherein transmitting the information for the first signaling connection via the second communication path includes: exchanging F1 control (F1-C) packets with the first scheduling entity via the first path in the SCTP connection.

[0284] Aspect 9: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 8, wherein using the second IP address information to establish the second signaling connection includes: deriving at least one IP address from the second IP address information.

[0285] Aspect 11: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 10, wherein the second IP address information includes the IP address of the first scheduling entity.

[0286] Aspect 12: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 11, wherein the second IP address information comprises an IP address assigned to the RAN node by the first scheduling entity.

[0287] Aspect 13: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 12, wherein the first message includes a UECapabilityInformation message.

[0288] Aspect 14: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 12, wherein the second message includes an RRCConnectionReconfiguration message or a DLInformationTransfer message.

[0289] Aspect 15: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 14 further includes: receiving third IP address information for the RAN node from the second scheduling entity; and using the third IP address information for the RAN node to establish the second signaling connection to the first scheduling entity, the second signaling connection passing through a first integrated access backhaul (IAB) donor distributed unit and bypassing the second scheduling entity.

[0290] Aspect 16: A method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 15, wherein: the method also includes: establishing a first F1 control (F1-C) connection between an integrated access backhaul (IAB) distributed unit of the RAN node and a first IAB donor control unit (CU) of the first scheduling entity; and the first signaling connection includes a second F1-C connection between the IAB distributed unit and a second IAB donor control unit.

[0291] Aspect 17: A method for wireless communication at a first scheduling entity, the method comprising: communicating with a RAN node via a first communication path; receiving a first message from a second scheduling entity, wherein the first message indicates that the RAN node supports the transmission of information for a first signaling connection with the first scheduling entity via a second signaling connection via a second communication path associated with the second scheduling entity, wherein the first signaling connection is associated with first Internet Protocol (IP) address information, and wherein receiving the first message comprises: receiving the first message via a base station interface; determining that the RAN node is connected to the first scheduling entity via a third signaling connection; after determining that the RAN node is connected to the first scheduling entity via the third signaling connection, sending a confirmation to the second scheduling entity via the base station interface, wherein the confirmation includes second IP address information associated with the first scheduling entity; using the second IP address information to establish the second signaling connection to the RAN node via the second communication path via the base station interface; and transmitting the information for the first signaling connection via the second signaling connection via the second communication path.

[0292] Aspect 18: The method according to aspect 17, wherein the confirmation indicates that the first scheduling entity supports the transmission of the information for the first signaling connection via the second signaling connection over the second communication path.

[0293] Aspect 19: A method according to any one of Aspects 17 to 18, wherein the first signaling connection includes an F1 control (F1-C) connection between an integrated access backhaul (IAB) distributed unit of the RAN node and an IAB donor control unit of the first scheduling entity.

[0294] Aspect 20: A method according to any one of Aspects 17 to 19, wherein the second signaling connection comprises a radio resource control (RRC) connection between the second scheduling entity and an integrated access backhaul (IAB) mobile terminal (MT) of the RAN node.

[0295] Aspect 21: A method according to any one of Aspects 17 to 20, wherein: the use of the second IP address information to establish the second signaling connection to the RAN node via the base station interface includes: establishing a first path in a first Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) connection to the RAN node or establishing a second SCTP connection to the RAR node; and the transmission of the information for the first signaling connection via the second signaling connection through the second communication path includes: exchanging F1 control (F1-C) packets with the RAN node via the second SCTP connection or exchanging the F1-C packets with the RAN node via the first path.

[0296] Aspect 23: The method according to any one of Aspects 17 to 22, wherein the first message further includes third IP address information from the RAN node.

[0297] Aspect 24: The method according to aspect 23 further includes: deriving an IP address for the RAN node from the third IP address information.

[0298] Aspect 25: A method according to any one of Aspects 23 to 24, wherein: the third IP address information includes an IP address prefix; and the processor and the memory are also configured to select an IP address for the RAN node based on the IP address prefix.

[0299] Aspect 26: A method according to any one of Aspects 17 to 25, wherein the first message includes a secondary gNB (SgNB) add request message or an SgNB modification request message.

[0300] Aspect 27: A method according to any one of Aspects 17 to 26, wherein the confirmation includes a secondary gNB (SgNB) add request confirmation message or an SgNB modification request confirmation message.

[0301] Aspect 28: The method according to any one of Aspects 17 to 27 further includes: receiving third IP address information of a first integrated access backhaul (IAB) donor distributed unit of the second scheduling entity from a first IAB donor control unit of the second scheduling entity.

[0302] Aspect 29: The method according to aspect 28, further comprising: using the third IP address information of the first IAB donor distributed unit to establish a connection between the first IAB donor distributed unit and a second IAB donor control unit of the RAN node.

[0303] Aspect 30: The method according to any one of Aspects 17 to 29 further includes: receiving third IP address information for the RAN node from the second scheduling entity; and using the third IP address information to establish the second signaling connection to the RAN node, the second signaling connection passing through the first IAB donor distributed unit and bypassing the second scheduling entity.

[0304] Aspect 31: A radio access network (RAN) node comprising: a transceiver configured to communicate with a radio access network, a memory, and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the processor and the memory are configured to perform any one of Aspects 1 to 16.

[0305] Aspect 32: An apparatus configured for wireless communication, comprising at least one unit for performing any one of aspects 1 to 16.

[0306] Aspect 33: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable code, comprising code for causing an apparatus to perform any one of aspects 1 to 16.

[0307] Aspect 34: A first scheduling entity, comprising: a transceiver, a memory, and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the processor and the memory are configured to perform any one of aspects 17 to 30.

[0308] Aspect 35: An apparatus configured for wireless communication, comprising at least one unit for performing any one of aspects 17 to 30.

[0309] Aspect 36: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable code, comprising code for causing an apparatus to perform any one of aspects 17 to 30.

[0310] In some aspects, wireless communication at a RAN node may include: generating a first message indicating that the RAN node supports transmission of information for a first signaling connection via a second signaling connection; sending the first message to a base station via the second signaling connection; and receiving a second message from the base station via the second signaling connection. The second message may indicate that a scheduling entity supports the transmission of the information for the first signaling connection via the second signaling connection, and the second message may include first Internet Protocol (IP) address information from the scheduling entity. The wireless communication may also include: establishing a communication path for the first signaling connection to the scheduling entity via the second signaling connection using the first IP address information; and transmitting the information for the first signaling connection via the communication path.

[0311] In some aspects, wireless communication at a base station may include: receiving a first message from a RAN node, the first message indicating that the RAN node supports transmission of information for a first signaling connection via a second signaling connection; identifying a scheduling entity associated with the RAN node; and sending a second message to the scheduling entity. The second message may indicate that the RAN node supports the transmission of the information for the first signaling connection via the second signaling connection. The wireless communication may also include: receiving an acknowledgement from the scheduling entity after sending the second message; and sending the third message to the RAN node. The third message may indicate that the scheduling entity supports the transmission of the information for the first signaling connection via the second signaling connection. The wireless communication may also include: transmitting the information for the first signaling connection between the RAN node and the scheduling entity. Transmitting the information may include: communicating with the RAN node via the second signaling connection; and communicating with the scheduling entity via a base station interface.

[0312] In some aspects, wireless communication at a scheduling entity may include: receiving a first message from a base station via a base station interface. The first message may indicate that the RAN node supports transmission of information for a first signaling connection via a second signaling connection. The wireless communication may also include: determining that the RAN node is connected to the scheduling entity via a third signaling connection; and after determining that the RAN node is connected to the scheduling entity via the third signaling connection, sending an acknowledgement to the base station via the base station interface. The acknowledgement may include Internet Protocol (IP) address information associated with the scheduling entity. The wireless communication may also include: establishing a communication path to the RAN node via the base station interface using the first IP address information; and transmitting the information for the first signaling connection via the communication path.

[0313] In some aspects, wireless communication at a RAN node may include: establishing a first signaling connection between an IAB distributed unit of the RAN node and a first IAB donor control unit of a first scheduling entity; and sending a request to the first IAB donor control unit of the first scheduling entity. The request may be to establish a second signaling connection between the IAB distributed unit of the RAN node and a second IAB donor control unit of a second scheduling entity. The wireless communication may also involve: after sending the request, receiving first Internet Protocol (IP) address information of the first IAB donor distributed unit of the first scheduling entity from the first IAB donor control unit of the first scheduling entity; using the first IP address information to establish a communication path for the second signaling connection between the IAB distributed unit of the RAN node and the second IAB donor control unit of the second scheduling entity; and transmitting information for the second signaling connection via the communication path.

[0314] In some aspects, wireless communication at a first scheduling entity may include: establishing a first signaling connection between an IAB distributed unit of a RAN node and a first IAB donor control unit of the first scheduling entity; receiving a request from the RAN node to establish a second signaling connection between the IAB distributed unit of the RAN node and a second IAB donor control unit of the second scheduling entity; after receiving the request, sending first Internet Protocol (IP) address information of the first IAB donor distributed unit of the first scheduling entity to at least one of the IAB distributed unit of the RAN node or the second IAB donor control unit of the second scheduling entity; using the first IP address information to establish a communication path for the second signaling connection between the IAB distributed unit of the RAN node and the second IAB donor control unit of the second scheduling entity; and mapping the service on the communication path to a signaling bearer between the first scheduling entity and the RAN node.

[0315] In some aspects, wireless communication at a first scheduling entity may include: receiving second IP address information of a second IAB donor distributed unit of the second scheduling entity from a second scheduling entity; using the second IP address information to establish a first connection between the first IAB distributed unit of the second scheduling entity and the first IAB donor control unit of the first scheduling entity; and using the first connection to establish a communication path.

[0316] Several aspects of wireless communication networks have been presented with reference to example implementations. As those skilled in the art will readily appreciate, various aspects described throughout this disclosure may be extended to other telecommunication systems, network architectures and communication standards.

[0317] For example, various aspects may be implemented in other systems defined by 3GPP, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), Evolved Packet System (EPS), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), and / or Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). Various aspects may also be extended to systems defined by the Third Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2), such as CDMA2000 and / or Evolution Data Optimized (EV-DO). Other examples may be implemented in systems employing Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Ultra Wideband (UWB), Bluetooth, and / or other suitable systems. The actual telecommunication standard, network architecture, and / or communication standard employed depends on the specific application and the overall design constraints imposed on the system.

[0318] In the present disclosure, the term exemplary is used to mean used as an example, instance or illustration. Any implementation or aspect described herein as exemplary is not necessarily interpreted as being more preferred or having advantages over other aspects of the present disclosure. Similarly, the term aspect does not require that all aspects of the present disclosure include the features, advantages or operating modes discussed. The term coupling is used herein to refer to direct coupling or indirect coupling between two objects. For example, if object A physically contacts object B, and object B contacts object C, objects A and C can still be considered to be coupled to each other, even if they do not directly physically contact each other. For example, a first object can be coupled to a second object, even if the first object has never directly physically contacted the second object. The terms circuit and electronic circuit are used broadly, and they are intended to include hardware implementations of electronic devices and conductors (wherein these electronic devices and conductors, when connected and configured, implement the execution of the functions described in the present disclosure, and there is no restriction on the type of electronic circuit) and software implementations of information and instructions (wherein these information and instructions, when executed by a processor, implement the execution of the functions described in the present disclosure).

[0319] Can be Figure 1-23 One or more of the components, steps, features, and / or functions shown in the invention may be rearranged and / or combined into a single component, step, feature, or function, or may be embodied in several components, steps, or functions. Additional elements, components, steps, and / or functions may also be added without departing from the novel features disclosed herein. Figure 1-2, 4-9, 13-15, 18 and 21. The devices, apparatuses and / or components shown in the embodiments may be configured to perform one or more of the methods, features or steps described herein. The novel algorithms described herein may also be efficiently implemented using software and / or embedded in hardware.

[0320] It should be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the disclosed methods is merely an illustration of an example process. It should be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in these methods may be rearranged based on design preferences. The attached method claims present elements of the various steps in an example order, but are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented unless expressly stated therein.

[0321] The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to implement the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be applied to other aspects. Therefore, the claims are not intended to be limited to the various aspects shown herein, but are given the full scope consistent with the text of the claims, wherein unless explicitly stated otherwise, reference to an element in the singular form is not intended to mean one and only one, but to refer to one or more. Unless otherwise explicitly stated, the term some refers to one or more. A phrase referring to at least one of a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including a single member. To give an example, at least one of a, b, or c is intended to cover: a; b; c; a and b; a and c; b and c; and a, b, and c. All structural and functional equivalents of the elements of the various aspects described throughout the present disclosure are expressly incorporated herein by reference, and are intended to be included by the claims, and these structural and functional equivalents are known or will be known to those skilled in the art. In addition, no disclosure herein is intended to be dedicated to the public, regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recorded in the claims.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication at a Radio Access Network (RAN) node, the method comprising: communicating with a first scheduling entity over a first communication path using a first radio access technology (RAT); communicating with a second scheduling entity over a second communication path using a second RAT different from the first RAT; generating a first message including a first indication that the RAN node supports transmission of information for a first signaling connection with the first scheduling entity via a second signaling connection over the second communication path, wherein the first signaling connection is associated with first Internet Protocol (IP) address information; before establishing the second signaling connection to the first scheduling entity through the second communication path, sending the first message including the first indication to the second scheduling entity via the second communication path; receiving, after sending the first message, a second message from the second scheduling entity via the second communication path, wherein the second message comprises a second indication that the first scheduling entity supports the transmission of the information for the first signaling connection via the second signaling connection over the second communication path, and wherein the second message comprises second IP address information different from the first IP address information from the first scheduling entity; After receiving the second message including the second indication, establishing the second signaling connection to the first scheduling entity over the second communication path using the second IP address information; and The information for the first signaling connection is transmitted via the second signaling connection over the second communication path.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The RAN node comprises an integrated access backhaul (IAB) distributed unit; and The first scheduling entity comprises an IAB donor control unit.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The second scheduling entity comprises a primary base station for a dual connectivity operation mode of the RAN node; and The first scheduling entity includes a secondary base station used for the dual connectivity operation mode.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The second scheduling entity includes a secondary base station for a dual connectivity operation mode; and The first scheduling entity comprises a primary base station for the dual connectivity operation mode of the RAN node.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The using the second IP address information to establish the second signaling connection includes: In response to the second message including the second indication, a Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) connection is established with the first scheduling entity.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein: The transmitting the information for the first signaling connection via the second communication path comprises: F1 control (F1-C) packets are exchanged with the first scheduling entity via the SCTP connection.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The using the second IP address information to establish the second signaling connection includes: A first path is established in a Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) connection to the first scheduling entity.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein: The transmitting the information for the first signaling connection via the second communication path comprises: F1 control (F1-C) packets are exchanged with the first scheduling entity via the first path in the SCTP connection.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The second IP address information includes an IP prefix; as well as The establishing the second signaling connection using the second IP address information comprises deriving at least one IP address for the RAN node from the IP prefix.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The second IP address information includes the IP address of the first scheduling entity.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The second IP address information includes an IP address assigned to the RAN node by the first scheduling entity.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The first message includes a UECapabilityInformation message.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The second message includes an RRCConnectionReconfiguration message or a DLInformationTransfer message.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The method further comprises: receiving third IP address information for the RAN node from the second scheduling entity; and The second signaling connection is established to the first scheduling entity using the third IP address information for the RAN node, the second signaling connection passing through a first integrated access backhaul (IAB) donor distributed unit of the second scheduling entity and bypassing a first IAB donor control unit of the second scheduling entity.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein: The method further comprises: establishing a first F1-control (F1-C) connection between an integrated access backhaul (IAB) distributed unit of the RAN node and a first IAB donor control unit (CU) of the first scheduling entity; and The first signaling connection comprises a second F1-C connection between the IAB distributed unit and a second IAB donor control unit.

16. A radio access network (RAN) node, comprising: Transceiver; one or more memories storing processor-executable code; as well as One or more processors configured to execute the processor executable code to cause the RAN node to perform the following operations: communicating with a first scheduling entity over a first communication path using a first radio access technology (RAT); communicating with a second scheduling entity over a second communication path using a second RAT different from the first RAT; generating a first message including a first indication that the RAN node supports transmission of information for a first signaling connection with the first scheduling entity via a second signaling connection over the second communication path, wherein the first signaling connection is associated with first Internet Protocol (IP) address information; before establishing the second signaling connection to the first scheduling entity over the second communication path, sending, via the transceiver, the first message including the first indication to the second scheduling entity via the second communication path; receiving, via the transceiver, a second message from the second scheduling entity via the second communication path after sending the first message, wherein the second message comprises a second indication that the first scheduling entity supports the transmission of the information for the first signaling connection via the second signaling connection over the second communication path, and wherein the second message comprises second IP address information different from the first IP address information from the first scheduling entity; After receiving the second message including the second indication, establishing the second signaling connection to the first scheduling entity over the second communication path using the second IP address information; and The information for the first signaling connection is transmitted via the transceiver via the second signaling connection over the second communication path.

17. The RAN node according to claim 16, wherein: The second IP address information includes the IP address of the first scheduling entity.

18. The RAN node according to claim 16, wherein: The second IP address information includes an IP address assigned to the RAN node by the first scheduling entity.

19. The RAN node according to claim 16, wherein: The first message includes a UECapabilityInformation message.

20. The RAN node according to claim 16, wherein: The second message includes an RRCConnectionReconfiguration message or a DLInformationTransfer message.

21. The RAN node according to claim 16, wherein: The one or more processors are further configured to execute the processor executable code to cause the RAN node to: receiving third IP address information for the RAN node from the second scheduling entity; as well as The second signaling connection is established to the first scheduling entity using the third IP address information for the RAN node, the second signaling connection passing through a first integrated access backhaul (IAB) donor distributed unit of the second scheduling entity and bypassing a first IAB donor control unit of the second scheduling entity.

22. The RAN node of claim 16, wherein: The one or more processors are further configured to execute the processor-executable code to cause the RAN node to: establish a first F1-control (F1-C) connection between an integrated access backhaul (IAB) distributed unit of the RAN node and a first IAB donor control unit (CU) of the first scheduling entity; and The first signaling connection comprises a second F1-C connection between the IAB distributed unit and a second IAB donor control unit.

23. The RAN node of claim 16, wherein: The RAN node comprises an integrated access backhaul (IAB) distributed unit; and The first scheduling entity comprises an IAB donor control unit.

24. The RAN node of claim 16, wherein: The second scheduling entity comprises a primary base station for a dual connectivity operation mode of the RAN node; and The first scheduling entity includes a secondary base station used for the dual connectivity operation mode.

25. The RAN node of claim 16, wherein: The second scheduling entity includes a secondary base station for a dual connectivity operation mode; and The first scheduling entity comprises a primary base station for the dual connectivity operation mode of the RAN node.

26. The RAN node of claim 16, wherein: The one or more processors are further configured to execute the processor executable code to cause the RAN node to: A Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) connection is established with the first scheduling entity.

27. The RAN node according to claim 26, wherein: The one or more processors are further configured to execute the processor executable code to cause the RAN node to: F1 control (F1-C) packets are exchanged with the first scheduling entity via the SCTP connection.

28. The RAN node of claim 16, wherein: The one or more processors are further configured to execute the processor executable code to cause the RAN node to: A first path is established in a Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) connection to the first scheduling entity.

29. The RAN node according to claim 28, wherein: The one or more processors are further configured to execute the processor executable code to cause the RAN node to: F1 control (F1-C) packets are exchanged with the first scheduling entity via the first path in the SCTP connection.

30. The RAN node of claim 16, wherein: The second IP address information includes an IP prefix; and The one or more processors are further configured to execute the processor-executable code to cause the RAN node to derive at least one IP address for the RAN node from the IP prefix.

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