Resource isolation in wireless communication systems

Abstract

A method, an apparatus, a system, and a computer program product for resource isolation in a wireless communication system. A communication network of a plurality of communication networks of the wireless communication system is identified. Each communication network of the plurality of communication networks has one or more communication components that are logically isolated from one or more communication components of another communication network of the plurality of communication networks. The identified communication network is selected for transmission of data associated with a user equipment. The data associated with the user equipment is transmitted using the identified communication network.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] In some implementations, the current topic relates to telecommunications systems, and more specifically to resource isolation in wireless communication systems, which may include, for example, 5G New Radio (“NR”) with a low-level split architecture. Background Technology

[0002] In today's world, cellular networks provide on-demand communication capabilities to individuals and businesses. Typically, a cellular network is a wireless network that can be distributed over terrestrial areas (called cells). Each such cell is served by at least one fixed-location transceiver, called a cell site or base station. Each cell can use a different set of frequencies than its neighboring cells to avoid interference and provide improved service within each cell. When cells are linked together, they provide radio coverage over a wide geographical area, enabling a large number of mobile phones and / or other wireless devices or portable transceivers to communicate with each other and with fixed transceivers and telephones anywhere in the network. Such communication is performed through base stations and can be accomplished even when a mobile transceiver is moving through more than one cell during transmission. Major wireless communication providers have deployed such cell sites worldwide, allowing mobile phones and mobile computing devices to connect to the public switched telephone network and the public internet.

[0003] A mobile phone is a portable telephone capable of receiving and / or making telephone and / or data calls. Cell sites or transmission towers use radio waves to transmit signals to and from mobile phones. Given the large number of mobile phone users, current mobile phone networks offer limited shared resources. In this regard, cell sites and mobile phones can change frequencies and use low-power transmitters to allow many callers to use the network simultaneously with less interference. The coverage range of a cell site can depend on a specific geographic location and / or the number of users who may be using the network. For example, in a city, the range of a cell site can reach approximately 1 / 2 mile; in rural areas, the range can reach 5 miles; and in some areas, users can receive signals from base stations 25 miles away.

[0004] The following are some examples of digital cellular technologies used by communication providers: Global System for Mobile Communications (“GSM”), General Packet Radio Service (“GPRS”), cdmaOne, CDMA2000, Evolved Data Optimized (“EV-DO”), Enhanced Data Rate for GSM Evolution (“EDGE”), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (“UMTS”), Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (“DECT”), Digital AMPS (“IS-136 / TDMA”), and Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (“iDEN”). Long Term Evolution (LTE), or 4G LTE, developed by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (“3GPP”) standards body, is a standard for high-speed data wireless communication for mobile phones and data terminals. The 5G LTE standard is currently under development. LTE is based on GSM / EDGE and UMTS / HSPA digital cellular technologies and allows for increased capacity and speed through the use of different radio interfaces and core network improvements.

[0005] 5G NR networks enable various radio resource sharing deployment scenarios, including multi-operator radio access networks (MORAN) and multi-operator core networks (MOCN). Some parts of multi-operator shared networks are described in 3GPP standards (e.g., TS 32.130, TS 23.251, TS23.501). However, many aspects of these multi-operator shared networks (including resource partitioning and resource isolation) are not described and may depend on various network implementations. Summary of the Invention

[0006] In some implementations, the present subject relates to a computer-implemented method for resource isolation in a wireless communication system. The method may include identifying communication networks among multiple communication networks in the wireless communication system. Each of the multiple communication networks may have one or more communication components that are logically isolated from one or more communication components of another communication network among the multiple communication networks. The method may also include selecting the identified communication network for transmission of data associated with a user equipment, and using the identified communication network to transmit the data associated with the user equipment.

[0007] In some implementations, the current subject may include one or more of the following optional features. The method may also include determining at least one communication component for the isolated communication network based on the identified communication network. In some implementations, the multiple communication networks may include at least one of the following: Multi-Carrier Radio Access Network (MORAN), Multi-Carrier Core Network (MOCN), Radio Access Network, Virtual Radio Access Network, Core Network, and any combination thereof. Furthermore, the method may include selecting one or more Distributed Units (DUs) for data transmission based on at least one of the following: one or more component carriers, one or more bandwidth portions, one or more physical resource block ranges, and any combination thereof.

[0008] In some implementations, at least one of identification, selection, and transmission can be performed by the base station. The base station may include at least one of the following communication components: one or more remote radio units (RUs), one or more centralized units (CUs), one or more distributed units (DUs), one or more control plane portions (CU-CPs) of one or more centralized units, one or more user plane portions (CU-UPs) of one or more centralized units, one or more access and mobility functions (AMFs), one or more user plane functions (UPFs), and one or more session management functions (SMFs). In some implementations, at least one of one or more CU-UPs, one or more AMFs, one or more UPFs, and one or more SMFs of one of the multiple communication networks is logically isolated from at least one of one or more CU-UPs, one or more AMFs, one or more UPFs, and one or more SMFs of another of the multiple communication networks. One or more remote RUs, one or more DUs, and one or more CU-CPs may be common to all of the multiple communication networks. One or more communication networks can then be used to transmit data associated with user equipment.

[0009] In some implementations, the DU, CU-UP, AMF, UPF, and SMF of different PLMNs can be logically isolated from all communication networks in multiple communication networks for the transmission of data associated with user equipment.

[0010] In some implementations, the RU, DU, CU-UP, CU-CP, AMF, UPF, and SMF of different PLMNs can be logically isolated in all communication networks across multiple communication networks for the transmission of user-related data.

[0011] The document also describes a non-transitory computer program product (i.e., a physically embodied computer program product) containing instructions that, when executed by one or more data processors of one or more computing systems, cause at least one data processor to perform the operations described herein. Similarly, a computer system is described that may include one or more data processors and memory coupled to the one or more data processors. The memory may temporarily or permanently store instructions that cause at least one processor to perform one or more of the operations described herein. Furthermore, the methods may be implemented by one or more data processors, either within a single computing system or distributed among two or more computing systems. Such computing systems may be interconnected and may exchange data and / or commands or other instructions via one or more connections, including but not limited to connections via networks (e.g., the Internet, wireless wide area networks, local area networks, wide area networks, wired networks, etc.), direct connections between one or more of multiple computing systems, etc.

[0012] Details of one or more variations of the subject matter described herein are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the following description. Other features and advantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparent from the specification, the accompanying drawings, and the claims. Attached Figure Description

[0013] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form part of this specification, illustrate certain aspects of the subject matter disclosed herein and, together with the description, help to explain some principles associated with the disclosed implementation. In the figures,

[0014] Figure 1a An exemplary conventional Long Term Evolution (“LTE”) communication system is illustrated;

[0015] Figure 1b It shows Figure 1a Further details of the exemplary LTE system shown;

[0016] Figure 1c It shows Figure 1a Additional details of the Evolved Packet Core of the exemplary LTE system shown;

[0017] Figure 1d It shows Figure 1a The exemplary evolved Node B of the exemplary LTE system shown is an example of this.

[0018] Figure 2 It shows Figures 1a-1d Further details of the evolved node B shown;

[0019] Figure 3 Exemplary virtual radio access networks based on some implementations of the current topic are shown;

[0020] Figure 4 An exemplary 3GPP split architecture is shown to provide its users with access to higher frequency bands;

[0021] Figure 5 An exemplary network slicing architecture is shown;

[0022] Figure 6 An example S-NSSAI identifier is shown;

[0023] Figure 7 An exemplary 5G wireless communication system is shown;

[0024] Figure 8a An exemplary communication system for performing network slicing separation at the user plane portion of a centralized unit, according to some implementations of the present topic, is shown;

[0025] Figure 8b An exemplary communication system with a user device that can use one or more network slices is shown, according to some implementations of the current topic;

[0026] Figure 9a An exemplary communication system for performing network slicing separation at the distributed unit (DU) portion is shown, according to some implementations of the present topic;

[0027] Figure 9b An exemplary communication system with a user device that can use one or more network slices is shown, according to some implementations of the current topic;

[0028] Figure 10 An exemplary communication system for performing network slicing separation at a remote radio unit (RU) section is shown, according to some implementations of the present topic;

[0029] Figure 11 This illustrates some implementations, based on the current topic, for mapping one or more network slices to information about... Figures 8a-10 Exemplary methods for specific deployment options discussed;

[0030] Figure 12 An exemplary process for updating slice profiles to implementation mappings is shown, based on some implementations of the current topic;

[0031] Figure 13 An exemplary MORAN network that can be implemented in a virtualized RAN on a shared COTS platform is shown;

[0032] Figure 14 An exemplary MOCN system is shown;

[0033] Figure 15aExemplary multi-carrier communication systems for performing resource isolation sharing in multi-carrier networks are shown, based on some implementations of the present topic;

[0034] Figure 15b This shows some implementations for use based on the current topic. Figure 15a The system shown is an exemplary process for performing resource isolation or sharing;

[0035] Figure 16 Exemplary multi-carrier communication systems for performing resource isolation sharing in multi-carrier networks are shown, based on some implementations of the present topic;

[0036] Figure 17 Exemplary multi-carrier communication systems for performing resource isolation sharing in multi-carrier networks are shown, based on some implementations of the present topic;

[0037] Figure 18 This illustrates some implementations, based on the current topic, for isolating one or more PLMN resources to [a specific location]. Figures 15a-17 Exemplary methods for specific deployment options discussed;

[0038] Figure 19 Exemplary systems based on some implementations of the current topic are shown; and

[0039] Figure 20 Exemplary methods based on some implementations of the current topic are shown. Detailed Implementation

[0040] This topic provides systems and methods that can be implemented in a low-level decomposed architecture for wireless communication systems. Such systems can include a variety of wireless communication systems, including 5G new radio communication systems, LTE communication systems, and so on.

[0041] One or more aspects of the current topic can be incorporated into the transmitter and / or receiver components of a base station (e.g., gNodeB, eNodeB, etc.) in such a communication system. The following is a general discussion of Long Term Evolution (LTE) communication systems and 5G new radio communication systems.

[0042] I. Long Term Evolution (LTE) Communications System

[0043] Figures 1a-1c and Figure 2An exemplary conventional Long Term Evolution (“LTE”) communication system 100 and its various components are illustrated. As is well known, LTE systems, or 4G LTE, are governed by a high-speed data wireless communication standard for mobile phones and data terminals. This standard is based on GSM / EDGE (“Global System for Mobile Communications” / “Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution”) and UMTS / HSPA (“Universal Mobile Telecommunications System” / “High-Speed ​​Packet Access”) network technologies. This standard was developed by 3GPP (“3rd Generation Partnership Project”).

[0044] like Figure 1a As shown, system 100 may include an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (“EUTRAN”) 102, an evolved packet core (“EPC”) 108, and a packet data network (“PDN”) 101, wherein EUTRAN 102 and EPC 108 provide communication between user equipment 104 and PDN 101. EUTRAN 102 may include multiple evolved node Bs (“eNodeB” or “ENODEB” or “enodeb” or “eNB”) or base stations 106 (106a, 106b, 106c) that provide communication capabilities to multiple user equipment 104 (104a, 104b, 104c). Figure 1b (As shown). User equipment 104 can be a mobile phone, smartphone, tablet, personal computer, personal digital assistant (“PDA”), server, data terminal, and / or any other type of user equipment, and / or any combination thereof. User equipment 104 can connect to EPC 108 via any eNodeB 106 and ultimately to PDN 101. Typically, user equipment 104 can connect to the nearest eNodeB 106. In LTE system 100, EUTRAN 102 and EPC 108 work together to provide connectivity, mobility, and services to user equipment 104.

[0045] Figure 1b It shows Figure 1a Further details of network 100 are shown below. As mentioned above, EUTRAN 102 includes multiple eNodeBs 106, also known as cell sites. The eNodeBs 106 provide radio functions and perform key control functions, including scheduling or management of air link resources, activity mode mobility or handover, and service admission control. The eNodeBs 106 are responsible for selecting which Mobility Management Entities (MMEs, such as…)… Figure 1c (As shown) It will serve user equipment 104 and be responsible for protocol features such as header compression and encryption. The eNodeBs 106 that make up EUTRAN 102 cooperate with each other for radio resource management and handover.

[0046] Communication between user equipment 104 and eNodeB 106 occurs via air interface 122 (also known as the "LTE-Uu" interface). Figure 1b As shown, air interface 122 provides communication between user equipment 104b and eNodeB 106a. Air interface 122 uses Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (“OFDMA”) and Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (“SC-FDMA”) (variants of OFDMA) on the downlink and uplink, respectively. OFDMA allows the use of a variety of known antenna techniques, such as Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (“MIMO”).

[0047] Air interface 122 uses various protocols, including Radio Resource Control (“RRC”) for signaling between user equipment 104 and eNodeB 106 and for signaling between user equipment 104 and MME (such as...). Figure 1c The signaling between User Equipment 104 and eNodeB 106 is non-access layer (“NAS”). In addition to signaling, user services are transmitted between User Equipment 104 and eNodeB 106. Both signaling and services in System 100 are carried by physical layer (“PHY”) channels.

[0048] Multiple eNodeB 106s can interconnect with each other using the X2 interface 130 (130a, 130b, 130c). For example... Figure 1a As shown, X2 interface 130a provides interconnection between eNodeB 106a and eNodeB 106b; X2 interface 130b provides interconnection between eNodeB 106a and eNodeB 106c; X2 interface 130c provides interconnection between eNodeB 106b and eNodeB 106c. X2 interfaces can be established between two eNodeBs to provide signal exchange, which may include load or interference-related information and handover-related information. eNodeB 106 communicates with the evolved packet core 108 via S1 interfaces 124 (124a, 124b, 124c). S1 interface 124 can be split into two interfaces: one for the control plane (in... Figure 1c The diagram shows the control plane interface (S1-MME interface) 128), and another for the user plane (in... Figure 1c The image shows the user plane interface (S1-U interface) 125.

[0049] EPC 108 establishes and enforces Quality of Service (“QoS”) for user services and allows user equipment 104 to maintain a consistent Internet Protocol (“IP”) address while mobile. It should be noted that each node in network 100 has its own IP address. EPC 108 is designed to interoperate with legacy wireless networks. EPC 108 is also designed to separate the control plane (i.e., signaling) and user plane (i.e., services) in the core network architecture, allowing for greater implementation flexibility and independent scalability of control and user data functions.

[0050] The EPC 108 architecture is specifically designed for packetized data and Figure 1c The details are shown below. EPC 108 includes a Serving Gateway (S-GW) 110, a PDN Gateway (P-GW) 112, a Mobility Management Entity (“MME”) 114, a Home Subscriber Server (“HSS”) 116 (for the subscriber database of EPC 108), and a Policy Control and Charging Rules Function (“PCRF”) 118. Some of these (such as S-GW, P-GW, MME, and HSS) are typically combined into nodes depending on the manufacturer’s implementation.

[0051] S-GW 110 acts as an IP packet data router and serves as the bearer path anchor for user equipment (UE) within EPC 108. Therefore, when a UE moves from one eNodeB 106 to another during mobility operations, S-GW 110 remains unchanged, and the bearer path towards EUTRAN 102 is switched to communicate with the new eNodeB 106 serving UE 104. If UE 104 moves to the domain of another S-GW 110, MME 114 transfers all bearer paths of the UE to the new S-GW. S-GW 110 establishes bearer paths for the UE to one or more P-GWs 112. If downlink data is received from an idle UE, S-GW 110 buffers downstream packets and requests MME 114 to locate and re-establish bearer paths to and through EUTRAN 102.

[0052] P-GW 112 is EPC 108 (as well as user equipment 104 and EUTRAN 102) and PDN 101 (such as... Figure 1aThe gateway between user equipment 104 and P-GW 112 is shown. P-GW 112 acts as a router for user services and performs functions on behalf of user equipment. These include IP address allocation for user equipment, packet filtering of downstream user services to ensure placement on appropriate bearer paths, and implementation of downstream QoS, including data rates. Depending on the services the subscriber is using, there can be multiple user data bearer paths between user equipment 104 and P-GW 112. The subscriber can use services on a PDN served by different P-GWs, in which case the user equipment establishes at least one bearer path to each P-GW 112. During a handover of user equipment from one eNodeB to another, if S-GW 110 is also changing, the bearer path from P-GW 112 switches to the new S-GW.

[0053] MME 114 manages user equipment 104 within EPC 108, including managing subscriber authentication, maintaining the context of authenticated user equipment 104, establishing data bearer paths for user services within the network, and keeping track of the location of idle mobile devices that have not left the network. For idle user equipment 104 that needs to reconnect to the access network to receive downlink data, MME 114 initiates paging to locate the user equipment and re-establishes bearer paths to and through EUTRAN 102. The MME 114 for a specific user equipment 104 is selected by the eNodeB 106 from which the user equipment 104 initiated system access. For load sharing and redundancy purposes, the MME is typically part of the set of MMEs in EPC 108. When establishing a user's data bearer path, MME 114 is responsible for selecting the P-GW 112 and S-GW 110 that will constitute the end of the data path through EPC 108.

[0054] PCRF 118 is responsible for policy control decisions and for controlling flow-based charging functions within the Policy Control Enforcement Function (“PCEF”) residing in P-GW 110. PCRF 118 provides QoS authorization (QoS Category Identifier (“QCI”) and bit rate), which determines how a particular data flow is processed in the PCEF and ensures that this is consistent with the user’s subscription profile.

[0055] As mentioned above, IP service 119 is provided by PDN 101 (such as...) Figure 1a (As shown) is provided.

[0056] Figure 1dAn exemplary structure of eNodeB 106 is shown. eNodeB 106 may include at least one remote radio head unit (“RRH”) 132 (typically there may be three RRH 132) and a baseband unit (“BBU”) 134. The RRH 132 may be connected to an antenna 136. The RRH 132 and BBU 134 may be connected using an optical interface conforming to the Common Public Radio Interface (“CPRI”) 142 standard specification. The operation of eNodeB 106 can be characterized using the following standard parameters (and specifications): radio frequency bands (Band4, Band9, Band17), bandwidth (5, 10, 15, 20MHz), access scheme (downlink: OFDMA; uplink: SC-OFDMA), antenna technology (downlink: 2x2 MIMO; uplink: 1x2 single-input multiple-output (“SIMO”)), number of sectors (maximum 6), maximum transmission power (60W), maximum transmission rate (downlink: 150Mb / s; uplink: 50Mb / s), S1 / X2 interface (1000Base-SX, 1000Base-T), and mobile environment (up to 350km / h). BBU 134 can handle digital baseband signal processing, S1 line termination, X2 line termination, call processing, and monitoring and control processing. From EPC 108 ( Figure 1d IP packets received (not shown) can be modulated into digital baseband signals and transmitted to RRH 132. Conversely, digital baseband signals received from RRH 132 can be demodulated into IP packets for transmission to EPC 108.

[0057] The RRH 132 can transmit and receive wireless signals using antenna 136. The RRH 132 can convert digital baseband signals from the BBU 134 (using converter (“CONV”) 140) into radio frequency (“RF”) signals and amplify them (using amplifier (“AMP”) 138) for transmission to user equipment 104. Figure 1d (Not shown in the image). Instead, the RF signal received from user equipment 104 is amplified (using AMP 138) and converted (using CONV 140) into a digital baseband signal for transmission to BBU 134.

[0058] Figure 2Additional details of the exemplary eNodeB 106 are shown. The eNodeB 106 comprises multiple layers: LTE Layer 1 202, LTE Layer 2 204, and LTE Layer 3 206. LTE Layer 1 includes the Physical Layer (“PHY”). LTE Layer 2 includes Media Access Control (“MAC”), Radio Link Control (“RLC”), and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (“PDCP”). LTE Layer 3 includes various functions and protocols, including Radio Resource Control (“RRC”), Dynamic Resource Allocation, eNodeB Measurement Configuration and Provisioning, Radio Admission Control, Connection Mobility Control, and Radio Resource Management (“RRM”). The RLC protocol is an Automatic Repeat Request (“ARQ”) segmentation protocol used over the cellular air interface. The RRC protocol handles LTE Layer 3 control plane signaling between the user equipment and the EUTRAN. RRC includes functions such as connection establishment and release, system information broadcasting, radio bearer establishment / reconfiguration and release, RRC connection mobility procedures, paging notification and release, and outer loop power control. PDCP performs IP header compression and decompression, user data transmission, and maintenance of radio bearer sequence numbers. For example... Figure 1d As shown, BBU 134 may include LTE layers L1-L3.

[0059] One of the primary functions of eNodeB 106 is radio resource management, which includes scheduling of uplink and downlink air interface resources for user equipment 104, control of bearer resources, and admission control. Acting as an agent for EPC 108, eNodeB 106 is responsible for transmitting paging messages used to locate mobile stations when they are idle. eNodeB 106 also transmits common control channel information over the air, performs header compression, encryption and decryption of user data transmitted over the air, and establishes handover reporting and triggering criteria. As mentioned above, eNodeB 106 can cooperate with other eNodeB 106s via the X2 interface for handover and interference management purposes. eNodeB 106 communicates with the EPC's MME via the S1-MME interface and with the S-GW via the S1-U interface. Furthermore, eNodeB 106 exchanges user data with the S-GW via the S1-U interface. eNodeB 106 and EPC 108 have a many-to-many relationship to support load sharing and redundancy between the MME and S-GW. The eNodeB 106 selects an MME from a set of MMEs, so the load can be shared by multiple MMEs to avoid congestion.

[0060] II.5G NR wireless communication network

[0061] In some implementations, the current topic involves 5G New Radio (“NR”) communication systems. 5G NR is the next telecommunications standard to surpass 4G / Advanced IMT standards. 5G networks offer significantly higher capacity than current 4G, allowing for a greater number of mobile broadband users per area unit and enabling higher and / or unlimited data consumption (in GB) per month and per user. This allows users to stream high-definition media daily using mobile devices without Wi-Fi. 5G networks offer improved support for device-to-device communication, lower costs, lower latency than 4G devices, lower battery consumption, and more. Such networks offer data rates of tens of megabits per second for a large number of users, 100 Mb / s for metropolitan areas, 1 Gb / s for simultaneous transmission to users in limited areas (e.g., office buildings), massive simultaneous connections of wireless sensor networks, enhanced spectral efficiency, improved coverage, enhanced signal efficiency, 1-10 ms latency, and reduced latency compared to existing systems.

[0062] Figure 3 An exemplary virtual radio access network 300 is illustrated. Network 300 can provide communication between various components, including base stations (e.g., eNodeB, gNodeB) 301, radio equipment 307, centralized unit 302, digital unit 304, and radio equipment 306. Components in system 300 can be communicatively coupled to the core using a backhaul link 305. Centralized unit (“CU”) 302 can be communicatively coupled to distributed unit (“DU”) 304 using a midhaul link 308. Radio frequency (“RU”) component 306 can be communicatively coupled to DU 304 using a fronthaul link 310.

[0063] In some implementations, CU 302 can provide intelligent communication capabilities to one or more DU units 308. Units 302 and 304 may include one or more base stations, macro base stations, micro base stations, remote radio heads, and / or any combination thereof.

[0064] In a low-level split architecture environment, the CPRI bandwidth requirement for NR can be 100s Gb / s. CPRI compression can be implemented in DU and RU (e.g., Figure 3 (As shown). In 5G communication systems, compressed CPRI over Ethernet frames is called eCPRI and is the recommended fronthaul interface. This architecture can achieve fronthaul / midhaul standardization, which can include higher-layer splitting (e.g., Option 2 or Option 3-1 (upper / lower RLC splitting architecture)) and fronthaul with L1 splitting architecture (Option 7).

[0065] In some implementations, the low-layer split architecture (e.g., option 7) may include receivers in the uplink, joint processing across multiple transport points (TPs) for both DL and UL, and transmission bandwidth and latency requirements to facilitate deployment. Furthermore, the low-layer split architecture of the present topic may include a split between cell-level processing and user-level processing, which may include cell-level processing in remote units (“RUs”) and user-level processing in DUs. Additionally, using the low-layer split architecture of the present topic, frequency domain samples can be transmitted via Ethernet fronthaul, where frequency domain samples can be compressed to reduce fronthaul bandwidth.

[0066] Figure 4 An exemplary communication system 400 is shown, which can implement 5G technology and provide its users with access to higher frequency bands (e.g., greater than 10 GHz). System 400 may include macro cells 402 and small cells 404 and 406.

[0067] Mobile device 408 can be configured to communicate with one or more of small cells 404 and 406. System 400 can allow the splitting of the control plane (C plane) and user plane (U plane) between macro cell 402 and small cells 404 and 406, where the C plane and U plane utilize different frequency bands. Specifically, small cells 402 and 404 can be configured to utilize higher frequency bands when communicating with mobile device 408. Macro cell 402 can utilize existing cellular frequency bands for C plane communication. Mobile device 408 can be communicationally coupled via U plane 412, where small cells (e.g., small cell 406) can provide higher data rates and more flexible / cost / energy-efficient operation. Macro cell 402 can maintain good connectivity and mobility via C plane 410. Furthermore, in some cases, LTE PUCCH and NR PUCCH can be transmitted on the same frequency.

[0068] III. Network Slicing

[0069] 5G network slicing refers to a network architecture that allows multiplexing of virtualized and independent logical networks on the same physical network infrastructure. Each network slice is an isolated end-to-end network configured to serve different needs, which may be requested by specific applications. Several network functions can be shared by more than one network slice in the control plane. Network slicing technology implements various concepts of Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) to allow flexible and scalable network slicing on top of public network infrastructure. Each network slice can be managed by the same or different Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs), allowing MVNOs to autonomously deploy multiple network slices, which can be customized for various applications.

[0070] Figure 5 An exemplary network slicing architecture 500 is illustrated. Architecture 500 may include a network slice controller 502, a service layer 504, a network function layer 506, and an infrastructure layer 508. The network slice controller 502 interfaces with various functions performed by layers 504-508 to manage requests for each slice. The controller 502 coordinates communication between layers 504-508 to provide end-to-end service management (i.e., mapping various service instances (SLA requirements) to network functions that meet service constraints), virtual resource definition (i.e., virtualizing physical network resources to manage resources used for network function allocation), and slice lifecycle management (i.e., monitoring slice performance across all three layers 504-508 to dynamically reconfigure each slice to adapt to changes in SLA requirements).

[0071] Service layer 504 interfaces with one or more Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) 505 and one or more Service Providers 507. MVNOs and Providers 507 can share the physical network, where each service is represented as a service instance, which includes all network characteristics required as a Service Level Agreement (SLA). Network Functions layer 506 creates each network slice based on service instance requests from layer 504. It includes various network functions that can be placed on top of the virtual network infrastructure and coupled together to create end-to-end network slice instances based on the network characteristics requested by the service. Infrastructure layer 508 is the actual physical network topology, on which each network slice is multiplexed, and provides physical network resources to host the network functions of each slice.

[0072] While network slicing is a core feature of 5G communication networks, and the selection of network functions and the routing of data via isolated networks are based on slice IDs, end-to-end slicing aspects of the radio access network and resource isolation per slice are undefined and implementation-dependent. Furthermore, while current standards define core network selection and routing to the core network based on network slicing, resource isolation and radio-grade resource management are not defined in existing systems. This topic provides solutions to these problems by offering multiple deployment approaches and system aspects for implementing resource isolation in the RAN.

[0073] Network slice instances can be allocated / deallocated by network operators according to various 3GPP standards, which also specify slice profiles (i.e., SliceProfiles) and attributes for each slice. Some attributes may include slice performance requirements (perfReq) attributes, which can be categorized based on whether the slice / service type (SST) is enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC), massive machine-type communication (mMTC), etc. The following data models specified in the 3GPP standards can be used to define slice requirements:

[0074]

[0075]

[0076] Additional attributes may include the maximum number of user equipment (UEs) expected to use a particular slice, the coverage area (or tracking area) in which the slice is available, the slice's latency characteristics, UE mobility level (e.g., whether the UEs using the slice are stationary, nomadic, have limited mobility, move quickly, etc.), resource sharing level (defined by 3GPP standards as shared / non-shared), resource isolation level (indicating at what level resources may need to be isolated within the RAN), and the expected reliability of the particular slice. When the operator provides a slice template (as defined in the code above), the template should be mapped to the specific characteristics within the RAN and core network.

[0077] The aforementioned network slicing architecture 500 can be based on the identifier S-NSSAI (Specific Network Slice Selection Auxiliary Information). Figure 6An exemplary S-NSSAI identifier 600 is shown. Identifier 600 includes an 8-bit Normalized Slice / Service Type (SST) value 602 (which refers to the expected network slice behavior in terms of characteristics and services) and a 24-bit Slice Distinguisor (SD) value 604 (which refers to optional information supplementing (multiple) slice / service types to distinguish different network slices of the same slice / service type). The S-NSSAI 600 is used by the User Equipment (UE) when accessing a network in the Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) associated with the S-NSSAI. Specifically, the UE provides a “requested NSSAI” to the RAN in its RRC signaling during network registration, where the NSSAI is a set of S-NSSAI 600. The RAN uses the requested NSSAI to select the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) in the 5G core network. The AMF is a common element of all slices that the UE can access. After the registration process is complete, the UE activates one or more slices by initiating a Packet Data Unit (PDU) session activation procedure. Each PDU session belongs to one slice. The following activation scenarios are possible: a UE accesses multiple network slices (i.e., a UE accesses multiple PDU sessions—each PDU session using a different S-NSSAI), or a UE accesses only one network slice. However, a network may have multiple network slices deployed, and different UEs may use different network slices.

[0078] Figure 7 An exemplary 5G wireless communication system 700 according to some implementations of the present topic is shown. According to option 7-2, system 700 can be configured to have a low-layer split architecture. System 700 may include a core network 702 (e.g., a 5G core) and one or more gNodeBs (or gNBs), wherein the gNB may have a centralized unit gNB-CU. The gNB-CU may be logically split into a control plane portion gNB-CU-CP 704 and one or more user plane portions gNB-CU-UP 706. The control plane portion 704 and the user plane portion 706 may be configured to communicate coupled using an E1 communication interface 714 (as specified in the 3GPP standard). The control plane portion 704 may be configured to be responsible for the execution of the RRC and PDCP protocols of the radio stack.

[0079] The control plane and user plane portions 704 and 706 of the gNB's centralized unit can be configured to be communicatively coupled to one or more distributed units (DUs) 708 and 710 according to a low-level split architecture. Distributed units 708 and 710 can be configured to execute the upper layers of the RLC, MAC, and PHY layer protocols of the radio stack. Control plane portion 704 can be configured to be communicatively coupled to distributed units 708 and 710 using an F1-C communication interface 716, and user plane portion 706 can be configured to be communicatively coupled to distributed units 708 and 710 using an F1-U communication interface 718. Distributed units 708 and 710 can be coupled to one or more remote radio units (RUs) 712 via a fronthaul interface 720, which in turn is coupled to one or more user equipment units (U). Figure 7 (Not shown in the image) Communication. The remote radio unit 712 can be configured to execute the lower part of the PHY layer protocol and provide antenna capability to the remote unit for communication with user equipment (similar to the above combination). Figures 1a-2 (Discussion).

[0080] IV. End-to-end network slicing

[0081] In some implementations, to provide end-to-end slicing capabilities, the base station may be configured with one or more executable procedures (e.g., an end-to-end solution) for performing slice decomposition at various points within the communication system 700, such as... Figure 7 As shown. The determination of where slice separation should occur can depend on various network parameters, communication session requirements, and / or any other factors. Solutions may include slice separation occurring as follows: (a) at the user plane portion of a centralized unit, (b) at a distributed unit, and (c) at a remote unit. One or more of these solutions may be implemented in system 700 and discussed below.

[0082] A. Slicing separation at the user plane portion of the centralized unit.

[0083] Figure 8a An exemplary communication system 800 for performing network slicing separation at the user plane portion of a centralized unit, according to some implementations of the present topic, is shown. System 800 is similar to Figure 7 The system 700 shown is for ease of explanation and discussion. Figure 8a Only the relevant parts are shown in the image.

[0084] System 800 may include one or more user devices 802 (802a, 802b, 802c), remote units 803, distributed units 805, and a control plane portion 807 of a centralized unit. In this implementation, units 803-807 may be common to all network slices. Figure 8a(Three slices are shown in the diagram). This means that all user equipment 802 can access the same units 803-807 before the network slice split occurs at the user plane portion of the centralized unit.

[0085] like Figure 8a As shown, isolation between network slices can be provided starting with gNB-CU-UP. Specifically, a separate gNB-CU-UP instance 808 (808a, 808b, 808c) can be created by the radio access network for each slice, and each slice can be configured to serve or allow access to the corresponding user equipment 802 (802a, 802b, 802c). Furthermore, due to the segmentation, separate corresponding instances of Access and Mobility Functions (AMF) 810 (810a, 810b, 810c), User Plane Functions (UPF1-3) 812 (812a, 812b, 812c), and Session Management Functions (SMF1-3) 814 (814a, 814b, 814c) can also be created. Each network slice can be identified by the name a, b, or c (besides any common parts).

[0086] In 5G networks, the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) (which replaces the MME entity in 4G networks) receives connection and session-related information from the user equipment and is responsible for handling connection and mobility management tasks. Session management-related messages can be forwarded to the Session Management Function (SMF). The SMF is responsible for interacting with the decoupled data plane, creating, updating, and removing Protocol Data Unit (PDU) sessions, and managing session context using User Plane Functions (UPFs). The UPF provides interconnection between the mobile infrastructure and the data network (DN) (encapsulation and decapsulation of the GPRS Tunneling Protocol (GTP-U) in the user plane). It also performs packet routing and forwarding, including directing flows to specific data networks based on traffic matching filters and acting as an intermediate UPF (I-UPF) for more than one PDU session. The UPF further performs application detection using Serving Data Flow (SDF) traffic filter templates or 3-tuple packet flow descriptions received from the SMF (i.e., protocol, server-side IP address, and port number). It also performs per-stream QoS processing, which includes transport-level packet marking, rate limiting, and reflection QoS marking on the DL for both uplink (UL) and downlink (DL). Furthermore, the UPF reports service usage, such as for billing, lawful interception, and other functional purposes.

[0087] Refer again Figure 8aIn some implementations, the selection of a specific slice set can be based on the NSSAI parameter requested by user equipment 802 during the registration process, and the selection of a specific slice can be based on the S-NSSAI parameter requested by each user equipment 802 during the PDU session establishment process. Specifically, using the NSSAI parameter (which may include one or more S-NSSAI parameters), the appropriate AMF 810 can be selected during the registration process. Using the S-NSSAI parameter, the AMF 810 can select the appropriate SMF 814 during the PDU session establishment process. Because the NSSAI parameter requested from each user equipment 802 can be different, different corresponding AMFs 810 can be assigned to different user equipment 802. Similarly, the corresponding UPF 812 and SMF 814 can be selected based on the S-NSSAI requested by user equipment 802 during the PDU session establishment process. Again, because the S-NSSAI requested from each user equipment can be different, different UPFs 812 and SMFs 814 can be assigned to different user equipment 802. For example, user equipment 802a can be assigned CU-UP 808a, UPF1 812a, AMF1 810a, and SMF1 814a, each of which is configured to be specific to a particular network slice.

[0088] In some implementations, a user equipment can be configured to use more than one network slice. Figure 8b An exemplary communication system 820 with a user equipment 822, according to some implementations of the present topic, is shown, which user equipment 822 may use one or more network slices. System 820 may be similar to Figure 8a The system 800 is shown. However, instead of... Figure 8a The multiple AMF components shown, RU 803, DU 805, CU-CP 807, and the single AMF 819, can be common to all network slices. The rest of system 820 is similar. Figure 8a The system 800 is shown. In operation, different user plane portions (i.e., CU-UPs) 808 can be assigned to user equipment 802 based on the S-NSSAI requested by user equipment 822 for each PDU session.

[0089] B. Slicing separation at the distributed unit section

[0090] Figure 9a An exemplary communication system 900 for performing network slicing separation at the distributed unit (DU) portion, according to some implementations of the present topic, is shown. System 900 is similar to Figure 7 The system 700 shown is illustrated, and again for ease of explanation and discussion, Figure 9a Only the relevant parts are shown in the image.

[0091] System 900 may include one or more user equipment 902 (902a, 902b, 902c), a common remote unit 903, one or more distributed units DU1-3 905 (905a, 905b, 905c), and one or more corresponding control plane portions CU-CP1-3 907 (907a, 907b, 907c) of a centralized unit. In this implementation, only unit 903 can be common to all network slices (similar to...). Figures 8a-8b ), Figure 9a The diagram shows three slices. This indicates that all user equipment 902 can access the same remote unit 903 before the network slice split occurs at distributed unit 905.

[0092] like Figure 9a As shown and described above, isolation between network slices can be provided starting from the DU. Specifically, in addition to the individual DU1-3 905 and control section CU-CP1-3 907, a separate CU-UP instance 908 (908a, 908b, 908c) can be created by the radio access network for each slice, and each slice can be configured to serve or allow access to the corresponding user equipment 902 (902a, 902b, 902c). Similarly, separate corresponding instances of access and mobility functions (AMF) 910 (910a, 910b, 910c), user plane functions (UPF1-3) 912 (912a, 912b, 912c), and session management functions (SMF1-3) 914 (914a, 914b, 914c) can also be created.

[0093] The selection of a specific slice in System 900 can be similar to the above regarding... Figures 8a-8b The selection process discussed. Specifically, different corresponding AMF 910, UPF 912, and SMF 914 can be assigned to different user equipment 902. For example, user equipment 902a can be assigned DU 905a, CU-CP 907a, CU-UP 908a, UPF1 910a, AMF1 912a, and SMF1914a, where each of these functions is configured to be specific to a particular network slice. Each network slice can be identified by the name a, b, or c (in addition to any common parts).

[0094] In some implementations, because the DU 905 controls the radio bandwidth, each network slice can be allocated a specific bandwidth portion (BWP) within the carrier bandwidth. 5G NR communication networks can allow the carrier bandwidth to be split into multiple bandwidth portions (as defined in the 3GPP standard). Each DU 905 can be configured to control one such bandwidth portion. Within the carrier bandwidth, different BWPs can be allocated different Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs). For example, if the carrier bandwidth (CBW) is 100MHz and the subcarrier spacing is 30kHz, there are a total of 273 PRBs. If the CBW is split into four BWPs, one BWP can be 40MHz, and the other three BWPs can each be 20MHz. Each BWP can allocate its own PRB share from the total 273 PRBs. Furthermore, different user equipment 902 using different slices can be configured with the specific BWP of the corresponding slice during the PDU session establishment process (i.e., during the RRC reconfiguration for dedicated radio bearer (DRB) setup).

[0095] The RU 903 can be configured to support multiple BWPs within the carrier bandwidth. Based on the BWP on which an uplink message is received, the RU 903 can route the message to the correct DU 905 via the fronthaul interface, where, as described above, each DU 905 can be connected to its slice-specific CU-CP 907 and to its slice-specific CU-UP 908 and AMF 910. In this way, apart from the RU 903, the remaining radio processing and core network processing can be completely isolated for each network slice.

[0096] In some implementations, it is similar to combination Figure 8b The discussion suggests that a user device can be configured to use more than one network slice. Figure 9b An exemplary communication system 920 with a user equipment 922, which can use one or more network slices, is shown according to some implementations of the present topic.

[0097] System 920 can be similar to Figure 9a The system 900 is shown. However, instead of... Figure 9a The multiple AMF components shown, RU903, CU-CP 917, and AMF 919, can be common to all network slices. The rest of System 920 can be similar. Figure 9aThe system 900 is shown. In operation, instead of control RU 903, traffic is split based on BWP, which can be based on different component carriers. User equipment 922 can be configured via RRC to use two component carriers in two different cell groups (e.g., dual connectivity scenario). For example, when user equipment 922 is using one slice (e.g., represented by components 905a, 908a, 912a, 914a), it can use one component carrier (CC1), and when it is using another slice (e.g., represented by components 905b, 908b, 912b, 914b), it can use another component carrier (CC2), and so on.

[0098] In an alternative implementation, services can be split from an RU to different DUs based on the PRB ranges that can be allocated to different slices within the same BWP and / or the same component carrier. For example, assuming a scenario where 100MHz of carrier bandwidth is not split into BWPs out of 273 PRBs, PRB ranges 1-100 can be used for slice 1, and PRB ranges 101-200 can be used for another slice. Then, the RU can use the aforementioned PRB splitting to split uplink services to the corresponding DUs (i.e., based on the PRB on which uplink services are received).

[0099] C. Slicing separation at the remote radio unit section

[0100] Figure 10 An exemplary communication system 1000 for performing network slicing separation at a remote radio unit (RU) portion, according to some implementations of the present topic, is shown. System 1000 is similar to Figure 7 The system 700 shown is illustrated, and again for ease of explanation and discussion, Figure 10 Only the relevant parts are shown in the image.

[0101] System 1000 may include one or more user equipment 1002 (1002a, 1002b, 1002c), one or more remote radio units RU1-3 1003 (1003a, 1003b, 1003c), one or more distributed units DU1-3 1005 (1005a, 1005b, 1005c), one or more control plane portions CU-CP1-3 1007 (1007a, 1007b, 1007c) of a centralized unit, one or more user plane portions CU-UP1-3 1008 (1008a, 1008b, 1008c), one or more UPF1-3 1012 (1012a, 1012b, 1012c), one or more SMF1-3 1014 (1014a, 1014b, 1014c), and one or more AMF1-3 1010 (1010a, 1010b, 1010c). Each network slice can be identified by the name a, b, or c. In this implementation, no cells in any of the three network slices are common. This means that all user equipment 1002 can access their own designated network slice a, b, or c, because each network slice can be mapped to a different component carrier. Furthermore, different RUs can be placed in each cell site, with one RU radiating one component carrier. Depending on the S-NSSAI being used by a particular user equipment 1002, it can be configured to use the corresponding component carrier.

[0102] like Figures 8a-10 As shown, one or more remote radio units can connect to one or more distributed units (where the connection can be defined by various standards). Specifically, a remote unit can be controlled by one or more distributed units using one or more I / Q data samples (showing changes in magnitude (or amplitude) and phase) that are transmitted and / or received to indicate which distributed unit is processing which component carrier or which set of PRBs within the carrier bandwidth. The DU port ID parameter of the distributed unit can be used to distinguish the processing unit at that distributed unit. The DU port ID parameter can be included in the eCPRI header of a partial type control message along with the carrier component ID (CC ID) and the remote unit port ID (RU port ID). Each distributed unit can be configured with at least one of different component carriers, frequency band sectors, subframes, time slots, etc., within the remote unit. Furthermore, each distributed unit can be configured with a different user equipment identifier for the remote unit. Finally, based on the time slot / subframe on which the I / Q sample is received, the remote unit can send the sample to the correct distributed unit.

[0103] Refer again Figures 8a-10The systems illustrated in these figures provide various ways to flexibly configure base stations (e.g., gNBs) to accommodate diverse network slice isolation requirements. A level of isolation (e.g., Level 1 isolation) can begin with the user plane portion of the centralized unit (CU-UP) in the processing pipeline, where remote and distributed units (RUs and DUs) can be shared. Within the DU, all physical (PHY) layer, MAC and RLC configurations, and resources can be shared with other slices. This is achieved by… Figures 8a-8b The system 800 is shown in the description.

[0104] In a processing pipeline with shared RUs and DUs, another level of isolation (e.g., second-level isolation) can occur starting from the CU-UP, but within the DU, each network slice (identified by the S-NSSAI parameter as discussed above) can have a specific physical layer, MAC, RLC, and PDCP configuration. For example, the S-NSSAI parameter for each request can be mapped to a specific component carrier and / or a specific cell that defines a synchronization signal block (SSB) within the same component carrier or a specific BWP within the DU. This level of isolation can be similar to... Figures 8a-8b The system shown has multiple component carrier / cell definition SSB / BWP configurations within the same DU.

[0105] In some implementations, another level of isolation (e.g., third-level isolation) can occur starting from a distributed unit, with each slice mapped to a different distributed unit (e.g., such as...). Figure 9a As shown). When a particular user device uses more than one slice (e.g., as shown). Figure 9b As shown), this user equipment can connect to two or more DUs simultaneously and can be configured with separate MAC entities for the primary cell group (MCG) and secondary cell group (SCG) distributed units. In some implementations, each slice (i.e., as shown) can be configured based on the delay and / or other SLA requirements of each slice. Figure 9a The distributed units of slices a, b, and c shown are hosted in different locations.

[0106] In some implementations, an additional level of isolation (e.g., fourth-level isolation) can include isolation from the RU in the processing pipeline. In this case, complete end-to-end isolation of user plane services can be achieved. Each remote unit can support a separate component carrier. User equipment can be configured to use separate MAC entities, such as MCG and SCG, for each distributed unit. Figure 10 As shown.

[0107] Figure 11 This illustrates some implementations, based on the current topic, for mapping one or more network slices to information about... Figures 8a-10An exemplary method 1100 for a specific deployment option discussed. At 1102, a network slice profile can be determined (as described above). Once the network slice profile is determined, the isolation level can be determined at 1104. At 1106, the combination of the network slice profile and the isolation level can be used to determine which solution can be selected (i.e., combining...). Figures 8a-10 (Deployment options discussed).

[0108] In some implementations, various combinations of slice profile information and isolation levels can determine which solution can be used in a particular setting. As a non-limiting example, given the above discussion, there can be nine combinations of slice profile level isolation scenarios. As will be understood, the current topic is not limited to these combinations, and other factors can be used to select the specific solution discussed above or any other solution.

[0109] In some implementations, parameters characterizing a slice profile may include at least one of the following: latency, number of UEs in the slice, number of tracking areas, UE mobility level, isolation level, activity factor, and / or any other parameter. In a first exemplary combination (i.e., Figure 11 In operations 1102 and 1104 shown, the slice profile can be characterized by the following: medium to high latency, a large number of UEs in the slice (e.g., millions), a large number of tracking areas supporting the slice (e.g., greater than or equal to 1500 (meaning the number of UEs per TA or per cell can be approximately 700), which loads each cell or sector in the RAN with the maximum number of UEs), nomadic or restricted mobility of the UEs, first-level isolation (as described above), and a high activity factor (indicating that the network slice is always active). Based on this combination, Figure 8a The implementation shown can be selected to handle data going to / from user equipment. In this combination, due to medium to high latency requirements, the CU-CP and CU-UP can be located in a regional data center, and therefore far from the DU.

[0110] In the second exemplary combination, the delay parameter can be lower, while the remaining parameters are similar to those in the first exemplary combination. Here, again, Figure 8a The implementation shown can be selected for processing data to / from user equipment. Due to low latency requirements, the CU-CP and / or CU-UP can be placed close to the DU. The placement of the CU-CP closer to the DU can be determined based on whether the slice requires low control plane latency. The placement of the CU-UP closer to the DU can also be determined based on whether the slice requires low user plane latency.

[0111] In the third exemplary combination, the slice profile parameters can be similar to those in the first exemplary combination, except that the isolation level is changed to the second isolation level. In this case... Figure 8aThe implementation shown can be selected again, and the individual component carriers / cells defining the SSB / BWP can be used for each slice.

[0112] In the fourth exemplary combination, the slice profile parameters can be similar to the second exemplary combination (i.e., low latency), except that the isolation level is changed to the second isolation level. Again, Figure 8a The implementation shown can be selected, and the individual component carriers / cells defining the SSB / BWP can be used for each slice.

[0113] In the fifth exemplary combination, the slice profile parameters can be similar to those in the first exemplary combination, except that the isolation level is changed to the third isolation level. In this case... Figure 9a The implementation shown can be chosen. Here, similar to the first exemplary combination, the CU-CP and CU-UP can be placed in a regional data center, and thus away from the DU.

[0114] In the sixth exemplary combination, the slice profile parameters can be similar to the second exemplary combination (i.e., low latency), except that the isolation level is changed to the third isolation level. In this case, again, Figure 9a The implementation shown can be chosen. Similar to the discussion of the second exemplary combination, the CU-CP and / or CU-UP can be placed close to the DU, wherein the placement of the CU-CP closer to the DU can be determined based on whether the slice requires low control plane latency, and the placement of the CU-UP closer to the DU can also be determined based on whether the slice requires low user plane latency.

[0115] In the seventh exemplary combination, the slice profile parameters can be similar to those in the first exemplary combination, except that the isolation level is changed to the fourth isolation level. Here, Figure 10 The implementation shown can be selected, where CU-CP and CU-UP can be placed away from DU.

[0116] In the eighth exemplary combination, the slice profile parameters can be similar to those of the second exemplary combination (i.e., low latency), except that the isolation level is changed to the fourth isolation level. In this case, again, Figure 10 The implementation shown can be selected, and the placement of CU-CP and / or CU-UP closer to DU can be determined based on whether the slice requires low control plane latency and / or low user plane latency, respectively.

[0117] In the ninth exemplary combination, the slicing parameters can be similar to the fifth and / or seventh exemplary combinations, where the activity factor and the number of UEs are lower. In this case, Figure 8a The implementation shown can be chosen because it does not require providing isolated RAN resources for network slices with sporadic activity and the number of UEs is low (as this would unnecessarily waste spectrum). Therefore, it can be used Figure 8a The implementation shown has isolation starting from CU-UP while DU is shared with other slices.

[0118] In some implementations, tracking regions, mobility levels, etc., may not affect the selection of slice segmentation options. These parameters can be used to determine which of the multiple locations where DU, CU-CP, and / or CU-UP instances may need to be instantiated and / or which functions in the DU and / or CU may need to be activated (e.g., for slices that can be used for fixed user equipment, mobility profiles and Xn interfaces may not need to be configured in the CU-CP instance).

[0119] In some implementations, Figure 11 The process 1100 shown can be provided by OAM in gNB (e.g., as a static table). The mapping of each slice profile to a specific solution and the corresponding placement logic of CU-CP and CU-UP can be configured accordingly.

[0120] In some implementations, the current topic can also perform slice SLA monitoring by viewing one or more Key Point Indicators (KPIs) that can be reported for each slice. For example, for a specific slice marked as having a high activity factor and level 4 isolation (e.g., Figure 10 The implementation shown receives a report indicating a decrease in data traffic (e.g., indicating a low activity factor), for example, from... Figure 10 The implementation shown Figure 8a As shown in the implementation, OAM can change the mapping of slice profiles.

[0121] Figure 12 An exemplary procedure 1200 for updating profile slices to implementation mappings is shown, based on some implementations of the current topic. Procedure 1200 can be... Figure 7 The system 700 shown may be executed by one or more components and / or any component of the 5G architecture. At 1202, the control portion of one or more distributed units and / or centralized units may provide functionality compatible with a specific current implementation (e.g., such as...). Figures 8a-10 This refers to the status indicators or key performance indicators (KPIs) related to various aspects (e.g., latency, number of UEs, activity factor, etc., as described above). KPIs can be provided to the Operations, Maintenance and Management (OAM) of the 5G network. The KPIs can then be provided to the Operations Support System / Service Support System (OSS / BSS) of the 5G network. The OSS / BSS can determine at 1204 whether changes to the current implementation are needed. If so, then at 1206, a new mapping from the slice profile to the specific implementation is established. Figures 8a-10As shown, this can be determined. Based on this determination, in 1208, using the new mapping, new virtual network function instantiation / deinstantiation rules for managing virtualized instances of DU, CU-UP, etc. (according to...) Figures 8a-10 The appropriate implementation shown can be determined. If no changes are needed, KPIs can continue to be monitored and reported.

[0122] V. Resource isolation or resource sharing across multiple operator networks

[0123] In some implementations, the current topic can be configured to provide resource isolation and / or resource sharing for various multi-carrier networks, which can be achieved in a 5G communication network environment. Some examples of multi-carrier networks include multi-carrier radio access network (RAN) networks (MORAN), multi-carrier core network (MOCN), etc. Some aspects of one or more of these networks have been described in various standards (e.g., 3GPP TS 32.130, TS 32.130, TS 23.251, TS23.501, etc.). However, many details of these networks remain to be implemented. In particular, virtualized RAN architectures can be configured to allow easy deployment of MORAN networks, where each participating operator's (POP) gNB (e.g., gNB-CU, gNB-DU, etc.) can be instantiated as a separate Virtual Network Function (VNF) on a Public Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) host that can be owned by the primary operator (MOP).

[0124] Figure 13 An exemplary MORAN network 1300 that can be implemented in a virtualized RAN on a shared COTS platform is illustrated. Specifically, in network 1300, radio or remote units (RU1-3), common hosts (e.g., sites 1-3, RDCs, etc.), and other physical infrastructure components can be shared among various Public Land Mobile Networks (PLMNs). However, other components (e.g., vDUs, vCUs) can be PLMN-specific entities (e.g., vDU PLMN1 and vCU PLMN1 can be part of PLMN1, while vDU PLMN2 and vCU PLMN2 can be part of PLMN2). In some cases, RUs can be segmented into different component carriers (CCs), where each CC can be assigned to a PLMN. Each component carrier can broadcast its own Master Information Block / System Information Block (MIB / SIB), where the SIB can carry a specific PLMN identifier that can be assigned to that component carrier. User equipment (1306, 1308) can select the appropriate component carrier based on the specific PLMN to which they belong by looking up the PLMN identifier broadcast in the SIB.

[0125] Figure 14An exemplary MOCN system 1400 is illustrated. The MOCN architecture has been described in various 3GPP standard specifications (e.g., TS23.251, 3GPP TS 23.501 Clause 5.18). MOCN systems can allow the sharing of radio resources among multiple PLMNs. In new radio communication networks, SIB broadcasts can carry up to 12 PLMNs. The 3GPP specifications do not describe the allocation of radio resources across shared PLMNs, making it implementation-specific.

[0126] like Figure 14 As shown, the MOCN system 1400 may include a PLMN1 component 1402 (which may include application service 1406, unified data management (UDM) 1408, and AMF / SMF / UPF 1410) and a PLMN2 component 1404 (which may include its corresponding application service, UDM, and AMF / SMF / UPF). PLMN1-2 1402, 1404 may be communicatively coupled to a common part of a gNB base station, such as vCU 1412, which in turn may be communicatively coupled to one or more vDUs 1414. vDU 1414 may be communicatively coupled to one or more RUs 1416. RU 1416 may be configured to communicate with appropriate user equipment that may belong to a specific PLMN 1402, 1404 (e.g., RU 1416 may communicate with user equipment belonging to PLMN1 1402 via link 1418 and with user equipment belonging to PLMN2 1404 via link 1420).

[0127] In some implementations, the current theme can be configured to implement the above-mentioned... Figures 8a-10 The description covers various aspects of the slice architecture implementation, and can be found in Figure 7 This is implemented in the communication system shown (e.g., a 5G communication system). Specifically, the current topic can be configured to provide various implementations of resource isolation and / or sharing in multi-carrier networks (e.g., MORAN, MOCN, etc.).

[0128] Figure 15a An exemplary multi-carrier communication system 1500 for performing resource isolation sharing in a multi-carrier network, according to some implementations of the present topic, is shown. System 1500 may be similar to Figure 8a The system shown is 800, and it can be implemented in the MOCN network.

[0129] like Figure 15aAs shown, system 1500 may include one or more user devices 1502 (1502a, 1502b, 1502c), remote unit 1503, distributed unit 1505, and a control plane portion 1507 of a centralized unit. These may be common to all PLMNs configured to share resources (e.g., ...). Figure 15a As shown, there are three PLMNs sharing resources (represented by "a", "b", and "c" in the attached figures). This means that all user equipment 1502 can access the same components 1503-1507 before being split into specific PLMNs.

[0130] Specifically, PLMN-specific components can be provided starting from a public gNB-CU-UP. PLMN-specific gNB-CU-UP instances 1508 (1508a, 1508b, 1508c), as well as AMF1-3 1510 (1510a, 1510b, 1510c), UPF1-3 1512 (1512a, 1512b, 1512c), and SMF1-3 1514 (1514a, 1514b, 1514c) can be created in each respective PLMN and can be configured to serve or allow access to corresponding user equipment 1502 (1502a, 1502b, 1502c) that may belong to a specific PLMN.

[0131] In some implementations, RU 1503 can be shared by three PLMNs, wherein RU 1503 can be configured to radiate to the three PLMNs identified in the System Information Broadcast (SIB). Figure 15b This shows some implementations for use based on the current topic. Figure 15a The system shown performs an exemplary process 1520 for resource isolation or sharing. Based on the specific PLMN to which the user equipment 1502 belongs (as determined in 1522), the CU-CP 1507 can be configured in 1524 to select the core network element AMF 1510 of that specific PLMN. For example, AMF1 1510a can be selected for PLMN1; AMF2 1510b can be selected for PLMN2, etc. Once a user equipment request is routed to a specific AMF (e.g., AMF1 1510a of PLMN1), any additional selection of other core network functions (e.g., SMF, UPF (e.g., UPF1 1512a and SMF1 1514a of PLMN1)) can appear in that specific PLMN (e.g., PLMN1). Furthermore, in 1526, during the PDU session establishment process, the CU-CP 1507 can assign different (e.g., PLMN-specific) CU-UPs (e.g., CU-UP1 1508a for PLMN1). As mentioned above, RU 1503, DU 1505 and CU-CP 1507 can be common network components.

[0132] Figure 16 An exemplary multi-carrier communication system 1600 for performing resource isolation sharing in a multi-carrier network, according to some implementations of the present topic, is shown. System 1600 may be similar to Figure 9a The system 900 shown can be implemented in an MOCN network (similar to...). Figure 15a The system shown is 1500). Similar to... Figure 15a System 1600 may include one or more user equipment 1602 (1602a, 1602b, 1602c), a common remote unit 1603, one or more distributed units DU1-3 1605 (1605a, 1605b, 1605c), and a single control plane portion CU-CP 1607 of the centralized unit. In this implementation, only unit 1603 may be common to the PLMNS1-3. This means that all user equipment 1602 can access the same remote unit 1603. In addition to the standalone DU1-3 1605, separate instances of CU-UP 1608 (1608a, 1608b, 1608c), separate instances of Access and Mobility Functions (AMF) 1610 (1610a, 1610b, 1610c), User Plane Functions (UPF1-3) 1612 (1612a, 1612b, 1612c), and Session Management Functions (SMF1-3) 1614 (1614a, 1614b, 1614c) can also be created in the corresponding PLMN.

[0133] As described above, a separate DU 1605 instance can be created for each PLMN. Since the DU 1605 controls the radio bandwidth, a specific bandwidth portion (BWP) can be allocated to each PLMN within the main operator's carrier bandwidth. 5G NR communication networks allow the carrier bandwidth to be split into multiple bandwidth portions (as defined in the 3GPP standard). Each DU 1605 can be configured to control one such bandwidth portion. Within the carrier bandwidth, different BWPs can be allocated different physical resource blocks (PRBs). For example, if the carrier bandwidth (CBW) is 100MHz and the subcarrier spacing is 30kHz, there are a total of 273 PRBs. If the CBW is split into 4 BWPs, one BWP can be 40MHz, and the other 3 BWPs can each be 20MHz. Each BWP can allocate its own PRB share from the total of 273 PRBs.

[0134] Furthermore, different user equipment (UE) 1602s using different slices can be configured with corresponding PLMN-specific BWPs during the RRC establishment process. The initial BWP, sharing the channel bandwidth, carries SSB, MIB, and SIB broadcasts, while the PLMN-specific BWP can be configured for UE 1603 after UE 1602 completes the initial RRC connection establishment. CU-CP 1607 can be common to all PLMNs and can be configured to control (multiple) MIB / SIB broadcasts and RRC termination. The initial BWP can be controlled from CU-CP 1607, and one of DU 1605s can be used for the initial BWP. Once UE 1602 has been connected (i.e., RRC connected), the UE-specific BWP can be controlled via that BWP (PLMN-specific DU 1605) (e.g., UE 1602a is controlled via DU 1605a, etc.).

[0135] The RU 1603 can be configured to support multiple BWPs within the carrier bandwidth. Based on the BWP on which an uplink message is received, the RU 1603 can route the message to the correct DU 1605 via the fronthaul interface, where, as described above, each DU 1605 can connect to its PLMN-specific CU-CP 1607 and to its PLMN-specific CU-UP 1608 and AMF 1610. In this way, apart from the RU 1603, the remaining radio processing and core network processing can be completely isolated for each network slice.

[0136] Figure 17 An exemplary multi-carrier communication system 1700 for performing resource isolation sharing in a multi-carrier network, according to some implementations of the present topic, is shown. System 1700 may be similar to Figure 10 The system 1000 shown can be implemented in a MORAN network.

[0137] like Figure 17 As shown, each PLMN can be mapped to different component carriers. Each cell site can house different RUs, with each RU radiating one component carrier. Depending on the PLMN a specific UE is configured to use, it is configured to use the corresponding component carrier. DU, CU-CP, and CU-UP instances from different PLMNs can be hosted on the same COTS server, thus also allowing infrastructure sharing. Specifically, as... Figure 17As shown, system 1700 may include one or more PLMN-specific user equipment 1702 (1702a, 1702b, 1702c), one or more remote radio units RU1-3 1703 (1703a, 1703b, 1703c), one or more distributed units DU1-3 1705 (1705a, 1705b, 1705c), one or more control plane portions CU-CP1-3 1707 (1707a, 1707b, 1707c) of centralized units, one or more user plane portions CU-UP1-3 1708 (1708a, 1708b, 1708c), one or more UPF1-3 1712 (1712a, 1712b, 1712c), one or more SMF1-3 1714 (1714a, 1714b, 1714c), and one or more AMF1-3 1710 (1710a, 1710b, 1710c). Each PLMN can be identified by the name a, b, or c. In this implementation, none of the three PLMNs have a common unit.

[0138] Similar to Figures 8a-10 Discussions, such as Figures 15a-17 As shown, remote units (RUs 1503, 1603, 1703) can be connected to and controlled by distributed units (e.g., DUs 1505, 1605, 1705). Each DU can be configured with at least one of different component carriers, frequency band sectors, subframes, time slots in the remote unit, etc., and can also be configured with different user equipment IDs. Thus, based on the time slot / subframe of the received I / Q sample, the RU can send the sample to a specific DU.

[0139] In addition, similar to the above regarding Figures 8a-11 The discussion focuses on network slicing isolation. Figures 15a-17 The system shown can be configured to flexibly configure base stations (e.g., gNBs) to accommodate various desired isolation levels, enabling the sharing of network resources across different PLMNs. Specifically, a level of isolation (e.g., Level 1 isolation) can occur starting from the CU-UP, where the RU and DU can be shared with other PLMNs. Within the DU, all physical (PHY) layer, MAC, and RLC configurations and resources can be shared with other PLMNs. This is achieved by... Figure 15a The system 1500 shown is described.

[0140] In a processing pipeline with shared RUs and DUs, another level of isolation (e.g., second-level isolation) can emerge starting from the CU-UP, but within the DU, each PLMN can have a specific physical layer, MAC, RLC, and PDCP configuration. For example, each PLMN can be mapped to a specific component carrier and / or a specific cell that defines a synchronization signal block (SSB) within the same component carrier or a specific BWP within the DU. This level of isolation can be similar to... Figure 15a The system shown is 1500. However, it has multiple component carrier / cell definition SSB / BWP configurations within the same DU.

[0141] Another level of isolation can occur starting from a DU (e.g., third-level isolation), with each PLMN mapped to a different DU (e.g., ...). Figure 16 (As shown). Finally, another level of isolation (e.g., fourth-level isolation) can include isolation from the RU in the processing pipeline. This level of isolation can be implemented in a MORAN network. In this case, complete end-to-end isolation of user plane traffic may occur. Each RU can support individual component carriers, such as... Figure 17 As shown.

[0142] Figure 18 This illustrates some implementations, based on the current topic, for isolating one or more PLMN resources to [a specific location]. Figures 15a-17 An exemplary method 1800 for specific deployment options is discussed. In 1802, a specific Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) can be identified. Once the PLMN is determined, in 1804, the isolation level (e.g., levels 1-4 discussed above) can also be determined. In 1806, the combination of the PLMN identifier and the isolation level can be used to determine how specific network resources can be shared (e.g., in combination with...). Figures 15a-17 (Deployment options discussed).

[0143] In some implementations, the current theme can be configured to be implemented in System 1900, such as... Figure 19As shown. System 1900 may include one or more of a processor 1910, a memory 1920, a storage device 1930, and an input / output device 1940. Each of components 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940 may be interconnected using a system bus 1950. Processor 1910 may be configured to process instructions for execution within system 1900. In some implementations, processor 1910 may be a single-threaded processor. In alternative implementations, processor 1910 may be a multi-threaded processor. Processor 1910 may be further configured to process instructions stored in memory 1920 or on storage device 1930, including receiving or transmitting information via input / output device 1940. Memory 1920 may store information within system 1900. In some implementations, memory 1920 may be a computer-readable medium. In alternative implementations, memory 1920 may be a volatile memory cell. In still other implementations, memory 1920 may be a non-volatile memory cell. Storage device 1930 provides mass storage for system 1900. In some implementations, storage device 1930 may be a computer-readable medium. In alternative implementations, storage device 1930 may be a floppy disk device, hard disk device, optical disk device, magnetic tape device, non-volatile solid-state memory, or any other type of storage device. Input / output device 1940 may be configured to provide input / output operations for system 1900. In some implementations, input / output device 1940 may include a keyboard and / or indicating devices. In alternative implementations, input / output device 1940 may include a display unit for displaying a graphical user interface.

[0144] Figure 20 Exemplary method 2000, based on some implementations of the present topic, is shown. In 2002, one or more communication networks (e.g., a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN)) operating in a wireless communication system can be identified. Each of the multiple communication networks may have one or more communication components (e.g., RU, DU, CU-CP, CU-UP, AMF, UPF, SMF, etc.) (e.g., such as...). Figures 15a-17 As shown), the one or more communication components are logically isolated from one or more communication components of another communication network in a plurality of communication networks.

[0145] In 2004, based on the identified communication network, a communication network could be selected from multiple communication networks for transmitting data associated with the user equipment. In 2006, using the selected communication network, data associated with the user equipment could be transmitted.

[0146] In some implementations, the current subject may include one or more of the following optional features. The method may also include determining at least one communication component of the communication network used for isolation based on the identified communication network. In some implementations, the multiple communication networks may include at least one of the following: Multi-Carrier Radio Access Network (MORAN), Multi-Carrier Core Network (MOCN), radio access network, virtual radio access network, core network, and any combination thereof. Furthermore, the method may include selecting one or more Distributed Units (DUs) for data transmission based on at least one of the following: one or more component carriers, one or more bandwidth portions, one or more physical resource block ranges, and any combination thereof.

[0147] In some implementations, at least one of identification, selection, and transmission can be performed by the base station. The base station may include at least one of the following communication components: one or more remote radio units (RUs), one or more centralized units (CUs), one or more distributed units (DUs), one or more control plane portions (CU-CPs) of one or more centralized units, one or more user plane portions (CU-UPs) of one or more centralized units, one or more access and mobility functions (AMFs), one or more user plane functions (UPFs), and one or more session management functions (SMFs). In some implementations, at least one of one or more CU-UPs, one or more AMFs, one or more UPFs, and one or more SMFs of one communication network in multiple communication networks is logically isolated from at least one of one or more CU-UPs, one or more AMFs, one or more UPFs, and one or more SMFs of another communication network in multiple communication networks. One or more remote RUs, one or more DUs, and one or more CU-CPs can be common to all communication networks in multiple communication networks. This is similar to... Figure 15a The system shown can then use one or more communication networks to transmit data associated with user equipment.

[0148] In some implementations, the DU, CU-UP, AMF, UPF, and SMF of different PLMNs can be logically isolated across all communication networks in multiple communication networks for the transmission of data associated with user equipment. This is similar to... Figure 16 The system shown is 1600.

[0149] In some implementations, the RU, DU, CU-UP, CU-CP, AMF, UPF, and SMF of different PLMNs can be logically isolated across all communication networks in multiple communication networks for the transmission of user-related data. This is similar to... Figure 17 The system shown is 1700.

[0150] The systems and methods disclosed herein can take various forms, including, for example, data processors, such as computers, which also include databases, digital electronic circuit systems, firmware, software, or combinations thereof. Furthermore, the aforementioned features and other aspects and principles of this disclosure can be implemented in various environments. Such environments and related applications can be specifically constructed to perform various processes and operations according to the disclosed implementations, or they can include general-purpose computers or computing platforms that are selectively activated or reconfigured by code to provide necessary functionality. The processes disclosed herein are not inherently associated with any particular computer, network, architecture, environment, or other apparatus and can be implemented through appropriate combinations of hardware, software, and / or firmware. For example, various general-purpose machines can be used with programs written according to the teachings of the disclosed implementations, or perhaps more conveniently, specialized apparatuses or systems can be constructed to perform the required methods and techniques.

[0151] The systems and methods disclosed herein can be implemented as computer program products, that is, computer programs tangibly embodied in an information carrier, such as in a machine-readable storage device or in a propagating signal, for execution or control of the operation of a data processing apparatus, such as a programmable processor, a computer, or multiple computers. Computer programs can be written in any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, and can be deployed in any form, including as standalone programs or as modules, components, subroutines, or other units suitable for use in a computing environment. Computer programs can be deployed to execute on one or more computers located at a single site or distributed among multiple sites and interconnected via a communication network.

[0152] As used in this article, the term "user" may refer to any entity, including a person or a computer.

[0153] While ordinal numbers such as first, second, etc., can be associated with sequence in certain situations, the ordinal numbers used in this document do not necessarily indicate sequence. For example, ordinal numbers are used only to distinguish one item from another. For example, to distinguish the first event from the second event, but without implying any chronological order or fixed reference system (so that the first event in one paragraph may be different from the first event in another paragraph).

[0154] The foregoing description is intended to illustrate, and not limit, the scope of the invention, which is defined by the scope of the appended claims. Other implementations are within the scope of the appended claims.

[0155] These computer programs (also referred to as programs, software, software applications, applications, components, or code) include machine instructions for a programmable processor and may be implemented in high-level programming and / or object-oriented programming languages ​​and / or in assembly / machine language. As used herein, the term "machine-readable medium" refers to any computer program product, apparatus, and / or device for providing machine instructions and / or data to a programmable processor, such as a disk, optical disk, memory, and programmable logic device (PLD), including machine-readable media that receive machine instructions as machine-readable signals. The term "machine-readable signal" refers to any signal used to provide machine instructions and / or data to a programmable processor. Machine-readable media may store such machine instructions non-transitory, such as non-transitory solid-state memory or magnetic hard disk drives or any equivalent storage medium. Machine-readable media may alternatively or additionally store such machine instructions transiently, such as processor caches or other random access memory associated with one or more physical processor cores.

[0156] To provide interaction with the user, the subjects described herein can be implemented on a computer having a display device for displaying information to the user, such as a cathode ray tube (CRT) or liquid crystal display (LCD) monitor, and a keyboard and pointing device, such as a mouse or trackball, through which the user can provide input to the computer. Other types of devices can also be used to provide interaction with the user. For example, feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback, such as visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input from the user can be received in any form, including but not limited to acoustic, voice, or tactile input.

[0157] The subjects described herein can be implemented in a computing system that includes backend components (e.g., one or more data servers), middleware components (e.g., one or more application servers), or frontend components (e.g., one or more client computers having a graphical user interface or web browser through which a user can interact with an implementation of the subjects described herein), or any combination of such backend, middleware, and frontend components. The components of the system can be interconnected via digital data communication of any form or medium, such as a communication network. Examples of communication networks include, but are not limited to, local area networks (“LANs”), wide area networks (“WANs”), and the Internet.

[0158] A computing system may include clients and servers. Clients and servers are typically, but not exclusively, geographically separated and usually interact through a communication network. The client-server relationship is established by computer programs running on the respective computers and having a client-server relationship with each other.

[0159] The implementations described above do not represent all implementations consistent with the subject matter described herein. Rather, they are merely examples of aspects consistent with the described subject matter. While some variations have been described in detail above, other modifications or additions are possible. In particular, additional features and / or variations may be provided in addition to those set forth herein. For example, the above implementations may involve various combinations and sub-combinations of the disclosed features, and / or combinations and sub-combinations of several other features disclosed above. Furthermore, the logical flows depicted in the figures and / or described herein do not necessarily require the specific order or sequential sequence shown to achieve the desired result. Other implementations may be within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising: Determine a network slice profile for each of a plurality of communication networks used in a wireless communication system, each of the plurality of communication networks having one or more communication components that are logically isolated from one or more communication components of another of the plurality of communication networks; Determine the isolation level of each of the plurality of communication networks; Based on the determined network slice profile and the determined isolation level, one of the plurality of communication networks is selected for the transmission of data associated with the user equipment. as well as The selected communication network is used to transmit data associated with the user equipment; The method further includes: determining at least one communication component of the selected communication network for isolation, based on the selected communication network, wherein the determined at least one communication component includes one of the following: The user plane portion of the centralized unit, Distributed unit part, or Remote radio unit section.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of communication networks comprises at least one of the following: a multi-carrier radio access network, a multi-carrier core network, a radio access network, a virtual radio access network, a core network, and any combination thereof.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising: One or more distributed units are selected for data transmission based on at least one of the following: one or more component carriers, one or more bandwidth portions, one or more physical resource block ranges, and any combination thereof.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the determination of the network slice profile, the determination of the isolation level, the selection, and the transmission is performed by the base station.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the base station comprises at least one of the following communication components: one or more remote radio units, one or more centralized units, one or more distributed units, one or more control plane portions of the one or more centralized units, and one or more user plane portions of the one or more centralized units; and The core network includes at least one of the following communication components: one or more access and mobility functions, one or more user plane functions, and one or more session management functions.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein At least one of the one or more user plane portions, one or more access and mobility functions, one or more user plane functions, and one or more session management functions of the one or more centralized units of one of the plurality of communication networks is logically isolated from at least one of the one or more user plane portions, one or more access and mobility functions, one or more user plane functions, and one or more session management functions of the one or more centralized units of another of the plurality of communication networks. One or more remote radio units, one or more distributed units, and one or more control plane portions of the one or more centralized units are common to all communication networks in the plurality of communication networks; The transmission includes using one or more communication networks to transmit data associated with the user equipment.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein At least one of the one or more distributed units, one or more user plane portions of the one or more centralized units, one or more access and mobility functions, one or more user plane functions, and one or more session management functions of one of the plurality of communication networks is logically isolated from at least one of the one or more distributed units, one or more user plane portions of the one or more centralized units, one or more access and mobility functions, one or more user plane functions, and one or more session management functions of another of the plurality of communication networks; One or more control plane portions of the one or more centralized units, and one or more remote radio units, are common to all communication networks in the plurality of communication networks; The transmission mentioned above includes: Data associated with the user equipment is transmitted using one or more communication networks.

8. The method according to claim 5, wherein At least one of the one or more remote radio units, the one or more distributed units, the one or more control plane portions of the one or more centralized units, the one or more user plane portions of the one or more centralized units, the one or more access and mobility functions, the one or more user plane functions, and the one or more session management functions of one of the plurality of communication networks is logically isolated from at least one of the one or more remote radio units, the one or more distributed units, the one or more control plane portions of the one or more centralized units, the one or more user plane portions of the one or more centralized units, the one or more access and mobility functions, the one or more user plane functions, and the one or more session management functions of another of the plurality of communication networks; The transmission mentioned above includes: Data associated with the user equipment is transmitted using one or more communication networks.

9. An apparatus comprising: At least one programmable processor; as well as A non-transitory machine-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one programmable processor, cause the at least one programmable processor to perform an operation, the operation including: Determine a network slice profile for each of a plurality of communication networks used in a wireless communication system, each of the plurality of communication networks having one or more communication components that are logically isolated from one or more communication components of another of the plurality of communication networks; Determine the isolation level of each of the plurality of communication networks; Based on the determined network slice profile and the determined isolation level, one of the plurality of communication networks is selected for the transmission of data associated with the user equipment; and The selected communication network is used to transmit data associated with the user equipment; The operation further includes: determining at least one communication component of the selected communication network for isolation, based on the selected communication network, wherein the determined at least one communication component includes one of the following: The user plane portion of the centralized unit, Distributed unit part, or Remote radio unit section.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the plurality of communication networks comprises at least one of the following: a multi-carrier radio access network, a multi-carrier core network, a radio access network, a virtual radio access network, a core network, and any combination thereof.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the operation further comprises: One or more distributed units are selected for data transmission based on at least one of the following: one or more component carriers, one or more bandwidth portions, one or more physical resource block ranges, and any combination thereof.

12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein at least one of the determination of the network slice profile, the determination of the isolation level, the selection, and the transmission is performed by the base station.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the base station comprises at least one of the following communication components: one or more remote radio units, one or more centralized units, one or more distributed units, one or more control plane portions of the one or more centralized units, and one or more user plane portions of the one or more centralized units; and The core network includes at least one of the following communication components: one or more access and mobility functions, one or more user plane functions, and one or more session management functions.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein At least one of the one or more user plane portions, one or more access and mobility functions, one or more user plane functions, and one or more session management functions of the one or more centralized units of one of the plurality of communication networks is logically isolated from at least one of the one or more user plane portions, one or more access and mobility functions, one or more user plane functions, and one or more session management functions of the one or more centralized units of another of the plurality of communication networks. One or more remote radio units, one or more distributed units, and one or more control plane portions of the one or more centralized units are common to all communication networks in the plurality of communication networks; The transmission includes using one or more communication networks to transmit data associated with the user equipment.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein At least one of the one or more distributed units, one or more user plane portions of the one or more centralized units, one or more access and mobility functions, one or more user plane functions, and one or more session management functions of one of the plurality of communication networks is logically isolated from at least one of the one or more distributed units, one or more user plane portions of the one or more centralized units, one or more access and mobility functions, one or more user plane functions, and one or more session management functions of another of the plurality of communication networks; One or more control plane portions of the one or more centralized units, and one or more remote radio units, are common to all communication networks in the plurality of communication networks; The transmission mentioned above includes: One or more communication networks are used to transmit data associated with the user equipment.

16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein At least one of the one or more remote radio units, the one or more distributed units, the one or more control plane portions of the one or more centralized units, the one or more user plane portions of the one or more centralized units, the one or more access and mobility functions, the one or more user plane functions, and the one or more session management functions of one of the plurality of communication networks is logically isolated from at least one of the one or more remote radio units, the one or more distributed units, the one or more control plane portions of the one or more centralized units, the one or more user plane portions of the one or more centralized units, the one or more access and mobility functions, the one or more user plane functions, and the one or more session management functions of another of the plurality of communication networks; The transmission mentioned above includes: One or more communication networks are used to transmit data associated with the user equipment.

17. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory machine-readable medium storing instructions, said instructions, when executed by at least one programmable processor, causing said at least one programmable processor to perform an operation, said operation comprising: Determine a network slice profile for each of a plurality of communication networks used in a wireless communication system, each of the plurality of communication networks having one or more communication components that are logically isolated from one or more communication components of another of the plurality of communication networks; Determine the isolation level of each of the plurality of communication networks; Based on the determined network slice profile and the determined isolation level, one of the plurality of communication networks is selected for the transmission of data associated with the user equipment; as well as The selected communication network is used to transmit data associated with the user equipment; The operation further includes: determining at least one communication component of the selected communication network for isolation, based on the selected communication network, wherein the determined at least one communication component includes one of the following: The user plane portion of the centralized unit, Distributed unit part, or Remote radio unit section.

18. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the plurality of communication networks comprises at least one of the following: a multi-carrier radio access network, a multi-carrier core network, a radio access network, a virtual radio access network, a core network, and any combination thereof.

19. The computer program product of claim 18, wherein the operation further comprises: One or more distributed units are selected for data transmission based on at least one of the following: one or more component carriers, one or more bandwidth portions, one or more physical resource block ranges, and any combination thereof.

20. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein at least one of the determination of the network slice profile, the determination of the isolation level, the selection, and the transmission is performed by the base station.

21. The computer program product of claim 20, wherein the base station comprises at least one of the following communication components: one or more remote radio units, one or more centralized units, one or more distributed units, one or more control plane portions of the one or more centralized units, and one or more user plane portions of the one or more centralized units; and The core network includes at least one of the following communication components: one or more access and mobility functions, one or more user plane functions, and one or more session management functions.

22. The computer program product according to claim 21, wherein... At least one of the one or more user plane portions, one or more access and mobility functions, one or more user plane functions, and one or more session management functions of the one or more centralized units of one of the plurality of communication networks is logically isolated from at least one of the one or more user plane portions, one or more access and mobility functions, one or more user plane functions, and one or more session management functions of the one or more centralized units of another of the plurality of communication networks. One or more remote radio units, one or more distributed units, and one or more control plane portions of the one or more centralized units are common to all communication networks in the plurality of communication networks; The transmission includes using one or more communication networks to transmit data associated with the user equipment.

23. The computer program product according to claim 21, wherein... At least one of the one or more distributed units, one or more user plane portions of the one or more centralized units, one or more access and mobility functions, one or more user plane functions, and one or more session management functions of one of the plurality of communication networks is logically isolated from at least one of the one or more distributed units, one or more user plane portions of the one or more centralized units, one or more access and mobility functions, one or more user plane functions, and one or more session management functions of another of the plurality of communication networks; One or more control plane portions of the one or more centralized units, and one or more remote radio units, are common to all communication networks in the plurality of communication networks; The transmission mentioned above includes: One or more communication networks are used to transmit data associated with the user equipment.

24. The computer program product according to claim 21, wherein... At least one of the one or more remote radio units, the one or more distributed units, the one or more control plane portions of the one or more centralized units, the one or more user plane portions of the one or more centralized units, the one or more access and mobility functions, the one or more user plane functions, and the one or more session management functions of one of the plurality of communication networks is logically isolated from at least one of the one or more remote radio units, the one or more distributed units, the one or more control plane portions of the one or more centralized units, the one or more user plane portions of the one or more centralized units, the one or more access and mobility functions, the one or more user plane functions, and the one or more session management functions of another of the plurality of communication networks; The transmission mentioned above includes: One or more communication networks are used to transmit data associated with the user equipment.

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