A network upgrade method and related device

Abstract

The present application discloses a network upgrade method for reducing dropped calls of user equipment during a network device upgrade process. The method includes: a first network device sends a configuration request to a second network device according to a network upgrade instruction, the configuration request being used to determine a cell whose spectrum is shared between the first network device and the second network device; the first network device switches a user equipment in the first cell to the second cell, the first cell belonging to the first network device, the second cell belonging to the second network device, the spectrum-shared cells including the first cell and the second cell; the first network device performs a network upgrade, and the first network device sends an upgrade completion notification to the second network device, the upgrade completion notification being used to instruct the user equipment to switch to the first cell.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communications, and in particular to a network upgrade method and related devices. Background Art

[0002] In a wireless communication network, user equipment (UE) accesses the network through network equipment. In order to effectively manage and utilize network resources, the wireless communication network has established a complete network management and control mechanism.

[0003] In the prior art, when a network device undergoes a network upgrade, the network downloads a new software version from the operations support system (OSS). After the download is complete, the network device activates the new version. During the process of activating the new version, the access service of the network device is interrupted. Only after the new version of the network device is activated can the user device re-access the network.

[0004] During the upgrade of network equipment, service interruption causes call drops on user equipment connected to the network equipment, resulting in a long service interruption and poor continuity of user equipment access to the network equipment. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The embodiment of the present application provides a network upgrade method to reduce call drops of user equipment and improve the continuity of user equipment access to network equipment.

[0006] The first aspect of an embodiment of the present application provides a method for network upgrading, which is executed by a first network device, or may be executed by a component of the first network device, such as a processor, chip, or chip system of the first network device, or may be implemented by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the server functions. The method provided in the first aspect includes: the first network device sends a configuration request to the second network device according to a network upgrade instruction, and the configuration request is used to determine the cell whose spectrum is shared between the first network device and the second network device. The first network device switches the user equipment of the first cell to the second cell, the first cell belongs to the first network device, and the second cell belongs to the second network device, and the spectrum-shared cells include the first cell and the second cell. The first network device performs a network upgrade. The first network device sends an upgrade completion notification to the second network device, and the upgrade completion notification is used to instruct the user equipment to switch to the first cell.

[0007] In an embodiment of the present application, the first network device requests the second network device to configure a spectrum sharing cell before the network upgrade, and switches the user equipment connected to the first network device to the spectrum sharing cell of the second network device. The second network device supports the services of the first network device during the network device upgrade. When the network upgrade of the first network device is completed, the user equipment is switched back from the second network device to the first network device, reducing the user equipment's call drops during the network upgrade of the first network device, thereby improving the continuity of the user equipment's access to the network device.

[0008] In the embodiment of the present application, before a user equipment under a first network device switches from a cell to a second cell, the first network device does not need to measure the channel quality of the second network device, thereby improving the switching speed of the user equipment of the first network device to the second cell during the network upgrade process.

[0009] Based on the first aspect, in one possible implementation, during the process of the first network device switching the user equipment of the first cell to the second cell according to the spectrum sharing cell, the first network device can switch multiple user equipment from the first cell to the second cell at one time, and the first network device can also switch a single user equipment from the first cell to the second cell at one time.

[0010] In an embodiment of the present application, the first network device can switch multiple user devices at a time, thereby improving the switching efficiency of user devices during a network upgrade of the first network device. Based on the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the configuration request includes one or more of the following: a cell information list of the first network device, a bitmap list of idle resource blocks, and a spectrum sharing reason.

[0011] In the embodiment of the present application, the first network device can configure a request message to instruct the second network device to configure a spectrum sharing cell, thereby improving the feasibility of the solution.

[0012] Based on the first aspect, in one possible implementation, after the first network device sends a configuration request to the second network device, the second network device sends a response message to the configuration request to the first network device, where the response message to the configuration request includes a new cell information list, a spectrum sharing cell list, or an allocated RB resource list of the second network device.

[0013] Based on the first aspect, in one possible implementation, before a first network device switches a user equipment in a first cell to a second cell, the first network device sends a handover preparation request to the second network device, where the handover preparation request is used to determine preparation resources for handover of the user equipment. Specifically, the first network device may send the handover preparation requests for multiple user equipments via one handover preparation request message, or the first network device may send the handover preparation requests for multiple user equipments via multiple handover preparation request messages.

[0014] In the embodiment of the present application, the first network may send the handover preparation requests of multiple user equipments through one handover preparation request message, thereby saving the transmission overhead of the handover preparation request message.

[0015] Based on the first aspect, in a possible implementation, the handover preparation request includes one or more of the following: an XnAP ID of the user equipment, a context information list of the user equipment, or an ID of the second cell.

[0016] Based on the first aspect, in one possible implementation, a first network device includes a first centralized control unit CU and a first distributed control unit DU, and a second network device includes a second CU and a second DU. The first network device sends a configuration request to the second network device according to a network upgrade instruction, including the control plane of the first CU sending the configuration request to the control plane of the second CU. The first network device sends a handover preparation request to the second network device, including the control plane of the first CU sending the handover preparation request to the control plane of the second CU.

[0017] In the embodiment of the present application, the first network device and the second network device can have an architecture with CU and DU separated, or an architecture with no CU and DU separated, which improves the applicability of the network upgrade method.

[0018] Based on the first aspect, in a possible implementation, the first network device switches user equipment in the first cell to the second cell in batches, or the first network device switches all user equipment in the first cell to the second cell.

[0019] In the embodiment of the present application, the first network device can switch the user equipment of the first cell to the second cell in batches, and the first network device gradually shares the released spectrum with the second network device, thereby improving the utilization rate of the spectrum.

[0020] The second aspect of the embodiment of the present application provides a method for network upgrade, which is executed by a second network device, or can be executed by a component of the second network device, such as a processor, chip, or chip system of the second network device, or can be implemented by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the server functions. The method provided in the second aspect includes: the second network device receives a configuration request sent by the first network device, the configuration request is used to determine the cell for spectrum sharing between the first network device and the second network device, the spectrum shared cell includes a first cell and a second cell, the first cell belongs to the first network device, the second cell belongs to the second network device, and the second cell is used for the first network device to switch the user equipment of the first cell to the second cell when the network is upgraded. The second network device performs spectrum sharing according to the configuration request, and the second network device receives the upgrade completion notification sent by the first network device, and the upgrade completion notification is used to instruct the user equipment to switch to the first cell.

[0021] In the embodiment of the present application, the second network device supports the access of user devices under the first network device during the network device upgrade of the first network device. When the network upgrade of the first network device is completed, the user device is switched back from the second network device to the first network device, reducing the dropped calls of the user devices of the first network device during the network upgrade, thereby improving the continuity of the user device access to the network device.

[0022] Based on the second aspect, in a possible implementation, the configuration request sent by the first network device includes a cell information list of the first network device, a bitmap list of idle resource blocks, or a spectrum sharing reason. In the process of the second network device creating the spectrum sharing cell according to the configuration request, the second network device creates the spectrum sharing cell according to the bitmap list of idle resource blocks.

[0023] In the embodiment of the present application, the second network device constructs a spectrum sharing cell based on dynamic spectrum negotiation. The user equipment under the first network device can switch from the spectrum sharing cell of the first network device to the spectrum sharing cell of the second network device to construct a spectrum sharing cell and thus improve the utilization of the spectrum.

[0024] Based on the second aspect, in one possible implementation, after the second network device receives the configuration request sent by the first network device, the second network device sends a configuration response message to the first network device, where the configuration response message includes one or more of the following: a cell information list of the second network device, a list of spectrum sharing cells, or a cell resource block list of the second network device.

[0025] Based on the second aspect, in one possible implementation, the second network device performs spectrum sharing according to the configuration request, including the second network device sending a switching preparation request response message to the first network device, where the switching preparation request response message includes one or more of the following: the user device ID of the first network device, the user device ID of the second network device, or a switching resource list prepared by the second network device.

[0026] Based on the second aspect, in a possible implementation, the first network device includes a first centralized control unit CU and a first distributed control unit DU, and the second network device includes a second CU and a second DU. The second network device receives the configuration request sent by the first network device, including: the control plane of the second CU receives the configuration request from the control plane of the first CU. After the second network device receives the configuration request sent by the first network device, the control plane of the second CU sends a request to establish a spectrum sharing cell to the second DU, and the establishment request includes one or more of the following: an information list of the spectrum sharing cell or a bitmap list of idle resource blocks. The second DU sends a response message to the establishment request to the control plane of the second CU, and the response message includes: an information list of the spectrum sharing cell or a resource block list of the second CU.

[0027] Based on the second aspect, in one possible implementation, the second network device sends a configuration response message to the first network device, including: the control plane of the second CU sends a configuration response message to the control plane of the first CU, where the configuration response message includes one or more of the following: a cell information list of the control plane of the second CU, a list of spectrum sharing cells, or a list of cell resource blocks of the control plane of the second CU. The second network device sends a handover preparation request response message to the first network device, including: the control plane of the second CU sends a handover preparation request response message to the control plane of the first CU, where the response message includes one or more of the following: a user equipment ID of the first CU, a user equipment ID of the second CU, or a handover resource list prepared by the second CU.

[0028] In the embodiment of the present application, the first network device can switch the user equipment in the first cell to the second cell in batches, or can switch all the user equipment to the second network device at one time, thereby improving the applicability of the solution.

[0029] Based on the second aspect, in a possible implementation, after the network upgrade of the first network device is completed, the second network device switches multiple user equipments to the first cell through one handover.

[0030] In the embodiment of the present application, the second network device can switch multiple user equipments to the first cell through one switching, which improves the switching efficiency of the user equipment compared to one switching that can only switch a single user equipment.

[0031] A third aspect of an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which includes an interface unit and a processing unit.

[0032] The interface unit is configured to send a configuration request to the second network device according to the network upgrade instruction, where the configuration request is used to determine a cell for spectrum sharing between the first network device and the second network device;

[0033] The processing unit is configured to hand over a user equipment in a first cell to a second cell, where the first cell belongs to a first network device, the second cell belongs to a second network device, and the spectrum-sharing cells include the first cell and the second cell;

[0034] The processing unit is also used to perform network upgrades;

[0035] The receiving unit is further configured to send an upgrade completion notification to the second network device, where the upgrade completion notification is used to instruct the user equipment to switch to the first cell.

[0036] Based on the third aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the configuration request includes one or more of the following: a cell information list of the first network device, a bitmap list of idle resource blocks, and a spectrum sharing reason.

[0037] Based on the third aspect, in a possible implementation, the receiving unit is further configured to send a handover preparation request to the second network device, where the handover preparation request is used to determine preparation resources for handover of the user equipment.

[0038] Based on the third aspect, in a possible implementation, the handover preparation request includes one or more of the following: an XnAP ID of the user equipment, a context information list of the user equipment, or an ID of the second cell.

[0039] Based on the third aspect, in a possible implementation, the first network device includes a first centralized control unit CU and a first distributed control unit DU, the second network device includes a second CU and a second DU, the interface unit is specifically used to send a configuration request to the control plane of the second CU, and the interface unit is also specifically used to send a switching preparation request to the control plane of the second CU.

[0040] Based on the third aspect, in a possible implementation, the processing unit is specifically configured to switch user equipment in the first cell to the second cell in batches, or switch all user equipment in the first cell to the second cell.

[0041] A fourth aspect of an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which includes an interface unit and a processing unit.

[0042] An interface unit is configured to receive a configuration request sent by a first network device, the configuration request being used to determine a cell for spectrum sharing between the first network device and a second network device, the spectrum shared cells comprising a first cell and a second cell, the first cell belonging to the first network device and the second cell belonging to the second network device, the second cell being used by the first network device to hand over user equipment in the first cell to the second cell during a network upgrade. The processing unit performs spectrum sharing according to the configuration request. The interface unit is further configured to receive an upgrade completion notification sent by the first network device, the upgrade completion notification being used to instruct user equipment to hand over to the first cell.

[0043] Based on the fourth aspect, in one possible implementation, the interface unit is further used to send a configuration response message to the first network device, the configuration response message including one or more of the following: a cell information list of the second network device, a list of spectrum sharing cells, or a cell resource block list of the second network device.

[0044] Based on the fourth aspect, in one possible implementation, the processing unit is specifically used to send a switching preparation request response message to the first network device, and the switching preparation request response message includes one or more of the following: the user device ID of the first network device, the user device ID of the second network device, or the switching resource list prepared by the second network device.

[0045] Based on the fourth aspect, in one possible implementation, the first network device includes a first centralized control unit CU and a first distributed control unit DU, and the second network device includes a second CU and a second DU. The interface unit is specifically configured to receive a configuration request sent by a control plane of the first CU, and the interface unit is specifically configured to send a spectrum sharing cell establishment request to the second DU, where the establishment request includes one or more of the following: an information list of the spectrum sharing cell or a bitmap list of idle resource blocks.

[0046] The interface unit is further configured to send a response message of the establishment request to the control plane of the second CU, the response message including: spectrum sharing

[0047] The cell information list or the resource block list of the second CU.

[0048] Based on the fourth aspect, in one possible implementation, the interface unit is specifically configured to send a configuration response message to the control plane of the first CU, where the configuration response message includes one or more of the following: a cell information list of the control plane of the second CU, a list of spectrum sharing cells, or a cell resource block list of the control plane of the second CU. The interface unit is specifically configured to send a response message of a handover preparation request to the control plane of the first CU, where the response message includes one or more of the following: a user equipment ID of the first CU, a user equipment ID of the second CU, or a handover resource list prepared by the second CU.

[0049] A fifth aspect of an embodiment of the present application provides a computer device, including a processor, which is coupled to a memory, and the processor is used to store instructions. When the instructions are executed by the processor, the computer device executes the method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, or the computer device executes the method described in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0050] A sixth aspect of an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that when the instruction is executed, it enables the computer to execute the method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, or enables the computer to execute the method described in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0051] A seventh aspect of an embodiment of the present application is a computer program product, which includes instructions. When the instructions are executed, the computer implements the method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, or the computer implements the method described in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0052] It can be understood that the beneficial effects that can be achieved by any of the communication devices, computer-readable media or computer program products provided above can be referred to the beneficial effects in the corresponding methods, and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0053] Figure 1a A schematic diagram of a network system architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] Figure 1b A schematic diagram of a network upgrade of a network device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] Figure 1c A schematic diagram of dynamic spectrum sharing provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] Figure 2 A flowchart of a network upgrade method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] Figure 3 A flowchart of another network upgrade method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] Figure 4 A flowchart of another network upgrade method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] Figure 5 A flowchart of another network upgrade method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0060] Figure 6 A flowchart of another network upgrade method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0061] Figure 7 A schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0062] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of the structure of another computer device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0063] An embodiment of the present application provides a network upgrade method to improve the continuity of user equipment access to network equipment.

[0064] The terms "first," "second," "third," "fourth," and the like (if any) in the specification and claims of this application and in the accompanying drawings are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a particular order or sequential sequence. It should be understood that the terms used in this manner are interchangeable where appropriate so that the embodiments described herein can be implemented in an order other than that illustrated or described herein. In addition, the terms "including" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions, e.g., a process, method, system, product, or apparatus comprising a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units explicitly listed, but may include other steps or units not explicitly listed or inherent to such processes, methods, products, or apparatus.

[0065] In the embodiments of this application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of this application should not be interpreted as being preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete manner.

[0066] Below, some terms in this application are explained to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

[0067] User equipment (UE), also known as terminal equipment, is a device with wireless transceiver capabilities. The terminal equipment can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; it can also be deployed on the water (such as ships, etc.); it can also be deployed in the air (for example, on airplanes, drones, balloons and satellites, etc.). The terminal device can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver capabilities, a virtual reality terminal device, an augmented reality terminal device, a wireless terminal device in industrial control, a wireless terminal device in unmanned driving, a wireless terminal device in telemedicine, a wireless terminal device in a smart grid, a wireless terminal device in transportation safety, a wireless terminal device in a smart city, or a wireless terminal device in a smart home. The terminal device can also be fixed or mobile. The embodiments of the present application are not limited to this.

[0068] The network device may be an access network device, which may also be referred to as a radio access network (RAN) device, and is a device that provides wireless communication functions for user equipment. Access network devices include, for example, but are not limited to: next-generation base stations (gNBs) in 5G, evolved node Bs (eNBs), baseband units (BBUs), transmitting and receiving points (TRPs), transmitting points (TPs), base stations in future mobile communication systems, or access points in WiFi systems. The access network device may also be a wireless controller, a centralized unit (CU), and / or a distributed unit (DU) in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario, or the network device may be a relay station, an on-board device, or a network device in a future evolved PLMN network.

[0069] The user equipment can communicate with multiple access network devices of different technologies. For example, the network device can communicate with an access network device that supports long term evolution (LTE), can communicate with an access network device that supports 5G, and can also communicate with an access network device that supports LTE and an access network device that supports 5G at the same time. The embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0070] See also Figure 1a , Figure 1a This is a schematic diagram of a possible network architecture applicable to embodiments of the present application, including a user device 110 and an access network device 120. User device 110 and access network device 120 can communicate via a Uu air interface, which can be understood as a universal UE-to-network interface. Uu air interface transmission includes uplink and downlink transmission.

[0071] For example, uplink transmission refers to the user equipment 110 sending uplink information to the access network device 120. The uplink information may include one or more of uplink data information, uplink control information, and a reference signal (RS). The channel used to transmit uplink information is called an uplink channel, and the uplink channel may be a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) or a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH). PUSCH is used to carry uplink data, and uplink data may also be called uplink data information. PUCCH is used to carry uplink control information (UCI) fed back by the user equipment. UCI may include channel state information (CSI), acknowledgement (ACK) / negative acknowledgement (NACK), etc.

[0072] For example, downlink transmission refers to the access network device 120 sending downlink information to the user equipment 110. The downlink information may include one or more of downlink data information, downlink control information and downlink reference signals. The downlink reference signal may be a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) or a phase tracking reference signal (PTRS). The channel used to transmit downlink information is called a downlink channel, and the downlink channel may be a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). The PDCCH is used to carry downlink control information (DCI), and the PDSCH is used to carry downlink data. The downlink data may also be called downlink data information.

[0073] Optional, in Figure 1aThe illustrated network architecture may also include a core network device 130. User equipment 110 may be wirelessly connected to access network device 120, and access network device 120 may be wired or wirelessly connected to core network device 130. Core network device 130 and access network device 120 may be independent, distinct physical devices, or they may be the same physical device that integrates all or part of the logical functions of core network device 130 and access network device 120.

[0074] It should be noted that in Figure 1a In the network architecture shown, the user equipment 110 may be fixed or mobile, without limitation. Figure 1a The network architecture shown may also include other network devices, such as wireless relay devices and wireless backhaul devices, without limitation. Figure 1a In the illustrated architecture, there is no limit on the number of user devices, access network devices, and core network devices.

[0075] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network, the Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, the fifth generation (5G) mobile communication system, and future mobile communication systems.

[0076] See also Figure 1b , Figure 1b This is a schematic diagram of a network device upgrade provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 1b As shown, when a network device is performing a network upgrade, the network device downloads a new version from the OSS. After the network device downloads the new version, the network device replaces the old version with the new version, specifically activating the new version. During the process of activating the new version of the network device, all UEs connected to the network device will drop calls, and the network device's services will be interrupted until the new version of the network device is successfully activated and the UE reconnects to the network device. During the activation of the network device, the UE's service connection is interrupted. For example, the service interruption during the process of activating the new version of the network device is 300 seconds. The network device upgrade method provided in the embodiment of the present application is used to solve the problem of service interruption during the above-mentioned network device upgrade process.

[0077] See also Figure 1c , Figure 1c A schematic diagram of a cell dynamic spectrum sharing mechanism is provided for an embodiment of the present application. Figure 1c Figure (a) shows static spectrum allocation, and Figure (b) shows dynamic spectrum sharing. In Figure (a), different cells in the wireless network are allocated independent spectrum resources. Even if the first cell has a very light load, the second cell cannot use the first cell's spectrum resources, thus wasting the first cell's spectrum resources. In Figure (b), the first and second cells can dynamically share spectrum, that is, they can share the same spectrum, which is dynamically allocated according to the load.

[0078] Taking the time division duplex (TDD) system as an example, the cell dynamic spectrum sharing mechanism provided in the embodiment of the present application includes: partial or full re-coverage of the two cells, the two cells share a continuous spectrum, the control plane channel resources of the two cells are statically allocated and staggered, downlink channels such as SSB or CSI-RS, uplink channels such as PRACH or SRS, and the user plane channel resources of the two cells are dynamically shared through negotiation between the two cells to complete real-time or non-real-time allocation of spectrum.

[0079] In an embodiment of the present application, a dynamic spectrum sharing mechanism is provided, whereby a first network device and a second network device can share the same spectrum. The use of the spectrum is dynamically allocated as the load of the first network device and the second network device changes, thereby improving spectrum utilization.

[0080] See also Figure 2 , Figure 2 This is a flow chart of a network upgrade method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method is executed by a network device. Figure 2 The first network device and the second network device shown in FIG. 4 may be Figure 1a Access network equipment in the network architecture shown. Figure 2 The method shown may include the following steps:

[0081] 201. A first network device sends a configuration request to a second network device according to a network upgrade instruction, where the configuration request is used to determine a cell for spectrum sharing between the first network device and the second network device.

[0082] After receiving the network upgrade instruction, the first network device determines the second network device that supports the network upgrade of the first network device. Specifically, the first network device determines the second network device according to the instruction message sent by the OSS, or the first network device determines the second network device according to multi-node arbitration.

[0083] A first network device sends a configuration request to a second network device. The configuration request is used to determine a spectrum sharing cell between the first network device and the second network device. The configuration request includes a cell information list of the first network device, a free resource block bitmap list, and a spectrum sharing reason. The spectrum sharing cell includes a first cell of the first network device and a second cell of the second network device.

[0084] The second network device constructs one or more spectrum sharing cells according to the configuration request. Specifically, the second network device creates a spectrum sharing cell according to the bitmap list of idle resource blocks in the configuration request message. The spectrum sharing cell supports one or more cells under the first network device to perform spectrum sharing. After the second network device receives the configuration request, the second network device sends a configuration request response to the first network device. The configuration request response message includes a new cell information list (new cell information list) of the second network device, a spectrum sharing cell list (frequency share cell list), and an allocated RB resource list (allocated RB resource list).

[0085] After the cell of the first network device determines the spectrum sharing cell of the second network device, the first network device may initiate handover of the user equipment. The user equipment initiating handover may be all user equipment or part of the user equipment, without specific limitation.

[0086] In the embodiment of the present application, the second network device constructs a spectrum sharing cell based on dynamic spectrum negotiation. The user equipment under the first network device can switch from the spectrum sharing cell of the first network device to the spectrum sharing cell of the second network device to construct a spectrum sharing cell and thus improve the utilization of the spectrum.

[0087] 202. The first network device sends a handover preparation request to the second network device, where the handover preparation request is used to determine preparation resources for handover of the user equipment.

[0088] A first network device sends a handover preparation request message to a second network device. The handover preparation request is used to determine preparation resources for user equipment handover. The handover preparation request message includes the first network device's user equipment XnAP ID list (UEXnAP ID list), a user equipment context information list (UE context information list), or target cell information (target cell information). The target cell includes the ID of a second cell to be handed over to the second network device. Specifically, the first network device may send handover preparation requests for multiple user equipment via one handover preparation request message. The first network device may send handover preparation requests for multiple user equipment via multiple handover preparation request messages.

[0089] In the embodiment of the present application, the first network may send the handover preparation requests of multiple user equipments through one handover preparation request message, thereby saving the transmission overhead of the handover preparation request message.

[0090] The second cell of the second network device prepares resources for the user equipment to be handed over by the first network device.

[0091] The second network device sends a handover preparation request response to the first network device, where the handover preparation request response includes a user equipment XnAP ID list of the first network device, a user equipment XnAP ID list of the second network device, and a user equipment handover resource list (UE handover resource list).

[0092] 203. The first network device switches the user equipment in the first cell to the second cell according to the spectrum sharing cell.

[0093] The first network device switches the user equipment of the first cell to the second cell according to the spectrum sharing cell. Specifically, the first network device can switch all the user equipment of the first cell to the second cell of the second network device at one time, and the first network device can switch the user equipment of the first cell to the second cell in batches.

[0094] In one possible implementation, during the process of the first network device switching the user equipment of the first cell to the second cell according to the spectrum sharing cell, the first network device can switch multiple user equipment from the first cell to the second cell in one switching, and the first network device can also switch only a single user equipment from the first cell to the second cell in one switching, without specific limitation.

[0095] In the embodiment of the present application, the spectrum sharing cell of the first network device switches the user equipment of the first cell to the second cell, so the first network device does not need to measure the channel quality of the second network device, thereby improving the switching speed of the user equipment of the first network device to the second cell during the network upgrade process.

[0096] 204. The first network device performs a network upgrade.

[0097] After the first network device switches all user devices of the first network device to the second network device, the first network device performs version upgrade.

[0098] 205. The first network device sends an upgrade completion notification to the second network device, where the upgrade completion notification is used to instruct the user equipment in the second cell to switch to the first cell.

[0099] After the network upgrade of the first network device is completed, the first network device sends an upgrade completion notification to the second network device, where the upgrade completion notification is used to instruct the user equipment in the second cell to switch to the first cell, and the second network device sends an upgrade completion notification response to the first network device.

[0100] After receiving the upgrade completion notification sent by the first network device, the second network device triggers the switching of the user equipment, and the second network device sends a switching preparation request message to the first network device. The switching preparation request message includes the user equipment XnAP ID list, user equipment context information list or target cell information of the second network device, and the target cell information includes the ID of the first cell of the first network device to be switched.

[0101] After the first network device receives the switching preparation request message sent by the first network device, the first network device sends a switching preparation request response to the second network device. The switching preparation request response includes the user equipment XnAP ID of the second network device, the user equipment XnAP ID under the first network device, or the switching resources prepared by the first network device for the user equipment.

[0102] The user equipment in the second cell of the second network device switches back to the first cell of the first network device. After the user equipment switches back to the first cell, the second network device releases the spectrum sharing cell that supports the first network device to perform network upgrade.

[0103] In an embodiment of the present application, the first network device requests the second network device to configure a spectrum sharing cell before the network upgrade, and switches the user equipment connected to the first network device to the spectrum sharing cell of the second network device. The second network device supports the services of the first network device during the network device upgrade. When the network upgrade of the first network device is completed, the user equipment is switched back from the second network device to the first network device, reducing the call drops of the user equipment on the first network device during the network upgrade, thereby improving the continuity of the user equipment's access to the network device.

[0104] In the embodiment of the present application, the first network device and the second network device can be a non-DU-CU separation architecture or a DU-CU separation architecture. When the first network device switches the user equipment, it can switch all at once or in batches. Figures 3 to 6 The above four situations are introduced respectively in the following implementation columns.

[0105] See also Figure 3 , Figure 3 This is a flow chart of a one-time switching of user equipment in a non-DU-CU structure provided in an embodiment of the present application. In this embodiment, the first network device is gNB1, and the second device is gNB2. Figure 3 A process of the illustrated embodiment includes:

[0106] 301. gNB1 receives the upgrade request.

[0107] gNB1 receives the network upgrade request and determines gNB2 to support the network upgrade. The manner in which gNB1 determines gNB2 to support the network upgrade includes OSS sending an indication message to gNB1, or multiple nodes such as gNB1 and gNB2 arbitrate to determine.

[0108] 302. gNB1 sends a configuration request to gNB2.

[0109] gNB1 sends a configuration request message to gNB2. The configuration request message is used to determine the spectrum sharing cell. The configuration request message includes a cell information list under gNB1, an idle RB resource bitmap list, or a reason for spectrum sharing. The cell information list is, for example, a cell ID list.

[0110] 303.gNB2 configures a spectrum sharing cell.

[0111] After receiving the configuration request message, gNB2 constructs one or more spectrum sharing cells based on the content of the configuration request message. The spectrum sharing cell supports user equipment access from one or more cells under gNB1, thereby performing spectrum sharing.

[0112] 304. gNB2 sends a configuration request response to gNB1.

[0113] After gNB2 establishes a spectrum sharing cell, it sends a configuration request response message to gNB1. The configuration request response message includes a list of cells established under gNB2, a list of spectrum sharing cells, or a list of RB resources allocated to cells under gNB2. The spectrum sharing cell list includes a list of sharing relationships between cells under gNB2 and cells under gNB1.

[0114] 305. gNB1 initiates handover of all UEs of gNB1.

[0115] After gNB1 determines the spectrum sharing cell under gNB2, it can initiate user equipment handover in the cell under gNB1 to the spectrum sharing cell under gNB2 without gNB1 measurement. gNB1 can handover some user equipment in batches or all user equipment at once.

[0116] 306. gNB1 sends a handover preparation request to gNB2.

[0117] gNB1 sends a handover preparation request message to gNB2. The handover preparation request message includes the XnAP ID of the user equipment to be handed over under gNB1, the context information of the user equipment to be handed over under gNB1, and the information of the target cell to be handed over under gNB2, where the information of the target cell is the cell ID.

[0118] 307. gNB2 prepares handover resources for the user equipment in gNB1’s cell.

[0119] gNB2 prepares handover resources for user equipment that is to be handed over from the cell of gNB1.

[0120] 308. gNB2 sends a Handover Prepare Request Response to gNB1.

[0121] gNB2 sends a handover preparation request response message to gNB1. The handover preparation request response message includes the XnAP ID list of the user equipment to be handed over by gNB1, the XnAP ID list of the user equipment to be handed over by gNB2, and the handover resources allocated by gNB2 to the user equipment.

[0122] 309. The user equipment in the cell of gNB1 switches to the cell of gNB2.

[0123] All user equipment connected to the cell of gNB1 are switched to the cell of gNB2.

[0124] 310.gNB1 network upgrade.

[0125] After all user devices under gNB1 are switched to gNB2, gNB1 performs a network upgrade. After the upgrade is complete, gNB1 needs to notify gNB2 to switch users back to gNB1.

[0126] 311. gNB1 sends an upgrade completion notification to gNB2.

[0127] gNB1 sends an upgrade completion notification to gNB2, which instructs the user equipment under gNB2 to switch to gNB1.

[0128] 312. gNB2 sends an upgrade completion notification response to gNB1.

[0129] gNB2 sends an Upgrade Completion Notification Response message to gNB1.

[0130] 313. gNB2 initiates a UE handover in the gNB2 cell.

[0131] After gNB2 sends the upgrade completion notification response message to gNB1, it can initiate user equipment handover in cells under gNB2 to gNB1 without requiring gNB2 to perform measurements. gNB2 can handover some user equipment in batches or all user equipment at once.

[0132] 314. gNB2 sends a handover prepare request to gNB1.

[0133] gNB2 sends a handover preparation request message to gNB1. The handover preparation request message includes a list of XnAP IDs of user equipment to be handed over by gNB2, a list of context information of user equipment to be handed over by gNB2, and information of the target cell to be handed over under gNB1, where the information of the target cell includes the cell ID.

[0134] 315. gNB1 prepares handover resources for the user equipment in gNB2's cell.

[0135] gNB1 prepares handover resources for the UE that will be handed over from the cell of gNB2.

[0136] 316. gNB1 sends a Handover Prepare Request Response to gNB2.

[0137] gNB1 sends a handover preparation request response message to gNB2. The handover preparation request response message includes the XnAP ID list of the user equipment to be handed over under gNB2, the XnAP ID list of the user equipment to be handed over under gNB1, and the handover resource list prepared by gNB1 for the user equipment.

[0138] 317. The user equipment in the cell of gNB2 switches to the cell of gNB1.

[0139] gNB2 controls the handover of UEs in gNB2's cell to gNB1's cell. After the UEs are handed back to gNB1, gNB2 releases the spectrum sharing cell that supports gNB1's upgrade.

[0140] In the embodiment of the present application, gNB1 requests gNB2 to configure a spectrum sharing cell before the network upgrade, and switches all user equipment connected to gNB1 to the spectrum sharing cell of gNB2 at one time. gNB2 supports gNB1's services during the network equipment upgrade. When the gNB1 network upgrade is completed, the user equipment is switched back from gNB2 to gNB1, reducing user equipment call drops during the gNB1 network upgrade, thereby improving the continuity of user equipment access to network equipment.

[0141] See also Figure 4 , Figure 4 This is a flow chart of the non-DU-CU structure batch switching process for user equipment provided in the embodiment of the present application. In this embodiment, the first network device is gNB1, and the second device is gNB2. Figure 3 A process of the illustrated embodiment includes:

[0142] 401. gNB1 receives the upgrade request.

[0143] 402. gNB1 sends a configuration request to gNB2.

[0144] 403.gNB2 configures a spectrum sharing cell.

[0145] 404. gNB2 sends a configuration request response to gNB1.

[0146] In the embodiment of the present application, steps 401 to 404 are the same as those in the above embodiment. Figure 3 The methods performed by gNB1 and gNB2 in steps 301 to 304 of the illustrated embodiment are similar and are not repeated here.

[0147] 405. gNB1 initiates the first batch of UE handovers for gNB1.

[0148] After gNB1 determines the cell with spectrum sharing under gNB2, it determines the first batch of UEs that can be handed over based on the shared spectrum and initiates batch handover of the selected first batch of UEs without requiring gNB1 to perform measurements.

[0149] 406. gNB1 sends a Handover Prepare Request to gNB2.

[0150] 407. gNB2 prepares handover resources for the first batch of UEs in gNB1’s cell.

[0151] 408. gNB2 sends a Handover Prepare Request Response to gNB1.

[0152] 409. The first batch of user equipment in gNB1's cell is handed over to gNB2's cell.

[0153] In the embodiment of the present application, steps 406 to 409 are the same as those in the above Figure 3 The methods performed by gNB1 and gNB2 in steps 306 to 309 of the illustrated embodiment are similar and are not repeated here.

[0154] 410.gNB1 releases the shared spectrum.

[0155] After the first batch of user equipments are switched, gNB1 shares the spectrum released by the first batch of user equipments with gNB2.

[0156] 411. gNB1 sends a new spectrum sharing notification to gNB2.

[0157] gNB1 sends a new spectrum sharing notification message to gNB2. The new spectrum sharing notification message includes a cell information list under gNB2 or a new idle RB resource bitmap list. The cell information list includes a cell ID list.

[0158] 412. gNB2 sends a new spectrum sharing notification response to gNB1.

[0159] gNB2 sends a new spectrum sharing notification response message to gNB1. The new spectrum sharing notification response message includes a list of cell information under gNB2 or a list of RB resources allocated to cells under gNB2.

[0160] 413. gNB1 initiates the second batch of UE handovers on gNB1.

[0161] gNB1 determines the second batch of user equipment that can be switched based on the cells shared with the new spectrum, and initiates batch switching of the selected second batch of user equipment without requiring gNB1 to perform measurements.

[0162] 414. gNB1 sends a Handover Prepare Request to gNB2.

[0163] 415. gNB2 prepares handover resources for the second batch of UEs in gNB1’s cell.

[0164] 416. gNB2 sends a Handover Prepare Request Response to gNB1.

[0165] 417. The second batch of user equipment in gNB1's cell is switched to gNB2's cell.

[0166] In the embodiment of the present application, steps 414 to 417 are the same as those in the above Figure 3The methods performed by gNB1 and gNB2 in steps 306 to 309 of the illustrated embodiment are similar and are not repeated here.

[0167] It can be understood that steps 413 to 417 can be repeated until all user equipment under gNB1 are switched to the cell of gNB2.

[0168] 418.gNB1 network is undergoing network upgrade.

[0169] 419. gNB1 sends an upgrade completion notification to gNB2.

[0170] 420. gNB2 sends an upgrade completion notification response to gNB1.

[0171] 421. gNB2 initiates a UE handover in the gNB2 cell.

[0172] 422. gNB2 sends a handover preparation request to gNB1.

[0173] 423. gNB1 prepares handover resources for the user equipment in gNB2's cell.

[0174] 424. gNB1 sends a Handover Prepare Request Response to gNB2.

[0175] 425. The user equipment in the cell of gNB2 switches to the cell of gNB1.

[0176] In the embodiment of the present application, steps 418 to 425 are the same as those in the above Figure 3 The methods performed by gNB1 and gNB2 in steps 310 to 317 of the illustrated embodiment are similar and are not repeated here.

[0177] In the embodiment of the present application, gNB1 requests gNB2 to configure a spectrum sharing cell before the network upgrade, and switches the user equipment connected to gNB1 to the spectrum sharing cell of gNB2 in batches. gNB2 supports gNB1's services during the network equipment upgrade. When the gNB1 network upgrade is completed, the user equipment is switched back from gNB2 to gNB1, reducing the user equipment's call drops during the gNB1 network upgrade, thereby improving the continuity of the user equipment's access to the network equipment.

[0178] See also Figure 5 , Figure 5 This is a flow chart of one-time switching of user equipment under the DU-CU separation structure provided in the embodiment of the present application. In this embodiment, the first network device is CU-CP1, and the second device is CU-CP2. Figure 3 A process of the illustrated embodiment includes:

[0179] 501. CU-CP1 receives the upgrade request.

[0180] CU-CP1 receives the network upgrade request and determines CU-CP2 that supports the network upgrade. CU-CP1 determines CU-CP2 that supports the network upgrade by, for example, OSS sending an indication message to CU-CP1 or by arbitration between multiple nodes such as CU-CP1 and CU-CP2.

[0181] 502. CU-CP1 sends a configuration request to CU-CP2.

[0182] CU-CP1 sends a configuration request message to CU-CP2, which is used to determine the spectrum sharing cell. The configuration request message includes a cell information list under CU-CP1, an idle RB resource bitmap list, or a reason for spectrum sharing, where the cell information list is such as a cell ID list.

[0183] 503. CU-CP2 sends a spectrum sharing cell establishment request to DU2.

[0184] CU-CP2 sends a spectrum sharing cell establishment request message to DU2. The spectrum sharing cell establishment request message includes a spectrum sharing cell information list or an idle RB resource bitmap list to be constructed under CU-CP2, where the spectrum sharing cell information list includes a spectrum sharing cell ID list.

[0185] 504. DU2 sends a spectrum sharing cell establishment request response to CU-CP2.

[0186] DU2 allocates resources to one or more spectrum sharing cells based on the received idle RB resource bitmap list. After the allocation is completed, DU2 sends a spectrum sharing cell establishment request response message to CU-CP2. The spectrum sharing cell establishment request response message includes a spectrum sharing cell information list to be constructed under CU-CP2 or a list of RB resources allocated to cells under CU-CP2, where the spectrum sharing cell information list includes a spectrum sharing cell ID list.

[0187] 505. CU-CP2 sends a configuration request response to CU-CP1.

[0188] CU-CP2 sends a configuration request response message to CU-CP1. The configuration request response message includes a list of cell information constructed under CU-CP2, a list of spectrum sharing cells, or a list of RB resources allocated to cells under CU-CP2. The list of spectrum sharing cells includes a list of sharing relationships between cells under CU-CP2 and cells under CU-CP1.

[0189] 506. CU-CP1 initiates handover of all user equipments of CU-CP1.

[0190] After CU-CP1 determines the spectrum sharing cell under CU-CP2, it can initiate user equipment switching in the cell under CU-CP1 to the spectrum sharing cell under CU-CP2 without the need for CU-CP1 measurement. CU-CP1 can switch some user equipment in batches or all user equipment at once.

[0191] 507. CU-CP1 sends a handover preparation request to CU-CP2.

[0192] CU-CP1 sends a handover preparation request message to CU-CP2. The handover preparation request message includes the XnAP ID of the user equipment to be switched under CU-CP1, the context information of the user equipment to be switched under gNB1, and the information of the target cell to be switched under CU-CP2, where the information of the target cell is the cell ID.

[0193] 508. CU-CP2 sends a handover resource preparation request to DU2.

[0194] CU-CP2 sends a handover resource preparation request message to DU2. The handover resource preparation request message includes a context information list of the user equipment to be handed over or information of the target cell under CU-CP2 to be handed over. The target cell information includes the cell ID.

[0195] 509. DU2 sends a handover resource preparation request response to CU-CP2.

[0196] After DU2 completes the handover resource preparation, DU2 sends a handover resource preparation request response to CU-CP2. The handover resource preparation request response includes the handover resources prepared by DU2 for the UE.

[0197] 510. CU-CP2 sends a handover preparation request response to CU-CP1.

[0198] CU-CP2 sends a handover preparation request response message to CU-CP1, which includes the XnAP ID list of the user equipment to be switched by CU-CP1, the XnAP ID list of the user equipment to be switched by CU-CP2, and the handover resources allocated by CU-CP2 to the user equipment.

[0199] 511. The user equipment in the cell of CU-CP1 is handed over to the cell of CU-CP2.

[0200] All user equipments connected to the cell of CU-CP1 are handed over to the cell of CU-CP2.

[0201] 512.CU-CP1 network performs network upgrade.

[0202] After all user devices under CU1 and DU1 are switched to CU2 and DU2, CU1 and DU1 perform network upgrades. After the upgrade is complete, CU1 and DU1 need to be notified to switch user devices back to CU2 and DU2.

[0203] 513. CU-CP1 sends an upgrade completion notification to CU-CP2.

[0204] CU-CP1 sends an upgrade completion notification to CU-CP2, where the upgrade completion notification instructs the user equipment under CU-CP2 to switch to CU-CP1.

[0205] 514. CU-CP2 sends an upgrade completion notification response to CU-CP1.

[0206] CU-CP2 sends an upgrade completion notification response message to CU-CP1.

[0207] 515. CU-CP2 initiates handover of user equipment in the cell of CU-CP2.

[0208] After CU-CP2 sends the upgrade completion notification response message to CU-CP1, it can initiate user equipment switching of the cell under CU-CP2 to CU-CP1 without the need for CU-CP2 measurement. CU-CP2 can switch some user equipment in batches or all user equipment at once.

[0209] 516. CU-CP2 sends a handover preparation request to CU-CP1.

[0210] CU-CP2 sends a handover preparation request message to CU-CP1, which includes a list of XnAP IDs of user equipment to be switched by CU-CP2, a list of context information of user equipment to be switched by CU-CP2, and information of the target cell to be switched to under CU-CP1, where the information of the target cell includes a cell ID.

[0211] 517. CU-CP1 sends a handover resource preparation request to DU1.

[0212] CU-CP1 sends a handover resource preparation request message to DU1. The handover resource preparation request message includes a context information list of user equipment to be handed over by CU-CP2 or information of a target cell to be handed over under CU-CP1. The information of the target cell includes a target cell ID.

[0213] 518. DU1 sends a handover resource preparation request response to CU-CP1.

[0214] After DU1 completes the handover resource preparation, DU1 sends a handover resource preparation request response message to CU-CP1. The handover resource preparation request response message includes the handover resources prepared by DU1 for the user equipment.

[0215] 519. CU-CP1 sends a handover preparation request response to CU-CP2.

[0216] CU-CP1 sends a switching preparation request response message to CU-CP2. The switching preparation request response message includes the XnAP ID list of the user equipment to be switched under CU-CP2, the XnAP ID list of the user equipment to be switched under CU-CP1, or the switching resource list prepared by CU-CP1 for the user equipment.

[0217] 520. The user equipment in the cell of CU-CP2 is handed over to the cell of CU-CP1.

[0218] The user equipment in the cell of CU-CP2 is switched to the cell of CU-CP1. After the user equipment is switched back to CU-CP1, CU-CP2 releases the spectrum sharing cell that supports the upgrade of CU-CP1.

[0219] In an embodiment of the present application, CU-CP1 requests CU-CP2 to configure a spectrum sharing cell before the network upgrade, and switches all user devices connected to CU-CP1 to the spectrum sharing cell of CU-CP2 at one time. CU-CP2 supports CU-CP1 in performing services during the network equipment upgrade. When the CU-CP1 network upgrade is completed, the user equipment is switched back from CU-CP2 to CU-CP1, reducing the number of user device calls dropped during the network upgrade of CU-CP1, thereby improving the continuity of user equipment access to network equipment.

[0220] See also Figure 6 , Figure 6 This is a flow chart of batch switching of user equipment under the DU-CU separation structure provided in the embodiment of the present application. In this embodiment, the first network device is CU-CP1, and the second device is CU-CP2. Figure 6 A process of the illustrated embodiment includes:

[0221] 601. CU-CP1 receives the upgrade request.

[0222] 602. CU-CP1 sends a configuration request to CU-CP2.

[0223] 603. CU-CP2 sends a spectrum sharing cell establishment request to DU2.

[0224] 604. DU2 sends a spectrum sharing cell establishment request response to CU-CP2.

[0225] 605. CU-CP2 sends a configuration request response to CU-CP1.

[0226] In the embodiment of the present application, steps 601 to 605 are the same as those in the above Figure 5 The methods performed by CU-CP1 and CU-CP2 in steps 501 to 505 of the illustrated embodiment are similar and will not be described again here.

[0227] 606. CU-CP1 initiates the first batch of user equipment switching of CU-CP1.

[0228] After CU-CP1 determines the cell with spectrum sharing under CU-CP2, it determines the number of user equipments that can be switched and the corresponding first batch of user equipments based on the already shared spectrum, and initiates batch switching of the selected first batch of user equipments without the need for CU-CP1 measurement.

[0229] 607. CU-CP1 sends a handover preparation request to CU-CP2.

[0230] 608. CU-CP2 sends a handover resource preparation request to DU2.

[0231] 609. DU2 sends a handover resource preparation request response to CU-CP2.

[0232] 610. CU-CP2 sends a handover preparation request response to CU-CP1.

[0233] 611. The first batch of user equipments in the cell of CU-CP1 are handed over to the cell of CU-CP2.

[0234] In the embodiment of the present application, steps 607 to 611 are the same as those in the above Figure 5 The methods performed by CU-CP1 and CU-CP2 in steps 507 to 511 of the illustrated embodiment are similar and will not be described again here.

[0235] 612.CU-CP1 releases shared spectrum.

[0236] After the first batch of user equipments are switched, CU-CP1 shares the spectrum released by the first batch of user equipments with CU-CP2.

[0237] 613. CU-CP1 sends a new spectrum sharing notification to CU-CP2.

[0238] CU-CP1 sends a new spectrum sharing notification message to CU-CP2, where the new spectrum sharing notification message includes a cell information list under CU-CP2 or a new idle RB resource bitmap list, wherein the cell information list includes a cell ID list.

[0239] 614. CU-CP2 sends a new spectrum configuration request to DU2.

[0240] CU-CP2 sends a new spectrum configuration request message to DU2. The new spectrum configuration request message includes a cell information list under CU-CP2 or a new shareable idle RB resource bitmap list.

[0241] 615. DU2 sends a new spectrum configuration request response to CU-CP2.

[0242] DU2 sends a new spectrum configuration request response message to CU-CP2. The new spectrum configuration request response message includes a cell information list under CU-CP2 or a RB resource list allocated by DU2.

[0243] 616. CU-CP2 sends a new spectrum sharing notification response to CU-CP1.

[0244] CU-CP2 sends a new spectrum sharing notification response message to CU-CP1. The new spectrum sharing notification response message includes a cell information list under CU-CP2 or a list of RB resources allocated to DU2.

[0245] 617. CU-CP1 initiates the second batch of user equipment switching of CU-CP1.

[0246] CU-CP1 determines a second batch of user equipments that can be handed over based on the cells shared with the new spectrum, and initiates batch handover of the selected second batch of user equipments without requiring CU-CP1 to perform measurements.

[0247] 618. CU-CP1 sends a handover preparation request to CU-CP2.

[0248] 619. CU-CP2 sends a handover resource preparation request to DU2.

[0249] 620. DU2 sends a handover resource preparation request response to CU-CP2.

[0250] 621. CU-CP2 sends a handover preparation request response to CU-CP1.

[0251] 622. The second batch of user equipments in the cell of CU-CP1 are handed over to the cell of CU-CP2.

[0252] In the embodiment of the present application, steps 618 to 622 are the same as those in the above Figure 5 The methods performed by CU-CP1 and CU-CP2 in steps 507 to 511 of the illustrated embodiment are similar and will not be described again here.

[0253] It can be understood that steps 618 to 622 can be repeatedly performed until all user equipments under CU-CP1 are switched to the cell of CU-CP2.

[0254] 623.CU-CP1 network performs network upgrade.

[0255] 624. CU-CP1 sends an upgrade completion notification to CU-CP2.

[0256] 625. CU-CP2 sends an upgrade completion notification response to CU-CP1.

[0257] 626. CU-CP2 initiates handover of user equipment in the cell of CU-CP2.

[0258] 627. CU-CP2 sends a handover preparation request to CU-CP1.

[0259] 628. CU-CP1 sends a handover resource preparation request to DU1.

[0260] 629. DU1 sends a handover resource preparation request response to CU-CP1.

[0261] 630. CU-CP1 sends a handover preparation request response to CU-CP2.

[0262] 631. The user equipment in the cell of CU-CP2 is handed over to the cell of CU-CP1.

[0263] In the embodiment of the present application, steps 623 to 631 are the same as those in the above Figure 5 The methods performed by CU-CP1 and CU-CP2 in steps 512 to 520 of the illustrated embodiment are similar and are not described again here.

[0264] In an embodiment of the present application, CU-CP1 requests CU-CP2 to configure a spectrum sharing cell before the network upgrade, and switches the user equipment connected to CU-CP1 to the spectrum sharing cell of CU-CP2 in batches. CU-CP2 supports CU-CP1 in performing services during the network equipment upgrade. When the CU-CP1 network upgrade is completed, the user equipment is switched back from CU-CP2 to CU-CP1, reducing the number of user equipment calls dropped during the network upgrade of CU-CP1, thereby improving the continuity of user equipment access to network equipment.

[0265] The network upgrade method provided by the embodiment of the present application is introduced above. The relevant devices involved in the embodiment of the present application are introduced below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0266] See also Figure 7 , Figure 7This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device is used to implement the various steps performed by the first network device or the second network device in the above embodiments, such as Figure 7 As shown, the communication device 700 includes an interface unit 701 and a processing unit 702 .

[0267] In one embodiment, the communication device 700 is used to implement the steps performed by the first network device. Specifically, the communication device 700 includes:

[0268] The interface unit 701 is configured to send a configuration request to the second network device according to the network upgrade instruction, where the configuration request is used to determine a cell for spectrum sharing between the first network device and the second network device;

[0269] The processing unit 702 is configured to hand over a user equipment in a first cell to a second cell, where the first cell belongs to a first network device, the second cell belongs to a second network device, and the spectrum-sharing cells include the first cell and the second cell.

[0270] The processing unit 702 is also used to perform network upgrades;

[0271] The receiving unit 701 is further configured to send an upgrade completion notification to the second network device, where the upgrade completion notification is used to instruct the user equipment to switch to the first cell.

[0272] In a possible implementation, the processing unit 702 may switch multiple user equipments from the first cell to the second cell in one handover, or the processing unit 702 may switch a single user equipment from the first cell to the second cell in one handover.

[0273] In a possible implementation manner, the configuration request includes one or more of the following: a cell information list of the first network device, a bitmap list of idle resource blocks, and a spectrum sharing reason.

[0274] In a possible implementation, the receiving unit 701 is further configured to send a handover preparation request to the second network device, where the handover preparation request is used to determine preparation resources for handover of the user equipment.

[0275] In a possible implementation manner, the handover preparation request includes one or more of the following: XnAPID of the user equipment, a context information list of the user equipment, or an ID of the second cell.

[0276] In one possible implementation, the first network device includes a first centralized control unit CU and a first distributed control unit DU, the second network device includes a second CU and a second DU, the interface unit 701 is specifically used to send a configuration request to the control plane of the second CU, and the interface unit 701 is also specifically used to send a switching preparation request to the control plane of the second CU.

[0277] In a possible implementation, the processing unit 702 is specifically configured to hand over the user equipment in the first cell to the second cell in batches, or to hand over all the user equipment in the first cell to the second cell.

[0278] In another embodiment, a communication device 700 is used to implement the steps performed by the second network device. Specifically, the communication device 700 includes:

[0279] Interface unit 701 is used to receive a configuration request sent by a first network device, where the configuration request is used to determine a cell for spectrum sharing between the first network device and the second network device. The spectrum sharing cell includes a first cell and a second cell. The first cell belongs to the first network device, and the second cell belongs to the second network device. The second cell is used by the first network device to switch user equipment in the first cell to the second cell when the network is upgraded.

[0280] The processing unit 702 performs spectrum sharing according to the configuration request.

[0281] The interface unit 701 is further configured to receive an upgrade completion notification sent by the first network device, where the upgrade completion notification is used to instruct the user equipment to switch to the first cell.

[0282] In a possible implementation, the configuration request includes a cell information list of the first network device, a bitmap list of idle resource blocks, or a spectrum sharing reason, and the processing unit 702 creates a spectrum sharing cell according to the bitmap list of idle resource blocks.

[0283] In one possible implementation, the interface unit 701 is further configured to send a configuration response message to the first network device, the configuration response message including one or more of the following: a cell information list of the second network device, a list of spectrum sharing cells, or a cell resource block list of the second network device.

[0284] In one possible implementation, the processing unit 702 is specifically used to send a switching preparation request response message to the first network device, and the switching preparation request response message includes one or more of the following: the user equipment ID of the first network device, the user equipment ID of the second network device, or the switching resource list prepared by the second network device.

[0285] In one possible implementation, the first network device includes a first centralized control unit CU and a first distributed control unit DU, and the second network device includes a second CU and a second DU. The interface unit 701 is specifically configured to receive a configuration request sent by a control plane of the first CU, and the interface unit 702 is specifically configured to send a spectrum sharing cell establishment request to the second DU, where the establishment request includes one or more of the following: an information list of the spectrum sharing cell or a bitmap list of idle resource blocks.

[0286] The interface unit 701 is further configured to send a response message of the establishment request to the control plane of the second CU, where the response message includes: an information list of spectrum sharing cells or a resource block list of the second CU.

[0287] In one possible implementation, the interface unit 701 is specifically used to send a configuration response message to the control plane of the first CU, and the configuration response message includes one or more of the following: a cell information list of the control plane of the second CU, a list of spectrum sharing cells, or a cell resource block list of the control plane of the second CU.

[0288] The interface unit 701 is specifically configured to send a response message of the handover preparation request to the control plane of the first CU, where the response message includes one or more of the following: the user equipment ID of the first CU, the user equipment ID of the second CU, or the handover resource list prepared by the second CU.

[0289] In a possible implementation, the processing unit 702 is further configured to hand over multiple user equipments to the first cell through one handover.

[0290] It should be understood that the division of units in the above device is merely a division of logical functions. In actual implementation, they can be fully or partially integrated into one physical entity, or they can be physically separated. Moreover, the units in the device can all be implemented in the form of software called through processing elements; or they can all be implemented in the form of hardware; or some units can be implemented in the form of software called through processing elements, and some units can be implemented in the form of hardware. For example, each unit can be a separately established processing element, or it can be integrated into a certain chip of the device. In addition, it can also be stored in the memory in the form of a program, called by a certain processing element of the device and perform the function of the unit. In addition, all or part of these units can be integrated together, or they can be implemented independently. The processing element described here can also be a processor, which can be an integrated circuit with signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, each step of the above method or each unit above can be implemented by the integrated logic circuit of the hardware in the processor element or in the form of software called through the processing element.

[0291] In one example, the unit in any of the above devices may be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above method, such as one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or one or more digital singnal processors (DSPs), or one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms. For another example, when the unit in the device can be implemented in the form of a processing element scheduler, the processing element can be a general-purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU) or other processor that can call a program. For another example, these units can be integrated together and implemented in the form of a system-on-a-chip (SOC).

[0292] See also Figure 8 , Figure 8 A schematic diagram of a computer device provided in an embodiment of the present application is used to implement the operation of the first network device or the second network device in the above embodiment. Figure 8 As shown, the computer device includes: a processor 810 and an interface 830, wherein the processor 810 is coupled to the interface 830. The interface 830 is used to implement communication with other devices. The interface 830 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. The interface 830 can be, for example, an interface circuit. Optionally, the communication device also includes a memory 820 for storing instructions executed by the processor 810, input data required by the processor 810 to execute instructions, or data generated by the processor 810 after executing instructions.

[0293] The method performed by the first network device or the second network device in the above embodiment can be implemented by the processor 810 calling a program stored in a memory (which can be the memory 820 in the first network device or the second network device, or an external memory). That is, the first network device or the second network device may include a processor 810, and the processor 810 executes the method performed by the first network device or the second network device in the above method embodiment by calling the program in the memory. The processor here can be an integrated circuit with signal processing capabilities, such as a CPU. The first network device or the second network device can be implemented by one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above method. For example: one or more ASICs, or one or more microprocessors DSPs, or one or more FPGAs, etc., or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms. Alternatively, the above implementation methods can be combined.

[0294] Specifically, Figure 7 The functions / implementation processes of the interface unit 701 and the processing unit 702 can be realized by Figure 8 The processor 810 in the computer device 800 shown is implemented by calling computer executable instructions stored in the memory 820 .

[0295] In another embodiment of the present application, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, in which computer-executable instructions are stored. When the processor of the device executes the computer-executable instructions, the device executes the method executed by the first network device or the second network device in the above method embodiment.

[0296] In another embodiment of the present application, a computer program product is provided, comprising computer-executable instructions stored in a computer-readable storage medium. When a processor of a device executes the computer-executable instructions, the device performs the method performed by the first network device or the second network device in the above method embodiment.

[0297] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0298] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0299] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0300] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into a single processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into a single unit. The aforementioned integrated units may be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional units.

[0301] If the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application is essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art or all or part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, and the computer software product is stored in a storage medium, including a number of instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: U disk, mobile hard disk, read-only memory (ROM, read-only memory), random access memory (RAM, random access memory), disk or optical disk, and other media that can store program code.

Claims

1. A network upgrade method, characterized in that: include: The first network device sends a configuration request to the second network device according to the network upgrade instruction, where the configuration request is used to determine a cell for spectrum sharing between the first network device and the second network device; The first network device switches a user equipment in a first cell to a second cell according to the spectrum sharing cell, the first cell belongs to the first network device, the second cell belongs to a second network device, and the spectrum sharing cells include the first cell and the second cell; The first network device performs a network upgrade; The first network device sends an upgrade completion notification to the second network device, where the upgrade completion notification is used to instruct the second network device to hand over the user equipment to the first cell.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Handing over, by the first network device, the user equipment of the first cell to the second cell according to the spectrum sharing cell includes: The first network device switches the plurality of user equipments in the first cell to the second cell according to the spectrum sharing cell.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The configuration request includes one or more of the following: a cell information list of the first network device, a bitmap list of idle resource blocks, and a spectrum sharing reason.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that Before the first network device switches the user equipment in the first cell to the second cell, the method further includes: The first network device sends a handover preparation request to the second network device via a message, where the handover preparation request is used to determine preparation resources for handover of one or more user equipments.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The handover preparation request includes one or more of the following: an XnAP ID of the user equipment, a context information list of the user equipment, or an ID of the second cell.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The first network device includes a first centralized control unit CU and a first distributed control unit DU, and the second network device includes a second CU and a second DU; The first network device sending a configuration request to the second network device according to the network upgrade instruction includes: Sending, by the control plane of the first CU, the configuration request to the control plane of the second CU; The first network device sending a handover preparation request to the second network device includes: The control plane of the first CU sends the switching preparation request to the control plane of the second CU.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that Handing over, by the first network device, the user equipment in the first cell to the second cell includes: The first network device switches the user equipment in the first cell to the second cell in batches, or the first network device switches all the user equipment in the first cell to the second cell.

8. A network upgrade method, characterized in that: include: The second network device receives a configuration request sent by the first network device, where the configuration request is used to determine a cell in which spectrum is shared between the first network device and the second network device, where the spectrum shared cell includes a first cell and a second cell, where the first cell belongs to the first network device, and the second cell belongs to the second network device, where the first cell is used by the first network device to switch a user equipment in the first cell to the second cell during a network upgrade; The second network device creates the spectrum sharing cell according to the configuration request; When the second network device receives the upgrade completion notification sent by the first network device, the second network device switches the user equipment to the first cell.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The configuration request includes a cell information list, a bitmap list of idle resource blocks, or a spectrum sharing reason of the first network device, and the second network device creates the spectrum sharing cell according to the configuration request, including: The second network device creates the spectrum sharing cell according to the bitmap list of the idle resource blocks.

10. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that After the second network device receives the configuration request sent by the first network device, the method further includes: The second network device sends a configuration response message to the first network device, where the configuration response message includes one or more of the following: a cell information list of the second network device, a list of the spectrum sharing cells, or a cell resource block list of the second network device.

11. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that The second network device performing spectrum sharing according to the configuration request includes: The second network device sends a handover preparation request response message to the first network device, where the handover preparation request response message includes one or more of the following: a user equipment ID of the first network device, a user equipment ID of the second network device, or a handover resource list prepared by the second network device.

12. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that The first network device includes a first centralized control unit CU and a first distributed control unit DU, and the second network device includes a second CU and a second DU; The second network device receiving the configuration request sent by the first network device includes: The control plane of the second CU receives a configuration request sent by the control plane of the first CU; After the second network device receives the configuration request sent by the first network device, the method further includes: The control surface of the second CU sends a request for establishing the spectrum sharing cell to the second DU, where the request includes one or more of the following: an information list of the spectrum sharing cell or a bitmap list of idle resource blocks; The second DU sends a response message of the establishment request to the control plane of the second CU, where the response message includes: an information list of the spectrum sharing cells or a resource block list of the second CU.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The second network device sending a configuration response message to the first network device includes: The control plane of the second CU sends a configuration response message to the control plane of the first CU, where the configuration response message includes one or more of the following: a cell information list of the control plane of the second CU, a list of the spectrum sharing cells, or a cell resource block list of the control plane of the second CU; The second network device sending the handover preparation request response message to the first network device includes: The control plane of the second CU sends a response message of the handover preparation request to the control plane of the first CU, where the response message includes one or more of the following: the user equipment ID of the first CU, the user equipment ID of the second CU, or the handover resource list prepared by the second CU.

14. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that Handing over, by the second network device, the user equipment to the first cell includes: The second network device switches the plurality of user equipments to the first cell through one handover.

15. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device comprises a processor coupled to a memory, wherein the processor is configured to store instructions. When the instructions are executed by the processor, the communication device performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, or the communication device performs the method according to any one of claims 8 to 14.

16. A computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon, characterized in that: When the instructions are executed, the computer is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, or the computer is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 8 to 14.

17. A computer program product comprising instructions, characterized in that: When the instructions are executed, the computer implements the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, or the computer implements the method according to any one of claims 8 to 14.

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