Wireless access network controller and wireless access network

Abstract

This invention provides a radio access network controller and a radio access network. The radio access network controller includes a message transceiver component, a message processing component, and a resource allocation component. The message transceiver component sends a reporting message generated by a functional unit in the radio access network to the message processing component. The message processing component forwards network performance data from the reporting message to the resource allocation component, which then determines air interface parameters based on reference baseline quality data of the target service running in the radio access network and the aforementioned network performance data. Finally, the functional unit can allocate air interface resources to the terminal device according to these air interface parameters. Therefore, this invention provides a radio access network controller with air interface resource allocation capabilities, and considers the quality of service (QoS) during the air interface resource allocation process, ensuring that the QoS of the target service meets requirements when the terminal device uses the allocated air interface resources.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of communication technology, and more particularly to a wireless access network controller and a wireless access network. Background Technology

[0002] As the application scenarios of 5G (5th Generation Mobile Communication Technology) become increasingly widespread, terminal devices are also becoming more diverse. For example, in live streaming scenarios, terminal devices can be mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets used by users; in autonomous driving scenarios, terminal devices can be vehicles with autonomous driving capabilities; and in smart manufacturing scenarios, terminal devices can be robotic arms operating on assembly lines, and so on.

[0003] Different types of terminal devices need to access the Radio Access Network (RAN) via air interface resources to enable data interaction with the Data Network (DN), thereby ensuring the normal use of services such as live streaming, smart manufacturing, or autonomous driving.

[0004] However, in practice, air interface resources are limited, and different services may have different quality requirements, which poses a challenge to the allocation of air interface resources. These quality requirements can include service specifications such as bandwidth and latency. Therefore, ensuring that the allocated air interface resources meet these quality of service requirements becomes a pressing issue. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In view of this, embodiments of the present invention provide a wireless access network controller and a wireless access network to ensure that the allocated air interface resources meet quality of service requirements.

[0006] In a first aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide a wireless access network controller, including: a message transceiver component, a message processing component, and a resource allocation component;

[0007] The message transceiver component is used to send reporting messages generated by functional units in the radio access network to the message processing component.

[0008] The message processing component is used to parse the reported message to obtain the network performance data of the wireless access network; and send the network performance data to the resource allocation component.

[0009] The resource allocation component is used to determine air interface parameters based on the network performance data and the baseline quality data of the target service running in the wireless access network, so that the functional unit allocates air interface resources to the terminal devices using the target service according to the air interface parameters.

[0010] In a second aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide a wireless access network, including: a wireless access network controller and functional units;

[0011] The wireless access network controller is configured to receive network performance data of the wireless access network sent by the functional unit; and determine air interface parameters based on the network performance data and the baseline quality data of the target service running in the wireless access network.

[0012] The functional unit is used to acquire the air interface parameters; allocate air interface resources to terminal devices using the target service according to the air interface parameters, and the terminal devices access the wireless access network.

[0013] The wireless access network controller provided in this embodiment of the invention includes a message transceiver component, a message processing component, and a resource allocation component. The message transceiver component first receives a reporting message generated by a functional unit in the wireless access network and sends this reporting message to the message processing component. The message processing component parses the message to obtain network performance data of the wireless access network and further sends this network performance data to the resource allocation component. Finally, the resource allocation component first obtains the baseline quality data of the target service running in the wireless access network, and uses this baseline quality data and the aforementioned network performance data to determine air interface parameters, so that the functional units allocate air interface resources to terminal devices accessing the wireless access network and using the target service according to these air interface parameters.

[0014] As can be seen, the aforementioned wireless access network controller has an air interface resource allocation function. In the process of allocating air interface resources, the controller considers not only the network environment but also the attributes of the target service itself, so that when the terminal device uses the allocated air interface resources to use the target service, the quality of service of the target service meets the requirements. Attached Figure Description

[0015] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0016] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a communication network structure provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0017] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a wireless access network provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of another wireless access network structure provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of another wireless access network provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of another wireless access network provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of another wireless access network provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of another wireless access network provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of another wireless access network provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a wireless access network controller provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of another wireless access network controller provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the air interface resource allocation process of a wireless access network operating multiple services, provided as an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0027] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0028] The terminology used in the embodiments of this invention is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the invention. The singular forms “a,” “the,” and “the” used in the embodiments of this invention and the appended claims are also intended to include the plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. “Multiple” generally includes at least two, but does not exclude the inclusion of at least one.

[0029] It should be understood that the term "and / or" used in this article is merely a description of the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A existing alone, A and B existing simultaneously, and B existing alone. Additionally, the character " / " in this article generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects have an "or" relationship.

[0030] Depending on the context, the words “if” or “suppose” as used here can be interpreted as “when” or “in response to determination” or “in response to identification.” Similarly, depending on the context, the phrases “if determination” or “if identification (of the condition or event of the statement)” can be interpreted as “when determination” or “in response to determination” or “when identification (of the condition or event of the statement)” or “in response to identification (of the condition or event of the statement).”

[0031] It should also be noted that the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a product or system comprising a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a product or system. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the product or system that includes said element.

[0032] Before describing the wireless access network controller and wireless access network provided in the following embodiments of the present invention, it is necessary to first explain the various services running in the wireless access network and the necessity of air interface resource allocation:

[0033] Different services can first register with the Radio Access Network (RAN), then users can use their terminal devices to access the various services that are registered and operating normally in the RAN. Furthermore, to ensure the quality of service for each service, the services running in the RAN can have different requirements for the RAN's network performance.

[0034] For example, some services require high bandwidth and are not strict about latency (i.e., they can tolerate relatively high latency), such as video-on-demand services; some services require high bandwidth and low latency, such as live video services and autonomous driving services; some services require low bandwidth and are not strict about latency, such as file transfer services; and some services require both low bandwidth and low latency, such as command-based services. Command-based services can specifically be services that remotely control the operating status of equipment through commands, such as remotely controlling a robotic arm on an industrial assembly line using commands.

[0035] Optionally, the services running in the RAN are not limited to the various services mentioned above. In addition to the examples above, services running in the RAN can also be online shopping, telemedicine, and any other services that can be registered in the RAN.

[0036] As mentioned in the background section, different types of terminal devices can use these services, such as mobile terminals like phones and computers, or vehicles, robotic arms, etc. Each terminal device first needs to access the RAN using its allocated air interface resources, and then further interact with the server located in the DN to ultimately use the service. Furthermore, each terminal device can use at least one service.

[0037] For example, for live video services, a mobile terminal can first access the RAN (Radio Access Network) using its allocated air interface resources, and then interact with a server in the DN (Digital Domain Controller) that stores the live video stream to watch the live video. Similarly, for autonomous driving services, after a vehicle accesses the RAN using air interface resources, it can interact with a server in the DN that has path planning and driving data generation capabilities, enabling the vehicle to achieve autonomous driving according to the navigation and driving data sent by the server. For command-based services, after a robotic arm on an assembly line accesses the RAN using its allocated air interface resources, it can interact with a server in the DN that has control command sending capabilities, allowing the robotic arm to perform operations according to the control commands sent by the server. The above processes can also be combined... Figure 1 The service shown provides network understanding.

[0038] In practice, the sufficiency of air interface resources allocated to a terminal device directly affects whether the quality of service (GHS) used by the user meets the requirements. Therefore, to ensure GHS, the radio access network controller and radio access network provided in the embodiments of this invention can be used to allocate air interface resources to the terminal device.

[0039] Based on the above description, some embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Where there is no conflict between the embodiments, the following embodiments and features can be combined with each other. Furthermore, the timing of the steps in the following method embodiments is merely an example and not a strict limitation.

[0040] To make it easier to understand, we can first describe the air interface resource allocation process from the perspective of the overall wireless access network. Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a wireless access network provided in an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 As shown, the radio access network may include: a radio access network controller (RANIntelligent Controller, or RIC) and functional units.

[0041] Optionally, the functional unit can be a Centralized Unit (CU) or Distributed Unit (DU) in a 5G RAN, or an Indoor Baseband Unit (BBU) in a 4G RAN. The functional unit can directly obtain the RAN network performance data required to determine the air interface parameters. For the sake of brevity in the following description, Figures 2-8 In all the embodiments shown, the wireless access network controller can be simply referred to as the controller.

[0042] From the perspective of the entire wireless access network, air interface resource allocation can generally include the following stages:

[0043] In the first phase, the controller generates and sends data acquisition messages to the functional units.

[0044] In the second phase, the functional unit responds to this data acquisition message, obtains the RAN network performance data, and reports this network performance data to the controller. The controller can determine the air interface parameters based on the network performance data and the baseline quality data of the target service running in the RAN.

[0045] In the third stage, the controller feeds back the determined air interface parameters to the functional unit so that the functional unit can allocate air interface resources to the terminal equipment in the RAN that uses the target service according to these air interface parameters.

[0046] Optionally, network performance data can be encapsulated in the reporting message. Air interface parameters can be encapsulated in the response message, which can be considered as the response result of the aforementioned reporting message.

[0047] Optionally, network performance data may include physical layer related information, such as the occupancy rate of Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs), the total number of available PRBs, the number of Transport Blocks, the number of terminal devices in the RAN, the Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), the Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), the Reference Signal Received Quality (RSPQ), and the Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR) of terminal devices in the RAN, etc., during uplink and downlink data transmission.

[0048] Optionally, the network performance data may also include information related to the data link layer, such as a list of modulation and coding schemes (MCS) for data in the physical layer, the real-time throughput of the wireless access network, current transmission duration, latency, packet rate, frame arrival interval, packet loss rate, round-trip time (RTT), and the buffer status of data in the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), etc.

[0049] Optionally, the network performance data may also include network layer related information, such as the UEState of the terminal equipment accessing the RAN, as well as the real-time uplink and downlink rates of the terminal equipment, Radio Resource Control (RRC) status, cell state, interface state, etc.

[0050] The target service running in the RAN can be at least one of the services mentioned above. The baseline quality data for the target service may include bandwidth, latency, etc. Furthermore, compared to network performance data, quality data can be considered application-layer related information. That is, the controller can comprehensively consider the baseline quality data of at least one service running in the radio access network to determine the air interface parameters. Therefore, after allocating air interface resources according to these parameters, the quality of service used by different terminal devices can meet the requirements.

[0051] For obtaining baseline quality data, one optional approach is for the service provider to directly provide the baseline quality data and the service identifier of the target service when the target service registers with the RAN. When the target service is running on the RAN, functional units within the RAN can directly obtain the baseline quality data based on the target service identifier.

[0052] Optionally, the air interface parameters determined by the resource allocation component may include at least one of the following: MCS, the number of PRBs allocated to each terminal device, and the ratio of uplink to downlink time slots in the frame structure.

[0053] In this embodiment, during the air interface resource allocation process, the controller can receive network performance data from the RAN and determine air interface parameters based on this data and the baseline quality data of the target service. The controller feeds back these air interface parameters to the functional unit, enabling the functional unit to allocate air interface resources to terminal devices accessing the radio access network and using the target service according to these parameters. Therefore, the controller in the RAN described above has an air interface resource allocation function, and during the allocation process, it considers not only the network environment but also the attributes of the target service itself, ensuring that the quality of service of the target service meets requirements when the terminal device uses the allocated air interface resources to access the target service.

[0054] Optionally, in practice, when the baseline quality data of at least one service in the radio access network changes, or when a new service is added to the radio access network, or when a new terminal device is added to the radio access network, or when the service used by the terminal device changes, the air interface resources can be reallocated in accordance with the methods provided in the above embodiments.

[0055] based on Figure 2 The following details the specific implementation process of each stage in the air interface resource allocation process, based on the examples shown in the embodiments.

[0056] For the first phase of air interface resource allocation, optionally, Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of another wireless access network structure provided in an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 On this basis, such as Figure 3 As shown, the radio access controller in this radio access network may specifically include: a first message transceiver component, a first message processing component, and a resource allocation component. The functional units may specifically include a second message transceiver component and a second message processing component.

[0057] The resource allocation component generates and sends an operation instruction to the first message processing component. This operation instruction indicates which network performance data from the RAN needs to be obtained. Optionally, the operation instruction can be specifically represented as a programming instruction written in a programming language supported by the resource allocation component. Regarding the timing of operation instruction generation, the resource allocation component may generate the operation instruction in response to its startup; or in response to a new service successfully registering with the RAN; or in response to a new terminal device accessing the RAN.

[0058] Next, the first message processing component can perform language conversion and protocol adaptation on the received operation instructions to generate a data acquisition message corresponding to the operation instructions, and then the first message sending and receiving component can further forward this data acquisition message to the functional unit.

[0059] Furthermore, after receiving this data acquisition message, the second message transceiver component in the functional unit can forward the message to the second message processing component corresponding to the message type, based on the message type. The second message processing component, in response to receiving the data acquisition message, can parse the message to determine which network performance data items in the RAN need to be acquired. At this point, it can be considered that the data acquisition message generated by the controller has been successfully received by the functional unit, thus completing the first stage of air interface resource allocation.

[0060] Optionally, the resource allocation component can be deployed in the controller as a standalone application (APP), which can be developed by a third party according to actual needs.

[0061] In addition, the RAN provides various service models, such as the Report Service Model, Insert Service Model, Control Service Model, and Policy Service Model. Each model can be deployed as a component within the controller. Since the data acquisition message type mentioned above is a report type, the second message processing component used in the first phase of air interface resource allocation can specifically be the report service model provided by the RAN. The use of this service model indicates that there is a subsequent process where functional units feed data back to the controller.

[0062] Optionally, the controller and functional units may also include a connection management component for establishing a data transmission connection between the first and second message transceiver components, and for maintaining the connection after it is established. The aforementioned data acquisition message can then be transmitted from the first message transceiver component to the second message transceiver component via this data transmission connection. Optionally, the connection management component can be a Utils utility class.

[0063] In this embodiment, the data acquisition message can be transmitted from the controller to the functional unit by means of the components in the controller and the functional unit, which completes the first stage of the air interface resource allocation process.

[0064] exist Figure 3 In the illustrated embodiment, during the first stage of air interface resource allocation, the first message processing component is used to perform language conversion and protocol adaptation for operation commands. Based on this, Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of another wireless access network provided in an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 Based on this, how Figure 4As shown, the first message processing component in the controller may specifically include a first processing subcomponent and a second processing subcomponent. The first processing subcomponent and the second processing subcomponent can respectively perform language conversion and protocol adaptation of operation instructions.

[0065] Specifically, the first processing sub-component can determine the message type and convert the operation instructions generated by the resource allocation component into a message to be processed with a message structure supported by the second processing sub-component. This message to be processed can specifically be represented as a string that the second processing sub-component can process. The first processing sub-component can then send the message to be processed to the second processing sub-component, so that the second processing sub-component can parse the message type from the message to be processed and then use the callback function corresponding to this message type to generate a data acquisition message containing the message type, which is sent to the first message sending and receiving component. The message to be processed and the data acquisition message have the same message type.

[0066] Optionally, the first processing sub-component can be specifically represented as a Software Development Kit (SDK). The second processing sub-component can be deployed in the controller as a standalone application.

[0067] Optionally, corresponding one-to-one with the service models provided by the RAN, the types of messages transmitted in the RAN can also include reporting, insertion, control, and policy types. Based on this, if the message type of the aforementioned message to be processed is a reporting type, then the second processing sub-component can use the reporting callback function to generate a data acquisition message of the same reporting type. The message structure of this data acquisition message satisfies the message structure specified by the reporting service model, enabling the reporting service model, as the second message processing component, to process the data acquisition message normally. Since the data acquisition message needs to be transmitted from the first message transceiver component to the second message transceiver component, and the two message transceiver components can support the same preset communication protocol, such as the E2 Application Protocol (E2AP), the data acquisition message generated by the second processing sub-component also needs to satisfy the preset communication protocol supported by the two message transceiver components. That is, the second processing sub-component can use the reporting callback function to adapt machine instructions into a data acquisition message using the preset communication protocol supported by the message transceiver components. In other words, the process of the second processing sub-component generating the data acquisition message actually includes a protocol adaptation process.

[0068] Furthermore, as described above, both the resource allocation component and the second processing sub-component can be deployed in the controller as independent apps. For clarity, the app serving as the second processing sub-component can be referred to as the original app, and the app serving as the resource allocation component as the third-party app. The SDK serving as the first processing sub-component, besides performing language conversion and protocol adaptation for operation commands, can also be used for the development and design of third-party apps.

[0069] In this embodiment, the first message processing component in the controller specifically includes a first processing subcomponent and a second processing subcomponent. Through their collaborative work, they generate a data acquisition message and send this message to the functional unit. This completes the first stage of the air interface resource allocation process.

[0070] For the second phase of air interface resource allocation, optionally, Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of another wireless access network provided in an embodiment of the present invention. (See diagram below.) Figure 5 As shown, in Figure 3 Based on this, the functional units in the wireless access network may further include: an uplink interface.

[0071] according to Figure 3 In the illustrated embodiment, the second message processing component in the functional unit can determine the network performance data required to determine the air interface parameters by parsing the data acquisition message. At this time, the second message processing component can also first acquire this network performance data via the uplink interface, and then encapsulate the acquired network performance data according to the communication protocol supported by the first and second message transceivers, such as the aforementioned E2AP, to obtain a reporting message containing the network performance data. The second message transceiver component can receive the reporting message sent by the second message processing component and, through the data transmission connection with the first message transceiver component, send this reporting message to the first message transceiver component.

[0072] Then, the first message transceiver component in the controller further forwards the reported message to the first message processing component. The first message processing component parses the reported message to obtain the network performance data contained within, and forwards this network performance data to the resource allocation component. Further, the resource allocation component determines the air interface parameters based on the network performance data and the baseline quality data of the target service running in the RAN. The process of obtaining the baseline quality data can be found in [link to relevant documentation]. Figure 2 The relevant descriptions in the illustrated embodiments.

[0073] In this embodiment, the components in the functional unit can generate a reporting message containing the network performance parameters required to determine the air interface parameters. Then, the first message sending and receiving component and the first message processing component in the controller can send the network performance parameters contained in this reporting message to the resource allocation component, which then determines the air interface parameters. This completes the second stage of the air interface resource allocation process. It is evident that the controller described above has air interface resource allocation functionality, and in determining the air interface parameters, it considers not only the network environment but also the attributes of the target service itself, ultimately ensuring that when the terminal device uses the allocated air interface resources to access the target service, the quality of service of the target service meets the requirements.

[0074] exist Figure 4 In the illustrated embodiment, during the second stage of air interface resource allocation, the first message processing component is used to parse the reported message to obtain the network performance data within it. Based on this, Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of another wireless access network provided in an embodiment of the present invention. (See diagram below.) Figure 6 As shown, in Figure 5 Based on this, the first processing sub-component and the second processing sub-component in the first message processing component of the controller are respectively used to parse the reported message from different dimensions.

[0075] Specifically, the second processing subcomponent parses the reported message using the reporting callback function corresponding to the reported message to obtain a message to be processed with the message result supported by the first processing subcomponent, and sends this message to the first processing subcomponent. The first processing subcomponent parses this message to obtain the receiver identifier and RAN network performance data, and sends the network performance data to the resource allocation component that has the parsed receiver identifier. The resource allocation component can then determine the air interface parameters based on the network performance data.

[0076] The two processing sub-components mentioned above are... Figure 4 The two processing sub-components in the illustrated embodiment, in Figure 4 and Figure 6 The illustrated embodiments describe different processing steps performed by the same processing subcomponent at different stages of air interface resource allocation. Optionally, the first processing subcomponent can also be specifically represented as an SDK, and the second processing subcomponent can be deployed in the controller as an independent application.

[0077] In this embodiment, through the collaborative work of the first processing sub-component and the second processing sub-component included in the first message processing component of the controller, the reported messages sent by the functional units can be parsed from different dimensions to obtain the network performance parameters required to determine the air interface parameters. Next, the resource allocation component in the controller can determine the air interface parameters based on the baseline quality data of the target service and the parsed network performance parameters. This completes the second stage of the air interface resource allocation process.

[0078] according to Figure 3 As described in the illustrated embodiment, the resource allocation component used to determine air interface parameters can be deployed in the controller as a standalone application. Optionally, this application can be considered a packaged result of a preset algorithm or a pre-trained machine learning model. That is, in Figure 5 and Figure 6 In the second stage of air interface resource allocation, the controller can use machine learning models or preset algorithms to determine air interface parameters.

[0079] An optional method for determining air interface parameters based on a machine learning model is to input the benchmark quality data of the target service and the network performance data contained in the reported message into the prediction model, which then outputs the air interface parameters. Optionally, the prediction model can be a Deep Neural Network (DNN) model, a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model, or a model based on Random Forest, Support Vector Machine (SVM), etc.

[0080] Optionally, for training the prediction model, baseline quality data of historical services running in the RAN during historical time periods, historical network performance data of the RAN during the operation of these historical services, and historical air interface parameters when the service quality of historical services met the requirements can be obtained. The historical network performance data and baseline data are used as training samples, and the historical air interface parameters are used as monitoring information to train the prediction model. The model parameters are then continuously adjusted until the model converges using gradient descent and backpropagation.

[0081] Optionally, the training of the prediction model can be performed by the controller. It should be noted that since model training and air interface resource allocation have different requirements for the timeliness (i.e., latency) of data processing, model training can be performed by the first sub-controller in the controller, and air interface resource allocation can be performed by the second sub-controller. The first sub-controller can be considered the non-real-time part of the controller, used to process data with low timeliness requirements. The second sub-controller can be considered the real-time part of the controller, used to process data with high timeliness requirements. The second sub-controller is used to process data with latency requirements of less than 1 second.

[0082] Another alternative approach to determine air interface parameters using a machine learning model is to input network performance data from the reported message into a classification model, which then outputs a target service identifier. Next, using a pre-established mapping between the service identifier and baseline quality data, the baseline quality data corresponding to the target service identifier is determined. Optionally, the base station quality data corresponding to the target service identifier and the network performance data from the reported message can then be input into a prediction model to predict the air interface parameters.

[0083] Another optional method for determining air interface parameters based on a machine learning model is as follows: After the classification model outputs the target service identifier, the resource allocation component can directly determine the air interface parameters corresponding to the target service identifier based on the mapping relationship between the service identifier and air interface parameters. Optionally, the mapping relationship between the service identifier and air interface parameters can be set based on historical experience. Compared to the two methods mentioned above, this method does not require the use of baseline quality data of the target service when determining the air interface parameters.

[0084] Optionally, the classification model can also be one of the aforementioned CNN, DNN, random forest, or SVM models. Optionally, for training the classification model, historical services operating in the radio access network within a historical time period, and historical network performance data of the radio access network during the operation of these historical services, can be obtained. The historical network performance data is used as training samples, and the service identifiers of the historical services are used as monitoring information to train the classification model. The model parameters are then continuously adjusted until the model converges using gradient descent and backpropagation. Optionally, similar to the prediction model, the training of the classification model can also be executed by the second sub-controller in the controller.

[0085] It should be noted that network performance data and service identifiers are often intrinsically related. For example, when running a live streaming service, the throughput in network performance data is usually high, and a specific modulation and coding scheme is used; when running a command-based service, the latency and packet loss rate in network performance data are usually low. Therefore, classification models can predict service identifiers based on network performance data.

[0086] Furthermore, in practice, even if the service provider provides a service identifier during target service registration, the resource allocation component can optionally use a classification model to predict the service identifier when determining air interface resources. The prediction result output by the classification model can be used to verify the service identifier provided by the service provider. When two service identifiers obtained through different methods are different, the service identifier output by the classification model can be used preferentially.

[0087] In addition to the machine learning models mentioned above, alternatively, a pre-defined algorithm can be used to determine the air interface parameters. Specifically, an optimization objective can be preset first, and then network performance data and baseline quality data of the target service can be used as constraints to treat the determination of air interface parameters as an integer linear programming problem. The output air interface parameters are the optimal solution obtained in solving the aforementioned integer linear programming problem. Optionally, the optimization objective can be any one of the following: the average latency of the terminal equipment to be allocated air interface resources, the total throughput of the RAN, or the total energy consumption of various hardware network devices in the RAN.

[0088] In practice, the air interface parameters determined by the resource allocation component can include multiple parameters, such as the MCS (Multi-Segment Class) and the number of PRBs allocated to each terminal device. The resource allocation component can also include multiple allocation sub-components, each of which can function as an independent application. These multiple allocation sub-components can then be used to determine at least one of the multiple air interface parameters. For example, when the air interface parameters include both the MCS and the number of PRBs, the first allocation sub-component in the resource allocation component can determine the MCS, and the second allocation sub-component can determine the number of PRBs.

[0089] Furthermore, in practice, the network performance data included in the reported message can also include multiple items, such as PRB occupancy rate, number of available PRBs, total number of PRBs, number of terminal devices accessing the wireless access network, SINR, etc. Optionally, different allocation sub-components can use different items from these multiple items to determine various air interface parameters separately. That is, different items from the network performance data are used to determine the MCS and PRB quantities separately. In the above case, the process of the second processing sub-component parsing the message header of the reported message to obtain the receiver identifier becomes particularly important. Based on the parsed receiver identifier, the corresponding items of the network performance data can be sent to the corresponding allocation sub-component to ensure that different allocation sub-components use different items to determine different items in the air interface parameters.

[0090] For the third phase of air interface resource allocation, optionally, Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of another wireless access network provided in an embodiment of the present invention. (See diagram below.) Figure 7 As shown, in Figure 5 Based on this, the functional units in the wireless access network may further include: a third message processing component and a downlink interface.

[0091] The first message processing component in the controller receives the air interface parameters output by the resource allocation component and encapsulates these parameters to generate a response message containing the air interface parameters. This response message can be considered a response to the reporting message generated by the functional unit in the second phase of air interface resource allocation. The first message processing component can also send this response message to the first message transceiver component, which will then forward it to the second message transceiver component in the functional unit.

[0092] The second message transceiver component in the functional unit receives this response message and, based on the message type, sends it to the third processing component corresponding to that message type. In this case, if the message type is a control type, the third processing component can use the control service model provided by the RAN. The use of this service model indicates the subsequent data (i.e., air interface parameters) transmission process. The third processing component can further parse the response message according to the downlink interface specification and obtain the parsed air interface parameters using the downlink interface.

[0093] In this embodiment, the controller and the various components in the functional unit can send a response message including air interface parameters to the functional unit, so that the functional unit can parse the air interface parameters in the response message and further allocate air interface resources to the terminal equipment accessing the RAN according to these air interface parameters. This completes the third stage of the air interface resource allocation process.

[0094] exist Figure 7In the illustrated embodiment, in the third stage of air interface resource allocation, the first message processing component generates a response message containing air interface parameters and sends this response message to the functional unit. Based on this, Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of another wireless access network provided in an embodiment of the present invention. (See diagram below.) Figure 8 As shown, in Figure 7 Based on this, the first message processing component in the controller specifically includes a first processing subcomponent and a second processing subcomponent.

[0095] The first processing subcomponent determines that the message type is control type and generates a message to be processed with a message structure supported by the second processing subcomponent. This message to be processed is of type control and includes air interface parameters. The second processing subcomponent can use a callback function corresponding to this message type to generate a response message containing air interface parameters. This response message is also of type control.

[0096] Since the response message needs to be transmitted from the first message transceiver component to the second message transceiver component, and both message transceiver components support the same preset communication protocol, such as E2AP mentioned above, the response message generated by the second processing subcomponent also needs to satisfy the protocols supported by both message transceiver components. In other words, the process of the second processing subcomponent generating the response message using the control callback function actually includes a protocol adaptation process, which is similar to the process of generating data acquisition messages, and will not be elaborated here.

[0097] The response message will eventually be transmitted sequentially to the second message sending and receiving component and the message processing component in the functional unit through the first message sending and receiving component, so as to realize the allocation of air interface resources.

[0098] In this embodiment, a response message can be generated through the collaborative work of the first processing sub-component and the second processing sub-component within the first message processing component of the controller. This response message can then be further sent to the functional unit. The second message sending / receiving component and the message processing component in the functional unit receive this response message and parse the air interface parameters from it to ultimately complete the allocation of air interface resources according to the air interface parameters. This completes the third stage of the air interface resource allocation process.

[0099] In the above embodiments, the air interface resource allocation function of the controller can be used to allocate air interface resources while taking into account the baseline quality data of the target service. In addition, the controller may optionally have other functions, such as wireless resource management and user behavior prediction. Similar to the air interface resource allocation function, other functions of the controller can also be deployed in the controller as components. Each component can specifically be represented as a third-party application.

[0100] It should be noted that pending messages are generated in all three stages of the above air interface resource allocation. These pending messages are different from each other. For clarity, the pending messages generated in the three stages can be referred to as the second pending message, the first pending message, and the third pending message, respectively.

[0101] The above embodiments describe the air interface resource allocation process in detail from the perspective of the RAN as a whole. Building upon this, the air interface resource allocation process can also be described from the perspective of the radio access network controller.

[0102] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of a wireless access network controller provided in an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 9 As shown, the wireless access network controller may specifically include a message transceiver component, a message processing component, and a resource allocation component.

[0103] And for the sake of brevity in the following description, Figure 9 and Figure 10 In the embodiments shown, the wireless access network controller can be simply referred to as the controller. Furthermore, the controller in this embodiment differs from the controller described above at different stages of air interface resource allocation. Figures 2-8 The controllers in the illustrated embodiments all have the same functions and data processing flow. That is to say, Figure 9 and Figure 10 The message sending and receiving components in the illustrated embodiment are the same as those described above. Figures 2-8 The first message sending and receiving component in the illustrated embodiment has the same function and data processing flow; Figure 9 and Figure 10 The message processing component in the illustrated embodiment is the same as that described above. Figures 2-8 The first message processing component in the illustrated embodiment has the same functions and data processing flow.

[0104] From the controller's perspective, the three stages of air interface resource allocation can be described as follows:

[0105] In the first phase, the controller generates and sends data acquisition messages to the functional units.

[0106] In the second phase, the controller receives network performance data in response to the data acquisition message. Based on this network performance data and the baseline quality data of the target service running in the RAN, the controller then determines the air interface parameters.

[0107] In the third stage, the controller feeds back the determined air interface parameters to the functional unit.

[0108] In the first stage, the resource allocation component in the controller sends an operation instruction to the message processing component. This operation instruction is a programming instruction describing the need to obtain network performance data. The message processing component can generate a data acquisition message based on the operation instruction sent by the message processing component. This data acquisition message can be sent to the functional unit via the message transceiver component. This completes the first stage of air interface resource allocation. Furthermore, as can be seen from the above embodiments, the data acquisition message can ultimately be sent to the second message processing component in the functional unit.

[0109] In the second phase, in response to the receipt of the data acquisition message, the functional unit can generate a reporting message containing network performance data. This reporting message can be sequentially transmitted to the controller's message transceiver component and message processing component. The message processing component can parse the network performance data from the reporting message, enabling the resource allocation component to determine the air interface parameters based on this network performance data and the baseline quality data of the target service running in the RAN. This completes the second phase of air interface resource allocation.

[0110] Optionally, the resource allocation component can use network performance data and baseline quality data as input data to determine air interface parameters using a preset algorithm or machine learning model. The specific determination process can be found in the relevant descriptions in the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0111] In the third stage, the message processing component can generate a response message containing air interface parameters. This response message can be considered a response result to the reported message generated by the functional unit. Then, the message processing component can send this response message to the message transceiver component, which will then forward the response message to the functional unit. This completes the third stage of air interface resource allocation. Furthermore, as described in the above embodiments, the response message will ultimately be sent to the third message processing component within the functional unit. The third message processing component will then obtain the air interface parameters via the downlink interface and allocate air interface resources to the terminal device according to these parameters.

[0112] In this embodiment, the message transceiver component in the controller first receives the reporting message generated by the functional unit in the radio access network (RAN) and forwards it to the message processing component. The message processing component then parses the message to obtain the RAN's network performance data. This network performance data can be further sent to the resource allocation component. Finally, the resource allocation component first obtains the baseline quality data of the target service running in the RAN, and uses this baseline quality data and the aforementioned network performance data to determine the air interface parameters. This allows the functional unit to allocate air interface resources to terminal devices accessing the RAN and using the target service according to these air interface parameters.

[0113] As can be seen, the aforementioned wireless access network controller has an air interface resource allocation function. In the process of allocating air interface resources, the controller takes into account not only the network environment but also the attributes of the autonomous driving service itself, so that when the terminal device uses the allocated air interface resources to use the target service, the service quality of the target service meets the requirements.

[0114] In addition, the contents not described in detail in this embodiment and the technical effects that can be achieved can be found in the descriptions of the relevant embodiments above, and will not be repeated here.

[0115] Figure 9 The illustrated embodiment has described how the various components in the controller can work together to achieve different stages of air interface resource allocation. As described above, at different stages of air interface resource allocation, the message processing component performs different processing on different messages.

[0116] but Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of another wireless access network controller provided in an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 9 On the basis of, such as Figure 10 As shown, the message processing component in the wireless access network controller may specifically include a first processing subcomponent and a second processing subcomponent.

[0117] Similar to the above embodiments, the first processing sub-component can be an SDK, and the second processing sub-component can be deployed in the controller as an independent original APP.

[0118] In the first stage, the first processing subcomponent performs language conversion on the operation instructions describing the acquisition of network performance data, that is, converts them into a second message to be processed that supports the message structure supported by the second processing subcomponent.

[0119] The second processing sub-component performs protocol adaptation on the second message to be processed. This involves parsing the message type from the message and generating a data acquisition message that conforms to a preset communication protocol supported by the message sending and receiving component, using a callback function corresponding to the message type. Specifically, the message type of this data acquisition message is a reporting type, and the callback function is a reporting callback function.

[0120] In the second phase, the second processing subcomponent parses the message header of the reported message using the callback function corresponding to the reported message to obtain a first message to be processed with a message structure supported by the first processing subcomponent. The first processing subcomponent then parses this first message to obtain the receiver identifier and network performance data from the message. The first processing subcomponent then sends the parsed network performance data to the resource allocation component containing the receiver identifier. The resource allocation component then uses the network performance data and baseline quality data to determine the air interface parameters.

[0121] In the third stage, the first processing subcomponent determines the message type as control type and generates a third message to be processed with a message structure supported by the second processing subcomponent; this message type is also control type. The second processing subcomponent uses the control callback function corresponding to this control type to generate a response message containing air interface parameters; the response message type is also control type.

[0122] The specific working processes of the first processing subcomponent and the second processing subcomponent at different stages of air interface resource allocation in this embodiment can also be found in the above description. Figure 4 , Figure 6 and Figure 8 The relevant descriptions in the embodiments.

[0123] Optionally, the wireless network controller may also include a connectivity management component.

[0124] This connection management component is used to establish data transmission connections between the message transceiver components in the controller and the message transceiver components in the functional units, ensuring the normal transmission and reception of data acquisition messages, reporting messages, and response messages during the air interface resource allocation process. This connection management component is also used for subsequent connection maintenance.

[0125] The contents not described in detail in this embodiment and the technical effects that can be achieved can be found in the descriptions of the relevant embodiments above, and will not be repeated here.

[0126] In practice, the air interface parameters determined by the resource allocation component can include multiple parameters. Optionally, the resource allocation component can also include multiple allocation sub-components, and each allocation sub-component can be represented as an independent application. The multiple allocation sub-components included in the resource allocation component can be used to determine at least one air interface parameter from the multiple air interface parameters.

[0127] To facilitate understanding, the following example illustrates the air interface resource allocation process of the wireless access network and wireless access network controller described above, using a specific scenario. The following content can also be combined with... Figure 11 understand.

[0128] Assuming that autonomous driving services are registered in the wireless access network, and these services require low bandwidth and low latency, then the terminal devices awaiting allocation of air interface resources are vehicles that have activated autonomous driving mode.

[0129] In the first stage of air interface resource allocation, a third-party APP (i.e., the resource allocation component in the above embodiments) generates operation instructions. Then, the SDK (i.e., the first sub-processing component in the above embodiments) and the original APP (i.e., the second sub-processing component in the above embodiments) successively convert and adapt the operation instructions to the protocol, thereby obtaining a data acquisition message. This data acquisition message can be an E2AP-supporting message. Next, this data acquisition message is sequentially transmitted to the first message transceiver component and the second message transceiver component. The second message transceiver component, based on the message type, sends it to the reporting service model in the functional unit (the second message processing component in the above embodiments). The reporting service model then parses the data acquisition message to obtain the network performance data required to determine the air interface parameters. The data processing flow in the first stage described above is not included in the... Figure 11 As shown in the image.

[0130] In the second phase, after processing by the reporting service model, a reporting message conforming to E2AP and containing network performance data can be obtained. This network performance data can be obtained through the uplink interface. The reporting message can also be sequentially transmitted to the second message transceiver component, the first message transceiver component, and the original application. The original application parses the reporting message to obtain a pending message conforming to the message structure supported by the SDK. The SDK then parses this pending message so that the network performance data in the reporting message can ultimately be obtained by the third-party application. The third-party application can then determine the air interface parameters based on the obtained network performance data and the baseline quality data of the autonomous driving service.

[0131] Optionally, the controller can also deploy multiple different third-party applications, enabling it to perform not only air interface resource allocation but also wireless resource management, user behavior prediction, and other functions. However, it should be noted that... Figure 11 The third-party app shown is the one that enables the controller to have air interface resource allocation functionality, while the third-party apps that enable the controller to have other functions are not included. Figure 11 As shown in the image.

[0132] In the third stage, the air interface parameters determined by the third-party app are processed sequentially by the SDK and the original app to generate a response message containing the air interface parameters. This response message still supports E2AP. This response message is then transmitted sequentially to the first and second message transceiver components. The second message transceiver component can forward the response message to the control service model (the third message processing component in the above embodiments) based on its message type. The control service model then parses the response message and obtains the air interface parameters via the downlink interface. Finally, the functional unit can allocate air interface resources to vehicles using the autonomous driving service based on the parsed air interface parameters and the baseline quality data of the autonomous driving service.

[0133] In the above process, since network performance data and baseline quality data of autonomous driving services are used in determining air interface parameters, the allocation of air interface resources takes into account not only the network environment but also the attributes of the autonomous driving service itself. Therefore, when the vehicle uses the allocated air interface resources to access the RAN and further uses the autonomous driving service, the service quality of the autonomous driving service can be guaranteed.

[0134] Optionally, when the radio access network simultaneously accesses live video services and command-based services, the third-party application used to determine the air interface parameters can also jointly use the RAN's network performance data and the baseline quality data of each of the three services to determine the air interface parameters. These air interface parameters are then obtained via the downlink interface of the functional unit, and air interface resources are allocated accordingly to different types of terminal devices using different services. Specifically, live video services require high bandwidth and low latency, while command-based services require low bandwidth and low latency.

[0135] Optionally, when the reference quality data of at least one service in the radio access network changes, or when a new service is accessed in the radio access network, or when a new terminal device is accessed in the radio access network, or when the service used by the terminal device changes, the air interface resources can be reallocated in accordance with the methods provided in the above embodiments.

[0136] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, and not to limit them; although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features; and these modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A radio access network controller, characterized by The method comprises the following steps: The message processing component comprises a first processing sub-component and a second processing sub-component; The second processing sub-component is configured to parse the report message by using a callback function corresponding to the report message, to obtain a first to-be-processed message having a message structure supported by the first processing sub-component; The first processing sub-component is configured to parse the first to-be-processed message, to obtain a receiver identifier and network performance data contained in the first to-be-processed message; and send the network performance data to the resource allocation component having the receiver identifier. The resource allocation component is configured to send an operation instruction for obtaining network performance data to the message processing component; The message processing component is configured to generate a data acquisition message according to the operation instruction; 2. The controller of claim 1, wherein, The message processing component is configured to send the data acquisition message to the message transmission component; The message transmission component is configured to send the data acquisition message to the functional unit, so that the functional unit generates the report message in response to reception of the data acquisition message. The message processing component comprises a first processing sub-component and a second processing sub-component; 3. The controller of claim 1, wherein, The first processing sub-component is configured to convert the operation instruction into a second to-be-processed message having a message structure supported by the second processing sub-component; The second processing sub-component is configured to parse a message type of the second to-be-processed message; and generate the data acquisition message by using a callback function corresponding to the message type. The resource allocation component is configured to send the air interface parameter to the message processing component; The message processing component is configured to generate a response message containing the air interface parameter, the response message corresponding to the report message; 4. The controller of claim 3, wherein, The message processing component is configured to send the response message to the message transmission component; The message transmission component is configured to forward the response message to the functional unit, so that the functional unit allocates air interface resources for the terminal device according to the air interface parameter in the response message. The message processing component comprises a first processing sub-component and a second processing sub-component; 5. The controller of claim 1, wherein, ​ ​ ​ ​ 6. The controller of claim 5, wherein, ​ The first processing subcomponent is configured to determine a message type corresponding to the air interface parameter, and generate a third to-be-processed message having a message structure supported by the second processing subcomponent, the third to-be-processed message having the message type. The second processing subcomponent is configured to generate the response message containing the air interface parameter by using a callback function corresponding to the message type of the third to-be-processed message.

7. The controller of claim 5, wherein, The controller further comprises a connection management component configured to establish a data transmission connection between the message transceiver component and the functional unit. The message transceiver component is configured to transmit the response message to the functional unit via the data transmission connection.

8. The controller of claim 1, wherein, The resource allocation component comprises a first allocation subcomponent and a second allocation subcomponent. The first allocation subcomponent is configured to determine the modulation and coding strategy according to the running data and the benchmark quality data. The second allocation subcomponent is configured to determine the number of physical resource blocks according to the running data and the benchmark quality data.

9. The controller of claim 1, wherein, The resource allocation component is configured to determine a target service identifier according to the network performance data, determine benchmark quality data corresponding to the target service identifier, and determine the air interface parameter according to running data and the benchmark quality data.

10. The controller of claim 9, wherein, The resource allocation component is configured to input the network performance data into a classification model of the resource allocation component, so as to output the target service identifier by the classification model. The network performance data and the benchmark quality data are input into a parameter prediction model contained in the resource allocation component, so as to output the air interface parameter by the parameter prediction model.

11. A radio access network, characterized by The application comprises: a radio access network controller and a functional unit. The radio access network controller is configured to receive network performance data of the radio access network sent by the functional unit. The network performance data and benchmark quality data of a target service running in the radio access network are input into a machine learning model, so as to output an air interface parameter by the machine learning model, wherein the network performance data comprises network performance data reflecting real-time network performance of the radio access network in at least one of a physical layer, a data link layer and a network layer, and the air interface parameter comprises at least one of a modulation and coding strategy, a number of physical resource blocks and an uplink / downlink time slot ratio in a frame structure. The functional unit is configured to obtain the air interface parameter, and allocate air interface resources for a terminal device using the target service according to the air interface parameter, so that the terminal device accesses the radio access network.

12. The access network of claim 11, wherein, The radio access network controller comprises a first message transceiver component, a first message processing component and a resource allocation component. The first message transceiver component is configured to send a reporting message generated by a functional unit in the radio access network to the first message processing component. The first message processing component is configured to parse the reporting message to obtain network performance data of the radio access network, and send the network performance data to the resource allocation component. The resource allocation component is configured to input the network performance data and benchmark quality data of a target service running in the radio access network into a machine learning model, so as to output an air interface parameter by the machine learning model.

13. The access network of claim 12, wherein, The functional unit comprises a second message transceiver component, a second message processing component and an uplink interface; The second message processing component is configured to encapsulate the network performance data obtained through the uplink interface according to a communication protocol supported by the first message transceiver component and the second message transceiver component, to obtain the report message; The second message transceiver component is configured to forward the report message to the first message transceiver component.

14. The access network of claim 13, wherein, The functional unit further comprises a connection management component configured to establish a data transmission connection between the first message transceiver component and the second message transceiver component; The second message transceiver component is configured to transmit the report message to the first message transceiver component through the data transmission connection.

15. The access network of claim 13, wherein, The functional unit further comprises a downlink interface and a third message processing component; The second message transceiver component is configured to receive a response message sent by the first message transceiver component, the response message corresponding to the report message and containing the air interface parameter; and send the response message to the third message processing component corresponding to a message type of the response message according to the message type; The third message processing component is configured to parse the response message according to an interface specification of the downlink interface, to obtain the air interface parameter through the downlink interface.

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