System and method for multi-hop configuration in an IAB network to reduce latency

Abstract

A multi-hop configuration in an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) network for reducing latency is provided. For example, modifications to the backhaul adaptation protocol (BAP) header support faster data radio bearer (DRB) transmissions. Alternatively, for both signaling radio bearers (SRBs) and DRB flows, configuration forwarding can be used to reduce configuration latency, where a single RRCReconfiguration message is forwarded to an intermediate node that processes the configuration and returns a response independently. Alternatively, for both SRBs and DRB flows, configuration multicast can be used for simultaneous IAB node and backup configurations. A method for quickly activating a backup link in an IAB node is provided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application generally relates to wireless communication systems, including integrated access and backhaul (IAB) networks. Background Art

[0002] Wireless mobile communication technology uses various standards and protocols to transmit data between base stations and wireless mobile devices. Wireless communication system standards and protocols may include the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) (e.g., 4G) or New Radio (NR) (e.g., 5G); the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.16 standard, which is commonly referred to by industry organizations as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX); and the IEEE 802.11 standard for Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), which is commonly referred to by industry organizations as Wi-Fi. In the 3GPP Radio Access Network (RAN) in an LTE system, a base station may include a RAN node such as an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Node B (also commonly referred to as an evolved Node B, enhanced Node B, eNodeB, or eNB) and / or a Radio Network Controller (RNC) in the E-UTRAN, which communicates with a wireless communication device called a user equipment (UE). In the fifth generation (5G) wireless RAN, the RAN nodes may include 5G nodes, NR nodes (also known as next generation Node B or g NodeB (gNB)).

[0003] The RAN uses radio access technologies (RATs) to communicate between RAN nodes and UEs. The RAN may include Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) RAN (GERAN), Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), and / or E-UTRAN, which provide access to communication services through the core network. Each RAN operates according to a specific 3GPP RAT. For example, GERAN implements GSM and / or EDGE RATs, UTRAN implements Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) RATs or other 3GPP RATs, E-UTRAN implements LTE RATs, and NG-RAN implements 5G RATs. In some deployments, E-UTRAN may also implement 5G RATs. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004] To easily identify the discussion of any particular element or act, the most significant digit(s) in a reference number refers to the drawing number that first introduces the element.

[0005] Figure 1 An exemplary integrated access and backhaul (IAB) network is shown.

[0006] Figure 2AAn exemplary IAB network and corresponding signaling diagram for BH RLC channel setup according to one embodiment is shown.

[0007] Figure 2B An exemplary IAB network with backup links and corresponding signaling diagrams for BH RLC channel setup according to one embodiment are shown.

[0008] Figure 3 A BAP PDU is shown including a BAP header that may be modified according to one embodiment.

[0009] Figure 4 An IAB network and corresponding signaling diagram for BH RLC channel setup with BAP header modification according to one embodiment is shown.

[0010] Figure 5 A method according to one embodiment is shown.

[0011] Figure 6 An IAB network and corresponding signaling diagram are shown with BH RLC channel setup for configuration forwarding according to one embodiment.

[0012] Figure 7 An IAB network and corresponding signaling diagram for BH RLC channel setup according to one embodiment is shown.

[0013] Figure 8 An IAB network with a backup link and corresponding signaling diagram for BH RLC channel setup according to one embodiment is shown.

[0014] Figure 9 A method according to one embodiment is shown.

[0015] Figure 10 An exemplary MAC CE according to one embodiment is shown.

[0016] Figure 11 A method according to one embodiment is shown.

[0017] Figure 12 Infrastructure equipment according to one embodiment is shown.

[0018] Figure 13 A platform according to one embodiment is shown.

[0019] Figure 14 Components according to one embodiment are shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] The present disclosure relates to Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB), a feature designed in 3GPP to enable multi-hop routing. An IAB node acts as both an access node to a UE and provides backhaul (BH) links to other IAB nodes. In the wireless backhaul, the IP layer is carried on the Backhaul Adaptation Protocol (BAP) sublayer, which enables multi-hop routing. The BAP allows IAB nodes to communicate with each other and provides multiple functions, including, for example, mapping of next-hop Radio Link Control (RLC) channels, traffic-based routing to next-hop IAB nodes (both child and parent nodes), indication of network events (e.g., Radio Link Failure (RLF)), data transmission, and / or flow control feedback signaling.

[0021] On each backhaul link, a BH RLC channel carries the BAP protocol data units (PDUs). Multiple BH RLC channels can be configured on each BH link to allow traffic prioritization and quality of service (QoS) enforcement. BH-RLC-channel mapping for BAP PDUs is performed by the IAB donor data unit (DU) and the BAP entity on each IAB node. In some systems, RLC channel mapping is primarily accomplished via radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration messages (RRCReconfiguration messages) from the donor control unit (CU) to each of the individual nodes. In some implementations of BH RLC channel setup, separate RRCReconfiguration messages are used to ensure that the setup is completed hop by hop until the final destination (at the UE).

[0022] Even though the process of configuring each IAB node is done hop by hop, the configuration itself and the messages themselves are identical across the IAB nodes, resulting in multiple RRCReconfiguration round-trip time delays for the process. The extent of the delay issue is similar in both one-to-one (1-1) and many-to-one (many-1) BH RLC mapping configurations. Network events such as poor radio frequency (RF) coverage leading to RLF and node overload can cause further delays in establishing the BH RLC channel to the UE. As a result, applications with increased QoS, such as those requiring ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC), may face significant setup and maintenance delays.

[0023] Figure 11 shows an RRCReconfiguration of a BH RLC channel call flow for an exemplary IAB network 100. The IAB network 100 includes an IAB donor 102 having an optical connection (e.g., via an NG interface) to a core network 104 (e.g., an NR core). In this example, the IAB network 100 also includes an IAB node 106 (shown as IAB node 1) and an IAB node 108 (shown as IAB node 2), but any number of IAB nodes or hops may be used to establish a connection between the UE 110 and the core network 104. The IAB donor 102, which may also be referred to as a backend node, includes a DU 112 and a CU 114. The IAB node 106 and the IAB node 108 may be referred to as intermediate nodes, child nodes, or relay nodes, and each includes two subcomponents: a DU (shown as DU 116 and DU 118) and a mobile terminal (MT) (shown as MT 120 and MT 122).

[0024] The Mobile Equipment (MT) includes components that configure a network node (e.g., a gNB) to behave similarly to a conventional UE. For example, in MT with additional enhancements discussed in 3GPP Release 16 and Release 17, protocols used by typical UEs to connect to the network are supported. For example, the MT 122 allows the IAB node 108 to establish a signaling radio bearer (SRB) and / or a data radio bearer (DRB) with its parent node (the IAB donor 102). The MT performs cell selection to identify which parent node to join, establishes and utilizes RLC via the BAP layer, which provides functionality for routing data for different UEs over different routes through the network.

[0025] like Figure 1As shown, the IAB integration process 124 may include three phases (shown as Phase 1, Phase 2-1, and Phase 2-2) for an IAB node to join the IAB network 100. Phase 1 includes IAB node discovery integration, wherein, for example, IAB node 106, acting as a joining IAB node, may attempt to identify other IAB nodes, including IAB node 108 and IAB donor 102, to establish a connection with the core network 104. For example, IAB node 106 may use the functionality of its MT 120 to perform an initial access procedure. In Phase 2-1, IAB donor 102, IAB node 106, and IAB node 108 perform a routing update procedure to establish a routing scheme between them, through which data from UE 110 (and other UEs connected to IAB node 106) can reach the core network 104. For example, IAB donor 102 may establish one or more BHRLC channels at one or more intermediate hops toward IAB node 106 and update routing tables at the intermediate hops. Then, in phase 2-2, the DU 116 of the IAB node 106 is configured using the BH RLC connection established in phase 2-1. Once the DU 116 is set up, the IAB node 106 can serve the UE 110 and / or other UEs.

[0026] UE 110 and core network 104 may then perform a PDU session establishment / modification procedure 126, wherein UE 110 may send a measurement report 128 to IAB node 106 and core network 104 may send a PDU session establishment request 130. Figure 1 As shown, there may be a multi-hop delay in receiving reconfiguration complete messages from each of the IAB node 108, the IAB node 106, and the UE 110 before the PDU session establishment is complete and data flow 132 can begin between the UE 110 and the core network 104. For example, in response to the PDU session establishment request 130, the IAB donor 102 sequentially sends an RRCReconfiguration message with BH information (bh-RLC-ChannelToAddModList) and receives RRCReconfigurationComplete messages from the IAB node 108 and the IAB node 106. The IAB donor 102 then sends the RRCReconfiguration message to the UE 110 and receives an RRCReconfigurationComplete message in response, which is forwarded to the core network 104 to complete the PDU session establishment process. Such multi-hop delays may be undesirable for many applications.

[0027] Figure 2AAn exemplary IAB network 202a and corresponding signaling diagram 204a for BH RLC channel setup in certain network implementations are shown. The IAB network 202a includes an IAB donor 206 having a fiber backhaul connection to a 5G core network 208 (e.g., via an NG interface). In this example, the IAB network 202a also includes an IAB node 210 (shown as IAB node 1-1), an IAB node 212 (shown as IAB node 2-1), and an IAB node 214 (shown as IAB node 3-1). Also in this example, the IAB node 214 establishes communication between the UE 216 and the 5G core network 208 using a wireless backhaul (e.g., using an NR-Uu interface). A skilled person will recognize from the disclosure herein that any of the IAB nodes may also provide communication with other UEs. For example, the IAB node 210 may establish communication between the UE 218 and the 5G core network 208. As described above with respect to Figure 1 As described, the IAB donor 206 includes a DU and a CU, and each of the IAB node 210 , the IAB node 212 , and the IAB node 214 includes a DU and a MT.

[0028] Signaling diagram 204a illustrates the BH RLC channel setup process for an IAB network 202a implemented by certain wireless networks. The IAB donor 206 sends an RRCReconfiguration message 220 to the IAB node 210 and receives an RRCReconfigurationComplete message 222 in response. The IAB donor 206 then sends an RRCReconfiguration message 224 to the IAB node 212 and receives an RRCReconfigurationComplete message 226 in response. The IAB donor 206 then sends an RRCReconfiguration message 228 to the IAB node 214 and receives an RRCReconfigurationComplete message 230 in response. Finally, the IAB donor 206 sends an RRCReconfiguration message 232 to the UE 216 and receives an RRCReconfigurationComplete message 234 in response. By processing each hop RRCReconfiguration and RRCReconfigurationComplete message sequentially, the IAB donor 206 introduces a delay in the BH RLC channel setup procedure.

[0029] For example, Figure 2BAn exemplary IAB network 202b and corresponding signaling diagram 204b with backup links for BH RLC channel setup in certain network implementations are shown. In this example, a priority link between IAB node 210 and IAB node 214 is established via IAB node 212 (e.g., Figure 2A ), and the backup link between the IAB node 210 and the IAB node 214 is established through the IAB node 236 (shown as IAB node 2-2). The signaling diagram 204b includes Figure 2A Each of the RRCReconfiguration and RRCReconfigurationComplete messages shown in , is followed by additional messages to establish a path through the backup link. Figure 2B As shown, IAB donor 206 sends an RRCReconfiguration message 238 to IAB node 210 and receives an RRCReconfigurationComplete message 240. IAB donor 206 then sends an RRCReconfiguration message 242 to IAB node 236 and receives a response RRCReconfigurationComplete message 244. IAB donor 206 then sends an RRCReconfiguration message 246 to IAB node 214 and receives an RRCReconfigurationComplete message 248. Thus, Figure 2B The delay due to the sequential RRCReconfiguration and RRCReconfigurationComplete messages shown in Figure 2A The delay shown in .

[0030] Thus, certain embodiments herein provide for configuration delay reduction.

[0031] In certain embodiments, architectural changes are provided to improve efficiency. For example, network node grouping can be used so that nodes belonging to the same common configuration that require updating can be updated using a single RRCReconfiguration message (e.g., such as a group paging message). Groups can be formed from IAB nodes reaching the UE (similar to the Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP)). The subnet concept can be used to create a hierarchical architecture for the IAB network, where nodes acting as child nodes are part of a subnet of their parent node. This reduces the burden on multicast, where a single subnet prefix can then be used to specify all recipients.

[0032] In some embodiments, modifications to the BAP header support faster DRB transmission. In other embodiments, configuration forwarding is used to reduce configuration latency for both SRB and DRB flows, where a single RRCReconfiguration message is forwarded to intermediate nodes, with each intermediate node processing the configuration and returning a response independently. In yet another embodiment, configuration multicast is used for simultaneous IAB node and backup configuration for both SRB and DRB flows. In certain such embodiments, methods are provided for rapidly activating backup links in IAB nodes.

[0033] I.BAP header modification

[0034] In one embodiment, one or more fields are added to the BAP header to facilitate and / or accelerate the delivery of RRCReconfiguration messages to nodes in the path to the UE while preserving the reliability provided by the BAP. For example, in some cases, the destination address of the BAP header may be treated as a multicast address. Additionally, a single bit in the BAP header may be used to indicate whether the destination address is to be treated as a unicast address or a multicast address.

[0035] For example, Figure 3 A BAP PDU 300 is shown that includes a modified BAP header according to certain embodiments herein. The BAP header includes the first three octets of the BAP PDU 300. The first octet of the BAP header includes a D / C bit 302 for indicating whether the BAP PDU 300 is a BAP data PDU or a BAP control PDU, three reserved bits 304, and the first portion (e.g., four bits) of a destination field 306. The second octet of the BAP header includes the second portion (e.g., six bits) of the destination field 306 and the first portion (e.g., two bits) of a path field 308. The third octet of the BAP header includes the second portion (e.g., eight bits) of the path field 308. Following the BAP header, the BAP PDU 300 includes data 310.

[0036] In one embodiment, one of the reserved bits 304 (e.g., the most significant reserved bit) is reconfigured as a BAP multicast bit to indicate whether the destination field 306 is configured as a unicast address (i.e., the BAP address of the destination IAB node or IAB donor DU) or as a multicast address. For example, the BAP multicast bit may be set to "1" to indicate to intermediate nodes that the address provided in the destination field 306 should be treated as a broadcast address for the BAP path identifier (PathID) in the path field 308, and the BAP multicast bit may be set to "0" to indicate that the destination field 306 should be treated as a unicast address. In some embodiments, the actual RLC itself may be in transparent mode.

[0037] Using a BAP PDU 300 with a modified BAP header has several advantages. For example, since BAP is a network-only protocol, it is exchanged only between IAB nodes. Furthermore, the protocol can be extended from unicast to broadcast and other mechanisms. Furthermore, once the path is established (e.g., by changing the BAP multicast bit to indicate that the destination field 306 should be treated as a unicast address), the UE can be handled solely with RRC Reconfiguration.

[0038] When receiving a multicast RRCReconfiguration message, each IAB node returns a response using a unicast RRCReconfigurationComplete message via the BAP protocol. Thus, this method provides a faster way to collect and send responses to reduce round-trip delays.

[0039] In some such embodiments, as described above, network node grouping may be used so that the IAB node reaching the UE may be within the subnet identified by the destination field 306. For example, Figure 4 An IAB network 402 is shown for BH RLC channel setup with BAP header modification according to one embodiment (ie, Figure 2B 4) and corresponding signaling diagram 404. In this example, the IAB donor 206 generates an RRCReconfiguration message 406 including a modified BAP header in which the BAP multicast bit is set (R=1) to indicate that the destination field is a multicast address (e.g., indicating "subnet / k") for the BAP PathID ("aaaaaa"). For example, in response to receiving a PDU Session Establishment Request (see FIG. Figure 1 ), the IAB donor 206 may generate an RRCReconfiguration message 406. The IAB donor 206 sends the RRCReconfiguration message 406 to the IAB node 210.

[0040] IAB node 210 responds to IAB donor 206 with an RRCReconfigurationComplete message 408 and forwards RRCReconfiguration message 406 to IAB node 212. IAB node 212 responds by sending an RRCReconfigurationComplete message 410 to IAB donor 206 and forwards RRCReconfiguration message 406 to IAB node 214. IAB node 214 also responds by sending an RRCReconfigurationComplete message 412 to IAB donor 206. After configuring the IAB node with the multicast address, IAB donor 206 sends a unicast RRCReconfiguration message 414 to UE 216, and UE 216 responds by sending an RRCReconfigurationComplete message 416 to IAB donor 206. Similarly, IAB donor 206 may send other unicast RRCReconfiguration messages to other UEs connected to IAB node 214. After receiving the RRCReconfigurationComplete message 416, the IAB donor 206 may send a PDU session setup complete message to the core network (see Figure 1 ).

[0041] like Figure 4 As shown in the signaling diagram 404 of FIG, because the IAB donor 206 only sends the RRCReconfiguration message 406 once, the round trip delay is reduced. Figure 2B Compared with eight RRCReconfiguration and RRCReconfigurationComplete messages used in the example of , six RRCReconfiguration and RRCReconfigurationComplete messages are used using the BAP header modification for BH RLC channel setup, which indicates that the total delay is reduced.

[0042] Figure 5 is a flow chart of a method 500 for backhaul radio link control (RLC) channel establishment using the Backhaul Adaptation Protocol (BAP) in a wireless network according to one embodiment. The method 500 may be performed by, for example Figure 4and the IAB donor 206 shown in other figures herein. In block 502, method 500 includes generating a BAP protocol data unit (PDU) including a BAP header, the BAP header including a destination field, a path field, and a bit configured to indicate whether the destination field includes a unicast address or a multicast address. In block 504, method 500 includes generating a multicast radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration message including the BAP PDU. In block 506, method 500 includes processing, using the BAP, unicast RRC reconfiguration complete messages received from a plurality of integrated access and backhaul (IAB) nodes in response to sending the multicast RRC reconfiguration message.

[0043] Certain embodiments of method 500 further include setting the bit to instruct the plurality of IAB nodes to treat the address in the destination field as a multicast address of a path identifier in a path field of the BAP header. Method 500 may further include grouping the plurality of IAB nodes into a subnet corresponding to a subnet prefix and including the subnet prefix in the destination field of the BAP header.

[0044] In addition, or in other embodiments, method 500 includes: generating a BAP PDU in response to a PDU session establishment request from a core network; sending a unicast RRC reconfiguration message to a user equipment (UE) communicating with one of the multiple IAB nodes in response to processing a unicast RRC reconfiguration complete message from a plurality of IAB nodes; processing the RRC reconfiguration complete message from the UE; and sending a PDU session establishment complete message to the core network in response to the RRC reconfiguration complete message from the UE. The multiple IAB nodes may include a first IAB node for a priority link in a first backhaul path between the UE and the core network and a second IAB node for a backup link in a second backhaul path between the UE and the core network.

[0045] II. Configure forwarding

[0046] In some embodiments, a single RRCReconfiguration message is forwarded to the intermediate nodes, with each intermediate node processing the configuration and returning a response independently. New fields and / or information elements (IEs) may be created in the RRCReconfiguration message to allow packet forwarding to occur on a hop-by-hop basis between nodes. In some such embodiments, as described above, network node grouping may be used so that the IAB node reaching the UE may be within a subnet.

[0047] In an exemplary embodiment, a ForwardTo field (e.g., including the Internet Protocol address (ipAddress) of the next hop or a list of IP addresses for sequential hops) is added to the RRCReconfiguration message as an IE for the IAB node. Each intermediate node responds with a unicast RRCReconfigurationComplete message upon receiving an RRCReconfiguration message with a ForwardTo field. In some embodiments, countdown hopping or hotspot routing may be used.

[0048] In the event of a failure or a forwarding failure, the IAB node may only retry nodes that did not receive the RRCReconfiguration message. Additionally, or in another embodiment, the IAB node that detects a failure may use the same RRC procedure until a threshold number of attempts have been made. The threshold number of attempts may be defined in the IE of the RRCReconfiguration message.

[0049] In one embodiment, each intermediate node sends an RRCReconfigurationComplete message with its own ID. In another embodiment, the RRCReconfigurationComplete message is only sent by an end node or a failed node (eg, so that there is another attempt).

[0050] Figure 6 An IAB network 602 is shown for BH RLC channel setup with configuration forwarding according to certain embodiments (ie, Figure 2A6 ) and corresponding signaling diagram 604. In this example, IAB donor 206 sends an RRCReconfiguration message 606 to IAB node 210. RRCReconfiguration message 606 may include a forwarding address list (e.g., corresponding to IAB node 212 and IAB node 214). In response to RRCReconfiguration message 606, IAB node 210 responds to IAB donor 206 with an RRCReconfigurationComplete message 608. IAB node 210 determines the next-hop IP address from the forwarding address list and sends RRCReconfiguration message 606 to IAB node 212. IAB node 212 responds by sending an RRCReconfigurationComplete message 610 to IAB donor 206 and determines the next-hop IP address from the forwarding address list. IAB node 212 then sends RRCReconfiguration message 606 to IAB node 214. The IAB node 214 responds by sending an RRCReconfigurationComplete message 612 to the IAB donor 206. Thus, the round trip delay (e.g., Figure 2A compared to the example shown).

[0051] For example, Figure 7 An IAB network 702 with backup links for BH RLC channel setup according to certain embodiments is shown (ie, Figure 2B The IAB network 202b is shown and the corresponding signaling diagram 704. In order to forward from the IAB donor 206 to the IAB node 214 via the IAB node 236 using the backup link, the signaling diagram 704 includes Figure 6 Each of the RRCReconfiguration and RRCReconfigurationComplete messages shown is followed by additional messages to establish a path through the backup link. Figure 7As shown, IAB donor 206 sends an RRCReconfiguration message 706 to IAB node 210. RRCReconfiguration message 706 may include a forwarding address list (e.g., corresponding to IAB node 236 and IAB node 214). In response to RRCReconfiguration message 706, IAB node 210 responds to IAB donor 206 with an RRCReconfigurationComplete message 708. IAB node 210 determines the next-hop IP address from the forwarding address list and sends RRCReconfiguration message 706 to IAB node 236. IAB node 236 responds by sending an RRCReconfigurationComplete message 710 to IAB donor 206, and determines the next-hop IP address from the forwarding address list. IAB node 236 then sends RRCReconfiguration message 706 to IAB node 214. IAB node 214 responds by sending an RRCReconfigurationComplete message 712 to IAB donor 206. therefore, Figure 7 The round-trip delay in the example shown is less than Figure 2B Round trip latency in the example shown.

[0052] Alternatively, Figure 8 An IAB network 802 with backup links for BH RLC channel setup according to another embodiment with early path setup is shown (ie, Figure 2B804. In this example, the priority link and the backup link can be set up simultaneously (or nearly simultaneously). For example, IAB donor 206 sends an RRCReconfiguration message 806 to IAB node 210. RRCReconfiguration message 806 may include a forwarding address list. In response to RRCReconfiguration message 806, IAB node 210 responds to IAB donor 206 with an RRCReconfigurationComplete message 808. IAB node 210 determines the next hop IP address for both the priority link and the backup link from the forwarding address list and simultaneously or nearly simultaneously sends RRCReconfiguration message 706 to IAB node 212 and IAB node 236. IAB node 212 and IAB node 236 respond by sending RRCReconfigurationComplete messages 810 and 812, respectively, to IAB donor 206. IAB node 212 and IAB node 236 also each send an RRCReconfiguration message 806 to IAB node 214. IAB node 214 may respond to IAB donor 206 with a single RRCReconfigurationComplete message 814. In another embodiment, IAB node 214 responds with an RRCReconfigurationComplete message 814 corresponding to the RRCReconfiguration message 806 received from IAB node 212 and an RRCReconfigurationComplete message 816 corresponding to the RRCReconfiguration message 806 received from IAB node 236. In either case, Figure 7 This round trip delay is reduced compared to the round trip delay of the example shown.

[0053] In certain embodiments, as described below, a rapid activation signal is used to activate and deactivate the Figure 7 and Figure 8 The example shows a backup link established.

[0054] III. RRC Reconfiguration using Multicast

[0055] Certain embodiments provide for multicasting of configurations for simultaneous IAB node and backup configurations. For example, the IAB donor and child IAB nodes can be configured as subnets that allow multicasting. A single reconfiguration message can be sent to the subnet and all nodes belonging to that subnet. This reconfiguration message can be included in the ForSubnet IE.

[0056] The single-transmit, multiple-configuration model can be used for all architectures involving multiple DU components (e.g., sideline (SL), non-terrestrial network (NTN), etc.). Furthermore, the single-transmit, multiple-configuration model is equally applicable to both one-to-one (1-1) and many-to-one (many-1) mapping configurations of RLC for IAB. If the UE's IP address belongs to that subnet, the UE will apply the RRCReconfiguration settings. The UE will then respond with a unicast RRCReconfigurationComplete message. In certain embodiments, the network can also form an ad hoc configuration in this manner.

[0057] Advantages of this approach include being extensible to mobile IAB nodes (eg, because it is applicable to mobile NTN network nodes).

[0058] Figure 9 is a flow chart of a method 900 for backhaul radio link control (RLC) channel establishment using configuration forwarding in a wireless network, according to one embodiment. The method 900 may be performed by, for example Figures 6 to 8 The method 900 may be performed by the IAB donor 206 as shown in other figures herein. In block 902, the method 900 includes generating a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration message including an information element (IE), the IE including a forwarding field, wherein the forwarding field includes an address list for sequential hops between a plurality of integrated access and backhaul (IAB) nodes. In block 904, the method 900 includes sending the RRC reconfiguration message to a first IAB node among the plurality of IAB nodes for forwarding to a second IAB node among the plurality of IAB nodes.

[0059] In certain embodiments, method 900 further includes receiving an RRC reconfiguration complete message from each of the plurality of IAB nodes.

[0060] In certain embodiments, the method 900 further includes receiving an RRC reconfiguration complete message from an end node among the plurality of IAB nodes, wherein the end node is communicating with a user equipment (UE) or has detected a failure along a path for establishing a connection with the UE. Furthermore, the method 900 may include resending the RRC reconfiguration message to the failed IAB node among the plurality of IAB nodes based on the failure.

[0061] In certain embodiments, method 900 further includes, based on receiving one or more RRC reconfiguration complete messages, attempting to resend the RRC reconfiguration message up to a threshold number of times until the backhaul RLC channel establishment is completed.

[0062] In certain embodiments, method 900 further includes grouping a plurality of IAB nodes into a subnet corresponding to a subnet prefix. The plurality of IAB nodes may establish a priority link in a first path between the UE and the core network, and establish a backup link in a second path between the UE and the core network. The RRC reconfiguration message may include a first RRC reconfiguration message corresponding to a first backhaul path including the priority link, and method 900 may further include: generating a second RRC reconfiguration message including an IE including a forwarding field, wherein the forwarding field includes an address of a third IAB node for the backup link; and sending the second RRC reconfiguration message to a first IAB node among the plurality of IAB nodes for direct or indirect forwarding to a third IAB node among the plurality of IAB nodes. Method 900 may further include: receiving an RRC reconfiguration complete message corresponding to the first backhaul path before sending the second RRC reconfiguration message; transmitting the first RRC reconfiguration message and the second RRC reconfiguration message simultaneously to establish both the priority link and the backup link; or processing a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) including an indication to activate the backup link. The MAC CE may include an activation / deactivation field and a path identifier (ID) field, and the activation / deactivation field may indicate whether a second path corresponding to a backup link identified by the path ID field is activated or deactivated.

[0063] In certain embodiments, method 900 further includes processing downlink control information (DCI) using a DCI format configured for exchange between multiple IAB nodes, the DCI format for transmitting a set of IAB commands for inter-IAB communication, the set of IAB commands including a command to activate a backup link.

[0064] IV. Fast Activation of Backup Links in IAB Nodes

[0065] In the scenario where the primary path is lost due to RLF and a secondary path needs to be established in the IAB network, multiple RRCReconfiguration messages may be sent to ensure that the backup IAB path is established by the CU. For example, see Figure 2B In certain embodiments herein, a configuration multicast technique is used to simultaneously establish secondary backup links (e.g., see Figure 8 However, once an outage is detected, activating the backup link using one of the forwarding techniques at the RRC introduces additional delay. Therefore, in certain embodiments, techniques using the layer 1 (L1) and / or layer 2 (L2) stack are provided to activate the established backup link.

[0066] In one embodiment, a new medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) is provided for activating the backup link. This can be similar to, for example, carrier aggregation (CA) activation for IAB nodes only. For example, Figure 10 An exemplary MAC CE 1000 is shown including an activation / deactivation field 1002 and a path ID field 1004. A plurality of reserved bits (R) may also be included. The activation / deactivation field 1002 indicates whether the path identified by the path ID field 1004 (e.g., the path corresponding to the backup link) is activated or deactivated.

[0067] In another embodiment, a new downlink control information (DCI) format may be used only for exchanges between IAB nodes. For example, DCI format 4_0 may be used to transmit a set of IAB commands for inter-IAB communication by one or more IAB parent nodes. Thus, this DCI format can be used to quickly activate or deactivate links established in an IAB network.

[0068] Figure 11 1 is a flow chart of a method 1100 for backhaul radio link control (RLC) channel establishment using radio resource configuration (RRC) reconfiguration with multicast, according to one embodiment. In block 1102, the method 1100 includes configuring an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) donor node and one or more child IAB nodes as a subnet. In block 1104, the method 1100 includes generating a reconfiguration message to be sent to the subnet. The reconfiguration message includes an information element (IE) for the subnet, the IE including configuration settings for backhaul RLC channel establishment. The IE identifies the subnet to instruct the IAB donor node and one or more child IAB nodes having an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the subnet to apply the configuration settings.

[0069] In one embodiment of the method 1100, the configuration settings are for a one-to-one (1-1) or many-to-one (many-1) mapping configuration of RLC for IAB.

[0070] Figure 12 An example of infrastructure equipment 1200 according to various embodiments is shown. The infrastructure equipment 1200 can be implemented as a base station, a radio head, a RAN node, an AN, an application server, and / or any other element / device discussed herein. In other examples, the infrastructure equipment 1200 can be implemented in or by a UE.

[0071] The infrastructure equipment 1200 includes application circuitry 1202, baseband circuitry 1204, one or more radio front-end modules 1206 (RFEMs), memory circuitry 1208, a power management integrated circuit (shown as PMIC 1210), a power tee circuit 1212, a network controller circuit 1214, a network interface connector 1220, a satellite positioning circuit 1216, and a user interface circuit 1218. In some embodiments, the infrastructure equipment 1200 may include additional elements such as memory / storage, a display, a camera, sensors, or input / output (I / O) interfaces. In other embodiments, these components may be included in more than one device. For example, the circuitry may be separately included in more than one device for a CRAN, vBBU, or other similar implementation. The application circuitry 1202 includes circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more processors (processor cores), cache memory, and one or more of the following: a low dropout regulator (LDO), an interrupt controller, a serial interface such as SPI, an Ethernet port, or a serial bus. 2 12. The infrastructure equipment 1200 may include a C or general-purpose programmable serial interface module, a real-time clock (RTC), a timer-counter including an interval timer and a watchdog timer, general-purpose input / output (I / O or IO), a memory card controller such as a secure digital (SD) multimedia card (MMC) or similar product, a universal serial bus (USB) interface, a mobile industry processor interface (MIPI) interface, and a joint test access group (JTAG) test access port. The processor (or core) of the application circuit 1202 may be coupled to or may include a memory / storage element and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage device to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the infrastructure equipment 1200. In some specific implementations, the memory / storage element may be an on-chip memory circuit that may include any suitable volatile and / or non-volatile memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, solid-state memory, and / or any other type of memory device technology, such as those discussed herein.

[0072] The processor of the application circuit 1202 may include, for example, one or more processor cores (CPUs), one or more application processors, one or more graphics processing units (GPUs), one or more reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processors, one or more Acorn RISC Machine (ARM) processors, one or more complex instruction set computing (CISC) processors, one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), one or more FPGAs, one or more PLDs, one or more ASICs, one or more microprocessors or controllers, or any suitable combination thereof. In some embodiments, the application circuit 1202 may include or may be a dedicated processor / controller for operating in accordance with various embodiments herein. As an example, the processor of the application circuit 1202 may include one or more Intel or Processor: Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Processor, Accelerated Processing Unit (APU), or processors; ARM-based processors licensed by ARM Holdings, Ltd., such as the ARM Cortex-A series processors and MIPS-based designs from MIPS Technologies, Inc., such as the MIPS Warrior P-class processor; etc. In some embodiments, the infrastructure equipment 1200 may not utilize application circuitry 1202 and instead may include a dedicated processor / controller to process IP data received, for example, from an EPC or 5GC.

[0073] In some implementations, the application circuit 1202 may include one or more hardware accelerators, which may be microprocessors, programmable processing devices, and the like. The one or more hardware accelerators may include, for example, computer vision (CV) and / or deep learning (DL) accelerators. For example, the programmable processing device may be one or more field programmable devices (FPDs), such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs); programmable logic devices (PLDs), such as complex PLDs (CPLDs) and high-capacity PLDs (HCPLDs); ASICs, such as structured ASICs; programmable SoCs (PSoCs); and the like. In such embodiments, the circuitry of the application circuit 1202 may include logic blocks or logic fabrics, as well as other interconnected resources that can be programmed to perform various functions, such as the processes, methods, functions, and the like of the various embodiments discussed herein. In such embodiments, the circuitry of application circuitry 1202 may include memory cells (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, static memory (e.g., static random access memory (SRAM), antifuse, etc.)) for storing logic blocks, logic structures, data, etc. in a lookup table (LUT), etc. The baseband circuitry 1204 may be implemented, for example, as a solder-in substrate including one or more integrated circuits, a single packaged integrated circuit soldered to a main circuit board, or a multi-chip module containing two or more integrated circuits.

[0074] The user interface circuitry 1218 may include one or more user interfaces designed to enable a user to interact with the infrastructure equipment 1200 or a peripheral component interface designed to enable a peripheral component to interact with the infrastructure equipment 1200. The user interface may include, but is not limited to, one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), one or more indicators (e.g., light emitting diodes (LEDs)), a physical keyboard or keypad, a mouse, a touchpad, a touch screen, a speaker or other audio transmitting device, a microphone, a printer, a scanner, a headset, a display screen or display device, etc. The peripheral component interface may include, but is not limited to, a non-volatile memory port, a universal serial bus (USB) port, an audio jack, a power port, etc.

[0075] The radio front-end module 1206 may include a millimeter wave (mmWave) radio front-end module (RFEM) and one or more sub-millimeter wave radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs). In some implementations, the one or more sub-millimeter wave RFICs may be physically separate from the mmWave RFEM. The RFIC may include connections to one or more antennas or antenna arrays, and the RFEM may be connected to multiple antennas. In alternative implementations, both mmWave and sub-millimeter wave radio functionality may be implemented in the same physical radio front-end module 1206, incorporating both mmWave antennas and sub-millimeter waves.

[0076] The memory circuit 1208 may include one or more of the following: a volatile memory including a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and / or a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), and a non-volatile memory (NVM) including a high-speed electrically erasable memory (commonly referred to as a "flash memory"), a phase change random access memory (PRAM), a magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), etc., and may be combined with and The memory circuit 1208 may be implemented as one or more of the following: a solder-in package integrated circuit, a socket memory module, and a plug-in memory card.

[0077] PMIC 1210 may include a voltage regulator, a surge protector, a power alarm detection circuit, and one or more backup power sources, such as batteries or capacitors. The power alarm detection circuit may detect one or more of a brownout (undervoltage) and a surge (overvoltage) condition. Power T-circuit 1212 may provide electrical power drawn from the network cable to provide both power and data connectivity for infrastructure equipment 1200 using a single cable.

[0078] The network controller circuit 1214 can provide connectivity to the network using a standard network interface protocol such as Ethernet, Ethernet based on GRE tunnels, Ethernet based on Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS), or some other suitable protocol. Network connectivity can be provided to / from the infrastructure equipment 1200 via the network interface connector 1220 using a physical connection, which can be an electrical connection (commonly referred to as a "copper interconnect"), an optical connection, or a wireless connection. The network controller circuit 1214 may include one or more dedicated processors and / or FPGAs for communicating using one or more of the aforementioned protocols. In some implementations, the network controller circuit 1214 may include multiple controllers for providing connectivity to other networks using the same or different protocols.

[0079] The positioning circuit 1216 includes circuits for receiving and decoding signals transmitted / broadcasted by a positioning network of a global navigation satellite system (or GNSS). Examples of navigation satellite constellations (or GNSS) include the United States' Global Positioning System (GPS), Russia's Global Navigation System (GLONASS), the European Union's Galileo system, China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, regional navigation systems, or GNSS augmentation systems (e.g., navigation using the Indian constellation (NAVIC), Japan's Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), France's Doppler Orbit Chart and Satellite Integrated Radiolocation (DORIS), etc.). The positioning circuit 1216 includes various hardware elements (e.g., including hardware devices such as switches, filters, amplifiers, antenna elements, etc. for facilitating OTA communications) to communicate with components of the positioning network, such as navigation satellite constellation nodes. In some embodiments, the positioning circuit 1216 may include a micro technology (microPNT) IC for positioning, navigation, and timing that uses a master timing clock to perform position tracking / estimation without GNSS assistance. The positioning circuit 1216 may also be part of or interact with the baseband circuit 1204 and / or the radio front end module 1206 to communicate with nodes and components of the positioning network. The positioning circuit 1216 may also provide location data and / or time data to the application circuit 1202, which may use the data to synchronize operations with various infrastructure, etc. Figure 12 The components shown may communicate with each other using interface circuitry that may include any number of bus and / or interconnect (IX) technologies, such as Industry Standard Architecture (ISA), Extended ISA (EISA), Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI), Peripheral Component Interconnect Extended (PCix), PCI express (PCie), or any number of other technologies. The bus / IX may be a proprietary bus, such as used in SoC-based systems. Other bus / IX systems may be included, such as I 2 C interface, SPI interface, point-to-point interface and power bus, etc.

[0080] Figure 13 An example of a platform 1300 according to various embodiments is shown. In an embodiment, the computer platform 1300 may be suitable for use as a UE, an application server, and / or any other element / device discussed herein. The platform 1300 may include any combination of the components shown in the examples. The components of the platform 1300 may be implemented as integrated circuits (ICs), portions of ICs, discrete electronic devices, or other modules, logic, hardware, software, firmware, or combinations thereof adapted into the computer platform 1300, or as components otherwise incorporated within the chassis of a larger system. Figure 13The block diagram is intended to show a high-level view of the components of computer platform 1300. However, some of the components shown may be omitted, additional components may be present, and different arrangements of the components shown may occur in other implementations.

[0081] Application circuit 1302 includes circuits such as, but not limited to, one or more processors (or processor cores), cache memory, and LDO, interrupt controller, serial interface (such as SPI), I 2 The application circuit 1302 may include one or more of a C or general purpose programmable serial interface module, an RTC, timers (including interval timers and watchdog timers), general purpose IO, a memory card controller (such as an SD MMC or similar controller), a USB interface, a MIPI interface, and a JTAG test access port. The processor (or core) of the application circuit 1302 may be coupled to or may include a memory / storage element and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage device to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the platform 1300. In some specific implementations, the memory / storage element may be an on-chip memory circuit that may include any suitable volatile and / or non-volatile memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, solid-state memory, and / or any other type of memory device technology, such as those discussed herein.

[0082] The processor of the application circuit 1302 may include, for example, one or more processor cores, one or more application processors, one or more GPUs, one or more RISC processors, one or more ARM processors, one or more CISC processors, one or more DSPs, one or more FPGAs, one or more PLDs, one or more ASICs, one or more microprocessors or controllers, a multi-threaded processor, an ultra-low voltage processor, an embedded processor, some other known processing element, or any suitable combination thereof. In some embodiments, the application circuit 1302 may include or may be a dedicated processor / controller for operating according to various embodiments herein.

[0083] As an example, the processor of the application circuit 1302 may include a processor based on Architecture TM Processors such as Quark TM 、Atom TM , i3, i5, i7 or MCU-class processors, or can be purchased from The processor of application circuit 1302 may also be one or more of the following: Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Processor or Accelerated Processing Unit (APU); from Inc.'s AS-A9 processor, Snapdragon by Technologies, Inc. TM processors, Texas Instruments, Open Multimedia Applications Platform(OMAP) TM processors; MIPS-based designs from MIPS Technologies, Inc., such as the MIPS Warrior M-class, Warrior I-class, and Warrior P-class processors; ARM-based designs licensed from ARM Holdings, Ltd., such as the ARM Cortex-A, Cortex-R, and Cortex-M series processors; etc. In some implementations, the application circuit 1302 can be part of a system on a chip (SoC), in which the application circuit 1302 and other components are formed as a single integrated circuit or a single package, such as company( Edison Corporation TM or Galileo TM SoC board.

[0084] Additionally or alternatively, application circuit 1302 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more field programmable devices (FPDs) such as FPGAs; programmable logic devices (PLDs) such as complex PLDs (CPLDs), high-capacity PLDs (HCPLDs); ASICs such as structured ASICs; programmable SoCs (PSoCs); and the like. In such embodiments, the circuitry of application circuit 1302 may include logic blocks or logic fabrics, as well as other interconnected resources that can be programmed to perform various functions, such as the processes, methods, functions, and the like of the various embodiments discussed herein. In such embodiments, the circuitry of application circuit 1302 may include memory cells (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, static memory (e.g., static random access memory (SRAM), antifuse), and the like) for storing logic blocks, logic fabrics, data, and the like in lookup tables (LUTs) and the like.

[0085] Baseband circuitry 1304 may be implemented, for example, as a solder-in substrate including one or more integrated circuits, a single packaged integrated circuit soldered to a main circuit board, or a multi-chip module containing two or more integrated circuits.

[0086] The radio front-end module 1306 may include a millimeter wave (mmWave) radio front-end module (RFEM) and one or more sub-millimeter wave radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs). In some implementations, the one or more sub-millimeter wave RFICs may be physically separate from the mmWave RFEM. The RFIC may include connections to one or more antennas or antenna arrays, and the RFEM may be connected to multiple antennas. In alternative implementations, both mmWave and sub-millimeter wave radio functionality may be implemented in the same physical radio front-end module 1306, incorporating both mmWave antennas and sub-millimeter waves.

[0087] Memory circuit 1308 may include any number and type of memory devices for providing a fixed amount of system memory. For example, memory circuit 1308 may include one or more of the following: volatile memory, including random access memory (RAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), and / or synchronous dynamic RAM (SD RAM); and non-volatile memory (NVM), including high-speed electrically erasable memory (commonly referred to as flash memory), phase-change random access memory (PRAM), magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), etc. Memory circuit 1308 may be developed according to a Joint Electron Device Engineering Council (JEDEC) low-power double data rate (LPDDR)-based design, such as LPDDR2, LPDDR3, LPDDR4, etc. The memory circuit 1308 may be implemented as one or more of the following: a solder-in package integrated circuit, a single die package (SDP), a dual die package (DDP), or a quad die package (Q17P), a socketed memory module, a dual in-line memory module (DIMM) including a micro DIMM or a mini DIMM, and / or soldered to a motherboard via a ball grid array (BGA). In a low-power implementation, the memory circuit 1308 may be on-chip memory or registers associated with the application circuit 1302. To provide persistent storage of information such as data, applications, operating systems, etc., the memory circuit 1308 may include one or more mass storage devices, which may include, among others, a solid-state disk drive (SSDD), a hard disk drive (HDD), a micro HDD, a resistive change memory, a phase change memory, a holographic memory, or a chemical memory. For example, the computer platform 1300 may be combined with a computer system obtained from and Three-dimensional (3D) cross-point (XPOINT) memory.

[0088] Removable storage 1326 may include devices, circuitry, housings / casings, ports or receptacles, etc., for coupling portable data storage devices to platform 1300. These portable data storage devices may be used for mass storage and may include, for example, flash memory cards (e.g., Secure Digital (SD) cards, micro SD cards, xD picture cards, etc.), as well as USB flash drives, optical disks, external HDDs, etc.

[0089] Platform 1300 may also include interface circuitry (not shown) for connecting external devices to platform 1300. External devices connected to platform 1300 via the interface circuitry include sensors 1322 and electromechanical components (shown as EMC 1324), as well as removable memory devices coupled to removable memory 1326.

[0090] Sensors 1322 include devices, modules, or subsystems whose purpose is to detect events or changes in their environment and send information about the detected events (sensor data) to some other device, module, subsystem, etc. Examples of such sensors include, among others: an inertial measurement unit (IMU) including an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and / or a magnetometer; a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) or nanoelectromechanical system (NEMS) including a three-axis accelerometer, a three-axis gyroscope, and / or a magnetometer; a fluid level sensor; a flow sensor; a temperature sensor (e.g., a thermistor); a pressure sensor; a barometric pressure sensor; a gravity meter; an altimeter; an image capture device (e.g., a camera or a lensless aperture); a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensor; a proximity sensor (e.g., an infrared radiation detector, etc.), a depth sensor, an ambient light sensor, an ultrasonic transceiver; a microphone or other similar audio capture device; etc.

[0091] The EMC 1324 includes devices, modules, or subsystems designed to enable the platform 1300 to change its state, position, and / or orientation, or to move or control mechanisms or (sub)systems. Additionally, the EMC 1324 can be configured to generate and send messages / signaling to other components of the platform 1300 to indicate the current state of the EMC 1324. Examples of EMC 1324 include one or more power switches, relays (including electromechanical relays (EMRs) and / or solid-state relays (SSRs)), actuators (e.g., valve actuators, etc.), audible sound generators, visual warning devices, motors (e.g., DC motors, stepper motors, etc.), wheels, thrusters, propellers, claws, clamps, hooks, and / or other similar electromechanical components. In an embodiment, the platform 1300 is configured to operate one or more EMCs 1324 based on one or more capture events and / or instructions or control signals received from service providers and / or various clients. In some implementations, the interface circuitry can connect the platform 1300 to the positioning circuitry 1316. The positioning circuit 1316 includes circuitry for receiving and decoding signals transmitted / broadcasted by a GNSS positioning network. Examples of navigation satellite constellations (or GNSS) may include the United States' GPS, Russia's GLONASS, the European Union's Galileo system, China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, regional navigation systems, or GNSS augmentation systems (e.g., NAVIC, Japan's QZSS, France's DORIS, etc.). The positioning circuit 1316 includes various hardware elements (e.g., including hardware devices such as switches, filters, amplifiers, antenna elements, etc. for facilitating OTA communications) to communicate with components of the positioning network, such as navigation satellite constellation nodes. In some embodiments, the positioning circuit 1316 may include a micro PNT IC that uses a master timing clock to perform position tracking / estimation without GNSS assistance. The positioning circuit 1316 may also be part of or interact with the baseband circuit 1304 and / or the radio front-end module 1306 to communicate with nodes and components of the positioning network. Positioning circuitry 1316 may also provide location data and / or time data to application circuitry 1302 , which may use the data to synchronize operations with various infrastructure (eg, radio base stations) for use in turn-by-turn navigation applications, and the like.

[0092] In some implementations, the interface circuitry can connect the platform 1300 to near-field communication circuitry (illustrated as NFC circuitry 1312). The NFC circuitry 1312 is configured to provide contactless, short-range communication based on the radio frequency identification (RFID) standard, where magnetic field induction is used to enable communication between the NFC circuitry 1312 and an NFC-enabled device (e.g., an "NFC touchpoint") external to the platform 1300. The NFC circuitry 1312 includes an NFC controller coupled to an antenna element and a processor coupled to the NFC controller. The NFC controller can be a chip / IC that provides NFC functionality to the NFC circuitry 1312 by executing NFC controller firmware and an NFC stack. The NFC stack can be executed by the processor to control the NFC controller, and the NFC controller firmware can be executed by the NFC controller to control the antenna element to transmit short-range RF signals. The RF signals can power a passive NFC tag (e.g., a microchip embedded in a sticker or wristband) to transfer stored data to the NFC circuitry 1312, or initiate data transfer between the NFC circuitry 1312 and another active NFC device (e.g., a smartphone or an NFC-enabled POS terminal) in close proximity to the platform 1300.

[0093] Driver circuitry 1318 may include software and hardware components for controlling specific devices embedded in, attached to, or otherwise communicatively coupled to platform 1300. Driver circuitry 1318 may include various drivers to allow other components of platform 1300 to interact with or control various input / output (I / O) devices that may be present within or connected to platform 1300. For example, driver circuitry 1318 may include a display driver for controlling and enabling access to a display device, a touch screen driver for controlling and enabling access to a touch screen interface of platform 1300, a sensor driver for obtaining sensor readings from sensor 1322 and controlling and enabling access to sensor 1322, an EMC driver for obtaining actuator positions of EMC 1324 and / or controlling and enabling access to EMC 1324, a camera driver for controlling and enabling access to an embedded image capture device, and an audio driver for controlling and enabling access to one or more audio devices.

[0094] A power management integrated circuit (shown as PMIC 1310) (also referred to as a "power management circuit") can manage the power provided to various components of platform 1300. Specifically, PMIC 1310 can control power source selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion with respect to baseband circuitry 1304. PMIC 1310 is typically included when platform 1300 is capable of being powered by battery 1314, such as when the device is included in a UE.

[0095] In some embodiments, PMIC 1310 may control or otherwise be part of various power-saving mechanisms of platform 1300. For example, if platform 1300 is in the RRC_Connected state, in which it remains connected to a RAN node because it expects to receive traffic soon, after a period of inactivity, the platform may enter a state known as discontinuous reception mode (DRX). During this state, platform 1300 may power down for short intervals, thereby saving power. If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period, platform 1300 may transition to the RRC_Idle state, in which it is disconnected from the network and does not perform operations such as channel quality feedback or handovers. Platform 1300 enters a very low-power state and performs paging, in which it periodically wakes up to listen to the network before powering down again. Platform 1300 may not receive data in this state; to receive data, it must transition back to the RRC_Connected state. Additional power-saving modes can prevent a device from using the network for periods exceeding the paging interval (which can range from a few seconds to several hours). During this time, the device is completely unable to connect to the network and can be completely powered off. Any data sent during this time will incur significant delays, assuming that the delay is acceptable.

[0096] Battery 1314 can power platform 1300, but in some examples, platform 1300 can be installed in a fixed location and can have a power source coupled to the power grid. Battery 1314 can be a lithium-ion battery, a metal-air battery such as a zinc-air battery, an aluminum-air battery, a lithium-air battery, etc. In some implementations, such as in V2X applications, battery 1314 can be a typical lead-acid car battery.

[0097] In some implementations, the battery 1314 may be a "smart battery" that includes or is coupled to a battery management system (BMS) or a battery monitoring integrated circuit. The BMS may be included in the platform 1300 to track the state of charge (SoCh) of the battery 1314. The BMS may be used to monitor other parameters of the battery 1314, such as the state of health (SoH) and state of function (SoF) of the battery 1314 to provide fault prediction. The BMS may transmit information about the battery 1314 to the application circuit 1302 or other components of the platform 1300. The BMS may also include an analog-to-digital (ADC) converter that allows the application circuit 1302 to directly monitor the voltage of the battery 1314 or the current from the battery 1314. The battery parameters may be used to determine actions that the platform 1300 may perform, such as transmission frequency, network operation, sensing frequency, etc.

[0098] A power brick or other power source coupled to the grid can be coupled to the BMS to charge battery 1314. In some examples, the power brick can be replaced with a wireless power receiver to wirelessly access power, for example, via a loop antenna in computer platform 1300. In these examples, wireless battery charging circuitry can be included in the BMS. The specific charging circuit selected can depend on the size of battery 1314 and, therefore, the required current. Charging can be performed using the aviation fuel standard published by the Aviation Fuel Alliance, the Qi wireless charging standard published by the Wireless Power Consortium, or the Rezence charging standard published by the Wireless Power Consortium.

[0099] The user interface circuit 1320 includes various input / output (I / O) devices present within or connected to the platform 1300, and includes one or more user interfaces designed to implement user interaction with the platform 1300 and / or peripheral component interfaces designed to implement interaction with peripheral components of the platform 1300. The user interface circuit 1320 includes input device circuits and output device circuits. The input device circuit includes any physical or virtual means for accepting input, including, in particular, one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), a physical keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a trackpad, a touch screen, a microphone, a scanner, a headset, etc. The output device circuit includes any physical or virtual means for displaying information or otherwise conveying information (such as sensor readings, actuator positions, or other similar information). The output device circuitry may include any number and / or combination of audio or visual displays, including, among other things, one or more simple visual outputs / indicators such as binary state indicators (e.g., light emitting diodes (LEDs)) and multi-character visual outputs, or more complex outputs such as a display device or touch screen (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), an LED display, a quantum dot display, a projector, etc.), where output of characters, graphics, multimedia objects, etc., is generated or produced by the operation of the platform 1300. The output device circuitry may also include a speaker or other audio emitting device, a printer, etc. In some embodiments, the sensor 1322 may function as an input device circuitry (e.g., an image capture device, a motion capture device, etc.) and one or more EMCs may function as output device circuitry (e.g., an actuator for providing tactile feedback, etc.). In another example, an NFC circuit may be included to read an electronic tag and / or connect to another NFC-enabled device, the NFC circuitry including an NFC controller and a processing device coupled to an antenna element. Peripheral component interfaces may include, but are not limited to, a non-volatile memory port, a USB port, an audio jack, a power port, etc.

[0100] Although not shown, the components of the platform 1300 may communicate with each other using a suitable bus or interconnect (IX) technology, which may include any number of technologies, including ISA, EISA, PCI, PCix, PCie, a time-triggered protocol (TTP) system, a FlexRay system, or any number of other technologies. The bus / IX may be a proprietary bus / IX, such as used in SoC-based systems. Other bus / IX systems, such as I 2 C interface, SPI interface, point-to-point interface and power bus, etc.

[0101] Figure 14 is a block diagram illustrating a component 1400 capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and capable of performing any one or more of the methods discussed herein, according to some exemplary embodiments. Specifically, Figure 14 A diagrammatic representation of hardware resources 1402 is shown including one or more processors 1406 (or processor cores), one or more memory / storage devices 1414, and one or more communication resources 1424, each of which may be communicatively coupled via a bus 1416. For embodiments in which node virtualization (e.g., NFV) is utilized, a hypervisor 1422 may be executed to provide an execution environment for one or more network slices / sub-slices to utilize the hardware resources 1402.

[0102] Processor 1406 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digital signal processor (DSP) (such as a baseband processor), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor, or any suitable combination thereof) may include, for example, processor 1408 and processor 1410.

[0103] The memory / storage device 1414 may include main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof. The memory / storage device 1414 may include, but is not limited to, any type of volatile or non-volatile memory, such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid-state storage, etc.

[0104] The communication resources 1424 may include interconnect or network interface components or other suitable devices to communicate with one or more peripheral devices 1404 or one or more databases 1420 via the network 1418. For example, the communication resources 1424 may include wired communication components (e.g., for coupling via a universal serial bus (USB)), cellular communication components, NFC components, Parts (such as Low power consumption), components and other communication components.

[0105] The instructions 1412 may include software, a program, an application, an applet, an application, or other executable code for causing at least one of the processors 1406 to perform any one or more of the methods discussed herein. The instructions 1412 may reside, in whole or in part, within at least one of the processors 1406 (e.g., within a cache memory of the processor), the memory / storage device 1414, or any suitable combination thereof. Furthermore, any portion of the instructions 1412 may be transferred to the hardware resources 1402 from any combination of the peripheral devices 1404 or the database 1420. Thus, the memory of the processor 1406, the memory / storage device 1414, the peripheral devices 1404, and the database 1420 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

[0106] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components shown in one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, and / or methods described in the Examples section below. For example, the baseband circuitry described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the following examples. For another example, circuitry associated with the UE, base station, network element, etc. described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples shown in the Examples section below.

[0107] Examples

[0108] The following examples relate to additional embodiments.

[0109] Embodiment 1 is a method for establishing a backhaul radio link control (RLC) channel using a backhaul adaptation protocol (BAP) in a wireless network. The method includes generating a BAP protocol data unit (PDU) including a BAP header, the BAP header including a destination field, a path field, and a bit configured to indicate whether the destination field includes a unicast address or a multicast address; generating a multicast radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration message including the BAP PDU; and in response to sending the multicast RRC reconfiguration message, processing unicast RRC reconfiguration complete messages received from multiple integrated access and backhaul (IAB) nodes using the BAP.

[0110] Embodiment 2 includes the method of embodiment 1, further comprising setting the bit to instruct the plurality of IAB nodes to treat the address in the destination field as a multicast address of a path identifier in the path field of the BAP header.

[0111] Embodiment 3 includes the method of embodiment 2, further comprising: grouping the plurality of IAB nodes into subnets corresponding to subnet prefixes; and including the subnet prefix in the destination field of the BAP header.

[0112] Example 4 includes the method described in Example 1, further comprising: generating the BAP PDU in response to a PDU session establishment request from the core network; sending a unicast RRC reconfiguration message to a user equipment (UE) communicating with one of the multiple IAB nodes in response to processing the unicast RRC reconfiguration completion message from the multiple IAB nodes; processing the RRC reconfiguration completion message from the UE; and sending a PDU session establishment completion message to the core network in response to the RRC reconfiguration completion message from the UE.

[0113] Embodiment 5 includes the method of embodiment 4, wherein the multiple IAB nodes include a first IAB node for a priority link in a first backhaul path between the UE and the core network and a second IAB node for a backup link in a second backhaul path between the UE and the core network.

[0114] Embodiment 6 is a method for backhaul radio link control (RLC) channel establishment using configuration forwarding in a wireless network. The method includes: generating a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration message including an information element (IE), the IE including a forwarding field, wherein the forwarding field includes an address list for sequential hops between a plurality of integrated access and backhaul (IAB) nodes; and sending the RRC reconfiguration message to a first IAB node among the plurality of IAB nodes for forwarding to a second IAB node among the plurality of IAB nodes.

[0115] Embodiment 7 includes the method of embodiment 6, further comprising receiving an RRC reconfiguration complete message from each of the plurality of IAB nodes.

[0116] Embodiment 8 includes the method of embodiment 6, further comprising receiving an RRC reconfiguration complete message from an end node among the plurality of IAB nodes, wherein the end node communicates with a user equipment (UE) or detects a failure along a path used to establish a connection with the UE.

[0117] Embodiment 9 includes the method of embodiment 8, further comprising resending the RRC reconfiguration message to a faulty IAB node among the multiple IAB nodes based on the fault.

[0118] Embodiment 10 includes the method described in embodiment 6, further comprising, based on receiving one or more RRC reconfiguration complete messages, attempting to resend the RRC reconfiguration message up to a threshold number of times until the backhaul RLC channel establishment is completed.

[0119] Embodiment 11 includes the method of embodiment 6, further comprising grouping the plurality of IAB nodes into subnets corresponding to subnet prefixes.

[0120] Embodiment 12 includes the method of embodiment 6, wherein the plurality of IAB nodes are to establish a priority link in a first path between the UE and the core network, and to establish a backup link in a second path between the UE and the core network.

[0121] Example 13 includes the method of Example 12, wherein the RRC reconfiguration message includes a first RRC reconfiguration message corresponding to the first return path including the priority link, and the method further includes: generating a second RRC reconfiguration message including the IE, the IE including the forwarding field, wherein the forwarding field includes the address of the third IAB node used for the backup link; and sending the second RRC reconfiguration message to the first IAB node among the multiple IAB nodes for direct or indirect forwarding to the third IAB node among the multiple IAB nodes.

[0122] Embodiment 14 includes the method of embodiment 13, further comprising receiving an RRC reconfiguration complete message corresponding to the first backhaul path before sending the second RRC reconfiguration message.

[0123] Embodiment 15 includes the method of embodiment 13, further comprising simultaneously transmitting the first RRC reconfiguration message and the second RRC reconfiguration message to establish both the priority link and the backup link.

[0124] Embodiment 16 includes the method of embodiment 13, further comprising processing a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), the MAC CE including an indication to activate the backup link.

[0125] Embodiment 17 includes the method of embodiment 16, wherein the MAC CE includes an activation / deactivation field and a path identifier (ID) field, and wherein the activation / deactivation field indicates whether the second path corresponding to the backup link identified by the path ID field is activated or deactivated.

[0126] Embodiment 18 includes the method of embodiment 13, further comprising processing a downlink control information (DCI) using a DCI format configured for exchange between the plurality of IAB nodes, the DCI format being used to transmit a set of IAB commands for inter-IAB communication, the set of IAB commands including a command to activate the backup link.

[0127] Embodiment 19 is a method for backhaul radio link control (RLC) channel establishment using radio resource configuration (RRC) reconfiguration with multicast. The method includes configuring an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) donor node and one or more child IAB nodes as a subnet; and generating a reconfiguration message to be sent to the subnet, the reconfiguration message including an information element (IE) for the subnet, the IE including configuration settings for the backhaul RLC channel establishment, the IE identifying the subnet to instruct the IAB donor node and the one or more child IAB nodes having an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the subnet to apply the configuration settings.

[0128] Embodiment 20 includes the method of embodiment 19, wherein the configuration settings are for a one-to-one (1-1) or many-to-one (many-1) mapping configuration of the RLC for the IAB.

[0129] Embodiment 21 may include an apparatus comprising means for performing one or more elements of the method described in or related to any of the above embodiments, or any other method or process described herein.

[0130] Embodiment 22 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, which include instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of the above embodiments or any other method or process described herein.

[0131] Embodiment 23 may include an apparatus comprising logic components, modules, or circuits for performing one or more elements of the method described in or related to any of the above embodiments or any other method or process described herein.

[0132] Embodiment 24 may include methods, techniques, or processes described in or related to any of the above embodiments, or parts or components thereof.

[0133] Embodiment 25 may include a device comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media, wherein the one or more computer-readable media include instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform a method, technique, or process, or portion thereof, described in or related to any one of the above embodiments.

[0134] Embodiment 26 may include signals or parts or components thereof as described in or related to any of the above embodiments.

[0135] Embodiment 27 may include a datagram, packet, frame, segment, protocol data unit (PDU) or message or a portion or component thereof as described in or related to any of the above embodiments, or content otherwise described in this disclosure.

[0136] Embodiment 28 may include a signal encoded with data, or a portion or component thereof, as described in or related to any of the above embodiments, or as otherwise described in this disclosure.

[0137] Embodiment 29 may include a signal or portion or component thereof encoding a datagram, packet, frame, segment, PDU or message as described in or related to any of the above embodiments, or content otherwise described in this disclosure.

[0138] Embodiment 30 may include an electromagnetic signal carrying computer-readable instructions, wherein execution of the computer-readable instructions by one or more processors will cause the one or more processors to perform a method, technique, or process described in or related to any of the above embodiments, or a portion thereof.

[0139] Embodiment 31 may include a computer program comprising instructions, wherein execution of the program by a processing element causes the processing element to perform a method, technique, or process described in or related to any one of the above embodiments, or a portion thereof.

[0140] Embodiment 32 may include signals in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0141] Embodiment 33 may include a method of communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0142] Embodiment 34 may include a system for providing wireless communications as shown and described herein.

[0143] Embodiment 35 may include an apparatus for providing wireless communications as shown and described herein.

[0144] Unless expressly stated otherwise, any of the above embodiments may be combined with any other embodiment (or combination of embodiments). The foregoing description of one or more specific implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the embodiments to the precise forms disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of the various embodiments.

[0145] Embodiments and implementations of the systems and methods described herein may include various operations that may be embodied in machine-executable instructions to be executed by a computer system. A computer system may include one or more general-purpose or special-purpose computers (or other electronic devices). A computer system may include hardware components that include specific logic components for performing the operations, or may include a combination of hardware, software, and / or firmware.

[0146] It should be understood that the systems described herein include descriptions of specific embodiments. These embodiments can be combined into a single system, partially integrated into other systems, separated into multiple systems, or otherwise divided or combined. In addition, it is contemplated that parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. of one embodiment can be used in another embodiment. For clarity, these parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. are described only in one or more embodiments, and it should be understood that unless otherwise stated herein, these parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. can be combined with or substituted for parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. of another embodiment.

[0147] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

[0148] Although the foregoing has been described in considerable detail for purposes of clarity, it will be apparent that certain changes and modifications may be made without departing from the principles of the invention. It should be noted that there are many alternative ways of implementing both the processes and the apparatus described herein. The embodiments of the present invention are therefore to be considered illustrative and not restrictive, and the description is not to be limited to the details given herein, but may be modified within the scope and equivalents of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for establishing a backhaul radio link control (RLC) channel using a backhaul adaptation protocol (BAP) in a wireless network, the method comprising: generating a BAP protocol data unit (PDU) comprising a BAP header, the BAP header comprising a destination field, a path field, and a bit configured to indicate whether the destination field comprises a unicast address or a multicast address; generating a multicast radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration message including the BAP PDU; as well as In response to sending the multicast RRC reconfiguration message, the BAP is used to process unicast RRC reconfiguration complete messages received from multiple integrated access and backhaul IAB nodes.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising setting the bit to instruct the plurality of IAB nodes to treat the address in the destination field as a multicast address of a path identifier in the path field of the BAP header.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising: grouping the plurality of IAB nodes into subnets corresponding to the subnet prefix; as well as The subnet prefix is ​​included in the destination field of the BAP header.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: generating the BAP PDU in response to a PDU session establishment request from a core network; sending a unicast RRC reconfiguration message to a user equipment (UE) in communication with one of the plurality of IAB nodes in response to processing the unicast RRC reconfiguration complete message from the plurality of IAB nodes; Processing an RRC reconfiguration complete message from the UE; as well as In response to the RRC reconfiguration complete message from the UE, a PDU session establishment complete message is sent to the core network.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the plurality of IAB nodes include a first IAB node for a priority link in a first backhaul path between the UE and the core network and a second IAB node for a backup link in a second backhaul path between the UE and the core network.

6. A method for backhaul radio link control (RLC) channel establishment using configuration forwarding in a wireless network, the method comprising: generating a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration message including an information element (IE), the IE including a forwarding field, wherein the forwarding field includes a list of addresses for sequential hops between a plurality of integrated access and backhaul (IAB) nodes, wherein the plurality of IAB nodes are to establish a priority link in a first path between a user equipment (UE) and a core network and a backup link in a second path between the UE and the core network; Sending the RRC reconfiguration message to a first IAB node among the multiple IAB nodes to forward it to a second IAB node among the multiple IAB nodes, wherein the RRC reconfiguration message includes a first RRC reconfiguration message corresponding to the first path including the priority link; generating a second RRC reconfiguration message including the IE, the IE including the forwarding field, wherein the forwarding field includes an address of a third IAB node for the backup link; as well as The second RRC reconfiguration message is sent to the first IAB node among the multiple IAB nodes, for being directly or indirectly forwarded to the third IAB node among the multiple IAB nodes.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising receiving an RRC reconfiguration complete message from each of the plurality of IAB nodes.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising receiving an RRC reconfiguration complete message from an end node among the plurality of IAB nodes, wherein the end node communicates with the UE or detects a failure along a path for establishing a connection with the UE.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising resending the RRC reconfiguration message to a failed IAB node among the plurality of IAB nodes based on the failure.

10. The method of claim 6, further comprising, based on receiving one or more RRC reconfiguration complete messages, attempting to resend the RRC reconfiguration message up to a threshold number of times until the backhaul RLC channel establishment is completed.

11. The method of claim 6, further comprising grouping the plurality of IAB nodes into subnets corresponding to subnet prefixes.

12. The method of claim 6, further comprising receiving an RRC reconfiguration complete message corresponding to the first backhaul path before sending the second RRC reconfiguration message.

13. The method of claim 6, further comprising simultaneously transmitting the first RRC reconfiguration message and the second RRC reconfiguration message to establish both the priority link and the backup link.

14. The method according to claim 6, further comprising processing a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE), the MAC CE comprising an indication to activate the backup link.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the MAC CE includes an activation / deactivation field and a path identifier ID field, and wherein the activation / deactivation field indicates whether the second path corresponding to the backup link identified by the path ID field is activated or deactivated.

16. The method of claim 6, further comprising processing a downlink control information (DCI) format configured for exchange between the plurality of IAB nodes, the DCI format being used to transmit a set of IAB commands for inter-IAB communication, the set of IAB commands comprising a command to activate the backup link.

17. A method for backhaul radio link control (RLC) channel establishment using radio resource configuration (RRC) reconfiguration with multicast, the method comprising: configuring an integrated access and backhaul IAB donor node and one or more child IAB nodes as a subnet; as well as generating a reconfiguration message to be sent to the subnet, the reconfiguration message comprising an information element (IE) for the subnet, the IE comprising configuration settings for the backhaul RLC channel establishment, the IE identifying the subnet to instruct the IAB donor node having an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the subnet and the one or more child IAB nodes to apply the configuration settings.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the configuration settings are for a one-to-one (1-1) or many-to-one (many-1) mapping configuration of the RLC for the IAB.

19. A node comprising means for processing each of the steps of any one of claims 1 to 18.

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