Load balancing method, electronic equipment and storage medium

Abstract

The invention provides a load balancing method, electronic equipment and a storage medium, and relates to the technical field of communication. The method comprises the following steps: counting a first number of terminals residing in a to-be-processed cell; under the condition that the first number indicates that the to-be-processed cell is overloaded, a target cell is determined, the target cell and the to-be-processed cell are located in the same array antenna unit, and the target cell is not fully loaded; and balancing the terminals in the to-be-processed cell to the target cell according to the terminal selection strategy. Load balancing of the communication cells in the same array antenna unit is realized, the load pressure of the to-be-processed cells is reduced, and the utilization efficiency of frequency band resources corresponding to the communication cells is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a load balancing method, an electronic device and a storage medium. Background Art

[0002] At present, in communication networks based on the fifth generation (5G) standard, a multi-beam coverage method is usually adopted to provide communication services to more terminal users.

[0003] However, since frequency range 2 (FR2) scheduling is related to the beam direction, the beam directions that can be scheduled each time are limited. In the direction of beam scheduling, all carrier frequency band resources of the base station cannot be fully utilized to schedule as many UEs as possible, resulting in traffic loss. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present application provides a load balancing method, an electronic device and a storage medium.

[0005] An embodiment of the present application provides a load balancing method, the method comprising: counting a first number of terminals residing in a cell to be processed; when the first number indicates that the cell to be processed is overloaded, determining a target cell, the target cell being a cell within the same array antenna unit as the cell to be processed, and the target cell is not fully loaded; and balancing the terminals in the cell to be processed to the target cell according to a terminal selection strategy.

[0006] An embodiment of the present application provides an electronic device, including: one or more processors; a memory, on which one or more programs are stored. When the one or more programs are executed by one or more processors, the one or more processors implement any one of the load balancing methods in the embodiments of the present application.

[0007] An embodiment of the present application provides a readable storage medium, which stores a computer program. When the computer program is executed by a processor, any load balancing method in the embodiment of the present application is implemented.

[0008] According to the load balancing method, electronic device and storage medium of the embodiment of the present application, the number of terminals residing in the cell to be processed is counted to obtain a first number, which is convenient for analyzing the load pressure of the cell to be processed; when the first number indicates that the cell to be processed is overloaded, the target cell is determined, which is a cell in the same array antenna unit as the cell to be processed, and the target cell is not fully loaded; then, according to the terminal selection strategy, the terminals in the cell to be processed are balanced to the target cell to achieve load balancing of multiple communication cells in the same array antenna unit, reduce the load pressure of the cell to be processed, and improve the utilization efficiency of the frequency band resources corresponding to each communication cell.

[0009] With regard to the above embodiments and other aspects of the present application and their implementation, further description is provided in the accompanying drawings, detailed description and claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] Figure 1 A schematic diagram showing the load of a communication cell in the same beam direction provided by a related technical solution is shown.

[0011] Figure 2 A flow chart of a load balancing method provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0012] Figure 3 A block diagram showing the composition of a load balancing device provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0013] Figure 4 A block diagram showing the composition of the load balancing system provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0014] Figure 5 A flow chart of a method for counting the number of terminals residing in a cell to be processed and determining a target cell provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0015] Figure 6 A flow chart of a method for screening multiple terminals residing in a cell to be processed to obtain a terminal to be migrated out provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0016] Figure 7 A schematic flow chart of a method for screening a target cell from a plurality of cells to be used provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0017] Figure 8 A flow chart showing a method for updating a penalty cell provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0018] Fig. 9 A schematic diagram showing the load of communication cells in the same beam direction after load balancing provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0019] Fig.10 A structural diagram showing an exemplary hardware architecture of a computing device capable of implementing the load balancing method and apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present application more clear, the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the embodiments and features in the embodiments of the present application can be combined with each other arbitrarily without conflict.

[0021] Terminals communicating in the 5G communication network will have the problem of uplink and downlink mismatch. For example, when multiple terminals supporting 4 down and 2 up access various communication cells in a certain beam direction, multiple terminals will concentrate on one communication cell in the beam direction, leaving other multiple communication cells in the beam direction idle, reducing the utilization efficiency of spectrum resources.

[0022] For example, Figure 1 FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of the load of a communication cell in the same beam direction provided by a related technical solution. Figure 1 As shown, when providing communication services for a terminal, it is necessary to use frequency band resources on two communication cells (for example, using a frequency band resource in a primary cell (Primary Cell, PCell) and a frequency band resource in a secondary cell (Secondary Cell, SCELL) at the same time, Figure 1 When scheduling User Equipment (UE) 1, two communication cells CC3 and CC4 are used respectively, so that only half of the frequency band resources can be used in one beam, resulting in a waste of resources.

[0023] Among them, the secondary cell and the primary cell are both communication cells that can communicate normally. The primary cell is used to initiate the initial access cell. There can be multiple communication cells in one beam direction. The cells other than the primary cell are secondary cells. The association can be achieved through carrier aggregation (CA) and provide communication services for a terminal at the same time.

[0024] refer to Figure 1 Among the four communication cells corresponding to beam 1 (i.e., CC1, CC2, CC3 and CC4), only CC1 and CC2 are used to schedule two terminals (i.e., user equipment (UE) 3 and UE4) respectively, resulting in a waste of frequency band resources of CC3 and CC4 in beam 1; among the four communication cells corresponding to beam 2 (i.e., CC1, CC2, CC3 and CC4), only CC3 and CC4 are used to schedule two terminals (i.e., UE1 and UE2) respectively, resulting in a waste of frequency band resources of CC1 and CC2 in beam 2.

[0025] When FR2 uses analog beamforming, since the shaping flexibility of analog beamforming is lower than that of digital beamforming, and the number of communication cells of the array antenna unit (AAU) is small (for example, 4 communication cells or 8 communication cells, etc.), how to improve the utilization efficiency of frequency band resources on a certain beam becomes an urgent problem to be solved.

[0026] The present application provides a load balancing method, an electronic device and a storage medium, which can balance terminals residing in multiple communication cells in the same beam direction within the same array antenna unit, so as to improve the utilization efficiency of frequency band resources in the beam direction and provide communication services for more terminals.

[0027] Figure 2 FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a load balancing method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The load balancing method can be applied to devices such as base stations. Figure 2 As shown, the load balancing method in the embodiment of the present application includes but is not limited to the following steps.

[0028] Step S201: Count the first number of terminals residing in the cell to be processed.

[0029] Step S202: when the first number indicates that the to-be-processed cell is overloaded, determine the target cell.

[0030] The target cell is a cell that is in the same array antenna unit as the cell to be processed, and the target cell is not fully loaded.

[0031] Step S203: Balance the terminals in the to-be-processed cell to the target cell according to the terminal selection strategy.

[0032] In this embodiment, the number of terminals residing in the cell to be processed is counted to obtain a first number, which is convenient for analyzing the load pressure of the cell to be processed; when the first number indicates that the cell to be processed is overloaded, the target cell is determined, and the target cell is a cell in the same array antenna unit as the cell to be processed, and the target cell is not fully loaded; then, according to the terminal selection strategy, the terminals in the cell to be processed are balanced to the target cell to achieve load balancing of multiple communication cells in the same array antenna unit, reduce the load pressure of the cell to be processed, and improve the utilization efficiency of the frequency band resources corresponding to each communication cell.

[0033] In some exemplary embodiments, when the first number indicates that the to-be-processed cell is overloaded, determining the target cell in step S202 may be implemented in the following manner:

[0034] When it is determined that the first number is outside the preset cell terminal number range, the cell to be processed is determined to be an overloaded cell; multiple cells to be used that are in the same array antenna unit as the cell to be processed are obtained; and a target cell is obtained by screening from the multiple cells to be used.

[0035] The number of terminals residing in the to-be-used cell is within a preset range of the number of cell terminals; and the difference between the first number and the second number of terminals residing in the target cell exceeds a preset terminal number threshold.

[0036] For example, the preset cell terminal number range is set to 10 to 15. If the first number is greater than 15, the cell to be processed can be determined to be an overloaded cell. By obtaining multiple cells to be used in the same array antenna unit as the cell to be processed, it is convenient to screen the multiple cells to be used in the same array antenna unit, wherein the number of terminals resident in the cell to be used can be within the range of 10 to 15, or the number is less than 10; by comparing the number of terminals resident in multiple cells to be used, the target cell can be screened and obtained, and the number of terminals resident in the target cell to be used can be 6 or 7, etc., so as to ensure that the difference between the first number and the second number exceeds the preset terminal number threshold (for example, 5, etc.). Among them, the number of terminals resident in the beam direction (for example, direction A) used by the target cell is less than the number of terminals resident in the beam direction (for example, direction A) used by the cell to be processed.

[0037] In some exemplary embodiments, screening and obtaining a target cell from a plurality of cells to be used includes: respectively obtaining first beam information used by the cell to be processed and second beam information used by the plurality of cells to be used; and screening and obtaining the target cell from the plurality of cells to be used based on the first beam information and the second beam information.

[0038] The target cell and the cell to be processed are cells located in the same array antenna unit, and the beam direction used by the target cell is the same as the beam direction used by the cell to be processed.

[0039] The first beam information includes: the beam type of the beam used by the cell to be processed and / or the beam identifier of the beam used by the cell to be processed. The second beam information includes: the beam type of the beam used by the cell to be used and / or the beam identifier of the beam used by the cell to be used.

[0040] A comparison result is obtained by comparing the beam type of the beam used by the cell to be processed with the beam type of the beam used by the cell to be used, and / or comparing the beam identifier of the beam used by the cell to be processed with the beam identifier of the beam used by the cell to be used, and based on the comparison result, it is determined whether the cell to be used and the cell to be processed are cells located in the same array antenna unit and using the same beam direction.

[0041] For example, when the beam identifier of the beam used by the cell to be processed is the same as the beam identifier of the beam used by the cell to be used, and the beam type of the beam used by the cell to be processed is the same as the beam type used by the cell to be used, the cell to be used is determined to be the target cell, that is, the target cell and the cell to be processed are cells within the same array antenna unit, and the beam direction used by the target cell is the same as the beam direction used by the cell to be processed.

[0042] For another example, when the beam identifier of the beam used by the cell to be processed is different from the beam identifier of the beam used by the cell to be used, and / or the beam type of the beam used by the cell to be processed is different from the beam type used by the cell to be used, it is determined that the cell to be used and the cell to be processed are not cells within the same array antenna unit AAU, and / or the beam direction used by the cell to be used is different from the beam direction used by the cell to be processed.

[0043] In some exemplary embodiments, counting the first number of terminals residing in the cell to be processed in step S201 can be implemented in the following manner: collecting information on the cell to be processed based on the beam type in the first beam information to obtain the first number; after counting the first number of terminals residing in the cell to be processed, the method further includes: collecting information on the target cell based on the beam type in the second beam information to obtain the second number of terminals residing in the target cell.

[0044] The beam type includes wide beam or narrow beam.

[0045] For example, when it is determined that the beam type of the beam used by the communication cell is a wide beam, based on the beam information of the Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS), the identification of the communication cell, the identification of the beam corresponding to the communication cell (for example, CSI-RS Id), the number of beams, and the first number and / or the second number are obtained.

[0046] When it is determined that the beam type of the beam used by the communication cell is a narrow beam, based on the beam information of the synchronization signal block (SSB), the identification of the communication cell, the identification of the beam corresponding to the communication cell (for example, SSB Index), the number of beams, and the first number and / or the second number are obtained.

[0047] Through different beam types, the beam information corresponding to different beam types is obtained, so that the obtained beam information is more accurate, which is convenient for judging whether the beams corresponding to the processing cell and the target cell are consistent, and the judgment accuracy of beam consistency is improved. Furthermore, the number of terminals resident in each communication cell is obtained to judge whether the communication cell is overloaded.

[0048] In some exemplary embodiments, before executing step S203 to balance the terminals in the cell to be processed to the target cell based on the terminal selection strategy, the method also includes: respectively determining the allocation and retention priority information corresponding to the service bearer of each terminal residing in the cell to be processed; and determining the service priority level of each terminal based on the allocation and retention priority information corresponding to the service bearer of each terminal.

[0049] The Allocation / Retention Priority (ARP) information includes ARP information corresponding to multiple communication services of different service types carried by the terminal.

[0050] For example, based on the minimum APR value in the APR information corresponding to all service bearers corresponding to the terminal, multiple terminals residing in the processed cell are arranged in descending order, wherein the larger the minimum APR value in the APR information corresponding to all service bearers corresponding to a terminal, the higher the service priority level corresponding to the terminal.

[0051] By selecting terminals whose service priority is lower than a preset level threshold as terminals to be migrated out, it is ensured that the services of terminals with high service priority can be carried out normally.

[0052] In some exemplary embodiments, before executing step S203 to balance the terminals in the cell to be processed to the target cell based on the terminal selection strategy, the method also includes: respectively obtaining the operator configuration information corresponding to each terminal residing in the cell to be processed; and determining the operation priority level of each terminal based on the operator configuration information corresponding to each terminal residing in the cell to be processed.

[0053] When a terminal needs to access a communication network, it needs to register with the operator server to ensure the legitimacy of the terminal. After the terminal completes the registration with the operator server, the operator server will configure the terminal with relevant communication parameters and service parameters to ensure that the terminal can normally receive the communication services provided by the cell to be processed.

[0054] For example, when the terminal is used by a group user of an enterprise, the operator server can configure the service priority level of the terminal to the first level according to the tariff level corresponding to the group user; and when the terminal is used by an individual user, the operator server can configure the service priority level of the terminal to the second level to facilitate the distinction between group users and individual users.

[0055] Through the operator configuration information corresponding to each terminal residing in the to-be-processed cell, it is possible to clearly identify which terminal needs to be provided with communication services first, thereby obtaining the operation priority level of each terminal.

[0056] In some exemplary embodiments, before performing step S203 of balancing the terminals in the to-be-processed cell to the target cell according to the terminal selection policy, the method further includes: determining, based on a preset penalty list, that the plurality of to-be-used cells are not penalty cells.

[0057] The penalty cell is a cell whose number of handover failures exceeds a preset handover number threshold within a preset time period. For example, based on a preset penalty list, the identifiers of each cell to be used are checked respectively; if it is determined that the identifier of the cell to be used is not in the preset penalty list, it is determined that the cell to be used is not a penalty cell.

[0058] For another example, when it is determined that the terminal to be migrated out of the cell to be used and migrated to the target cell, the communication status of the terminal to be migrated is obtained; when it is determined that the communication status of the terminal to be migrated is a failure to migrate into the target cell, the target cell is determined to be a penalty cell.

[0059] The target cell is obtained by screening from a plurality of cells to be used, including: screening from a plurality of cells to be used to obtain the target cell according to the number of terminals residing in each cell to be used and / or the frequency information of each cell to be used.

[0060] The target cell is a communication cell that provides communication services to the terminal to be migrated after it is determined that the terminal to be migrated is migrated out of the overloaded cell.

[0061] By screening the number of terminals resident in each cell to be used and / or the frequency information of each cell to be used, the communication cell with the least number of resident terminals and / or the communication cell with the highest frequency priority is selected as the target cell, so that the target cell can share the overloaded terminals in the cell to be processed and reduce the processing pressure of the cell to be processed.

[0062] In some exemplary embodiments, according to the number of terminals residing in each cell to be used and / or the frequency information of each cell to be used, the target cell is obtained by screening from multiple cells to be used, which can be implemented in the following manner:

[0063] When it is determined that the numbers of terminals residing in the cells to be used are different, based on the numbers of terminals residing in the cells to be used, selecting a cell with the least number of residing terminals from the multiple cells to be used as the target cell;

[0064] When it is determined that the number of terminals residing in each of the cells to be used is the same, based on the frequency information of the cells to be used, a cell with the highest frequency priority is selected from the multiple cells to be used as the target cell;

[0065] When it is determined that the numbers of terminals residing in the cells to be used are the same and the frequency priorities of the cells to be used are the same, a cell is randomly selected from the multiple cells to be used as the target cell.

[0066] Among them, when it is determined that the number of terminals resident in each cell to be used is different, each cell to be used can be sorted based on the number of resident terminals to obtain a first sorting result; and based on the first sorting result, the cell to be used with the least number of resident terminals is determined, and the cell to be used is used as the target cell, so that the target cell can receive the terminals balanced out of the cell to be processed to the greatest extent, thereby reducing the load pressure of the cell to be processed.

[0067] When it is determined that the number of terminals residing in each cell to be used is the same, the cells to be used are sorted based on the frequency information of the cells to be used (for example, frequency priority) to obtain a second sorting result; and the cell to be used with the highest frequency priority is determined based on the second sorting result, and the cell to be used is used as the target cell, so that the target cell can provide better frequency resources for the terminals balanced out of the cell to be processed.

[0068] Furthermore, when it is determined that the number of terminals residing in each cell to be used is the same and the frequency priority of each cell to be used is the same, since the receiving capabilities corresponding to each cell to be used are the same, a communication cell can be randomly selected as the target cell to quickly receive the terminals balanced out by the cell to be processed, thereby improving the load balancing efficiency of the cell to be processed.

[0069] In some exemplary embodiments, after performing step S203 to balance the terminals in the to-be-processed cell to the target cell according to the terminal selection strategy, the method further includes:

[0070] When it is determined that a handover failure message is received and the number of handover failures corresponding to the target cell identifier carried in the handover failure message exceeds a preset handover number threshold, the target cell is determined to be a penalty cell; and a preset penalty list is updated based on the penalty cell identifier.

[0071] The preset switching times threshold may be a preset times threshold, for example, 3 times or 2 times, etc. It may be set according to actual needs, and the present application does not impose any limitation on this.

[0072] Based on the switching failure message, it is determined that the terminal in the pending cell fails to switch to the target cell, and when the number of switching failures corresponding to the target cell identifier carried in the switching failure message exceeds the preset switching number threshold, the target cell is identified as a penalty cell so that the penalty cell can no longer receive switching requests from other cells within a preset time period, so as to reduce the number of switching failures and improve communication efficiency.

[0073] Furthermore, the preset penalty list is updated based on the identifier of the penalty cell, so that the preset penalty list can be updated in real time, ensuring real-time monitoring of the status of each penalty cell.

[0074] In some exemplary embodiments, updating the preset penalty list based on the identifier of the penalty cell may be implemented in the following manner: when it is determined that the preset penalty list includes the identifier of the target cell carried in the handover failure message, updating the number of handover failures in the preset penalty list according to the target cell carried in the handover failure message;

[0075] When it is determined that the preset penalty list does not include the identifier of the target cell carried in the handover failure message, the identifier of the target cell carried in the handover failure message is added to the preset penalty list based on the number of penalty cells in the preset penalty list and the number of handover failures corresponding to each penalty cell in the preset penalty list.

[0076] Among them, if it is determined that the number of penalty cells in the preset penalty list is less than the preset number threshold (for example, 5 or 6), and the number of switching failures corresponding to the penalty cells in the preset penalty list exceeds the preset penalty number threshold (for example, 3 times), then it is determined to add the identifier of the target cell carried in the switching failure message to the preset penalty list.

[0077] If it is determined that the number of penalty cells in the preset penalty list is greater than or equal to the preset number threshold, then the penalty cells in the preset penalty list are sorted based on the time when the identifiers of each penalty cell are added to the preset penalty list to obtain a penalty time sorting result; then, based on the penalty time sorting result, the identifier of the penalty cell that was first added to the preset penalty list is determined, and the identifier of the penalty cell that was first added to the preset penalty list is deleted, and the identifier of the target cell carried in the switching failure message is added to the preset penalty list, thereby realizing the update of the preset penalty list.

[0078] In some exemplary embodiments, balancing the terminals in the to-be-processed cell to the target cell according to the terminal selection strategy in step S203 may be implemented in the following manner:

[0079] When it is determined that the terminal in the cell to be processed satisfies at least one of the multiple policies included in the terminal selection policy, the terminal is determined to be a terminal to be migrated out, wherein the terminal selection policy includes a terminal selection policy based on operation priority, a terminal selection policy based on service priority, a terminal selection policy based on terminal type, and at least one of the terminal selection policies in the switching scenario; the terminal to be migrated out is switched to the target cell.

[0080] The terminal type includes at least one of a standalone (SA) type, a non-standalone (NSA) type, and a New Radio-Dual Connectivity (NR-DC) type.

[0081] The NR-DC type means that in the NR-DC model, the primary node (Master RAN node) and the secondary node (Secondary RAN node) corresponding to the terminal are both base stations in the 5G network. Among them, the interface between the Radio Access Network (RAN) nodes is the Xn interface, which is used to carry signaling between the Master node and the Secondary RAN node.

[0082] Based on different terminal types, terminals matching different network types are selected so that the terminal type of the terminal to be migrated can match the communication service that can be provided by the target cell, so that the terminal to be migrated can continue to obtain the communication service matching its terminal type.

[0083] The terminal selection strategy based on the operation priority includes: determining the service priority of each terminal based on the ARP information corresponding to the service bearer of each terminal, and selecting the terminal whose service priority is lower than the preset service level threshold as the terminal to be migrated.

[0084] The ARP information corresponds to the service bearer of each terminal.

[0085] The terminal selection strategy based on service priority includes: determining the operation priority of each terminal based on the operator configuration information corresponding to each terminal residing in the cell to be processed, and selecting the terminal whose operation priority is lower than the preset operation level threshold as the terminal to be migrated.

[0086] The operator configuration information is information configured for the terminal by an operator server that provides communication services to each terminal.

[0087] The terminal selection strategy in the handover scenario includes: when it is determined that the terminal resident in the to-be-processed cell is a terminal performing an emergency call service, determining that the terminal is not a terminal to be moved out. When the terminal resident in the to-be-processed cell is performing a ping-pong handover service, determining that the terminal is not a terminal to be moved out.

[0088] The following is a detailed description of the device according to the embodiment of the present application in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Figure 3 FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a load balancing device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The load balancing device may be arranged in a base station. Figure 3 As shown, the load balancing device 300 includes but is not limited to the following modules.

[0089] The statistical module 301 is configured to count a first number of terminals residing in the cell to be processed.

[0090] The determination module 302 is configured to determine a target cell when the first number indicates that the to-be-processed cell is overloaded, wherein the target cell is a cell in the same array antenna unit as the to-be-processed cell and the target cell is not fully loaded.

[0091] The balancing module 303 is configured to balance the terminals in the to-be-processed cell to the target cell according to the terminal selection strategy.

[0092] It should be noted that the load balancing device 300 in this embodiment can implement any load balancing method in the embodiments of the present application.

[0093] According to the load balancing device of the embodiment of the present application, the number of terminals residing in the cell to be processed is counted by the statistical module to obtain a first number, which is convenient for analyzing the load pressure of the cell to be processed; the determination module is used to determine the target cell when the first number indicates that the cell to be processed is overloaded. The target cell is a cell in the same array antenna unit as the cell to be processed, and the target cell is not fully loaded; then, the balancing module is used to balance the terminals in the cell to be processed to the target cell according to the terminal selection strategy, so as to achieve load balancing of multiple communication cells in the same array antenna unit, reduce the load pressure of the cell to be processed, and improve the utilization efficiency of the frequency band resources corresponding to each communication cell.

[0094] Figure 4 FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the composition of the load balancing system provided in the embodiment of the present application. Figure 4 As shown, the load balancing system includes but is not limited to the following devices: a baseband unit (Base station Band Unit, BBU) 410 and an array antenna unit (Array Antenna Unit, AAU) 420.

[0095] Among them, BBU410 includes a centralized unit (CU) 411 and a distributed unit (DU) 412. CU411 is used to control the collection or stop of beam data. DU412 is used to receive the control quality of CU411, collect and stop the beam data of AAU420, and count the number of terminals residing in the beam direction used by each communication cell.

[0096] DU412 is also used to report the beam information of each terminal, control the beam transmission of AAU420, and schedule the terminals in each beam direction used by each communication cell.

[0097] The AAU 420 is used to transmit a beam according to the control information received from the baseband unit 410 .

[0098] In some exemplary embodiments, DU 412 further includes: a collection module (not shown in the figure), a load balancing decision module (not shown in the figure), and a terminal migration module (not shown in the figure).

[0099] Among them, the acquisition module is used to obtain the identification of the communication cell, the identification of the beam corresponding to the communication cell (for example, CSI-RS Id), and the number of beams based on the beam information of CSI-RS when the beam type of the beam used by the communication cell is determined to be a wide beam. When it is determined that the beam type of the beam used by the communication cell is a narrow beam, the identification of the communication cell, the identification of the beam corresponding to the communication cell (for example, SSB Index), and the number of beams are obtained based on the beam information of SSB.

[0100] The load balancing decision module is used to determine whether it is necessary to balance the terminals residing in multiple communication cells in the same array antenna unit, so as to balance the communication resources of each communication cell.

[0101] The terminal migration module is used to select a terminal to be migrated from multiple terminals residing in a cell to be processed when it is determined that terminals residing in multiple communication cells in the same array antenna unit need to be balanced, and then migrate the terminal to be migrated to a target cell, wherein the target cell is a cell in the same array antenna unit as the cell to be processed and the target cell is not fully loaded.

[0102] Furthermore, the terminal migration module is also used to select a target cell, wherein the communication cell with the least number of resident terminals is preferentially selected as the target cell. At the same time, it is also necessary to determine that the target cell is not a penalty cell; and after completing the terminal migration, the preset penalty list is updated.

[0103] In some exemplary embodiments, Figure 5 The flowchart of the method for counting the number of terminals residing in the cell to be processed and determining the target cell provided by the embodiment of the present application is shown. Figure 5 As shown, the method includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0104] Step S501 : When it is determined that the cell to be processed is in a normal working state, the CU 411 sends a terminal quantity statistics request message to the DU 412 .

[0105] The terminal quantity statistics request message includes: an identifier of a cell to be processed.

[0106] Step S502, DU412 responds to the terminal quantity statistics request message, obtains the number of terminals residing in the to-be-processed cell and the first beam information used by the to-be-processed cell through a preset interface; and obtains the second beam information used by multiple to-be-used cells.

[0107] The first beam information includes: beam identification, beam type and other information.

[0108] For example, the preset interface includes an F1 interface, and DU412 sends a resource status request message (RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST) to AAU420 through the F1 interface, so as to add a trigger beam-based terminal quantity collection element in the feature report (ReportCharacteristics) through the private interface of the message, thereby starting the collection of information on the cell to be processed.

[0109] When DU412 receives the resource status request response (RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE) fed back by AAU420, the information carried in the resource status request response is fed back to CU411 so that CU411 can obtain the device information in different beam directions. The resource status request response includes: information of terminals residing in each communication cell, information of the first beam used by the cell to be processed, and information of the second beam used by multiple cells to be used.

[0110] It should be noted that if no resource status request response is received from AAU420 within the preset time, DU412 will send a resource status request message to AAU420 again; if the information carried in the resource status request response received from AAU420 is that the resource query failed, DU412 will also send a resource status request message to AAU420 again.

[0111] When it is determined that the beam type is a narrow beam, a new information element can be added to the Radio Resource Status->SSB Area Radio Resource Status list in the resource status update (RESOURCE STATUSUPDATE) message to obtain the SSB Index and terminal identifier (UE Id).

[0112] When the beam type is determined to be a wide beam, the CSI-RS Id and UE Id may be obtained by adding a new information element in the RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE.

[0113] In some exemplary embodiments, DU412 may report the stored information of terminals residing in each communication cell, the first beam information used by the cell to be processed, and the second beam information used by multiple cells to be used to CU411 in a periodic reporting manner.

[0114] When it is determined that the state of a certain communication cell is unavailable, or there is no resident terminal in the communication cell, the information collection of the communication cell is stopped.

[0115] Step S503: Based on the first beam information and the second beam information, it is determined whether the cell to be processed and the multiple cells to be used are cells in the same array antenna unit.

[0116] If it is determined that the cell to be processed and the multiple cells to be used are cells in the same array antenna unit, step S504 is executed; otherwise, the process ends.

[0117] Step S504: determine whether the first number of terminals residing in the to-be-processed cell is outside a preset range of the number of cell terminals.

[0118] If it is determined that the first number of terminals residing in the to-be-processed cell is outside the preset range of the number of cell terminals, step S505 is executed; otherwise, the process ends.

[0119] Step S505: determine that the cell to be processed is an overloaded cell.

[0120] Step S506: determine whether the difference between the first number and the second number of terminals residing in the to-be-used cell exceeds a preset terminal number threshold.

[0121] If it is determined that the difference between the first number and the second number of terminals residing in the to-be-used cell exceeds the preset terminal number threshold, step S507 is executed; otherwise, the process ends.

[0122] Step S507: determine whether the number of terminals residing in the cell to be used is within a preset range of the number of terminals in the cell.

[0123] If it is determined that the number of terminals residing in the cell to be used is within the preset range of the number of terminals in the cell, step S508 is executed; otherwise, the process ends.

[0124] Step S508: Filter and obtain a target cell from a plurality of cells to be used.

[0125] The number of terminals residing in the target cell is within a preset range of the number of cell terminals, and the beam direction used by the target cell is the same as the beam direction used by the cell to be processed.

[0126] For example, the number of terminals resident in the target cell is less than a preset cell terminal number threshold (e.g., 10, etc.). Furthermore, the difference between the first number and the second number of terminals resident in the target cell is greater than a preset terminal number threshold (e.g., 5, etc.). The first number is greater than the preset cell terminal number threshold. Furthermore, the number of terminals resident in the beam direction (e.g., direction A) used by the target cell is less than the number of terminals resident in the beam direction (e.g., direction A) used by the to-be-processed cell.

[0127] Figure 6 The flowchart of the method for screening multiple terminals residing in the processing cell to obtain the terminal to be migrated out provided by the embodiment of the present application is shown. Figure 6 As shown, the method includes but is not limited to the following steps.

[0128] Step S601: DU 412 screens multiple terminals residing in a processing cell according to a terminal selection strategy.

[0129] The terminal selection policy includes at least one of a terminal selection policy based on an operation priority, a terminal selection policy based on a service priority, a terminal selection policy based on a terminal type, and a terminal selection policy in a switching scenario. The terminal type includes at least one of an SA type, an NSA type, and an NR-DC type.

[0130] The NR-DC type means that in the NR-DC model, the Master RAN node and Secondary RAN node corresponding to the terminal are both base stations in the 5G network, where the interface between the RAN nodes is the Xn interface, which is used to carry signaling between the Master node and the Secondary RAN node.

[0131] For example, the terminal selection strategy based on operation priority includes: determining the service priority of each terminal based on the ARP information corresponding to the service bearer of each terminal, and selecting terminals whose service priority is lower than a preset service level threshold as terminals to be migrated.

[0132] The ARP information corresponds to the service bearer of each terminal.

[0133] For another example, the terminal selection strategy based on service priority includes: determining the operation priority of each terminal based on the operator configuration information corresponding to each terminal residing in the cell to be processed, and selecting the terminal whose operation priority is lower than the preset operation level threshold as the terminal to be migrated.

[0134] The operator configuration information is information configured for the terminal by an operator server that provides communication services to each terminal.

[0135] Step S602: When it is determined that the terminal residing in the to-be-processed cell satisfies at least one of the multiple policies included in the terminal selection policy, the terminal is determined to be a terminal to be migrated out.

[0136] For example, when the terminal resident in the cell to be processed is a terminal performing an emergency call service, it is determined that the terminal is not a terminal to be migrated out. When the terminal resident in the cell to be processed is performing a ping-pong handover service, it is determined that the terminal is not a terminal to be migrated out.

[0137] For another example, based on the minimum APR value in the APR information corresponding to all service bearers corresponding to the terminal, multiple terminals residing in the processing cell are arranged in descending order, wherein the larger the minimum APR value in the APR information corresponding to all service bearers corresponding to a terminal is, the higher the service priority level corresponding to the terminal is. By selecting a terminal whose service priority level is lower than the preset level threshold as the terminal to be migrated, it is ensured that the services of the terminal with a high service priority level can be carried out normally.

[0138] Figure 7 FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing a method for selecting a target cell from a plurality of cells to be used provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 7 As shown, the method includes but is not limited to the following steps.

[0139] Step S701: Based on a preset penalty list, it is determined that a plurality of cells to be used are not penalty cells.

[0140] The penalty cell is a cell whose number of handover failures exceeds a preset handover number threshold within a preset time period.

[0141] For example, the identifiers of the cells to be used are checked respectively based on the preset penalty list; when it is determined that the identifier of the cell to be used is not in the preset penalty list, it is determined that the cell to be used is not a penalty cell.

[0142] For another example, when it is determined that the terminal to be migrated out of the cell to be used and migrated to the target cell, the communication status of the terminal to be migrated is obtained; when it is determined that the communication status of the terminal to be migrated is a failure to migrate into the target cell, the target cell is determined to be a penalty cell.

[0143] It should be noted that each of the cells to be used is a cell that can provide a communication service based on a public land mobile network (PLMN) for the terminal.

[0144] Step S702: determine whether the number of terminals residing in each cell to be used is the same.

[0145] When it is determined that the numbers of terminals residing in the cells to be used are different, step S703 is executed; when it is determined that the numbers of terminals residing in the cells to be used are the same, step S704 is executed.

[0146] Step S703: Based on the number of terminals residing in the cell to be used, a cell with the least number of residing terminals is selected from the multiple cells to be used as a target cell.

[0147] Step S704, determining whether the frequency priorities of the cells to be used are the same.

[0148] When it is determined that the frequency priorities of the cells to be used are the same, step S705 is executed; when it is determined that the frequency priorities of the cells to be used are different, step S706 is executed.

[0149] Step S705: randomly select a cell from multiple cells to be used as a target cell

[0150] Step S706: Based on the frequency information of the cells to be used, a cell with the highest frequency priority is selected from the multiple cells to be used as the target cell.

[0151] Figure 8 A schematic diagram showing a flow chart of a method for updating a penalty cell provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown. Figure 8 As shown, the method includes but is not limited to the following steps.

[0152] Step S801: when it is determined that a handover failure message is received and the number of handover failures corresponding to the target cell identifier carried in the handover failure message exceeds a preset handover number threshold, the target cell is determined to be a penalty cell.

[0153] The preset switching times threshold may be a preset times threshold, for example, 3 times or 2 times, etc. It may be set according to actual needs, and the present application does not impose any limitation on this.

[0154] Step S802: determine whether the preset penalty list includes the identifier of the target cell carried in the handover failure message.

[0155] If it is determined that the preset penalty list includes the target cell identifier carried in the handover failure message, step S803 is executed; if it is determined that the preset penalty list does not include the target cell identifier carried in the handover failure message, step S804 is executed.

[0156] Step S803: updating the number of handover failures in a preset penalty list according to the target cell carried in the handover failure message.

[0157] Step S804: according to the number of penalty cells in the preset penalty list and the number of handover failures corresponding to each penalty cell in the preset penalty list, the identifier of the target cell carried in the handover failure message is added to the preset penalty list.

[0158] For example, if it is determined that the number of penalty cells in the preset penalty list is less than a preset number threshold (for example, 5 or 6), and the number of switching failures corresponding to the penalty cells in the preset penalty list exceeds the preset penalty number threshold (for example, 3 times), it is determined to add the identifier of the target cell carried in the switching failure message to the preset penalty list.

[0159] For another example, if it is determined that the number of penalty cells in the preset penalty list is greater than or equal to a preset number threshold, the penalty cells in the preset penalty list are sorted based on the time when the identifiers of each penalty cell are added to the preset penalty list, and the identifier of the penalty cell that was first added to the preset penalty list is obtained. The preset penalty list is updated by deleting the identifier of the penalty cell that was first added to the preset penalty list and adding the identifier of the target cell carried in the switching failure message to the preset penalty list.

[0160] Fig. 9 A schematic diagram showing the load of communication cells in the same beam direction after load balancing provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0161] refer to Fig. 9 After balancing the terminals residing in the cells to be processed by any load balancing method in the embodiments of the present application, the four communication cells corresponding to beam 1 (i.e., CC1, CC2, CC3, and CC4) can all schedule the terminals. That is, CC1 is used to process the services on the primary cell of UE3, CC2 is used to process the services on the secondary cell (i.e., SCELL) of UE3; CC3 is used to process the services on the secondary cell of UE4, and CC4 is used to process the services on the primary cell of UE4, so that the frequency band resources on each communication cell on beam 1 can be utilized.

[0162] Similarly, the four communication cells (i.e., CC1, CC2, CC3, and CC4) corresponding to beam 2 can all schedule the terminal. That is, CC1 is used to process the services on the primary cell of UE1, CC2 is used to process the services on the secondary cell of UE1; CC3 is used to process the services on the secondary cell of UE2, and CC4 is used to process the services on the primary cell of UE2, so that the frequency band resources on each communication cell on beam 2 can be utilized.

[0163] Compared to Figure 1As for the communication cell resources in beam 1 and beam 2 shown, the frequency band resources in each beam direction are reasonably utilized, thereby improving the utilization efficiency of the frequency band resources.

[0164] It should be clear that the present application is not limited to the specific configurations and processes described in the above embodiments and shown in the figures. For the convenience and brevity of description, a detailed description of the known methods is omitted here, and the specific working processes of the systems, modules and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0165] Fig.10 A structural diagram showing an exemplary hardware architecture of a computing device capable of implementing the load balancing method and apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0166] like Fig.10 As shown, the computing device 1000 includes an input device 1001, an input interface 1002, a central processing unit 1003, a memory 1004, an output interface 1005, and an output device 1006. The input interface 1002, the central processing unit 1003, the memory 1004, and the output interface 1005 are connected to each other via a bus 1007, and the input device 1001 and the output device 1006 are connected to the bus 1007 via the input interface 1002 and the output interface 1005, respectively, and are further connected to other components of the computing device 1000.

[0167] Specifically, the input device 1001 receives input information from the outside and transmits the input information to the central processing unit 1003 through the input interface 1002; the central processing unit 1003 processes the input information based on the computer executable instructions stored in the memory 1004 to generate output information, temporarily or permanently stores the output information in the memory 1004, and then transmits the output information to the output device 1006 through the output interface 1005; the output device 1006 outputs the output information to the outside of the computing device 1000 for user use.

[0168] In one embodiment, Fig.10 The computing device shown may be implemented as an electronic device, which may include: a memory configured to store a program; and a processor configured to run the program stored in the memory to execute the load balancing method described in the above embodiment.

[0169] In one embodiment, Fig.10 The computing device shown may be implemented as a load balancing system, which may include: a memory configured to store a program; and a processor configured to run the program stored in the memory to execute the load balancing method described in the above embodiment.

[0170] The above is only an exemplary embodiment of the present application and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present application. In general, various embodiments of the present application can be implemented in hardware or special circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. For example, some aspects can be implemented in hardware, while other aspects can be implemented in firmware or software that can be executed by a controller, a microprocessor or other computing device, although the present application is not limited thereto.

[0171] Embodiments of the present application may be implemented by a processor executing computer program instructions, such as in a processor entity, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. The computer program instructions may be assembly instructions, instruction set architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine-dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state setting data, or source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages.

[0172] The block diagram of any logic flow in the accompanying drawings of the present application can represent program steps, or can represent interconnected logic circuits, modules and functions, or can represent a combination of program steps and logic circuits, modules and functions. The computer program can be stored on a memory. The memory can have any type suitable for the local technical environment and can be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as but not limited to read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), optical memory device and system (digital versatile disc DVD or CD disc), etc. Computer-readable media may include non-transient storage media. The processor can be any type suitable for the local technical environment, such as but not limited to a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (FGPA) and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture.

[0173] By way of exemplary and non-limiting examples, a detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the present application has been provided above. However, various modifications and adjustments to the above embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and claims, but will not depart from the scope of the present application. Therefore, the proper scope of the present application will be determined according to the claims.

Claims

1. A load balancing method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Counting a first number of terminals residing in the cell to be processed; If the first number indicates that the to-be-processed cell is overloaded, determining a target cell, the target cell being a cell in the same array antenna unit as the to-be-processed cell, and the target cell is not fully loaded; According to the terminal selection strategy, the terminals in the to-be-processed cell are balanced to the target cell.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The determining of the target cell when the first number indicates that the to-be-processed cell is overloaded includes: In the case where it is determined that the first number is outside a preset range of cell terminal numbers, determining that the cell to be processed is an overloaded cell; Acquire multiple cells to be used that are in the same array antenna unit as the cell to be processed, wherein the number of terminals residing in the cells to be used is within the range of the preset number of cell terminals; The target cell is obtained by screening from a plurality of cells to be used, wherein a difference between the first number and a second number of terminals residing in the target cell exceeds a preset terminal number threshold.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The step of selecting and obtaining the target cell from the plurality of cells to be used includes: Respectively obtaining first beam information used by the cell to be processed and second beam information used by the plurality of cells to be used; Based on the first beam information and the second beam information, the target cell is obtained by screening from the multiple cells to be used, wherein the target cell and the cell to be processed are cells within the same array antenna unit, and the beam direction used by the target cell is the same as the beam direction used by the cell to be processed.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The counting of a first number of terminals residing in the to-be-processed cell includes: Collecting information on the cell to be processed according to the beam type in the first beam information to obtain the first number; After counting the first number of terminals residing in the cell to be processed, the method further includes: Information is collected on the target cell according to the beam type in the second beam information to obtain a second number of terminals residing in the target cell; wherein the beam type includes a wide beam or a narrow beam.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: balancing the terminals in the to-be-processed cell to before the target cell according to the terminal selection strategy; Respectively determine the allocation and retention priority information corresponding to the service bearers of each terminal residing in the to-be-processed cell; The service priority level of each terminal is determined according to the allocation and retention priority information corresponding to the service bearer of each terminal.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: balancing the terminals in the to-be-processed cell to before the target cell according to the terminal selection strategy; Respectively obtain operator configuration information corresponding to each terminal residing in the cell to be processed; Based on the operator configuration information corresponding to each terminal residing in the to-be-processed cell, the operation priority level of each terminal is determined.

7. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The method further comprises: balancing the terminals in the to-be-processed cell to before the target cell according to the terminal selection strategy; Based on a preset penalty list, determining that the multiple cells to be used are not penalty cells, wherein the penalty cells are cells whose number of handover failures within a preset time period exceeds a preset handover number threshold; The step of selecting and obtaining the target cell from the plurality of cells to be used includes: A target cell is obtained by screening from the multiple cells to be used according to the number of terminals residing in each of the cells to be used and / or the frequency information of each of the cells to be used.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The step of selecting a target cell from the plurality of cells to be used according to the number of terminals residing in each of the cells to be used and / or the frequency information of each of the cells to be used comprises: When it is determined that the numbers of terminals residing in the cells to be used are different, based on the numbers of terminals residing in the cells to be used, selecting a cell with the least number of residing terminals from the multiple cells to be used as the target cell; When it is determined that the numbers of terminals residing in the cells to be used are the same, selecting a cell with the highest frequency priority from the multiple cells to be used as the target cell based on the frequency information of the cells to be used; When it is determined that the numbers of terminals residing in the cells to be used are the same and the frequency priorities of the cells to be used are the same, a cell is randomly selected from the multiple cells to be used as the target cell.

9. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that: After balancing the terminals in the to-be-processed cell to the target cell according to the terminal selection strategy, the method further includes: In a case where it is determined that a handover failure message is received and the number of handover failures corresponding to the identifier of the target cell carried in the handover failure message exceeds the preset handover number threshold, determining that the target cell is the penalty cell; The preset penalty list is updated based on the identifier of the penalty cell.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The updating of the preset penalty list based on the identifier of the penalty cell includes: In a case where it is determined that the preset penalty list includes the identifier of the target cell carried in the handover failure message, updating the number of handover failures in the preset penalty list according to the target cell carried in the handover failure message; When it is determined that the preset penalty list does not include the identifier of the target cell carried in the handover failure message, the identifier of the target cell carried in the handover failure message is added to the preset penalty list based on the number of penalty cells in the preset penalty list and the number of handover failures corresponding to each penalty cell in the preset penalty list.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that The step of balancing the terminals in the to-be-processed cell to the target cell according to the terminal selection strategy includes: In the case where it is determined that the terminal in the to-be-processed cell satisfies at least one of the multiple policies included in the terminal selection policy, determining the terminal as a to-be-migrated terminal, wherein the terminal selection policy includes at least one of a terminal selection policy based on an operation priority level, a terminal selection policy based on a service priority level, a terminal selection policy based on a terminal type, and a terminal selection policy in a handover scenario; Switch the terminal to be migrated to the target cell.

12. An electronic device, characterized in that: include: at least one processor; as well as, a memory communicatively connected to the at least one processor; wherein, The memory stores instructions that can be executed by the at least one processor, and the instructions are executed by the at least one processor to enable the at least one processor to perform the load balancing method according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

13. A readable storage medium, characterized in that: The readable storage medium stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the load balancing method according to any one of claims 1 to 11 is implemented.

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