System and method for aligning radio access network (RAN) visible quality of experience (QOE) and minimization of drive test (MDT)

Abstract

The present disclosure presents systems and methods for aligning a Radio Access Network (RAN) Visible Quality of Experience (QoE) and Minimization of Drive Tests (MDT). A first network node of a radio access network (RAN) may determine an alignment that the first network node is to perform at least one minimization of drive test (MDT) measurement and at least one quality of experience (QoE) measurement to be utilized by the RAN for QoE analysis. The first network node may perform the alignment for the QoE analysis.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, including but not limited to systems and methods for aligning Radio Access Network (RAN) visible Quality of Experience (QoE) and Minimization of Drive Tests (MDT). Background Art

[0002] The third generation partnership project (3GPP), a standardization organization, is currently developing a new radio interface called 5G New Radio (5G NR) and the next generation packet core network (NG-CN or NGC). 5G NR will have three main components: 5G access network (5G-AN), 5G core network (5GC) and user terminal (UE). In order to facilitate the implementation of different data services and requirements, the elements of 5GC (also known as network functions) have been simplified, some of which are software-based and some are hardware-based so that they can be adjusted according to requirements. Summary of the invention

[0003] The example embodiments disclosed herein are intended to address issues related to one or more of the problems arising in the prior art, and are intended to provide additional functionality that will become apparent when reference is made to the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. According to various embodiments, exemplary systems, methods, devices, and computer program products are disclosed herein. However, it should be understood that these embodiments are presented by way of example rather than by way of limitation, and it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art who read this disclosure that various modifications may be made to the disclosed embodiments (e.g., including combining features from various disclosed examples, embodiments, and / or implementations) while remaining within the scope of this disclosure.

[0004] At least one aspect relates to a system, method, apparatus, or computer-readable medium. A first network node (e.g., a master node (MN) or a secondary node (SN)) of a radio access network (RAN) may determine that the first network node will perform alignment of at least one minimization of drive tests (MDT) measurement and at least one quality of experience (QoE) measurement (e.g., a RAN-visible QoE configuration) to be utilized by the RAN for QoE analysis. The first network node may perform the alignment for the QoE analysis.

[0005] In some embodiments, the wireless communication device may generate a report based on the at least one QoE measurement. The report may include at least one of the following: a tracking identifier (ID) associated with the at least one MDT measurement, an id of the at least one QoE measurement, an id of at least one QoE measurement to be utilized by an entity outside the RAN (e.g., a QoE measurement that may not be visible to (or utilized by) the RAN), an indication of at least one QoE metric to be included in the at least one QoE measurement, an indication of at least one QoE value to be determined based on the at least one QoE metric, an indication of one or more nodes (e.g., MN or SN) of the RAN that will utilize the at least one QoE measurement, timestamp information of the at least one QoE measurement, quality of service (QoS) flow information of the at least one QoE measurement, or data radio bearer (DRB) list information of the at least one QoE measurement.

[0006] In some embodiments, the first network node (e.g., MN or SN) may receive a report of the at least one MDT measurement from a second network node of the RAN. The first network node may receive a report of the at least one QoE measurement from the second network node of the RAN. The second network node may receive an indication from a core network (CN) or an operation administration and maintenance (OAM) function that the first network node will perform the alignment. The second network node may send the indication to the first network node. The first network node may determine, based on the indication, that the first network node will perform the alignment for the QoE analysis.

[0007] In some embodiments, the first network node may receive an indication from a core network (CN) or an operation, administration and maintenance (OAM) function that the first network node will perform the alignment. The first network node may send the indication to the second network node. The second network node may determine, based on the indication, that the first network node will perform the alignment for QoE analysis.

[0008] In some embodiments, the first network node may send a message to the second network node of the RAN via XnAP, thereby requesting or indicating that the first network node will perform the alignment. In response to the message, the second network node may send a confirmation or confirmation to the first network node (via an XnAP message). In some embodiments, the first network node may include a master node (MN); and the second network node may include a secondary node (SN). In some embodiments, the first network node may include a secondary node (SN); and the second network node may include a master node (MN). BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Various example embodiments of the present technical solution will be described in detail below with reference to the following drawings. The drawings are provided for illustrative purposes only and only depict example embodiments of the present solution to facilitate the reader's understanding of the present solution. Therefore, the drawings should not be regarded as limiting the breadth, scope or applicability of the present technical solution. It should be noted that for clarity and ease of description, these drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale.

[0010] Figure 1 An exemplary cellular communication network is shown in which the techniques disclosed herein may be implemented according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0011] Figure 2 A block diagram showing an exemplary base station and user terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0012] Figure 3 A sequence diagram for aligning Radio Access Network (RAN) visible Quality of Experience (QoE) measurements and Minimization of Drive Tests (MDT) measurements according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0013] Figure 4 A sequence diagram for aligning Radio Access Network (RAN) visible Quality of Experience (QoE) measurements and Minimization of Drive Tests (MDT) measurements according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0014] Figure 5 A sequence diagram for aligning Radio Access Network (RAN) visible Quality of Experience (QoE) measurements and Minimization of Drive Tests (MDT) measurements according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0015] Figure 6 A sequence diagram for aligning Radio Access Network (RAN) visible Quality of Experience (QoE) measurements and Minimization of Drive Tests (MDT) measurements according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown; and

[0016] Figure 7 A flow chart for aligning Radio Access Network (RAN) visible Quality of Experience (QoE) measurements and Minimization of Drive Tests (MDT) measurements according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is presented. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] 1. Mobile Communication Technology and Environment

[0018] Figure 1An example wireless communication network and / or system 100 is shown in which the techniques disclosed herein may be implemented according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the following discussion, the wireless communication network 100 may be any wireless network, such as a cellular network or a narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) network, and is referred to herein as "network 100". Such an example network 100 includes a base station 102 (hereinafter referred to as "BS 102"; also referred to as a wireless communication node) and a user terminal device 104 (hereinafter referred to as "UE 104"; also referred to as a wireless communication device), which may communicate with each other via a communication link 110 (e.g., a wireless communication channel) and a cluster of cells 126, 130, 132, 134, 136, 138 and 140 covering a geographic area 101. In Figure 1 1, BS 102 and UE 104 are contained within respective geographic boundaries of cell 126. Each of the other cells 130, 132, 134, 136, 138, and 140 may include at least one base station operating with its allocated bandwidth to provide adequate wireless coverage to its intended users.

[0019] For example, BS 102 may operate under an allocated channel transmission bandwidth to provide sufficient coverage to UE 104. BS 102 and UE 104 may communicate via downlink radio frames 118 and uplink radio frames 124, respectively. Each radio frame 118 / 124 may be further divided into subframes 120 / 127, which may include data symbols 122 / 128. In the present disclosure, BS 102 and UE 104 are described herein as non-limiting examples of "communication nodes", and generally, they may practice the methods disclosed herein. According to various embodiments of the present technical solution, such communication nodes may be capable of wireless and / or wired communication.

[0020] Figure 2 A block diagram of an exemplary wireless communication system 200 for transmitting and receiving wireless communication signals (e.g., OFDM / OFDMA signals) according to some embodiments of the present technology is shown. The system 200 may include components and elements configured to support known or conventional operating features, which need not be described in detail herein. In an illustrative embodiment, as described above, the system 200 may be used in applications such as Figure 1 Data symbols are communicated (eg, transmitted and received) in the wireless communication environment 100 of the wireless communication environment.

[0021] The system 200 generally includes a base station 202 (hereinafter referred to as "BS202") and a user terminal device 204 (hereinafter referred to as "UE204"). BS202 includes a BS (base station) transceiver module 210, a BS antenna 212, a BS processor module 214, a BS memory module 216, and a network communication module 218, each of which is coupled and interconnected to each other via a data communication bus 220 as needed. UE204 includes a UE (user terminal) transceiver module 230, a UE antenna 232, a UE memory module 234, and a UE processor module 236, each of which is coupled and interconnected to each other via a data communication bus 240 as needed. BS202 communicates with UE204 via a communication channel 250, which can be any wireless channel or other medium suitable for transmitting the data herein.

[0022] As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the system 200 may also include Figure 2 Any number of modules outside the modules shown. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the various illustrative blocks, modules, circuits, and processing logic described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented with hardware, computer-readable software, firmware, or any actual combination thereof. In order to clearly illustrate this interchangeability and compatibility of hardware, firmware, and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps are generally described according to their functions. This functionality is implemented in the form of hardware, firmware, or software, depending on the specific application and design constraints imposed on the entire system. People familiar with this concept can implement such functionality in an appropriate manner for each specific application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of this disclosure.

[0023] According to some embodiments, the UE transceiver 230 may be referred to herein as an "uplink" transceiver 230, which includes a radio frequency (RF) transmitter and an RF receiver, each of which includes a circuit system coupled to an antenna 232. A duplex switch (not shown) may alternatively couple the uplink transmitter or the uplink receiver to the uplink antenna in a time division duplex manner. Similarly, according to some embodiments, the BS transceiver 210 may be referred to herein as a "downlink" transceiver 210, which includes an RF transmitter and an RF receiver, each of which includes a circuit system coupled to an antenna 212. The downlink duplex switch may alternatively couple the downlink transmitter or the downlink receiver to the downlink antenna 212 in a time division duplex manner. The operation of the two transceiver modules 210 and 230 may be coordinated in time so that the uplink receiver circuit system is coupled to the uplink antenna 232 so as to receive transmissions on the wireless transmission link 250 while the downlink transmitter is coupled to the downlink antenna 212. Conversely, the operation of the two transceivers 210 and 230 can be coordinated in time such that a downlink receiver coupled to the downlink antenna 212 receives transmissions on the wireless transmission link 250 at the same time as an uplink transmitter coupled to the uplink antenna 232. In some embodiments, there is closed time synchronization with a minimum guard time between changes in duplex direction.

[0024] The UE transceiver 230 and the base station transceiver 210 are configured to communicate via a wireless data communication link 250 and cooperate with an appropriately configured RF antenna arrangement 212 / 232 capable of supporting a specific wireless communication protocol and modulation scheme. In some illustrative embodiments, the UE transceiver 210 and the base station transceiver 210 are configured to support industry standards such as long-term evolution (LTE) and emerging 5G standards. However, it should be understood that the present disclosure is not necessarily limited to specific standards and associated protocols in application. Instead, the UE transceiver 230 and the base station transceiver 210 can be configured to support alternative or additional wireless data communication protocols, including future standards or variants thereof.

[0025] According to various embodiments, BS 202 may be, for example, an evolved Node B (eNB), a serving eNB, a target eNB, a femtocell or a microbase station. In some embodiments, UE 204 may be embodied in various types of user equipment, such as a mobile phone, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a wearable computing device, etc. Processor modules 214 and 236 may be implemented or realized with the following items designed to perform the functions described herein: a general-purpose processor, a content addressable memory, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, any suitable programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof. In this way, the processor may be implemented as a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a state machine, etc. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, a combination of one or more microprocessors and a digital signal processor core, or any other such configuration.

[0026] In addition, the steps of the methods or algorithms described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented directly in hardware, firmware, software modules executed by processor modules 214 and 236, respectively, or in any practical combination thereof. Memory modules 216 and 234 may be implemented as RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, removable disk, CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. In this regard, memory modules 216 and 234 may be coupled to processor modules 210 and 230, respectively, so that processor modules 210 and 230 may read information from and write information to memory modules 216 and 234, respectively. Memory modules 216 and 234 may also be integrated into their respective processor modules 210 and 230. In some embodiments, memory modules 216 and 234 may each include a cache memory for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during the execution of instructions executed by processor modules 210 and 230, respectively. Memory modules 216 and 234 may also each include non-volatile memory for storing instructions to be executed by processor modules 210 and 230, respectively.

[0027] The network communication module 218 generally represents the hardware, software, firmware, processing logic and / or other components of the base station 202, which can perform two-way communication between the base station transceiver 210 and other network components and communication nodes configured to communicate with the base station 202. For example, the network communication module 218 can be configured to support Internet or WiMAX traffic. In a typical deployment, but not limited to, the network communication module 218 provides an 802.3 Ethernet interface so that the base station transceiver 210 can communicate with a traditional Ethernet-based computer network. In this way, the network communication module 218 may include a physical interface (e.g., a mobile switching center (MSC)) for connecting to a computer network. The terms "configured for", "configured to" and their variations as used herein with respect to a specified operation or function refer to a device, component, circuit, structure, machine, signal, etc. that is physically constructed, programmed, formatted and / or arranged to perform a specified operation or function.

[0028] The Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model (referred to herein as the "Open Systems Interconnection Model") is a concept and logical layout that defines network communications used by systems (e.g., wireless communication devices, wireless communication nodes) that are open to interconnection and communication with other systems. The model is divided into seven subcomponents or layers, each of which represents a conceptual set of services provided to its upper and lower layers. The OSI model also defines a logical network and effectively describes computer packet transmission using different layer protocols. The OSI model may also be referred to as a seven-layer OSI model or a seven-layer model. In some embodiments, the first layer may be a physical layer. In some embodiments, the second layer may be a medium access control (MAC) layer. In some embodiments, the third layer may be a radio link control (RLC) layer. In some embodiments, the fourth layer may be a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer. In some embodiments, the fifth layer may be a radio resource control (RRC) layer. In some embodiments, the sixth layer may be a non-access stratum (NAS) layer or an Internet Protocol (IP) layer, and the seventh layer is another layer.

[0029] Various example embodiments of the present technical solution are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those of ordinary skill in the art can make and use the present technical solution. It is obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art that, after reading this disclosure, various changes or modifications can be made to the examples described herein without departing from the scope of the present technical solution. Therefore, the present technical solution is not limited to the exemplary embodiments and applications described and shown herein. In addition, the specific order or hierarchy of the steps in the method disclosed herein is merely an exemplary manner. Based on design preferences, the specific order or hierarchy of the steps of the disclosed method or process can be rearranged while still within the scope of the present technical solution. Therefore, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the methods and techniques disclosed herein present various steps or actions in an example order, and unless otherwise expressly stated, the present technical solution is not limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

[0030] 2. Alignment of Radio Access Network (RAN) visible Quality of Experience (QoE) measurements and Minimization of Drive Test (MDT) measurements System and method

[0031] Quality of Experience (QoE) measurements may be configured to collect measurements of certain service types in the user terminal (UE) application layer. Reporting of QoE measurements may be transparent / invisible to the radio access network (RAN) nodes. QoE measurements may be transmitted to a measurement collection entity (MCE) for analysis. MDT reports may be used to align with QoE measurements in the collection entity to aid in QoE analysis.

[0032] If QoE measurement is activated, RAN visible QoE measurement can be configured. However, alignment of RAN visible QoE and MDT measurements / reports / results / indicators may not be resolved. The present invention provides a technique for aligning RAN visible QoE and MDT measurements / reports / results / indicators in a dual connectivity architecture and / or a split architecture.

[0033] The New Radio (NR) QoE Measurement Collection (QMC) function can be activated by Operation Management and Maintenance (OAM) via a separate QMC framework. For signaling-based QoE, the QMC configuration for a specific UE can be sent from OAM to the core network (CN), and the CN can send the QMC configuration to the RAN node via UE-associated signaling (e.g., NGAP / XnAP / F1AP messages). For management-based QoE, OAM can send the QMC configuration to the RAN node. The RAN node can select a UE that meets the conditions for QoE measurement and can send the QMC configuration to the UE.

[0034] For QoE reporting in a standalone architecture, the UE application layer may collect QoE indicators and may send data collected based on the QoE indicators to the UE AS layer via an attention (AT) command. The UE AS layer may send the collected data (e.g., QoE report) to the RAN node. After the RAN node receives the QoE report, the RAN node may transmit the received QoE report to a measurement collection entity (MCE). The MCE may be an entity that collects QoE measurement reports and performs analysis for optimization. The QoE report may be transparent / invisible to the RAN node, which means that the RAN node may not be able to read the content of the QoE report.

[0035] Minimization of Drive Tests (MDT) measurements may be collected and used for QoE analysis, which is referred to as MDT-QoE alignment. If the QMC configuration includes a tracking identifier (ID) for the MDT measurements, the RAN node may transmit the corresponding MDT report to the MCE for alignment with QoE. Timestamp information and the tracking ID may be sent together to the MCE to associate the MDT and QoE reports on a time scale. After starting QoE measurements in the UE APP layer, the UE may send a QoE start indication to the RAN node. After the RAN node receives the QoE measurement start indication, the RAN node may activate the MDT configuration.

[0036] RAN visible QoE can be a sub-feature of QoE. When QoE measurement is activated, RAN can configure RAN visible QoE based on its own requirements. RAN visible QoE can be associated with QoE measurement through the id of QoE measurement. UE can collect RAN visible QoE measurement results and report the measurement results to the RAN node. The RAN node can use the measurement results for network optimization. In a centralized unit (CU)-distributed unit (DU) separation architecture, the CU can transmit the RAN visible QoE measurement results to the DU via an F1AP message.

[0037] In dual connectivity (DC), the UE can be connected to two RAN nodes. One of the RAN nodes can act as a master node (MN) and the other of the RAN nodes can act as a secondary node (SN). Both the MN and the SN can be configured with minimization of drive tests (MDT) and MDT reports can be collected. MDT can be activated via the tracking function. MDT reports can be sent to the tracking collection entity (TCE). QoE measurement reports can be sent to the measurement collection entity (MCE).

[0038] Implementation Example 1: MN performs alignment of RAN-visible QoE and MDT

[0039] Figure 3A sequence diagram is shown for aligning Radio Access Network (RAN) visible Quality of Experience (QoE) and Minimization of Drive Test (MDT) measurements / reports / results.

[0040] In step 0, (one or more) MDT measurements and (one or more) RAN-visible QoE measurements may be activated. MDT and RAN-visible QoE may not necessarily be activated at the same time. MDT may be activated before, after, or at the same time as RAN-visible QoE. The MN / SN may collect (one or more) MDT measurement reports and (one or more) RAN-visible QoE measurement reports based on the MDT configuration and the RAN-visible QoE measurement configuration. The RAN-visible QoE report may be reported from the UE. QoE may require / require the collection of many parameters (e.g., coding, transport, content, terminal type, network, service infrastructure, media coding, and / or user expectations). QoE may be an important function for designing system processes and engineering processes. The information in the RAN visible QoE report may include at least one of the following: a tracking identifier (id) associated with at least one MDT measurement, an id of at least one QoE measurement, an id of at least one QoE measurement to be utilized by an entity outside the RAN (e.g., a QoE measurement that may not be visible to (or utilized by) the RAN), at least one QoE metric to be included in the at least one QoE measurement, at least one QoE value to be determined based on the at least one QoE metric, an indication of one or more nodes (e.g., MN or SN) of the RAN that will utilize the at least one QoE measurement, timestamp information of the at least one QoE measurement, quality of service (QoS) flow information of the at least one QoE measurement, or data radio bearer (DRB) list information of the at least one QoE measurement. The timestamp information of the at least one QoE measurement may include a value including both a date and a time portion (e.g., yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss).

[0041] In step 1, a network node (e.g., OAM / CN, MN, SN, CU, or DU) may decide / determine that the MN performs alignment of RAN-visible QoE and MDT measurements / reports / results. The procedure on how to make the decision / determination is described in implementation example 3.

[0042] In step 2a, if the MDT report(s) are collected in the SN, the SN may send the MDT measurement report(s) to the MN via an Xn Application Protocol (XnAP) message.

[0043] In step 2b, if the RAN-visible QoE measurement report(s) are collected in the SN, the SN may send the RAN-visible QoE measurement report(s) to the MN via an XnAP message.

[0044] In step 3, the MN may perform association between the MDT report and the RAN-visible QoE measurement report according to the measurement id information and / or timestamp information in the report. The analysis result may be used to assist network optimization.

[0045] In step 4, the MN may send the analysis result to the SN to assist in network optimization in the SN.

[0046] Implementation Example 2: SN performs alignment of RAN-visible QoE and MDT

[0047] Figure 4 A sequence diagram is shown for aligning Radio Access Network (RAN) visible Quality of Experience (QoE) and Minimization of Drive Test (MDT) measurements / reports / results.

[0048] In step 0, (one or more) MDT measurements and (one or more) RAN-visible QoE measurements may be activated. MDT measurements and RAN-visible QoE measurements may not necessarily be activated at the same time. MDT measurements may be activated before, after, or at the same time as RAN-visible QoE measurements. MN / SN may collect (one or more) MDT measurement reports and (one or more) RAN-visible QoE measurement reports based on MDT configuration and RAN-visible QoE measurement configuration. RAN-visible QoE reports may be reported from UEs. QoE measurement / determination may involve the collection of many parameters (e.g., coding, transport, content, terminal type, network, service infrastructure, media coding, and / or user expectations). QoE may be an important metric for designing system processes and engineering processes. The information in the RAN visible QoE report may include at least one of the following: a tracking identifier (id) associated with at least one MDT measurement, an id of at least one QoE measurement, an id of at least one QoE measurement to be utilized by an entity outside the RAN (e.g., a QoE measurement that may not be visible to (or utilized by) the RAN), at least one QoE metric to be included in the at least one QoE measurement, at least one QoE value to be determined based on the at least one QoE metric, an indication of one or more nodes (e.g., MN or SN) of the RAN that will utilize the at least one QoE measurement, timestamp information of the at least one QoE measurement, quality of service (QoS) flow information of the at least one QoE measurement, or data radio bearer (DRB) list information of the at least one QoE measurement. The timestamp information of the at least one QoE measurement may include a value including both a date and a time portion (e.g., yyyy-mm-ddhh:mm:ss).

[0049] In step 1, a network node (e.g., OAM / CN, MN, SN, CU, or DU) may decide / determine that the SN performs alignment of RAN-visible QoE and MDT measurements / reports / results. The procedure on how to make the decision / determination is described in implementation example 3.

[0050] In step 2a, if the MDT report(s) are collected in the MN, the MN may send the MDT measurement report(s) to the SN via an XnAP message.

[0051] In step 2b, if (one or more) RAN-visible QoE measurement reports are collected in the MN, the MN may send the (one or more) RAN-visible QoE measurement reports to the SN via an XnAP message.

[0052] In step 3, the SN can perform association between the MDT report / result / measurement / indicator and the RAN visible QoE measurement / report / result based on the measurement id information and timestamp information in the report. The analysis results can be used to assist network optimization.

[0053] In step 4, the SN may send the analysis result to the MN to assist in network optimization in the MN.

[0054] Implementation Example 3: Determine which node performs the alignment of RAN-visible QoE and MDT

[0055] Figure 5 A sequence diagram is shown for aligning Radio Access Network (RAN) visible Quality of Experience (QoE) and Minimization of Drive Test (MDT) measurements / reports / results.

[0056] Alternative 1

[0057] In step 1, the OAM or CN may send a RAN visible QoE alignment indication to the MN. The indication may be used to indicate which node will perform the alignment of the RAN visible QoE and MDT measurements / reports / results. The format of the indication may be enumerated as (MN, SN, ...). The RAN visible QoE alignment indication may be included in the QoE measurement configuration.

[0058] In step 2, after the MN receives the RAN visible QoE alignment indication, the MN may transmit the indication to the SN via an XnAP message (e.g., S node modification request). If the indication is for the MN to perform alignment of RAN visible QoE measurements / results and MDT measurements / results, the SN may send the collected MDT reports and RAN visible QoE results to the MN. If the indication is for the SN to perform alignment of RAN visible QoE and MDT, the MN may send the collected MDT reports and RAN visible QoE results to the SN.

[0059] Alternative 2

[0060] In step 1, the OAM or CN may send a RAN visible QoE alignment indication to the SN. The indication may be used to indicate which node will perform the alignment of the RAN visible QoE and MDT measurements / reports / results. The format of the indication may be enumerated as (MN, SN, ...). The RAN visible QoE alignment indication may be included in the QoE measurement configuration.

[0061] In step 2, after the SN receives the RAN visible QoE alignment indication, the SN may transmit the indication to the MN via an XnAP message (e.g., S node modification request). If the indication is for the SN to perform alignment of RAN visible QoE measurements / reports / results and MDT measurements / reports / results, the MN may send the collected MDT reports and RAN visible QoE results to the SN. If the indication is for the MN to perform alignment of RAN visible QoE measurements / reports / results and MDT measurements / reports / results, the SN may send the collected MDT reports and RAN visible QoE results to the MN.

[0062] Alternative 3

[0063] In step 1, the MN may send an alignment request to the SN via an XnAP message (eg, S-Node Modification Request) to inform the SN that the MN will perform alignment of RAN-visible QoE and MDT measurements / reports / results.

[0064] In step 2, after the SN receives the alignment request from the MN, the SN may send an alignment confirmation to the MN via an XnAP message (e.g., S Node Modification Confirmation). If there is a collected MDT report or RAN visible QoE report in the SN, the SN may send the report to the MN via XnAP, as described in implementation example 1.

[0065] Alternative 4

[0066] In step 1, the SN may send an alignment request to the MN via an XnAP message (eg, S-Node Modification Request) to inform the MN that the SN will perform alignment of RAN-visible QoE measurements / results and MDT measurements / results.

[0067] In step 2, after the MN receives the alignment request from the SN, the MN may send an alignment confirmation to the SN via an XnAP message (e.g., S Node Modification Confirmation). If there is a collected MDT report or RAN visible QoE report in the MN, the MN may send the report to the SN via XnAP, as described in Implementation Example 2. Implementation Example 4: Alignment of RAN visible QoE and MDT in a split architecture

[0068] Figure 6 A sequence diagram for aligning Radio Access Network (RAN) visible Quality of Experience (QoE) and Minimization of Drive Tests (MDT) is presented. In a split architecture, a first network node (e.g., a distributed unit (DU)) of a Radio Access Network (RAN) may perform alignment of RAN visible QoE and MDT.

[0069] In step 0, (one or more) MDT measurements and (one or more) RAN-visible QoE measurements may be activated. MDT measurements and RAN-visible QoE measurements may not necessarily be activated at the same time. (One or more) MDT measurements may be activated before, after, or at the same time as RAN-visible QoE measurements. The MN / SN may collect (one or more) MDT measurement reports and (one or more) RAN-visible QoE measurement reports based on the MDT configuration and the RAN-visible QoE measurement configuration. The RAN-visible QoE report may be reported from the UE. QoE measurement / determination may involve the collection of many parameters (e.g., coding, transport, content, terminal type, network, service infrastructure, media coding, and / or user expectations). QoE may be an important metric for designing system processes and engineering processes. The information in the RAN visible QoE report may include at least one of the following: a tracking identifier (id) associated with at least one MDT measurement, an id of at least one QoE measurement, an id of at least one QoE measurement to be utilized by an entity outside the RAN (e.g., a QoE measurement that may not be visible to (or utilized by) the RAN), at least one QoE metric to be included in the at least one QoE measurement, at least one QoE value to be determined based on the at least one QoE metric, an indication of one or more nodes (e.g., MN or SN) of the RAN that will utilize the at least one QoE measurement, timestamp information of the at least one QoE measurement, quality of service (QoS) flow information of the at least one QoE measurement, or data radio bearer (DRB) list information of the at least one QoE measurement. The timestamp information of the at least one QoE measurement may include a value including both a date and a time portion (e.g., yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss).

[0070] In (optional) step 1, the gNB-DU may send an alignment requirement to the gNB-CU via an F1AP message (e.g., gNB-DU Configuration Update) to inform the gNB-CU that the gNB-DU will perform alignment of RAN-visible QoE and MDT.

[0071] In step 2a, if (one or more) MDT reports are collected in the gNB-CU, the gNB-CU can send the (one or more) MDT measurement reports to the gNB-DU via the F1AP message.

[0072] In step 2b, if (one or more) RAN visible QoE measurement reports are collected in the gNB-CU, the gNB-CU can send the (one or more) RAN visible QoE measurement reports to the gNB-DU via the F1AP message.

[0073] In step 3, the gNB-DU may perform association between the MDT report / measurement / result and the RAN visible QoE report / measurement / result based on the measurement id information and / or timestamp information in the report. The analysis results may be used to assist network optimization.

[0074] It should be understood that one or more features from the above-described implementation examples are not exclusive to that particular implementation example, but may be combined in any manner (eg, in any priority and / or order, simultaneously or otherwise).

[0075] Figure 7 A flow chart of a method 700 for aligning radio access network (RAN) visible quality of experience (QoE) and minimization of drive test (MDT) measurements / reports / results is shown. The method 700 may be used in conjunction with the present invention. Figure 1 to Figure 2 In summary, in some embodiments, the method 700 may be performed by a first network node of the RAN. Depending on the embodiment, additional, fewer, or different operations may be performed in the method 700. At least one aspect of the operation involves a system, method, apparatus, or computer-readable medium.

[0076] A first network node (e.g., a master node (MN) or a secondary node (SN)) of a radio access network (RAN) may determine that the first network node will perform an alignment of at least one minimization of drive tests (MDT) measurement and at least one quality of experience (QoE) measurement (e.g., a RAN-visible QoE configuration) to be utilized by the RAN for QoE analysis. The first network node may perform the alignment for the QoE analysis.

[0077] In some embodiments, the wireless communication device may generate a report based on the at least one QoE measurement. The report may include at least one of the following: a tracking identifier (ID) associated with the at least one MDT measurement, an ID of the at least one QoE measurement, an ID of the at least one QoE measurement to be utilized by an entity outside the RAN (e.g., a QoE measurement that may not be visible to (or utilized by) the RAN), at least one QoE indicator to be included in the at least one QoE measurement, at least one QoE value to be determined based on the at least one QoE indicator, an indication of one or more nodes (e.g., MN or SN) of the RAN that will utilize the at least one QoE measurement, timestamp information of the at least one QoE measurement, quality of service (QoS) flow information of the at least one QoE measurement, or data radio bearer (DRB) list information of the at least one QoE measurement.

[0078] In some embodiments, the first network node (e.g., MN or SN) may receive a report of the at least one MDT measurement from a second network node of the RAN. The first network node may receive a report of the at least one QoE measurement from the second network node of the RAN. The second network node may receive an indication from a core network (CN) or an operation administration and maintenance (OAM) function that the first network node will perform the alignment. The second network node may send the indication to the first network node. The first network node may determine, based on the indication, that the first network node will perform the alignment for the QoE analysis.

[0079] In some embodiments, the first network node may receive an indication from a core network (CN) or an operation, administration and maintenance (OAM) function that the first network node will perform the alignment. The first network node may send the indication to the second network node. The second network node may determine, based on the indication, that the first network node will perform the alignment for QoE analysis.

[0080] In some embodiments, the first network node may send a message to the second network node of the RAN via XnAP, thereby requesting or indicating that the first network node will perform the alignment. In response to the message, the second network node may send a confirmation or confirmation to the first network node (via an XnAP message). In some embodiments, the first network node may include a master node (MN); and the second network node may include a secondary node (SN). In some embodiments, the first network node may include a secondary node (SN); and the second network node may include a master node (MN).

[0081] Although various embodiments of the present technical solution have been described above, it should be understood that they are presented only as examples rather than as limitations. Similarly, various figures may depict exemplary architectures or configurations, which are provided to enable those of ordinary skill in the art to understand the exemplary features and functions of the present technical solution. However, these technicians will understand that the present solution is not limited to the example architectures or configurations shown, but can be implemented using various alternative architectures and configurations. In addition, as will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, one or more features of an embodiment may be combined with one or more features of another embodiment described herein. Therefore, the breadth and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the above-mentioned illustrative embodiments.

[0082] It should also be understood that any reference to an element using designations such as "first", "second", etc. herein does not generally limit the number or order of these elements. Rather, these designations may be used herein as a convenient means of distinguishing between two or more elements or multiple instances of an element. Therefore, reference to a first and a second element does not mean that only two elements may be used or that the first element must precede the second element in some manner.

[0083] In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that any of a variety of different technical means may be used to represent information and signals. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, and symbols that may be referenced in the above description may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0084] Those of ordinary skill in the art will further understand that any of the various illustrative logic blocks, modules, processors, devices, circuits, methods, and functions described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented by electronic hardware (e.g., digital implementation, analog implementation, or a combination of both), firmware, various forms of programs or design codes incorporating instructions (for convenience, referred to herein as "software" or "software modules"), or any combination of these technologies. In order to clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware, firmware, and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functions. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware, firmware, or software, or as a combination of these technologies, depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art may implement the described functionality in various ways for each specific application, but such implementation decisions will not result in a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0085] In addition, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the various illustrative logic blocks, units, devices, components, and circuits described herein may be implemented or performed within an integrated circuit (IC), which may include a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, or any combination thereof. The logic blocks, modules, and circuits may also include antennas and / or transceivers to communicate with various components within a network or within a device. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in an alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, a combination of one or more microprocessors and a DSP core, or any other suitable configuration to perform the functions described herein.

[0086] If implemented in software, these functions can be stored as one or more instructions or codes on a computer-readable medium. Therefore, the steps of the method or algorithm disclosed herein can be implemented as software stored on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include computer storage media and communication media, which include any media that can transfer a computer program or code from one place to another. The storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. As an example and not a limitation, such a computer-readable medium may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage device, magnetic disk storage device or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to store the required program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer.

[0087] In this document, the term "module" used herein refers to software, firmware, hardware, and any combination of these elements for performing the associated functions described herein. In addition, for the purpose of discussion, various modules are described as discrete modules; however, as is apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, according to an embodiment of the present technical solution, two or more modules can be combined to form a single module that performs the associated functions.

[0088] In addition, memory or other storage devices and communication components can be used in the embodiments of the present technical solution. It should be understood that, for the sake of clarity, the above description describes the embodiments of the present technical solution with reference to different functional units and processors. However, it is obvious that, without departing from the present technical solution, any appropriate functional distribution can be applied between different functional units, processing logic elements or domains. For example, the function shown as being performed by a separate processing logic element or controller can be performed by the same processing logic element or controller. Therefore, a reference to a specific functional unit is merely a reference to an appropriate means for providing the function, rather than representing a strict logical or physical structure or organization.

[0089] Various modifications to the embodiments described in this disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Therefore, this disclosure is not limited to the embodiments shown herein, but is to be accorded the broadest scope consistent with the novel features and principles disclosed herein as described in the following claims.

Claims

1. A method comprising: determining, by a first network node of a radio access network RAN, that the first network node is to perform an alignment of at least one minimization of drive tests (MDT) measurement and at least one quality of experience (QoE) measurement to be utilized by the RAN for QoE analysis; as well as The alignment is performed by the first network node to perform the QoE analysis.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: the wireless communication device generating a report based on the at least one QoE measurement, The report includes at least one of the following: a tracking identifier id associated with the at least one MDT measurement; an id of the at least one QoE measurement; an id of at least one QoE measurement to be utilized by an entity external to the RAN; an indication of at least one QoE metric to be included in the at least one QoE measurement; an indication of at least one QoE value to be determined based on the at least one QoE indicator; an indication of one or more nodes of the RAN that are to utilize the at least one QoE measurement; timestamp information of the at least one QoE measurement; Quality of service (QoS) flow information of the at least one QoE measurement; or The at least one QoE measurement data radio bearer DRB list information.

3. The method according to claim 1, comprising: A report of the at least one MDT measurement is received by the first network node from a second network node of the RAN.

4. The method according to claim 1, comprising: A report of the at least one QoE measurement is received by the first network node from a second network node of the RAN.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The second network node receives an indication from a core network CN or an operations administration and maintenance OAM function that the first network node will perform the alignment.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein: The second network node sends the indication to the first network node.

7. The method according to claim 6, comprising: The first network node determines, according to the indication, that the first network node will perform the alignment for the QoE analysis.

8. The method according to claim 1, comprising: The first network node receives an indication from a core network CN or an operation, administration and maintenance OAM function that the first network node will perform the alignment.

9. The method according to claim 8, comprising: The indication is sent by the first network node to the second network node.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein: The second network node determines, according to the indication, that the first network node will perform the alignment for the QoE analysis.

11. The method according to claim 1, comprising: The first network node sends a message to a second network node of the RAN via XnAP, thereby requesting or instructing the first network node to perform the alignment.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein: In response to the message, the second network node sends an acknowledgement or confirmation to the first network node.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein: The first network node comprises a master node MN and the second network node comprises a secondary node SN.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein: The first network node comprises a secondary node SN and the second network node comprises a master node MN.

15. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

16. An apparatus comprising: At least one processor configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

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