Switching method and equipment

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a switching method and equipment, and the method comprises the steps: receiving a configuration message sent by a second node, so as to support a first node to carry out switching, the first node comprises any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal part of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node, the second node comprises any one of an anchor node and a concentration unit of the anchor node; and configuring the first node according to the configuration message sent by the second node. According to the method provided by the invention, the configuration of the first node is updated in the mobile switching process of the first node, so that services are continuously provided for the user accessing the first node.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of patent application No. 201910919593.4, filed on September 26, 2019, entitled "Switching Method and Apparatus". Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of wireless communication technology, and more specifically, to methods and apparatus for switching. Background Technology

[0003] In the research of NR (New Radio access) network version Release 16, in order to extend the network coverage, the IAB (Integrated Access and Backhaul) project was proposed. The main purpose of this project is to build a multi-hop network architecture. Figure 1The diagram illustrates a schematic architecture of a multi-hop network, showing a network architecture that includes an anchor node (IAB donor) and two relay nodes (IAB nodes). Users in this multi-hop network can access the network through the anchor node, its distribution unit, or the relay nodes. For example, users 1 / 2 / 3 can access the network through the distribution unit of the anchor node, the distribution unit portion of relay node 1, and the distribution unit portion of relay node 2, respectively. The anchor node can be an independent base station or a base station composed of an IAB-donor central unit (CU) and an IAB-donor distributed unit (DU). A relay node comprises a mobile terminal portion and a distribution unit portion. The mobile terminal portion is used to communicate with the upstream node of the relay node (e.g., the mobile terminal portion of relay node 1 communicates with the anchor node or the distribution unit of the anchor node, and the mobile terminal portion of relay node 2 communicates with the distribution unit portion of relay node 1). The distribution unit portion is used to communicate with the downstream node of the relay node (e.g., the distribution unit portion of relay node 1 communicates with user 2, and can also communicate with the mobile terminal portion of relay node 2). The mobile terminal portion of a relay node can be considered as a user accessing the network, and therefore it has the functions of a regular user (non-relay node) (e.g., the mobile terminal portion can establish a Signaling Radio Bearer (SRB) with its upstream node to send Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages, and can also establish a Data Radio Bearer (DRB) to send data). The centralized unit of the anchor node includes the following protocol stacks: the service control plane protocol stack includes the Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol layer and the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer; the service user plane protocol stack includes the Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer and the PDCP layer. The distribution unit of the anchor node or the distribution unit portion of the relay node includes the following protocol stacks: the service control plane and user plane protocol stacks include the Radio Link Control (RLC) protocol layer, the Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol layer, and the Physical Layer (PHY). The interface between the centralized unit and the distribution unit of the anchor node, and between the centralized unit of the anchor node and the distribution unit of the relay node, is the F1 interface (see 3GPP TS38.473).

[0004] In a relay network, the link between a relay node and an anchor node, or between the distribution units of an anchor node, or between relay nodes, is called a backhaul link. One or more different backhaul channels are established on this backhaul link, such as... Figure 1 Backhaul Link Channel 1 and Backhaul Link Channel 2 are used in the relay network. An example of a backhaul link channel is the Backhaul Radio Link Control (RLC) channel. In a relay network, each backhaul link channel is used to transmit data packets belonging to the same or different users. These data packets can be user data radio bearer (DRB) packets, user signaling radio bearer (SRB) packets, control plane packets on the F1 interface, user plane packets on the F1 interface, or packets from non-F1 interfaces (such as IPSec (Internet Protocol Security) packets, SCTP (Stream Control Transmission Protocol) packets, OAM (Operation Administration and Maintenance) packets, etc.).

[0005] To enable user data transmission in multi-hop relay networks, 3GPP defines a new protocol layer: the Backhaul Adaptation layer (BAP). This layer is configured in the distribution units of anchor nodes and relay nodes (such as the mobile terminal portion and / or the distribution unit portion of a relay node), located above the RLC layer. Its main functions are packet routing and packet mapping. Packet routing refers to sending received packets to the correct next-hop node so that they can be received by the destination receiving node (which can be a relay node, anchor node, distribution unit of the anchor node, or central unit of the anchor node. If it is a relay node, it means that the packet belongs to that relay node, such as control signaling packets for the F1 interface that the distribution unit of the relay node needs to receive, or packets of users accessing the relay node). Packet mapping refers to assigning packets to the correct backhaul link channel for transmission.

[0006] For nodes in a relay network (such as relay nodes, anchor node distribution units, anchor node centralized units, or anchor nodes), a new address information (such as a BAP address) is defined. This address information can be used to indicate a node in the relay network and for packet routing within the network. If a packet contains the BAP address of a node (such as a relay node, anchor node distribution unit, anchor node centralized unit, or anchor node), it indicates that the destination receiving node of the packet is that relay node, or the source sending node of the packet is that node. Simultaneously, there may be multiple paths between an anchor node (or anchor node centralized unit, or anchor node distribution unit) and a relay node. To indicate different paths, a path ID is defined; different path IDs indicate different paths to the same node. The packet may also contain the path ID of that packet. After receiving a packet, a node in the relay network determines the next-hop node of the packet based on the BAP address and / or Path ID contained in the packet, thus completing the packet routing. Summary of the Invention

[0007] This application addresses the shortcomings of existing methods by proposing a switching method and apparatus to resolve the aforementioned technical deficiencies.

[0008] Firstly, a switching method is provided, applied to the first node, including: The first node receives a configuration message sent by the second node to support the first node in switching. The first node includes any one of the following: a relay node, a mobile terminal part of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node. The second node includes any one of the following: an anchor node and a centralized unit of the anchor node. Configure the first node according to the configuration message sent by the second node.

[0009] Optionally, the configuration message includes at least one of the following: The first node requires information related to address, backhaul link channel configuration, and data routing.

[0010] Optionally, the configuration message can be a Radio Resource Control Reconfiguration (RRCReconfiguration) message, a Radio Resource Control Connection Reconfiguration (RRCConnectionReconfiguration) message, or other messages.

[0011] Optionally, the address-related information required by the first node includes at least one of the following: Information related to the address on the first node side before the switch, information related to the address on the first node side after the switch, information related to the address on the second node side before the switch, and information related to the address on the second node side after the switch. Before the handover, the address-related information on the first node side includes at least one of the following: the Backhaul Adaptation Protocol Layer (BAP) address information of the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node; the address information of the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node; one or more transport layer address information used by the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node for transmitting control signaling; and one or more transport layer address information used by the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node for transmitting user data. After the handover, the address-related information on the first node side includes at least one of the following: BAP address information of the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node; address information of the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node; one or more transport layer address information used by the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node for transmitting control signaling; and one or more transport layer address information used by the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node for transmitting user data. The address-related information on the second node side before the handover includes at least one of the following: the address information of the anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node; one or more transport layer address information used by the anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node for transmitting control signaling; and one or more transport layer address information used by the anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node for transmitting user data. The address-related information on the second node side after the switch includes at least one of the following: address information of the anchor node or the central unit of the anchor node; one or more transport layer address information used by the anchor node or the central unit of the anchor node for transmitting control signaling; and one or more transport layer address information used by the anchor node or the central unit of the anchor node for transmitting user data.

[0012] Optionally, the information regarding the configuration of the backhaul link channel includes at least one of the following: The backhaul link channel's identification information, QoS parameter information, configuration information of the serving backhaul link channel, the correspondence between this backhaul link channel and other backhaul link channels before and after relay node handover, and information related to the data carried by the backhaul link channel. The correspondence information between the backhaul link channel and other backhaul link channels before and after the relay node handover includes at least one of the following: information on the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal before the relay node handover, information on the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal after the relay node handover, information on the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal of the relay node, information on the backhaul link channel served by the distribution unit of the relay node before the relay node handover, information on the backhaul link channel served by the distribution unit of the relay node after the relay node handover, and information on the backhaul link channel served by the distribution unit of the relay node. The information related to the data carried by the backhaul link channel includes at least one of the following: information related to the user data radio bearer (DRB) to which the data belongs; QoS identification information of the data; indication information of the type of control signaling to which the data belongs; indication information of the data type being non-F1 interface data; information of the destination receiving node of the data; information of the source sending node of the data; Tunnel Endpoint Identifier (TEID) information of the data (such as GTP-TEID (GTP Tunnel Endpoint Identifier)); indication information of the content of the information contained in the data; and path identification information of the data.

[0013] Optionally, information related to data routing includes at least one of the following: The data packet contains BAP address information, path identification information, BAP routing identification information, identification information of the node receiving the data packet sent by the relay node, identification information of the cell group used by the relay node to send the data packet, and indication information of the cell group used by the relay node to send the data packet.

[0014] Secondly, a switching method is provided, applied to the second node, including: Send a user context configuration request message to the third node to support the handover of the first node. The first node includes any one of the following: a relay node, the mobile terminal part of the relay node, and the distribution unit of the relay node. The second node includes any one of the following: an anchor node and the centralized unit of the anchor node. The third node includes the distribution unit of the anchor node directly connected to the first node after the handover, or other relay nodes other than the first node directly connected to the first node after the handover. Receive the user context configuration response message sent by the third node.

[0015] Optionally, the user context configuration request message includes at least one of the following: One or more of the information contained in the defined UE Context Setup request (UEContext Modification Request) message, information related to the backhaul link channel served by the distribution unit portion of the third node, and information related to data routing; Information related to the backhaul link channel served by the distribution unit portion of the third node includes at least one of the following: backhaul link channel identification information, backhaul link channel QoS parameter information, and information related to the data carried by the backhaul link channel.

[0016] Optionally, the user context configuration response message includes at least one of the following: One or more of the information contained in the defined UE Context Setup Response or UE Context Modification Response message, information on the backhaul link channels accepted by the third node or the distribution unit of the third node, information on the backhaul link channels not accepted by the third node or the distribution unit of the third node, and configuration information of the backhaul link channels generated by the third node or the distribution unit of the third node.

[0017] Thirdly, a switching method is provided for the second node, including: A handover request message is sent to the fourth node to support the handover of the first node. The first node includes any one of the following: a relay node, a mobile terminal portion of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node. The second node includes any one of the following: the anchor node to which the first node was connected before the handover, and a centralized unit of the anchor node to which the first node was connected before the handover. The fourth node includes any one of the following: the anchor node to which the first node is connected after the handover, and a centralized unit of the anchor node to which the first node is connected after the handover. Receive the handover response message sent by the fourth node.

[0018] Optionally, the switch request message includes at least one of the following: The information contained in the defined Handover Request message includes one or more of the following: information related to the address of the first node, information related to the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal portion of the first node, information related to data routing, configuration information of the distribution unit portion of the first node, and configuration information related to the users served by the distribution unit portion of the first node. The address-related information of the first node includes at least one of the address-related information on the first node side before the handover and the address-related information on the second node side before the handover. The configuration information of the distribution unit portion of the first node includes at least one of the following: identification information, identification information of the accessed anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node, configuration information of the serving cell, supported Radio Resource Control (RRC) version information, and RRC version information of the accessed anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node. The configuration information of the serving cell includes one or more of the following: cell identification information, information contained in the defined serving cell information Served CellInformation, system message information, and at least one of the following: cell service status information. The configuration-related information of the users served by the distribution unit of the first node includes at least one of the following: the user's DRB identification information, the user's DRB QoS-related information, the user's signaling radio bearer SRB identification information, the user's configuration information, and the configuration information of the General Packet Radio Service Technology (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol user plane GTP-U tunnel used by the centralized unit side of the second node to receive user DRB data.

[0019] Optionally, the switching response message includes at least one of the following: The Handover Request Acknowledge message contains one or more of the following information: information related to the address of the first node, information related to the mobile terminal portion of the first node, information related to data routing, configuration information of the distribution unit portion of the first node, information about the cell to be activated, information about the cell to be deactivated, information about the reason for deactivating the cell, and configuration information related to the users served by the distribution unit portion of the first node. The address-related information of the first node includes at least one of the following: address-related information on the first node side before the switch, address-related information on the second node side before the switch, address-related information on the first node side after the switch, and address-related information on the fourth node side after the switch. The information related to the mobile terminal portion of the first node includes at least one of the following: identification information of the accepted backhaul link channel, identification information of the unaccepted backhaul link channel, and configuration information related to the served backhaul link channel. The configuration-related information of the users served by the distribution unit of the first node includes at least one of the following: the identification information of the DRB of the admitted user, the identification information of the DRB of the unadmitted user, the identification information of the SRB of the admitted user, the identification information of the SRB of the unadmitted user, the user's configuration information, the configuration information of the GTP-U tunnel used by the distribution unit side of the first node to receive user DRB data, the configuration information of the GTP-U tunnel used by the distribution unit side of the first node to receive user DRB data before the handover, the configuration information of the GTP-U tunnel used by the central unit side of the fourth node to receive user DRB data, and the configuration information of the GTP-U tunnel used by the central unit side of the second node to receive user DRB data before the handover.

[0020] Fourthly, a switching method is provided, applied to the first node, including: Send a first request message to the second node to support the first node in switching. The first node includes any one of the following: a relay node, a mobile terminal portion of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node. The second node includes any one of the following: an anchor node and a centralized unit of the anchor node. Receive the first response message sent by the second node.

[0021] Optionally, the first request message includes at least one of the following: Information related to the address of the first node, information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node, and auxiliary information for obtaining the configuration information of the distribution unit of the first node; The address-related information of the first node includes at least one of the address-related information on the first node side before the handover and the address-related information on the second node side before the handover. Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node includes at least one of the following: information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the switchover and information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node after the switchover. The auxiliary information for obtaining the distribution unit configuration information of the first node includes at least one of the following: information related to the mobile terminal of the first node after the handover, information related to the mobile terminal of the first node before the handover, and information related to the distribution unit of the first node before the handover.

[0022] Optionally, the first response message includes at least one of the following: Information related to the updated distribution unit configuration of the first node, information related to the original distribution unit configuration of the first node, information on the cells to be activated, information on the cells to be deactivated, information on the reasons for deactivating the cells, and information related to the address of the first node. The address-related information of the first node includes at least one of the following: address-related information on the first node side before the switch, address-related information on the second node side before the switch, address-related information on the first node side after the switch, and address-related information on the second node side after the switch.

[0023] Fifthly, a switching method is provided for the fourth node, including: The first node receives a first handover request message sent by the second node. The second node includes any one of the anchor nodes that the first node was connected to before the handover and any one of the centralized units of the anchor nodes that the first node was connected to before the handover. The fourth node includes any one of the anchor nodes that the first node was connected to after the handover and any one of the centralized units of the anchor nodes that the first node was connected to after the handover. Send the first handover response message to the second node; Receive a second request message sent by the first node to support the first node in switching, wherein the first node includes any one of the following: a relay node, a mobile terminal portion of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node; Send a second response message to the first node.

[0024] Optionally, the second request message includes at least one of the following: Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the switchover, information related to the address of the first node, and auxiliary information for obtaining the distribution unit configuration information of the first node; The address-related information of the first node includes any one of the address-related information on the first node side before the handover and the address-related information on the fourth node side before the handover. The auxiliary information for obtaining the distribution unit configuration information of the first node includes any one of the following: information related to the mobile terminal of the first node after the handover, information related to the mobile terminal of the first node before the handover, and information related to the distribution unit of the first node before the handover.

[0025] Optionally, the second response message includes at least one of the following: Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node, information about the cells to be activated, information about the cells to be deactivated, the reason for deactivating the cells, and information related to the address of the first node. Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node includes any one of the following: information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the switchover and information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node after the switchover. The address-related information of the first node includes any one of the following: address-related information on the first node side before the handover, address-related information on the second node side before the handover, address-related information on the first node side after the handover, and address-related information on the fourth node side after the handover.

[0026] Sixthly, a switching method is provided for the second node, including: Send a second handover request message or a third handover request message to the fourth node. The second node includes any one of the anchor nodes that the first node was connected to before the handover and any one of the centralized units of the anchor nodes that the first node was connected to before the handover. The fourth node includes any one of the anchor nodes that the first node was connected to after the handover and any one of the centralized units of the anchor nodes that the first node was connected to after the handover. Receive the second handover response message corresponding to the second handover request message or the third handover response message corresponding to the third handover request message sent by the fourth node; Send a first configuration message corresponding to the second handover response message or a second configuration message corresponding to the third handover response message to the first node to support the first node in handover. The first node includes any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal portion of a relay node, or a distribution unit of a relay node.

[0027] Optionally, the first configuration message or the second configuration message includes at least one of the following: Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node, information about the cells to be activated, information about the cells to be deactivated, the reason for deactivating the cells, and information related to the address of the first node. Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node includes any one of the following: information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the switchover and information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node after the switchover. The address-related information of the first node includes address-related information on the first node side before the handover, address-related information on the second node side before the handover, address-related information on the first node side after the handover, and address-related information on the fourth node side after the handover.

[0028] Optionally, the second handover request message or the third handover request message includes at least one of the following: Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the switchover, and information related to the address of the first node; The address-related information of the first node includes any one of the address-related information on the first node side before the handover and the address-related information on the second node side before the handover.

[0029] Optionally, the second handover response message or the third handover response message includes at least one of the following: Information related to the address of the first node, information about the cell to be activated, information about the cell to be deactivated, and information about the reason for deactivating the cell; The address-related information of the first node includes any one of the address-related information on the first node side before the handover and the address-related information on the first node side after the handover.

[0030] Optionally, the address-related information of the first node includes any one of the address-related information of the first node before the switch, the address-related information of the second node before the switch, the address-related information of the first node after the switch, and the address-related information of the second node after the switch.

[0031] In a seventh aspect, a first node device is provided, comprising: The first processing module is used to receive configuration messages sent by the second node to support the first node in switching. The first node includes any one of the following: a relay node, a mobile terminal part of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node. The second node includes any one of the following: an anchor node and a centralized unit of the anchor node. The second processing module is used to configure the first node based on the configuration message sent by the second node.

[0032] Eighthly, a second node device is provided, comprising: The third processing module is used to send a user context configuration request message to the third node to support the first node to switch. The first node includes any one of the following: a relay node, a mobile terminal part of a relay node, or a distribution unit of a relay node. The second node includes any one of the following: an anchor node or a centralized unit of an anchor node. The third node includes the distribution unit of the anchor node directly connected to the first node after the switch or other relay nodes other than the first node directly connected to the first node after the switch. The fourth processing module is used to receive the user context configuration response message sent by the third node.

[0033] Ninthly, a second node device is provided, comprising: The fifth processing module is used to send a handover request message to the fourth node to support the handover of the first node. The first node includes any one of the following: a relay node, a mobile terminal part of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node. The second node includes any one of the following: the anchor node connected to the first node before the handover and a centralized unit of the anchor node connected to the first node before the handover. The fourth node includes any one of the following: the anchor node connected to the first node after the handover and a centralized unit of the anchor node connected to the first node after the handover. The sixth processing module is used to receive the handover response message sent by the fourth node.

[0034] In a tenth aspect, a first node device is provided, comprising: The seventh processing module is used to send a first request message to the second node to support the first node in switching. The first node includes any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal part of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node. The second node includes any one of an anchor node and a centralized unit of the anchor node. The eighth processing module is used to receive the first response message sent by the second node.

[0035] Eleventhly, a fourth node device is provided, comprising: The ninth processing module is used to receive a first handover request message sent by the second node. The second node includes any one of the anchor nodes connected to the first node before the handover and any one of the centralized units of the anchor nodes connected to the first node before the handover. The fourth node includes any one of the anchor nodes connected to the first node after the handover and any one of the centralized units of the anchor nodes connected to the first node after the handover. The tenth processing module is used to send the first handover response message to the second node; The eleventh processing module is used to receive the second request message sent by the first node to support the first node in switching. The first node includes any one of the following: a relay node, a mobile terminal part of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node. The twelfth processing module is used to send a second response message to the first node.

[0036] In a twelfth aspect, a second node device is provided, comprising: The thirteenth processing module is used to send a second handover request message or a third handover request message to the fourth node. The second node includes any one of the anchor nodes connected to the first node before the handover and any one of the centralized units of the anchor nodes connected to the first node before the handover. The fourth node includes any one of the anchor nodes connected to the first node after the handover and any one of the centralized units of the anchor nodes connected to the first node after the handover. The fourteenth processing module is used to receive the second handover response message corresponding to the second handover request message or the third handover response message corresponding to the third handover request message sent by the fourth node. The fifteenth processing module is used to send a first configuration message corresponding to the second handover response message or a second configuration message corresponding to the third handover response message to the first node to support the first node in handover. The first node includes any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal part of a relay node, and a distribution unit of a relay node.

[0037] Thirteenthly, a switching method applied to the fourth node includes: The third handover request message sent by the second node is received. The second node includes any one of the anchor nodes connected to the first node before the handover and any one of the centralized units of the anchor nodes connected to the first node before the handover. The fourth node includes any one of the anchor nodes connected to the first node after the handover and any one of the centralized units of the anchor nodes connected to the first node after the handover. Send a third handover response message to the second node; Send a second configuration message to the first node to support the first node in switching. The first node includes any one of the following: a relay node, a mobile terminal portion of the relay node, or a distribution unit of the relay node.

[0038] Fourteenth aspect, a fourth node device, comprising: The sixteenth processing module is used to receive a third handover request message sent by the second node. The second node includes any one of the anchor nodes connected to the first node before the handover and any one of the centralized units of the anchor nodes connected to the first node before the handover. The fourth node includes any one of the anchor nodes connected to the first node after the handover and any one of the centralized units of the anchor nodes connected to the first node after the handover. The seventeenth processing module is used to send the third handover response message to the second node; The eighteenth processing module is used to send a second configuration message to the first node to support the first node in switching. The first node includes any one of the following: a relay node, a mobile terminal part of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node.

[0039] The technical solution provided in this application has at least the following beneficial effects: The system receives configuration messages from the second node to support the handover of the first node. The first node includes any one of the following: a relay node, a mobile terminal portion of the relay node, or a distribution unit of the relay node. The second node includes any one of the following: an anchor node or a centralized unit of the anchor node. The system configures the first node according to the configuration messages sent by the second node. In this way, the system updates the configuration of the first node, such as the configuration of the distribution unit portion and the configuration of the mobile terminal portion, during the handover process, thereby continuing to provide services to users accessing the first node.

[0040] Additional aspects and advantages of this application will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and will become apparent from the description or may be learned by practice of this application. Attached Figure Description

[0041] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments of this application will be briefly introduced below.

[0042] Figure 1This is a schematic diagram of an existing multi-hop relay network architecture; Figure 2 A schematic diagram illustrating the movement of a relay node as provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 3 A flowchart illustrating a switching method provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 4 A flowchart illustrating another switching method provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 5 A flowchart illustrating another switching method provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 6 A flowchart illustrating another switching method provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 7 A flowchart illustrating another switching method provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 8 A flowchart illustrating another switching method provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 8-a A flowchart illustrating another switching method provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the signaling interaction process between nodes; Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of the relay node switching process; Figure 11 A schematic diagram of Method 1 for configuring the distribution unit portion of relay nodes; Figure 12 A schematic diagram of Method 2 for configuring the distribution unit part of the relay node; Figure 13 A schematic diagram of method three for configuring the distribution unit part of the relay node; Figure 14 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the communication method between the distribution unit portion of the relay node and the anchor node. Figure 15 A schematic diagram of method four for configuring the distribution unit portion of relay nodes; Figure 16 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the first node device provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 17 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the second node device provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 18 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the second node device provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 19 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the first node device provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 20 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the fourth node device provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 21 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the second node device provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 22 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the fourth node device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0043] The embodiments of this application are described in detail below. Examples of these embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain this application, and should not be construed as limiting this application.

[0044] Those skilled in the art will understand that, unless specifically stated otherwise, the singular forms “a,” “an,” “the,” and “the” used herein may also include the plural forms. It should be further understood that the term “comprising” as used in this application means the presence of the stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof. It should be understood that when we say an element is “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element, or there may be intermediate elements. Furthermore, “connected” or “coupled” as used herein can include wireless connections or wireless coupling. The term “and / or” as used herein includes all or any units and all combinations of one or more associated listed items.

[0045] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this application clearer, the embodiments of this application will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0046] In real-world networks, relay nodes may be in a mobile state, such as those on buses or trains. In this scenario, the movement of a relay node will cause all users connected to that relay node to move as well. How to solve the problem of relay node mobility is a research topic.

[0047] When a relay node is in a mobile state, the upstream node serving the relay node, or the distribution unit of the anchor node, or the centralized unit of the anchor node, or the anchor node itself, may change. To ensure that the relay node can continue to provide services to users during migration, the existing technology faces the following technical problems: (1) The mobile terminal portion of the relay node is unable to continue providing services for the backhaul link it serves.

[0048] (2) The configuration of the distribution unit of the relay node may change as the node moves, thus failing to provide services to users accessing the node.

[0049] These issues caused users connected to the relay node to lose their network connection, impacting their experience on the relay network.

[0050] In this application, an anchor node can be a complete base station, a base station including a centralized unit and a distributed unit of the anchor node, or a base station including a control plane portion of the centralized unit of the anchor node, a user plane portion of the centralized unit of the anchor node, and a distributed unit of the anchor node. If the centralized unit of the anchor node is divided into a control plane portion and a user plane portion, the centralized unit of the anchor node in this invention is used to indicate the control plane portion (CU-CP) of the centralized unit of the anchor node.

[0051] In this application, the relay node is a node that includes both a mobile terminal component and a distribution unit component. This node is also known as an IAB node.

[0052] In this application, the data sent on the backhaul link may be user plane data, such as data carried by DRB, user plane data of F1 interface, or control plane data, such as data carried by SRB, control plane data of F1 interface, or non-F1 interface data (such as data of IPSec protocol, data of SCTP protocol, data from OAM, etc.).

[0053] In this application, the target user may be an end user, a relay node, or the mobile terminal portion of a relay node.

[0054] In this application, the message names are merely examples; other names can be used to name messages. The message sequence number does not represent the order in which messages are executed, but only represents the message name.

[0055] The relay node mobility scenarios involved in this application include the following three types of scenarios, such as... Figure 2 As shown, █ Centralized and distributed elements (intra-CU / intra-DU) at the same anchor node During relay node switching, the centralized unit and distributed unit of the anchor node to which it is connected (directly connected, or connected through one or more relay nodes) remain unchanged. For example... Figure 2 In (a), after a switch occurs, the moving relay node remains connected to both the centralized unit and the distributed unit of the same anchor node.

[0056] █ Concentrated elements of the same anchor node / Different distributed elements of the anchor node (intra-CU / inter-DU) During relay node switching, the centralized unit of the anchor node it connects to (directly connected, or connected through one or more relay nodes) remains unchanged, but the distributed unit of the anchor node changes. For example... Figure 2 In (b), after the switching occurs, the moving relay node is still connected to the same anchor node's centralized unit, but the anchor node's distribution unit changes from anchor node distribution unit 1 to anchor node distribution unit 2.

[0057] █ Switching between different anchor nodes, or between centralized units of different anchor nodes (inter-CU) During relay node switching, the centralized unit or anchor node of the anchor node it is connected to (directly connected, or connected through one or more relay nodes) changes. For example... Figure 2 In (c), after the mobile relay node is switched, the centralized unit of the anchor node it connects to changes from the centralized unit of anchor node 1 to the centralized unit of anchor node 2, and the distributed unit of the anchor node it connects to changes from the distributed unit of anchor node 1 to the distributed unit of anchor node 2.

[0058] Example 1 This application provides a switching method applied to a first node, and the flowchart of the method is shown below. Figure 3 As shown, the method includes: Step S101: Receive a configuration message sent by the second node to support the first node in switching. The first node includes any one of the following: a relay node, a mobile terminal part of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node. The second node includes any one of the following: an anchor node and a centralized unit of the anchor node.

[0059] Step S102: Configure the first node according to the configuration message sent by the second node.

[0060] In this embodiment, a configuration message sent by a second node is received to support the handover of the first node. The first node includes any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal portion of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node. The second node includes any one of an anchor node and a centralized unit of the anchor node. The first node is configured according to the configuration message sent by the second node. In this way, the configuration of the first node, such as the configuration of the distribution unit portion of the first node and the configuration of the mobile terminal portion of the first node, is updated during the handover process, so as to continue to provide services to users accessing the first node.

[0061] Optionally, the configuration message includes at least one of the following: The first node requires information related to address, backhaul link channel configuration, and data routing.

[0062] Optionally, the configuration message can be a Radio Resource Control Reconfiguration (RRCReconfiguration) message, a Radio Resource Control Connection Reconfiguration (RRCConnectionReconfiguration) message, or other messages.

[0063] Optionally, the address-related information required by the first node includes at least one of the following: Information related to the address on the first node side before the switch, information related to the address on the first node side after the switch, information related to the address on the second node side before the switch, and information related to the address on the second node side after the switch. Before the handover, the address-related information on the first node side includes at least one of the following: the Backhaul Adaptation Protocol Layer (BAP) address information of the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node; the address information of the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node; one or more transport layer address information used by the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node for transmitting control signaling; and one or more transport layer address information used by the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node for transmitting user data. After the handover, the address-related information on the first node side includes at least one of the following: BAP address information of the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node; address information of the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node; one or more transport layer address information used by the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node for transmitting control signaling; and one or more transport layer address information used by the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node for transmitting user data. The address-related information on the second node side before the handover includes at least one of the following: the address information of the anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node; one or more transport layer address information used by the anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node for transmitting control signaling; and one or more transport layer address information used by the anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node for transmitting user data. The address-related information on the second node side after the switch includes at least one of the following: address information of the anchor node or the central unit of the anchor node; one or more transport layer address information used by the anchor node or the central unit of the anchor node for transmitting control signaling; and one or more transport layer address information used by the anchor node or the central unit of the anchor node for transmitting user data.

[0064] Optionally, the information regarding the configuration of the backhaul link channel includes at least one of the following: The backhaul link channel's identification information, QoS parameter information, configuration information of the serving backhaul link channel, the correspondence between this backhaul link channel and other backhaul link channels before and after relay node handover, and information related to the data carried by the backhaul link channel. The correspondence information between the backhaul link channel and other backhaul link channels before and after the relay node handover includes at least one of the following: information on the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal before the relay node handover, information on the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal after the relay node handover, information on the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal of the relay node, information on the backhaul link channel served by the distribution unit of the relay node before the relay node handover, information on the backhaul link channel served by the distribution unit of the relay node after the relay node handover, and information on the backhaul link channel served by the distribution unit of the relay node. The information related to the data carried by the backhaul link channel includes at least one of the following: information related to the user data radio bearer (DRB) to which the data belongs; QoS identification information of the data; indication information of the type of control signaling to which the data belongs; indication information of the data type being non-F1 interface data; information of the destination receiving node of the data; information of the source sending node of the data; Tunnel Endpoint Identifier (TEID) information of the data (such as GTP-TEID (GTP Tunnel Endpoint Identifier)); indication information of the content of the information contained in the data; and path identification information of the data.

[0065] Optionally, information related to data routing includes at least one of the following: The data packet contains BAP address information, path identification information, BAP routing identification information, identification information of the node receiving the data packet sent by the relay node, identification information of the cell group used by the relay node to send the data packet, and indication information of the cell group used by the relay node to send the data packet.

[0066] This application provides another switching method applied to the second node, and the flowchart of this method is shown below. Figure 4 As shown, the method includes: Step S201: Send a user context configuration request message to the third node to support the handover of the first node. The first node includes any one of the following: a relay node, a mobile terminal part of a relay node, or a distribution unit of a relay node. The second node includes any one of the following: an anchor node or a centralized unit of an anchor node. The third node includes the distribution unit of the anchor node directly connected to the first node after the handover, or other relay nodes other than the first node directly connected to the first node after the handover.

[0067] Step S202: Receive the user context configuration response message sent by the third node.

[0068] Optionally, the user context configuration request message includes at least one of the following: One or more of the information contained in the defined UE Context Setup request (UEContext Modification Request) message, information related to the backhaul link channel served by the distribution unit portion of the third node, and information related to data routing; Information related to the backhaul link channel served by the distribution unit portion of the third node includes at least one of the following: backhaul link channel identification information, backhaul link channel QoS parameter information, and information related to the data carried by the backhaul link channel.

[0069] Optionally, the user context configuration response message includes at least one of the following: One or more of the information contained in the defined UE Context Setup Response or UE Context Modification Response message, information on the backhaul link channels accepted by the third node or the distribution unit of the third node, information on the backhaul link channels not accepted by the third node or the distribution unit of the third node, and configuration information of the backhaul link channels generated by the third node or the distribution unit of the third node.

[0070] Applying the embodiments of this application has at least the following beneficial effects: During the relay node handover process, the mobile terminal of the relay node is configured (such as backhaul link channel configuration, address-related information, routing information configuration, etc.) to ensure that the mobile terminal of the relay node can continue to provide services for the backhaul link.

[0071] This application provides another switching method applied to the second node, and the flowchart of this method is shown below. Figure 5 As shown, the method includes: Step S301: Send a handover request message to the fourth node to support the handover of the first node. The first node includes any one of the following: a relay node, a mobile terminal portion of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node. The second node includes any one of the following: the anchor node connected to the first node before the handover and a centralized unit of the anchor node connected to the first node before the handover. The fourth node includes any one of the following: the anchor node connected to the first node after the handover and a centralized unit of the anchor node connected to the first node after the handover.

[0072] Step S302: Receive the handover response message sent by the fourth node.

[0073] Optionally, the switch request message includes at least one of the following: The information contained in the defined Handover Request message includes one or more of the following: information related to the address of the first node, information related to the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal portion of the first node, information related to data routing, configuration information of the distribution unit portion of the first node, and configuration information related to the users served by the distribution unit portion of the first node. The address-related information of the first node includes at least one of the address-related information on the first node side before the handover and the address-related information on the second node side before the handover. The configuration information of the distribution unit portion of the first node includes at least one of the following: identification information, identification information of the accessed anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node, configuration information of the serving cell, supported Radio Resource Control (RRC) version information, and RRC version information of the accessed anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node. The configuration information of the serving cell includes one or more of the following: cell identification information, information contained in the defined serving cell information Served CellInformation, system message information, and at least one of the following: cell service status information. The configuration-related information of the users served by the distribution unit of the first node includes at least one of the following: the user's DRB identification information, the user's DRB QoS-related information, the user's signaling radio bearer SRB identification information, the user's configuration information, and the configuration information of the General Packet Radio Service Technology (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol user plane GTP-U tunnel used by the centralized unit side of the second node to receive user DRB data.

[0074] Optionally, the switching response message includes at least one of the following: The Handover Request Acknowledge message contains one or more of the following information: information related to the address of the first node, information related to the mobile terminal portion of the first node, information related to data routing, configuration information of the distribution unit portion of the first node, information about the cell to be activated, information about the cell to be deactivated, information about the reason for deactivating the cell, and configuration information related to the users served by the distribution unit portion of the first node. The address-related information of the first node includes at least one of the following: address-related information on the first node side before the switch, address-related information on the second node side before the switch, address-related information on the first node side after the switch, and address-related information on the fourth node side after the switch. The information related to the mobile terminal portion of the first node includes at least one of the following: identification information of the accepted backhaul link channel, identification information of the unaccepted backhaul link channel, and configuration information related to the served backhaul link channel. The configuration-related information of the users served by the distribution unit of the first node includes at least one of the following: the identification information of the DRB of the admitted user, the identification information of the DRB of the unadmitted user, the identification information of the SRB of the admitted user, the identification information of the SRB of the unadmitted user, the user's configuration information, the configuration information of the GTP-U tunnel used by the distribution unit side of the first node to receive user DRB data, the configuration information of the GTP-U tunnel used by the distribution unit side of the first node to receive user DRB data before the handover, the configuration information of the GTP-U tunnel used by the central unit side of the fourth node to receive user DRB data, and the configuration information of the GTP-U tunnel used by the central unit side of the second node to receive user DRB data before the handover.

[0075] Applying the embodiments of this application has at least the following beneficial effects: During the relay node handover process, relevant configuration information of the relay node's mobile terminal portion (such as backhaul link channel configuration, address-related information, routing information configuration, etc.) is exchanged between the source node (such as the second node) and the target node (such as the fourth node) to ensure that the relay node's mobile terminal portion can continue to provide services for the backhaul link.

[0076] This application provides another switching method, applied to the first node, and the flowchart of this method is shown below. Figure 6 As shown, the method includes: Step S401: Send a first request message to the second node to support the first node in switching. The first node includes any one of the following: a relay node, a mobile terminal portion of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node. The second node includes any one of the following: an anchor node and a centralized unit of the anchor node.

[0077] Step S402: Receive the first response message sent by the second node.

[0078] Optionally, the first request message includes at least one of the following: Information related to the address of the first node, information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node, and auxiliary information for obtaining the configuration information of the distribution unit of the first node; The address-related information of the first node includes at least one of the address-related information on the first node side before the handover and the address-related information on the second node side before the handover. Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node includes at least one of the following: information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the switchover and information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node after the switchover. The auxiliary information for obtaining the distribution unit configuration information of the first node includes at least one of the following: information related to the mobile terminal of the first node after the handover, information related to the mobile terminal of the first node before the handover, and information related to the distribution unit of the first node before the handover.

[0079] Optionally, the first response message includes at least one of the following: Information related to the updated distribution unit configuration of the first node, information related to the original distribution unit configuration of the first node, information on the cells to be activated, information on the cells to be deactivated, information on the reasons for deactivating the cells, and information related to the address of the first node. The address-related information of the first node includes at least one of the following: address-related information on the first node side before the switch, address-related information on the second node side before the switch, address-related information on the first node side after the switch, and address-related information on the second node side after the switch.

[0080] Applying the embodiments of this application has at least the following beneficial effects: During relay node relocation and handover, the configuration of the distribution unit portion of the relay node is maintained or updated to continue providing services to users accessing the relay node.

[0081] This application provides another switching method applied to the fourth node, and the flowchart of this method is shown below. Figure 7 As shown, the method includes: Step S501: Receive a first handover request message sent by the second node. The second node includes any one of the anchor nodes connected to the first node before the handover and any one of the centralized units of the anchor nodes connected to the first node before the handover. The fourth node includes any one of the anchor nodes connected to the first node after the handover and any one of the centralized units of the anchor nodes connected to the first node after the handover.

[0082] Step S502: Send the first handover response message to the second node.

[0083] Step S503: Receive a second request message sent by the first node to support the first node in switching. The first node includes any one of the following: a relay node, a mobile terminal portion of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node.

[0084] Step S504: Send a second response message to the first node.

[0085] Optionally, the second request message includes at least one of the following: Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the switchover, information related to the address of the first node, and auxiliary information for obtaining the distribution unit configuration information of the first node; The address-related information of the first node includes any one of the address-related information on the first node side before the handover and the address-related information on the fourth node side before the handover. The auxiliary information for obtaining the distribution unit configuration information of the first node includes any one of the following: information related to the mobile terminal of the first node after the handover, information related to the mobile terminal of the first node before the handover, and information related to the distribution unit of the first node before the handover.

[0086] Optionally, the second response message includes at least one of the following: Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node, information about the cells to be activated, information about the cells to be deactivated, the reason for deactivating the cells, and information related to the address of the first node. Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node includes any one of the following: information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the switchover and information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node after the switchover. The address-related information of the first node includes any one of the following: address-related information on the first node side before the handover, address-related information on the second node side before the handover, address-related information on the first node side after the handover, and address-related information on the fourth node side after the handover.

[0087] Applying the embodiments of this application has at least the following beneficial effects: During the relay node relocation and handover process, relevant configuration information of the distribution unit portion of the relay node is exchanged between the source node (such as the second node) and the target node (such as the fourth node), and the configuration of the distribution unit of the relay node is maintained or updated, so as to continue to provide services to users accessing the relay node.

[0088] This application provides another switching method applied to the second node, and the flowchart of this method is shown below. Figure 8 As shown, the method includes: Step S601: Send a second handover request message or a third handover request message to the fourth node. The second node includes any one of the anchor nodes connected to the first node before the handover and any one of the centralized units of the anchor nodes connected to the first node before the handover. The fourth node includes any one of the anchor nodes connected to the first node after the handover and any one of the centralized units of the anchor nodes connected to the first node after the handover.

[0089] Step S602: Receive the second handover response message corresponding to the second handover request message or the third handover response message corresponding to the third handover request message sent by the fourth node.

[0090] Step S603: Send a first configuration message corresponding to the second handover response message or a second configuration message corresponding to the third handover response message to the first node to support the first node in handover. The first node includes any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal portion of a relay node, or a distribution unit of a relay node.

[0091] Optionally, the first configuration message or the second configuration message includes at least one of the following: Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node, information about the cells to be activated, information about the cells to be deactivated, the reason for deactivating the cells, and information related to the address of the first node. Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node includes any one of the following: information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the switchover and information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node after the switchover. The address-related information of the first node includes address-related information on the first node side before the handover, address-related information on the second node side before the handover, address-related information on the first node side after the handover, and address-related information on the fourth node side after the handover.

[0092] Optionally, the second handover request message or the third handover request message includes at least one of the following: Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the switchover, and information related to the address of the first node; The address-related information of the first node includes any one of the address-related information on the first node side before the handover and the address-related information on the second node side before the handover.

[0093] Optionally, the second handover response message or the third handover response message includes at least one of the following: Information related to the address of the first node, information about the cell to be activated, information about the cell to be deactivated, and information about the reason for deactivating the cell; The address-related information of the first node includes any one of the address-related information on the first node side before the handover and the address-related information on the first node side after the handover.

[0094] Optionally, the address-related information of the first node includes any one of the address-related information of the first node before the switch, the address-related information of the second node before the switch, the address-related information of the first node after the switch, and the address-related information of the second node after the switch.

[0095] This application provides another switching method applied to the fourth node, and the flowchart of this method is shown below. Figure 8-a As shown, the method includes: Step S701: Receive a third handover request message sent by the second node. The second node includes any one of the anchor nodes connected to the first node before the handover and the centralized unit of the anchor nodes connected to the first node before the handover. The fourth node includes any one of the anchor nodes connected to the first node (or the mobile terminal part of the first node) after the handover and the centralized unit of the anchor nodes connected to the first node after the handover.

[0096] Step S702: Send a third handover response message to the second node.

[0097] Step S703: Send a second configuration message to the first node to support the first node in switching. The first node includes any one of the following: a relay node, the mobile terminal part of the relay node, and the distribution unit of the relay node.

[0098] Applying the embodiments of this application has at least the following beneficial effects: During the relay node relocation and handover process, relevant configuration information of the distribution unit portion of the relay node is exchanged between the source node (such as the second node) and the target node (such as the fourth node), and the configuration of the distribution unit of the relay node is maintained or updated, so as to continue to provide services to users accessing the relay node.

[0099] The switching method of the above embodiments of this application will be fully and thoroughly described through the following examples: In this application, the information involved in the signaling interaction process includes the following: Address-related information required by relay nodes This information is address-related information required for communication between the distributed unit of the relay node and the anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node, and this information includes at least one of the following: █ Address-related information on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) side before the handover, which includes at least one of the following: █ The BAP address information of the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node). This address information is used to indicate the relay node during packet routing before handover; furthermore, this information may contain one or more BAP addresses. This address information can be named "old BAP address" or other names may be used. █ Address information of the relay node (or its distribution unit), such as IP address information. This address information is used for communication with the anchor node (or its centralized unit) before handover. The anchor node (or its centralized unit) is the node to which the relay node was connected before handover. Furthermore, this information may contain one or more IP addresses. This address information can be named "old gNB-DU IP address" or other names may be used. █ One or more transport layer address information, such as IP address and / or port information, used by the relay node (or its distribution unit) for transmitting control signaling. Furthermore, this address information can indicate whether it is used to send user-related F1AP control signaling, non-user-related F1AP control information, or all F1AP control signaling. This address information can be named "old control plane transport layer address of gNB-DU" or other names may be used. █ One or more transport layer address information, such as IP address, and / or tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID) (e.g., GTP-TEID (GTP TunnelEndpoint Identifier)) used by the relay node (or its distribution unit) to transmit (e.g., receive) user data. This address information can be named "old user plane transport layer address of gNB-DU" or other names. Furthermore, each transport layer address can correspond to a user DRB, and this information will also include the user DRB information corresponding to each transport layer address (e.g., user DRB identification information).

[0100] █ Address-related information on the anchor node (or its centralized unit) side before the switchover, where the anchor node (or its centralized unit) was the node connected to before the relay node switchover. This information includes at least one of the following: █ Address information of anchor nodes (or centralized units of anchor nodes), such as IP address information. Furthermore, this information may contain one or more IP addresses, which may be named old gNB-CU IP address or other names. █ One or more transport layer address information, such as IP address and / or port information, used by the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) for transmitting control signaling. Furthermore, this address information may indicate whether it is used to send user-related F1AP control signaling, non-user-related F1AP control information, or all F1AP control signaling. This address information can be named "old control plane transport layer address of gNB-CU" or other names may be used. █ One or more transport layer address information, such as IP address and / or TEID (e.g., GTP-TEID (GTP Tunnel Endpoint Identifier)), used by the anchor node (or centralized unit of the anchor node) for transmitting user data. This address information can be named "old user plane transport layer address of gNB-CU" or other names. Furthermore, each transport layer address can correspond to a user DRB, and this information will also include the user DRB information corresponding to each transport layer address (e.g., user DRB identification information).

[0101] █ Address-related information on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) side after the handover, which includes at least one of the following: █ The BAP address information of the relay node (or its distribution unit). This address information is used to indicate the relay node during packet routing after a handover; furthermore, this information may contain one or more BAP addresses. This address information can be named "new BAP address" or other names may be used. █ Address information of the relay node (or its distribution unit), such as IP address information. This address information is used for communication with the anchor node (or its centralized unit) after handover. The anchor node (or its centralized unit) is the node to which the relay node is connected after handover. Furthermore, this information may contain one or more IP addresses. This address information can be named "new gNB-DU IP address" or other names may be used. █ One or more transport layer address information, such as IP address and / or port information, used by the relay node (or its distribution unit) for transmitting control signaling. Furthermore, this address information can indicate whether it is used to send user-related F1AP control signaling, non-user-related F1AP control information, or all F1AP control signaling. This address information can be named "new control plane transport layer address of gNB-DU" or other names may be used. █ One or more transport layer address information, such as IP address, and / or TEID (e.g., GTP-TEID (GTP Tunnel Endpoint Identifier)) used by the relay node (or its distribution unit) to transmit (e.g., receive) user data. This address information can be named "new user plane transport layer address of gNB-DU" or other names. Furthermore, each transport layer address can correspond to a user DRB, and this information will also include the user DRB information corresponding to each transport layer address (e.g., user DRB identification information).

[0102] █ Address-related information on the anchor node (or its centralized unit) side after the handover. This anchor node (or its centralized unit) is the node connected to after the relay node handover. This anchor node (or its centralized unit) may be the same as or different from the anchor node (or its centralized unit) connected to the relay node before the handover. This information includes at least one of the following: █ Address information of anchor nodes (or centralized units of anchor nodes), such as IP address information. Furthermore, this information may contain one or more IP addresses, which may be named new gNB-CU IP address or other names. █ One or more transport layer address information, such as IP address and / or port information, used by the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) for transmitting control signaling. Furthermore, this address information may indicate whether it is used to send user-related F1AP control signaling, non-user-related F1AP control information, or all F1AP control signaling. This address information can be named "new control plane transport layer address of gNB-CU" or other names may be used. █ One or more transport layer address information, such as IP address and / or TEID (e.g., GTP-TEID (GTP Tunnel Endpoint Identifier)), used by the anchor node (or centralized unit of the anchor node) for transmitting user data. This address information can be named "new user plane transport layer address of gNB-CU" or other names. Furthermore, each transport layer address can correspond to a user DRB, and this information will also include the user DRB information corresponding to each transport layer address (e.g., user DRB identification information).

[0103] Furthermore, the above information can reflect the correspondence between each other, such as the correspondence between "address-related information on the side of the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) before the handover" and "address-related information on the side of the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) after the handover", and the correspondence between "address-related information on the side of the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) before the handover" and "address-related information on the side of the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) after the handover".

[0104] Configuration information related to the backhaul link channel of the relay node In one embodiment, the backhaul link channel is the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal portion of the relay node before the handover; in another embodiment, the backhaul link channel is the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal portion of the relay node after the handover; in yet another embodiment, the backhaul link channel is the backhaul link channel served by the distribution unit portion of the relay node before the handover; and in yet another embodiment, the backhaul link channel is the backhaul link channel served by the distribution unit portion of the relay node after the handover. For a backhaul link channel, this information includes at least one of the following: █ Identification information of the backhaul link channel, such as the ID of the backhaul link channel; For QoS parameter information of the backhaul link channel, please refer to TS38.473; █ Configuration information for the service backhaul link channel, such as the RLC layer configuration, the configuration information of the logical channel of the backhaul link channel (such as identification information, priority information of the logical channel of the backhaul link), the MAC layer configuration, the physical layer configuration, etc., can be found in CellGroupConfiguration; █ The correspondence information between this backhaul link channel and other backhaul link channels before and after the relay node handover, which includes at least one of the following: Information 1: Information on the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal before the relay node handover (such as the identifier of the backhaul link channel, the logical channel identifier of the backhaul link channel); furthermore, for the backhaul link channel, it may also include the identification information of the upstream node serving the backhaul link channel (such as the BAP address), or the identification information of the cell group serving the backhaul link channel (such as the Cell group ID), or the indication information of the cell group serving the backhaul link channel (such as MCG (master cell group), SCG (secondary cell group), etc.).

[0105] Information 2: Information on the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal after the relay node handover (such as the identifier of the backhaul link channel, the logical channel identifier of the backhaul link channel); furthermore, for the backhaul link channel, it may also include the identification information of the upper-level node serving the backhaul link channel (such as the BAP address), or the identification information of the cell group serving the backhaul link channel (such as the Cell group ID), or the indication information of the cell group serving the backhaul link channel (such as MCG (master cell group), SCG (secondary cell group), etc.).

[0106] Information 3: Information on the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal of the relay node (such as the identifier of the backhaul link channel, the logical channel identifier of the backhaul link channel); furthermore, for the backhaul link channel, it may also include the identification information of the upstream node serving the backhaul link channel (such as the BAP address), or the identification information of the cell group serving the backhaul link channel (such as the Cell group ID), or the indication information of the cell group serving the backhaul link channel (such as MCG (master cell group), SCG (secondary cell group), etc.).

[0107] Information 4: Information on the backhaul link channel served by the distribution unit before the relay node handover (such as the identifier of the backhaul link channel, the logical channel identifier of the backhaul link channel); furthermore, for the backhaul link channel, it may also include the identification information of the next-level node serving the backhaul link channel (such as BAP address, C-RNTI, serving Cell ID, C-RNTI+serving Cell ID, gNB-CU / gNB-DU UE F1AP ID), or the identification information of the cell group serving the backhaul link channel (such as Cell group ID), or the indication information of the cell group serving the backhaul link channel (such as MCG (master cell group), SCG (secondary cell group), etc.).

[0108] Information 5: Information on the backhaul link channel served by the distribution unit after the relay node handover (such as the identifier of the backhaul link channel, the logical channel identifier of the backhaul link channel); furthermore, for the backhaul link channel, it may also include the identification information of the next-level node serving the backhaul link channel (such as BAP address, C-RNTI, serving Cell ID, C-RNTI+serving Cell ID, gNB-CU / gNB-DU UE F1AP ID), or the identification information of the cell group serving the backhaul link channel (such as Cell group ID), or the indication information of the cell group serving the backhaul link channel (such as MCG (master cell group), SCG (secondary cell group), etc.).

[0109] Information 6: Information on the backhaul link channel served by the relay node and its distribution unit (such as the identifier of the backhaul link channel, the logical channel identifier of the backhaul link channel); furthermore, for the backhaul link channel, it may also include the identification information of the next-level node serving the backhaul link channel (such as BAP address, C-RNTI, serving Cell ID, C-RNTI+serving Cell ID, gNB-CU / gNB-DU UE F1AP ID), or the identification information of the cell group serving the backhaul link channel (such as Cell group ID), or the indication information of the cell group serving the backhaul link channel (such as MCG (master cell group), SCG (secondary cell group), etc.).

[0110] Based on the six types of information mentioned above, the correspondence between each piece of information can be determined. If the information reflects the correspondence between the backhaul link channel served by the distribution unit of the relay node and the backhaul link channel served by its mobile terminal, it means that (all or part) of the data received on the backhaul link channel served by its distribution unit needs to be transmitted through the channel served by its corresponding mobile terminal. Conversely, (all or part) of the data received on the backhaul link channel served by its mobile terminal needs to be transmitted through the channel served by its corresponding distribution unit.

[0111] █ Information related to the data carried by the backhaul link channel. This data can be user plane data or control plane data, or user plane data or control plane data of the F1 interface. This data can be uplink data (data generated by the relay node and sent to the anchor node, such as data generated by the distribution unit of the relay node, or data forwarded by the relay node to the anchor node, such as data received by the relay node from other nodes), or downlink data (data sent by the anchor node to the relay node, which can be data sent to the distribution unit of the relay node, or data sent to other nodes but needing to be forwarded by the node), or it can include both uplink and downlink data. This information includes at least one of the following: █ Information related to the user DRB to which the data belongs, such as the user DRB's identification information (this information can indicate the user to which the data belongs and the DRB). █ Information related to the user SRB to which the data belongs, such as the user SRB's identification information (this information can indicate the user to which the data belongs and the SRB). █ The QoS identification information of the data. This information can be used to indicate the QoS information of the data, and it can also be used to indicate the DRB of the user. █ This indicates the type of control signaling to which the data belongs. The indicated type may include: non-UE associated F1AP signaling, UE-associated F1AP signaling, UE-associated F1AP signaling containing RRC messages of SRB0, UE-associated F1AP signaling containing RRC messages of SRB1, UE-associated F1AP signaling containing RRC messages of SRB2, and UE-associated F1AP signaling containing RRC messages of SRB3. SRB3), user-associated F1AP signaling without RRC message; further, this indication information can be used to indicate a combination of one or more of the above types, such as the type indicated by the indication information being "user-associated F1AP signaling with RRC message carried by SRB0" and "user-associated F1AP signaling without RRC message", such as the type indicated by the indication information being "user-associated F1AP signaling with RRC message carried by SRB0" and "non-user-associated F1AP signaling"; █ The data type is non-F1 interface data (non-F1 traffic). This information indicates that the data carried on the backhaul link channel is non-F1 interface data, such as IPSec protocol data, SCTP protocol data, data from OAM, etc. Furthermore, this information can also be used to indicate the type of non-F1 interface data.

[0112] █ The purpose of the data is to receive information about the receiving node, such as IP address information and / or BAP address information. This node can be a relay node, an anchor node, a distribution unit of the anchor node, or a centralized unit of the anchor node. █ Information about the source sending node of the data, such as IP address information and / or BAP address information. This node can be a relay node, an anchor node, a distribution unit of the anchor node, or a centralized unit of the anchor node. █ Data TEID information, such as GTP-TEID (GTP Tunnel Endpoint Identifier). Different TEID information indicates different data types (such as different user DRBs to which the data belongs). The TEID can be the TEID assigned by the centralized unit of the anchor node (UL TEID), or the TEID assigned by the distributed unit of the relay node (DL TEID), or it can include both UL TEID and DL TEID. █ Information indicating the content of the data contained in the data, such as the content of the DSCP (Differentiated Services Code Point) field contained in the data packet, and / or the content of the flow label field, and / or the content of the TC (Traffic Class) field, and / or the content of the DS (DifferServ) field, and / or the content of the ECN (Explicit Cogestion Notification) field; █ Data path identification information, such as Path ID, indicates the path used for data transmission in the relay network.

[0113] Information related to data routing of relay nodes This data can be uplink data (data generated by the relay node and sent to the anchor node, such as data generated by the distribution unit portion of the relay node, or data forwarded by the relay node to the anchor node, such as data received by the relay node from other nodes), or downlink data (data sent by the anchor node to the relay node; this data can be data sent to the distribution unit of the relay node, or data sent to other nodes but requiring forwarding by the anchor node), or it can include both uplink and downlink data. This information must include at least one of the following: █ The BAP address information contained in the data packet, such as BAP address, can be from before the relay node switchover, after the relay node switchover, or both.

[0114] The path identification information contained in the data packet, such as Path ID, can be from before the relay node switch, after the relay node switch, or both.

[0115] █ The BAP routing identification information of the data packet can indicate the destination receiving node or source sending node of the data packet and the path used for routing the data packet, such as BAP address information + path identification information. This information can be before the relay node switchover, after the relay node switchover, or it can include both the information before and after the relay node switchover.

[0116] █ The identification information of the node receiving the data packets sent by the relay node, such as BAP address information, and / or C-RNTI information, and / or C-RNTI+ serving cell identification information, and / or the node's gNB-CU / gNB-DU F1AP UE ID, etc. This information can be before the relay node handover, or after the relay node handover, or it can include both the information before and after the relay node handover.

[0117] █ The cell group identification information used by the relay node to send data packets, such as Cell group ID information. This information can be before the relay node handover, after the relay node handover, or both.

[0118] █ The cell group indication information used by the relay node to send data packets, such as MCG and SCG. This information can be before the relay node handover, after the relay node handover, or it can include both the information before and after the relay node handover.

[0119] The configuration information of the distribution unit of the relay node, which includes at least one of the following: █ Identification information, such as gNB-DU ID, and / or gNB-DU Name; █ Identification information of the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) to which it is connected, such as gNB ID, and / or gNB-CUID, and / or gNB-CU Name, and / or gNB Name; █ Configuration information for the service area, which includes at least one of the following: █ Cell identification information, such as NR CGI and / or NR PCI; One or more of the information contained in Served Cell Information as defined in █TS38.473; █ System message information, such as MIB, SIB1, SIB2, ..., refer to one or more of the information contained in gNB-DU System Information and gNB-CU System Information as defined in TS38.473; █ Cell service status information, such as in-service, out-of-service, switching off ongoing, see Service Status as defined in TS38.473. Furthermore, it can also indicate whether the cell is active or deactivated.

[0120] For information on supported RRC versions, please refer to gNB-DU RRC Version in TS38.473; For the RRC version information of the connected anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node), please refer to gNB-DU RRC Version in TS38.473.

[0121] The first aspect of this application: the handover of the mobile terminal portion of the relay node.

[0122] To support the handover of the mobile terminal portion of a relay node, the relay node needs to perform the following signaling interaction process with the anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node it has connected to (this anchor node or centralized unit may be the node it connected to before the handover or the node it connected to after the handover), such as... Figure 9 As shown in (a): Step 1-1: The second node sends a configuration message to the mobile terminal portion of the first node. The first node is a relay node (or a distribution unit of a relay node), and further, this relay node has undergone a handover. The second node is an anchor node (or a centralized unit of an anchor node), which may be the node that was connected before the handover or the node that was connected after the handover. This configuration message may be the RRCReconfiguration message in TS38.331, the RRCConnectionReconfiguration message in TS36.331, or other messages. In addition to the information defined in the existing protocols, this message includes at least one of the following: The first node requires address-related information, which includes at least one of the following: █ Address-related information on the first node side before handover. This information can be found in the address-related information on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) side before handover, which is included in the "Address-related Information Required by the Relay Node" section above. █ Information related to the address on the first node side after the handover. This information can be found in the "Information related to the address required by the relay node" above, which contains information related to the address on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) side after the handover. █ Address-related information on the second node side before handover, which can be found in the address-related information on the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) side before handover included in the above "Address-related information required by the relay node"; █ Information related to the address on the second node side after the switchover. This information can be found in the information related to the address on the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) side after the switchover, which is included in the "Information related to the address required by the relay node" above.

[0123] █ Information related to the configuration of the backhaul link channel. In one embodiment, the backhaul link channel is served by the mobile terminal portion of the first node after the handover. For a backhaul link channel, the information contained in this information can be found in the above-mentioned "Configuration information related to the backhaul link channel of the relay node".

[0124] █ Information related to data routing, in one embodiment, is used for data routing after the first node is switched, and the information contained therein can be found in the above "Information related to data routing of relay nodes".

[0125] Step 1-1a: Optionally, the first node configures itself according to the received configuration message.

[0126] Step 1-2: Optionally, the first node or the mobile terminal part of the first node sends a configuration completion message to the second node. This configuration message can be the RRCReconfigurationComplete message in TS38.331, the RRCConnectionReconfigurationComplete message in TS36.331, or other messages.

[0127] The configuration messages and configuration completion messages in the above steps can be direct interactions between the first node and the second node, or they can be interactions between the first node and the second node through multiple intermediate nodes.

[0128] The effect of steps 1-1 and 1-2 above is that the mobile terminal portion of the first node can obtain the configuration information after the switch, thereby determining: (1) Configuration information of the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal portion of the node after the handover, and / or (2) How to route data packets received by the first node or data packets generated by the first node, and / or (3) Determine the backhaul link channel required for transmitting the data packets received by the first node or the data packets generated by the first node. The backhaul link channel may be the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal part of the first node or the backhaul link channel served by the distribution unit part of the first node.

[0129] Furthermore, prior to step 1-1, there may be an interaction process between the second and third nodes. This third node is the node directly connected after the first node switches; it may be a distribution unit of the anchor node or another relay node. This interaction process includes the following steps: Figure 9 As shown in (b): Step 1-1-1: The second node sends a user context configuration request message to the third node (or the distribution unit portion of the third node). This message can be a UE Context Setup / Modification request message defined on the F1 interface, or other messages. This message is mainly used for the configuration required to provide services to the first node (or the mobile terminal portion of the first node). This message includes at least one of the following information: █ One or more of the information contained in the UE Context Setup / Modification request message as defined in the existing TS38.473 protocol; █ Information relating to the backhaul link channel served by the distribution unit portion of the third node, including at least one of the following: █ Identification information of the backhaul link channel; For QoS parameter information of the backhaul link channel, please refer to TS38.473; █ Information related to the data carried by the backhaul link channel. This data can be uplink data (data sent from the first node to the third node and forwarded by the third node to the anchor node), downlink data (data sent from the anchor node to the third node and sent by the third node to the first node), or it can include both uplink and downlink data. The content of this information can be found in "Information related to the configuration of the backhaul link channel" as defined in step 1-1, specifically "Information related to the data carried by the backhaul link channel".

[0130] █ Information related to data routing. This data can be uplink data (data sent from the first node to the third node and forwarded by the third node to the anchor node), downlink data (data sent from the anchor node to the third node and forwarded by the third node to the first node), or it can include both uplink and downlink data. The content of this information can be found in the "Information related to data routing" defined in step 1-1.

[0131] Step 1-1-2: The third node (or the distribution unit portion of the third node) sends a user context configuration response message to the second node. This message can be the UE Context Setup / Modification response message defined on the F1 interface, or other messages. This message is mainly used to respond to the user context configuration request message, and it includes at least one of the following information: █ One or more of the information contained in the UE Context Setup / Modification response message as defined in the existing TS38.473 protocol; █ Information on the backhaul link channels accepted by the third node (or the distribution unit of the third node), such as the identification information of the backhaul link channels; █ Information on backhaul link channels not accepted by the third node (or the distribution unit of the third node), such as the identification information of the backhaul link channel; █ Configuration information of the backhaul link channel generated by the third node (or the distribution unit of the third node), such as the configuration of the RLC layer, the configuration information of the logical channel of the backhaul link channel (such as identification information, priority information of the logical channel of the backhaul link), the configuration of the MAC layer, the configuration of the physical layer, etc., can be found in CellGroupConfiguration. The effect of steps 1-1-1 and 1-1-2 above is that the third node can obtain the information required to serve the first node and generate the configuration information required to serve the first node, and the second node can obtain the configuration information of the third node when serving the first node and generate the configuration information for configuring the first node (such as generating one or more of the configuration information required in step 1-1).

[0132] Furthermore, when the switching of the first node occurs between the centralized units of two different anchor nodes, such as... Figure 2 The scenario shown in (c) can further include an interaction process between the second node and the fourth node. The second node is the anchor node or a centralized unit of anchor nodes connected to the first node before the switch, and the fourth node is the anchor node or a centralized unit of anchor nodes connected to the first node after the switch. This process includes the following steps, such as... Figure 9 As shown in (c): Step 1-1-a: The second node sends a handover request message to the fourth node. This message can be a Handover Request message on the X2 / Xn interface, or it can be another message. The purpose of this message is to send the configuration information used by the first node when it connected to the second node to the fourth node. This message must include at least one of the following information: █ One or more of the information contained in the Handover Request message as defined in the existing TS38.423 or TS36.423 protocols; █ Information related to the address of the first node, which includes at least one of the following: █ Address-related information on the first node side before handover. This information can be found in the address-related information on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) side before handover, which is included in the "Address-related Information Required by the Relay Node" section above. █ Information related to the address on the second node side before the handover, which can be found in the address-related information on the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) side before the handover included in the above "Information related to the address required by the relay node".

[0133] █ Information regarding the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal portion of the first node, which is the channel served by the first node before the handover. The content of this information can be found in the above-mentioned "Configuration Information Related to the Backhaul Link Channel of the Relay Node" (optionally, it does not include the information after the relay node handover included in the above-mentioned "Configuration Information Related to the Backhaul Link Channel of the Relay Node"). █ Information related to data routing, the contents of which can be found in the above "Information related to data routing of relay nodes" (optionally, it does not include the information on relay node switching included in the above "Information related to data routing of relay nodes"). █ Configuration information of the distribution unit of the first node. This configuration information is the configuration information before the first node is switched over. The contents of this configuration information are described in the above "Configuration information of the distribution unit of the relay node". █ Information related to the configuration of the user served by the distribution unit portion of the first node, where the user accesses the network through the distribution unit portion of the first node, including at least one of the following: █ The user's DRB identification information; █ Information related to the QoS of the user's DRB; █ The user's SRB identification information; █ User configuration information, such as PDCP configuration, RLC configuration, SDAP configuration, MAC configuration, physical layer configuration, etc.; The first node's distribution unit side receives configuration information for the GTP-U (GPRS Tunneling Protocol-User plane) tunnel used to receive user DRB data, such as IP address and / or TEID. Furthermore, this configuration information is specific to each user's DRB; different users have different DRBs, so the configuration information for each GTP-U tunnel also includes information about the corresponding user DRB (such as user DRB identification information). The centralized unit side of the second node receives configuration information for the GTP-U tunnel used to receive user DRB data, such as IP address and / or TEID. Furthermore, this configuration information is specific to each user's DRB; different users have different DRBs, so the configuration information for each GTP-U tunnel also includes information about the corresponding user DRB (such as the user DRB's identification information).

[0134] Step 1-1-b: The fourth node sends a handover response message to the second node. This message can be a Handover Request Acknowledge message on the X2 / Xn interface, or another message. The purpose of this message is to send the configuration information used by the first node after it connected to the fourth node to the second node. This message must include at least one of the following information: █ One or more of the information contained in the Handover Request Acknowledge message as defined in the existing TS38.423 or TS36.423 protocols; █ Information related to the address of the first node, which includes at least one of the following: █ Address-related information on the first node side before handover. This information can be found in the address-related information on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) side before handover, which is included in the "Address-related Information Required by the Relay Node" section above. █ Address-related information on the second node side before handover, which can be found in the address-related information on the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) side before handover included in the above "Address-related information required by the relay node"; █ Information related to the address on the first node side after the handover. This information can be found in the "Information related to the address required by the relay node" above, which contains information related to the address on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) side after the handover. █ Information related to the address on the fourth node side after the handover. This information can be found in the information related to the address on the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) side after the handover, which is included in the above-mentioned "Information related to the address required by the relay node".

[0135] █ Information related to the mobile terminal portion of the first node, which includes at least one of the following: █ Identification information of the accepted backhaul link channel, such as the ID of the backhaul link channel; █ Identification information of unaccepted backhaul link channels, such as the ID of the backhaul link channel; █ Configuration information related to the backhaul link channel served. The contents of this information can be found in the above "Configuration information related to the backhaul link channel of the relay node".

[0136] █ Information related to data routing, which can be found in "Information related to data routing" as defined in step 1-1.

[0137] █ Configuration information of the distribution unit portion of the first node. This configuration information is the configuration information after the first node is switched over. The information it contains can be found in the above-mentioned "Configuration Information of Distribution Unit of Relay Node" (the anchor node (or centralized unit of anchor node) to which the relay node indicated in this information is connected is the fourth node (or centralized unit of the fourth node)); furthermore, this configuration information may also include configuration information before the first node is switched over. The information it contains can be found in the above-mentioned "Configuration Information of Distribution Unit of Relay Node" (the anchor node (or centralized unit of anchor node) to which the relay node indicated in this information is connected is the second node (or centralized unit of the second node)). █ Information about the cells that need to be activated, such as cell identification information (NR CGI, NR PCI); █ Information about the cells that need to be deactivated, such as cell identification information (NR CGI, NR PCI); █ Information on the reasons for deactivating the cell, such as PCI conflict, TA (tracking area) not supported, etc.; █ Information related to the configuration of the user served by the distribution unit portion of the first node, where the user accesses the network through the distribution unit portion of the first node, including at least one of the following: █ Identification information of the DRB of the accepted user; █ Identification information for DRBs of unaccepted users; █ Identification information of the SRB of the accepted user; █ Identification information for unaccepted users' SRBs; █ User configuration information, such as PDCP configuration, RLC configuration, SDAP configuration, MAC configuration, physical layer configuration, etc.; The first node's distribution unit side contains configuration information for the GTP-U tunnel used to receive user DRB data, such as IP address and / or TEID. Furthermore, this configuration information is specific to each user's DRB; different users have different DRBs, so this configuration information may differ. Therefore, this information will further include information about the user's DRB corresponding to the configuration information of each tunnel (such as the user's DRB identification information). █ Configuration information of the GTP-U tunnel used to receive user DRB data on the distribution unit side of the first node before the switchover, such as IP address and / or TEID. Furthermore, this configuration information is specific to each user's DRB; different users have different DRBs, so this configuration information may differ. Therefore, this information will further include the user DRB information corresponding to the configuration information of each tunnel (such as the user DRB's identification information). The fourth node's centralized unit side contains configuration information for the GTP-U tunnel used to receive user DRB data, such as IP address and / or TEID. Furthermore, this configuration information is specific to each user's DRB; different users have different DRBs, so this configuration information may differ. Therefore, this information will further include information about the user's DRB corresponding to the configuration information of each tunnel (such as the user's DRB identification information). █ Configuration information of the GTP-U tunnel used to receive user DRB data on the centralized unit side of the second node before the handover, such as IP address and / or TEID. Furthermore, this configuration information is specific to each user's DRB; different users have different DRBs, so this configuration information may differ. Therefore, this information will further include the user DRB information corresponding to the configuration information of each tunnel (such as the user DRB's identification information).

[0138] After receiving the above handover response message, the second node will generate the configuration message in step 1-1 based on the information contained in the message.

[0139] The effect of steps 1-1-a and 1-1-b above is that when a relay node switches between the centralized units of two different anchor nodes, the centralized unit of the source anchor node (i.e., the centralized unit of the second node) can send the configuration information of the relay node before the switch to the centralized unit of the target anchor node (i.e., the centralized unit of the fourth node). This configuration information includes the configuration information of the mobile terminal part of the relay node, the configuration information of the distribution unit part of the relay node, and the configuration information of the users served by the distribution unit part of the relay node. The centralized unit of the target anchor node can configure the relay node after the switch based on the received configuration information and send the generated configuration information of the switched relay node to the centralized unit of the source anchor node. Finally, the centralized unit of the source anchor node can send the configuration information used during or after the switch to the relay node, which facilitates the switch of the relay node.

[0140] Furthermore, in combination Figure 2 The signaling interaction process for relay node handover in different handover scenarios is as follows: Figure 10 As shown. Figure 10 (a) The procedure for relay nodes to switch within the same anchor node's centralized cell is given, involving scenarios including intra-CU / intra-DU handover and intra-CU / inter-DU handover, and the steps are as follows: Step 1-a: The second node sends a user context configuration request message to the third node, which is the node directly connected after the relay node switchover (it may be the distribution unit of the second node, which may be the distribution unit that the relay node was connected to before the switchover, or it may be another distribution unit or another relay node). See the description in Step 1-1-1 above for the content of the message.

[0141] Step 1-b: The third node sends a user context configuration response message to the second node. The content of this message can be found in the description of step 1-1-2 above.

[0142] Step 1-c: The second node sends a configuration message to the first node. This message may be sent by the second node through a third node, or it may be sent by the second node through other nodes. The content of this configuration message can be found in the description of Step 1-1 above.

[0143] Step 1-d: The first node sends a configuration complete message to the second node. This message may be sent by the first node through a third node, or it may be sent by the first node through other nodes. The content of this message can be found in the description of Step 1-2 above.

[0144] Figure 10 (b) The signaling interaction process for relay nodes to switch between centralized units of different anchor nodes is given, involving scenarios including inter-CU handover, and includes the following steps: Step 1-aa: The second node sends a handover request message to the fourth node. The second node is the source anchor node (or a centralized unit of the source anchor node), and the fourth node is the target anchor node (or a centralized unit of the target anchor node). The content of this message can be found in the description in Step 1-1-a.

[0145] Step 1-bb: The fourth node sends a user context configuration request message to the third node, which is the node directly connected after the relay node switch (it may be the distribution unit of the fourth node, or it may be another relay node). See the description in Step 1-1-1 above for the content of the message.

[0146] █ Step 1-cc: The third node sends a user context configuration response message to the fourth node. The content of this message can be found in the description of step 1-1-2 above.

[0147] █ Step 1-dd: The fourth node sends a handover response message to the second node. The content of this message can be found in the description in step 1-1-b.

[0148] Step 1-ee: The second node sends a configuration message to the first node. The content of this configuration message can be found in the description of Step 1-1 above.

[0149] Step 1-ff: The first node sends a configuration complete message to the fourth node. This message may be sent from the first node to the fourth node through the third node, or it may be sent from the first node to the fourth node through other nodes. The content of this message can be found in the description of Step 1-2 above.

[0150] The effect of the above process is that the relay node can perform handover within the same anchor node (or the centralized unit of the same anchor node) and handover between different anchor nodes (the centralized units of different anchor nodes). During the handover process, the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal part of the relay node can be configured.

[0151] The second aspect of this application: configuration update and reconfiguration of the distribution unit portion during relay node relocation.

[0152] During handover, relay nodes require configuration not only of the mobile terminal portion but also of the distribution unit. Before handover, the distribution unit already possesses the necessary configuration information to serve users at the source anchor node; after handover, the configuration of the distribution unit may need to be changed. Current technology cannot address the issue of configuration changes occurring during relay node handover.

[0153] To address the aforementioned issues, this application proposes the following method. The method involves a first node, a second node, and a fourth node: the first node is the relay node undergoing the handover; the second node is the anchor node (or a centralized unit of the anchor node), which may be the node connected to the first node before the handover or the node connected to the first node after the handover; the fourth node is the target anchor node (or a centralized unit of the target anchor node) involved when the relay node switches between different anchor nodes (or centralized units of the anchor node), in which case the second node is the source anchor node (or a centralized unit of the source anchor node).

[0154] Method 1: The relay node provides updated configuration information to the anchor node.

[0155] like Figure 11 As shown, the method includes the following steps: Step 2-1-1: The first node (or the distribution unit of the first node) sends a first request message to the second node. This message is mainly used to provide the second node with information related to the configuration of the first node, and the message includes at least one of the following: █ Information related to the address of the first node, which includes at least one of the following: █ Address-related information on the first node side before handover. This information can be found in the address-related information on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) side before handover, which is included in the "Address-related Information Required by the Relay Node" section above. █ Information related to the address on the second node side before the handover, which can be found in the address-related information on the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) side before the handover included in the above "Information related to the address required by the relay node".

[0156] █ Information related to the configuration of the distribution units of the first node, which includes at least one of the following: █ Information regarding the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the handover. The contents of this information can be found in the above-mentioned "Configuration Information of the Distribution Unit of the Relay Node" (the anchor node (or centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the relay node is connected is the anchor node (or centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the first node was connected before the handover). █ Information regarding the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node after the handover. The contents of this information can be found in the above-mentioned "Configuration Information of the Distribution Unit of the Relay Node" (the anchor node (or centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the relay node is connected is the anchor node (or centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the first node is connected after the handover).

[0157] █ Auxiliary information for obtaining the distribution unit configuration information of the first node. This information helps the second node obtain the distribution unit configuration information of the first node before the switchover. This information includes at least one of the following: After the handover, information related to the mobile terminal of the first node, such as the mobile terminal's identification information (e.g., C-RNTI, gNB-CU / gNB-DU UE F1AP ID), the cell it accesses, and security-related information (e.g., shortMAC-I). Before the handover, information related to the mobile terminal of the first node, such as the mobile terminal's identification information (e.g., C-RNTI, gNB-CU / gNB-DU UE F1AP ID), the cell it accesses, and security-related information (e.g., shortMAC-I). Before the switchover, information related to the distribution unit of the first node, such as gNB-DU ID, gNB-DU Name, IP address, BAP address, and the gNB ID to which the distribution unit of the first node belongs.

[0158] Step 2-1-2: The second node sends a first response message to the first node (or the distribution unit of the first node). This message is mainly used to update the configuration of the first node (or the distribution unit of the first node), and the message includes at least one of the following information: █ Information related to the updated configuration of the distribution unit of the first node. This information is updated by the second node based on the information received in step 2-1-1. The contents of this information can be found in the above "Configuration Information of Distribution Unit of Relay Node". █ Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the update. This information is received by the second node from step 2-1-1. The contents of this information can be found in the above "Configuration Information of Distribution Unit of Relay Node". █ Information about the cells that need to be activated, such as cell identification information (NR CGI, NR PCI); █ Information about the cells that need to be deactivated, such as cell identification information (NR CGI, NR PCI); █ Information on the reasons for deactivating the cell, such as PCI conflict, TA (tracking area) not supported, etc.; █ Information related to the address of the first node, which includes at least one of the following: █ Address-related information on the first node side before handover. This information can be found in the address-related information on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) side before handover, which is included in the "Address-related Information Required by the Relay Node" section above. █ Address-related information on the second node side before handover, which can be found in the address-related information on the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) side before handover included in the above "Address-related information required by the relay node"; █ Information related to the address on the first node side after the handover. This information can be found in the "Information related to the address required by the relay node" above, which contains information related to the address on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) side after the handover. █ Information related to the address on the second node side after the switchover. This information can be found in the information related to the address on the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) side after the switchover, which is included in the "Information related to the address required by the relay node" above.

[0159] In one implementation, the above method can be applied in the following scenario: after a handover, the relay node downloads the configuration information of its distribution unit portion from the OAM (this information belongs to the configuration information after the handover), and then the relay node sends its configuration information before and after the handover to the anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node to which it has connected after the handover.

[0160] The first request message and the first response message mentioned above can be F1 Setup Request / Response messages, gNB-DU Configuration Update / gNB-DU Configuration UpdateAcknowledge messages, or other messages.

[0161] The effect of steps 2-1-1 and 2-1-2 above is that the relay node that is switched provides the anchor node with its configuration information before the switch and its configuration information after the switch, and the anchor node to which the first node is connected after the switch reconfigures the distribution unit of the first node.

[0162] Method 2: Configure the distribution unit of the relay node in the target anchor node.

[0163] like Figure 12 As shown in (a), the method includes the following steps: Step 2-2-1: The first node (or the distribution unit of the first node) sends a second request message to the second node. This message is mainly used to provide the second node with configuration information related to the first node. This configuration information is from before the handover, and the message includes at least one of the following: █ Information regarding the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the handover. The contents of this information can be found in the above-mentioned "Configuration Information of the Distribution Unit of the Relay Node" (the anchor node (or centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the relay node is connected is the anchor node (or centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the first node was connected before the handover). █ Information related to the address of the first node, which includes at least one of the following: █ Address-related information on the first node side before handover. This information can be found in the address-related information on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) side before handover, which is included in the "Address-related Information Required by the Relay Node" section above. █ Information related to the address on the second node side before the handover, which can be found in the address-related information on the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) side before the handover included in the above "Information related to the address required by the relay node".

[0164] █ Auxiliary information for obtaining the distribution unit configuration information of the first node. This information helps the second node obtain the distribution unit configuration information of the first node before the switchover. This information includes at least one of the following: After the handover, information related to the mobile terminal of the first node, such as the mobile terminal's identification information (e.g., C-RNTI, gNB-CU / gNB-DU UE F1AP ID), the cell it accesses, and security-related information (e.g., shortMAC-I). Before the handover, information related to the mobile terminal of the first node, such as the mobile terminal's identification information (e.g., C-RNTI, gNB-CU / gNB-DU UE F1AP ID), the cell it accesses, and security-related information (e.g., shortMAC-I). Before the switchover, information related to the distribution unit of the first node, such as gNB-DU ID, gNB-DU Name, IP address, BAP address, and the gNB ID to which the distribution unit of the first node belongs.

[0165] Step 2-2-2: The second node sends a second response message to the first node (or the distribution unit of the first node). This message is mainly used to configure the first node (or the distribution unit of the first node), and the message includes at least one of the following information: █ Information related to the configuration of the distribution units of the first node, which includes at least one of the following: █ Information regarding the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the handover. The contents of this information can be found in the above-mentioned "Configuration Information of the Distribution Unit of the Relay Node" (the anchor node (or centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the relay node is connected is the anchor node (or centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the first node was connected before the handover). █ Information regarding the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node after the handover. The contents of this information can be found in the above-mentioned "Configuration Information of the Distribution Unit of the Relay Node" (the anchor node (or centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the relay node is connected is the anchor node (or centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the first node is connected after the handover).

[0166] █ Information about the cells that need to be activated, such as cell identification information (NR CGI, NR PCI); █ Information about the cells that need to be deactivated, such as cell identification information (NR CGI, NR PCI); █ Information on the reasons for deactivating the cell, such as PCI conflict, TA (tracking area) not supported, etc.; █ Information related to the address of the first node, which includes at least one of the following: █ Address-related information on the first node side before handover. This information can be found in the address-related information on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) side before handover, which is included in the "Address-related Information Required by the Relay Node" section above. █ Address-related information on the second node side before handover, which can be found in the address-related information on the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) side before handover included in the above "Address-related information required by the relay node"; █ Information related to the address on the first node side after the handover. This information can be found in the "Information related to the address required by the relay node" above, which contains information related to the address on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) side after the handover. █ Information related to the address on the second node side after the switchover. This information can be found in the information related to the address on the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) side after the switchover, which is included in the "Information related to the address required by the relay node" above.

[0167] Furthermore, when a relay node switches between two different anchor nodes (or centralized units of different anchor nodes), such as switching from the second node to the fourth node, ... Figure 12 As shown in (b), the above process is as follows: Step 2-2-a: The second node (or the centralized unit of the second node) sends a first handover request message to the fourth node (or the centralized unit of the fourth node). This message is mainly used to send the configuration information of the first node in the second node to the fourth node. The information contained in the first handover request message can be found in step 1-1-a of the first aspect of the present invention.

[0168] Step 2-2-b: Optionally, the fourth node sends a first handover response message to the second node. The information contained in this message can be found in step 1-1-b of the first aspect of the present invention.

[0169] Step 2-2-c: The first node sends a second request message to the fourth node. This message is primarily used to provide the fourth node with configuration information related to the first node. This configuration information is from before the switchover, and the message includes at least one of the following: █ Information regarding the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the handover. The contents of this information can be found in the above-mentioned "Configuration Information of the Distribution Unit of the Relay Node" (the anchor node (or centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the relay node is connected is the anchor node (or centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the first node was connected before the handover). █ Information related to the address of the first node, which includes at least one of the following: █ Address-related information on the first node side before handover. This information can be found in the address-related information on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) side before handover, which is included in the "Address-related Information Required by the Relay Node" section above. █ Information related to the address on the second node side before the handover, which can be found in the address-related information on the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) side before the handover included in the above "Information related to the address required by the relay node".

[0170] █ Auxiliary information for obtaining the distribution unit configuration information of the first node. This information helps the fourth node obtain the distribution unit configuration information of the first node before the switchover. This information includes at least one of the following: After the handover, information related to the mobile terminal of the first node, such as the mobile terminal's identification information (e.g., C-RNTI, gNB-CU / gNB-DU UE F1AP ID), the cell it accesses, and security-related information (e.g., shortMAC-I). Before the handover, information related to the mobile terminal of the first node, such as the mobile terminal's identification information (e.g., C-RNTI, gNB-CU / gNB-DU UE F1AP ID), the cell it accesses, and security-related information (e.g., shortMAC-I). Before the switchover, information related to the distribution unit of the first node, such as gNB-DU ID, gNB-DU Name, IP address, BAP address, and the gNB ID to which the distribution unit of the first node belongs.

[0171] Step 2-2-d: The fourth node sends a second response message to the first node. This message is mainly used to configure the first node (or the first node's distribution unit), and the message includes at least one of the following information: █ Information related to the configuration of the distribution units of the first node, which includes at least one of the following: █ Information regarding the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the handover. The contents of this information can be found in the above-mentioned "Configuration Information of the Distribution Unit of the Relay Node" (the anchor node (or centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the relay node is connected is the anchor node (or centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the first node was connected before the handover). █ Information regarding the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node after the handover. The contents of this information can be found in the above-mentioned "Configuration Information of the Distribution Unit of the Relay Node" (the anchor node (or centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the relay node is connected is the anchor node (or centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the first node is connected after the handover).

[0172] █ Information about the cells that need to be activated, such as cell identification information (NR CGI, NR PCI); █ Information about the cells that need to be deactivated, such as cell identification information (NR CGI, NR PCI); █ Information on the reasons for deactivating the cell, such as PCI conflict, TA (tracking area) not supported, etc.; █ Information related to the address of the first node, which includes at least one of the following: █ Address-related information on the first node side before handover. This information can be found in the address-related information on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) side before handover, which is included in the "Address-related Information Required by the Relay Node" section above. █ Address-related information on the second node side before handover, which can be found in the address-related information on the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) side before handover included in the above "Address-related information required by the relay node"; █ Information related to the address on the first node side after the handover. This information can be found in the "Information related to the address required by the relay node" above, which contains information related to the address on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) side after the handover. █ Information related to the address on the fourth node side after the handover. This information can be found in the information related to the address on the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) side after the handover, which is included in the above-mentioned "Information related to the address required by the relay node".

[0173] In one implementation, the above steps can be applied to scenarios where, after the handover, the relay node does not download new configuration information from OAM. Instead, the relay node provides the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) it connects to after the handover with the configuration information of its distribution unit before the handover, or provides auxiliary information to help the anchor node it connects to obtain the configuration information of the relay node's distribution unit before the handover. The anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) it connects to after the handover updates the configuration information of the relay node's distribution unit. The second request message and the second response message can be F1 Setup Request / Response messages, gNB-DU Configuration Update / gNB-DU Configuration UpdateAcknowledge messages, or other messages. The first handover request message and the first handover response message can be Handover Request / Handover Request Acknowledge messages, or other messages.

[0174] The effect of the above process is that the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) connected after the relay node is switched can obtain the configuration information of its distribution unit before the switch from the relay node, and configure the distribution unit of the relay node according to the information.

[0175] Method 3: Configure the distribution unit of the relay node in the source anchor node.

[0176] like Figure 13 As shown, the method includes the following steps: Step 2-3-1: The second node (or the centralized unit of the second node) sends a second handover request message to the fourth node (or the centralized unit of the fourth node). This message is mainly used to send the configuration information of the first node in the second node to the fourth node. The information contained in the second handover configuration request message can be found in step 1-1-a of the first aspect of this application.

[0177] Step 2-3-2: Optionally, the fourth node sends a second handover response message to the second node. The information contained in this message can be found in step 1-1-b of the first aspect of this application.

[0178] Step 2-3-3: The second node sends a first configuration message to the first node. This message contains at least one of the following information: █ Information related to the configuration of the distribution units of the first node, which includes at least one of the following: █ Information regarding the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the handover. The contents of this information can be found in the above-mentioned "Configuration Information of the Distribution Unit of the Relay Node" (the anchor node (or centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the relay node is connected is the anchor node (or centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the first node was connected before the handover). █ Information regarding the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node after the handover. The contents of this information can be found in the above-mentioned "Configuration Information of the Distribution Unit of the Relay Node" (the anchor node (or centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the relay node is connected is the anchor node (or centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the first node is connected after the handover).

[0179] █ Information about the cells that need to be activated, such as cell identification information (NR CGI, NR PCI); █ Information about the cells that need to be deactivated, such as cell identification information (NR CGI, NR PCI); █ Information on the reasons for deactivating the cell, such as PCI conflict, TA (tracking area) not supported, etc.; █ Information related to the address of the first node, which includes at least one of the following: █ Address-related information on the first node side before handover. This information can be found in the address-related information on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) side before handover, which is included in the "Address-related Information Required by the Relay Node" section above. █ Address-related information on the second node side before handover, which can be found in the address-related information on the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) side before handover included in the above "Address-related information required by the relay node"; █ Information related to the address on the first node side after the handover. This information can be found in the "Information related to the address required by the relay node" above, which contains information related to the address on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) side after the handover. █ Information related to the address on the fourth node side after the handover. This information can be found in the information related to the address on the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) side after the handover, which is included in the above-mentioned "Information related to the address required by the relay node".

[0180] In one implementation, the above process can be applied to a scenario where, during the handover process, the target anchor node (or the centralized unit of the target anchor node) generates the configuration of the relay node's distributed unit after the handover, and then the source node sends it to the relay node.

[0181] The second handover request message and the second handover response message mentioned above can be Handover Request / Handover Request Acknowledge messages, or other messages. The first configuration message mentioned above can be an RRCReconfiguration message or an RRCConnectionReconfiguration message, a gNB-CU ConfigurationUpdate message, a gNB-DU Configuration Update Acknowledge message, or other messages.

[0182] The effect of the above process is that the source anchor node (or the centralized unit of the source anchor node) to which the relay node is connected obtains the updated configuration information of the relay node from the target anchor node (or the centralized unit of the target anchor node) and sends the updated configuration information to the relay node.

[0183] Method 4: After the relay node is switched, its distribution unit still maintains the connection with the centralized unit of the source anchor node.

[0184] In this method, after the relay node switchover, only the mobile terminal portion of the relay node is served by the target anchor node (or the centralized unit of the target anchor node), while the distributed unit portion of the relay node maintains its connection with the source anchor node (or the centralized unit of the source anchor node), such as... Figure 14 As shown. In Figure 14 In this method, after the mobile terminal part of the first node switches over, it communicates with the fourth node or the central unit of the fourth node. This communication may occur through one or more intermediate nodes. Similarly, after the mobile terminal part switches over, the distribution unit part of the first node continues to communicate with the second node or the central unit of the second node, again through one or more intermediate nodes. Data packets sent during this communication process need to be transmitted by the mobile terminal part of the first node. Because the distribution unit part of the first node maintains its connection with the second node or the central unit of the second node, the configuration information of the distribution unit may remain unchanged. To implement this method, the following signaling interaction process is required: Figure 15 As shown in (a): Step 2-4-1: The second node sends a third handover request message to the fourth node. This message includes at least one of the following information: █ Information regarding the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the handover. The contents of this information can be found in the above-mentioned "Configuration Information of the Distribution Unit of the Relay Node" (the anchor node (or centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the relay node is connected is the anchor node (or centralized unit of the anchor node) to which the first node was connected before the handover, i.e., the second node (or centralized unit of the second node)). █ Information related to the address of the first node, which includes at least one of the following: █ Address-related information on the first node side before handover. This information can be found in the address-related information on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) side before handover, which is included in the "Address-related Information Required by the Relay Node" section above. █ Information related to the address on the second node side before the handover, which can be found in the address-related information on the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) side before the handover included in the above "Information related to the address required by the relay node".

[0185] Step 2-4-2: The fourth node sends a third handover response message to the second node, which includes at least one of the following information: █ Information related to the address of the first node, which includes at least one of the following: █ Address-related information on the first node side before handover. This information can be found in the address-related information on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) side before handover, which is included in the "Address-related Information Required by the Relay Node" section above. █ Information related to the address on the first node side after the handover. This information can be found in the information related to the address on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) side after the handover, which is included in the "Information related to the address required by the relay node" above.

[0186] █ Information about the cells to be activated, such as the identification information of one or more cells, such as NR CGI, NR PCI; █ Information about the cells that need to be deactivated, such as the identification information of one or more cells, such as NR CGI, NR PCI; █ Information about the reasons for deactivating the cell, such as PCI conflict, TA (tracking area) not supported, etc.

[0187] Step 2-4-3: The second node sends a second configuration message to the first node. This message includes at least one of the following information. █ Information related to the address of the first node, which includes at least one of the following: █ Address-related information on the first node side before handover. This information can be found in the address-related information on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) side before handover, which is included in the "Address-related Information Required by the Relay Node" section above. █ Address-related information on the second node side before handover, which can be found in the address-related information on the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) side before handover included in the above "Address-related information required by the relay node"; █ Information related to the address on the first node side after the handover. This information can be found in the "Information related to the address required by the relay node" above, which contains information related to the address on the relay node (or the distribution unit of the relay node) side after the handover. █ Information related to the address on the second node side after the switchover. This information can be found in the information related to the address on the anchor node (or the centralized unit of the anchor node) side after the switchover, which is included in the "Information related to the address required by the relay node" above.

[0188] █ Information about the cells to be activated, such as the identification information of one or more cells, such as NR CGI, NR PCI; █ Information about the cells that need to be deactivated, such as the identification information of one or more cells, such as NR CGI, NR PCI; █ Information about the reasons for deactivating the cell, such as PCI conflict, TA (tracking area) not supported, etc.

[0189] Another embodiment of step 2-4-3 is that the fourth node sends the aforementioned second configuration message to the first node, such as... Figure 15 As shown in (b).

[0190] The aforementioned third handover request message and third handover response message can be Handover Request / Handover Request Acknowledge messages, or other messages. The aforementioned second configuration message can be an RRCReconfiguration message or an RRCConnectionReconfiguration message, a gNB-CU ConfigurationUpdate message, a gNB-DU Configuration Update Acknowledge message, or other messages.

[0191] The effect of the above process is that the relay node can maintain the connection with the source anchor node or the centralized unit of the source anchor node during the switch, and obtain the configuration information of the relay node that needs to be updated through information exchange between the source anchor node or the centralized unit of the source anchor node and the target anchor node or the centralized unit of the target anchor node, and then send the updated configuration information to the relay node.

[0192] Example 2 Based on the same inventive concept as the foregoing embodiments, this application also provides a first node device, the structural schematic diagram of which is shown below. Figure 16 As shown, the first node device 10 includes a first processing module 101 and a second processing module 102.

[0193] The first processing module 101 is used to receive configuration messages sent by the second node to support the first node in switching. The first node includes any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal part of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node. The second node includes any one of an anchor node and a centralized unit of the anchor node. The second processing module 102 is used to configure the first node according to the configuration message sent by the second node.

[0194] Optionally, the configuration message includes at least one of the following: The first node requires information related to address, backhaul link channel configuration, and data routing.

[0195] Optionally, the above configuration message can be a Radio Resource Control Reconfiguration (RRCReconfiguration) message, a Radio Resource Control Connection Reconfiguration (RRCConnectionReconfiguration) message, or other messages.

[0196] Optionally, the address-related information required by the first node includes at least one of the following: Information related to the address on the first node side before the switch, information related to the address on the first node side after the switch, information related to the address on the second node side before the switch, and information related to the address on the second node side after the switch. Before the handover, the address-related information on the first node side includes at least one of the following: the Backhaul Adaptation Protocol Layer (BAP) address information of the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node; the address information of the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node; one or more transport layer address information used by the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node for transmitting control signaling; and one or more transport layer address information used by the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node for transmitting user data. After the handover, the address-related information on the first node side includes at least one of the following: BAP address information of the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node; address information of the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node; one or more transport layer address information used by the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node for transmitting control signaling; and one or more transport layer address information used by the relay node or the distribution unit of the relay node for transmitting user data. The address-related information on the second node side before the handover includes at least one of the following: the address information of the anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node; one or more transport layer address information used by the anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node for transmitting control signaling; and one or more transport layer address information used by the anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node for transmitting user data. The address-related information on the second node side after the switch includes at least one of the following: address information of the anchor node or the central unit of the anchor node; one or more transport layer address information used by the anchor node or the central unit of the anchor node for transmitting control signaling; and one or more transport layer address information used by the anchor node or the central unit of the anchor node for transmitting user data.

[0197] Optionally, the information regarding the configuration of the backhaul link channel includes at least one of the following: The backhaul link channel's identification information, QoS parameter information, configuration information of the serving backhaul link channel, the correspondence between this backhaul link channel and other backhaul link channels before and after relay node handover, and information related to the data carried by the backhaul link channel. The correspondence information between the backhaul link channel and other backhaul link channels before and after the relay node handover includes at least one of the following: information on the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal before the relay node handover, information on the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal after the relay node handover, information on the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal of the relay node, information on the backhaul link channel served by the distribution unit of the relay node before the relay node handover, information on the backhaul link channel served by the distribution unit of the relay node after the relay node handover, and information on the backhaul link channel served by the distribution unit of the relay node. The information related to the data carried by the backhaul link channel includes at least one of the following: information related to the user data radio bearer (DRB) to which the data belongs; QoS identification information of the data; indication information of the type of control signaling to which the data belongs; indication information of the data type being non-F1 interface data; information of the destination receiving node of the data; information of the source sending node of the data; tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID) information of the data; indication information of the content of the information contained in the data; and path identification information of the data.

[0198] Optionally, information related to data routing includes at least one of the following: The data packet contains BAP address information, path identification information, BAP routing identification information, identification information of the node receiving the data packet sent by the relay node, identification information of the cell group used by the relay node to send the data packet, and indication information of the cell group used by the relay node to send the data packet.

[0199] Applying the embodiments of this application has at least the following beneficial effects: In this embodiment, a configuration message sent by a second node is received to support the handover of the first node. The first node includes any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal portion of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node. The second node includes any one of an anchor node and a centralized unit of the anchor node. The first node is configured according to the configuration message sent by the second node. In this way, the configuration of the first node, such as the configuration of the distribution unit portion of the first node and the configuration of the mobile terminal portion of the first node, is updated during the handover process, so as to continue to provide services to users accessing the first node.

[0200] For any content not detailed in the first node device provided in this application embodiment, please refer to the above-described switching method. The beneficial effects that the first node device provided in this application embodiment can achieve are the same as those of the above-described switching method, and will not be repeated here.

[0201] Based on the same inventive concept as the foregoing embodiments, this application also provides a second node device, the structural schematic diagram of which is shown below. Figure 17As shown, the second node device 20 includes a third processing module 201 and a fourth processing module 202.

[0202] The third processing module 201 is used to send a user context configuration request message to the third node to support the first node to switch. The first node includes any one of the following: a relay node, a mobile terminal part of a relay node, and a distribution unit of a relay node. The second node includes any one of the following: an anchor node and a centralized unit of an anchor node. The third node includes the distribution unit of the anchor node directly connected to the first node after the switch or other relay nodes other than the first node directly connected to the first node after the switch. The fourth processing module 202 is used to receive the user context configuration response message sent by the third node.

[0203] Optionally, the user context configuration request message includes at least one of the following: One or more of the information contained in the defined UE Context Setup request (UE Context Modification Request) message, information related to the backhaul link channel served by the distribution unit portion of the third node, and information related to data routing; Information related to the backhaul link channel served by the distribution unit portion of the third node includes at least one of the following: backhaul link channel identification information, backhaul link channel QoS parameter information, and information related to the data carried by the backhaul link channel.

[0204] Optionally, the user context configuration response message includes at least one of the following: One or more of the information contained in the defined UE Context Setup Response or UE Context Modification Response message, information on the backhaul link channels accepted by the third node or the distribution unit of the third node, information on the backhaul link channels not accepted by the third node or the distribution unit of the third node, and configuration information of the backhaul link channels generated by the third node or the distribution unit of the third node.

[0205] Applying the embodiments of this application has at least the following beneficial effects: During the relay node handover process, the relay node's configuration is updated, such as the configuration of the distribution unit part of the first node and the configuration of the mobile terminal part of the first node, so as to continue to provide services to users accessing the first node.

[0206] For any content not detailed in the second node device provided in this application embodiment, please refer to the above-described switching method. The beneficial effects that the second node device provided in this application embodiment can achieve are the same as those of the above-described switching method, and will not be repeated here.

[0207] Based on the same inventive concept as the foregoing embodiments, this application also provides a second node device, the structural schematic diagram of which is shown below. Figure 18 As shown, the second node device 30 includes a fifth processing module 301 and a sixth processing module 302.

[0208] The fifth processing module 301 is used to send a handover request message to the fourth node to support the handover of the first node. The first node includes any one of the following: a relay node, a mobile terminal part of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node. The second node includes any one of the following: the anchor node connected to the first node before the handover and a centralized unit of the anchor node connected to the first node before the handover. The fourth node includes any one of the following: the anchor node connected to the first node after the handover and a centralized unit of the anchor node connected to the first node after the handover. The sixth processing module 302 is used to receive the handover response message sent by the fourth node.

[0209] Optionally, the switch request message includes at least one of the following: The information contained in the defined Handover Request message includes one or more of the following: information related to the address of the first node, information related to the backhaul link channel served by the mobile terminal portion of the first node, information related to data routing, configuration information of the distribution unit portion of the first node, and configuration information related to the users served by the distribution unit portion of the first node. The address-related information of the first node includes at least one of the address-related information on the first node side before the handover and the address-related information on the second node side before the handover. The configuration information of the distribution unit portion of the first node includes at least one of the following: identification information, identification information of the accessed anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node, configuration information of the serving cell, supported Radio Resource Control (RRC) version information, and RRC version information of the accessed anchor node or the centralized unit of the anchor node. The configuration information of the serving cell includes one or more of the following: cell identification information, information contained in the defined serving cell information Served CellInformation, system message information, and at least one of the following: cell service status information. The configuration-related information of the users served by the distribution unit of the first node includes at least one of the following: the user's DRB identification information, the user's DRB QoS-related information, the user's signaling radio bearer SRB identification information, the user's configuration information, and the configuration information of the General Packet Radio Service Technology (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol user plane GTP-U tunnel used by the centralized unit side of the second node to receive user DRB data.

[0210] Optionally, the switching response message includes at least one of the following: The Handover Request Acknowledge message contains one or more of the following information: information related to the address of the first node, information related to the mobile terminal portion of the first node, information related to data routing, configuration information of the distribution unit portion of the first node, information about the cell to be activated, information about the cell to be deactivated, information about the reason for deactivating the cell, and configuration information related to the users served by the distribution unit portion of the first node. The address-related information of the first node includes at least one of the following: address-related information on the first node side before the switch, address-related information on the second node side before the switch, address-related information on the first node side after the switch, and address-related information on the fourth node side after the switch. The information related to the mobile terminal portion of the first node includes at least one of the following: identification information of the accepted backhaul link channel, identification information of the unaccepted backhaul link channel, and configuration information related to the served backhaul link channel. The configuration-related information of the users served by the distribution unit of the first node includes at least one of the following: the identification information of the DRB of the admitted user, the identification information of the DRB of the unadmitted user, the identification information of the SRB of the admitted user, the identification information of the SRB of the unadmitted user, the user's configuration information, the configuration information of the GTP-U tunnel used by the distribution unit side of the first node to receive user DRB data, the configuration information of the GTP-U tunnel used by the distribution unit side of the first node to receive user DRB data before the handover, the configuration information of the GTP-U tunnel used by the central unit side of the fourth node to receive user DRB data, and the configuration information of the GTP-U tunnel used by the central unit side of the second node to receive user DRB data before the handover.

[0211] Applying the embodiments of this application has at least the following beneficial effects: During the relay node handover process, the relay node's configuration is updated, such as the configuration of the distribution unit part of the first node and the configuration of the mobile terminal part of the first node, so as to continue to provide services to users accessing the first node.

[0212] For any content not detailed in the second node device provided in this application embodiment, please refer to the above-described switching method. The beneficial effects that the second node device provided in this application embodiment can achieve are the same as those of the above-described switching method, and will not be repeated here.

[0213] Based on the same inventive concept as the foregoing embodiments, this application also provides a first node device, the structural schematic diagram of which is shown below. Figure 19 As shown, the first node device 40 includes a seventh processing module 401 and an eighth processing module 402.

[0214] The seventh processing module 401 is used to send a first request message to the second node to support the first node in switching. The first node includes any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal part of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node. The second node includes any one of an anchor node and a centralized unit of the anchor node. The eighth processing module 402 is used to receive the first response message sent by the second node.

[0215] Optionally, the first request message includes at least one of the following: Information related to the address of the first node, information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node, and auxiliary information for obtaining the configuration information of the distribution unit of the first node; The address-related information of the first node includes at least one of the address-related information on the first node side before the handover and the address-related information on the second node side before the handover. Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node includes at least one of the following: information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the switchover and information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node after the switchover. The auxiliary information for obtaining the distribution unit configuration information of the first node includes at least one of the following: information related to the mobile terminal of the first node after the handover, information related to the mobile terminal of the first node before the handover, and information related to the distribution unit of the first node before the handover.

[0216] Optionally, the first response message includes at least one of the following: Information related to the updated distribution unit configuration of the first node, information related to the original distribution unit configuration of the first node, information on the cells to be activated, information on the cells to be deactivated, information on the reasons for deactivating the cells, and information related to the address of the first node. The address-related information of the first node includes at least one of the following: address-related information on the first node side before the switch, address-related information on the second node side before the switch, address-related information on the first node side after the switch, and address-related information on the second node side after the switch.

[0217] Applying the embodiments of this application has at least the following beneficial effects: During the relay node handover process, the relay node's configuration is updated, such as the configuration of the distribution unit part of the first node and the configuration of the mobile terminal part of the first node, so as to continue to provide services to users accessing the first node.

[0218] For any content not detailed in the first node device provided in this application embodiment, please refer to the above-described switching method. The beneficial effects that the first node device provided in this application embodiment can achieve are the same as those of the above-described switching method, and will not be repeated here.

[0219] Based on the same inventive concept as the foregoing embodiments, this application also provides a fourth node device, the structural schematic diagram of which is shown below. Figure 20 As shown, the fourth node device 50 includes a ninth processing module 501, a tenth processing module 502, an eleventh processing module 503, and a twelfth processing module 504.

[0220] The ninth processing module 501 is used to receive a first handover request message sent by the second node. The second node includes any one of the anchor nodes connected to the first node before the handover and any one of the centralized units of the anchor nodes connected to the first node before the handover. The fourth node includes any one of the anchor nodes connected to the first node after the handover and any one of the centralized units of the anchor nodes connected to the first node after the handover. The tenth processing module 502 is used to send the first handover response message to the second node; The eleventh processing module 503 is used to receive the second request message sent by the first node to support the first node in switching. The first node includes any one of the following: a relay node, a mobile terminal part of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node. The twelfth processing module 504 is used to send a second response message to the first node.

[0221] Optionally, the second request message includes at least one of the following: Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the switchover, information related to the address of the first node, and auxiliary information for obtaining the distribution unit configuration information of the first node; The address-related information of the first node includes any one of the address-related information on the first node side before the handover and the address-related information on the second node side before the handover. The auxiliary information for obtaining the distribution unit configuration information of the first node includes any one of the following: information related to the mobile terminal of the first node after the handover, information related to the mobile terminal of the first node before the handover, and information related to the distribution unit of the first node before the handover.

[0222] Optionally, the second response message includes at least one of the following: Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node, information about the cells to be activated, information about the cells to be deactivated, the reason for deactivating the cells, and information related to the address of the first node. Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node includes any one of the following: information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the switchover and information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node after the switchover. The address-related information of the first node includes any one of the following: address-related information on the first node side before the handover, address-related information on the second node side before the handover, address-related information on the first node side after the handover, and address-related information on the fourth node side after the handover.

[0223] Applying the embodiments of this application has at least the following beneficial effects: During the relay node handover process, the relay node's configuration is updated, such as the configuration of the distribution unit part of the first node and the configuration of the mobile terminal part of the first node, so as to continue to provide services to users accessing the first node.

[0224] For any content not detailed in the fourth node device provided in this application embodiment, please refer to the above-described switching method. The beneficial effects that the fourth node device provided in this application embodiment can achieve are the same as those of the above-described switching method, and will not be repeated here.

[0225] Based on the same inventive concept as the foregoing embodiments, this application also provides a second node device, the structural schematic diagram of which is shown below. Figure 21 As shown, the second node device 60 includes a thirteenth processing module 601, a fourteenth processing module 602, and a fifteenth processing module 603.

[0226] The thirteenth processing module 601 is used to send a second handover request message or a third handover request message to the fourth node. The second node includes any one of the anchor nodes connected to the first node before the handover and any one of the centralized units of the anchor nodes connected to the first node before the handover. The fourth node includes any one of the anchor nodes connected to the first node after the handover and any one of the centralized units of the anchor nodes connected to the first node after the handover. The fourteenth processing module 602 is used to receive a second handover response message corresponding to the second handover request message or a third handover response message corresponding to the third handover request message sent by the fourth node. The fifteenth processing module 603 is used to send a first configuration message corresponding to the second handover response message or a second configuration message corresponding to the third handover response message to the first node, so as to support the first node to perform handover. The first node includes any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal part of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node.

[0227] Optionally, the first configuration message or the second configuration message includes at least one of the following: Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node, information about the cells to be activated, information about the cells to be deactivated, the reason for deactivating the cells, and information related to the address of the first node. Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node includes any one of the following: information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the switchover and information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node after the switchover. The address-related information of the first node includes address-related information on the first node side before the handover, address-related information on the second node side before the handover, address-related information on the first node side after the handover, and address-related information on the fourth node side after the handover.

[0228] Optionally, the second handover request message or the third handover request message includes at least one of the following: Information related to the configuration of the distribution unit of the first node before the switchover, and information related to the address of the first node; The address-related information of the first node includes any one of the address-related information on the first node side before the handover and the address-related information on the second node side before the handover.

[0229] Optionally, the second handover response message or the third handover response message includes at least one of the following: Information related to the address of the first node, information about the cell to be activated, information about the cell to be deactivated, and information about the reason for deactivating the cell; The address-related information of the first node includes any one of the address-related information on the first node side before the handover and the address-related information on the first node side after the handover.

[0230] Optionally, the address-related information of the first node includes any one of the address-related information of the first node before the switch, the address-related information of the second node before the switch, the address-related information of the first node after the switch, and the address-related information of the second node after the switch.

[0231] Applying the embodiments of this application has at least the following beneficial effects: During the relay node handover process, the relay node's configuration is updated, such as the configuration of the distribution unit part of the first node and the configuration of the mobile terminal part of the first node, so as to continue to provide services to users accessing the first node.

[0232] For any content not detailed in the second node device provided in this application embodiment, please refer to the above-described switching method. The beneficial effects that the second node device provided in this application embodiment can achieve are the same as those of the above-described switching method, and will not be repeated here.

[0233] Based on the same inventive concept as the foregoing embodiments, this application also provides a fourth node device, the structural schematic diagram of which is shown below. Figure 22 As shown, the fourth node device 70 includes a sixteenth processing module 701, a seventeenth processing module 702, and an eighteenth processing module 703.

[0234] The sixteenth processing module 701 is used to receive a third handover request message sent by the second node. The second node includes any one of the anchor nodes connected to the first node before the handover and any one of the centralized units of the anchor nodes connected to the first node before the handover. The fourth node includes any one of the anchor nodes connected to the first node after the handover and any one of the centralized units of the anchor nodes connected to the first node after the handover. The seventeenth processing module 702 is used to send a third handover response message to the second node; The eighteenth processing module 703 is used to send a second configuration message to the first node to support the first node in switching. The first node includes any one of the following: a relay node, a mobile terminal part of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node.

[0235] Applying the embodiments of this application has at least the following beneficial effects: During the relay node handover process, the relay node's configuration is updated, such as the configuration of the distribution unit part of the first node and the configuration of the mobile terminal part of the first node, so as to continue to provide services to users accessing the first node.

[0236] For any content not detailed in the fourth node device provided in this application embodiment, please refer to the above-described switching method. The beneficial effects that the fourth node device provided in this application embodiment can achieve are the same as those of the above-described switching method, and will not be repeated here.

[0237] Those skilled in the art will understand that each block in these structural diagrams and / or block diagrams and / or flow diagrams, as well as combinations of blocks in these structural diagrams and / or block diagrams and / or flow diagrams, can be implemented using computer program instructions. Those skilled in the art will also understand that these computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing method for implementation, thereby enabling the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing method to execute the schemes specified in the blocks or multiple blocks of the structural diagrams and / or block diagrams and / or flow diagrams disclosed in this application.

[0238] Those skilled in the art will understand that the steps, measures, and solutions in the various operations, methods, and processes discussed in this application can be alternated, modified, combined, or deleted. Furthermore, other steps, measures, and solutions in the various operations, methods, and processes discussed in this application can also be alternated, modified, rearranged, decomposed, combined, or deleted. Furthermore, steps, measures, and solutions in the prior art that are similar to those disclosed in this application can also be alternated, modified, rearranged, decomposed, combined, or deleted.

[0239] The above description is only a partial embodiment of this application. It should be noted that for those skilled in the art, several improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the principle of this application, and these improvements and modifications should also be considered within the scope of protection of this application.

Claims

1. A switching method applied to a first node, characterized in that, include: The first node receives a configuration message sent by the second node to support the first node in switching. The first node includes any one of a relay node, a mobile terminal portion of the relay node, and a distribution unit of the relay node. The second node includes any one of an anchor node and a centralized unit of the anchor node. Configure the first node according to the configuration message sent by the second node.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The configuration message includes at least one of the following: The first node requires information related to address, backhaul link channel configuration, and data routing.

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