Control plane messages for time slot information transmission

Abstract

The described techniques involve transmitting, from a distributed unit to a radio unit, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol-related data for each symbol of a slot for downlink transmission by the radio unit. The symbol-related data includes information about the power of each OFDM symbol and the highest modulation order used by each symbol. The transmitted data may indicate a fully blank OFDM symbol. The per-slot symbol related data may be transmitted to a radio unit in a control plane message, which may be formatted to a control plane segment message type in an open radio access network (O-RAN). Based on the time slot information, the radio unit may configure a power amplifier of the radio unit, perform crest factor reduction and / or digital pre-distortion tuning according to dynamic changes in incoming downlink traffic, which may result in a significant reduction in power consumption of the power amplifier to improve the overall energy efficiency of the radio unit.

Description

Cross-reference to related applications

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. nonprovisional patent application No. 18 / 307,523, filed April 26, 2023, entitled "Control Plane Message for Slot Information Conveyance," the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Background Technology

[0002] In wireless network communications, Open Radio Access Networks (O-RAN) provide separate centralized units, distributed units, and radio units. Typically, the distributed unit is responsible for scheduling physical resource blocks and allocating symbol power for each orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol in each scheduling slot. The radio unit operates based on this scheduling information received from the distributed unit.

[0003] Some other symbol-related information useful to a radio unit is not easily obtained by the radio unit. Although in theory a radio unit may be able to extract some useful symbol-related information from the actually received in-phase and quadrature (IQ) data, a typical radio unit may not have sufficient processing power or time to do so because these are non-trivial deterministic.

[0004] The background described above is intended only to provide a contextual overview of some current problems and is not intended to be exhaustive. Further contextual information will become clearer by reading the following detailed implementation. Attached Figure Description

[0005] The techniques described herein are illustrated by way of example and are not limited to the accompanying drawings, in which similar reference numerals indicate similar elements, and wherein:

[0006] Figure 1 This is a block diagram of an example system / open radio access network (O-RAN) architecture based on various aspects and implementations of this disclosure, which includes distributed units that transmit time slot information to radio units via control plane messages.

[0007] Figure 2 It is a representation of control plane segment types according to various aspects and implementations of this disclosure, including example control plane segment types for transmitting time slot information to radio units.

[0008] Figure 3 This is a representation of an example control plane segmented type message data structure for transmitting time slot information to a radio unit, based on various aspects and implementations of this disclosure.

[0009] Figure 4 This is an exemplary data table for insertion into a field representing the highest modulation order identifier for each symbol, based on various aspects and implementations of this disclosure.

[0010] Figure 5 This is an example data table for inserting into fields representing symbol power data for each symbol, based on various aspects and implementations of this disclosure.

[0011] Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating example operations for transmitting orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbol-related data and symbol power data via control plane messages, based on various aspects and implementations disclosed in this subject matter.

[0012] Figure 7 This is a flowchart of an example operation for determining data for transmitted control plane messages for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols, based on various aspects and implementations of this disclosure, including the order of modulation data and symbol power data for two symbols.

[0013] Figure 8 This is a flowchart illustrating an example operation of obtaining various symbol-related data of a symbol in a time slot via control plane messages and transmitting it to a radio unit, based on the various aspects and implementations disclosed in this subject.

[0014] Figure 9 This is a block diagram representing an example computing environment in which aspects of the topics described in this paper can be incorporated.

[0015] Figure 10 An example schematic block diagram depicts the various aspects disclosed in this topic and the implementation thereof, and a computing environment in which the disclosed topic can at least partially interact / implement. Detailed Implementation

[0016] The techniques described herein generally involve transmitting symbol-related information from a distributed unit to a radio unit, including the order of modulation data and symbol power data for each symbol. Symbol-related information for a set of symbols can be transmitted on a per-slot basis via control plane messages for each time slot. Sending this information to the radio unit before actually receiving in-phase and quadrature (IQ) data (via the user plane) enables the radio unit to, for example, deploy and support many energy-saving use cases that would otherwise be infeasible to implement within the radio unit.

[0017] In one implementation, control plane messages are segmented type messages in the Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) architecture, according to the segmented type message format defined in the O-RAN standard. Therefore, in this implementation, O-RAN Distributed Units (O-DUs) send control plane messages to O-RAN Radio Units (O-RUs) in the O-RAN network.

[0018] It should be understood that any embodiment in the examples herein is non-limiting. As an example, the technique is generally described herein using control plane segmentation type messages in an O-RAN (Open Radio Access Network) environment; however, this is merely an example, and the technique can be implemented in similar environments and / or via other messages. In fact, the techniques typically described can operate based on any 5G, next-generation communication technology, or existing communication technology. Therefore, any of the embodiments, aspects, concepts, structures, functionalities, or examples described herein are non-limiting, and the techniques can be used in various ways that generally provide benefits and advantages in data storage and computation. It should also be noted that terms used herein, such as “maximize,” “optimize,” or “optimal,” indicate only that the objective moves toward a more maximum or optimal state, not that the ideal result must be obtained.

[0019] Throughout this specification, references to "an embodiment," "an embodiment," "an implementation," "implementation," etc., mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment / implementation is included in at least one embodiment / implementation. Therefore, phrases such as "in one embodiment," "in an implementation," etc., appearing throughout this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment / implementation. Furthermore, a particular feature, structure, or characteristic may be combined in one or more embodiments / implementations in any suitable manner.

[0020] One or more embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary components, figures, and / or operations are illustrated. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth for purposes of explanation in order to provide a thorough understanding of the various embodiments. However, the present disclosure may be implemented in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the examples set forth herein.

[0021] Figure 1 An example system / architecture 100 is shown, including a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) component 102, which handles the organization, management, and automation of RAN (Radio Access Network) elements. Figure 1In the system shown, which is an example implementation of O-RAN compatibility, controller 104 (e.g., RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC)) is coupled to service management and orchestration (SMO) component 102 via an O1 interface. Controller 104 is coupled to RAN components (collectively referred to as 106) via an E2 interface, including centralized unit(s) 108 and distributed unit(s) 110.

[0022] like Figure 1 As shown, among other messages and data, (multiple) distributed units 110 send time slot information (blocks 112(1)-112(m)) to radio units 114(1)-114(n) (which can also be considered network elements of RAN 106). The radio units are shown communicating with user equipment (UE) devices 116(1)-116(j). The non-limiting terms “user equipment” or “UE” can refer to any type of device capable of communicating with network nodes (RAN elements 106) in the cellular or mobile communication system / architecture 100 via radio units 114(1)-114(n). Non-limiting examples of UE devices 116(1)-116(j) include target devices, device-to-device (D2D) UEs, machine-type UEs, or UEs capable of machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, personal digital assistants (PDAs), tablet computers, mobile terminals, smartphones, laptop-mounted devices (LMEs), Universal Serial Bus (USB) dongles supporting mobile communications, mobile-capable computers (such as mobile devices, cellular phones), laptops with laptop-embedded devices (such as LEEs with mobile broadband adapters), tablet computers with mobile broadband adapters, wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, head-up display (HUD) devices, smart cars, machine-type communication (MTC) devices, augmented reality head-mounted displays, etc. One or more of UE devices 116(1)-116(j) may also include IoT devices for wireless communication.

[0023] In one implementation, time slot information ( Figure 1 Blocks 112(1)-112(m)) are sent via control plane messages, such as segment type messages formatted according to the O-RAN Control User Synchronization (CUS) plane specification. As for the version 11.0 specification, segment types 0-8 have been defined (e.g., such as...). Figure 2 (as shown in Table 220), and therefore also as Figure 2 As shown, the new segment type message (dashed block 222) can be defined as any of the (available) segment types 9 to 255. As described herein, the segment type slot information message 222 is used, for example, to transmit slot information, including symbol-related information, to the radio unit for each slot.

[0024] It is understood that the time slot information message 222 can be transmitted for each time slot in the downlink direction and contains information about the power of each OFDM symbol, whether the OFDM symbol is completely empty, and the highest modulation order used for each symbol. Note that similar information can be transmitted in place of segmented messages or other messages including proprietary messages besides segmented messages; therefore, the time slot information transmission technique described herein is not limited to any type of message, nor to the O-RAN standard, nor to the example format and information described herein. In fact, regardless of the message format, it will be seen that the example message is extensible and includes fields reserved for future use.

[0025] Time slot information messages can be transmitted in each time slot for the downlink direction and contain information about the power of each Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol, whether the OFDM symbol is completely empty, and the highest modulation order used for each symbol. This information is beneficial to the operation of the radio unit. One example use case available via time slot information is employing dynamic biasing techniques to optimally bias the radio unit's power amplifier according to dynamic changes in the input downlink traffic. This adaptive power amplifier bias (relative to the power amplifier's conventional fixed basis) can result in a significant reduction in power amplifier power consumption and thus improve the overall energy efficiency of the radio unit. More specifically, because the time slot information message is transmitted before the user plane IQ data, the radio unit can benefit from this extra time margin to perform appropriate PA bias adjustments before the actual downlink data is received in the power amplifier. However, it should be noted that if, for some reason, the time slot information message cannot be transmitted / correctly received for any given time slot, the radio unit can default to its power amplifier's conventional fixed basis for that given time slot until the next time slot information message is correctly received at the radio unit. Other use cases, such as traffic optimization, can be employed.

[0026] Note that this information is currently not easily obtained at the radio unit. While the radio equipment might attempt to extract such information by examining the actual received IQ data and employing additional processing to determine the modulation power and order of each symbol, as well as the blanking state, this is not straightforward and is currently not easily implemented. In fact, enabling the radio unit to do this would add extra processing, resulting in additional processing delays and consuming the entire radio unit's processing time margin, which may be infeasible because the available time margin for the radio unit between the reception of IQ data and the time it must spend transmitting IQ data over the air is limited. The technique described in this paper avoids the additional cost and higher power consumption resulting from such additional radio unit processing logic at the radio unit.

[0027] Figure 3An exemplary data structure corresponding to O-RAN control plane segmentation message 330 is shown for transmitting symbol-related data from the distributed unit to the radio unit on a time-slot-by-time basis; (note that if the distributed unit has advance information for more than one time slot, it is feasible to batch the time slot information into similar messages for multiple time slots). In this example of encapsulating various data into segmentation message 330, the transmission header follows the same structure and content as previously assigned segmentation types 0-8 for backward compatibility. Figure 3 The upper part (octet 1 to 16) of example message 330 is shown, and the application header 332 field and bit width assignment are as follows: Reserved field: 1 bit. payloadVersion field: 3 bits: • The value = 1 should be set (first protocol version of payload and time reference format). The reserved field (for future use) has 4 bits. frameId (frame identifier) ​​field: 8 bits. subframeId (subframe identifier) ​​field: 4 bits. The slotId (slot identifier) ​​field is 6 bits. The reserved field (for future use) has 14 bits. The sectionType field is 8 bits. • The value = 9 can be set (or any value from 9 to 255, if / when added to the standard). The numberOfSymbols field has 4 bits. The reserved field (for future use) has 12 bits.

[0028] like Figure 3 The lower portion (octet 17 to N+1) of example message 330 is shown below, with the segment field 334, which repeats for each symbol in the time slot, and its bit width assignment as follows: symbolId (symbolId identifier) ​​field: 4 bits. The symmodOrder field (symbol highest modulation order identifier) ​​is 4 bits. blankSymbol (blank symbol indicator) field: 1 bit. symbolPower (Total OFDM Symbol Power Identifier) ​​field: 7 bits.

[0029] Note that this information is available at the distributed unit, which is typically the entity responsible for PRB scheduling and symbol power allocation for each time slot. As illustrated in this document, the radio unit would otherwise not have access to this information until it receives user plane IQ data, and in any case, there may not be the time or resources to extract such information from the IQ data.

[0030] Therefore, typically and as described herein, message 330 carries information about each OFDM symbol in a particular time slot via a segmented field 334 repeated for each symbol in the time slot. This information is very useful for radio units, for example, for configuring their power amplifiers for that time slot. Figure 3 As shown, the information content of this exemplary message for each symbol includes the total OFDM symbol power, which is transmitted on the symbol's Physical Resource Block (PRB). The transmitted data also includes the highest modulation order indicating the highest modulation order used across all PRBs, and a blank symbol indicator (flag) indicating a completely blank symbol. When the flag is set, the radio unit's decoding logic does not need to further process (can ignore) such blank symbols, which improves the radio unit's processing efficiency. In practice, when the blank symbol indicator indicates a blank symbol, the highest modulation order and the total OFDM symbol power are irrelevant (although theoretically, for blank symbols, several bits of these other fields could be used to transmit other information).

[0031] The blank symbol indicator flag can be used to enable symbol-based power-saving techniques, where power amplifiers, along with other parts of the downlink processing chain (e.g., data converters, filter banks, inverse fast Fourier transforms, numerically controlled oscillators, etc.), can be turned off or placed in a power-reduced mode during the duration of the blank symbol. When there is no PRB allocation at the symbol-based granularity for the downlink symbol (all PRBs are blank), this flag allows the radio unit to save power by not transmitting any signals in the air, which improves the overall energy efficiency of the radio unit.

[0032] By selecting an appropriate signal limiting threshold based on the highest modulation order of the signal, the modulation order information for each symbol enables more optimized tuning and crest factor reduction (CFR) algorithms to be performed in the radio unit, which in turn improves the efficiency of the power amplifier.

[0033] Modulation order information, along with symbol power level, can also be used to obtain better linearization performance from digital predistortion (DPD) algorithms. This is achieved by more optimally tuning the operation of DPD for the best trade-off between the efficiency and linearity of the power amplifier, while meeting the radio transmitter’s out-of-band transmission requirements in terms of ACLR (adjacent channel leakage ratio) and undesired transmissions (OBUE) in the operating band.

[0034] The following section further describes additional details of the exemplary application header and segmentation fields for an example message implementation: The numberOfSymbols field indicates the number of symbols included in the time slot configuration. Field length: 4 bits Type: Unsigned integer Value range: For normal cyclic prefixes, set the value to 14 (1110b). For the extended cyclic prefix, set the value to 12 (1100b). The symbolId field (symbolId identifier) ​​represents the symbol number within the time slot. Field length: 4 bits Type: Unsigned integer Value range: {0000b-1101b} blankSymbol (blank symbol indicator) field: Indicates whether the symbol is completely blank. Field length: 1 bit Type: Unsigned integer Value range: For completely blank symbols (no PRB assignment), set the value to 1. For symbols that are not entirely whitespace (at least one PRB assignment), set the value to 0. The symmodOrder field (symbol highest modulation order identifier) ​​conveys the highest modulation order used in the assigned PRB within the symbol. Field length: 4 bits Type: Unsigned integer Value range: {0001b-1111b} Bit assignment: based on Figure 4 Example Table 440, where “BPSK” represents binary phase shift keying, “QPSK” represents quadrature phase shift keying, and “QAM” represents quadrature amplitude modulation. symbolPower (Total OFDM Symbol Power Identifier) ​​field: Field length: 7 bits Type: Unsigned integer Value range: {0000000b-1111111b} Bit assignment: based on Figure 5 The example bit assignments for the symbolic power data field shown in Table 550 are as follows, where dBFS represents the decibel full scale.

[0035] Note that when an OFDM symbol has zero power, the blank symbol indicator bit is set to 1; also note that 0dBFS represents the maximum power level of the OFDM symbol.

[0036] Regarding symbol power data, assuming the total dynamic range of symbol power is approximately 64 dB (or 63.5 dB, as detailed below regarding dBFS), and implementing 0.5 dB power level resolution for seven bits used to represent different power levels, 127 decimal bits (1111111 binary) to 0 decimal bits (0000000 binary) correspond to a range from 0.0 dBFS to -63.5 dBFS. Note that any and all of the above fields, types, ranges, and / or bit assignments are merely actual examples.

[0037] The minimum power level of a resource element (RE) can be determined. More specifically, different downlink channels have different power levels and boost factors relative to the SSB / PBCH block (synchronization signal block / physical broadcast channel) EPRE (energy per resource element): NZP (Non-zero Power) CSI-RS (Channel State Information Reference Signal) EPRE (Energy per Resource Element) for SSB / PBCH Block EPRE: Maximum 6dB PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel) EPRE to NZPCSI-RSEPRE: Maximum 15dB DM-RS (Demodulation reference signal EPRE to PDSCHEPRE: 4.77dB maximum) QAM modulation PAPR (peak-to-average power ratio): maximum 4.8dB Precoding PAPR (for 16 layers): 12.04dB Array carrier boost (for 16 eAxC (extended antenna carriers)): 12.04 dB Future enhanced headroom (higher layer and / or carrier number): 9 dB Total tolerance (dynamic range) of boost = 6 + 15 + 4.77 + 4.8 + 12.04 + 12.04 + 9 = 63.65 dB.

[0038] Back Figure 3 Following the last symbol power octet (N+1), depending on the radio unit boolean flag "st6-4byte-alignment-required" value setting, zero padding may or may not be required to align octet N+2 with the next four-byte boundary. Furthermore, as indicated by the "ef" (extension flag) following octet N+2, the data structure can be expanded to include additional information, such as for future development.

[0039] One or more aspects may be specifically implemented in network devices and / or systems, such as in Figure 6 The example operations represent, and may include, for example, a memory storing computer-executable components and / or operations, and a processor executing the computer-executable components and / or operations stored in the memory. Example operations may include operation 602, which represents determining orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol correlation data for a given symbol based on physical resource block scheduling and time slot symbol power allocation. This OFDM symbol correlation data includes the corresponding symbol modulation order data and the corresponding symbol power data. Example operation 604 represents constructing a control plane message including symbol correlation data. Example operation 606 represents transmitting a control plane message from a distributed unit to a radio unit.

[0040] Control plane messages may include Open Radio Access Network Control Plane Segmentation Type messages.

[0041] Determining the relevant data for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols may also include determining the corresponding symbol identifier data that represents the corresponding symbol number within the time slot.

[0042] Determining the relevant data for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols may also include determining the corresponding blank symbol flag, which indicates whether the corresponding symbol is blank or not in relation to the corresponding physical resource block assignment of the corresponding symbol.

[0043] Constructing a control plane message may include arranging symbol-related data into corresponding per-symbol fields, which include a corresponding symbol identifier data field for corresponding symbol identifier data, a corresponding symbol modulation order data field for corresponding symbol modulation order data, and a corresponding symbol power data field for corresponding symbol power data.

[0044] Control plane messages may also include a symbol count indicator, which represents the number of symbols contained in a time slot.

[0045] The symbol number indicator may include a first indicator value representing a time slot in a normal cyclic prefix configuration or a second indicator value representing a time slot in an extended cyclic prefix configuration.

[0046] Control plane messages transmitted from the distributed unit to the radio unit can be sent before user plane data is transmitted to the radio unit for transmission to the user equipment. The control plane messages can be used by the radio unit in at least one of the following: configuring the radio unit power amplifier to reduce crest factor, or digital predistortion tuning.

[0047] The corresponding symbol modulation order data can represent the highest modulation order of each symbol in use.

[0048] The corresponding symbolic power data can range from zero dB relative to full scale to approximately -64 dB relative to full scale.

[0049] The corresponding symbol power data can be represented by the corresponding seven-bit binary value.

[0050] Such as one or more example aspects corresponding to example operations of a method in Figure 7 The example operation 702 indicates that a distributed unit including a processor determines the data of a control plane message, which includes: for a first orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol in a time slot, the order of the first symbol modulation data used in the allocated physical resource block of the first symbol and the first symbol power data; and for a second OFDM symbol in a time slot, the order of the second modulation data used in the allocated physical resource block of the second symbol and the second symbol power data. Example operation 704 indicates that the distributed unit transmits the control plane message to the radio unit.

[0051] Determining the data used for control plane messages may further include: determining a first blank symbol flag indicating whether the physical resource block assignment of the first symbol relative to the first symbol is blank; and determining a second blank symbol flag indicating whether the physical resource block assignment of the second symbol relative to the second symbol is blank.

[0052] Further operations may include formatting control plane messages into Open Radio Access Network Control Plane Segmentation Type messages by the distributed unit; transmitting control plane messages to the radio unit may include transmitting Open Radio Access Network Control Plane Segmentation Type messages.

[0053] The transmission of control plane messages to the radio unit may be sent before the transmission of user plane data from the distributed unit to the radio unit. The control plane messages may be used by the radio unit in at least one of the following: radio unit power amplifier configuration, crest factor reduction operation, or digital predistortion tuning.

[0054] The data used to determine the control plane message may also include: for the third orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbol in the time slot, determining the third symbol order and third symbol power data of the modulation data used in the allocated physical resource block of the third symbol.

[0055] The data used to determine control plane messages may also include an indication of whether the time slot is an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbol with a normal cyclic prefix configuration or an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbol with an extended cyclic prefix configuration.

[0056] Figure 8This section summarizes various example operations, such as those corresponding to machine-readable media, including executable instructions that facilitate operation when executed by a processor. Example operation 802 represents obtaining data representing data fields indicating information for an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol. For each OFDM symbol, the data fields include (box 804, which represents) a symbol identifier field indicating the number of symbols within a time slot, a blank symbol indicator field indicating whether the symbol is completely blank relative to a physical resource block assignment, a symbol modulation order identifier field indicating the highest modulation order used in the allocated physical resource block within the symbol, and a symbol power identifier field indicating the power level of the symbol. Example operation 806 represents formatting the data fields into a control plane message. Example operation 808 represents transmitting the control plane message to a radio unit, which can be used by the radio unit to configure the radio unit power amplifier.

[0057] Formatting data fields as control plane messages can include an indication in the data field whether the time slot is an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbol with a normal cyclic prefix configuration or an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbol with an extended cyclic prefix configuration.

[0058] Formatting data fields as control plane messages can include formatting control plane messages as Open Radio Access Network control plane segmented type messages.

[0059] As can be seen, the techniques described in this paper facilitate the transmission of downlink OFDM symbol power, blank symbol indication, and the highest modulation order of each symbol to the radio unit via per-slot control plane messages prepared and transmitted by the distributed unit. This enables and facilitates the application and implementation of more optimized energy-efficient techniques in the radio unit, as this information can be transmitted before the actual IQ data, giving the radio unit sufficient time to execute the required energy-saving techniques. In one implementation, the control plane messages are formatted according to O-RAN Alliance specifications that do not currently have such messages.

[0060] Figure 9 This is a schematic block diagram of a computing environment 900 with which the disclosed subject can interact. System 900 includes one or more remote components 910. The remote components 910 may be hardware and / or software (e.g., threads, processes, computing devices). In some embodiments, the remote components 910 may be a distributed computer system that is connected to a local autoscaling component and / or uses the resources of the distributed computer system via a communication framework 940. The communication framework 940 may include wired network devices, wireless network devices, mobile devices, wearable devices, wireless access network devices, gateway devices, femtocellular devices, servers, etc.

[0061] System 900 also includes one or more local components 920. The local components 920 may be hardware and / or software (e.g., threads, processes, computing devices). In some embodiments, the local components 920 may include autoscaling components and / or programs that communicate with / use remote resources 910, etc., connected to a remotely located distributed computing system via a communication framework 940.

[0062] One possible communication between (multiple) remote components 910 and (multiple) local components 920 may be in the form of data packets suitable for transmission between two or more computer processes. Another possible communication between (multiple) remote components 910 and (multiple) local components 920 may be in the form of circuit-switched data suitable for transmission between two or more computer processes in a radio time slot. System 900 includes a communication framework 940, which can be used to facilitate communication between (multiple) remote components 910 and (multiple) local components 920, and may include an air interface, such as a Uu interface of a UMTS network via a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network. (Multiple) remote components 910 are operatively connected to one or more remote data storage devices 950, such as hard disk drives, solid-state drives, SIM cards, device memory, etc., which can be used to store information on the (multiple) remote component 910 side of the communication framework 940. Similarly, the local components 920 may be operatively connected to one or more local data stores 930, which may be used to store information on the side of the local components 920 of the communication framework 940.

[0063] To provide additional context for the various embodiments described herein, Figure 10 The following discussion is intended to provide a brief overview of a suitable computing environment 1000 in which various embodiments of the embodiments described herein may be implemented. Although the embodiments have been described above in the general context of computer-executable instructions that can run on one or more computers, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments may also be implemented in combination with other program modules and / or as a combination of hardware and software.

[0064] Generally, a program module includes routines, programs, components, data structures, etc., that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. Furthermore, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the methods described can be practiced with other computer system configurations, including single-processor or multi-processor computer systems, minicomputers, mainframe computers, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, distributed computing systems, and personal computers, handheld computing devices, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, each operatively coupled to one or more associated devices.

[0065] The embodiments illustrated in this document can also be practiced in a distributed computing environment, where certain tasks are performed by remote processing devices linked via a communication network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules can reside in both local and remote memory storage devices.

[0066] Computing devices typically include a variety of media, which may include computer-readable storage media, machine-readable storage media, and / or communication media, these two terms being used herein to distinguish themselves as follows. A computer-readable storage medium or a machine-readable storage medium can be any available storage medium that can be accessed by a computer, and includes volatile and non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media. By way of example and not limitation, a computer-readable storage medium or a machine-readable storage medium may be implemented in conjunction with any method or technique used for storing information such as computer-readable or machine-readable instructions, program modules, structured data, or unstructured data.

[0067] Computer-readable storage media may include, but is not limited to, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technologies, optical disc read-only memory (CDROM), digital versatile disc (DV), Blu-ray disc (BD) or other optical disc storage, magnetic tape cartridges, magnetic tape, disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, solid-state drives or other solid-state storage devices, or other tangible and / or non-transient media that can be used to store desired information. In this regard, the terms “tangible” or “non-transient” used herein to describe storage devices, memories, or computer-readable media should be understood to exclude only the propagation of transient signals themselves as a modifier, and do not waive the rights to all standard storage devices, memories, or computer-readable media that do not solely propagate transient signals themselves.

[0068] Computer-readable storage media can be accessed by one or more local or remote computing devices, for example, through access requests, queries, or other data retrieval protocols, for various operations concerning the information stored in the media.

[0069] Communication media typically embody computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other structured or unstructured data in data signals such as modulated data signals, such as carrier waves or other transmission mechanisms, and include any information transmission or delivery medium. The terms "modulated data signal" or "multiple signals" refer to signals whose one or more characteristics are set or altered in a manner that encodes information in one or more signals. By way of example and not limitation, communication media include wired media, such as wired networks or direct-line connections, and wireless media, such as acoustic, RF, infrared, and other wireless media.

[0070] Refer again Figure 10 An example environment 1000 for implementing various embodiments of the aspects described herein includes a computer 1002, which includes a processing unit 1004, system memory 1006, and a system bus 1008. The system bus 1008 couples system components, including but not limited to system memory 1006, to the processing unit 1004. The processing unit 1004 can be any of a variety of commercially available processors. Dual-microprocessor and other multiprocessor architectures can also be used as the processing unit 1004.

[0071] System bus 1008 can be any of several types of bus architectures, which can be further interconnected to memory buses (with or without memory controllers), peripheral buses, and local buses using any of a variety of commercially available bus architectures. System memory 1006 includes ROM 1010 and RAM 1012. The Basic Input / Output System (BIOS) can be stored in non-volatile memory such as ROM, erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), or EEPROM, where the BIOS contains basic routines that facilitate, for example, transferring information between components within computer 1002 during startup. RAM 1012 may also include high-speed RAM, such as static RAM for caching data.

[0072] Computer 1002 also includes an internal hard disk drive (HDD) 1014 (e.g., EIDE, SATA) and may include one or more external storage devices 1016 (e.g., floppy disk drive (FDD) 1016, memory stick, or flash drive reader, memory card reader, etc.). Although the internal HDD 1014 is shown as being located within computer 1002, the internal HDD 1014 may also be configured for external use in a suitable chassis (not shown). Additionally, although not shown in environment 1000, a solid-state drive (SSD) may be used in addition to or in place of HDD 1014.

[0073] Other internal or external storage devices may include at least one other storage device 1020 having storage medium 1022 (e.g., solid-state storage device, non-volatile storage device, and / or optical disc drive that can be read from or written to removable media such as CD-ROM, DVD, BD, etc.). External storage device 1016 may be facilitated by a network virtual machine. HDD 1014, (multiple) external storage devices 1016, and storage devices (e.g., drives) 1020 may be connected to system bus 1008 via HDD interface 1024, external storage interface 1026, and drive interface 1028, respectively.

[0074] The drive and its associated computer-readable storage medium provide non-volatile storage of data, data structures, computer-executable instructions, etc. For computer 1002, the drive and storage medium accommodate the storage of any data in a suitable digital format. Although the above description of computer-readable storage media refers to a corresponding type of storage device, those skilled in the art will understand that other types of computer-readable storage media, whether currently existing or developed in the future, may also be used in the exemplary operating environment, and further, any such storage medium may contain computer-executable instructions for performing the methods described herein.

[0075] Multiple program modules can be stored in the drive and RAM 1012, including an operating system 1030, one or more application programs 1032, other program modules 1034, and program data 1036. All or part of the operating system, application programs, modules, and / or data can also be cached in RAM 1012. The systems and methods described herein can be implemented using various commercially available operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0076] Computer 1002 may optionally include emulation technology. For example, a system hypervisor (not shown) or other intermediary may emulate the hardware environment of operating system 1030, and the emulated hardware may optionally be different from that of operating system 1030. Figure 10 The hardware is shown. In such an embodiment, the operating system 1030 may include one of a plurality of virtual machines (VMs) hosted on the computer 1002. Furthermore, the operating system 1030 may provide a runtime environment for the application 1032, such as the Java Runtime Environment or the .NET Framework. A runtime environment is a consistent execution environment that allows the application 1032 to run on any operating system that includes a runtime environment. Similarly, the operating system 1030 may support containers, and the application 1032 may be in the form of a container, which is a lightweight, standalone, executable software package including, for example, code, runtime, system tools, system libraries, and application settings.

[0077] Furthermore, computer 1002 can enable security modules, such as a Trusted Processing Module (TPM). For example, with TPM, before loading the next boot component, the boot component hashes the next boot component in time and waits for the result to match a security value. This process can occur at any layer of the computer 1002's code execution stack, for example, at the application execution level or at the operating system (OS) kernel level, thus achieving security at any code execution level.

[0078] Users can input commands and information into computer 1002 through one or more wired / wireless input devices (e.g., keyboard 1038, touchscreen 1040, and pointing devices such as mouse 1042). Other input devices (not shown) may include microphones, infrared (IR) remote controls, radio frequency (RF) remote controls, or other remote controls, joysticks, virtual reality controllers, and / or virtual reality headsets, gaming pads, styluses, image input devices (e.g., cameras), gesture sensor input devices, visual motion sensor input devices, emotion or face detection devices, biometric input devices (e.g., fingerprint or iris scanners), etc. These and other input devices are typically connected to processing unit 1004 via input device interface 1044, which may be coupled to system bus 1008, but may also be connected via other interfaces such as parallel ports, IEEE 1094 serial ports, gaming ports, USB ports, IR interfaces, Bluetooth® interfaces, etc.

[0079] Monitor 1046 or other types of display devices can also be connected to system bus 1008 via an interface such as video adapter 1048. In addition to monitor 1046, the computer typically includes other peripheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers, printers, etc.

[0080] Computer 1002 can operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers (e.g., multiple remote computers 1050) via wired and / or wireless communications. The multiple remote computers 1050 can be workstations, server computers, routers, personal computers, laptops, microprocessor-based entertainment devices, peer-to-peer devices, or other common network nodes, and typically include many or all of the elements described relative to computer 1002, although for the sake of brevity only memory / storage device 1052 is shown. The depicted logical connections include wired / wireless connections to a local area network (LAN) 1054 and / or a larger network (e.g., a wide area network (WAN) 1056). Such LAN and WAN network environments are common in offices and companies and facilitate enterprise-wide computer networks such as intranets, all of which can connect to global communication networks such as the Internet.

[0081] When used in a LAN environment, computer 1002 can connect to local network 1054 via a wired and / or wireless communication network interface or adapter 1058. Adapter 1058 can facilitate wired or wireless communication to LAN 1054, which may also include a wireless access point (AP) configured thereon for communicating with adapter 1058 in wireless mode.

[0082] When used in a WAN networking environment, computer 1002 may include modem 1060 or other components that can be connected to a communication server on WAN 1056 via WAN 1056 (e.g., via the Internet). Modem 1060 may be built-in or external, wired or wireless, and can be connected to system bus 1008 via input device interface 1044. In a networked environment, program modules described relative to computer 1002 or its segments may be stored in remote memory / storage device 1052. It should be understood that the network connection shown is an example, and other means of establishing communication links between computers may be used.

[0083] When used in a LAN or WAN networking environment, computer 1002 can access a cloud storage system or other network-based storage systems besides or replacing the external storage device 1016 described above. Typically, the connection between computer 1002 and the cloud storage system can be established on LAN 1054 or WAN 1056 via, for example, adapter 1058 or modem 1060. When computer 1002 is connected to the associated cloud storage system, external storage interface 1026 can manage the storage provided by the cloud storage system with the aid of adapter 1058 and / or modem 1060, just like other types of external storage. For example, external storage interface 1026 can be configured to provide access to cloud storage sources as if those sources were physically connected to computer 1002.

[0084] Computer 1002 can be used to communicate with any wireless device or entity operatively configured in wireless communication, such as printers, scanners, desktop and / or portable computers, portable data assistants, communication satellites, any device or location associated with a wirelessly detectable tag (e.g., kiosks, newsstands, store shelves, etc.), and telephones. This can include Wi-Fi and Bluetooth® wireless technologies. Therefore, communication can be a predetermined structure like a traditional network, or simply self-organizing communication between at least two devices.

[0085] The foregoing description of exemplary embodiments of this disclosure, including the content described in the abstract, is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosed embodiments to their precise forms. While specific implementations and embodiments have been described herein for illustrative purposes, various modifications may be contemplated within the scope of these implementations and embodiments, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.

[0086] In this regard, although the disclosed subject matter has been described in conjunction with various embodiments and corresponding drawings, it should be understood that, where applicable, other similar embodiments may be used, or modifications and additions may be made to the described embodiments to perform the same, similar, alternative, or alternative functions of the disclosed subject matter without departing from the disclosed subject matter. Therefore, the disclosed subject matter should not be limited to any single embodiment described herein, but should be interpreted in accordance with the breadth and scope of the appended claims.

[0087] As used herein, the term "processor" can refer to virtually any computing processing unit or device, including but not limited to a single-core processor; a single processor with software multithreading capabilities; a multicore processor; a multicore processor with software multithreading capabilities; a multicore processor with hardware multithreading technology; a parallel platform; and a parallel platform with distributed shared memory. Additionally, a processor can refer to an integrated circuit, application-specific integrated circuit, digital signal processor, field-programmable gate array, programmable logic controller, complex programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. Processors can utilize nanoscale architectures, such as, but not limited to, molecular and quantum dot-based transistors, switches, and gates, to optimize space usage or enhance the performance of user devices. Processors can also be implemented as a combination of computing processing units.

[0088] As used herein, the terms “component,” “system,” “platform,” “layer,” “selector,” “interface,” etc., are intended to refer to a computer-related entity or an entity related to an operating device having one or more specific functions, wherein the entity may be hardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. As an example, a component may be, but is not limited to, a process, processor, object, executable program, execution thread, program, and / or computer running on a processor. By way of illustration and not limitation, applications running on a server and servers themselves can be components. One or more components may reside within a process and / or execution thread, and components may reside on a single computer and / or be distributed across two or more computers. Furthermore, these components may execute from various computer-readable media on which various data structures are stored. These components may communicate via local and / or remote processes, for example, based on signals having one or more data packets (e.g., data from a component that interacts with a local system, another component in a distributed system, and / or interacts with other systems across a network such as the Internet via the signal). As another example, a component can be a device having a specific function provided by mechanical parts operated by electrical or electronic circuitry, operated by a software or firmware application executed by a processor, wherein the processor may be internal or external to the device and executes at least a portion of the software or firmware application. As yet another example, a component can be a device that provides a specific function through an electronic component that does not have mechanical parts, the electronic component including a processor to execute software or firmware that at least partially imparts the function to the electronic component.

[0089] Furthermore, the term "or" is intended to indicate an inclusive "or" rather than an exclusive "or". That is, unless otherwise stated, or clearly apparent from the context, "X uses A or B" is intended to indicate any natural inclusive substitution. That is, "X uses A or B" is satisfied in any of the foregoing cases if X uses A; X uses B; or X uses both A and B.

[0090] While the embodiments allow for various modifications and alternative constructions, some of the illustrated implementations are shown in the accompanying drawings and have been described in detail above. However, it should be understood, and is not intended, to limit the various embodiments to the specific forms disclosed, but rather to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope.

[0091] In addition to the various implementations described herein, it should be understood that other similar implementations may be used, or modifications and additions may be made to the described implementation(s) to perform the same or equivalent functions of the corresponding implementation(s) without departing from those implementations. Furthermore, multiple processing chips or multiple devices may share the performance of one or more functions described herein, and similarly, storage may be implemented across multiple devices. Therefore, the various embodiments are not limited to any single implementation, but should be interpreted in accordance with the breadth, spirit, and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A network device, comprising: processor; as well as A memory storing executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, facilitate the execution of operations, including: The orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol-related data for the corresponding symbol is determined based on the physical resource block scheduling and symbol power allocation for the time slot. The OFDM symbol-related data includes the modulation order data and power data of the corresponding symbol. Construct a control plane message that includes the symbol-related data; as well as The control plane messages are transmitted from the distributed unit to the radio unit.

2. The network device according to claim 1, wherein the control plane message includes an Open Radio Access Network Control Plane Segmentation Type message.

3. The network device according to claim 1, wherein determining the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbol related data further includes: Determine the corresponding symbol identifier data that represents the corresponding symbol number within the time slot.

4. The network device according to claim 1, wherein determining the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbol related data further includes: A corresponding blank symbol flag is determined, which indicates whether the corresponding symbol is blank or non-blank relative to the corresponding physical resource block assignment for the corresponding symbol.

5. The network device according to claim 1, wherein constructing the control plane message includes: The symbol-related data is arranged into corresponding per-symbol fields, which include a corresponding symbol identifier data field for the corresponding symbol identifier data, a corresponding symbol modulation order data field for the corresponding symbol modulation order data, and a corresponding symbol power data field for the corresponding symbol power data.

6. The network device of claim 1, wherein the control plane message further includes a symbol number indicator representing the number of symbols contained in the time slot.

7. The network device of claim 6, wherein the symbol number indicator includes a first indicator value representing a time slot in a normal cyclic prefix configuration or a second indicator value representing a time slot in an extended cyclic prefix configuration.

8. The network device of claim 1, wherein before transmitting user plane data to the radio unit for transmission to a user equipment, the control plane message is transmitted from the distributed unit to the radio unit, the control plane message being available from the radio unit in at least one of the following: radio unit power amplifier configuration, crest factor reduction operation, or digital predistortion tuning.

9. The network device of claim 1, wherein the corresponding symbol modulation order data represents the highest modulation order in the use of each symbol of the corresponding symbol.

10. The network device of claim 1, wherein the corresponding symbol power data is in the range from zero dB relative to full scale to approximately -64 dB relative to full scale.

11. The network device of claim 10, wherein the corresponding symbol power data is represented by a corresponding seven-bit binary value.

12. A method comprising: Data for control plane messages is determined by a distributed unit including a processor. This data includes: for a first orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol in a time slot, the order of first symbol modulation data and first symbol power data used within an allocated physical resource block of the first symbol; and for a second OFDM symbol in the time slot, the order of second modulation data and second symbol power data used within an allocated physical resource block of the second symbol. The control plane messages are transmitted to the radio unit by the distributed unit.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein determining the data for the control plane message further comprises: Determine a first blank symbol flag, which indicates whether the physical resource block assignment of the first symbol relative to the first symbol is blank; And determine a second blank symbol flag, the second blank symbol flag indicating whether the physical resource block assignment of the second symbol relative to the second symbol is blank.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising formatting the control plane message into an Open Radio Access Network Control Plane Segmentation Type message by the distributed unit, and wherein transmitting the control plane message to the radio unit comprises: Transmit the Open Radio Access Network Control Plane Segmentation Type Message.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the control plane message is transmitted to the radio unit before the user plane data is transmitted from the distributed unit to the radio unit, the control plane message being used by the radio unit in at least one of: radio unit power amplifier configuration, crest factor reduction operation, or digital predistortion tuning.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein determining the data for the control plane message further comprises: For the third orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbol in the time slot, determine the third symbol order and third symbol power data of the modulation data used in the allocated physical resource block of the third symbol.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein determining the data for the control plane message further comprises: The time slot indicates whether it is an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbol with a normal cyclic prefix configuration or an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbol with an extended cyclic prefix configuration.

18. A non-transient machine-readable medium comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, facilitate the execution of operations, the operations including: Obtain data for a data field, wherein the data field represents information about an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol, and for each OFDM symbol, the data field includes: The symbol identifier field indicates the number of symbols within a time slot. The blank symbol indicator field indicates whether the symbol is completely blank relative to the physical resource block assignment. The symbol modulation order identifier field indicates the highest modulation order used within the allocated physical resource block of the symbol, and The symbol power identifier field indicates the power level of the symbol; Format the data fields as control plane messages; and The control plane message is transmitted to the radio unit, which can use the control plane message in configuring the radio unit power amplifier.

19. The non-transient machine-readable medium of claim 18, wherein formatting the data field into the control plane message comprises: The data field indicates whether the time slot is an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbol with a normal cyclic prefix configuration or an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbol with an extended cyclic prefix configuration.

20. The non-transient machine-readable medium of claim 18, wherein formatting the data field into the control plane message comprises: The control plane messages are formatted as Open Radio Access Network Control Plane Segmentation Type messages.

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