Routing method and communication node for relays

Abstract

This application is a divisional application of 201880084469.4. Embodiments of this application disclose a relay routing method and a communication node. The routing method includes: a current relay node receiving a data packet, the header of which includes the address of the destination node; and the current relay node determining whether to forward the data packet based on the address of the destination node. The routing method and communication node of this application embodiment are beneficial for improving the performance of relay networks.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application. The parent application has the application number 201880084469.4, the application date is May 10, 2018, and the invention title is "Relay Routing Method and Communication Node". Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of communications, and more specifically, to a relay routing method and a communication node. Background Technology

[0003] With the development of communication services and the growth of people's needs, future wireless communication systems need to support high speed and large capacity. Therefore, wireless relay was introduced in New Radio (NR). Wireless relay refers to a technology that relays data between the network and terminals through one or more relay nodes. In relay networks, establishing routing topology relationships is a problem that needs to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of this, embodiments of this application provide a relay routing method and communication node, which is beneficial to improving the performance of the relay network.

[0005] In a first aspect, a relay routing method is provided, which includes: a current relay node receiving a data packet, the header of which includes the address of the destination node; and the current relay node determining whether to forward the data packet based on the address of the destination node.

[0006] In one possible implementation, the routing method further includes: if the current relay node determines to forward the data packet, the current relay node determines to forward the data packet to at least one relay node.

[0007] In one possible implementation, before the current relay node receives the data packet, the routing method further includes: the current relay node receiving a routing table sent by a central node, the routing table indicating the transmission path of the data packet from the source node to the destination node; the current relay node determining to forward the data packet to at least one relay node includes: the current relay node determining to forward the data packet to the at least one relay node according to the routing table.

[0008] In one possible implementation, the current relay node determines to forward the data packet to the at least one relay node, including: the current relay node determines to forward the data packet to the at least one relay node based on channel quality.

[0009] In one possible implementation, the current relay node receiving data packets includes: the current relay node receiving a first data packet and a second data packet, wherein the address of the destination node of the first data packet is the same as the address of the destination node of the second data packet; the current relay node determining to forward the data packet to at least one relay node includes: the current relay node determining to forward the first data packet to a first relay node among the at least one relay node, and the current relay node determining to forward the second data packet to a second relay node among the at least one relay node.

[0010] In one possible implementation, the current relay node receiving data packets includes: the current relay node receiving a first data packet; the routing method further includes: the current relay node copying the first data packet.

[0011] In one possible implementation, the current relay node determines to forward the data packet to at least one relay node, including: the current relay node determines to forward the first data packet to a first relay node among the at least one relay nodes, and determines to forward a copy of the first data packet to a second relay node among the at least one relay nodes.

[0012] In one possible implementation, the current relay node determines to forward the data packet to at least one relay node, including: the current relay node determines to forward the first data packet to a first relay node among the at least one relay nodes using a first logical channel, and determines to forward a copy of the first data packet to the first relay node using a second logical channel.

[0013] In one possible implementation, the current relay node receiving the data packet includes: the current relay node receiving the first data packet using a first logical channel; the current relay node determining to forward the data packet to at least one relay node includes: the current relay node forwarding the first data packet to the at least one relay node using the first logical channel.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the current relay node receiving the data packet includes: the current relay node receiving the first data packet using a first logical channel; the current relay node determining to forward the data packet to at least one relay node includes: the current relay node forwarding the first data packet to the at least one relay node using a second logical channel according to configuration information.

[0015] Optionally, this configuration information is determined by the central node.

[0016] Optionally, this configuration information can be a routing table assigned by the central node.

[0017] In one possible implementation, the current relay node receiving the data packet includes: the current relay node receiving the first data packet using a first logical channel; the current relay node determining to forward the data packet to at least one relay node includes: the current relay node forwarding the first data packet to the at least one relay node using a second logical channel according to the instruction of the relay layer.

[0018] In one possible implementation, the current relay node receiving data packets includes: the current relay node receiving a first data packet and a second data packet, wherein the address of the destination node of the first data packet is the same as the address of the destination node of the second data packet; the current relay node determining to forward the data packet to at least one relay node includes: the current relay node determining to forward the first data packet to a first relay node among the at least one relay node, and the current relay node determining to forward the second data packet to the first relay node.

[0019] In one possible implementation, the current relay node receives data packets, including: the current relay node receives a first data packet and a second data packet, wherein the address of the destination node of the first data packet is the same as the address of the destination node of the second data packet; the routing method further includes: the current relay node detects whether the first data packet and the second data packet are duplicate data packets based on the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer sequence number of the data packets.

[0020] In one possible implementation, the current relay node determines to forward the data packet to at least one relay node, including: if the first data packet and the second data packet are duplicate data packets, the current relay node determines to send the first data packet or the second data packet to the at least one relay node; or if the first data packet and the second data packet are non-duplicate data packets, the current relay node determines to send the first data packet and the second data packet to the at least one relay node.

[0021] In one possible implementation, the packet header also includes the address of the source node of the packet.

[0022] In one possible implementation, the routing method further includes: in the event of a failure of the current relay node, the current relay node reports the failure information to the central node so that the central node can update the routing table, which indicates the transmission path of the data packet from the source node to the destination node.

[0023] In one possible implementation, the data packet includes downlink data packets.

[0024] In one possible implementation, the data packet includes uplink data packets and downlink data packets.

[0025] In one possible implementation, if the data packet is an uplink data packet, the at least one relay node is the parent node of the current relay node.

[0026] In one possible implementation, the address of the destination node is the address of the terminal device to which the data packet belongs.

[0027] In one possible implementation, the address of the destination node is the address of the relay node directly connected to the terminal device to which the data packet belongs.

[0028] In one possible implementation, the address of the destination node includes the address of the terminal device to which the data packet belongs and the address of the relay node directly connected to the terminal device to which the data packet belongs.

[0029] In one possible implementation, the address of the terminal device to which the data packet belongs is assigned by the central node.

[0030] In one possible implementation, the address of the relay node directly connected to the terminal device to which the data packet belongs is assigned by the central node.

[0031] In one possible implementation, the central node is an anchor node, a fixed access network node, or a core network node.

[0032] In one possible implementation, the packet header is in the header of the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) Protocol Data Unit (PDU).

[0033] In one possible implementation, the packet header is outside the header of the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) Protocol Data Unit (PDU).

[0034] Secondly, a relay routing method is provided, which includes: a central node sending a routing table to a first relay node, the routing table indicating the transmission path of data packets between the source node and the destination node.

[0035] In one possible implementation, the routing method further includes: in the event of a failure of the first relay node, the central node receives the fault information reported by the first relay node; The central node updates the routing table based on the fault information. In one possible implementation, the central node is an anchor node, a fixed-access access network node, or a core network node.

[0036] Thirdly, a communication node is provided for executing the methods of the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof. Specifically, the communication node includes units for executing the methods of the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0037] Fourthly, a communication node is provided for executing the methods in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof. Specifically, the communication node includes units for executing the methods in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0038] Fifthly, a communication node is provided, comprising: a memory, a processor, an input interface, and an output interface. The memory, processor, input interface, and output interface are connected via a bus system. The memory stores instructions, and the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory to perform the methods described in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0039] Sixthly, a communication node is provided, comprising: a memory, a processor, an input interface, and an output interface. The memory, processor, input interface, and output interface are connected via a bus system. The memory stores instructions, and the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory to perform the methods described in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0040] In a seventh aspect, a method for data processing in a relay network is provided, the method comprising: a network anchor node receiving a data packet, the header of the data packet including first information, the first information being used to indicate the source address of the data packet; the network anchor node determining the source address of the data packet based on the first information.

[0041] In one possible implementation, the data packet is an uplink data packet.

[0042] In one possible implementation, the first information is used to indicate at least one of the following: the type of the node sending the uplink data packet, which includes a terminal device or a relay node; the address of the terminal device sending the uplink data packet; and the address of the relay node sending the uplink data packet.

[0043] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the network anchor node processing the data packet based on the source address of the data packet.

[0044] Optionally, the network anchor node can receive data packets, which can be uplink data packets, downlink data packets, or multiple data packets, including both uplink and downlink data packets. If the data packet is an uplink data packet, it can be sent directly to the network anchor node by the terminal device, in which case the source address of the data packet is considered to be the address of the terminal device. Alternatively, the data packet can be sent to the network anchor node by a relay node, in which case the source address of the data packet can be considered to be the address of the relay node. If the data packet is a downlink data packet, it can be sent by a core network device, in which case the source address of the data packet can be the address of the core network.

[0045] After obtaining the source address of the data packet, the network anchor node can further process the data packet. If the network anchor node receives multiple uplink data packets and obtains the source addresses of these multiple data packets, the network anchor node can determine whether the source addresses of these multiple data packets are the same. If they are, the multiple data packets can be sent to the upper layer corresponding to the source address for processing; if not, they can be processed separately at the upper layer corresponding to different source addresses.

[0046] Eighthly, a relay routing method is provided, the method comprising: a current relay node receiving an uplink data packet; the current relay node forwarding the uplink data packet to the next-level relay node serving the current relay node.

[0047] In one possible implementation, the current relay node receives uplink data packets, including: The current relay node receives the first uplink data packet; the routing method further includes: the current relay node copies the first uplink data packet.

[0048] In one possible implementation, the upstream relay node includes a first relay node and a second relay node. The current relay node forwards the uplink data packet to the upstream relay node serving the current relay node, including: the current relay node forwarding the first uplink data packet to the first relay node, and forwarding a copy of the first uplink data packet to the second relay node.

[0049] In one possible implementation, the upstream relay node includes a first relay node, and the current relay node forwards the uplink data packet to the upstream relay node serving the current relay node, including: the current relay node forwarding the first uplink data packet to the first relay node using a first logical channel, and forwarding a copy of the first uplink data packet to the first relay node using a second logical channel.

[0050] In one possible implementation, the current relay node receiving uplink data packets includes: the current relay node receiving a first uplink data packet using a first logical channel; the current relay node forwarding the uplink data packet to the next-level relay node serving the current relay node includes: the current relay node forwarding the first uplink data packet to the next-level relay node using the first logical channel.

[0051] In one possible implementation, the current relay node receiving uplink data packets includes: the current relay node receiving a first uplink data packet using a first logical channel; the current relay node forwarding the first uplink data packet to the next-level relay node serving the current relay node includes: the current relay node forwarding the first uplink data packet to the next-level relay node using a second logical channel according to configuration information.

[0052] In one possible implementation, this configuration information is determined by the network anchor node.

[0053] In one possible implementation, the current relay node receiving uplink data packets includes: the current relay node receiving a first uplink data packet using a first logical channel; the current relay node forwarding the uplink data packet to the next-level relay node serving the current relay node includes: the current relay node forwarding the first uplink data packet to the next-level relay node using a second logical channel according to the instruction of the relay layer.

[0054] In one possible implementation, the upstream relay node includes a first relay node and a second relay node. The current relay node receives uplink data packets, including: the current relay node receives a first uplink data packet and a second uplink data packet, wherein the source address of the first uplink data packet is the same as the address of the source node of the second uplink data packet; the current relay node forwards the uplink data packet to the upstream relay node serving the current relay node, including: the current relay node forwards the first uplink data packet to the first relay node, and the current relay node forwards the second uplink data packet to the first relay node.

[0055] In one possible implementation, the current relay node receives uplink data packets, including: the current relay node receives a first uplink data packet and a second uplink data packet, the source address of the first uplink data packet and the source address of the second uplink data packet being the same; the routing method further includes: the current relay node detecting whether the first uplink data packet and the second uplink data packet are duplicate data packets based on the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer sequence number of the data packets.

[0056] In one possible implementation, the current relay node forwards the uplink data packet to the upstream relay node serving the current relay node, including: if the first uplink data packet and the second uplink data packet are duplicate data packets, the current relay node sends the first uplink data packet or the second uplink data packet to the upstream relay node; or if the first uplink data packet and the second uplink data packet are non-duplicate data packets, the current relay node sends the first uplink data packet and the second uplink data packet to the upstream relay node.

[0057] In one possible implementation, the header of the uplink data packet includes first information indicating the source address and / or destination address of the uplink data packet.

[0058] In one possible implementation, the header of the uplink data packet is outside the header of the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) Protocol Data Unit (PDU).

[0059] A ninth aspect provides a communication node for executing the methods of the seventh aspect or any possible implementation thereof. Specifically, the communication node includes units for executing the methods of the seventh aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0060] In a tenth aspect, a communication node is provided for executing the methods in the eighth aspect or any possible implementation thereof. Specifically, the communication node includes units for executing the methods in the eighth aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0061] Eleventhly, a communication node is provided, comprising: a memory, a processor, an input interface, and an output interface. The memory, processor, input interface, and output interface are connected via a bus system. The memory stores instructions, and the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory to perform the methods described in or any possible implementation of the seventh aspect.

[0062] In a twelfth aspect, a communication node is provided, comprising: a memory, a processor, an input interface, and an output interface. The memory, processor, input interface, and output interface are connected via a bus system. The memory is used to store instructions, and the processor is used to execute the instructions stored in the memory, for performing the methods described in the eighth aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0063] In a thirteenth aspect, a chip is provided for implementing the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or the method in the seventh aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0064] Specifically, the chip includes a processor for calling and running a computer program from a memory, causing a device on which the chip is mounted to perform the method as described in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or the method as described in the seventh aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0065] In a fourteenth aspect, a chip is provided for implementing the method in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or the method in the eighth aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0066] Specifically, the chip includes a processor for calling and running a computer program from memory, causing a device on which the chip is mounted to perform the method as described in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or the method as described in the eighth aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0067] In a fifteenth aspect, a computer storage medium is provided for storing computer software instructions for performing the method of the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or the method of the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or the method of the seventh aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or the method of the eighth aspect or any possible implementation thereof, comprising a program designed for performing the aspects described above.

[0068] In a sixteenth aspect, a computer program product including instructions is provided, which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of the first aspect or any optional implementation thereof, or the method of the second aspect or any optional implementation thereof, or the method of the seventh aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or the method of the eighth aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0069] These or other aspects of this application will become more apparent in the following description of the embodiments. Attached Figure Description

[0070] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an application scenario according to an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0071] Figure 2 A schematic block diagram of a relay routing method according to an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0072] Figure 3 Another schematic block diagram of a relay routing method according to an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0073] Figure 4A schematic block diagram of a communication node according to an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0074] Figure 5 Another schematic block diagram of a communication node according to an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0075] Figure 6 Another schematic block diagram of a communication node according to an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0076] Figure 7 Another schematic block diagram of a communication node according to an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0077] Figure 8 A schematic block diagram illustrating a data processing method for a relay network according to an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0078] Figure 9 Another schematic block diagram of a relay routing method according to an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0079] Figure 10 The network architecture diagram of the relay system is shown.

[0080] Figure 11 Another schematic block diagram of a communication node according to an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0081] Figure 12 Another schematic block diagram of a communication node according to an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0082] Figure 13 Another schematic block diagram of a communication node according to an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0083] Figure 14 Another schematic block diagram of a communication node according to an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0084] Figure 15 A schematic block diagram of a chip according to an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0085] Figure 16 Another schematic block diagram of a chip according to an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0086] Figure 17 Another schematic block diagram of a chip according to an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0087] Figure 18 Another schematic block diagram of a chip according to an embodiment of this application is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0088] The technical solutions in the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0089] It should be understood that the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: Global System of Mobile communication (GSM) system, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) system, Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication system, New Radio (NR) or future 5G systems, etc.

[0090] In particular, the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application can be applied to various communication systems based on non-orthogonal multiple access technologies, such as Sparse Code Multiple Access (SCMA) systems, Low Density Signature (LDS) systems, etc. Of course, SCMA systems and LDS systems can also be called by other names in the field of communication. Furthermore, the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application can be applied to multi-carrier transmission systems that employ non-orthogonal multiple access technologies, such as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), Filter Bank Multi-Carrier (FBMC), Generalized Frequency Division Multiplexing (GFDM), Filtered-OFDM (F-OFDM) systems, etc.

[0091] Figure 1This application illustrates a wireless communication system 100 used in an embodiment of this application. The wireless communication system 100 may include a central node 110, which may be an anchor node, i.e., a fixed node (donor node). The central node 110 can be connected to network devices via a wired connection. The central node 110 itself may also be a fixed access network node or a core network node. The wireless communication system 100 may further include one or more relay nodes 120, which can be wirelessly connected to the central node 110 for forwarding data packets between terminals and the network. The wireless communication system 100 may also include one or more terminal devices 130. Figure 1 In this context, it can be considered that among two connected relay nodes 120, the relay node with fewer hops to the network device is the parent node of the relay node with more hops to the network device, and similarly, the relay node with more hops to the network device is the child node of the relay node with fewer hops to the network device.

[0092] The terminal device in this application embodiment can refer to user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent, or user device. The access terminal can be a cellular phone, cordless phone, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, computing device, or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, in-vehicle device, wearable device, terminal device in future 5G networks, or terminal device in future evolved Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), etc., and is not limited to this application embodiment.

[0093] The network device in this application embodiment can be a device for communicating with terminal devices. The network device can be a base station (BTS) in GSM or CDMA, a base station (NodeB, NB) in WCDMA system, an evolved NodeB (eNB or eNodeB) in LTE system, a radio controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario, or a relay station, access point, vehicle-mounted device, wearable device, or a network device in a future 5G network or a network device in a future evolved PLMN network, etc. The embodiments of this application are not limited.

[0094] Figure 1 An exemplary embodiment shows a central node, five relay nodes, and two terminal devices. Optionally, the wireless communication system 100 may include multiple relay nodes, and each relay node may connect to a number of other terminal devices. This application embodiment does not limit this.

[0095] It should be understood that the embodiments of this application are not limited to those described above. Figure 1 The relay extension between network nodes shown can also be applied to the relay extension between terminal devices. For example, there can be one or more relay nodes to forward data packets between terminal devices.

[0096] Figure 2 A schematic block diagram of a relay routing method 200 according to an embodiment of this application is shown. Figure 2 The current relay node shown can be as follows: Figure 1 The relay node 120 shown, the routing method 200 includes some or all of the following: S210, the current relay node receives a data packet whose header includes the address of the destination node.

[0097] S220, the current relay node determines whether to forward the data packet based on the address of the destination node.

[0098] It should be noted that the current relay node in this embodiment can be as follows: Figure 1The relay node shown can be wirelessly directly connected to the central node via a relay layer, or it can be wirelessly directly connected to other relay nodes via a relay layer, or it can be wirelessly directly connected to the terminal device via a relay layer. The relay layer of the relay node can be in the same entity as the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, or it can be an entity independent of PDCP. Therefore, in the embodiments of this application, the packet header can be in the header of the PDCP Protocol Data Unit (PDU), or it can be outside the header of the PDCP PDU. It should be understood that the packet can be an uplink packet, a downlink packet, or both simultaneously. The packet header can include the address of the destination node and the address of the source node. Taking the following data packet as an example, when the current relay node receives a data packet sent by its parent node, the current relay node can determine whether the data packet belongs to it based on the address of the destination node carried in the header of the received data packet. If it belongs to it, it processes the data directly; otherwise, it forwards the packet based on the address of the destination node. It should be understood that the address of the destination node can be the address of the terminal device to which the data packet belongs, or it can be the address of the relay node directly connected to that terminal device. Furthermore, the address of the destination node can include both the address of the terminal device to which the data packet belongs and the address of the relay node directly connected to that terminal device.

[0099] Therefore, the relay routing method in this application embodiment is beneficial to improving the performance of the relay network.

[0100] Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the routing method further includes: if the current relay node determines to forward the data packet, the current relay node determines to forward the data packet to at least one relay node.

[0101] When the current relay node determines that a data packet does not belong to it, it must forward the data packet. For example, when the data packet is an uplink data packet, the current relay node can directly forward the data packet to its parent node. There may be multiple parent nodes connected to the current relay node, and the current relay node can choose one or more of them to forward the packet.

[0102] Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, before the current relay node receives the data packet, the routing method further includes: the current relay node receiving a routing table sent by the central node, the routing table indicating the transmission path of the data packet from the source node to the destination node; the current relay node determining to forward the data packet to at least one relay node includes: the current relay node determining to forward the data packet to the at least one relay node according to the routing table.

[0103] The central node can pre-distribute the topology relationship between a terminal device and itself (i.e., the routing table in this embodiment) to relay nodes along the transmission path. It should be understood that there may be more than one path between a terminal device and the central node, and the central node can distribute the routing table to relay nodes along each path. When the current relay node receives a data packet and determines that the packet needs to be forwarded, it can determine which relay node to forward the packet to based on the routing table. It should be understood that if the current relay node is directly connected to the terminal device to which the data packet belongs (meaning there is only one hop between the destination node and the current relay node), then the current relay node can forward the packet directly to the terminal device without using a routing table. Similarly, when the data packet is an uplink packet, since the destination address of the packet must be a network device, the current relay node can also forward the packet directly to any or more of its parent nodes without using a routing table.

[0104] Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the current relay node determines to forward the data packet to the at least one relay node, including: the current relay node determines to forward the data packet to the at least one relay node based on the channel quality.

[0105] Specifically, when the current relay node determines that there are multiple next-hop relay nodes for the data packet, the current relay node can directly select one or more relay nodes from each next-hop relay node to forward the data packet based on the channel quality of each relay node.

[0106] Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the routing method further includes: in the event of a failure of the current relay node, the current relay node reports the failure information to the central node so that the central node can update the routing table, which is used to indicate the transmission path of the data packet from the source node to the destination node.

[0107] Specifically, when any relay node experiences a connection failure, it can report this to the central node. The central node can then update its routing table based on this failure information and distribute the updated routing table to all relevant relay nodes. In other words, the central node can continuously update its routing table based on real-time connection status.

[0108] Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the address of the destination node and / or the address of the source node of the data packet can be assigned by the central node.

[0109] The solution of this application will be described in detail below with reference to the following embodiments.

[0110] Example 1: The current relay node receives data packets, including: the current relay node receives a first data packet and a second data packet, the destination node address of the first data packet is the same as the destination node address of the second data packet; the current relay node determines to forward the data packet to at least one relay node, including: the current relay node determines to forward the first data packet to a first relay node among the at least one relay node, and the current relay node determines to forward the second data packet to a second relay node among the at least one relay node. That is, the current relay node can receive multiple data packets belonging to the same destination node and forward these multiple data packets to multiple relay nodes in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0111] Example 2: The current relay node receives a data packet, including: the current relay node receives a first data packet; the routing method further includes: the current relay node copies the first data packet; the current relay node determines to forward the data packet to at least one relay node, including: the current relay node determines to forward the first data packet to a first relay node among the at least one relay node, and determines to forward the copied first data packet to a second relay node among the at least one relay node. In other words, the current relay node has a data copying function, which can copy received data packets into multiple data packets and forward the copied multiple data packets to multiple relay nodes in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0112] Example 3: The current relay node receives a data packet, including: the current relay node receives a first data packet; the routing method further includes: the current relay node copies the first data packet; the current relay node determines to forward the data packet to at least one relay node, including: the current relay node determines to use a first logical channel to forward the first data packet to the first relay node among the at least one relay nodes, and determines to use a second logical channel to forward the copied first data packet to the first relay node. Similarly, the current relay node has a data copying function, which can copy the received data packet into multiple data packets, and forward the copied multiple data packets to the same relay node using multiple logical channels in a one-to-one correspondence. Alternatively, it can also forward the copied multiple data packets to different relay nodes in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0113] Example 4: The current relay node receives a data packet, including: the current relay node uses a first logical channel to receive a first data packet; the current relay node determines to forward the data packet to at least one relay node, including: the current relay node uses the first logical channel to forward the first data packet to the at least one relay node. That is, the current relay node can use the same logical channel to forward the data packet to at least one relay node, regardless of which logical channel it received the data packet through.

[0114] Example 5: The current relay node receiving a data packet includes: the current relay node receiving a first data packet using a first logical channel; the current relay node determining to forward the data packet to at least one relay node includes: the current relay node forwarding the first data packet to the at least one relay node using a second logical channel according to configuration information. In other words, after receiving a data packet through a certain logical channel, the current relay node can select another logical channel to forward the data packet based on certain rules, such as the routing table configured by the central node.

[0115] Example 6: The current relay node receives a data packet, including: the current relay node receives a first data packet using a first logical channel; the current relay node determines to forward the data packet to at least one relay node, including: the current relay node forwards the first data packet to the at least one relay node using a second logical channel according to the instruction of the relay layer. Similarly, after receiving a data packet through a certain logical channel, the current relay node can select another logical channel to forward the data packet based on the instruction of the relay layer. For example, the identifier of the logical channel can be carried in the header of the data packet. The current relay node can also determine which logical channel to use to forward the data packet based on both the information configured by the central node and the instruction of the relay layer.

[0116] Example 7: The current relay node receives data packets, including: the current relay node receives a first data packet and a second data packet, the address of the destination node of the first data packet is the same as the address of the destination node of the second data packet; the current relay node determines to forward the data packet to at least one relay node, including: the current relay node determines to forward the first data packet to a first relay node among the at least one relay node, and the current relay node determines to forward the second data packet to the first relay node. That is, the current relay node can receive multiple data packets belonging to the same destination node and forward these multiple data packets to the same relay node.

[0117] Example 8: The current relay node receives data packets, including: the current relay node receives a first data packet and a second data packet, the address of the destination node of the first data packet is the same as the address of the destination node of the second data packet; the routing method further includes: the current relay node detects whether the first data packet and the second data packet are duplicate data packets based on the PDCP layer sequence number of the data packets; the current relay node determines to forward the data packet to at least one relay node, including: if the first data packet and the second data packet are duplicate data packets, the current relay node determines to send the first data packet or the second data packet to the at least one relay node; or if the first data packet and the second data packet are non-duplicate data packets, the current relay node determines to send the first data packet and the second data packet to the at least one relay node. That is, the relay node has the function of detecting duplicate data packets. When the relay node receives multiple data packets belonging to the same destination node, the relay node detects whether there are duplicate data packets among the multiple data packets. Specifically, it can be determined by whether the PDCP Service Data Unit (SDU) has the same or different sequence number. If they are the same, it is a duplicate data packet; if they are different, it is a non-duplicate data packet. When a relay node detects some duplicate data packets, it will forward the duplicate packets only once; that is, the duplicate packets can be discarded. However, if a relay node detects multiple unique data packets, it can forward all of them directly.

[0118] Figure 3 A schematic block diagram of a relay routing method 300 according to an embodiment of this application is shown. Figure 3 As shown, method 300 includes some or all of the following: S310, the central node sends a routing table to the first relay node, which indicates the transmission path of data packets between the source node and the destination node.

[0119] Therefore, the relay routing method in this application embodiment is beneficial to improving the performance of the relay network.

[0120] Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the routing method further includes: in the event of a failure of the first relay node, the central node receives the fault information reported by the first relay node; the central node updates the routing table based on the fault information.

[0121] Optionally, in this embodiment, the central node is an anchor node, a fixed access network node, or a core network node.

[0122] It should be understood that the terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably in this document. The term "and / or" in this document merely describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, or B alone. Furthermore, the character " / " in this document generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects have an "or" relationship.

[0123] It should be understood that the interaction, related characteristics, and functions between the central node and the current relay node described by the central node correspond to the related characteristics and functions of the current relay node. Furthermore, the relevant content has already been described in detail in method 200 above, and for the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

[0124] It should also be understood that, in the various embodiments of this application, the order of the above-mentioned processes does not imply the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of this application.

[0125] The routing method for relays according to embodiments of this application has been described in detail above. The following will combine... Figures 4 to 7 This application describes a routing apparatus for a relay network according to embodiments of the present application. The technical features described in the method embodiments are applicable to the following apparatus embodiments.

[0126] Figure 4 A schematic block diagram of a communication node 400 according to an embodiment of this application is shown. Figure 4 As shown, the communication node 400 is the current relay node, and the communication node 400 includes: The first receiving unit 410 is used to receive data packets, wherein the header of the data packet includes the address of the destination node of the data packet; The first determining unit 420 is used to determine whether to forward the data packet based on the address of the destination node.

[0127] Therefore, the communication nodes in this application embodiment are beneficial for improving the performance of the relay network.

[0128] It should be understood that the communication node 400 according to the embodiments of this application may correspond to the current relay node in the method embodiments of this application, and the above and other operations and / or functions of each unit in the communication node 400 are respectively for implementing Figure 2 For the sake of brevity, the corresponding processes of the communication nodes in the method will not be described in detail here.

[0129] Figure 5 A schematic block diagram of a communication node 500 according to an embodiment of this application is shown. Figure 5 As shown, the communication node 500 is the central node, and the communication node 500 includes: The sending unit 510 is used to send a routing table to the first relay node, the routing table being used to indicate the transmission path of data packets between the source node and the destination node.

[0130] Therefore, the communication nodes in this application embodiment are beneficial for improving the performance of the relay network.

[0131] It should be understood that the communication node 500 according to the embodiments of this application may correspond to the central node in the method embodiments of this application, and the above and other operations and / or functions of each unit in the communication node 500 are respectively for implementing Figure 3 For the sake of brevity, the corresponding processes of the communication nodes in the method will not be described in detail here.

[0132] like Figure 6 As shown in the illustration, this application embodiment also provides a communication node 600, which can be... Figure 4 The communication node 400 in the middle is capable of performing communication with Figure 2 The content of the current relay node corresponding to method 100. The communication node 600 includes an input interface 610, an output interface 620, a processor 630, and a memory 640. The input interface 610, output interface 620, processor 630, and memory 640 can be connected via a bus system. The memory 640 is used to store programs, instructions, or code. The processor 630 is used to execute the programs, instructions, or code stored in the memory 640 to control the input interface 610 to receive signals, control the output interface 620 to send signals, and complete the operations described in the aforementioned method embodiments.

[0133] Therefore, the communication nodes in this application embodiment are beneficial for improving the performance of the relay network.

[0134] It should be understood that, in the embodiments of this application, the processor 630 may be a central processing unit (CPU), or it may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0135] The memory 640 may include read-only memory and random access memory, and provides instructions and data to the processor 630. A portion of the memory 640 may also include non-volatile random access memory. For example, the memory 640 may also store device type information.

[0136] In implementation, each part of the above method can be accomplished through the integrated logic circuits in the hardware of the processor 630 or through software instructions. The content of the method disclosed in the embodiments of this application can be directly manifested as execution by the hardware processor, or as execution by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor. The software modules can reside in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, or other mature storage media in the art. This storage medium is located in memory 640, and the processor 630 reads the information in memory 640 and, in conjunction with its hardware, completes the content of the above method. To avoid repetition, a detailed description is not provided here.

[0137] In one specific implementation, the first determining unit, the second determining unit, the third determining unit, the processing unit, and the detection unit in the communication node 400 can be composed of... Figure 6 The processor 630 in the middle is implemented, and the reporting unit of the communication node 400 can be implemented by... Figure 6 The output interface 620 in the middle is implemented, and the first and second receiving units of the communication node 400 can be implemented by Figure 6 The input interface 610 is implemented in the middle.

[0138] like Figure 7 As shown in the illustration, this application embodiment also provides a communication node 700, which can be... Figure 5 The communication node 500 in the middle is capable of performing communication with Figure 3 The content of the central node corresponding to method 200. The communication node 700 includes an input interface 710, an output interface 720, a processor 730, and a memory 740. The input interface 710, output interface 720, processor 730, and memory 740 can be connected via a bus system. The memory 740 is used to store programs, instructions, or code. The processor 730 is used to execute the programs, instructions, or code stored in the memory 740 to control the input interface 710 to receive signals, control the output interface 720 to send signals, and complete the operations described in the aforementioned method embodiments.

[0139] Therefore, the communication nodes in this application embodiment are beneficial for improving the performance of the relay network.

[0140] It should be understood that, in the embodiments of this application, the processor 730 may be a central processing unit (CPU), or it may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0141] The memory 740 may include read-only memory and random access memory, and provides instructions and data to the processor 730. A portion of the memory 740 may also include non-volatile random access memory. For example, the memory 740 may also store device type information.

[0142] In implementation, each part of the above method can be accomplished through the integrated logic circuits in the hardware of the processor 730 or through software instructions. The content of the method disclosed in the embodiments of this application can be directly manifested as execution by the hardware processor, or as execution by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor. The software modules can reside in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, or other mature storage media in the art. This storage medium is located in memory 740, and the processor 730 reads the information in memory 740 and, in conjunction with its hardware, completes the content of the above method. To avoid repetition, a detailed description is not provided here.

[0143] In one specific implementation, the transmitting unit in communication node 500 can be composed of... Figure 7 The output interface 720 in the communication node 500 can be implemented by the receiving unit in the communication node 500. Figure 7 The input interface 710 in the communication node 500 is implemented. The processing unit in the communication node 500 can be implemented by... Figure 7 The processor 730 is implemented in the system.

[0144] In LTE systems, backhaul links between base stations and between base stations and the core network use wired connections, which poses significant deployment challenges and high network deployment costs for operators. To address these issues, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) initiated research on wireless relay technology during the LTE-A standardization phase to provide wireless backhaul link solutions.

[0145] A relay system integrates access and backhaul links (IAB). Relay nodes (RNs) connect wirelessly to their home eNB cell, also known as IAB-nodes. The home cell is called the Donor cell, and the home eNB of the relay node is called the Donor eNB (DeNB), also known as the IAB-donor. It mainly includes three radio links: the backhaul link between the RN and the DeNB, the access link between the UE and the RN, and the direct link between the UE and the eNB. The network architecture of this relay system can be as follows: Figure 1 As shown.

[0146] Figure 8 A schematic block diagram of a data processing method 800 for a relay network according to an embodiment of this application is shown. Figure 8 The network anchor node shown can be, for example, Figure 1 The central node 110 shown, i.e., the IAB-donor, includes some or all of the following in method 800: S810, the network anchor node receives a data packet whose header includes first information, which indicates the source address of the data packet; S820, the network anchor node determines the source address of the data packet based on the first information.

[0147] Specifically, the network anchor node, also known as the IAB-donor, can receive data packets. These packets can be uplink or downlink, or multiple packets, including both uplink and downlink packets. Each packet's header includes information indicating the source address of the corresponding packet. For example, if the packet is an uplink packet, meaning it can be sent directly from a terminal device to the network anchor node, then the source address is considered to be the terminal device's address. Similarly, if the packet is sent from a relay node, the source address can be considered to be the relay node's address. As another example, if the packet is a downlink packet, it can be sent by a core network device, and the source address can be a core network address.

[0148] After obtaining the source address of the data packet, the network anchor node can further process the data packet. Taking the upstream data packet as an example, if the network anchor node receives multiple data packets and obtains the source addresses of these multiple data packets, the network anchor node can determine whether the source addresses of the multiple data packets are the same. If they are, the multiple data packets can be sent to the upper layer corresponding to the source address for processing; otherwise, they can be processed separately at the upper layers corresponding to different source addresses. What processing the network anchor node needs to do after obtaining the source address of the data packet is not limited in this embodiment and will not be described in detail here.

[0149] Optionally, in this embodiment, the first information is used to indicate at least one of the following: the type of the node sending the uplink data packet, which includes a terminal device or a relay node; the address of the terminal device sending the uplink data packet; and the address of the relay node sending the uplink data packet. In other words, the uplink data packet can be sent directly from the terminal device to the network anchor node, or it can be sent from the relay node to the network anchor node.

[0150] Figure 9 A schematic block diagram of a relay routing method 900 according to an embodiment of this application is shown. Figure 9 The network anchor node shown can be, for example, Figure 1 The relay node 120 shown, i.e., the IAB-node, includes, in part or in whole, the following methods 900: S910, the current relay node is receiving uplink data packets; S920, the current relay node forwards the uplink data packet to the next-level relay node that serves the current relay node.

[0151] In a relay system, the node above a given node is called the parent node, and the node below it is called the child node. In a multi-hop relay system, such as... Figure 10 As shown, for RN1, DeNB is the parent node and RN2 is the child node, and for RN2, RN1 is the parent node and UE is the child node.

[0152] Specifically, when a relay node receives an uplink data packet, it can directly forward the packet to its next-level relay node. If a relay node receives a data packet sent by its parent node, it considers that packet to be a downlink data packet; if a relay node receives a data packet sent by its child node, it considers that packet to be an uplink data packet. After receiving an uplink data packet, the relay node can forward it to its parent node. Each relay node can have multiple parent nodes; when a relay node receives multiple data packets, it can choose to forward them to one of its parent nodes or forward them to multiple parent nodes.

[0153] Optionally, the header of the uplink data packet may also include the source address and / or destination address of the uplink data packet. When a relay node receives the uplink data packet, it can determine whether the data packet belongs to it based on the destination address, and then process the data packet. Similarly, a relay node can also process the data packet based on its source address. For example, uplink data packets belonging to the same source address can be sent to the same upstream relay node.

[0154] Since the relay layer of a relay node can be in the same entity as the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, or it can be an entity independent of PDCP, the packet header in this embodiment can be in the header of the PDCP Protocol Data Unit (PDU) or outside the header of the PDCP PDU.

[0155] The solution of this application will be described in detail below with reference to the following embodiments.

[0156] Example 1: The current relay node receives uplink data packets, including: the current relay node receives a first uplink data packet; the routing method further includes: the current relay node copies the first uplink data packet; the next-level relay nodes include a first relay node and a second relay node, and the current relay node forwards the uplink data packet to the next-level relay node serving the current relay node, including: the current relay node forwards the first uplink data packet to the first relay node, and forwards the copied first uplink data packet to the second relay node. In other words, the current relay node has a data copying function, which can copy the received uplink data packet into multiple uplink data packets, and forward the copied multiple uplink data packets to multiple next-level relay nodes in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0157] Example 2: The current relay node receives uplink data packets, including: the current relay node receives a first uplink data packet; the routing method further includes: the current relay node copies the first uplink data packet; the next-level relay node includes a first relay node, and the current relay node forwards the uplink data packet to the next-level relay node serving the current relay node, including: the current relay node forwards the first uplink data packet to the first relay node using a first logical channel, and forwards the copied first uplink data packet to the first relay node using a second logical channel. Similarly, the current relay node has a data copying function, which can copy the received uplink data packet into multiple uplink data packets, and forward the copied multiple uplink data packets to the same next-level relay node using multiple logical channels in a one-to-one correspondence. Alternatively, it can also forward the copied multiple uplink data packets to different relay nodes in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0158] Example 3: The current relay node receives uplink data packets, including: the current relay node uses a first logical channel to receive a first uplink data packet; the current relay node forwards the uplink data packet to the upstream relay node serving the current relay node, including: the current relay node uses the first logical channel to forward the first uplink data packet to the upstream relay node. In other words, the current relay node can use the same logical channel to forward the uplink data packet to at least one upstream relay node, regardless of which logical channel it received the uplink data packet through.

[0159] Example 4: The current relay node receives an uplink data packet, including: the current relay node receives a first uplink data packet using a first logical channel; the current relay node forwards the first uplink data packet to the upstream relay node serving the current relay node, including: the current relay node forwards the first uplink data packet to the upstream relay node using a second logical channel according to configuration information. In other words, after receiving an uplink data packet through a certain logical channel, the current relay node can select another logical channel to forward the data packet based on certain rules. These rules could be, for example, the routing table configured by the network anchor node.

[0160] Example 5: The current relay node receives an uplink data packet, including: the current relay node receives a first uplink data packet using a first logical channel; the current relay node forwards the uplink data packet to the upstream relay node serving the current relay node, including: the current relay node forwards the first uplink data packet to the upstream relay node using a second logical channel according to the instruction of the relay layer. Similarly, after receiving an uplink data packet through a certain logical channel, the current relay node can select another logical channel to forward the uplink data packet based on the instruction of the relay layer. For example, the identifier of the logical channel can be carried in the header of the data packet. The current relay node can also determine which logical channel to use to forward the uplink data packet based on both the information configured in the network anchor node and the instruction of the relay layer.

[0161] Example 6: The upstream relay node includes a first relay node and a second relay node. The current relay node receives uplink data packets, including: the current relay node receives a first uplink data packet and a second uplink data packet, where the source address of the first uplink data packet is the same as the address of the source node of the second uplink data packet; the current relay node forwards the uplink data packet to the upstream relay node serving it, including: the current relay node forwards the first uplink data packet to the first relay node, and the current relay node forwards the second uplink data packet to the first relay node. In other words, the current relay node can receive multiple uplink data packets belonging to the same source node and forward these multiple uplink data packets to the same upstream relay node.

[0162] Example 7: The current relay node receives uplink data packets, including: the current relay node receives a first uplink data packet and a second uplink data packet, the source address of the first uplink data packet and the source address of the second uplink data packet are the same; the routing method further includes: the current relay node detects whether the first uplink data packet and the second uplink data packet are duplicate data packets according to the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer sequence number of the data packets; the current relay node forwards the uplink data packet to the upstream relay node serving the current relay node, including: if the first uplink data packet and the second uplink data packet are duplicate data packets, the current relay node sends the first uplink data packet or the second uplink data packet to the upstream relay node; or if the first uplink data packet and the second uplink data packet are non-duplicate data packets, the current relay node sends the first uplink data packet and the second uplink data packet to the upstream relay node. Specifically, it can be determined by whether the PDCP Service Data Unit (SDU) has the same or different sequence number; if they are the same, it is a duplicate data packet; if they are different, it is a non-duplicate data packet. When a relay node detects duplicate uplink data packets, it will forward the duplicate packets only once; that is, the duplicate packets can be discarded. However, if a relay node detects multiple unique data packets, it can forward all of them directly.

[0163] The data processing method and relay routing method of the relay network according to the embodiments of this application have been described in detail above. The following will combine... Figures 11 to 14 The technical features described in the apparatus and method embodiments according to the present application are applicable to the following apparatus embodiments.

[0164] Figure 11 A schematic block diagram of a communication node 1000 according to an embodiment of this application is shown. This communication node 1000 is a network anchor node, such as... Figure 11 As shown, the communication node 1000 includes: The receiving unit 1010 is used to receive data packets, the header of which includes first information indicating the source address of the data packet. The determining unit 1020 is used to determine the source address of the data packet based on the first information.

[0165] Specifically, Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the data packet is an uplink data packet.

[0166] Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the first information is used to indicate at least one of the following: the type of the node that sends the uplink data packet, which includes a terminal device or a relay node; the address of the terminal device that sends the uplink data packet; and the address of the relay node that sends the uplink data packet.

[0167] Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the communication node further includes a processing unit, configured to process the data packet according to the source address of the data packet.

[0168] It should be understood that the communication node 1000 according to the embodiments of this application may correspond to the network anchor node in the method embodiments of this application, and the above and other operations and / or functions of each unit in the communication node 1000 are respectively for implementing Figure 8 For the sake of brevity, the corresponding processes of the network anchor nodes in the method will not be described in detail here.

[0169] Figure 12 A schematic block diagram of a communication node 2000 according to an embodiment of this application is shown. This communication node 2000 is the current relay node, such as... Figure 12 As shown, the communication node 2000 includes: Receiver unit 2010 is used to receive uplink data packets; The sending unit 2020 is used to forward the uplink data packet to the next-level relay node that serves the current relay node.

[0170] Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the receiving unit is specifically used to: receive a first uplink data packet; the communication node further includes: a copying unit, used to copy the first uplink data packet.

[0171] Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the upper-level relay node includes a first relay node and a second relay node, and the sending unit is specifically used to: forward the first uplink data packet to the first relay node, and forward the copied first uplink data packet to the second relay node.

[0172] Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the upper-level relay node includes a first relay node, and the sending unit is specifically used to: forward the first uplink data packet to the first relay node using a first logical channel, and forward the copied first uplink data packet to the first relay node using a second logical channel.

[0173] Optionally, in this embodiment, the receiving unit is specifically configured to: receive a first uplink data packet using a first logical channel; and the sending unit is specifically configured to: forward the first uplink data packet to the next-level relay node using the first logical channel.

[0174] Optionally, in this embodiment, the receiving unit is specifically configured to: receive a first uplink data packet using a first logical channel; and the sending unit is specifically configured to: forward the first uplink data packet to the next-level relay node using a second logical channel according to configuration information.

[0175] Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the configuration information is determined by the network anchor node.

[0176] Optionally, in this embodiment, the receiving unit is specifically configured to: receive a first uplink data packet using a first logical channel; and the sending unit is specifically configured to: forward the first uplink data packet to the next-level relay node using a second logical channel according to the instruction of the relay layer.

[0177] Optionally, in this embodiment, the upstream relay node includes a first relay node and a second relay node. The receiving unit is specifically used to: receive a first uplink data packet and a second uplink data packet, wherein the source address of the first uplink data packet is the same as the address of the source node of the second uplink data packet; the sending unit is specifically used to: forward the first uplink data packet to the first relay node and forward the second uplink data packet to the first relay node.

[0178] Optionally, in this embodiment, the receiving unit is specifically used to: receive a first uplink data packet and a second uplink data packet, wherein the source address of the first uplink data packet is the same as the source address of the second uplink data packet; the communication node further includes: a detection unit, used to detect whether the first uplink data packet and the second uplink data packet are duplicate data packets based on the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer sequence number of the data packet.

[0179] Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the sending unit is specifically used to: if the first uplink data packet and the second uplink data packet are duplicate data packets, send the first uplink data packet or the second uplink data packet to the next-level relay node; or if the first uplink data packet and the second uplink data packet are non-duplicate data packets, send the first uplink data packet and the second uplink data packet to the next-level relay node.

[0180] Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the header of the uplink data packet includes first information, which is used to indicate the source address and / or destination address of the uplink data packet.

[0181] Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the header of the uplink data packet is outside the header of the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) Protocol Data Unit (PDU).

[0182] It should be understood that the communication node 2000 according to the embodiments of this application may correspond to the current relay node in the method embodiments of this application, and the above and other operations and / or functions of each unit in the communication node 2000 are respectively for implementing Figure 9 For the sake of brevity, the corresponding process of the current relay node in the method will not be described in detail here.

[0183] like Figure 13 As shown in the illustration, this application embodiment also provides a communication node 3000, which can be... Figure 11 The communication node 1000 in the system is capable of performing communication with... Figure 8 The content of the communication node corresponding to method 800. Figure 13 The communication node 3000 shown includes a processor 3010, which can call and run computer programs from memory to implement the methods in the embodiments of this application.

[0184] Optionally, such as Figure 13 As shown, the communication node 3000 may further include a memory 3020. The processor 3010 can retrieve and run computer programs from the memory 3020 to implement the methods described in this embodiment.

[0185] The memory 3020 can be a separate device independent of the processor 3010, or it can be integrated into the processor 3010.

[0186] Optionally, such as Figure 13 As shown, the communication node 3000 may also include a transceiver 3030, and the processor 3010 may control the transceiver 3030 to communicate with other devices. Specifically, it may send information or data to other devices or receive information or data sent by other devices.

[0187] The transceiver 3030 may include a transmitter and a receiver. The transceiver 3030 may further include an antenna, and the number of antennas may be one or more.

[0188] Optionally, the communication node 3000 may be a network anchor node in the embodiments of this application, and the communication node 3000 may implement the corresponding processes implemented by the network anchor node in the various methods of the embodiments of this application. For the sake of brevity, it will not be described in detail here.

[0189] In one specific implementation, the receiving unit in communication node 1000 can be composed of... Figure 13 The transceiver 3030 in the communication node 1000 is implemented. The determination unit and processing unit in the communication node 1000 can be implemented by... Figure 13 The processor 3010 is implemented in it.

[0190] like Figure 14As shown in the embodiment of this application, a communication node 4000 is also provided, which can be... Figure 12 The communication node 1000 in the system is capable of performing communication with... Figure 9 The content of the communication node corresponding to method 900. Figure 14 The communication node 4000 shown includes a processor 4010, which can call and run computer programs from memory to implement the methods in the embodiments of this application.

[0191] Optionally, such as Figure 14 As shown, the communication node 4000 may further include a memory 4020. The processor 4010 can retrieve and run computer programs from the memory 4020 to implement the methods described in this embodiment.

[0192] The memory 4020 can be a separate device independent of the processor 4010, or it can be integrated into the processor 4010.

[0193] Optionally, such as Figure 14 As shown, the communication node 4000 may also include a transceiver 4030, and the processor 4010 may control the transceiver 4030 to communicate with other devices. Specifically, it may send information or data to other devices or receive information or data sent by other devices.

[0194] The transceiver 4030 may include a transmitter and a receiver. The transceiver 4030 may further include an antenna, and the number of antennas may be one or more.

[0195] Optionally, the communication node 4000 may be a network anchor node in the embodiments of this application, and the communication node 4000 may implement the corresponding processes implemented by the network anchor node in the various methods of the embodiments of this application. For the sake of brevity, it will not be described in detail here.

[0196] In one specific implementation, the receiving unit and the transmitting unit in the communication node 2000 can be composed of... Figure 14 The transceiver 4030 in the communication node 2000 is implemented. The detection unit in the communication node 2000 can be implemented by... Figure 14 The processor 4010 is implemented in it.

[0197] Figure 15 This is a schematic block diagram of a chip 5000 according to an embodiment of this application. Figure 15 The chip 5000 shown includes a processor 5010, which can call and run computer programs from memory to implement the method 100 in the embodiments of this application.

[0198] Optionally, such as Figure 15As shown, chip 5000 may further include memory 5020. Processor 5010 can call and run computer programs from memory 5020 to implement the methods in the embodiments of this application.

[0199] The memory 5020 can be a separate device independent of the processor 5010, or it can be integrated into the processor 5010.

[0200] Optionally, the chip 5000 may also include an input interface 5030. The processor 5010 can control the input interface 5030 to communicate with other devices or chips; specifically, it can acquire information or data sent by other devices or chips.

[0201] Optionally, the chip 5000 may also include an output interface 5040. The processor 5010 can control the output interface 5040 to communicate with other devices or chips, specifically, to output information or data to other devices or chips.

[0202] Optionally, the chip can be applied to the current relay node in the embodiments of this application, and the chip can implement the corresponding process implemented by the current relay node in method 200 of the embodiments of this application. For the sake of brevity, it will not be described in detail here.

[0203] It should be understood that the chip mentioned in the embodiments of this application may also be referred to as a system-on-a-chip, system chip, chip system, or system-on-a-chip, etc.

[0204] Figure 16 This is a schematic block diagram of a chip 6000 according to an embodiment of this application. Figure 16 The chip 6000 shown includes a processor 6010, which can call and run computer programs from memory to implement the method 100 in the embodiments of this application.

[0205] Optionally, such as Figure 16 As shown, chip 6000 may further include memory 6020. Processor 6010 can call and run computer programs from memory 6020 to implement the methods in the embodiments of this application.

[0206] The memory 6020 can be a separate device independent of the processor 6010, or it can be integrated into the processor 6010.

[0207] Optionally, the chip 6000 may also include an input interface 6030. The processor 6010 can control the input interface 6030 to communicate with other devices or chips; specifically, it can acquire information or data sent by other devices or chips.

[0208] Optionally, the chip 6000 may also include an output interface 6040. The processor 6010 can control the output interface 6040 to communicate with other devices or chips, specifically, to output information or data to other devices or chips.

[0209] Optionally, the chip can be applied to the central node in the embodiments of this application, and the chip can implement the corresponding process implemented by the central node in the method 300 of the embodiments of this application. For the sake of brevity, it will not be described in detail here.

[0210] It should be understood that the chip mentioned in the embodiments of this application may also be referred to as a system-on-a-chip, system chip, chip system, or system-on-a-chip, etc.

[0211] Figure 17 This is a schematic block diagram of a chip 7000 according to an embodiment of this application. Figure 17 The chip 7000 shown includes a processor 7010, which can call and run computer programs from memory to implement the method 100 in the embodiments of this application.

[0212] Optionally, such as Figure 17 As shown, chip 7000 may further include memory 7020. Processor 7010 can call and run computer programs from memory 7020 to implement the methods in the embodiments of this application.

[0213] The memory 7020 can be a separate device independent of the processor 7010, or it can be integrated into the processor 7010.

[0214] Optionally, the chip 7000 may also include an input interface 7030. The processor 7010 can control the input interface 7030 to communicate with other devices or chips; specifically, it can acquire information or data sent by other devices or chips.

[0215] Optionally, the chip 7000 may also include an output interface 7040. The processor 7010 can control the output interface 7040 to communicate with other devices or chips, specifically, to output information or data to other devices or chips.

[0216] Optionally, the chip can be applied to the network anchor node in the embodiments of this application, and the chip can implement the corresponding process implemented by the network anchor node in the method 800 of the embodiments of this application. For the sake of brevity, it will not be described in detail here.

[0217] It should be understood that the chip mentioned in the embodiments of this application may also be referred to as a system-on-a-chip, system chip, chip system, or system-on-a-chip, etc.

[0218] Figure 18This is a schematic block diagram of a chip 8000 according to an embodiment of this application. Figure 18 The chip 8000 shown includes a processor 8010, which can call and run computer programs from memory to implement the method 100 in the embodiments of this application.

[0219] Optionally, such as Figure 18 As shown, chip 8000 may further include memory 8018. Processor 8010 can call and run computer programs from memory 8018 to implement the methods in the embodiments of this application.

[0220] The memory 8018 can be a separate device independent of the processor 8010, or it can be integrated into the processor 8010.

[0221] Optionally, the chip 8000 may also include an input interface 8030. The processor 8010 can control the input interface 8030 to communicate with other devices or chips; specifically, it can acquire information or data sent by other devices or chips.

[0222] Optionally, the chip 8000 may also include an output interface 8040. The processor 8010 can control the output interface 8040 to communicate with other devices or chips, specifically, to output information or data to other devices or chips.

[0223] Optionally, the chip can be applied to the current relay node in the embodiments of this application, and the chip can implement the corresponding process implemented by the current relay node in the method 900 of the embodiments of this application. For the sake of brevity, it will not be described in detail here.

[0224] It should be understood that the chip mentioned in the embodiments of this application may also be referred to as a system-on-a-chip, system chip, chip system, or system-on-a-chip, etc.

[0225] The processors mentioned above can be general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. Among them, the general-purpose processors mentioned above can be microprocessors or any conventional processor.

[0226] The aforementioned memory can be volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or a combination of both. Non-volatile memory can be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory can be random access memory (RAM).

[0227] It should be understood that the above-described memory is exemplary and not a limiting description. For example, the memory in the embodiments of this application may also be static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct memory bus RAM (DR RAM), etc. That is to say, the memory in the embodiments of this application is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0228] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the units and algorithm steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0229] Those skilled in the art will understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0230] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatuses or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0231] The unit described as a separate component may or may not be physically separate. The component shown as a unit may or may not be a physical unit; that is, it may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0232] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0233] If this function is implemented as a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or a part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0234] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A relay routing method, characterized in that, The method is executed by a relay node, and the method includes: Receive data packets, the header of which includes the address of the destination node; Based on the address of the destination node, determine whether to forward the data packet.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The header of the data packet is outside the header of the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) Protocol Data Unit (PDU).

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The packet header is processed at the relay layer, which is independent of the PDCP layer.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The relay layer is introduced by the new radio interface (NR).

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The method further includes: If it is determined that the data packet should be forwarded, then the data packet should be forwarded to at least one relay node.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, Before receiving the data packet, the method further includes: The system receives a routing table sent by a central node, wherein the routing table indicates the transmission path of the data packet from the source node to the destination node; and... The step of determining to forward the data packet to at least one relay node includes: According to the routing table, the data packet is forwarded to the at least one relay node.

7. The method according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that, The received data packet includes: Receive a first data packet and a second data packet, wherein the address of the destination node of the first data packet is the same as the address of the destination node of the second data packet; and, The step of determining to forward the data packet to at least one relay node includes: Determine to forward the first data packet to the first relay node among the at least one relay nodes, and determine to forward the second data packet to the second relay node among the at least one relay nodes; or, The received data packet includes: Receive a first data packet and a second data packet, wherein the address of the destination node of the first data packet is the same as the address of the destination node of the second data packet; and, The step of determining to forward the data packet to at least one relay node includes: The system determines to forward the first data packet to the first relay node among the at least one relay node, and also determines to forward the second data packet to the first relay node.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The step of determining to forward the data packet to at least one relay node includes: Determine to forward the first data packet to the first relay node among the at least one relay nodes, and determine to forward the copied first data packet to the second relay node among the at least one relay nodes; or, The step of determining to forward the data packet to at least one relay node includes: It is determined that the first data packet is forwarded to the first relay node among the at least one relay nodes via a first logical channel, and it is determined that the copied first data packet is forwarded to the first relay node via a second logical channel.

9. The method according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that, The received data packet includes: Receive the first data packet through the first logical channel; and, The step of determining to forward the data packet to at least one relay node includes: According to the configuration information, the first data packet is forwarded to the at least one relay node via the second logical channel.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The configuration information is determined by the central node.

11. The method according to claim 5, 6, 9 or 10, characterized in that, The received data packet includes: Receive the first data packet through the first logical channel; and, The step of determining to forward the data packet to at least one relay node includes: According to the instructions of the relay layer, the first data packet is forwarded to the at least one relay node via the second logical channel.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, Determining to forward the data packet to at least one relay node includes: If the first data packet and the second data packet are duplicate data packets, determine to send the first data packet or the second data packet to the at least one relay node; or, If the first data packet and the second data packet are non-duplicate data packets, it is determined that the first data packet and the second data packet shall be sent to the at least one relay node.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that, The header of the data packet also includes the source node address of the data packet; Alternatively, the method further includes: in the event of a failure of the relay node, reporting fault information to the central node so that the central node can update the routing table, wherein the routing table is used to indicate the transmission path of the data packet from the source node to the destination node; Alternatively, the data packet may include downlink data packets; Alternatively, the data packet may include uplink data packets and downlink data packets; Alternatively, if the data packet is an uplink data packet, the at least one relay node is the parent node of the relay node; Alternatively, the address of the destination node is the address of the terminal device to which the data packet belongs; Alternatively, the address of the destination node is the address of the relay node directly connected to the terminal device to which the data packet belongs; Alternatively, the address of the destination node may include the address of the terminal device to which the data packet belongs, and the address of the relay node directly connected to the terminal device to which the data packet belongs; Alternatively, the address of the terminal device to which the data packet belongs is assigned by the central node; Alternatively, the address of the relay node directly connected to the terminal device to which the data packet belongs may be assigned by the central node; Alternatively, the central node may be an anchor node, a fixed access network node, or a core network node. Alternatively, the header of the data packet is in the header of the PDCP PDU; Alternatively, the data packet is a downlink data packet; Alternatively, the data may include downlink data packets forwarded between relay nodes.

14. A relay routing device, characterized in that, The device is configured to perform a routing method for relays as described in any one of claims 1 to 13.

15. A chip, characterized in that, The chip includes a processor for calling from memory and enabling a computer program to cause a device on which the chip is installed to perform a relay routing method as described in any one of claims 1 to 13.

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