Random Access Partitioning and Random Access Report

Abstract

The communications device may indicate RA resources used by the communications device during a random access ("RA") procedure. The communications device may receive an RA configuration associated with at least one feature-specific RA resource configuration from a first network node. The communications device may further perform an RA procedure toward the first network node using the RA resources based on the RA configuration. The communications device may further store information indicating the RA resources used by the communications device during the RA procedure. The communications device may further transmit the information to a second network node.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to Wireless Communication a system, and more particularly, to random access (“RA”) partitioning and RA reporting.

Background Art

[0002] Random access channel (“RACH”) configuration may have a significant impact on user experience and overall network performance. The RACH collision probability, and thus the access set up delay, the data resume delay from the uplink (“UL”) asynchronous state, the handover delay, the transition delay from radio resource control (“RRC”)_INACTIVE, and the beam failure recovery delay are all affected by the RACH setting. Furthermore, it is also important to perform RACH transmissions on the most appropriate downlink beam, which will avoid an increase in wasted power consumption and failed RACH transmission attempts. This is beneficial for both the network and the device attempting random access, making it possible to avoid unnecessary interference in the network and also reducing the experienced delay and the energy consumption of the user equipment (“UE”). In new radio (“NR”), a new feature enables a UE (also referred to herein as a communication device) to change RACH resources during the RACH procedure, which results in more complex behavior.

[0003] For some features, the UE needs to provide an indication to the network that it is already in the random access procedure. For example, the UE may need to indicate that it is of a certain type or that it desires to apply a feature. In the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (referred to as "3GPP"), it has been discussed that a UE with reduced capabilities (sometimes called a RedCap UE) may need to indicate to the network during the random access procedure that it is a RedCap UE rather than a non-RedCap UE. Another example of such a feature is an indication from the UE as to whether the UE wants to use the Small Data Transmission (SDT) feature.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] According to some embodiments, a method is provided that is performed by a communication device to indicate RA resources used by the communication device during a Random Access (RA) procedure. The method includes receiving, from a first network node, an RA configuration associated with an RA resource configuration specific to at least one feature. The method further includes performing an RA procedure towards the first network node using the RA resources based on the RA configuration. The method further includes storing information indicating the RA resources used by the communication device during the RA procedure. The method further includes sending to a second network node information and further includes sending the information to the second network node.

[0005] According to other embodiments, a method is provided that is performed by a second network node to collect information indicating RA resources used by a communication device during a Random Access (RA) procedure with a first network node. The method includes sending, to the communication device, a request for information indicating the RA resources used by the communication device during the RA procedure. The method further includes receiving, in response to sending the request, the information from the communication device.

[0006] According to other embodiments, there is provided a communication device, a network node, a computer program, a computer program product, or a non-transitory computer-readable medium for performing one of the above methods.

[0007] Certain embodiments can provide one or more of the following technical advantages. According to some embodiments, the network can identify feature-specific RA performance, and thus can optimize the RA performance separately for each of the features.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008] Included to provide a further understanding of the present disclosure, the accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate specific and non-limiting embodiments of the inventive concept. In the drawings:

[0009] [Figure 1] is a diagram showing an example of a random access report list according to some embodiments of the inventive concept.

[0010] [Figure 2A] is a table showing an example of a random access report field description according to some embodiments of the inventive concept. [Figure 2B] is a table showing an example of a random access report field description according to some embodiments of the inventive concept.

[0011] [Diagram 3] is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of a communication device according to some embodiments of the inventive concept.

[0012] [Figure 4] is a flowchart showing the operation of a network node according to some embodiments of the inventive concept.

[0013] [Diagram 5] is a block diagram of a communication system according to some embodiments.

[0014] [Figure 6] is a block diagram of a user equipment according to some embodiments.

[0015] [Figure 7] is a block diagram of a network node according to some embodiments.

[0016] [Figure 8] is a block diagram of a host computer that communicates with a user equipment according to some embodiments.

[0017] [Figure 9] is a block diagram of a virtualized environment according to some embodiments.

[0018] [Figure 10] is a block diagram of a host computer that communicates with a user equipment via a base station via a partial wireless connection according to some embodiments. **DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION**

[0019] Here, some of the embodiments contemplated herein will be described more fully with reference to the accompanying figure sheets. The embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art. Examples of embodiments of the inventive concept are shown. However, invention the concept can be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments described herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and inventionIt is provided to sufficiently convey the scope of the concept to those skilled in the art. It should also be noted that these embodiments are not mutually exclusive. The components of one embodiment may be implicitly assumed to be present / used in another embodiment.

[0020] The optimization of random access (「RA」) will be described below.

[0021] The random access channel (「RACH」) configuration has a significant impact on the user experience and the overall network performance. The RACH collision probability, and thus the access setup delay, the data resume delay from the UL asynchronous state, the handover delay, the transition delay from radio resource control (「RRC」)_INACTIVE, and the beam failure recovery delay are all affected by the RACH setting. Furthermore, it is also important to perform RACH transmissions on the most appropriate downlink beam, which will avoid an increase in wasted power consumption and failed RACH attempts. This is beneficial for both the network and the device attempting random access, enabling the avoidance of unnecessary interference in the network and reducing the experienced delay and user equipment (「UE」) energy consumption. In new radio (「NR」), new features enable the UE (also referred to herein as a communication device) to change the RACH resources during the RACH procedure, which results in more complex behavior.

[0022] The setting of RACH parameters depends on a number of factors. For example, the factors can include uplink interference between cells from the physical uplink shared channel ("PUSCH"). In additional or alternative examples, the factors can include RACH load (call arrival rate, handover ("HO") rate, tracking area update, RRC_INACTIVE transition rate, requests for other system information ("SI"), beam failure recovery, traffic pattern, population under cell coverage affecting UL synchronization status, and the need to use random access). In additional or alternative examples, the factors can include imbalance between the uplink ("UL") and supplementary uplink ("SUL"). In additional or alternative examples, the factors can include PUSCH load. In additional or alternative examples, the factors can include the cubic metric (third-order metric) of the preambles allocated to the cell. In additional or alternative examples, the factors can include whether the cell is in a high-speed mode. In additional or alternative examples, the factors can include UL and downlink (DL) imbalance.

[0023] The targets of RACH optimization are shown to be: (1) minimizing the access delay of UEs under the coverage of popular synchronization signal blocks ("SSBs"); (2) minimizing the delay of UEs for requesting other SI; (3) minimizing the imbalance of access delay of UEs on the UL channel and SUL channel; (4) minimizing the beam failure recovery delay for UEs during RRC_CONNECTED; and (5) minimizing failed / unnecessary RACH attempts on RACH resources before success.

[0024] As a result, the RACH optimization function attempts to automatically set several parameters related to the performance of RACH.

[0025] Automatic RACH parameter configuration can be enabled by collecting RACH reports from UEs and by exchanging (transmitting and receiving) PRACH parameters between gNBs. The information reporting / exchange mechanism and content for RACH optimization in Long-Term Evolution (「LTE」) may be used as a baseline, taking into account new features of NR (such as beams, SUL, etc.).

[0026] The settings of RACH parameters that can be optimized are: (1) RACH configuration (resource unit allocation), (2) RACH preamble split (between dedicated groups A and B), (3) RACH backoff parameter values, and (4) RACH transmission power control parameters.

[0027] At a minimum, RACH optimization is achieved by the UE providing RACH-related information reports to Next Generation (「NG」) Radio Access Network (「RAN」) nodes and by the NG RAN nodes exchanging PRACH configurations for normal UL carriers and SUL carriers.

[0028] In the case of a Centralized Unit (「CU」) / Distributed Unit (「DU」) architecture, the gNB-DU should be permitted to report its per-cell RACH configuration to the gNB-CU, and the gNB-CU should be permitted to signal the RACH configuration for each serving cell to adjacent NG RAN nodes. This enables the NG-RAN nodes to identify whether the RACH configuration of adjacent cells is optimized or whether changes are needed to achieve better RACH coordination between adjacent cells.

[0029] When the UE receives a polling message (e.g., UE information request message) requesting a RACH report from the NG RAN node (potentially the gNB-CU in the current serving cell), the UE reports the RACH information in a UE information response message. The gNB-CU and gNB-DU consider the RACH report and other node information to achieve an optimized RACH configuration.

[0030] The content of the RACH information report includes at least one of the following: the index of the SSBs tried, listed in chronological order of the attempts, and the number of RACH preambles transmitted on the tried SSBs; the frequency of the tried SSBs (NR absolute radio frequency channel number (“ARFCN”)); the respective beam quality of the tried SSBs (i.e., beam-level measurement results during RACH attempts such as beam reference signal received power (“BRSRP”), beam reference signal received quality (“BRSRQ”), and beam signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (“BSINR”)); an indication of whether the selected SSB exceeds or falls below the rsrp-ThresholdSSB threshold; the elapsed time since the last measurement before the beam selection time; the number of RACH preambles transmitted on SUL; the number of RACH preambles transmitted on NUL; and the total number of fallback between contention-based RACH access (“CBRA”) and contention-free RACH access (“CFRA”) contention detection indication.

[0031] The RACH information report described above should also be applicable to the SN node for the multi-radio access technology (MR)-dual connectivity (DC) case.

[0032] When a random access procedure is executed, the report of RACH information may be requested by the network via the UE information procedure in RRC (Section 5.7.10.3 of TS38.331 v16.4.1) if the RACH procedure is successful. Also, what information the UE includes in the RA report is specified in Section 5.7.10.5 of TS38.331 v16.4.1.

[0033] RA partitioning will be described later.

[0034] For some features, the UE needs to provide an indication to the network that it is already in a random access procedure. For example, the UE may need to indicate that it is of a certain type or that it desires to apply a feature. In the Third Generation Partnership Project (referred to as "3GPP (registered trademark)"), it has been discussed that a UE with reduced capabilities (sometimes called a RedCap UE) may need to indicate to the network during a random access procedure that it is a RedCap UE rather than a non-RedCap UE. Another example of such a feature is an indication from the UE indicating whether the UE wants to use the small data transmission ("SDT") feature.

[0035] To provide such an indication during a random access procedure, the random access resources should be divided such that one partition is dedicated to RedCap UEs and another partition may be dedicated to non-RedCap UEs. hmm It has been argued that it should be divided so that one partition is dedicated to RedCap UEs and another partition may be dedicated to non-RedCap UEs.

[0036] The system may support several features that require an indication during a random access procedure. For example, both RedCap and SDT are supported. That is, Showing a combination of featuresThere will be several partitions, for example, one partition for non-RedCap UEs that do not want to apply SDT, one partition for non-RedCap UEs that want to apply SDT, one partition for RedCap UEs that do not want to apply SDT, and one partition for RedCap UEs that want to apply SDT.

[0037] The partition of the RA resources may be such that there is one time-frequency RA resource dedicated to one feature (or combination of features) and another time-frequency RA resource dedicated to another feature (or combination of features). Another possibility is that one set of preambles within the RA resource is dedicated to one feature (or combination of features) and another set of preambles within the RA resource is dedicated to another feature (or another combination of features).

[0038] Currently, there are several issues. The RA resources are expected to be split for different use cases (e.g., RedCap (Red Cap), small data enhancement, slicing) being discussed in RAN2's Rel-17. Therefore, the UE uses a specific portion of the RA resources depending on how the network's RA resource partitioning configuration looks and how the UE's capabilities and the UE's current configuration look.

[0039] The network can split RA resources in different ways, and these RA resource splits may be changed over time to suit the type of UE distribution in the cell's coverage area. For example, during a certain period of a day, the cell can allocate different RA resources for short data transmission ("SDT") and reduced-capability ("RedCap") UEs (e.g., when there are many SDT and RedCap UEs in the cell's coverage area), while during some other period, the cell can allocate the same RA resources for both SDT and RedCap UEs (e.g., when there are few SDT and RedCap UEs in the cell's coverage area).

[0040] The network may also partition RA resources such that different preambles in the same RA frequency + time resource are allocated to different features. For example, preambles 1 to 10 are reserved for RedCap UEs, preambles 11 to 25 are for SDT UEs, preambles between 25 and 50 are for slice X, and the remaining preambles are for slice Y. If the network wishes to further optimize the RA parameter optimal values, the network uses the RA report to identify the problems faced by the UE during RA execution. If the network wishes to perform RA parameter configuration optimization for a specific feature (e.g., RedCap, SDT, etc.), the network needs to know whether the RA report obtained from the UE is associated with a RedCap-related feature or an SDT feature, etc. However, existing RA reports cannot be used.

[0041] One aspect in the present disclosure and its embodiments can provide solutions to these problems or other problems. According to some embodiments, the UE can collect RA-related information, and the RA-related information can include the type of features related to the RA resources used by the UE and / or the detailed RA resources used by the UE.

[0042] According to some embodiments, the UE may perform operations for notifying the network about features related to RA resources used by the UE. This operation may include receiving, from a first network node, an RA configuration associated with at least one feature-specific RA resource configuration. This operation may further include performing an RA procedure towards the first network node. This operation may further include storing first information related to the RA procedure. The first information may include at least one of a feature type associated with the RA resources used in the RA procedure and the exact RA resources (in terms of time, frequency, and preamble dimensions) used in the RA procedure. Additional or alternative fruit According to embodiments, this operation may further include indicating to a second network node (which may be the same as the first network node or another network node) the existence of the first information associated with a particular feature type. This operation may further include receiving, from the second network node, a request for transmitting the first information (optionally including an explicit indication of a special feature type). This operation may further include transmitting the stored first information to the second network node.

[0043] According to some embodiments, the first network node may perform operations for collecting information associated with RA resources used by a UE associated with a feature type. This operation may include transmitting an RA configuration related to at least one feature-specific RA resource configuration (either broadcast or dedicated configuration). Additional or alternative fruitAccording to an embodiment, this operation may include receiving, from the UE, an indication regarding the presence of first information associated with a specific feature type (type of feature). This operation may further include transmitting a request to the UE for transmitting the first information (optionally including an explicit indication of the specific feature type). This operation may further include receiving the first information from the UE.

[0044] As described above, the RA resource may be divided into several parts, and each part is mapped to a specific feature set. For example, a part of the RA resource may be used to indicate that the UE is a RedCap UE, another part may be used to indicate that the UE is using SDT, and a third part may indicate that the UE is a RedCap UE using SDT. There may be one part that is not mapped to any of these features and is used when the UE is neither a RedCap UE nor using SDT.

[0045] Also, as described above, the UE may indicate to the network a report about the RA procedure executed by the UE, for example, an RA report indicating a failed RA attempt.

[0046] According to a first embodiment, when the RA resources are partitioned to indicate features different from the features requested / indicated by the UE, the UE indicates to the network which RA resource it has selected. This indication is referred to herein as an "RA partition indication".

[0047] The RA partition indication may be an indication indicating the feature set associated with the selected RA partition. Another approach is that the RA partitioning indication is an indication indicating the specific RA resource selected by the UE. Details will be described later.

[0048] According to some embodiments, an indication is a selected set of features. According to this approach, the UE indicates the features that the UE has selected for the RA procedure.

[0049] For example, if the UE executes an RA procedure to indicate that the UE is a RedCap UE using SDT, the UE will later indicate to the network that the UE has used a preamble associated with RedCap+SDT.

[0050] An example of the operation flow is described below. This operation can include the UE selecting a set of features that the UE desires to indicate with the preamble transmission. For example, the UE may indicate that it desires to indicate RedCap+SDT. This operation may further include the UE determining RA resources based on the selected features. This operation may further include the UE executing an RA procedure using the determined RA resources. This operation can further include the success or failure of the RA procedure. This operation can further include the UE logging the RA attempt. When logging, the UE can log the selected set of features. This operation can further include the network requesting the log from the UE. This operation can further include the UE sending a log including an indication regarding the selected set of features.

[0051] An example of how this can be included in the RRC standard specification is shown below. The UE configures the content within ra-InformationCommon as follows: 1> Set absoluteFrequencyPointA to indicate the absolute frequency of the reference resource block related to the random access resource used in the random access procedure; 1> Set the locationAndBandwidth and subcarrierSpacing associated with the UL BWP of the random access resource used in the random access procedure; 1> When used in the random access procedure, set the msg1-FrequencyStart, msg1-FDM, and msg1-SubcarrierSpacing associated with the contention-based random access resource; 1> When used in the random access procedure, set the msg1-FrequencyStartCFRA, msg1-FDMCFRA, and msg1-SubcarrierSpacingCFRA associated with the contention-free random access resource; 1> Set raFeatureType to the corresponding feature type associated with the random access procedure; 1> Set the parameters related to each random access attempt in the perRAInfoList in the chronological order of the attempts as follows: 2> If the random access resource used is associated with an SS / PBCH block, set the associated random access parameters for consecutive random access attempts associated with the same SS / PBCH block for one or more random access attempts as follows: 3> Set the ssb-Index to include the SS / PBCH block index associated with the random access resource used; 3> Set the numberOfPreamblesSentOnSSB to indicate the number of consecutive random access attempts associated with the SS / PBCH block; 3> For each random access attempt performed on the random access resource, include the following parameters in the chronological order of the random access attempts: 4> If the random access attempt is executed on a contention-based random access resource and raPurpose is not equal to "requestForOtherSI", include contentionDetected as follows: 5> If contention resolution fails for the transmitted preamble as specified in TS38.321 [6]: 6> Set contentionDetected to true; 5> Otherwise: 6> Set contentionDetected to false; 4> If the random access attempt is executed on a contention-based random access resource or 4> If the random access attempt is executed on a contention-free random access resource and the random access procedure is initiated for PDCCH ordering: 5> If the SS / PBCH block RSRP of the SS / PBCH block corresponding to the random access resource used in the random access attempt exceeds rsrp-ThresholdSSB: 6> Set dlRSRPAboveThreshold to true; 5> Otherwise: 6> Set dlRSRPAboveThreshold to false; 2> Otherwise, if the random access resource used is associated with CSI-RS, set the associated random access parameters for one or more consecutive random access attempts associated with the same CSI-RS as follows: 3> Set csi-RS-Index to include the CSI-RS index associated with the random access resource used; 3> Set numberOfPreamblesSentOnCSI-RS to indicate the number of consecutive random access attempts associated with the CSI-RS.

[0052] Figures 1 to 2 show an example of the RA-ReportList and RA-Report field descriptions.

[0053] Another possibility is that the combination of features that the UE wishes to indicate is represented by a bitmap. Each bit in the bitmap may be associated with a certain feature. For example, the first bit may be associated with the first feature, the second bit may be associated with the second feature, and so on. If the UE wishes to indicate that the RA procedure is for the first and fourth features, the UE sets the first and fourth bits in the bitmap.

[0054] According to this approach, the UE indicates the RA resources selected by the UE.

[0055] For example, if the UE executes an RA procedure to indicate that the UE is a RedCap UE using SDT, and RedCap+SDT is assigned to a specific partition X of the RA resources, the UE will later indicate that the UE was performing random access using partition X.

[0056] The following describes an example of the flow of this operation. This operation may include the UE selecting a set of features that the UE wishes to indicate with preamble transmission. For example, the UE may indicate that it wishes to indicate RedCap+SDT. This operation may further include the UE determining RA resources based on the selected features. This operation may further include the UE executing an RA procedure using the determined RA resources. This operation may further include the success or failure of the RA procedure. This operation may further include the UE logging the RA attempt. When logging, the UE may log the determined RA resources. This operation may further include the network requesting the log from the UE. This operation may further include the UE sending a log including an indication regarding the determined RA resources.

[0057] Note that in special cases, a particular feature set may be mapped to several RA partitions. For example, a combination of RedCap and SDT (herein represented as RedCap+SDT) may be mapped to multiple RA partitions.

[0058] For example, consider a scenario with two RA resources, namely RA resource A and RA resource B. Subsets of A and B can both be mapped to RedCap+SDT. For example, preambles 1 to 10 in A can be mapped to RedCap+SDT, and preambles 21 to 25 can also be mapped to RedCap+SDT. In such a configuration, a UE that wishes to indicate that it is a RedCap UE using SDT may use either preambles 1 to 10 in RA resource A or 21 to 25 in RA resource B.

[0059] When this approach is applied, the UE can set a RA partition indication to indicate the specific RA resource selected by the UE (for example, if the UE selects RA resource A, the UE indicates preamble groups 1 to 10 of RA resource A, and if the UE selects RA resource B, the UE indicates preamble groups 21 to 25 of RA resource B). Another approach in this special case is for the UE to indicate all candidate RA resources that can be used for the set of features the UE is using (i.e., indicate both preamble groups 1 to 10 of RA resource A and preamble groups 21 to 25 of RA resource B).

[0060] Fetching (acquiring) reports from the UE specific to features will be described below.

[0061] According to this approach, the network can request the UE to include information related to the RA procedure specific to the feature(s) memorized by the UE. Upon receiving such a request, the UE includes the relevant information of the RA procedure(s) memorized in association with the requested feature(s).

[0062] According to this approach, the UE can further indicate the type of RA procedure related information specific to the feature(s) memorized by the UE. Upon receiving such an indication, the network can initiate a request - response procedure associated with a specific feature(s).

[0063] For example, while the UE is a RedCap UE using SDT, if the UE stores information related to the RA procedure, the UE can indicate to the network that it stores RA-related information related to RedCap+SDT. The network can indicate in a request message that it is interested in receiving RA procedure-related information associated with RedCap+SDT, and upon receiving such a request, the UE includes RA-related information associated with the RA procedure in RedCap+SDT mode.

[0064] An example of the flow of this operation will be described below. This operation can include the UE selecting a set of features it wishes to indicate with the preamble transmission. For example, the UE may indicate that it wishes to indicate RedCap+SDT. This operation may further include the UE determining RA resources based on the selected features. This operation may further include the UE performing an RA procedure using the determined RA resources. This operation can further include the success or failure of the RA procedure. This operation can further include the UE logging the RA attempt. When logging, the UE can log the set of selected features. This operation can further include the UE indicating to the network about the set of features having RA procedure-related information. This indication can be included in the RRCSetupComplete, RRCResuemComplete, RRCReestablishmentComplete, or RRCReconfigurationComplete message. This operation can further include the network requesting the UE for a set of logs of the feature-related RA procedure. This operation can further include the UE transmitting the logs of the feature-related RA procedure including the indication.

[0065] An example of how this can be included in the RRC standard specification is shown below. Only the changes to RRCSetUpComplete are shown below, but the same changes apply to other RRCxxComplete messages such as RRCResumeComplete, RRCReestablishmentComplete, and RRCReconfigurationComplete.

[0066] When the UE receives RRCSetup, it performs the following actions: ... 1> Set the content of the RRCSetupComplete message as follows: 2> When the upper layer provides the 5G-S-TMSI: 3> When RRCSetup is received as a response to RRCSetupRequest: 4> Set ng-5G-S-TMSI-Part2 in ng-5G-S-TMSI-Value; 3> Otherwise: 4> Set ng-5G-S-TMSI in ng-5G-S-TMSI-Value; 2> When the selected upper layer is an SNPN or PLMN, and in the case of a PLMN UE, permission or instruction is given to access the PLMN via at least one cell where at least one CAG ID is broadcast: 3> Set selectedPLMN-Identity from npn-IdentityInfoList; 2> Otherwise: 3> Set the PLMN selected by the upper layer from plmn-IdentityList in selectedPLMN-Identity; 2> When the upper layer provides "Registered AMF": 3> Include and set registeredAMF as follows: 4> When the PLMN identification information of "Registered AMF" is different from the PLMN selected by the upper layer: 5> Include the plmnIdentity in the registered AMF and set the value of the PLMN identification information of the "registered AMF" received from the upper layer to it; 4> Set the value received from the upper layer to the amf-Identifier; 3> Upper layer To Set to include the value provided by the upper layer in the guami-Type; 2> When the upper layer provides one or more S-NSSAIs (see TS23.003

[21] ): 3> Include the s-NSSAI-List and set the value provided by the upper layer to the content; 2> Set to include the information received from the upper layer in the dedicated NAS-Message; 2> When connecting as an IAB-node: 3> Include the iab-NodeIndication; 2> When SIB1 includes idleModeMeasurementsNR and the UE has NR idle / inactive measurement information regarding cells other than the PCell available in VarMeasIdleReport, or 2> When SIB1 includes idleModeMeasurementsEUTRA and the UE has E-UTRA idle / inactive measurement information available in VarMeasIdleReport: 3> Include the idleMeasAvailable; 2> When the UE records (logs) measurement values available for NR and the RPLMN is included in the plmn-IdentityList stored in VarLogMeasReport: 3> Include the logMeasAvailable in the RRCSetupComplete message; 3> When the Bluetooth measurement results are included in the recorded measurements and the UE is available for NR and the RPLMN is included in the plmn-IdentityList stored in VarLogMeasReport: 4> Include logMeasAvailableBT in the RRCSetupComplete message; 3> If the WLAN measurement results are included in the measurements recorded in the log and the UE is available in NR and the RPLMN is included in the plmn-IdentityList stored in VarLogMeasReport: 4> Include logMeasAvailableWLAN in the RRCSetupComplete message; 2> UE Connection establishment failure or resume failure available in VarConnEstFailReport Have information on If and when the RPLMN is equal to the plmn-Identity stored in VarConnEstFailReport: 3> Include connEstFailInfoAvailable in the RRCSetupComplete message; 2> If the UE has radio link failure or handover failure information available in VarRLF-Report and the RPLMN is included in the plmn-IdentityList stored in VarRLF-Report, or 2> If the UE has radio link failure or handover failure information available in VarRLF-Report in TS36.331

[10] and the UE is cross RAT RLF reporting is possible and the RPLMN is included in the plmn-IdentityList stored in VarRLF-Report of TS36.331

[10] : 3> Include rlf-InfoAvailable in the RRCSetupComplete message; 2> If the UE supports storing mobility history information and the UE has mobility history information available in VarMobilityHistoryReport: 3> Include mobilityHistoryAvail in the RRCSetupComplete message; 2> When receiving RRCSetup in response to RRCResumeRequest, RRCResumeRequest1 or RRCSetupRequest: 3> When speedStateReselectionPars is set in SIB2: 4> Include mobilityState in the RRCSetupComplete message and set it to the UE's mobility state just before entering the RRC_CONNECTED state (as specified in TS38.304

[20] ); 2> If the UE has a random access related report available in the VarRA-Report and the RPLMN is equal to the plmn-Identity stored in the VarRA-Report: 3> If at least one RA-Report entry in the ra-ReportList contained in the VarRA-Report has raFeatureType set to RedCap: 4> Include redCapRAReportAvail in the RRCSetupComplete message; 3> If at least one RA-Report entry in the ra-ReportList contained in the VarRA-Report has raFeatureType set to SDT: 4> Include sdtRAReportAvail in the RRCSetupComplete message; 3> If at least one RA-Report entry in the ra-ReportList contained in the VarRA-Report has raFeatureType set to Slice-MBB: 4> Include sliceMBBRAreportAvail in the RRCSetupComplete message; 3> If at least one RA-Report entry in the ra-ReportList contained in the VarRA-Report has raFeatureType set to Slice-URLLC: 4> Include sliceURLLCRAReportAvail in the RRCSetupComplete message; 3> If at least one RA-Report entry in the ra-ReportList contained in the VarRA-Report has raFeatureType set to RedCap+SDT: 4> Include redCapSDTRAReportAvail in the RRCSetupComplete message; 3> If at least one of the RA-Report entries in the ra-ReportList included in VarRA-Report has a raFeatureType set to RedCap+Slice-MBB: 4> Include redCapSliceMBBRAreportAvail in the RRCSetupComplete message; 3> If at least one of the RA-Report entries in the ra-ReportList included in VarRA-Report has a raFeatureType set to RedCap+Slice-URLLC: 4> Include redCapSliceURLLCRAReportAvail in the RRCSetupComplete message; 3> If at least one of the RA-Report entries in the ra-ReportList included in VarRA-Report has a raFeatureType set to SDT+Slice-MBB: 4> Include sdtSliceMBBRAreportAvail in the RRCSetupComplete message; 3> If at least one of the RA-Report entries in the ra-ReportList included in VarRA-Report has a raFeatureType set to SDT+Slice-URLLC: 4> Include sdtSliceURLLCRAReportAvail in the RRCSetupComplete message; 3> If at least one of the RA-Report entries in the ra-ReportList included in VarRA-Report has a raFeatureType set to Slice-MBB+Slice-URLLC: 4> Include sliceMBBsliceURLLCRAReportAvail in the RRCSetupComplete message; 1> Submit the RRCSetupComplete message to the lower layer for transmission and then end the procedure.

[0067] Examples of a network that requests an RA report based on a specific feature type and a UE that includes the corresponding RA report are provided below.

[0068] When receiving a UEInformationRequest message, the UE shall do the following only after the security activation is successful: 1> If idleModeMeasurementReq is included in the UEInformationRequest and the UE stores a VarMeasIdleReport containing measurement information regarding cells other than the PCell: 2> Set the measResultIdleEUTRA of the UEInformationResponse message to the value of measReportIdleEUTRA of VarMeasIdleReport (if available); 2> Set the value of measReportIdleNR in VarMeasIdleReport to measResultIdleNR in the UEInformationResponse message (if available); 2> Discard the VarMeasIdleReport when the delivery of the UEInformationResponse message confirmed by the lower layer is successful; 1> If logMeasReportReq exists and the RPLMN is included in the plmn-IdentityList stored in VarLogMeasReport: 2> If the VarLogMeasReport contains one or more measurement entries, set the content of logMeasReport of the UEInformationResponse message as follows: 3> Include absoluteTimeStamp and set its value to the absoluteTimeInfo of VarLogMeasReport; 3> Include traceReference and set its value to the traceReference of VarLogMeasReport; 3> Include traceRecordingSessionRef and set its value to the traceRecordingSessionRef of VarLogMeasReport; 3> Include tce-Id and set the value of tce-Id in VarLogMeasReport to it; 3> Include logMeasInfoList and set it to include one or more entries from VarLogMeasReport starting from the first recorded entry, and for each entry of logMeasInfoList included, include all the information stored in the corresponding logMeasInfoList entry within VarLogMeasReport; 3> If VarLogMeasReport contains one or more additional log measurement entries not included in the logMeasInfoList within the UEInformationResponse message: 4> Include logMeasAvailable; 4> The location of one or more additional log measurement entries in VarLogMeasReport not included in the logMeasInfoList within the UEInformationResponse message I If bt-LocationInfo is included in the location 5> Include logMeasAvailableBT; 4> The locationInfo of one or more additional log measurement entries of VarLogMeasReport not included in the logMeasInfoList within the UEInformationResponse message wlan If -LocationInfo is included: 5> Include logMeasAvailableWLAN; 1> If ra-ReportReq is set to true, the UE has random access related information available in VarRA-Report, and the RPLMN is included in the plmn-IdentityList stored in VarRA-Report: 2> Set the value of the ra-ReportList of VarRA-Report to the ra-ReportList of the UEInformationResponse message; 2> If the delivery of the UEInformationResponse message verified by the lower layer is successful, discard the ra-ReportList from VarRA-Report; 1> If ra-ReportRedCapReq is set to true, the UE has random access related information available in the associated VarRA-Report, and at least one of the RA-Report entries in the ra-ReportList included in VarRA-Report has a raFeatureType set to RedCap, and the RPLMN is included in the plmn-IdentityList stored in VarRA-Report: 2> Set the value of the RA-Report entry in the ra-ReportList of the VarRA-Report with raFeatureType set to RedCap in the ra-ReportList within the UEInformationResponse message; 2> When the delivery of the UEInformationResponse message confirmed by the lower layer is successful, discard the corresponding RA-Report entry in the ra-ReportList from VarRA-Report; 1> If ra-ReportSDTReq is set to true, the UE has random access related information available in the associated VarRA-Report, and at least one of the RA-Report entries in the ra-ReportList included in VarRA-Report has a raFeatureType set to SDT, and the RPLMN is included in the plmn-IdentityList stored in VarRA-Report: 2> Set the value of the RA-Report entry in the ra-ReportList of the VarRA-Report with raFeatureType set to SDT in the ra-ReportList within the UEInformationResponse message; 2> When the delivery of the UEInformationResponse message confirmed by the lower layer is successful, discard the corresponding RA-Report entry in the ra-ReportList from VarRA-Report; 1> When ra-ReportSlice-MBBReq is set to true, the UE has random access related information available in the associated VarRA-Report, and at least one of the RA-Report entries in the ra-ReportList included in VarRA-Report has the raFeatureType set for Slice-MBB, and the RPLMN is included in the plmn-IdentityList stored in VarRA-Report: 2> Set the value of the RA-Report entry in the ra-ReportList of the VarRA-Report with the raFeatureType set for Slice-MBB in the ra-ReportList of the UEInformationResponse message; 2> When the delivery of the UEInformationResponse message confirmed by the lower layer is successful, discard the corresponding RA-Report entry in the ra-ReportList from VarRA-Report; 1> When ra-ReportSlice-URLLCReq is set to true, the UE has random access related information available in the associated VarRA-Report, and at least one of the RA-Report entries in the ra-ReportList included in VarRA-Report has the raFeatureType set for Slice-URLLC, and the RPLMN is included in the plmn-IdentityList stored in VarRA-Report: 2> Set the value of the RA-Report entry in the ra-ReportList of the VarRA-Report with the raFeatureType set for Slice-URLLC in the ra-ReportList of the UEInformationResponse message; 2> When the delivery of the UEInformationResponse message confirmed by the lower layer is successful, discard the corresponding RA-Report entry in the ra-ReportList from VarRA-Report; 1> If ra-ReportRedCapSDTReq is set to true, the UE has random access related information available in the associated VarRA-Report, and at least one of the RA-Report entries in the ra-ReportList included in VarRA-Report has a raFeatureType set to RedCap+SDT, and the RPLMN is included in the plmn-IdentityList stored in VarRA-Report: 2> Set the value of the RA-Report entry in the ra-ReportList of the VarRA-Report with raFeatureType set to RedCap+SDT in the ra-ReportList of the UEInformationResponse message; 2> When the delivery of the UEInformationResponse message confirmed by the lower layer is successful, discard the corresponding RA-Report entry in the ra-ReportList from VarRA-Report; 1> If ra-ReportRedCapSlice-MBBReq is set to true, the UE has random access related information available in the associated VarRA-Report, and at least one of the RA-Report entries in the ra-ReportList included in VarRA-Report has a raFeatureType set to RedCap+Slice-MBB, and the RPLMN is included in the plmn-IdentityList stored in VarRA-Report: 2> Set the value of the RA-Report entry in the ra-ReportList of the VarRA-Report with raFeatureType set to RedCap+Slice-MBB in the ra-ReportList of the UEInformationResponse message; 2> When the delivery of the UEInformationResponse message confirmed by the lower layer is successful, discard the corresponding RA-Report entry in the ra-ReportList from VarRA-Report; 1> If ra-ReportRedCapSlice-URLLCReq is set to true, the UE has random access related information available in the associated VarRA-Report, and at least one of the RA-Report entries in the ra-ReportList included in VarRA-Report has a raFeatureType set to RedCap+Slice-URLLC, and the RPLMN is included in the plmn-IdentityList stored in VarRA-Report: 2> Set the value of the RA-Report entry in the ra-ReportList of the VarRA-Report with the raFeatureType set to RedCap+Slice-URLLC in the ra-ReportList of the UEInformationResponse message; 2> When the delivery of the UEInformationResponse message confirmed by the lower layer is successful, discard the corresponding RA-Report entry in the ra-ReportList from VarRA-Report; 1> If ra-ReportSDTSlice-MBBReq is set to true, the UE has random access related information available in the associated VarRA-Report, and at least one of the RA-Report entries in the ra-ReportList included in VarRA-Report has a raFeatureType set to SDT+Slice-MBB, and the RPLMN is included in the plmn-IdentityList stored in VarRA-Report: 2> Set the value of the RA-Report entry in the ra-ReportList of the VarRA-Report with the raFeatureType set to SDT+Slice-MBB in the ra-ReportList of the UEInformationResponse message; 2> When the delivery of the UEInformationResponse message confirmed by the lower layer is successful, discard the corresponding RA-Report entry in the ra-ReportList from VarRA-Report; 1> if ra-ReportSDTpSlice-URLLCReq is set to true, the UE has random access related information available in the associated VarRA-Report, and at least one of the RA-Report entries in the ra-ReportList contained in the VarRA-Report has raFeatureType set to SDT+Slice-URLLC, and the mRPLMN is included in the plmn-IdentityList stored in the VarRA-Report: 2> Set the ra-ReportList of the UEInformationResponse message to the value of the RA-Report entry in the ra-ReportList of the VarRA-Report with raFeatureType set to SDT+Slice-URLLC; 2> Upon successful delivery of the UEInformationResponse message confirmed by the lower layers, discard the corresponding RA-Report entry in the ra-ReportList from VarRA-Report; 1> If ra-Report Slice-MBBSlice-URLLCReq is set to true and the UE has random access related information available in the associated VarRA-Report and at least one of the RA-Report entries in the ra-ReportList contained in the VarRA-Report has raFeatureType set to Slice-MBB+Slice-URLLC and the RPLMN is included in the plmn-IdentityList stored in the VarRA-Report: 2> Set the ra-ReportList of the UEInformationResponse message to the value of the RA-Report entry in the ra-ReportList of the VarRA-Report with raFeatureType set to Slice-MBB+Slice-URLLC; 2> Upon successful delivery of the UEInformationResponse message confirmed by the lower layers, discard the corresponding RA-Report entry in the ra-ReportList from VarRA-Report; 1> If rlf-ReportReq is set to true: 2> If the UE has radio link failure information or handover failure information available in VarRLF-Report and the RPLMN is included in the plmn-IdentityList stored in VarRLF-Report: 3> Set the timeSinceFailure in the VarRLF-Report to the time elapsed since the last radio link failure or handover failure in NR; 3> Set the value of the rlf-Report of the VarRLF-Report in the rlf-Report within the UEInformationResponse message; 3> Discard the rlf-Report from the VarRLF-Report when the delivery of the UEInformationResponse message confirmed by the lower layer is successful; 2> Otherwise, if the UE is capable of cross-RAT RLF reporting as defined in TS38.306

[26] and has radio link failure information or handover failure information available in VarRLF of TS36.331

[10] , and the RPLMN is included in the plmn-IdentityList stored in VarRLF of TS36.331

[10] : -Report and has radio link failure information or handover failure information available in VarRLF of TS36.331

[10] , and the RPLMN is included in the plmn-IdentityList stored in VarRLF of TS36.331

[10] : -Report If so: 3> In the VarRLF-Report of TS36.331

[10] timeS Set the inceFailure to the time elapsed since the last radio link failure or handover failure in EUTRA; 3> Set the failedPCellId-EUTRA in the rlf-Report within the UEInformationResponse message to indicate the PCell where RLF was detected or the source PCell of the failed handover in the VarRLF-Report of TS36.331

[10] vinegar ; 3> Set the value of the rlf-Report of the VarRLF-Report of TS36.331

[10] in the measResult-RLF-Report-EUTRA of the rlf-Report of the UEInformationResponse message; 3> If the delivery of the UEInformationResponse message verified by the lower layer is successful, discard rlf-Report from VarRLF-Report in TS36.331

[10] ; 1> When connEstFailReportReq is set to true and the UE has a connection establishment failure or a connection re-establishment failure in VarConnEstFailReport Information and the RPLMN is equal to the plmn-Identity stored in VarConnEstFailReport: 2> V Set timeSinceFailure in arConnEstFailReport to the time elapsed since the last connection Establishment failure or the connection re-establishment failure of NR; 2> Set the value of connEstFailReport in VarConnEstFailReport to connEstFailReport in the UEInformationResponse message; 2> If the UEInformationResponse message verified by the lower layer is successfully delivered, discard connEstFailReport from VarConnEstFailReport; 1> When mobilityHistoryReportReq is set to true: 2> Set to include mobilityHistoryReport and, in it, the entries from VarMobilityHistoryReport; 2> After deleting the oldest entry if necessary, include the entry of the current cell in mobilityHistoryReport and set its fields as follows: 3> Set visitedCellId to the global cell identity or physical cell identity and carrier frequency of the current cell: 3> Set the timeSpent field to the time spent in the current cell; 1> If logMeasReport is included in UEInformationResponse: 2> Submit the UEInformationResponse message to the lower layer for transmission via SRB2; 2> When the UEInformationResponse message confirmed by the lower layer is successfully delivered, discard the logged measurement entries included in logMeasInfoList from VarLogMeasReport; 1> Otherwise: 2> Submit the UEInformationResponse message to the lower layer and transmit it via SRB1.

[0069] In the following description, the communication device can be any of the wireless devices 512A, 512B, the wired or wireless devices UE512C, UE512D, UE600, the virtualized hardw Eh are 904, the virtual machines 908A, 908B, or UE1006. However, the communication device 600 is assumed to be used to illustrate the functions of the operation of the communication device. (Implemented using the block diagram structure of FIG. 6) The operation of the communication device 600 is invention described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 3 according to some embodiments of the concept. For example, the modules may be stored in the memory 610 of FIG. 6, and these modules can provide instructions such that when the instructions of the modules are executed by the respective communication device processing circuits 602, the processing circuit 602 executes the respective operations of the flowchart.

[0070] FIG. 3 shows an example of operations performed by a communication device to indicate the random access (RA) resources used by the communication device during the RA procedure.

[0071] In block 310, the processing circuit 602, via the communication interface 612, determines that the communication device is related to the RA procedure informationSend an indication indicating that it can be memorized. According to some embodiments, the information includes a feature type related to the RA resource. Additional or alternative fruit According to embodiments, the information includes identification information of the RA resource. The identification information can include at least one of the time related to the RA resource, the frequency related to the RA resource, and the preamble dimension related to the RA resource.

[0072] In block 320, the processing circuit 602 receives a request to memorize information via the communication interface 612.

[0073] In block 330, the processing circuit 602 receives an RA configuration related to at least one feature-specific RA resource configuration from the first network node.

[0074] In block 340, the processing circuit 602 executes an RA procedure towards the first network node.

[0075] In block 350, the processing circuit 602 stores information related to the RA procedure.

[0076] In block 360, the processing circuit 602 sends an indication via the communication interface 612 that the communication device has memorized the information.

[0077] In block 370, the processing circuit 602 receives a request to send the information via the communication interface 612.

[0078] In block 380, the processing circuit 602 sends the information to the second network node via the communication interface 612. In some embodiments, the first network node is separate from the second network node. According to other embodiments, the first network node includes the second network node.

[0079] The various operations from the flowchart of FIG. 3 may be optional with respect to some embodiments of the communication device and related methods. For example, with respect to the method of Exemplary Embodiment 1 (described below), the operations of blocks 310, 320, 360, and 370 of FIG. 3 may be optional.

[0080] In the following description, the network node can be any of network nodes 510A, 510B, 700, 1006, hardware 904, or virtual machines 908A, 908B, but network node 700 is used to illustrate the functionality of the operation of the network node. The operation of network node 700 (implemented using the structure of FIG. 7) is invention described in connection with the flowchart of FIG. 4 according to some embodiments of the concept. For example, the modules may be stored in memory 704 of FIG. 7, and these modules can provide instructions such that when the instructions of the modules are executed by their respective network node processing circuits 702, the processing circuits 702 execute the respective operations of the flowchart.

[0081] FIG. 4 shows an illustration of operations performed by a second network node to collect information related to random access (RA) resources used by a communication device during an RA procedure with a first network node. In some embodiments, the first network node is separate from the second network node. According to other embodiments, the first network node includes the second network node.

[0082] In block 410, the processing circuit 702 receives, via the communication interface 706, an indication that the communication device can store information associated with the RA procedure. According to some embodiments, the information includes a feature type related to the RA resource. Additional or alternative fruitAccording to an embodiment, the information includes identification information of the RA resource. The identification information can include at least one of a time related to the RA resource, a frequency related to the RA resource, and a preamble dimension related to the RA resource.

[0083] In block 420, the processing circuit 702 transmits a request for storing information to the communication device via the communication interface 706.

[0084] In block 430, the processing circuit 702 transmits an RA configuration associated with at least one feature-specific RA resource configuration to the communication device via the communication interface 706. According to some embodiments, transmitting the RA configuration includes at least one of transmitting a broadcast message and transmitting a dedicated configuration.

[0085] In block 440, the processing circuit 702 receives an indication that the communication device has stored the information via the communication interface 706.

[0086] In block 450, the processing circuit 702 transmits a request for transmitting the information via the communication interface 706.

[0087] In block 460, the processing circuit 702 receives the information via the communication interface 706.

[0088] The various operations from the flowchart of FIG. 4 may be optional with respect to some embodiments of the network node and related methods. For example, with respect to the method of exemplary embodiment 10 (described below), the operations of blocks 410, 420, 430, and 440 in FIG. 4 may be optional.

[0089] FIG. 5 shows an illustration of a communication system 500 according to some embodiments.

[0090] In the example, the communication system 500 includes a telecommunications network 502 that includes an access network 504, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 506 that includes one or more core network nodes 508. The access network 504 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 510a and 510b (one or more of which may generally be referred to as network node 510), or any other similar 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP™) access node or non-3GPP™ access point. The network node 510 enables direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 512a, 512b, 512c, and 512d (one or more of which may generally be referred to as UE 512) to the core network 506 via one or more wireless connections.

[0091] Exemplary wireless communication via a wireless connection includes transmitting and / or receiving a wireless signal using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared, and / or other types of signals suitable for transmitting information without using wires, cables, or other Lead body Material substances. Further, according to various embodiments, the communication system 500 may include any number of Wired or Wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or Wired any other components or systems that facilitate or are involved in the communication of data and / or signals, whether via a wireless connection or not. The communication system 500 may include any type of communication, telecommunications, data, cellular, wireless network, and / or other similar types of systems and And / or interface with them.

[0092] The UE 512 communicates with the network node 510 and other communication devices WirelesslyAny of a variety of communication devices, including a wireless device formed, configured, and / or operable to communicate. Similarly, network node 510 Wireless enables and / or provides network access, such as network access, And / or to perform other functions such as management in telecommunications network 502, UE 512 and / or other network nodes within telecommunications network 502 or Device is formed, enabled, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with.

[0093] As shown in the Example According to the figure, core network 506 connects network node 510 to one or more hosts, such as host 516. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediate networks or devices. In other embodiments, the network node may be directly coupled to the host. Core network 506 includes one or more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 508) composed of hardware E and software E components. The characteristics of these components may be substantially similar to those described for the UE, network node, and / or host, and thus those descriptions generally apply to the corresponding components of core network node 508. Exemplary core network nodes include one or more functions of a mobile switching center (MSC), a mobility management entity (MME), a home subscriber server (HSS), an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), an authentication server function (AUSF), a subscription identification information disclosure function (SIDF), an integrated data management (UDM), a security edge protection proxy (SEPP), a network exposure function (NEF), and / or a user plane function (UPF).

[0094] Host 516 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than the operator or provider of access network 504 and / or telecommunications network 502, and may be operated by or on behalf of the service provider. Host 516 can host various applications to provide one or more services. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as searching and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by multiple UEs, analytical functions, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for alarm and monitoring centers, or any other such functions executed by a server.

[0095] Overall, communication system 500 of FIG. 5 enables connectivity between UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may, but is not limited to, the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) for mobile communications, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long-Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future-generation standards (e.g., 6G), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi) Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) standards, and / or Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth®, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC), ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any other suitable Wireless communication standards such as any Low-Power Wide-Area Network (LPWAN) standards like LoRa and Sigfox, etc., and may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or Order procedures.

[0096] In some examples, the telecommunications network 502 is a cellular network implementing features standardized by 3GPP (registered trademark). Thus, the telecommunications network 502 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices connected to the telecommunications network 502. For example, the telecommunications network 502 may provide ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs and / or massive machine type communication (mMTC) / massive IoT services to further UEs.

[0097] In some examples, the UE 512 is configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, the UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 504 at a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to a request from the access network 504. Further, the UE may be configured to operate in single or multi-RAT or multi-standard modes. For example, the UE can operate in any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio), and LTE, i.e., may be configured with multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0098] In the example, the hub 514 communicates with the access network 504 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UEs 512c and / or 512d) and a network node (e.g., network node 504b). In some examples, the hub 514 may be any of a controller, router, content source and analyzer, or other communication device described herein with respect to the UE. For example, the hub 514 may be a broadband router that enables access to the core network 506 for the UE. As another example, the hub 514 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators within the UE. The commands or instructions may be received from the UE, the network node 510, or executable code, scripts, processes, or other instructions within the hub 514. As another example, the hub 514 may be a data collector that serves as temporary storage for UE data, and in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 514 may be a content source. For example, in the case of a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker, or other media delivery device, the hub 514 can retrieve data related to VR assets, video, audio, or other media or sensory information via the network node, and then the hub 514 can provide it directly to the UE either after performing local processing and / or after adding additional local content. In yet another example, the hub 514 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UE, particularly when one or more of the UEs are low-energy IoT devices.

[0099] The hub 514 can have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 510b. The hub 514 may also allow for another communication method and / or schedule between the hub 514 and the UE (e.g., UEs 512c and / or 512d) and between the hub 514 and the core network 506. Other Example According to, the hub 514 isWired It is connected to the core network 506 and / or one or more UEs via a connection. Further, the hub 514 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider via the access network 504 and / or to another UE directly via a connection. In some situations, a UE may establish a wireless connection with the network node 510 while still being connected via the hub 514 via a wired or wireless connection. According to some embodiments, the hub 514 is a dedicated hub, i.e., a hub whose main function is to route communications from the network node 510b U E / From UE to network node 510b to E. According to other embodiments, the hub 514 is a non-dedicated hub, i.e., a device that can operate to route communications between the UE and the network node 510b, but can also further operate as a communication origin and / or destination for a specific data channel.

[0100] FIG. 6 shows a UE 600 according to some embodiments. As used herein, a UE is a device (apparatus) that can communicate with a network node and / or another UE, Wirelessly is made, configured, and / or operable. Examples of UEs include smartphones, Arrange telephones, mobile phones, Voice over IP (VoIP) phones, Move local loop phones, desktop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), Wireless cameras, gaming machines or devices, music storage devices, playback appliances, wearable terminal devices, Wireless endpoints, mobile stations, tablets, laptops, laptop embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart devices, Wireless etc. WirelessExamples include, but are not limited to, customer premise equipment (CPE), in-vehicle or embedded / integrated wireless devices. Other examples include any UE identified by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP®), including narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) UEs, machine type communication (MTC) UEs, and / or enhanced MTC (eMTC) UEs.

[0101] The UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example, by implementing 3GPP® standards for sidelink communication, dedicated short range communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication, or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication. In other examples, the UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of an individual human user who owns and / or operates the associated device. Instead, the UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to or operation by a human user but is not initially associated with a particular human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller) or may or may not be associated with a human user at all. Alternatively, the UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to or operation by an end user but may be associated with or operated for a user (e.g., a smart power meter). And / or operate it. Instead, the UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to or operation by a human user but is not initially associated with a particular human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller) or may or may not be associated with a human user at all. Alternatively, the UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to or operation by an end user but may be associated with or operated for a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0102] The UE 600 includes a processing circuit 602 operatively coupled via a bus 604 to an input / output interface 606, a power supply 608, a memory 610, a communication interface 612, and / or any other components, or any combination thereof. Some UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in FIG. 6. The level of integration between components may vary from one UE to another. Additionally, some UEs may include multiple instances of components such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0103] The processing circuit 602 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operable to execute instructions stored as a machine-readable computer program within the memory 610. The processing circuit 602 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., discrete logic, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc.), programmable logic with appropriate firmware, one or more stored computer programs such as a microprocessor or a digital signal processor (DSP) with appropriate software, a general-purpose processor, or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuit 602 may include a plurality of central processing units (CPUs).

[0104] In this example, the input / output interface 606 may be configured to interface with an input device, an output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of output devices include speakers, sound cards, video cards, displays, monitors, printers, actuators, emitters, smart cards, other output devices, or any combination thereof. The input device may enable a user to capture information into the UE 600. Examples of input devices include touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive displays, cameras (e.g., digital cameras, digital video cameras, webcams, etc.), microphones, sensors, mice, trackballs, directional input pads, trackpads, scroll wheels, smart cards, etc. Presence - sensitive The display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. The sensors may be, for example, accelerometers, gyroscopes, tilt sensors, force sensors, magnetometers, light sensors, proximity sensors, biometric sensors, etc., or any combination thereof. The output device may be of the same type of interface as the input device -Sports can be used. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide input and output devices.

[0105] According to some embodiments, the power supply 608 is configured as a battery or a battery pack. Other types of power supplies such as an external power supply (e.g., an electrical outlet), a photovoltaic device, or a power cell can be used. The power supply 608 may further include a power supply circuit for delivering power from the power supply 608 itself and / or an external power supply to various parts of the UE600 via an interface such as an input circuit or a power cable. The power transmission may be for charging the power supply 608, for example. The power supply circuit may perform any format, conversion, or other modification to the power from the power supply 608 to create power suitable for each component of the UE600 to which power is supplied.

[0106] The memory 610 is a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), P programmable Read read-only memory (PROM), erasable P programmable Read read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable P programmable Read read-only memory (EEPROM), a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a hard disk, a removable cartridge, a flash drive, or the like, or may be configured to include them. According to one One example embodiment, the memory 610 includes one or more application programs 614 such as an operating system, a web browser application, a widget, a gadget engine, or other applications, and corresponding data 616. The memory 610 can store any one or a combination of various operating systems for use by the UE6.

[0107] Memory 610 may be configured to include several physical drives, such as a redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, a USB flash drive, an external hard disk drive, a thumb drive, a pen drive, a key drive, a high density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, an internal hard disk drive, a Blu-ray optical disc drive, a holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, an external mini dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), an external micro DIMM SDRAM, one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and / or an ISIM, other memories, or any combination thereof, such as a smart card memory in the form of an anti-tampering module of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC). The UICC may be, for example, Set a compact UICC (eUICC), an integrated UICC (iUICC), or a removable UICC commonly known as a "SIM card". Memory 610 may enable the UE600 to access instructions, application programs, etc. stored on a temporary or non-temporary memory medium, offload data, or upload data. A product such as one that utilizes a communication system may be a device-readable storage medium, or may be or be tangibly embodied therein as a memory 610 that includes a device-readable storage medium.

[0108] Processing circuit 602 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using communication interface 612. Communication interface 612 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to antenna 622. Communication interface 612 is Wireless communication another that is possible DeviceOne or more transceivers may be included for communicating, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of (e.g., another UE or network node in the access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 618 and / or a receiver 620 suitable for providing network communication (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency division, etc.). Further, the transmitter 618 and the receiver 620 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 622), and may share circuit components, software, or firmware, or may be implemented separately.

[0109] According to the illustrated embodiment, the communication functions of the communication interface 612 include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, Bluetooth near-field communication such as (registered trademark), proximity communication, location-based communication such as the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) for determining location, other similar communication functions, or any combination thereof. The communication may be implemented according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards such as IEEE802.11, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA (registered trademark)), GSM (registered trademark), LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet (registered trademark), Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP / IP), Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), etc.

[0110] Regardless of the type of sensor, the UE can provide, via its communication interface 612, the data output captured by its sensor to a network node via a wireless connection. The data captured by the UE's sensor may be communicated to the network node via a wireless connection via another UE. The output may be in response to a trigger event (e.g., when moisture is detected, when a warning is sent), a request (e.g., a user-initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient), and may be periodic (e.g., reporting the sensed temperature once every 15 minutes), random (e.g., the load from reports from some sensors Imitate ) as well.

[0111] As another example, the UE includes an actuator, a motor, or a switch associated with a communication interface configured to receive wireless Input from a network node via a wireless connection. The state of the actuator, motor, or switch may change in response to the received Wireless input. For example, the UE may include a motor for adjusting the control surfaces or rotors of an in-flight Drone or a robotic arm that performs a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0112] When the UE forms an Internet of Things (IoT) device, it may be a device for use in one or more application domains, which include, but are not limited to, urban wearable technologies, extended industrial applications, and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such IoT devices include connected refrigerators or freezers, TVs, connected lighting fixtures, power meters, robotic vacuum cleaners, voice-controlled smartphone speakers, home security cameras, motion detectors, thermostats, smoke detectors, door / window sensors, flood / moisture sensors, electric door locks, connected door phones, air conditioning systems such as heat pumps, autonomous vehicles, surveillance systems, weather monitoringDevice 、Vehicle parking monitoring Device 、Electric vehicle charging stations, smartwatches, fitness trackers, head-mounted displays for augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR), wearables for tactile or sensory enhancement, water sprinklers, for tracking animals or items Device 、Sensors for monitoring plants or animals, industrial robots, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and any type of medical Remote 、Such as operating surgical robots, or devices incorporated therein Device 、Or related to them Set 、The UE in the form of an IoT device includes circuits and / or software according to the intended application of the IoT device in addition to other components as described in relation to UE600 shown in FIG. 6

[0113] As yet another specific example, in an IoT scenario, the UE can represent a machine or other entity that performs monitoring and / or measurements and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or network node Device 、The UE may in this case be an M2M device that may be referred to as an MTC device in the 3GPP™ description. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP™ NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, the UE may represent vehicles such as cars, buses, trucks, ships, and aircraft, or other devices that can monitor and / or report on their operating state or other functions related to their operation

[0114] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, the first UE may be a drone, or may be integrated into a drone, and may provide speed information of the drone (obtained via a speed sensor) to a second UE which is a remote controller for operating the drone. When the user makes a change from the remote controller, the first UE can adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g., by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the speed of the drone. The first and / or second UE may also include two or more of the functions described above. For example, the UE may be equipped with sensors and actuators and can handle the communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuator.

[0115] FIG. 7 shows a network node 700 according to some embodiments. As used herein, a network node refers to an apparatus configured, arranged, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or other network nodes or Device in a telecommunications network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., wireless access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., wireless base stations, Node B, evolved Node B (eNB), and NR Node B (gNB)).

[0116] Base stations may be classified based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, put differently, their transmission power levels), and thus may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations depending on the amount of coverage provided. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node that controls a relay. A network node may also Remote include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as a centralized digital unit and / or Remote a radio unit (RRU), also sometimes referred to as a radio remote head (RRH). SuchRemote The radio unit may or may not be integrated with the antenna as an antenna-integrated radio. Some parts of a distributed radio base station may also be called nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0117] Other examples of network nodes include multi-transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) devices such as MSR BS, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multi-cast coordination entities (MCEs), operation and maintenance (O&M) nodes, operation support system (OSS) nodes, self-organizing network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., evolved serving mobile location center (E-SMLC)), and / or minimization of drive tests (MDT).

[0118] The network node 700 includes a processing circuit 702, a memory 704, a communication interface 706, and a power supply 708. The network node 700 may be composed of a number of physically distinct components (e.g., a Node B component and an RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), each having its respective components. In certain situations where the network node 700 includes multiple separate components (e.g., a BTS and a BSC component), one or more separate components may be shared among multiple network nodes. For example, a single RNC can control multiple Node Bs. In such scenarios, each unique pair of Node B and RNC may, in some cases, be regarded as a single individual network node. In some embodiments, the network node 700 may be configured to support multiple (multi-radio access technology (RAT)) wireless access technologies. According to such embodiments, some components may be replicated (e.g., separate memories 704 for different RATs), and some components may be reused (e.g., the same antenna 710 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 700 may also include various Wireless illustrated components for various technologies integrated within the network node 700, such as GSM, WCDMA (registered trademark), LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, radio frequency identification device (RFID), or Bluetooth (registered trademark) Wireless multiple sets of technologies. These Wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or chip sets and other components within the network node 700.

[0119] The processing circuit 702 is a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a central processing unit, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, or any other suitable Computing devicemay include one or more combinations of resources, or a combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic, which, alone or in combination with other network node 700 components such as memory 704, are operable to provide network node 700 functionality.

[0120] According to some embodiments, processing circuit 702 includes a system-on-chip (SOC). According to some embodiments, processing circuit 702 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuit 712 and baseband processing circuit 714. In some embodiments, radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuit 712 and baseband processing circuit 714 may be on separate chips (or chip sets), boards, or units such as a radio unit and a digital unit. In alternative embodiments, some or all of RF transceiver circuit 712 and baseband processing circuit 714 may be on the same chip or chip set, board, or unit.

[0121] Memory 704 may include any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory, including but not limited to persistent storage devices, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic recording media, optical recording media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (e.g., hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., flash drive, compact disc (CD) or digital video disc (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory device capable of storing information, data, and / or instructions used by processing circuit 702. Memory 704 stores computer programs, softw EIt can store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including an application that includes one or more of other instructions that can be executed by the logic, rules, code, table, and / or processing circuit 702 and utilized by the network node 700. The memory 704 may be used to store any operations performed by the processing circuit 702 and / or any data received via the communication interface 706. According to some embodiments, the processing circuit 702 and the memory 704 are integrated.

[0122] The communication interface 706 is for wired or wireless signaling and / or data between network nodes, access networks, and / or UEs PassIt is used for communication. As shown in the figure, the communication interface 706 includes, for example, ports / terminals 716 for transmitting and receiving data to and from a network via a wired connection. The communication interface 706 may also include a radio front-end circuit 718 that can be coupled to the antenna 710 or, according to some embodiments, a portion thereof. The radio front-end circuit 718 includes a filter 720 and an amplifier 722. The radio front-end circuit 718 may be connected to the antenna 710 and the processing circuit 702. The radio front-end circuit may be configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna 710 and the processing circuit 702. The radio front-end circuit 718 can receive digital data that is to be transmitted to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuit 718 may use a combination of the filter 720 and / or the amplifier 722 to convert the digital data into a radio signal having appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 710. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 710 can collect radio signals that are converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuit 718. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuit 702. In other embodiments, the communication interface can include different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0123] According to certain alternative embodiments, the network node 700 does not include a separate radio front-end circuit 718. Instead, the processing circuit 702 includes a radio front-end circuit and is connected to the antenna 710. Similarly, according to some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuits 712 are part of the communication interface 706. According to still other embodiments, the communication interface 706 includes one or more ports or terminals 716, a radio front-end circuit 718, and an RF transceiver circuit 712 as part of a wireless unit (not shown), and the communication interface 706 communicates with a baseband processing circuit 714 that is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0124] Antenna 710 may include one or more antennas, or an antenna array, configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals. Antenna 710 may be coupled to a radio front-end circuit 718 and may be any type of antenna capable of Wirelessly transmitting and receiving data and / or signals. According to an embodiment, antenna 710 is separate from network node 700 and can be connected to network node 700 through an interface or port.

[0125] Antenna 710, communication interface 706, and / or processing circuit 702 may be configured to perform any receiving operation and / or some acquisition operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data, and / or Signal may be received from a UE, another network node, and / or any other network Device Similarly, antenna 710, communication interface 706, and / or processing circuit 702 may be configured to perform any transmission operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data, and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node, and / or any other network Device

[0126] ​Power supply 708 provides power to various components of network node 700 in a form suitable for each component (e.g., at the voltage and current levels required by each component). The power supply 708 may further comprise or be coupled to a power management circuit for supplying power to the components of the network node 700 for performing the functions described herein. For example, the network node 700 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., a power transmission grid, an electrical outlet) via an input circuit or interface such as an electric wire, whereby the external power source supplies power to the power supply circuit of the power supply 708. As a further example, the power supply 708 may comprise a power source in the form of a battery or a battery pack that is connected to or integrated into the power supply circuit. In the event of a failure of the external power source, backup power may be supplied from the battery.

[0127] Embodiments of the network node 700 may include additional components beyond those shown in FIG. 7 to provide a particular aspect of the functionality of the network node that includes any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality essential to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 700 may include a user interface Device that enables input of information to the network node 700 and output of information from the network node 700. Thereby, a user may perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other management functions of the network node 700.

[0128] FIG. 8 shows the host 516 of FIG. 5 according to various aspects described herein ActualFIG. 0 is a block diagram of a host 800 that can be an embodiment. As used herein, the host 800 can be or include various combinations of hardware and / or software, such as a stand-alone server, a blade server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, a virtual machine, a container, or processing resources within a server farm, or can be or include them. The host 800 can provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[0129] The host 800 includes a processing circuit 802 operatively coupled via a bus 804 to an input / output interface 806, a network interface 808, a power supply 810, and a memory 812. Other components may be included in other embodiments. The features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the devices in previous figures, such as FIGS. 6 and 7, such that the description is generally applicable to the corresponding components of the host 800.

[0130] The memory 812 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 814 and data 816 that may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for the host 800 or data generated by the host 800 for a UE. Embodiments of the host 800 can utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application program 814 can be implemented in a container-based architecture, for a UE (e.g., a handset, a desktop computer, a u EIt is possible to provide support for transcoding for multiple different classes, types, or implementations of (e.g., versatile video coding (VVC), high efficiency video coding (HEVC), advanced video coding (AVC), MPEG, VP9) and audio coding (e.g., FLAC, advanced audio coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711) including arable display systems and head-up display systems. The host application program 814 can also provide user authentication and license checking, and can periodically report health, routes, and content availability to central nodes such as within the core network or E at the edge Device and so on. Thus, the host 800 can select and / or indicate different hosts for the over-the-top service for the UE. The host application program 814 may support various protocols such as the HTTP live streaming (HLS) protocol, the real-time messaging protocol (RTMP), the real-time streaming protocol (RTSP), and dynamic adaptive streaming over HTTP (MPEG-DASH).

[0131] FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a virtualization environment 900 in which functions implemented by some embodiments can be virtualized. In the present text, virtualization includes an apparatus or Device virtualizing hardware platforms, memories Devicemeans creating a virtual version thereof. As used herein, virtualization may be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to implementations where at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 900 hosted by one or more of the hardware nodes such as a network node, UE, core network node, or a hardware computing device operating as a host. Further, in embodiments where the virtual node does not require wireless connectivity (e.g., a core network node or a host), the node may be fully virtualized.

[0132] An application 902 (alternatively, may be referred to as a software instance, virtual appliance, network function, virtual node, virtual network function, etc.) is executed in a virtualized environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or advantages of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0133] Hardware 904 includes a processing circuit, a memory storing software and / or instructions executable by the hardware processing circuit, and / or other hardware devices described herein such as a network interface, an input / output interface. The software may be executed by the processing circuit to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 906 (also referred to as a hypervisor or virtual machine monitor (VMM)), provide VMs 908a and 908b (one or more of which may generally be referred to as VM908), and / or execute any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in connection with some of the embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 906 can present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VM908.

[0134] VM908 may include virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interfaces, and virtual storage, and may be executed by a corresponding virtualization layer 906. Various embodiments of an instance of the virtual appliance 902 may be implemented on one or more of the VM908s, and the implementation may be performed in different ways. Hardware virtualization is performed in some contexts called network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to integrate many network device types into industry-standard high-volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage deployable within a data center, as well as customer premise equipment.

[0135] In the context of NFV, VM908 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that executes programs as if they were running on a physically non-virtualized machine. Each of the VM908s, and that portion of the hardware 904 that executes that VM, is hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with other VMs, forming separate virtual network elements. Further, in the context of NFV, virtual network functions are executed in one or more VM908s on the hardware 904 and are responsible for handling specific network functions corresponding to the application 902.

[0136] Hardware 904 may be implemented in a stand-alone network node having general or specific components. Hardware 904 can implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, Hardware 904 may be part of a larger hardware cluster (such as within a data center or CPE, etc.) where many hardware nodes cooperate and are managed, especially via management and orchestration 910 that oversees the lifecycle management of application 902. According to some embodiments, Hardware 904 is coupled to one or more radio units, each including one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that can be coupled to one or more antennas. The radio unit can communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and can be used in combination with virtual components to provide radio functions such as a wireless connection node or a base station to a virtual node. According to some embodiments, some signaling can be provided using control system 912, which can alternatively be used for communication between the hardware E node and the radio unit.

[0137] FIG. 10 shows a communication diagram of host 1002 communicating via network node 1004 with UE 1006 via a partially wireless connection, according to some embodiments. Exemplary examples of UEs (such as UE 512a of FIG. 5 and / or UE 600 of FIG. 6), network nodes (such as network node 510a of FIG. 5 and / or network node 700 of FIG. 7), and hosts (such as host 516 of FIG. 5 and / or host 800 of FIG. 8) according to various embodiments are Install described with respect to FIG. 10.

[0138] Similar to host 800, embodiments of host 1002 include hardware such as a communication interface, a processing circuit, and memory. Host 1002 also includes software that is stored on or accessible by host 1002 and executable by the processing circuit. This software can include a host application that can be operable to provide services to remote users such as UE 1006 that are connected via an over-the-top (OTT) connection 1050 that extends between UE 1006 and host 1002. When providing services to remote users, the host application can provide user data transmitted using OTT connection 1050.

[0139] Network node 1004 includes hardware for communicating with host 1002 and UE 1006. Connection 1060 can E pass through a core network (such as core network 506 of FIG. 5) and / or one or more other intermediate networks such as one or more public, private, or host networks. For example, the intermediate network can be a backbone network or the Internet. Directly, or Pass

[0140] UE 1006 includes hardware and software that is stored on or accessible by UE 1006 and executable by the UE's processing circuit. The software can include client applications such as a web browser or operator-specific "app" that can be operable to provide services to human or non-human users via UE 1006 using the support of host 1002. On host 1002, the running host application can communicate with the running client application via OTT connection 1050 that terminates at UE 1006 and host 1002. When providing services to the user, the UE's client application can receive data from the host's host application Request and​​Request User data can be provided in response to data. The OTT connection 1050 may transmit both request data and user data. The client application of the UE can interact with the user to generate user data to be provided to the host application via the OTT connection 1050.

[0141] The OTT connection 1050 may extend via a connection 1060 between the host 1002 and the network node 1004 and via a wireless connection 1070 between the network node 1004 and the UE 1006 to provide a connection between the host 1002 and the UE 1006. The connection 1060 and the wireless connection 1070 through which the OTT connection 1050 can be provided are abstractly depicted to show communication between the host 1002 and the UE 1006 via the network node 1004, but no intermediate devices and exact routing of messages through these devices are explicitly mentioned.

[0142] As an example of transmitting data via the OTT connection 1050, at step 1008, the host 1002 provides user data that can be executed by running a host application. According to some embodiments, the user data is associated with a specific human user who interacts with the UE 1006. According to other embodiments, the user data is associated with the UE 1006 that shares data with the host 1002 without explicit human interaction. At step 1010, the host 1002 initiates a transmission to convey the user data towards the UE 1006. The host 1002 can initiate the transmission in response to a request sent by the UE 1006. The request may be caused by human interaction with the UE 1006 or by the operation of a client application running on the UE 1006. The transmission can pass through the network node 1004 according to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Thus, at step 1012, the network node 1004 transmits the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the host 1002 to the UE 1006 according to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. At step 1014, the UE 1006 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which can be executed by a client application running on the UE 1006 associated with the host application executed by the host 1002.

[0143] In some examples, UE1006 executes a client application that provides user data to host 1002. The user data may be provided in response to or in reaction to data received from host 1002. Thus, at step 1016, UE1006 may provide user data that may be generated by executing the client application. When providing the user data, the client application may further consider user input received from the user via the input / output interface of UE1006. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data is provided, at step 1018, UE1006 initiates transmission of the user data to host 1002 via network node 1004. At step 1020, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, network node 1004 receives the user data from UE1006 and initiates transmission of the received user data to host 1002. At step 1022, host 1002 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by UE1006.

[0144] One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of the OTT service provided to UE1006 using OTT connection 1050 in which wireless connection 1070 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may enable the network to identify feature-specific RA performance and thus optimize the RA performance separately for each of the features.

[0145] In an exemplary scenario, factory status information may be collected and analyzed by host 1002. As another example, host 1002 can process audio and video data retrieved from a UE for use in creating a map. As another example, host 1002 can collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., traffic signal control). As another example, host 1002 can store surveillance videos uploaded by a UE. As another example, host 1002 may store or control access to media content such as video, audio, VR, or AR that can be broadcast, multicast, or unicast to a UE. As another example, host 1002 is for non-time-critical electrical load control for energy price setting, balancing power generation needs, location services, presentation services (such as editing figures from data collected from devices, etc.), or any other function of collecting, searching, storing, analyzing, and / or transmitting data. Remote control, location services, presentation services ( Remote such as editing figures from data collected from devices, etc.), or may be used for any other function of collecting, searching, storing, analyzing, and / or transmitting data.

[0146] In some examples, measurement procedures may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rates, latency (waiting time), and other factors that one or more embodiments improve. Further, there may be optional network functions for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1050 between host 1002 and UE1006 in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedures and / or network functions for reconfiguring the OTT connection can be implemented in the software or hardware of host 1002 and / or UE1006. According to some embodiments, a sensor (not shown) may be deployed within or in relation to another Device through which the OTT connection 1050 passes, and the sensor can supply values of the monitored quantities as exemplified above, or by supplying values of other physical quantities that software E can calculate or estimate the monitored quantities. Measurement proceduremay also be involved. The reconfiguration of the OTT connection 1050 can include message format, retransmission settings, preferred route settings, etc., and the reconfiguration does not necessarily need to directly change the operation of the network node 1004. Such procedures and functionality may be known and practiced in the art. According to certain embodiments, the measurement can involve unique UE signaling that facilitates measurements such as throughput, propagation time, latency, etc. by the host 1002. The measurement may be implemented in software such that messages, particularly empty or "dummy" messages, are sent using the OTT connection 1050 while monitoring propagation time, errors, etc.

[0147] The computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) can include the illustrated combinations of hardware components, but other embodiments can include computing devices having various combinations of components. It should be understood that these computing devices can comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software required to perform the tasks, features, functions, and methods disclosed herein. The determinations, operations, acquisitions, or similar actions described herein can be performed, for example, by a processing circuit that processes information and makes determinations by converting acquired information into other information, comparing the acquired or converted information with information stored in a network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the acquired or converted information. Further, components are depicted as a single box located within a larger box or nested within multiple boxes, but in reality, a computing device can comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and the functions can be divided and arranged among separate components. For example, a communication interface can be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functions of the components can be partitioned between a processing circuit and a communication interface. In another example, functions with a low computational load of any of such components can be implemented in software or firmware, and functions with a high computational load can be implemented in hardware.

[0148] According to certain embodiments, some or all of the functions described herein can be provided by a processing circuit that executes instructions stored in a memory, and according to certain embodiments, a computer program in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium Product may be. According to alternative embodiments, some or all of the functions are hard WiredIt may be provided by a processing circuit without executing instructions stored on a separate or separate device-readable storage medium, such as a method. In any of these particular embodiments, whether or not instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium are executed, the processing circuit may be configured to perform the described functions. The advantages provided by such functions are not limited to the processing circuit alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the entire computing device and / or by the end user and the entire wireless network.

Claims

1. A method, executed by the communication device, for indicating RA resources used by the communication device during a RA (Random Access) procedure, the method comprising: receiving (330) from a first network node a RA configuration associated with at least one feature-specific RA resource configuration; performing (340) the RA procedure towards the first network node using the RA resources based on the RA configuration; receiving (320) a request from a second network node for storing information; storing (350) the information indicating the RA resources used by the communication device during the RA procedure; transmitting (380) the information to the second network node; The method comprising the steps above.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the information comprises at least one of: a type of feature associated with the RA resources used in the RA procedure; identification information of the RA resources used in the RA procedure. The method comprising the steps above.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the identification information comprises at least one of: a time associated with the RA resources, a frequency associated with the RA resources, and a preamble dimension associated with the RA resources.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: transmitting (310) to the second network node an indication that the communication device is capable of storing the information. The method comprising the steps above.

5. A method, executed by the communication device, for indicating RA resources used by the communication device during a RA (Random Access) procedure, the method comprising: receiving (330) from a first network node an RA configuration associated with at least one feature-specific RA resource configuration; performing (340) the RA procedure towards the first network node using the RA resources based on the RA configuration; storing (350) information indicating the RA resources used by the communication device during the RA procedure; transmitting (380) the information to a second network node; and the method further comprising at least one of: transmitting (360) to the second network node an indication that the communication device stores the information; transmitting (360) an indication that the communication device stores information associated with a feature-specific RA procedure.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising at least one of: receiving (370) from the second network node a request to transmit the information; receiving (370) from the second network node a request to transmit information associated with a specific feature type; where transmitting the information to the second network node comprises transmitting the information to the second network node in response to receiving the request from the second network node.

7. A method, executed by a second network node, for collecting information indicating RA (Random Access) resources used by a communication device during an RA procedure with a first network node, the method comprising: Sending a request (420) to the communication device to store the information; Sending a request (450) to the communication device to send information indicating the RA resources used by the communication device during the RA procedure; Receiving the information from the communication device (460) in response to sending the request; The method comprising. **Claim 8** The method according to claim 7, wherein the information comprises: At least one of a type of feature associated with the RA resource; Identification information of the RA resource; The method comprising. **Claim 9** The method according to claim 8, wherein the identification information comprises at least one of a time associated with the RA resource, a frequency associated with the RA resource, and a preamble dimension associated with the RA resource. **Claim 10** The method according to claim 7, further comprising: Sending (430) to the communication device an RA configuration associated with an RA resource configuration specific to at least one feature; The method comprising. **Claim 11** The method according to claim 10, wherein sending the RA configuration comprises at least one of sending a broadcast message and sending a dedicated configuration. **Claim 12** The method according to claim 7, further comprising: Receiving, from the communication device, an indication that the communication device is capable of storing the information (410). A method having the above. **Claim 13**: A method performed by a second network node for collecting information indicating an RA (Random Access) resource used by a communication device during an RA procedure with a first network node, the method comprising: Sending, to the communication device, a request for sending information indicating the RA resource used by the communication device during the RA procedure (450); Receiving, from the communication device, the information in response to sending the request (460); And having: The method further comprises: Receiving, from the communication device, an indication that the communication device stores the information (440); Receiving, from the communication device, an indication that the communication device stores information associated with a feature-specific RA procedure (440); A method having at least one of the above. **Claim 14**: A communication device (600) for indicating an RA resource used by a communication device during an RA (Random Access) procedure, the communication device comprising: A processing circuit (602); A memory (610) connected to the processing circuit and storing instructions executable by the processing circuit to cause the communication device to perform operations including the operations according to any one of Claims 1 to 6; A communication device having the above. **Claim 15**: A computer program comprising program code executed by a processing circuit (602) of the communication device (600) for indicating RA resources used by the communication device during a RA (Random Access) procedure, wherein execution of the program code causes the communication device to perform operations including the operations according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

16. A network node (700) for collecting information associated with RA resources used by a communication device during a RA (Random Access) procedure, the network node comprising: a processing circuit (702); a memory (704) connected to the processing circuit and storing instructions executable by the processing circuit to cause the network node to perform operations including the operations according to any one of claims 7 to 13; A network node having the above.

17. A computer program comprising program code executed by a processing circuit (702) of a network node (700) for collecting information associated with RA resources used by a communication device during a RA (Random Access) procedure, wherein execution of the program code causes the network node to perform operations including the operations according to any one of claims 7 to 13.

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