Network switching method, apparatus, communication device, and system

Abstract

The present application discloses a network switching method, an apparatus, a communication device, and a system, the method including: performing a switching process of a first IAB node based on an already received first switching command when a target network node has already completed sending a target switching command to the target network node, where the target network node is a sub IAB node downstream of the first IAB node in the IAB network or a UE served by the first IAB node, the target switching command includes switching commands corresponding to all network nodes downstream of the first IAB node in the IAB network, and the first switching command is a switching command corresponding to the first IAB node.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] (Cross-reference to Related Applications) This application claims the priority of Chinese Patent Application No. 202010496964.5, filed in China on June 3, 2020, and all the contents of the said application are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] This application belongs to the field of communication technologies, and specifically relates to a network switching method, apparatus, communication device, and system.

Background Art

[0003] An integrated access backhaul (IAB) system includes a distributed unit (DU) functional part and a mobile termination (MT) functional part. In one IAB circuit, all DUs of all IAB nodes are connected to one centralized unit (CU) node, and this CU node arranges the DUs and MTs.

[0004] When an IAB network (including, for example, an IAB1 node, downstream nodes of this IAB1 node, user equipment (UE), etc.) switches from a source network (i.e., a network controlled by a source CU) to a target network (i.e., a network controlled by a target CU), if the uppermost IAB node (i.e., the IAB1 node) in this IAB network switches from the source network to the target network and then to downstream nodes, after the source CU completes the switching of this IAB node, it cannot send a switching command to the downstream nodes to be switched, so the downstream nodes cannot switch to the target network.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] The objective of the embodiments of this application is to provide a network switching method, apparatus, communication device, and system that can solve the problem that downstream nodes cannot switch to the target network in a timely manner when the IAB network to be switched from the source network to the target network.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0006] To solve the above technical problems, this application is realized as follows.

[0007] According to a first aspect, a network switching method for a first IAB node in an IAB network to be switched is provided. The network switching method includes executing a switching process of the first IAB node based on a first switching command that has already been received when the transmission of a target switching command to a target network node has already been completed. Here, the target network node is one sub-IAB node downstream of the first IAB node in the IAB network or a UE served by the first IAB node, the target switching command includes switching commands corresponding to all network nodes downstream of the first IAB node in the IAB network, and the first switching command is a switching command corresponding to the first IAB node.

[0008] According to a second aspect, a network switching method used for a source CU is provided. This network switching method includes transmitting a first switching command and a target switching command to a first IAB node in an IAB network to be switched, where the first switching command is a switching command corresponding to the first IAB node, and the target switching command includes switching commands corresponding to all network nodes downstream of the first IAB node in the IAB network. Here, the first switching command is used to execute the switching process of the first IAB node when the first IAB node has already completed transmitting the target switching command to the target network node, and the target network node is one sub-IAB node downstream of the first IAB node in the IAB network or a UE served by the first IAB node.

[0009] According to a third aspect, a network switching device including an execution module is provided. Here, when the transmission of the target switching command to the target network node has already been completed, the execution module is used to execute the switching process of the first IAB node in the IAB network to be switched based on the first switching command that has already been received. Here, the target network node is one sub-IAB node downstream of the first IAB node in the IAB network or a UE served by the first IAB node, the target switching command includes switching commands corresponding to all network nodes downstream of the first IAB node in the IAB network, and the first switching command is a switching command corresponding to the first IAB node.

[0010] According to a fourth aspect, a network switching device including a transmission module is provided. Here, the transmission module is used to transmit a first switching command and a target switching command to a first IAB node in an IAB network to be switched, the first switching command is a switching command corresponding to the first IAB node, and the target switching command includes switching commands corresponding to all network nodes downstream of the first IAB node in the IAB network. Here, the first switching command is used to execute the switching process of the first IAB node when the first IAB node has already completed transmitting the target switching command to the target network node, and the target network node is one sub-IAB node downstream of the first IAB node in the IAB network or a UE served by the first IAB node.

[0011] According to a fifth aspect, an IAB node is provided, which includes a processor, a memory, and a program or instruction stored in the memory and executable on the processor. When the program or instruction is executed by the processor, the steps of the network switching method described in the first aspect are realized.

[0012] According to a sixth aspect, a CU is provided, which includes a processor, a memory, and a program or instruction stored in the memory and executable on the processor. When the program or instruction is executed by the processor, the steps of the network switching method described in the second aspect are realized.

[0013] According to a seventh aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes the network switching device described in the third aspect and the network switching device described in the fourth aspect, or the communication system includes the IAB node described in the fifth aspect and the CU described in the sixth aspect.

[0014] According to an eighth aspect, a readable storage medium is provided, in which a program or instructions are stored, and when the program or instructions are executed by a processor, the steps of the network switching method described in the first aspect are realized, or the steps of the network switching method described in the second aspect are realized.

[0015] According to a ninth aspect, a chip is provided, the chip includes a processor and a communication interface, the communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is used to run a program or instructions to realize the network switching method described in the first aspect or the network switching method described in the second aspect.

Advantages of the Invention

[0016] In the embodiments of the present application, when the transmission of the target switching command to the target network node has been completed, the first IAB node executes the switching process of the first IAB node based on the first switching command that has been received. Only after the first IAB node determines that the transmission of the corresponding switching command to the downstream network node has been completed, does the first IAB node execute the switching process. Therefore, the problem that the first IAB node performs network switching without completing the transfer of the switching command of the downstream network node and cannot send the switching command to the downstream network node can be avoided, thereby ensuring that the downstream network node can be timely switched to the target network.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0017]

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Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0018] The following clearly and completely describes the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are some of the embodiments of the present application, not all of them. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present application without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present application.

[0019] Terms such as "first" and "second" in the description and claims of this application are used to distinguish similar objects and are not for describing a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such data can be exchanged when appropriate, so that the embodiments of this application can be implemented in an order other than those illustrated or described herein, and the objects distinguished by "first" and "second" are generally of the same type and do not limit the number of objects. For example, the first object may be one or more. Note that "and / or" in the description and claims represents at least one of the connected objects, and the character " / " generally represents that the related objects before and after are in an "or" relationship.

[0020] Hereinafter, some concepts and / or terms related to the network switching method, apparatus, communication device, and system according to the embodiments of this application will be interpreted and explained.

[0021] IAB system: FIG. 1 shows a schematic architecture diagram of an IAB system. An IAB node includes a DU function part and an MT function part. By means of the MT, an access point (i.e., an IAB node) can search for an upstream access point (parent IAB node) and establish a wireless connection with the DU of the upstream access point. This wireless connection is called a wireless backhaul link. When an IAB node establishes a complete backhaul link, this IAB node turns on its DU function, and the DU can provide cell services, that is, the DU can provide access services to user equipment (UE). The self-backhaul circuit includes a donor IAB node (also called an IAB donor), and the donor IAB node has a directly connected wired transmission network. The introduction of the IAB system is to address the case where the deployment of the wired transmission network is insufficient when access points are densely deployed. That is, in the absence of a wired transmission network, access points can rely on a wireless backhaul.

[0022] The UE may also be referred to as a terminal device. The UE may be a terminal-side device such as a mobile phone, a tablet personal computer, a laptop computer (also called a notebook computer), or a notebook computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a palmtop computer, a netbook, an ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), a mobile internet device (MID), a wearable device, or an in-vehicle device (VUE), a pedestrian terminal (PUE), etc. The wearable device includes a bracelet, earphones, glasses, etc. It should be noted that in the embodiments of this application, the specific type of the UE is not limited.

[0023] It should be noted that the technology described in the embodiments of this application is not limited to the Long Term Evolution (LTE) / LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) system, but can also be used in other wireless communication systems, such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Single-carrier Frequency-Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA), and other systems. The terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of this application are always used interchangeably, and the described technology may be used in the systems and radio technologies mentioned above, or in other systems and radio technologies. However, the following description describes the New Radio (NR) system for illustrative purposes and uses NR terms in most of the following descriptions. These technologies may also be applied to applications other than NR system applications, such as the 6th Generation (6G) communication system.

[0024] FIG. 2 shows a schematic structural diagram of an IAB network to be switched from a source CU network to a target CU network. As shown in FIG. 2, this IAB network includes an IAB node 1, all downstream nodes (such as IAB node 2), UEs (such as UE 1 and UE 2), etc. The source donor IAB node corresponding to the source CU network includes CU 1 and DU, and the target donor IAB node corresponding to the target CU network includes CU 2 and DU.

[0025] In an embodiment of the present application, the source CU can send switching commands of each node to the IAB node 1, so that the IAB node 1 forwards the switching commands of downstream nodes (for example, the IAB node 2 and the UE).

[0026] FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of the CU-DU structure of the IAB system. In the self-backhaul circuit, the DUs of all IAB nodes are all connected to one CU node, and this node performs the configuration for the DUs via the F1 layer application protocol (F1-AP) signaling. The CU performs the configuration for the MT via the RRC signaling. The donor IAB node does not have the MT function part.

[0027] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, a network switching method according to an embodiment of the present application will be described in detail by means of specific embodiments and their application scenarios.

[0028] Based on the above communication system, an embodiment of the present application provides a network switching method. As shown in FIG. 4, this network switching method may include the following steps 201 and 202.

[0029] In step 201, the first IAB node determines whether it has already completed sending the target switching command to the target network node.

[0030] In step 202, when the sending of the target switching command to the target network node has already been completed, the first IAB node executes the switching process of the first IAB node based on the first switching command that has already been received.

[0031] In the embodiments of the present application, the first IAB node is any one of the IAB nodes in the IAB network to be switched. The target network node is one sub-IAB node downstream of the first IAB node in the IAB network or a UE served by the first IAB node. The target switching command includes switching commands corresponding to all network nodes downstream of the first IAB node in the IAB network, and the first switching command is the switching command corresponding to the first IAB node.

[0032] In the embodiments of the present application, the IAB network to be switched includes a plurality of network nodes to be switched, and these plurality of network nodes may be a plurality of IAB nodes, or may include at least one IAB node and a UE.

[0033] Optionally, in the embodiments of the present application, the first IAB node may be one of the most upstream network nodes in the IAB network, or the first IAB node may be any one of the downstream IAB nodes in the IAB network.

[0034] It can be understood that when the first IAB node is one of the most upstream network nodes in the IAB network, the target switching command is the switching command excluding the first switching command among all the switching commands, and all these switching commands are the switching commands corresponding to all the network nodes in the IAB network. When the first IAB node is any one of the downstream IAB nodes in the IAB network, the target switching command includes the switching commands corresponding to all the network nodes downstream of this IAB node.

[0035] It should be noted that the fact that the first IAB node is any one of the downstream IAB nodes in the IAB network can be understood as that the first IAB node is any one of the IAB nodes downstream of the uppermost IAB node (i.e., the uppermost one network node in the IAB network).

[0036] Optionally, in the embodiments of the present application, the target network node may be one IAB node in the IAB network, or may be one UE in the IAB network.

[0037] Optionally, in the embodiments of the present application, when the first IAB node is the uppermost one network node in the IAB network, the first switching command is directly sent by the source CU to the first IAB node. It can be understood that in such a case, the target switching command is also directly sent by the source CU to the first IAB node.

[0038] Optionally, in the embodiments of the present application, when the first IAB node is any one of the downstream IAB nodes in the IAB network, the first switching command is transferred by the source CU to the first IAB node via a network node upstream of the first IAB node. It can be understood that in such a case, the target switching command is also transferred by the source CU to the first IAB node via a network node upstream of the first IAB node.

[0039] In an embodiment of the present application, the source CU generates corresponding switching request messages for all network nodes in the IAB network to be switched, and can send these switching request messages (each switching request message includes the context information of the corresponding network node to be switched) to the target CU. When the target CU receives the switching request message of each network node to be switched, it establishes an environment for serving each network node to be switched according to the context information carried in the switching request message, including, for example, bearer establishment, radio resource allocation, backhaul channel allocation, etc. And the target CU can generate switching commands for each network node to be switched and send these switching commands to the source CU. Thus, when the source CU receives the switching commands corresponding to all network nodes in the IAB network to be switched, it can forward the switching commands corresponding to all these network nodes to the IAB network (i.e., each network node in the IAB network).

[0040] Optionally, in one implementation manner of the embodiment of the present application, the first IAB node is the uppermost network node in the IAB network. As shown in FIG. 5 in conjunction with FIG. 4, before step 201, the network switching method according to the embodiment of the present application further includes the following steps 301 to 304.

[0041] In step 301, the source CU preferentially sends the target switching command to the first IAB node.

[0042] In the embodiments of this application, the source CU can preferentially send switching commands (i.e., target switching commands) of all downstream network nodes (network nodes excluding the most upstream IAB node in the IAB network) to the most upstream IAB node in the IAB network, and this most upstream IAB node can preferentially send the target switching command to one downstream network node (e.g., a sub-IAB node or a UE served by the first IAB node).

[0043] In step 302, the first IAB node receives the target switching command sent by the source CU and sends the target switching command to the target network node.

[0044] In step 303, the source CU sends the first switching command to the first IAB node.

[0045] In step 304, the first IAB node receives the first switching command sent by the source CU.

[0046] In such a realization manner of the embodiments of this application, the source CU sends switching commands by adopting different transmission order methods, so that one IAB node in the IAB network to be switched can confirm that the transfer of the switching commands transferred to all downstream nodes has been successful. Specifically, the source CU sends the switching commands of all downstream nodes of this IAB node and finally sends the switching command belonging to this IAB node. When the IAB node receives the switching command belonging to itself, it can determine that the transmission of all switching commands belonging to the downstream nodes has been completed and can start its own switching process. In this method, there is no need to determine whether the switching commands of all downstream IAB nodes have been sent after switching the IAB node, nor is it necessary to define new signaling.

[0047] Understandably, the source CU can preferentially send switching commands to all downstream network nodes. After the uppermost IAB node has completed sending switching commands to all downstream network nodes, it sends its own switching command (i.e., the first switching command) to this uppermost IAB node. That is, before executing network switching, the uppermost IAB node transfers switching commands of downstream network nodes. Therefore, after the uppermost IAB node receives its own switching command, it can perform network switching and avoid the problem of being unable to send switching commands to downstream network nodes, thereby enabling downstream nodes to switch to the target network.

[0048] Optionally, in another implementation manner of the embodiments of the present application, while referring to FIG. 4, as shown in FIG. 6, before step 201, the network switching method according to the embodiments of the present application further includes the following step 401, and step 202 may be specifically implemented by the following step 202a.

[0049] In step 401, the first IAB node receives a target switching command and a first switching command, and within a first preset time period, sends the target switching command to the target network node.

[0050] In the embodiments of the present application, the above-mentioned first preset time period is the preset time period after receiving the target switching command and the first switching command.

[0051] It should be noted that when the first IAB node is one of the most upstream network nodes in the IAB network, the target switching command and the first switching command are directly sent by the source CU to the first IAB node. When the first IAB node is any one of the downstream IAB nodes in the IAB network, the target switching command and the first switching command are transferred by the network node upstream of the first IAB node to the first IAB node.

[0052] In the embodiments of the present application, after receiving the first switching command, the first IAB node does not execute the switching process of the first IAB node within the first preset time period, but transfers the target switching command.

[0053] In step 202a, when the transmission of the target switching command to the target network node has been completed, the first IAB node executes the switching process of the first IAB node based on the first switching command after the first preset time period.

[0054] In such a realization manner of the embodiments of the present application, based on the timing method, the IAB nodes in the IAB network to be switched confirm that the transfer of the switching commands transferred to all downstream nodes has been successful. Specifically, the source CU first sends the switching command of each IAB node itself. After receiving its own switching command, the IAB node to be switched waits for a while (a timer may be pre-arranged). During this time, the switching program is not started. During this waiting time, the source CU can continue to transfer the switching commands of the downstream IAB nodes through this IAB node to be switched. After the waiting time ends (the timer times out), this IAB node to be switched starts its own switching program. Here, the waiting time is the preset time for transferring the switching commands of the downstream nodes, and the length of the waiting time may be arranged by RRC signaling.

[0055] Understandably, after receiving the target switching command and the first switching command, the first IAB node completes the transfer of the target switching command within the first preset time period, and after the first preset time period, the switching process of the first IAB node can be executed. That is, since the first IAB node does not execute the switching process within the first preset time period, after the first IAB node receives the first switching command, the problem that the network cannot be switched and the switching command cannot be sent to the downstream network node can be avoided, so that the downstream node can switch to the target network.

[0056] Optionally, in another implementation manner of the embodiments of the present application, as shown in FIG. 7 in conjunction with FIG. 4, before the above step 201, the network switching method according to the embodiments of the present application further includes the following steps 501 and 502, and the above step 201 may be specifically implemented by the following step 201a.

[0057] In step 501, the first IAB node receives at least one signaling container.

[0058] In the embodiments of the present application, each signaling container of the at least one signaling container includes a switching command corresponding to one network node in the IAB network. The at least one signaling container is directly sent to the first IAB node by the source CU or transferred to the first IAB node through a network node upstream of the first IAB node by the source CU.

[0059] It should be noted that when the first IAB node is one of the most upstream network nodes in the IAB network, at least one signaling container is directly sent by the source CU to the first IAB node. When the first IAB node is any one of the downstream IAB nodes in the IAB network, at least one signaling container is transferred by a network node upstream of the first IAB node to the first IAB node.

[0060] Optionally, in the embodiments of the present application, each signaling container may be a Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling container or an F1-Application Protocol (F1-AP) signaling container.

[0061] In step 502, the first IAB node determines a first handover command and a target handover command based on at least one signaling container.

[0062] In the embodiments of the present application, after receiving at least one signaling container, the first IAB node can obtain / extract the corresponding handover command from each signaling container among the at least one signaling container, obtain the first handover command and the target handover command, and determine the handover signaling that needs to be transferred by identifying each signaling container.

[0063] In step 201a, the first IAB node determines whether the transmission of the target handover command to the target network node has been completed based on the count of at least one signaling container.

[0064] In an embodiment of the present application, after the first IAB node determines the handover signaling that needs to be transferred by identifying at least one signaling container, the first IAB node counts the signaling containers corresponding to the handover signaling that needs to be transferred, and determines whether all the handover commands of all downstream nodes have already been transferred.

[0065] In such a realization manner of the embodiment of the present application, based on the signaling container method, the IAB node in the IAB network to be switched determines that the transfer of the handover command to all downstream nodes has been successfully completed. Specifically, when the source CU transfers the handover command, it uses the RRC signaling container or the F1-AP signaling container to send the handover command of the node in the IAB network to be switched that has been received. The IAB node to be switched identifies the handover signaling that needs to be transferred by the signaling container, counts the transferred handover signaling, and determines whether all the handover commands of all downstream nodes have already been transferred.

[0066] It can be understood that the first IAB node determines whether the transmission of the target handover command to the target network node has been completed based on the count of at least one signaling container, and when it is determined that the transmission of the target handover command has been completed, in order to execute the handover process of the first IAB node, the problem that the first IAB node performs network handover without completing the transfer of the handover command of the downstream network node and cannot send the handover command to the downstream network node can be avoided, so that the downstream node can switch to the target network.

[0067] Embodiments of the present application provide a network switching method. When the transmission of a target switching command to a target network node has already been completed, the first IAB node executes the switching process of the first IAB node based on the first switching command that has already been received. After determining that the transmission of the corresponding switching command to the downstream network node has already been completed, the first IAB node executes the switching process of the first IAB node. Therefore, the problem that the first IAB node performs network switching without completing the transfer of the switching command of the downstream network node and cannot send the switching command to the downstream network node can be avoided, thereby ensuring that the downstream network node can be timely switched to the target network.

[0068] Optionally, in the embodiments of the present application, as shown in FIG. 8 while referring to FIG. 4, after the above step 202, the network switching method according to the embodiments of the present application further includes the following steps 601 and 602.

[0069] In step 601, if the switching of the first IAB node has already been completed, the first IAB node sends the first switching completion information to the target CU.

[0070] In the embodiments of the present application, the above first switching completion information is used to indicate that the switching of the first IAB node has already been completed.

[0071] In step 602, the target CU receives the first switching completion information sent by the first IAB node.

[0072] In the embodiments of the present application, after the first IAB node completes the network switching, the first IAB node can send the switching completion information to the target CU to indicate to the target CU that the switching of the first IAB node has already been completed.

[0073] Optionally, in the embodiments of the present application, after the above step 202, the network switching method according to the embodiments of the present application further includes the following step 701 (or step 702) and step 703.

[0074] In step 701, when receiving the RRC signaling sent by the target network node, if the switching of the first IAB node has been completed, the first IAB node sends the RRC signaling to the target CU.

[0075] In step 702, when receiving the RRC signaling sent by the target network node, if the switching of the first IAB node has not been completed, the first IAB node caches the RRC signaling, and after the switching of the first IAB node is completed, the first IAB node sends the RRC signaling to the target CU.

[0076] In the embodiments of the present application, after the first IAB node completes the switching of the first IAB node, the first switching completion information and the RRC signaling can be sent to the target CU.

[0077] Optionally, in the embodiments of the present application, the first IAB node caches all the RRC signaling from the downstream network nodes, and after the first IAB switching is completed, all the cached RRC signaling can be transferred to the target CU. Based on this method, the first IAB node transfers some RRC signaling that was originally to be sent to the source CU to the target CU. When the target CU receives it, it discards it. The advantage of this method is its low complexity.

[0078] In step 703, the target CU receives the RRC signaling sent by the first IAB node.

[0079] Optionally, in the embodiments of the present application, the RRC signaling includes second handover completion information of a target network node, and the second handover completion information is used to indicate that the handover of the target network node has been completed.

[0080] Optionally, in the embodiments of the present application, the second handover completion information is information carried on a specific Radio Link Control (RLC) channel.

[0081] Optionally, in the embodiments of the present application, the handover completion information can be transmitted in the LCID of an LCH corresponding to a specific RLC channel (channel), for example, a Signaling Radio Bearer (SRB) reallocated by a target CU. In this way, the first IAB node only needs to cache and use the RRC information / signaling transmitted using this LCH. The first IAB node regards the RRC information received from the LCH corresponding to the existing SRB (configured by the source CU) as the RRC information transmitted to the source CU. After the handover, since it loses the connection with the source CU, these RRC signalings are directly discarded. Such a method can reallocate the LCH of the SRB by the target CU, so that the first IAB node can identify the information transmitted to the source CU and the information of the target CU by the LCID.

[0082] The embodiments of the present application provide a network handover method used for a source CU, and this network handover method may include the following steps 801 and 802.

[0083] In step 801, the source CU transmits a first handover command and a target handover command to a first IAB node in the IAB network to be handed over.

[0084] In an embodiment of the present application, the above first switching command is a switching command corresponding to a first IAB node, and the target switching command includes switching commands corresponding to all network nodes downstream of the first IAB node in the IAB network. Here, the first switching command is used to execute the switching process of the first IAB node when the first IAB node has already completed sending the target switching command to the target network node, and the target network node is one sub-IAB node downstream of the first IAB node in the IAB network or a UE served by the first IAB node.

[0085] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the above first IAB node is one of the most upstream network nodes in the IAB network. The above step 801 may be specifically implemented by the following step 801a.

[0086] In step 801a, the source CU preferentially sends the target switching command to the first IAB node and sends the first switching command to the first IAB node.

[0087] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the above step 801 may be specifically implemented by the following step 801b.

[0088] In step 801b, the source CU sends at least one signaling container to the first IAB node.

[0089] In an embodiment of the present application, each of the at least one signaling containers includes a switching command corresponding to one network node in the IAB network, and the at least one signaling container is directly sent to the first IAB node by the source CU or transferred to the first IAB node through a network node upstream of the first IAB node by the source CU.

[0090] In the embodiments of the present application, the source CU can send a target switching command and a first switching command to the first IAB node, so that when the first IAB node has already completed sending the target switching command to the target network node, the first IAB node can execute the switching process of the first IAB node. Therefore, the problem that the first IAB node performs network switching without completing the transfer of the switching commands of the downstream network nodes and cannot send switching commands to the downstream network nodes can be avoided, thereby ensuring that the downstream network nodes can be timely switched to the target network.

[0091] It should be noted that the relevant descriptions of the above steps 801 to 802 may refer to the descriptions of the above embodiments and will not be elaborated here.

[0092] Hereinafter, the flow of the IAB network switching from the source CU network to the target CU network according to the embodiments of the present application will be described by specific embodiments (i.e., the following steps 1 to 12).

[0093] In step 1, the source CU generates a switching request message for all network nodes (IAB nodes or UEs) in the IAB network to be switched, and sends the switching request message to the target CU. Each switching request message includes the context information of the corresponding network node to be switched.

[0094] In step 2, after receiving the switching request messages of each network node in the IAB network, the target CU establishes an environment for serving each network node according to the context information carried in the switching request message, including, for example, the establishment of a bearer, the allocation of radio resources, and the allocation of a backhaul channel.

[0095] In step 3, the target CU generates a switching command (or also called a switching response message) for each network node, and sends the switching command of each network node to the source CU.

[0096] In step 4, when the source CU receives the switching commands of each network node, it sends all the switching commands to the upstream IAB node (IAB node 1 in FIG. 4 as described above) in this IAB network via the parent IAB-DU of the upstream IAB node in the IAB network.

[0097] In step 5, after receiving the switching commands of each network node, the upstream IAB node in the IAB network determines that all the switching commands of all network nodes have been received.

[0098] In step 6, the upstream IAB node transfers all the switching commands belonging to the downstream nodes to the downstream nodes (IAB node 2 in FIG. 4 as described above), and executes step 8 below.

[0099] In step 7, after receiving all the switching commands, one downstream sub-IAB node to be switched transfers all the switching commands belonging to the downstream sub-nodes to the downstream nodes, and executes step 8x below.

[0100] In step 8, the upstream IAB node completes the pre-switching arrangement according to the switching command belonging to itself.

[0101] In step 8x, one sub-node (for example, IAB node 2) of the upstream IAB node makes a pre-arrangement based on the switching command belonging to itself.

[0102] In step 9, the most upstream IAB node in the IAB network establishes a wireless connection and a backhaul channel with the target CU network based on the switching command.

[0103] It should be noted that step 7, step 8, step 8x, and step 9 have no specific sequential relationship, that is, the embodiments of the present application do not limit the execution order of these four steps.

[0104] In step 10, after one sub-node of the most upstream IAB node (for example, IAB node 2) completes the relocation according to the switching command, it sends switching completion information to the target CU via the most upstream IAB node.

[0105] In step 11, when the most upstream IAB node (IAB node 1) receives the switching completion information, if the switching of IAB node 1 has not been successful, it caches this switching completion information.

[0106] In step 12, after completing the switching of IAB node 1, it sends the received switching completion information of the downstream node to the target CU.

[0107] It should be noted that if the switching of IAB node 1 has already been completed, without executing the above step 11, it directly transfers the switching completion information from the received downstream node.

[0108] FIG. 9 shows a schematic diagram of a possible structure of the network switching device according to the embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 9, the network switching device 70 according to the embodiment of the present application may include an execution module 71.

[0109] Here, when the execution module 71 has already completed sending the target switching command to the target network node, it is used to execute the switching process of the first IAB node in the IAB network to be switched based on the first switching command already received. Here, the target network node is one sub-IAB node downstream of the first IAB node in the IAB network or a UE served by the first IAB node, the target switching command includes switching commands corresponding to all network nodes downstream of the first IAB node in the IAB network, and the first switching command is a switching command corresponding to the first IAB node.

[0110] In one possible implementation manner, when the first IAB node is the uppermost network node in the IAB network, the first switching command is directly sent by the source CU to the first IAB node; when the first IAB node is any one of the downstream IAB nodes in the IAB network, the first switching command is transferred by the source CU to the first IAB node via the network node upstream of the first IAB node.

[0111] In one possible implementation, the above first IAB node is one of the most upstream network nodes in the IAB network. With reference to FIG. 9, as shown in FIG. 10, the network switching device 70 according to the embodiment of the present application may further include a receiving module 72 and a transmitting module 73. Here, the receiving module 72 is used to receive the target switching command transmitted by the source CU before executing the switching process of the first IAB node based on the already received first switching command when the above execution module 71 has already completed the transmission of the target switching command to the target network node. The transmitting module 73 is used to transmit the target switching command to the target network node. The receiving module 72 is further used to receive the first switching command transmitted by the source CU.

[0112] In one possible implementation, with reference to FIG. 9, as shown in FIG. 10, the network switching device 70 according to the embodiment of the present application may further include a receiving module 72 and a transmitting module 73. Here, the receiving module 72 is used to receive the target switching command and the first switching command before executing the switching process of the first IAB node based on the already received first switching command when the above execution module 71 has already completed the transmission of the target switching command to the target network node. The transmitting module 73 is used to transmit the target switching command to the target network node within a first preset time period, and this first preset time period is the preset time period after receiving the target switching command and the first switching command. The above execution module 71 is specifically used to execute the switching process of the first IAB node based on the first switching command after the first preset time period.

[0113] In one possible implementation manner, with reference to FIG. 9, as shown in FIG. 11, the network switching device 70 according to the embodiment of the present application may further include a receiving module 72 and a determining module 74. Here, the receiving module 72 is used to receive at least one signaling container before executing the switching process of the first IAB node based on the already received first switching command when the execution module 71 has already completed sending the target switching command to the target network node. Each signaling container contains a switching command corresponding to one network node in the IAB network. At least one signaling container is directly sent by the source CU to the first IAB node or transferred to the first IAB node by the source CU via a network node upstream of the first IAB node. The determining module 74 is used to determine the first switching command and the target switching command based on at least one signaling container, and to determine whether the sending of the target switching command to the target network node has already been completed based on the count of at least one signaling container. Here, each signaling container is an RRC signaling container or an F1-AP signaling container.

[0114] In one possible implementation manner, the network switching device 70 according to the embodiment of the present application may further include a sending module 73. Here, the sending module 73 is used to send the first switching completion information to the target CU after the execution module 71 executes the switching process of the first IAB node. If the switching of the first IAB node has already been completed, this first switching completion information is used to indicate that the switching of the first IAB node has already been completed.

[0115] In one possible implementation, the network switching device 70 according to the embodiment of the present application may further include a transmission module 73. Here, when the transmission module 73 receives the RRC signaling sent by the target network node after the execution module 71 executes the switching process of the first IAB node, if the switching of the first IAB node has been completed, it is used to send the RRC signaling to the target CU.

[0116] In one possible implementation, the network switching device 70 according to the embodiment of the present application may further include a cache module and a transmission module 73. Here, when the cache module receives the RRC signaling sent by the target network node, if the switching of the first IAB node has not been completed, it is used to cache the RRC signaling. The transmission module 73 is used to send the RRC signaling to the target CU after the switching of the first IAB node is completed.

[0117] In one possible implementation, the above RRC signaling includes second switching completion information of the target network node, and this second switching completion information is used to indicate that the switching of the target network node has been completed.

[0118] In one possible implementation, the above second switching completion information is information carried on a specific RLC channel.

[0119] The network switching device according to the embodiment of the present application can implement each process realized by the first IAB node in the embodiment of the above method. To avoid repetition of description, specifically, it will not be described here any further.

[0120] Embodiments of the present application provide a network switching device. The network switching device executes the switching process of the network switching device only after determining that the transmission of the corresponding switching command to the downstream network node has been completed. Therefore, the problem that the network switching device performs network switching without completing the transfer of the switching command of the downstream network node and cannot send the switching command to the downstream network node can be avoided, thereby ensuring that the downstream network node can be timely switched to the target network.

[0121] The network switching device in the embodiments of the present application may be a device, or may be a component, integrated circuit, or chip in the first IAB node.

[0122] FIG. 12 shows a schematic structural diagram of a possible structure of the network switching device according to the embodiments of the present application. As shown in FIG. 12, the network switching device 80 according to the embodiments of the present application may include a transmission module 81.

[0123] Here, the transmission module 81 is used to send the first switching command and the target switching command to the first IAB node in the IAB network to be switched. This first switching command is the switching command corresponding to the first IAB node, and this target switching command includes the switching commands corresponding to all network nodes downstream of the first IAB node in the IAB network. Here, the first switching command is used to execute the switching process of the first IAB node when the first IAB node has already completed the transmission of the target switching command to the target network node. The target network node is one sub-IAB node downstream of the first IAB node in the IAB network or a UE served by the first IAB node.

[0124] In one possible implementation, when the first IAB node is one of the most upstream network nodes in the IAB network, the first switching command is sent by the source CU to the first IAB node. When the first IAB node is any one of the downstream IAB nodes in the IAB network, the first switching command is transferred by the source CU to the first IAB node via a network node upstream of the first IAB node.

[0125] In one possible implementation, the above-mentioned first IAB node is one of the most upstream network nodes in the IAB network. Specifically, the above-mentioned transmission module 81 preferentially sends the target switching command to the first IAB node and is used to send the first switching command to the first IAB node.

[0126] In one possible implementation, specifically, the above-mentioned transmission module 81 is used to send at least one signaling container to the first IAB node. Each signaling container contains a switching command corresponding to one network node in the IAB network. At least one signaling container is sent directly by the source CU to the first IAB node or transferred by the source CU to the first IAB node via a network node upstream of the first IAB node. Here, each signaling container is a radio resource control (RRC) signaling container or an F1-AP signaling container.

[0127] The network switching device according to the embodiments of the present application can implement each process implemented by the source CU in the embodiments of the above method. To avoid repetition of description, specifically, it will not be described herein any further.

[0128] Embodiments of the present application provide a network switching device. The network switching device can send a target switching command and a first switching command to a first IAB node, so that when the first IAB node has already completed sending the target switching command to the target network node, the switching process of the first IAB node is executed. In this way, the problem that the network switching is performed without the first IAB node completing the transfer of the switching command of the downstream network node and the switching command cannot be sent to the downstream network node is avoided, thereby ensuring that the downstream network node can be timely switched to the target network.

[0129] The network switching device in the embodiments of the present application may be a device, or may be a component, an integrated circuit, or a chip in the source CU.

[0130] Optionally, as shown in FIG. 13, embodiments of the present application further provide a communication device 90. The communication device 90 includes a processor 91, a memory 92, and a program or instruction stored in the memory 92 and executable on the processor 91. For example, when the communication device 90 is an IAB node, when this program or instruction is executed by the processor 91, each process realized by the first IAB node in the embodiments of the above method is realized, and the same technical effect can be achieved. To avoid repetition of the description, it will not be described further here. When the communication device 90 is a CU, when this program or instruction is executed by the processor 91, each process realized by the source CU in the embodiments of the above method is realized, and the same technical effect can be achieved. To avoid repetition of the description, it will not be described further here.

[0131] Embodiments of the present application further provide an IAB node. FIG. 14 is a schematic hardware structure diagram of the IAB node realizing the embodiments of the present application.

[0132] As shown in FIG. 14, this IAB node 100 includes an antenna 101, a radio frequency device 102, and a baseband device 103. The antenna 101 and the radio frequency device 102 are connected. In the uplink direction, the radio frequency device 102 receives information via the antenna 101 and transmits the received information to the baseband device 103 for processing. In the downlink direction, the baseband device 103 processes the information to be transmitted, transmits it to the radio frequency device 102, and the radio frequency device 102 processes the received information and then sends it out via the antenna 101.

[0133] The above frequency band processing device may be located in the baseband device 103. The method executed by the IAB node in the above embodiments may be implemented in the baseband device 103. This baseband device 103 includes a processor 104 and a memory 105.

[0134] The baseband device 103 may include, for example, at least one baseband board. A plurality of chips are installed on this baseband board. As shown in FIG. 14, here, one chip is, for example, the processor 104, which is connected to the memory 105, calls the program in the memory 105, and executes the operations of the IAB node shown in the embodiments of the above method.

[0135] This baseband device 103 may further include a network interface 106, which is used for information exchange with the radio frequency device 102. This interface is, for example, a common public radio interface (CPRI).

[0136] Specifically, the IAB node of the embodiment of the present application further includes instructions or programs stored in the memory 105 and operable on the processor 104. The processor 104 calls the instructions or programs in the memory 105, executes the methods executed by the above modules, and can achieve the same technical effects. To avoid repetition of the description, it will not be described further here.

[0137] Embodiments of the present application further provide a readable storage medium, on which a program or instructions are stored. When the program or instructions are executed by a processor, each process of the embodiments of the above method can be realized, and the same technical effects can be achieved. To avoid repetition of the description, it will not be described further here.

[0138] Here, the processor is the processor in the terminal described in the above embodiments. The readable storage medium includes computer-readable storage media such as ROM, RAM, magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0139] Embodiments of the present application further provide a CU. FIG. 15 is a schematic hardware structure diagram of the CU for realizing the embodiments of the present application.

[0140] The CU 110 includes, but is not limited to, at least one processor 111, a memory 112, a user interface 113, and at least one network interface 114. Each component in the CU 110 is coupled via a bus system 115.

[0141] It should be noted that, as can be understood by those skilled in the art, the structure of the CU 110 shown in FIG. 15 does not constitute a limitation on the CU. The CU may include more or fewer components than those shown in FIG. 15, or a combination of some components, or different arrangements of components.

[0142] In an embodiment of the present application, at least one network interface 114 is used to send a first switching command and a target switching command to a first IAB node in an IAB network to be switched, the first switching command is a switching command corresponding to the first IAB node, and the target switching command includes switching commands corresponding to all network nodes downstream of the first IAB node in the IAB network. Here, the first switching command is used to execute the switching process of the first IAB node when the first IAB node has already completed sending the target switching command to the target network node, and the target network node is one sub-IAB node downstream of the first IAB node in the IAB network or a UE served by the first IAB node.

[0143] In an embodiment of the present application, since the source CU can send the target switching command and the first switching command to the first IAB node, when the first IAB node has already completed sending the target switching command to the target network node, in order to execute the switching process of the first IAB node, the problem that the first IAB node cannot perform network switching without completing the transfer of the switching command of the downstream network node and cannot send the switching command to the downstream network node can be avoided, thereby ensuring that the downstream network node can be timely switched to the target network.

[0144] As can be understood, the bus system 115 is used to realize the connection communication between these assemblies. The bus system 115 includes a data bus, and further includes a power bus, a control bus, and a status signal bus. However, for the sake of clear description, in FIG. 15, all various buses are regarded as the bus system 115.

[0145] Here, the user interface 113 may include a display, a keyboard, or a click device (e.g., a mouse, a trackball, a touchpad, or a touch screen).

[0146] As can be understood, the memory 112 in the embodiments of the present application may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Here, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable PROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of non-limiting and illustrative explanation, many forms of RAM, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDRSDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synch link DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DRRAM), are available. The memory 112 described in the embodiments of the present application is intended to include these and any other suitable types of memory, but is not limited thereto.

[0147] In some embodiments, the memory 112 stores executable modules or data structures, or subsets thereof, or extended sets thereof such as the operating system 1121 and the application program 1122.

[0148] Here, the operating system 1121 includes various system programs, such as a frame layer, a core library layer, a driver layer, etc., and is used for realizing various basic operations and processing hardware-based tasks. The application program 1122 includes various application programs, such as a media player, a browser, etc., and is used for realizing various application operations. The program for realizing the method of the embodiments of the present application may be included in the application program 1122.

[0149] In the embodiments of the present application, the CU 110 may further include a program or instruction that is stored in the memory 112 and can run on the processor 111. When this program or instruction is executed by the processor 111, the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present application are realized.

[0150] The method disclosed in the embodiments of the present application may be used in or implemented by the processor 111. The processor 111 may be an integrated circuit chip having signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, each step of the above method may be completed by the integrated logic circuit of the hardware in the processor 111 or instructions in the form of software. The above-mentioned processor 111 may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a conventional field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gates or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware assemblies. Each method, step and logic block diagram disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented or executed. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or this processor may be any general processor or the like. The steps of the method disclosed by combining the embodiments of the present application may be executed by a hardware decoding processor, or may be directly embodied to be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module may be located in a mature computer-readable storage medium in the art such as random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory or electrically erasable programmable memory, register, etc. This computer-readable storage medium is located in the memory 112, and the processor 111 reads the information in the memory 112 and combines it with its hardware to complete the steps of the above method. Specifically, a program or instruction is stored on this computer-readable storage medium, and when the program or instruction is executed by the processor 111, each step of the method embodiment according to the embodiments of the present application is realized.

[0151] As can be understood, these embodiments described in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode, or a combination thereof. For hardware implementation, the processing unit may be implemented in one or more ASICs, DSPs, digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), FPGAs, general-purpose processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, other electronic units for performing the functions of the present application, or a combination thereof.

[0152] For software implementation, the technology described in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented by modules (such as processes, functions, etc.) that execute the functions described in the embodiments of the present application. The software code may be stored in a memory and executed via a processor. The memory may be implemented inside or outside the processor.

[0153] The embodiments of the present application further provide a readable storage medium, on which a program or instructions are stored. When the program or instructions are executed by the processor 111 shown in FIG. 15, each process of the embodiments of the above method is implemented, and the same technical effect can be achieved. To avoid repetition of the description, it will not be described further here. The computer-readable storage medium includes, for example, ROM, RAM, magnetic disk, or optical disk.

[0154] The embodiments of the present application further provide a chip, which includes a processor and a communication interface. The communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is used to run a program or instructions of a communication device to implement each process of the embodiments of the above method and achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition of the description, it will not be described further here.

[0155] It should be understood that the chip mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as a system-level chip, a system-on-chip, a chip system, or a system-on-a-chip, etc.

[0156] It should be noted that in this specification, the term "comprising", "including" or any other variation thereof is intended to cover non-exclusive "including", so that a process, method, article or device comprising a series of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article or device. In the case of an element limited by the phrase "comprising one...", when there are no further limitations, it is not excluded that there are other same elements in the process, method, article or device comprising this element. It should be pointed out that the scope of the methods and devices in the embodiments of the present application is not limited to performing functions in the order illustrated or discussed, and may include performing functions in a basically simultaneous manner or in a reverse order based on the functions involved. For example, a method described in a different procedure from that described can be executed, and various steps can be added, omitted or combined. Also, features described with reference to some examples can be combined in other examples.

[0157] From the description of the above embodiments, it will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art that the method of the above embodiments can be realized in the form of software and the necessary general-purpose hardware platform. Of course, it may also be realized by hardware, but in many cases, the former is a more preferred embodiment. Based on such an understanding, the technical solution of the present application may be embodied in the form of a software product in essence or in the part that contributes to the prior art. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM / RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk), and includes several instructions for causing a terminal (which may be a mobile phone, a computer, a server, an air conditioner, or a network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in the embodiments of the present application.

[0158] The above has described the embodiments of the present application while associating with the drawings. However, the present application is not limited to the above specific embodiments. The above specific embodiments are merely exemplary and not restrictive. Those skilled in the art can perform many forms without departing from the spirit of the present application and the scope protected by the claims, and all of them belong to the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A network switching method, comprising: when a first IAB node, which is an IAB node in a self-backhaul IAB network to be switched, has already completed sending a target switching command to a target network node, executing a switching process of the first IAB node based on a first switching command already received by the first IAB node; wherein the target network node is one sub-IAB node downstream of the first IAB node in the IAB network or a user equipment UE served by the first IAB node, the target switching command includes switching commands corresponding to all network nodes downstream of the first IAB node in the IAB network, and the first switching command is a switching command corresponding to the first IAB node; the target switching command is used to instruct a network node downstream of the first IAB node to switch from a source CU network to a target CU network; the first switching command is used to instruct the first IAB node to switch from the source CU network to the target CU network; when the first IAB node is the uppermost network node in the IAB network, the first switching command is directly sent to the first IAB node by a source central unit CU; when the first IAB node is any one downstream IAB node in the IAB network, the first switching command is transferred to the first IAB node by a network node upstream of the first IAB node by a source CU. A network switching method.

2. The first IAB node is the uppermost network node in the IAB network, when the transmission of the target switching command to the target network node has already been completed, before executing the switching process of the first IAB node based on the first switching command already received by the first IAB node, the method further includes: The first IAB node receives the target switching command sent by the source CU, and transmits the target switching command to the target network node, and The method according to claim 1, further comprising: the first IAB node receiving the first switching command sent by the source CU.

3. When the transmission of the target switching command to the target network node has already been completed, before executing the switching process of the first IAB node based on the first switching command already received by the first IAB node, the method comprises The first IAB node receives the target switching command and the first switching command, and within a first preset time period, transmits the target switching command to the target network node, where the first preset time period is a preset time period after receiving the target switching command and the first switching command. The method further includes Executing the switching process of the first IAB node based on the first switching command already received by the first IAB node comprises After the first preset time period, the first IAB node executes the switching process of the first IAB node based on the first switching command. The method according to claim 1.

4. When the transmission of the target switching command to the target network node has already been completed, before executing the switching process of the first IAB node based on the first switching command already received by the first IAB node, the method comprises The first IAB node receives at least one signaling container, and each signaling container contains a switching command corresponding to one network node in the IAB network. The at least one signaling container is directly transmitted to the first IAB node by the source CU, or is transferred to the first IAB node through a network node upstream of the first IAB node by the source CU. The first IAB node determines the first switching command and the target switching command based on the at least one signaling container, and further determines whether the transmission of the target switching command to the target network node has been completed based on the count of the at least one signaling container, wherein each signaling container is a radio resource control (RRC) signaling container or an F1 layer application protocol (F1-AP) signaling container. The method according to claim 1. **Claim 5** After executing the switching process of the first IAB node, the method further includes, if the switching of the first IAB node has been completed, the first IAB node transmitting first switching completion information to the target CU, where the first switching completion information is used to indicate that the switching of the first IAB node has been completed. The method according to claim 1. **Claim 6** After executing the switching process of the first IAB node, the method further includes, when receiving RRC signaling transmitted by the target network node, if the switching of the first IAB node has been completed, the first IAB node transmitting the RRC signaling to the target CU; and when receiving RRC signaling transmitted by the target network node, if the switching of the first IAB node has not been completed, the first IAB node caching the RRC signaling and, after the switching of the first IAB node is completed, transmitting the RRC signaling to the target CU. The method according to claim 1. **Claim 7** The RRC signaling includes second switching completion information of the target network node, where the second switching completion information is used to indicate that the switching of the target network node has been completed. The method according to claim 6. **Claim 8** The second switching completion information is information carried on a specific radio link control (RLC) channel. The method according to claim 7. **Claim 9** A network switching method, The source concentration unit CU transmits a first switching command and a target switching command to a first IAB node in the self-backhaul IAB network to be switched, where the first switching command is a switching command corresponding to the first IAB node, and the target switching command includes switching commands corresponding to all network nodes downstream of the first IAB node in the IAB network. Here, the first switching command is used to execute the switching process of the first IAB node when the first IAB node has already completed transmitting the target switching command to the target network node. The target network node is one sub-IAB node downstream of the first IAB node in the IAB network or a user equipment UE served by the first IAB node. The target switching command is used to instruct the network nodes downstream of the first IAB node to switch from the source CU network to the target CU network. The first switching command is used to instruct the first IAB node to switch from the source CU network to the target CU network. When the first IAB node is the uppermost network node in the IAB network, the first switching command is transmitted by the source CU to the first IAB node. When the first IAB node is any one of the downstream IAB nodes in the IAB network, the first switching command is transferred by the source CU to the first IAB node via a network node upstream of the first IAB node. A network switching method.

10. The first IAB node is the uppermost network node in the IAB network. The source CU transmitting the first switching command and the target switching command to the first IAB node in the IAB network to be switched is The method according to claim 9, comprising: after the source CU preferentially sends the target switching command to the first IAB node, sending the first switching command to the first IAB node.

11. The source CU sending the first switching command and the target switching command to the first IAB node in the IAB network to be switched includes: the source CU sending at least one signaling container to the first IAB node, each signaling container including a switching command corresponding to one network node in the IAB network, and the at least one signaling container being directly sent to the first IAB node by the source CU or transferred to the first IAB node through a network node upstream of the first IAB node by the source CU; wherein each signaling container is a radio resource control (RRC) signaling container or an F1 layer application protocol (F1-AP) signaling container, the method according to claim 9.

12. A network switching device applied to a first IAB node, comprising: an execution module and a transmission module, wherein the execution module is used to execute the switching process of the first IAB node in the self-backhaul IAB network to be switched based on the first switching command already received when the transmission module has already completed sending the target switching command to the target network node; wherein the target network node is one IAB node downstream of the first IAB node in the IAB network, the target switching command includes switching commands corresponding to all network nodes downstream of the first IAB node in the IAB network, the first switching command is a switching command corresponding to the first IAB node; the target switching command is used to instruct a network node downstream of the first IAB node to switch from the source CU network to the target CU network. The first switching command is used to instruct the first IAB node to switch from the source CU network to the target CU network. When the first IAB node is one of the most upstream network nodes in the IAB network, the first switching command is directly sent by the source centralized unit CU to the first IAB node. When the first IAB node is any one of the downstream IAB nodes in the IAB network, the first switching command is transferred by the source CU to the first IAB node via a network node upstream of the first IAB node, a network switching device.

13. A network switching device including a transmission module, The transmission module is used to send a first switching command and a target switching command to a first IAB node in the self-backhaul IAB network to be switched. The first switching command is a switching command corresponding to the first IAB node, and the target switching command includes switching commands corresponding to all network nodes downstream of the first IAB node in the IAB network. Here, when the first IAB node has already completed sending the target switching command to the target network node, the first switching command is used to execute the switching process of the first IAB node. The target network node is one sub-IAB node downstream of the first IAB node in the IAB network or a user equipment UE served by the first IAB node. The target switching command is used to instruct a network node downstream of the first IAB node to switch from the source CU network to the target CU network. The first switching command is used to instruct the first IAB node to switch from the source CU network to the target CU network. When the first IAB node is one of the most upstream network nodes in the IAB network, the first switching command is sent by the source CU to the first IAB node, When the first IAB node is any one of the downstream IAB nodes in the IAB network, the first switching command is transferred by the source CU to the first IAB node via a network node upstream of the first IAB node, a network switching device.

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