Fault recovery in wireless communications

Abstract

A technical method and system for preventing or reducing failures in a central unit of a base station are disclosed. In one implementation, a method of wireless communication includes: a first network element receiving, from a user equipment, a signaling connection setup completion message indicating establishment of a connection of a signaling message between the user equipment and a network device associated with the first network element; the first network element determining whether a network slice corresponding to the signaling connection setup completion message is supported by a second network element; and when it is determined that the network slice corresponding to the signaling connection setup completion message is not supported by the second network element, the first network element transmitting the signaling message and information regarding the network slice to a third network element.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This patent document relates generally to wireless communications. [Background technology]

[0002] Mobile communication technologies are leading the world toward an increasingly connected and networked society. Rapid growth in mobile communications and technological advances are driving demand for capacity and connectivity. To meet the needs of various communication scenarios, other aspects such as energy consumption, device cost, spectral efficiency, and latency are also important. Various technologies are being discussed, including new ways to provide higher quality of service, longer battery life, and improved performance. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0003] This patent document describes, among other things, techniques for preventing or mitigating failures in the central unit of a base station. [Means for solving the problem]

[0004] In one aspect, a method of data communication is disclosed, the method including: receiving, by a first network element, from a user equipment, a signaling connection setup complete message indicating establishment of a signaling message connection between the user equipment and a network device associated with the first network element; determining, by the first network element, whether a network slice corresponding to the signaling connection setup complete message is supported by a second network element; and, if the first network element determines that the network slice corresponding to the signaling connection setup complete message is not supported by the second network element, transmitting, by the first network element, the signaling message and information regarding the network slice to a third network element.

[0005] In another aspect, a method of data communication is disclosed, the method including: receiving, by a second network element, from a first network element, a signaling container and a transfer message for transferring a signaling message, the signaling container including at least one of a signaling connection setup request message requesting a connection for the signaling message or a signaling connection setup complete message indicating connection establishment for the signaling message; determining, by the second network element, whether a network slice corresponding to the signaling message is supported by the second network element; and, if the second network element determines that the network slice corresponding to the signaling message is not supported by the second network element, transmitting, by the second network element, the signaling message and information regarding the network slice to a third network element.

[0006] In another aspect, a method of data communications is disclosed, the method including: a first network element transmitting to a second network element a request message and information regarding a number of user equipment devices served by a network device associated with the first network element, the first network element receiving a response message from the second network element, and allocating the user equipment devices among different control planes of the second network element associated with the network device based on the information regarding the number of user equipment devices served by the network device.

[0007] In another exemplary aspect, a wireless communication apparatus is disclosed comprising a processor configured to perform the above-described method.

[0008] In another exemplary aspect, a computer storage medium having stored thereon code for implementing the above-described method is disclosed.

[0009] These and other aspects are described in this document. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the disclosed technology. [Figure 2] 1 is a block diagram representation of a portion of an apparatus according to some embodiments of the disclosed technology. [Figure 3] 1 illustrates an exemplary architecture for gNB-Central Unit (CU)-Control Plane (CP) and gNB-CU-User Plane (UP) separation. [Figure 4] 1 illustrates an example of an F1 Application Protocol (F1AP) procedure for a dedicated central unit (CU) for network slicing, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed technology. [Figure 5] 10 illustrates another example of an F1AP procedure for a dedicated CU for network slicing with rerouting procedure, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed technology. [Figure 6] 1 illustrates an example of an F1AP procedure for fair allocation of users, according to some embodiments of the disclosed technology. [Figure 7] 10 illustrates another example of an F1AP procedure for fair allocation of users, according to some embodiments of the disclosed technology. [Figure 8] 1 illustrates an example process for wireless communication in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the disclosed technology. [Figure 9] 10 illustrates another example process for wireless communication in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the disclosed technology. [Figure 10] 10 illustrates another example process for wireless communication in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the disclosed technology. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Section headings are used in this document for ease of understanding only and do not limit the scope of the embodiments to the section they are written in. Furthermore, although the embodiments are described with reference to 5G examples, the disclosed techniques may be applied to wireless systems using protocols other than 5G or 3GPP protocols.

[0012] 1 illustrates an example wireless communication system (e.g., a Long Term Evolution (LTE), 5G, or NR cellular network) comprising a BS 120 and one or more user equipments (UEs) 111, 112, and 113. In some embodiments, uplink transmissions (131, 132, and 133) may include uplink control information (UCI), higher layer signaling (e.g., UE assistance information or UE capabilities), or uplink information. In some embodiments, downlink transmissions (141, 142, and 143) may include DCI, higher layer signaling, or downlink information. A UE may be, for example, a smartphone, a tablet, a mobile computer, a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, a terminal, a mobile device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, or the like.

[0013] 2 is a block diagram representation of a portion of an apparatus according to some embodiments of the disclosed technology. An apparatus 205, such as a network device or base station or wireless device (or UE), may include processor electronics 210, such as a microprocessor, that implements one or more of the techniques disclosed herein. The apparatus 205 may include transceiver electronics 215 to transmit and / or receive wireless signals through one or more communication interfaces, such as an antenna 220. The apparatus 205 may include other communication interfaces for transmitting and receiving data. The apparatus 205 may include one or more memories (explicitly not shown) configured to store information, such as data and / or instructions. In some implementations, the processor electronics 210 may include at least a portion of the transceiver electronics 215. In some embodiments, at least a portion of the disclosed techniques, modules, or functionality are implemented using the apparatus 205.

[0014] In wireless communication networks, Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN) architectures may be segmented by the presence of a single logical gNB-CU-Control Plane (CP) connected to multiple logical gNB-Distributed Units (DUs) and logical gNB-Central Units (CUs)-User Plane (UPs) per segmented gNodeB (gNB). In addition, a failure in a gNB-CU (e.g., a gNB-CU-CP) may cause interruptions in multi-user plane (UP) traffic and disconnections for multiple UEs. The disclosed techniques can be implemented in some embodiments to address these issues.

[0015] FIG. 3 shows an example architecture for gNB-Central Unit (CU)-Control Plane (CP) and gNB-CU-User Plane (UP) separation.

[0016] In some implementations, a base station (e.g., a gNB) may include a control plane of a central unit (e.g., gNB-CU-CP), multiple user planes of a control unit (e.g., gNB-CU-UP), and multiple distributed units (e.g., gNB-DU). In some implementations, the gNB-CU-CP is connected to the gNB-DU via an interface (e.g., an F1-C interface). In some implementations, the gNB-CU-UP is connected to the gNB-DU via another interface (e.g., an F1-U interface). In some implementations, the gNB-CU-UP is connected to the gNB-CU-CP via an E1 interface. In some implementations, one gNB-DU is connected to only one gNB-CU-CP. In some implementations, one gNB-CU-UP is connected to only one gNB-CU-CP.

[0017] In some implementations, for resilience purposes, a gNB-DU and / or gNB-CU-UP may be connected to multiple gNB-CU-CPs.

[0018] In an implementation where a gNB-DU and / or gNB-CU-UP is connected to multiple gNB-CU-CPs, one gNB-DU or gNB-CU-UP can be connected to multiple gNB-CU-UPs simultaneously.

[0019] In one embodiment of the disclosed technology, failure of a gNB-CU-CP can be prevented or mitigated by differentiating central unit (CU) functions across services. In some implementations, different gNB-CUs may be assigned to different network slices to support different services. In this case, two scenarios are considered. In one scenario, when a gNB-CU does not support a selected slice, the gNB-DU can send a radio resource control (RRC) message with slice information to a backup gNB-CU. In another scenario, when a gNB-CU detects a failure and cannot support a selected slice, the gNB-CU can reroute an RRC message with slice information to the backup gNB-CU.

[0020] In another embodiment of the disclosed technology, failures of gNB-CU(-CP) can be prevented or mitigated by evenly allocating users (or user equipment devices (UEs)) among different gNB-CU-CPs. In addition, the number of users in different gNB-CU-CPs may be transmitted from the gNB-DU / gNB-CU-UP to the gNB-CU-CP via F1AP / E1AP messages. In this case, even if a particular gNB-CU-CP detects a failure, user plane (UP) traffic and connections of UEs located at other gNB-CU-CPs may not be affected.

[0021] Embodiment 1: Dedicated CU for network slicing to support different services.

[0022] In some embodiments of the disclosed technology, the gNB-distributed unit (DU) interprets an RRC message having slice information and then transmits the RRC message to a backup gNB-central unit (CU).

[0023] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of an F1 Application Protocol (F1AP) procedure for a dedicated central unit (CU) for network slicing, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed technology.

[0024] In operation 1, the UE transmits an RRC setup request message to the gNB-DU. In operation 2, the gNB-DU transmits an initial uplink (UL) RRC message to the gNB-CU. In operation 3, the gNB-CU transmits a downlink (DL) RRC message transfer message to the gNB-DU. In operation 4, the gNB-DU transmits an RRC setup message to the UE. In operation 5, the UE transmits an RRC setup complete message to the gNB-DU. Operations 1 to 5 may be a common initial access procedure on F1.

[0025] In some implementation aspects of the disclosed technology, after performing operation 5, the gNB-DU interprets the RRC setup complete message and detects that a certain slice (e.g., a network slice) is not supported by the gNB-CU.

[0026] In operation 6, the gNB-DU transmits a UE context release request message with a cause value “S-NSSAI (Slice) not supported by the CU” to the gNB-CU, where the cause value may indicate a release cause value.

[0027] In operation 7, the gNB-DU transmits an initial UL RRC message having an RRC container to the backup gNB-CU. The RRC container may include at least one of an RRC setup request message or an RRC setup complete message.

[0028] In operation 8, the gNB-CU triggers a UE context release procedure to release the UE context.

[0029] In operation 9, the backup gNB-CU triggers a UE context setup procedure with the gNB-DU.

[0030] In the case of a dedicated CU for network slicing, even if one of the gNB-CUs does not support slicing, the gNB-DU can reselect a new suitable gNB-CU to support the same type of service.

[0031] Embodiment 2: Dedicated CU for network slicing with rerouting procedure.

[0032] In some embodiments of the disclosed technology, after detecting a failure, the gNB-CU transmits an RRC message with slice information directly to the backup gNB-CU.

[0033] FIG. 5 illustrates another example of an F1AP procedure for a dedicated CU for network slicing with a rerouting procedure, according to some embodiments of the disclosed technology.

[0034] In operation 1, the UE transmits an RRC setup request message to the gNB-DU. In operation 2, the gNB-DU transmits an initial uplink (UL) RRC message to the gNB-CU. In operation 3, the gNB-CU transmits a downlink (DL) RRC message transfer message to the gNB-DU. In operation 4, the gNB-DU transmits an RRC setup message to the UE. In operation 5, the UE transmits an RRC setup complete message to the gNB-DU. Operations 1 to 5 may be a common initial access procedure on F1.

[0035] In operation 6, the gNB-DU transmits an uplink (UL) RRC message transfer message to the gNB-CU in an RRC container. The RRC container may include at least one of an RRC setup request message or an RRC setup complete message, and the slice information is included in the RRC message.

[0036] In operation 7, the gNB-CU detects a failure but cannot support slicing and can forward an RRC message with slice information to the backup gNB-CU by performing a reroute RRC request procedure (e.g., XnAP signaling). In some implementations, the reroute RRC request procedure may be a class 1 or class 2 procedure. In addition to XnAP signaling, a user plane method such as a data transfer procedure can be used to handle the reroute RRC procedure.

[0037] In operation 8, the backup gNB-CU triggers a UE context setup procedure with the gNB-DU.

[0038] In the case of a dedicated CU for network slicing, even if one of the gNB-CUs detects a failure, the gNB-DU can reselect a new suitable gNB-CU to support the same type of service as the old gNB-CU.

[0039] Embodiment 3: Equal allocation of users among different gNB-CU-CPs.

[0040] In some embodiments of the disclosed technology, the gNB-CU-CP transmits the number of users to the gNB-DU / gNB-CU-UP.

[0041] FIG. 6 illustrates an example of an F1AP procedure for fair allocation of users, according to some embodiments of the disclosed technology.

[0042] In operation 1, the gNB-CU transmits an F1 Application Protocol (F1AP) request message to the gNB-DU along with the number of users to be served. In some implementations, the F1AP request message may be one of a gNB-CU configuration update message, a UE context setup request message, or a backhaul adaptation protocol (BAP) mapping configuration message.

[0043] In operation 2, the gNB-DU replies with a corresponding F1AP response message, which includes one of a gNB-CU configuration update confirm message, or a UE context setup response message, or a BAP mapping configuration confirm message.

[0044] FIG. 7 illustrates another example of an F1AP procedure for fair allocation of users, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed technology.

[0045] In operation 1, the gNB-CU-CP transmits an E1AP request message to the gNB-CU-UP along with the number of users to be served. Furthermore, the E1AP request message may be one of a gNB-CU-CP configuration update message or a bearer context setup request message.

[0046] In operation 2, the gNB-CU-UP replies with a corresponding E1 Application Protocol (E1AP) response message, which includes one of a gNB-CU-CP configuration update confirm message or a bearer context setup response message.

[0047] In the case of user allocation, even if one of multiple gNB-CU-CPs detects a failure, not all UP traffic and UE connections are affected. For example, if there are a total of 100 users served by the gNB-DU, 40 users are assigned to gNB-CU-CP 1 and 60 users are assigned to gNB-CU-CP 2, if gNB-CU-CP 1 detects a failure, the UP traffic and connections of the remaining 60 users can be maintained.

[0048] In the case of a dedicated CU for network slicing, if the gNB-CU does not support the selected slice, the gNB-DU triggers a UE context release request procedure with the cause value "S-NSSAI(Slice) not supported by the CU". In addition, the gNB-DU transmits an RRC container with slice information to the backup gNB-CU.

[0049] In the case of a dedicated CU for network slicing, if the gNB-CU detects a failure and is unable to support the slice, the gNB-CU triggers a reroute RRC request procedure to the backup gNB-CU.

[0050] In this way, the disclosed technology can be implemented in some embodiments to prevent gNB-CU-CP failures and evenly allocate users in a gNB-DU among different gNB-CU-CPs. In this case, even if one of multiple gNB-CU-CPs detects a failure, not all UP traffic and UE connections are affected. In addition, the gNB-CU-CP transmits the number of users it serves to the gNB-DU / gNB-CU-UP via F1AP / E1AP signaling.

[0051] FIG. 8 illustrates an example process for wireless communication in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the disclosed technology.

[0052] In some implementations, a process 800 for wireless communication may include step 810 in which a first network element receives, from a user equipment device, a signaling connection setup complete message indicating connection establishment of a signaling message between the user equipment device and a network device associated with the first network element; step 820 in which the first network element determines whether a network slice corresponding to the signaling connection setup complete message is supported by a second network element; and step 830 in which the first network element transmits the signaling message and information regarding the network slice to a third network element if the first network element determines that the network slice corresponding to the signaling connection setup complete message is not supported by the second network element.

[0053] FIG. 9 illustrates another example of a process for wireless communication in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the disclosed technology.

[0054] In some implementations, a process 900 for wireless communication may include step 910, in which a second network element receives, from a first network element, a signaling container and a transfer message for transferring a signaling message, where the signaling container includes at least one of a signaling connection setup request message requesting a connection for the signaling message or a signaling connection setup complete message indicating connection establishment for the signaling message; step 920, in which the second network element determines whether a network slice corresponding to the signaling message is supported by the second network element; and step 930, in which the second network element transmits the signaling message and information regarding the network slice to a third network element if the second network element determines that the network slice corresponding to the signaling message is not supported by the second network element.

[0055] FIG. 10 illustrates another example of a process for wireless communication in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the disclosed technology.

[0056] In some implementations, process 1000 for wireless communication may include step 1010, in which a first network element transmits to a second network element a request message and information regarding the number of user equipment devices served by a network device associated with the first network element; step 1020, in which the first network element receives a response message from the second network element; and step 1030, in which the first network element allocates the user equipment devices among different control planes of the second network element associated with the network device based on the information regarding the number of user equipment devices served by the network device.

[0057] It will be understood that this document discloses techniques that may be embodied in various embodiments for determining downlink control information in a wireless network. The disclosure and other embodiments, modules, and functional operations described herein can be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or in computer software, firmware, or hardware (including the structures disclosed herein and their structural equivalents), or in one or more combinations thereof. The disclosure and other embodiments can be implemented as one or more computer program products, i.e., one or more modules of computer program instructions encoded on a computer-readable medium for execution by or to control the operation of a data processing apparatus. The computer-readable medium can be a machine-readable storage device, a machine-readable storage substrate, a memory device, a composition of matter operating on a machine-readable propagated signal, or one or more combinations thereof. The term "data processing apparatus" encompasses all apparatus, devices, and machines for processing data, including, by way of example, a programmable processor, a computer, or multiple processors or computers. In addition to hardware, an apparatus may include code that creates an execution environment for the computer program, such as code comprising processor firmware, a protocol stack, a database management system, an operating system, or one or more combinations thereof. A propagated signal is an artificially generated signal, such as a machine-generated electrical, optical, or electromagnetic signal, that is generated to encode information for transmission to an appropriate receiving device.

[0058] A computer program (also known as a program, software, software application, script, or code) can be written in any type of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, and can be deployed in any form, such as a stand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computer program does not necessarily correspond to a file in a file system. A program can be stored as part of a file that holds other programs or data (e.g., one or more scripts stored in a markup language document), in a single file dedicated to the program, or in multiple associated files (e.g., files storing one or more modules, subprograms, or portions of code). A computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computers at one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communications network.

[0059] The processes and logic flows described herein may be performed by one or more programmable processors executing one or more computer programs to perform functions by processing input data and generating output. The processes and logic flows may also be performed by, and apparatus may be implemented as, special purpose logic circuitry, such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit).

[0060] Processors suitable for executing a computer program include, by way of example, both general-purpose and special-purpose microprocessors, and any one or more processors of any kind of digital computer. Typically, a processor receives instructions and data from a read-only memory or a random-access memory, or both. The essential elements of a computer are a processor for executing instructions and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Typically, a computer also includes one or more mass storage devices for storing data, such as magnetic disks, magneto-optical disks, or optical disks, or is operatively coupled to receive data from, transfer data to, or both. However, a computer need not include such devices. Computer-readable media suitable for storing computer program instructions and data include, by way of example, all forms of non-volatile memory, media, and memory devices, including, by way of example, semiconductor memory devices, such as EPROMs, EEPROMs, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks or removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. The processor and the memory can be supplemented by, or incorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry.

[0061] Some embodiments may preferably implement one or more of the following solutions, which are enumerated in clause form: The following clauses are supported and further described in the above embodiments and throughout this document: As used in the following clauses and claims, a wireless device may be a user equipment, a mobile station, or any other wireless terminal, including a fixed node such as a base station; a network device includes a base station, including a next-generation Node B (gNB), an enhanced Node B (eNB), or any other device functioning as a base station.

[0062] Clause 1: A method of wireless communication comprising: a step of receiving, from a user equipment device, a signaling connection setup complete message indicating establishment of a signaling message connection between the user equipment device and a network device associated with the first network element; a step of the first network element determining whether a network slice corresponding to the signaling connection setup complete message is supported by a second network element; and a step of the first network element transmitting the signaling message and information regarding the network slice to a third network element if the first network element determines that the network slice corresponding to the signaling connection setup complete message is not supported by the second network element.

[0063] Clause 2: The method of clause 1 further includes a step in which the first network element transmits a user equipment context release request message and a release cause value to the second network element, the release cause value indicating that the network slice corresponding to the signaling connection setup complete message is not supported by the second network element.

[0064] Clause 3: The method of clause 1, further comprising a step in which the first network element transmits an initial signaling message and a signaling container to the third network element, wherein the signaling container includes at least one of a connection setup request message or the signaling connection setup complete message.

[0065] Clause 4: The method according to clause 1, wherein the second network element triggers a user equipment context release procedure to release the established user equipment context.

[0066] Clause 5: The method of clause 1, wherein the third network element triggers a user equipment context setup procedure to establish a user equipment context.

[0067] Clause 6: A method of wireless communication, comprising: a step by a second network element receiving, from a first network element, a signaling container and a transfer message for transferring a signaling message, wherein the signaling container includes at least one of a signaling connection setup request message requesting a connection for the signaling message or a signaling connection setup complete message indicating establishment of a connection for the signaling message; a step by the second network element determining whether a network slice corresponding to the signaling message is supported by the second network element; and a step by the second network element transmitting the signaling message and information regarding the network slice to a third network element if the second network element determines that the network slice corresponding to the signaling message is not supported by the second network element.

[0068] Clause 7: The method of clause 6, wherein the transmission of the signaling message is a rerouting radio resource control (RRC) request procedure.

[0069] Clause 8: The method of clause 6, wherein the third network element triggers a user equipment context setup procedure to establish a user equipment context.

[0070] Clause 9: The method of any of clauses 1 to 8, wherein the first network element includes a distributed unit (DU), the second network element includes a central unit (CU), and the third network element includes a backup central unit (CU).

[0071] Clause 10: A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 8, wherein the signaling includes radio resource control (RRC) signaling, the connection setup complete message is an RRC setup complete message, the connection setup request message is an RRC setup request message, and the signaling container is an RRC container.

[0072] Clause 11: A method of wireless communication comprising: a first network element transmitting to a second network element a request message and information regarding the number of user equipment devices served by a network device associated with the first network element; a first network element receiving a response message from the second network element; and allocating the user equipment devices among different control planes of the second network element associated with the network element based on the information regarding the number of user equipment devices served by the network element.

[0073] Clause 12: The method of clause 11, wherein the first network element is a central unit (CU) of a base station and the second network element is a distributed unit (DU) of the base station.

[0074] Clause 13: The method of clause 12, wherein the request message includes at least one of a next generation Node B (gNB)-CU configuration update message, a user equipment (UE) context setup request message, or a backhaul adaptation protocol (BAP) mapping configuration message.

[0075] Clause 14: The method described in clause 12, wherein the response message includes a gNB-CU configuration update confirm message, a UE context setup response message, or a BAP mapping configuration confirm message.

[0076] Clause 15: The method according to clause 11, wherein the first network element is a control plane (CP) of a central unit (CU) of a base station, and the second network element is a user plane (UP) of the central unit (CU) of the base station.

[0077] Clause 16: The method described in Clause 15, wherein the request message includes at least one of a gNB-CU-CP configuration update message or a bearer context setup request message.

[0078] Clause 17: The method described in Clause 15, wherein the response message includes a gNB-CU-CP configuration update confirmation message or a bearer context setup response message.

[0079] Clause 18: An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising a processor configured to perform the method of any of clauses 1 to 17.

[0080] Clause 19: A non-transitory computer readable medium having code stored thereon, the code, when executed by a processor, causing the processor to implement a method according to any one of clauses 1 to 17.

[0081] Some embodiments described herein are described in the general context of methods or processes, which in one embodiment may be implemented by a computer program product embodied in a computer-readable medium including computer-executable instructions, such as program code, executed by computers in a networked environment. Computer-readable media may include removable and non-removable storage devices, including, but not limited to, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), compact discs (CDs), digital versatile discs (DVDs), etc. Thus, computer-readable media may include non-transitory storage media. Generally, program modules may include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Computer- or processor-executable instructions, associated data structures, and program modules represent examples of program code for executing steps of the methods disclosed herein. The particular sequence of such executable instructions or associated data structures represents examples of corresponding acts for implementing the functions described in such steps or processes.

[0082] Some disclosed embodiments may be implemented as devices or modules using hardware circuits, software, or a combination thereof. For example, a hardware circuit implementation may include discrete analog and / or digital components integrated, for example, as part of a printed circuit board. Alternatively or additionally, the disclosed components or modules may be implemented as application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and / or field-programmable gate array (FPGA) devices. Some implementations may additionally or alternatively include a digital signal processor (DSP), which is a dedicated microprocessor with an architecture optimized for the operational needs of digital signal processing associated with the disclosed functionality. Similarly, various components or subcomponents within each module may be implemented in software, hardware, or firmware. Connectivity between modules and / or components within modules may be provided using any one of the connection methods and mediums known in the art, including, but not limited to, communication over the Internet, wired, or wireless networks using appropriate protocols.

[0083] Although many details are set forth in this document, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the claimed invention or what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions of features specific to particular embodiments. Certain features described herein in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination. Furthermore, even if features are described above as acting in a particular combination and originally claimed as such, one or more features from the claimed combination may, in some implementations, be deleted from the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or a variation of the subcombination. Similarly, although acts are depicted in the figures in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring such acts to be performed in the particular order shown, or sequentially, or that all of the illustrated acts be performed, to achieve desirable results.

[0084] Only some implementations and examples have been described; other implementations, enhancements, and variations may be made based on what is described and illustrated in this disclosure.

Claims

1. 1. A method of wireless communication, comprising: receiving, by a first network element, from a user equipment device, a signaling connection setup complete message indicating connection establishment of signaling messages between the user equipment device and a network device associated with the first network element; The first network element determines whether a network slice corresponding to the signaling connection setup complete message is supported by a second network element; If the first network element determines that the network slice corresponding to the signaling connection setup complete message is not supported by the second network element, the first network element transmits the signaling message and information regarding the network slice to the third network element, so that the third network element triggers a user equipment context setup procedure to establish a user equipment context; A method comprising:

2. the first network element transmitting a user equipment context release request message and a release cause value to the second network element, the release cause value indicating that the network slice corresponding to the signaling connection setup complete message is not supported by the second network element; or 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: the first network element transmitting an initial signaling message and a signaling container to the third network element, wherein the signaling container includes at least one of a signaling connection setup request message or the signaling connection setup complete message.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein if the first network element determines that the network slice corresponding to the signaling connection setup complete message is not supported by the second network element, the first network element transmits a user equipment context release request message to the second network element, so that the second network element triggers a user equipment context release procedure to release the established user equipment context.

4. 1. A method of wireless communication, comprising: receiving, by a second network element, from a first network element, a signaling container and a transfer message for transferring a signaling message, wherein the signaling container includes at least one of a signaling connection setup request message requesting a connection for the signaling message, or a signaling connection setup complete message indicating connection establishment for the signaling message; determining, by the second network element, whether a network slice corresponding to the signaling message is supported by the second network element; If the second network element determines that the network slice corresponding to the signaling message is not supported by the second network element, the second network element transmits the signaling message and information regarding the network slice to the third network element, so that the third network element triggers a user equipment context setup procedure to establish a user equipment context; A method comprising:

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the transmission of the signaling message is a reroute radio resource control (RRC) request procedure.

6. the first network element comprises a distribution unit (DU), the second network element comprises a central unit (CU), and the third network element comprises a backup central unit (CU); or 6. The method of claim 2, wherein the signaling includes radio resource control (RRC) signaling, the signaling connection setup complete message is an RRC setup complete message, the signaling connection setup request message is an RRC setup request message, and the signaling container is an RRC container.

7. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising a processor configured to perform the method of claim 1 or claim 4.

8. A computer program configured to cause a computer to carry out the method according to claim 1 or claim 4.

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