Determining peak connectivity in a distributed environment

Abstract

A computer-implemented method, apparatus, and non-transitory storage medium are provided for determining peak connectivity in a distributed environment. In one implementation, determining peak connectivity in the distributed environment may include receiving data indicating a number of user equipment units (UEs) connected to each of a plurality of scheduling units of a radio access network (RAN) and a number of UEs disconnected from each of a plurality of scheduling units of the RAN during each of a plurality of time windows in a first time period according to a predetermined time schedule, determining a maximum number of UEs connected to the scheduling unit at a time within the first time period based on the received data, and transmitting the determined maximum number of UEs to a network manager of the RAN.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Cross - reference to related applications This application of the present invention was filed on September 2, 2022, claims the priority of Indian Patent Application No. 202241050321 entitled "Determining Peak Connections In A Distributed Environment", and incorporates the entire disclosure thereof herein by reference.

[0002] In certain implementations, the subject matter relates to a telecommunication system, and more particularly to determining peak connections in a distributed environment such as an Open Radio Access Network ("O - RAN") architecture system, a virtual RAN system, a Long Term Evolution communication system, a 5G New Radio ("NR") communication system, and any other system.

Background Art

[0003] In today's world, cellular networks provide on-demand communication capabilities to individuals and businesses. Typically, a cellular network is a wireless network that can be distributed across terrestrial areas called cells. Each such cell is serviced by at least one fixed-location transceiver called a cell site or base station. Each cell may use a different set of frequencies than its neighboring cells to avoid interference and provide improved service within each cell. When cells are connected together, they provide wireless coverage over a wide geographical area, thereby enabling numerous mobile phones and / or other wireless devices or portable transceivers to communicate with each other, as well as with fixed transceivers and phones somewhere in the network. Such communication is carried out via base stations and is achieved even when a mobile transceiver is moving through two or more cells during transmission. Major wireless communications providers deploy such cell sites worldwide, enabling communication mobile phones and mobile computing devices to connect to public switched telephone networks and the public internet.

[0004] A mobile phone is a cellular device that can receive and / or transmit phone and / or data communications via a cell site or transmitting tower by using radio waves to transfer signals to and from other mobile phones. Given the large number of mobile phone users, the current mobile phone network provides limited shared resources. In this regard, cell sites and handsets can change frequencies and use low-power transmitters to enable simultaneous use of the network by many callers with less interference. Cell site coverage can depend on a particular geographical location and / or the users who can potentially use the network. For example, in urban areas, a cell site may have a range of up to about half a mile, while in rural areas the range may be as low as 5 miles, and in some areas, users may be able to receive signals from a cell site 25 miles away.

[0005] The following are some examples of digital cellular technologies used by telecommunications providers, namely, Global System for Mobile Communications ("GSM"), General-Purpose Packet Radio Service ("GPRS"), cdmaOne, CDMA2000, Advanced Data Optimization ("EV-DO"), GSM Advanced High-Speed ​​Data Rate ("EDGE"), Universal Mobile Communications System ("UMTS"), Digital Extended Cordless Communications ("DECT"), Digital AMPS ("IS-136 / TDMA"), and Integrated Digital Extended Network ("iDEN"). Long-Term Evolution, or 4G LTE, developed by the Third Generation Partnership Project ("3GPP®") standards body, is a standard for high-speed wireless data communication for mobile phones and data terminals. Currently, 5G standards are being developed and deployed. 3GPP cellular technologies such as LTE and 5G NR are evolutions of earlier 3GPP technologies such as GSM / EDGE and UMTS / HSPA digital cellular technologies, enabling increased capacity and speed through improvements to the core network and the use of different radio interfaces.

[0006] A cellular network can be divided into a radio access network and a core network. The radio access network ("RAN") may include network functions capable of handling radio layer communication processing. The core network may include network functions capable of handling higher layer communications, such as the Internet Protocol ("IP"), the transport layer, and the application layer. In some cases, the RAN functions may be divided into baseband unit functions and radio unit functions, for example, radio units connected to baseband units via a fronthaul network may be responsible for lower layer processing of the radio physical layer, while the baseband units may be responsible for higher layer radio protocols, such as MAC and RLC.

[0007] Conventional wireless access networks typically use scheduling units, each with a predetermined processing capacity, to provide wireless communication capabilities to a large number of mobile phones and mobile computing devices. However, efficiently distributing the load of mobile phones and mobile computing devices across the scheduling units of the RAN can be challenging. For example, mobile phones and mobile computing devices frequently connect to and disconnect from the network, so that the number of mobile phones and mobile computing devices associated with each scheduling unit can fluctuate frequently over time. Therefore, it can be difficult to determine how to distribute the load across the scheduling units of the RAN, as the current number of mobile phones and mobile computing devices associated with each scheduling unit may not be known. Connecting and disconnecting mobile phones and mobile computing devices may be reported in real time to a common entity in the RAN configured to distribute mobile phones and mobile computing devices across scheduling units, but such reporting may require a large amount of bandwidth, processing resources, and / or memory capacity.

[0008] Therefore, it is necessary to determine peak connectivity in a distributed environment. [Overview of the Initiative]

[0009] In one implementation, the subject matter relates to a method implemented by a computer. The method of the present invention may include receiving data indicating the number of user devices (UEs) connected to each of a plurality of scheduling units of a radio access network (RAN) and the number of UEs disconnected from each of the plurality of scheduling units of the RAN, during each of a plurality of time windows in a first period, according to a predetermined time schedule. The method of the present invention may also include determining the maximum number of UEs connected to a scheduling unit at a given time within the first period, based on the received data. The method of the present invention may also include transmitting the determined maximum number of UEs to the network manager of the RAN.

[0010] In some implementations, this subject may include one or more of the following optional features. In some implementations, the received data may be time-stamped such that the time the maximum number of UEs were connected to the scheduling unit is known.

[0011] In one implementation, the predetermined time schedule may be such that data is received each time a predetermined period in each time window has elapsed.

[0012] In one implementation, the data may be received at the end of each of multiple time windows.

[0013] In one implementation, each time window may have a predetermined time length, and the first period may be the sum of the predetermined time lengths.

[0014] In one implementation, the determined maximum number of UEs may be sent to the network manager after the end of the first period.

[0015] In one implementation, the method of the present invention may further include repeating receiving, determining, and transmitting for each of at least one additional periods following the first period.

[0016] In one implementation, the scheduling unit may be associated with at least one of the control plane components and user plane components of the base station's central unit. Furthermore, the scheduling unit may be associated with the control plane components of the base station's central unit, and / or the base station may include at least one of an eNodeB base station, a gNodeB base station, a wireless base station, a wireless access point, and any combination thereof. Furthermore, the base station may have a central unit having a processor communicatively connected to memory, and receiving, determining, and transmitting may be performed by the central unit. Furthermore, the central unit may include at least one of the control plane components, user plane components, and any combination thereof. Furthermore, the central unit may be communicatively connected to at least one distributed unit (DU), each of the at least one DU may be communicatively connected to at least one radio unit (RU), and the UE connected to the scheduling unit may be communicatively connected to at least one RU. Furthermore, the central unit may operate in an open radio access network (O-RAN) or a virtual RAN.

[0017] In some implementations, receiving, determining, and transmitting may be performed by a base station of the wireless communication system. Furthermore, the base station may include at least one of an eNodeB base station, a gNodeB base station, a wireless base station, a wireless access point, or any combination thereof. Furthermore, the base station may include a central unit having a processor commutably connected to memory, and receiving, determining, and transmitting may be performed by the central unit. Furthermore, the central unit may include at least one of control plane components, user plane components, or any combination thereof. Furthermore, the central unit may be commutably connected to at least one distributed unit (DU), each of the at least one DU may be commutably connected to at least one radio unit (RU), and a UE connected to a scheduling unit may be commutably connected to at least one RU. Furthermore, the central unit may operate in an open radio access network (O-RAN) or a virtual RAN.

[0018] In one implementation, receiving, determining, and transmitting may be performed by a radio access network (RAN) node having at least one processor communically connected to at least one memory.

[0019] Also described are non-temporary computer program products (i.e., physically embodied computer program products) that, when executed by one or more data processors of one or more computing systems, store instructions causing at least one data processor to perform the operations described herein. Similarly, computer systems that may include one or more data processors and memory connected to one or more data processors are also described. The memory can temporarily or permanently store instructions causing at least one processor to perform one or more of the operations described herein. Furthermore, the methods of the present invention can be implemented by one or more data processors within a single computing system or distributed between two or more computing systems. Such computing systems may be connected via one or more connections that can exchange data and / or commands or other instructions, and these connections include, but are not limited to, connections via networks (e.g., the Internet, a wireless wide area network, a local area network, a wide area network, a wired network, etc.) via direct connections between one or more of the computing systems.

[0020] Details of one or more modifications of the subject matter described herein are shown in the accompanying drawings and the following description. Other features and advantages of the subject matter described herein will be evident from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

[0021] The accompanying drawings incorporated herein and constituting part of this specification illustrate specific aspects of the subject matter disclosed herein and, together with the description, help to illustrate some of the principles relating to the disclosed implementations. In the drawings, [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0022] [Figure 1a] This figure illustrates an exemplary conventional Long-Term Evolution ("LTE") communication system.

[0023] [Figure 1b] FIG. 1a is a diagram showing further details of an exemplary LTE system.

[0024] [Figure 1c] FIG. 1a is a diagram showing further details of an evolved packet core of an exemplary LTE system.

[0025] [Figure 1d] FIG. 1a is a diagram showing an exemplary evolved Node B of an exemplary LTE system.

[0026] [Figure 2] FIG. 1a-1d is a diagram showing further details of an evolved Node B.

[0027] [Figure 3] FIG. is a diagram showing an exemplary virtual radio access network according to an implementation of the present subject matter.

[0028] [Figure 4] FIG. is a diagram showing an exemplary 3GPP split architecture for providing a higher frequency band to its users.

[0029] [Figure 5a] FIG. is a diagram showing an exemplary 5G wireless communication system.

[0030] [Figure 5b] FIG. is a diagram showing an exemplary layer architecture of a split gNB and / or split ng-eNB (e.g., a next generation eNB that can be connected to a 5GC).

[0031] [Figure 5c] FIG. 5a-5b is a diagram showing an exemplary functional split in a gNB architecture.

[0032] [Figure 6]This figure shows an exemplary centralized unit, including a common entity and multiple scheduling units, based on a particular implementation of this subject.

[0033] [Figure 7] This graph shows the performance of a connected user device over a statistically collected period, based on a specific implementation of this subject.

[0034] [Figure 8] This figure shows a user device connected to and disconnected from four scheduling units in four time windows for each of two periods, according to a certain implementation of the subject.

[0035] [Figure 9] This figure shows an example of a message in a particular implementation of this topic.

[0036] [Figure 10] This figure shows a scheduling unit that reports to a common entity at the end of each time window, and a common entity that reports to the element management system / operation support system at the end of each period, based on an implementation of this subject.

[0037] [Figure 11] This figure shows an example system based on a particular implementation of this subject.

[0038] [Figure 12] This figure shows an example method for determining peak connections in a distributed environment, based on a particular implementation of this subject. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0039] This subject can provide systems and methods that can be implemented in wireless communication systems. Such systems may include various wireless communication systems, including 5G New Radio (NR) communication systems and Long-Term Evolution communication systems.

[0040] Typically, this subject concerns determining peak connectivity in a distributed environment. A distributed environment, such as a RAN, e.g., O-RAN or virtual RAN, may include one or more base stations configured to support the operation of one or more scheduling units. Multiple UEs can be distributed across multiple scheduling units in the RAN. This distribution can be based on the load of each scheduling unit configured to provide wireless communication capabilities to one or more UEs. In some implementations of this subject, determining peak connectivity in a distributed environment can facilitate efficient load balancing among multiple scheduling units.

[0041] In one implementation of this subject, multiple UEs may be distributed across multiple scheduling units in a RAN (or other distributed network). This distribution can be based on the load of each scheduling unit. The scheduling units may be part of a centralized unit ("CU") which may also include a common entity ("CE"). Each scheduling unit may be configured to periodically report to the common entity of the centralized unit the UEs connected to and disconnected from it. UE connections and disconnections may be time-stamped. In this way, the common entity can be informed about the UEs connected to and disconnected from each scheduling unit within a given time window. At the end of a given period, which may include multiple given time windows, e.g., two, three, four, etc., the CE can report to an operator, such as an element management system / operation support system ("EMS / OSS"), and the CE can determine the maximum number of UEs connected to a scheduling unit at any given time as a set for the given period. Thus, the operator can know the maximum number of UEs connected to a scheduling unit for a given time schedule defined by a given period. By reporting the maximum number of UEs according to a predetermined time schedule, processing load, memory requirements, and / or bandwidth requirements can be reduced.

[0042] Furthermore, each scheduling unit knows only the UEs connected to it and those disconnected from it, and does not know the UEs connected to or disconnected from any other scheduling unit. Therefore, the connection and disconnection of each scheduling unit must be reported individually for each scheduling unit. By reporting the maximum number of UEs according to a predetermined time schedule, it is possible to report the connection and disconnection of each scheduling unit individually while reducing processing load, memory requirements, and / or bandwidth requirements.

[0043] One or more aspects of this subject can be incorporated into the transmitter and / or receiver components of base stations (e.g., gNodeB, eNodeB, etc.) within such communication systems. The following is a general discussion of long-term evolution communication systems and 5G New Radio communication systems.

[0044] I. Long-Term Evolution Communication Systems Figures 1a-1c and 2 illustrate an exemplary conventional Long-Term Evolution ("LTE") communication system 100 with its various components. The LTE system, or 4G LTE, is governed by a standard for high-speed data wireless communication for mobile phones and data terminals, as is commercially known. This standard is an evolution of GSM / EDGE ("Global System for Mobile Communications" / "GSM Evolution High Speed ​​Data Rate") and UMTS / HSPA ("Universal Mobile Communications System" / "High Speed ​​Packet Access") network technologies. This standard was developed by 3GPP ("Third Generation Partnership Project").

[0045] As shown in Figure 1a, System 100 may include an Advanced Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network ("EUTRAN") 102, an Advanced Packet Core ("EPC") 108, and a Packet Data Network ("PDN") 101, where EUTRAN 102 and EPC 108 provide communication between user equipment 104 and PDN 101. EUTRAN 102 may include multiple Advanced Node B ("eNodeB" or "ENODEB" or "enodeb" or "eNB") or base stations 106 (a,b,c) (as shown in Figure 1b) that provide communication capabilities to multiple user equipment 104 (a,b,c). User equipment 104 may be a mobile phone, smartphone, tablet, personal computer, personal digital assistant ("PDA"), server, data terminal, and / or any other type of user equipment, and / or any combination thereof. The user device 104 can connect to the EPC 108 and ultimately to the PDN 101 via any of the eNodeB 106. Typically, the user device 104 can connect to the eNodeB 106 closest in terms of distance. In the LTE system 100, the EUTRAN 102 and EPC 108 work together to provide connectivity, mobility, and services to the user device 104.

[0046] Figure 1b shows further details of the network 100 shown in Figure 1a. As described above, EUTRAN 102 includes multiple eNodeB 106, also known as cell sites. The eNodeB 106 provides radio functionality and performs critical control functions, including scheduling or radio resource management of airlink resources, active mode mobility or handover, and admission control for services. The eNodeB 106 is responsible for selecting which mobility management entity (MME, as shown in Figure 1c) will serve the user equipment 104, and for protocol functions such as header compression and encryption. The eNodeB 106 that make up EUTRAN 102 cooperate with each other for radio resource management and handover.

[0047] Communication between user equipment 104 and eNodeB 106 takes place via air interface 122 (also known as the “LTE-Uu” interface). As shown in Figure 1b, air interface 122 provides communication between user equipment 104b and eNodeB 106a. Air interface 122 uses orthogonal frequency division multiple access (“OFDMA”) and single-carrier frequency division multiple access (“SC-FDMA”), OFDMA variants, on the downlink and uplink, respectively. OFDMA enables the use of multiple known antenna techniques, such as multiple input multiple output (“MIMO”).

[0048] The air interface 122 uses various protocols, including radio resource control ("RRC") for signal transmission between the user device 104 and the eNodeB 106, and a non-access layer ("NAS") for signal transmission between the user device 104 and the MME (as shown in Figure 1c). In addition to signal transmission, user traffic is transferred between the user device 104 and the eNodeB 106. Both signal transmission and traffic in system 100 are carried by physical layer ("PHY") channels.

[0049] Multiple eNodeB106s can be interconnected using the X2 interface 130(a, b, c). As shown in Figure 1b, the X2 interface 130a provides interconnection between eNodeB106a and eNodeB106b, the X2 interface 130b provides interconnection between eNodeB106a and eNodeB106c, and the X2 interface 130c provides interconnection between eNodeB106b and eNodeB106c. The X2 interface can be established between two eNodeBs to provide signal exchange, which may include information related to load or interference, as well as information related to handover. The eNodeB106s communicate with the advanced packet core 108 via the S1 interface 124(a, b, c). The S1 interface 124 can be divided into two interfaces: one for the control plane (shown as the control plane interface (S1-MME interface) 128 in Figure 1c) and the other for the user plane (shown as the user plane interface (S1-U interface) 125 in Figure 1c).

[0050] The EPC108 establishes and enforces Quality of Service ("QoS") for user services, enabling user equipment 104 to maintain a consistent Internet Protocol ("IP") address while in transit. Note that each node in network 100 has its own IP address. The EPC108 is designed to interact with legacy wireless networks. The EPC108 is also designed to separate the control plane (i.e., signal transmission) from the user plane (i.e., traffic) in the core network architecture, which allows for greater flexibility in implementation forms, as well as independent scalability of control and user data functions.

[0051] The EPC108 architecture is dedicated to packet data and is illustrated in detail in Figure 1c. The EPC108 includes a Serving Gateway (S-GW) 110, a PDN Gateway (P-GW) 112, a Mobility Management Entity ("MME") 114, a Home Subscriber Server ("HSS") 116 (subscriber database for EPC108), and a Policy Control and Billing Rule Function ("PCRF") 118. Some of these (such as the S-GW, P-GW, MME, and HSS) are often combined into a node according to the manufacturer's implementation.

[0052] S-GW110 functions as an IP packet data router and is the bearer route anchor for user devices within EPC108. Therefore, when a user device moves from one eNodeB106 to another during mobility operation, S-GW110 remains the same, and the bearer route toward EUTRAN102 is switched to communicate with the new eNodeB106 serving user device 104. If user device 104 moves to the domain of another S-GW110, MME114 will forward all of the user device's bearer routes to the new S-GW. S-GW110 establishes bearer routes for the user device to one or more P-GW112s. When downstream data is received for idle user devices, S-GW110 buffers the downstream packets and requests MME114 to identify and re-establish the bearer routes to and through EUTRAN102.

[0053] P-GW112 is the gateway between EPC108 (and user equipment 104 and EUTRAN102) and PDN101 (shown in Figure 1a). P-GW112 functions as a router for user traffic and performs functions on behalf of the user equipment. These include assigning IP addresses to user equipment, packet filtering of downstream user traffic to ensure that downstream user traffic is placed on the appropriate bearer route, and implementing downstream QoS, including data rates. Depending on the services used by the subscriber, there may be multiple user data bearer routes between user equipment 104 and P-GW112. Subscribers can use services on PDNs served by different P-GWs, in which case the user equipment has at least one bearer route established to each P-GW112. If the S-GW110 also changes during a handover of user equipment from one eNodeB to another, the bearer route from P-GW112 is switched to the new S-GW.

[0054] The MME114 manages user devices 104 within the EPC108, including managing subscriber authentication, maintaining context for authenticated user devices 104, establishing data bearer routes within the network for user traffic, and tracking the location of idle mobile devices that have not detached from the network. For idle user devices 104 that need to be reconnected to the access network to receive downstream data, the MME114 initiates paging to locate the user device and re-establishes the bearer route to and through the EUTRAN102. The MME114 for a particular user device 104 is selected by the eNodeB106 from which the user device 104 initiates system access. MMEs are typically part of a collection of MMEs within the EPC108 for load sharing and redundancy purposes. In establishing user data bearer routes, the MME114 is responsible for selecting the P-GW112 and S-GW110, which constitute the endpoints of the data route through the EPC108.

[0055] PCRF118 is responsible for policy control decision-making and controlling flow-based billing functionality within the policy control enforcement function ("PCEF") residing within P-GW110. PCRF118 provides QoS authorization (QoS class identifier ("QCI") and bitrate), which determines how a given data flow is handled within the PCEF and ensures that this conforms to the user's subscription profile.

[0056] As described above, IP service 119 is provided by PDN 101 (as shown in Figure 1a).

[0057] Figure 1d shows an exemplary structure of eNodeB106. eNodeB106 may include at least one remote radio head ("RRH") 132 (typically three RRHs may be present) and a baseband unit ("BBU") 134. The RRH 132 can be connected to an antenna 136. The RRH 132 and BBU 134 can be connected using an optical interface compliant with the Common Public Radio Interface ("CPRI") / Extended CPRI ("eCPRI") 142 standard, either using a custom control and user plane framing method specific to the RRH or using an O-RAN Alliance compliant control and user plane framing method. The operation of the eNodeB106 can be characterized using the following standard parameters (and specifications), namely, high frequency bandwidth (band 4, band 9, band 17, etc.), bandwidth (5, 10, 15, 20 MHz), access method (downlink: OFDMA, uplink: SC-OFDMA), antenna technology (single-user and multi-user MIMO, uplink: single-user and multi-user MIMO), number of sectors (maximum 6), maximum transmission speed (downlink: 150 Mb / s, uplink: 50 Mb / s), S1 / X2 interface (1000Base-SX, 1000Base-T), and mobile environment (maximum 350 km / h). The BBU134 can handle digital baseband signal processing, S1 line termination, X2 line termination, call processing, and monitoring and control processing. IP packets received from the EPC108 (not shown in Figure 1d) can be modulated into digital baseband signals and transmitted to the RRH132. Conversely, the digital baseband signal received from the RRH132 can be demodulated into IP packets for transmission to the EPC108.

[0058] The RRH132 can transmit and receive wireless signals using the antenna 136. The RRH132 can convert digital baseband signals from the BBU134 into radio frequency ("RF") signals (using a converter ("CONV") 140) and power amplified them (using an amplifier ("AMP") 138) for transmission to the user device 104 (not shown in Figure 1d). Conversely, RF signals received from the user device 104 are amplified (using the AMP 138) and converted into digital baseband signals (using the CONV 140) for transmission to the BBU134.

[0059] Figure 2 shows additional details of an exemplary eNodeB106. The eNodeB106 comprises multiple layers, namely LTE Layer 1 (202), LTE Layer 2 (204), and LTE Layer 3 (206). LTE Layer 1 includes the physical layer ("PHY"). LTE Layer 2 includes Medium Access Control ("MAC"), Radio Link Control ("RLC"), and Packet Data Convergence Protocol ("PDCP"). LTE Layer 3 includes various functions and protocols, including Radio Resource Control ("RRC"), Dynamic Resource Allocation, eNodeB Measurement Configuration and Provisioning, Radio Admission Control, Connectivity Mobility Control, and Radio Resource Management ("RRM"). The RLC protocol is an Automatic Retransmission Request ("ARQ") fragmentation protocol used over the cellular air interface. The RRC protocol handles the transmission of LTE Layer 3 control plane signals between the user equipment and EUTRAN. RRC includes functions for connection establishment and release, broadcasting system information, establishing / reconfiguring and releasing radio bearers, RRC connection mobility procedures, paging notifications and releases, and outer loop power control. PDCP performs IP header compression and decompression, user data transfer, and maintaining the radio bearer sequence number. BBU134, shown in Figure 1d, may include LTE layers L1-L3.

[0060] One of the main functions of eNodeB106 is radio resource management, including scheduling of both uplink and downlink air interface resources for user equipment 104, control of bearer resources, and admission control. As an agent for EPC108, eNodeB106 is responsible for forwarding paging messages used to locate mobile devices when they are idle. eNodeB106 also communicates common control channel information over the air, communicates header compression, encryption and decryption of user data sent over the air, and establishes handover reporting and trigger criteria. As described above, eNodeB106 can cooperate with other eNodeB106s via the X2 interface for handover and interference management purposes. eNodeB106 communicates with the EPC's MME via the S1-MME interface and with the S-GW using the S1-U interface. Furthermore, eNodeB106 exchanges user data with the S-GW via the S1-U interface. eNodeB106 and EPC108 have a many-to-many relationship to support load sharing and redundancy between MMEs and S-GWs. eNodeB106 selects an MME from a group of MMEs so that the load can be shared by multiple MMEs to avoid congestion.

[0061] II.5G NR Wireless Communication Network In one implementation, this subject concerns 5G New Radio ("NR") communication systems. 5G NR is the next communication standard beyond the 4G / IMT-Advanced standard. 5G networks offer higher capacity than current 4G, enabling a greater number of mobile broadband users per unit area and allowing for more and / or unlimited data consumption in gigabytes per month and per user. This can enable users to stream high-definition media for hours per day using their mobile devices, even if this is not possible on Wi-Fi networks. 5G networks also offer improved support for device-to-device communication, lower costs, lower latency than 4G equipment, and lower battery consumption. Compared to existing systems, such networks offer data rates of tens of megabits per second for a large number of users, 100 Mb / s for metropolitan areas, 1 Gb / s simultaneous to users within a limited area (e.g., an office floor), numerous simultaneous connections for wireless sensor networks, enhanced spectral efficiency, improved coverage, increased signal transmission efficiency, latency of 1-10 ms, and reduced latency.

[0062] Figure 3 shows an exemplary virtual radio access network 300. The network 300 can provide communication between various components, including base stations (e.g., eNodeB, gNodeB) 301, radio equipment 303, a central unit 302, a digital unit 304, and a radio unit 306. Components in the system 300 may be communicated with the core using backhaul links 305. The central unit ("CU") 302 may be communicated with the distributed unit ("DU") 304 using a midhaul connection 308. The radio frequency ("RU") component 306 may be communicated with the DU 304 using a fronthaul connection 310.

[0063] In one implementation, CU302 can provide intelligent communication functions to one or more DU units 304. Units 302, 304 may include one or more base stations, macro base stations, micro base stations, remote radio heads, and / or any combination thereof.

[0064] In lower-layer partitioned architecture environments, the CPRI bandwidth requirement for NR may be several hundred Gb / s. CPRI compression can be implemented in the DU and RU (as shown in Figure 3). In 5G communication systems, compressed CPRI on Ethernet frames is referred to as eCPRI and is the recommended fronthaul network. This architecture can enable fronthaul / midhaul standardization, which may include upper-layer partitioning (e.g., Option 2 or Option 3-1 (upper / lower RLC partitioned architecture)) and fronthaul using an L1 partitioned architecture (Option 7).

[0065] In one implementation, the lower layer partitioning architecture (e.g., Option 7) may include a receiver at the uplink, joint processing across multiple transmit points (TPs) for both DL / UL, and transport bandwidth and latency requirements to facilitate deployment. Furthermore, the lower layer partitioning architecture of this subject may include partitioning between cell-level processing and user-level processing, which may include cell-level processing at the remote unit ("RU") and user-level processing at the DU. Moreover, using the lower layer partitioning architecture of this subject, frequency-domain samples can be transported over the Ethernet fronthaul, and the frequency-domain samples can be compressed for reduced fronthaul bandwidth.

[0066] Figure 4 shows an exemplary communication system 400 that can implement 5G technology and provide its users with the use of higher frequency bands (e.g., greater than 10 GHz). System 400 may include a macrocell 402 and small cells 404, 406.

[0067] The mobile device 408 can be configured to communicate with one or more of the small cells 404, 406. The system 400 can enable the division of the control plane (C-plane) and user plane (U-plane) between the macrocell 402 and the small cells 404, 406, with the C-plane and U-plane utilizing different frequency bands. Specifically, the small cells 404, 406 can be configured to utilize a higher frequency band when communicating with the mobile device 408. The macrocell 402 can utilize the existing cellular band for C-plane communication. The mobile device 408 may be communicatively connected via the U-plane 412, where the small cell (e.g., small cell 406) can provide higher data rates and more flexible / cost / energy-efficient operation. The macrocell 402 can maintain good connectivity and mobility via the C-plane 410. Furthermore, in some cases, LTE and NR can be transmitted on the same frequency.

[0068] Figure 5a shows an exemplary 5G wireless communication system 500 in one implementation form of the subject. System 500 can be configured to have a lower-layer partitioned architecture according to option 7-2. System 500 may include a core network 502 (e.g., a 5G core) and one or more gNodeBs (or gNBs), the gNBs may have a centralized unit gNB-CU. The gNB-CU can be logically divided into a control plane portion gNB-CU-CP 504 and one or more user plane portions gNB-CU-UP 506. The control plane portion 504 and the user plane portions 506 can be configured to be communicatively connected using an E1 communication interface 514 (as defined in the 3GPP standard). The control plane portion 504 can be configured to be responsible for executing the RRC and PDCP protocols of the radio stack.

[0069] The control plane portion 504 and user plane portion 506 of the gNB centralized unit can be configured to communicate with one or more distributed units (DUs) 508, 510 according to the upper layer partitioning architecture. The distributed units 508, 510 can be configured to run the upper parts of the RLC, MAC, and PHY layer protocols of the radio stack. The control plane portion 504 can be configured to communicate with the distributed units 508, 510 using an F1-C communication interface 516, and the user plane portion 506 can be configured to communicate with the distributed units 508, 510 using an F1-U communication interface 518. The distributed units 508, 510 can be connected to one or more remote radio units (RUs) 512 via a fronthaul network 520 (which may include one or more switches, links, etc.), which then communicate with one or more user devices (not shown in Figure 5a). The remote radio unit 512 can be configured to execute the lower part of the PHY layer protocol and to provide antenna capabilities to the remote unit for communication with the user device (similar to the above description relating to Figures 1a-2).

[0070] Figure 5b shows an exemplary layer architecture 530 of a segmented gNB. Architecture 530 can be implemented within the communication system 500 shown in Figure 5a, which can be configured as a virtualized, non-aggregated radio access network (RAN) architecture, thereby allowing layers L1, L2, L3 and radio processing to be virtualized and subdivided within centralized, distributed, and radio units. As shown in Figure 5b, the gNB-DU 508 may be communicatively connected to the gNB-CU-CP control plane portion 504 (also shown in Figure 5a) and the gNB-CU-UP user plane portion 506. Each of the components 504, 506, and 508 can be configured to include one or more layers.

[0071] The gNB-DU508 may include RLC, MAC, and PHY layers, as well as various communication sublayers. These may include the F1 Application Protocol (F1-AP) sublayer, the GPRS Tunneling Protocol (GTPU) sublayer, the Stream Controlled Transmission Protocol (SCTP) sublayer, the User Datagram Protocol (UDP) sublayer, and the Internet Protocol (IP) sublayer. As described above, the distributed unit 508 may be commutably connected to the control plane portion 504 of the centralized unit, which may also include the F1-AP, SCTP, and IP sublayers, as well as the Radio Resource Control and PDCP Control (PDCP-C) sublayers. Furthermore, the distributed unit 508 may also be commutably connected to the user plane portion 506 of the centralized unit of the gNB. The user plane portion 506 may include the Service Data Adaptive Protocol (SDAP), PDCP User (PDCP-U), GTPU, UDP, and IP sublayers.

[0072] Figure 5c shows an exemplary functional partition in the gNB architecture shown in Figures 5a and 5b. As shown in Figure 5c, the gNB-DU508 may be communicated to the gNB-CU-CP504 and GNB-CU-UP506 using the F1-C communication interface. The gNB-CU-CP504 and GNB-CU-UP506 may be communicated to each other using the E1 communication interface. The upper part of the PHY layer (or layer 1) may be performed by the gNB-DU508, and the lower part of the PHY layer may be performed by the RU (not shown in Figure 5c). As shown in Figure 5c, the RRC and PDCP-C parts may be performed by the control plane part 504, and the SDAP and PDCP-U parts may be performed by the user plane part 506.

[0073] Some of the functions of the PHY layer in a 5G communication network may include error detection on the transport channel and instructions to higher layers, FEC coding / decoding of the transport channel, hybrid ARQ soft synthesis, rate matching of coded transport channels to physical channels, mapping of coded transport channels to physical channels, power weighting of physical channels, modulation and demodulation of physical channels, frequency and time synchronization, radio characteristics measurement and instructions to higher layers, MIMO antenna processing, digital and analog beamforming, RF processing, and other functions.

[0074] The Layer 2 MAC sublayer can perform beam management, random access procedures, mapping between logical channels and transport channels, concatenation of multiple MAC service data units (SDUs) belonging to a single logical channel into a transport block (TB), multiplexing / demultiplexing of SDUs belonging to a logical channel to / from a TB passed to and from the physical layer on the transport channel, scheduling information reporting, error correction by HARQ, priority processing between logical channels of a single UE, priority processing between UEs by dynamic scheduling, transport format selection, and other functions. The functions of the RLC sublayer may include forwarding upper layer packet data units (PDUs), error correction by ARQ, sorting, duplication and protocol error detection of data PDUs, and re-establishment. The PDCP sublayer can be responsible for forwarding user data, various functions during the re-establishment procedure, retransmission of SDUs, discarding SDUs on the uplink, and forwarding control plane data.

[0075] The Layer 3 RRC sublayer can perform functions such as broadcasting system information to NAS and AS, establishing, maintaining, and releasing RRC connections, security, establishing, configuring, maintaining, and releasing point-to-point wireless bearers, mobility functions, reporting, and other functions.

[0076] III. Determining Peak Connections in a Distributed Environment A distributed environment such as a RAN, for example, O-RAN or virtual RAN, may include a portion of it configured to support the operation of one or more base stations (e.g., gNodeB or gNB, eNodeB or eNB, ng-eNodeB or ng-eNB), and / or one or more scheduling units (sometimes also called subscriber handling pods, subscriber managers ("SM"), or SM pods), as shown in Figures 1a to 5c and described above with respect to Figures 1a to 5c. Generally, a scheduling unit can be configured to provide wireless communication functionality to one or more UEs (e.g., UE104 as shown in Figures 1a to 1c). A scheduling unit can be assigned a unique IP address, allowing applications to use the port without the risk of conflict. Each scheduling unit may be associated with a predetermined number of UEs (e.g., 1250, but not limited to other values) that each scheduling unit can handle during a given user device processing capacity, e.g., during a particular period and / or a specific time period. The number of user devices may be adjustable and may be predetermined based on specific settings of the communication system, processing capacity, and / or any other factors.

[0077] In some implementations of this subject, multiple UEs may be distributed across multiple scheduling units in a RAN (or other distributed environment). This distribution may be based on the load of each scheduling unit. The scheduling units may be part of a centralized unit ("CU") which may also include a common entity ("CE"). Each scheduling unit may be configured to periodically report to the common entity of the centralized unit about UEs connected to and disconnected from it. UE connections and disconnections may be time-stamped. Periodic reporting may be, for example, every second or at other time intervals. In this way, the common entity may be informed of UEs connected to each scheduling unit and UEs disconnected from each scheduling unit within a given time window, for example, a time window between periodic reports. A UE may be considered connected after successfully establishing at least a Type 1 signaling radio bearer (SRB1) connection. Similarly, a UE may be considered disconnected or released after at least a previously established SRB1 connection has been lost.

[0078] At the end of a predetermined period, which includes multiple predetermined time windows, such as two, three, or four time windows, the CE can determine the maximum number of UEs connected to the scheduling unit at any given time based on the UE connection and disconnection information received from each scheduling unit, and report the determined maximum number of UEs to an operator, such as an element management system / operation support system ("EMS / OSS"). The predetermined period can be, for example, 15 minutes or another amount of time. The sum of each time window within the time period is equal to the predetermined time period; for example, each of the four time windows is 3.75 minutes, totaling a predetermined time period of 15 minutes, or in another example, each of the five time windows is 2 minutes, totaling a predetermined time period of 10 minutes. Thus, the operator can know the maximum number of UEs connected to all scheduling units on a predetermined time schedule defined by the predetermined period. By reporting the maximum number of UEs according to a predetermined time schedule, processing load, memory requirements, and / or bandwidth requirements can be reduced.

[0079] Furthermore, as described above, each scheduling unit knows only the UEs connected to it and those disconnected from it, and does not know the UEs connected to or disconnected from any other scheduling unit. Therefore, UE connections and disconnections for each scheduling unit must be reported individually for each scheduling unit. By reporting the maximum number of UEs according to a predetermined time schedule, it is possible to enable individual reporting of UE connections and disconnections for each scheduling unit while reducing processing load, memory requirements, and / or bandwidth requirements.

[0080] One type of RAN is the Next Generation RAN ("NG-RAN"). NG-RAN, which may include O-RAN or virtual RAN, is defined by the 3GPP standardization body as a radio access network capable of connecting to a 5G core communication network. NG-RAN includes the following radio access networks: NR and EUTRAN. Furthermore, 3GPP defines various RRC connection-related measurements, including the maximum number of RRC connections in a given period, sometimes referred to as the granularity period. (See Section 4.1.3.2, “LTE Telecommunications Management, Performance Management (PM), Performance Measurement Advanced Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN),” of 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 32.425, version 16.5.0, November 2020.) However, since the number of UEs connecting and disconnecting in a given period is often large, reporting the maximum number of UEs can consume a significant amount of bandwidth and require substantial processing resources and / or memory. In certain implementations, this subject can reduce the processing load, memory requirements, and / or bandwidth requirements when reporting the maximum number of RRC connections.

[0081] Figure 6 shows one implementation of architecture 600 in a particular implementation form of this subject, which includes a common entity (CE) 604 and a centralized unit (CU) 602 containing multiple scheduling units 606a, 606b, 606c, and 606n (for example, CU302 shown in Figure 3, and gNB-CUs that are logically divided into gNB-CU-CP504 and gNB-CU-UP506 shown in Figures 5a to 5c). The scheduling units 606a, 606b, 606c, and 606n are scheduling managers SM1606a, SM2606b, SM3606c, and SM N This is shown in Figure 6 as 606n, where "N" is an integer greater than 3. Each of the scheduling units 606a, 606b, 606c, and 606n is configured to communicate with CE604.

[0082] Each of the scheduling units 606a, 606b, 606c, and 606n can be configured to simultaneously handle a number of user devices (UEs) that fluctuate over time as UEs connect to and disconnect from their respective scheduling units 606a, 606b, 606c, and 606n (not shown in Figure 6). Figure 7 shows a graph illustrating an example of the maximum number of connected user devices (UEs) over time during a statistical collection period for scheduling units 606a, 606b, 606c, and 606n as a set. The statistical collection period includes a first period P1, a second period P2 immediately following the first period P1, a third period P3 immediately following the second period P2, and at least one additional period immediately following the third period P3. Each of periods P1, P2, P3, etc., is a predetermined period (e.g., 15 minutes or another amount of time) that includes a plurality of predetermined time windows, as will be further described herein.

[0083] In the example in Figure 7, the maximum number of UEs connected to the scheduling unit is 40 in the first period P1, 50 in the second period P2, and 33 in the third period P3. Thus, the graph shows that the number of UEs connected to the scheduling unit can fluctuate over time, and that the maximum number of UEs connected to the scheduling unit may increase or decrease from one period to the next during a given period P1, P2, P3, etc. Although not shown in the example in Figure 7, the maximum number of UEs connected to the scheduling unit during a given period may remain the same from one period P1, P2, P3, etc., to the next.

[0084] Figure 8 shows one implementation of scheduling unit reporting in a particular implementation of this subject. In the implementation of Figure 8, each of the first, second, third, and fourth scheduling units (scheduling managers) SM1, SM2, SM3, and SM4 (for example, scheduling units 606a, 606b, 606c, 606n in Figure 6, where "N" is equal to 4 in the implementation of Figure 8) is configured to communicate with a common entity (for example, CE604 in Figure 6). Although four scheduling units SM1, SM2, SM3, and SM4 are shown in Figure 8, a different number of scheduling units may be used, as will be described herein.

[0085] Figure 8 shows the UEs that are connected to and disconnected over time to scheduling units SM1, SM2, SM3, and SM4 in four predetermined time windows (SM Report Window 1, SM Report Window 2, SM Report Window 3, and SM Report Window 4) in each of two predetermined periods (Statistics Collection Period 1 and Statistics Collection Period 2) (indicated in epoch time (ms) in this implementation). As mentioned above, the predetermined period can be, for example, 15 minutes or another amount of time. Also as mentioned above, the sum of each time window within the period (referred to as "report windows" in Figure 8) can be equal to the predetermined period, for example, each of the four predetermined time windows (SM Report Window 1, SM Report Window 2, SM Report Window 3, and SM Report Window 4) can be 3.75 minutes, totaling a predetermined period of 15 minutes.

[0086] Although each of the predetermined periods is shown in Figure 8 to include four time windows, each predetermined period may have a different number of time windows. Also, although only two predetermined periods are shown in Figure 8, with the second predetermined period immediately following the first predetermined period, at least one additional predetermined period may follow the second predetermined period, with each of the additional predetermined periods immediately following the other.

[0087] Each of the scheduling units SM1, SM2, SM3, and SM4 can be configured to communicate UE connection and disconnection to the CE within each of a predetermined time window. The scheduling units SM1, SM2, SM3, and SM4 can be configured to send this information periodically, such as in seconds or minutes, in messages to the CE. These messages may include time-stamped UE connection and disconnection information. Thus, in this exemplary implementation, the CE can receive UE connection / disconnection information from each of the scheduling units SM1, SM2, SM3, and SM4 over each predetermined period within each of the four time windows within each predetermined period.

[0088] Therefore, since a single message may contain information about multiple UE connection / disconnection events of a scheduling unit, it may require less bandwidth, memory, and processing resources than if the UE connection / disconnection information were sent to the CE in real time on an individual UE connection / disconnection basis. Each UE connection / disconnection event with a timestamped message allows the CE to know the order of the UE connection / disconnection events as a whole across each individual scheduling unit and between scheduling units SM1, SM2, SM3, and SM4, even if the CE is not receiving the UE connection / disconnection information in real time and in chronological order, but rather within a time window.

[0089] Figure 9 shows one implementation of the message, which can be configured so that each of the scheduling units, e.g., scheduling units SM1, SM2, SM3, and SM4, sends a CE indicating a UE connection to and disconnection from the scheduling unit within a time window, where +1 indicates a new UE connection to the scheduling unit and -1 indicates a disconnection or release of the UE from the scheduling unit. Each UE connection / disconnection event in the message is time-stamped (indicating the epoch time, corresponding to the implementation shown in Figure 8).

[0090] Figure 10 shows one implementation of scheduling units SM1, SM2, SM3, and SM4 that send a message (for example, the message in Figure 9) to the CE. Figure 10 also shows a base station in the form of an ENodeB including scheduling units SM1, SM2, SM3, SM4 and the CE, but as mentioned above, the base station may be in a different form.

[0091] In the first predetermined time window of the first predetermined statistical collection period 1 shown in Figure 8, the first connected user device UE1 is connected to the first scheduling unit SM1, and the second connected user device UE2 is connected to the third scheduling unit SM3 at epoch time 0. The third connected user device UE3 is connected to the first scheduling unit SM1, the fourth connected user device UE4 is connected to the second scheduling unit SM2, and the fifth connected user device UE5 is connected to the fourth scheduling unit SM4 during the time period of epoch time 0+10ms. The first disconnected user device UE1 is disconnected from the fourth scheduling unit SM4 during the time period between epoch time 0+10ms and epoch time 0+20ms. The sixth connected user device UE6 is connected to the second scheduling unit SM2, and the seventh connected user device UE7 is connected to the fourth scheduling unit SM4 during the time period between epoch time 0+20ms and epoch time 0+30ms.

[0092] As shown in the “Common Entities” row of Figure 8, the CE can time-order UE connections and disconnections because UE connections / disconnections are time-stamped in messages from scheduling units SM1, SM2, SM3, and SM4. Therefore, the CE can determine the maximum number of connected UEs at any given time within the first predetermined time window, since the maximum number of UEs connecting to and disconnecting from scheduling units SM1, SM2, SM3, and SM4 changes within the first predetermined time window. As shown in this example, the maximum or peak number of UEs connected to scheduling units SM1, SM2, SM3, and SM4 at any given time within the first predetermined time window is 6 (resulting in 7 UE connections and 1 UE disconnection within the first predetermined time window). Scheduling units SM1, SM2, SM3, and SM4 can similarly report UE connection and disconnection information to the CE for each of the other three predetermined time windows within the first predetermined period, as shown in Figures 8 and 10. As shown in Figure 8, the maximum number or peak number of UEs connected to scheduling units SM1, SM2, SM3, and SM4 at any one time point within the second predetermined time window is 10 (due to 7 UE connections and 3 UE disconnections within the second predetermined time window), 13 within the third predetermined time window (due to 4 UE connections and 6 UE disconnections within the third predetermined time window), and 9 within the fourth predetermined time window (due to 5 UE connections and 5 UE disconnections within the fourth predetermined time window). Therefore, at the end of the first predetermined time period, CE can determine that the maximum number or peak number of UEs connected to scheduling units SM1, SM1, SM1, SM2, SM3, and SM4 at any one time point within the first predetermined time period is 13, as shown in the bold box within the first predetermined period in Figure 8.

[0093] Similarly, scheduling units SM1, SM2, SM3, and SM4 can report UE connection and disconnection information to the CE in each of the four predetermined time windows within the second predetermined period, as shown in Figures 8 and 10. Therefore, the CE can determine at the end of the second predetermined period, as indicated by the bold boxes within the second predetermined period, that the maximum number or peak number of UEs connected to scheduling units SM1, SM2, SM3, and SM4 at any one time point within the second predetermined period is 11.

[0094] As shown in Figure 10, at the end of each of the first and second predetermined periods, the CE can report to an operator, such as an element management system / operation support system ("EMS / OSS") as in this exemplified implementation, the maximum or peak number of UEs connected to scheduling units SM1, SM2, SM3, and SM4 during the predetermined period. Thus, the EMS / OSS can receive one message from the CE for each predetermined period. Therefore, since a single message may contain information across the entire predetermined period, it may require less bandwidth, memory, and processing resources than if UE connection / disconnection information were sent more frequently, for example, multiple times during each predetermined period, from the CE to the EMS / OSS.

[0095] In one implementation, this subject can be configured to be implemented in a system 1100, as shown in Figure 11. The system 1100 may include one or more of the following: a processor 1110, memory 1120, storage device 1130, and input / output device 1140. Each of the components 1110, 1120, 1130, and 1140 can be interconnected using a system bus 1150. The processor 1110 can be configured to process instructions for execution within the system 600. In one implementation, the processor 1110 may be a single-threaded processor. In an alternative implementation, the processor 1110 may be a multi-threaded processor. The processor 1110 may be further configured to process instructions stored in memory 1120 or storage device 1130, which includes receiving or transmitting information through the input / output device 1140. Memory 1120 can store information within the system 1100. In one implementation, memory 1120 may be a computer-readable medium. In an alternative implementation, memory 1120 may be a volatile memory unit. In another implementation, memory 1120 may be a non-volatile memory unit. Storage device 1130 may be capable of providing large-capacity storage to system 1100. In one implementation, storage device 1130 may be a computer-readable medium. In an alternative implementation, storage device 1130 may be a floppy disk device, a hard disk device, an optical disk device, a tape device, a non-volatile solid-state memory, or any other type of storage device. Input / output device 1140 may be configured to provide input / output operations to system 1100. In one implementation, input / output device 1140 may include a keyboard and / or a pointing device. In an alternative implementation, input / output device 1140 may include a display unit for displaying a graphical user interface.

[0096] Figure 12 shows an exemplary method 1200 for determining peak connectivity in a distributed environment, based on one implementation of this subject. Method 1200 can be performed, for example, using the implementations shown in Figures 6 to 10 and described with respect to Figures 6 to 10.

[0097] Method 1200 includes receiving data (1202) indicating the number of UEs connected to each of a plurality of scheduling units of the RAN (e.g., UE104 as shown in Figures 1a to 1c, UE as shown in Figure 8, etc.) and the number of UEs disconnected from each of the plurality of scheduling units of the RAN during each of a plurality of time windows (e.g., a first predetermined time window, a second predetermined time window, a third predetermined time window, and a fourth predetermined time window as shown in Figures 8 and 10, etc.) in a first period (e.g., a first predetermined period or a second predetermined period as shown in Figures 8 and 10, etc.) in accordance with a predetermined time schedule. Method 1200 also includes determining, based on the received data, the maximum number of UEs connected to a scheduling unit, for example, the maximum number of all connected UEs across all scheduling units, at some point in the first period (1204). Method 1200 also includes transmitting the determined maximum number of UEs to the RAN's network manager (for example, the EMS / OSS shown in Figure 10) (1206).

[0098] In some implementations, this subject may include one or more of the following optional features. In some implementations, the received data may be time-stamped such that the time the maximum number of UEs were connected to the scheduling unit is known.

[0099] In one implementation, the predetermined time schedule may be such that data is received each time a predetermined period in each time window has elapsed.

[0100] In some implementations, the data may be received at the end of each of multiple time windows.

[0101] In one implementation, each time window may have a predetermined time length, and the first period may be the sum of the predetermined time lengths.

[0102] In one implementation, the determined maximum number of UEs may be sent to the network manager after the end of the first period.

[0103] In one implementation, the method of the present invention may further include repeating receiving, determining, and transmitting for each of at least one additional periods following the first period.

[0104] In one implementation, the scheduling unit may be associated with at least one of the control plane components and user plane components of the base station's central unit. Furthermore, the scheduling unit may be associated with the control plane components of the base station's central unit, and / or the base station may include at least one of an eNodeB base station, a gNodeB base station, a wireless base station, a wireless access point, and any combination thereof. Furthermore, the base station may include a central unit having a processor commutably connected to memory, and receiving, determining, and transmitting may be performed by the central unit. Furthermore, the central unit may include at least one of the control plane components, user plane components, and any combination thereof. Furthermore, the central unit may be commutably connected to at least one distributed unit (DU), each of the at least one DU may be commutably connected to at least one radio unit (RU), and the UE connected to the scheduling unit may be commutably connected to at least one RU. Furthermore, the central unit may operate in an open radio access network (O-RAN) or a virtual RAN.

[0105] In some implementations, receiving, determining, and transmitting may be performed by a base station of the wireless communication system. Furthermore, the base station may include at least one of an eNodeB base station, a gNodeB base station, a wireless base station, a wireless access point, or any combination thereof. Furthermore, the base station may include a central unit having a processor commutably connected to memory, and receiving, determining, and transmitting may be performed by the central unit. Furthermore, the central unit may include at least one of control plane components, user plane components, or any combination thereof. Furthermore, the central unit may be commutably connected to at least one distributed unit (DU), each of the at least one DU may be commutably connected to at least one radio unit (RU), and a UE connected to a scheduling unit may be commutably connected to at least one RU. Furthermore, the central unit may operate in an open radio access network (O-RAN) or a virtual RAN.

[0106] In one implementation, receiving, determining, and transmitting may be performed by a radio access network (RAN) node having at least one processor communically connected to at least one memory.

[0107] The systems and methods disclosed herein can be embodied in various forms, including, for example, data processors such as computers, which may also include databases, digital electronic circuits, firmware, software, or combinations thereof. Furthermore, the above features, as well as other aspects and principles of the implementations of this disclosure, can be implemented in various environments. Such environments and associated applications may be specifically constructed to perform various processes and operations according to the disclosed implementations, or they may include general-purpose computers or computing platforms that are selectively activated or reconfigured by code to provide the necessary functionality. The processes disclosed herein are essentially independent of any particular computer, network, architecture, environment, or other device and can be implemented by a preferred combination of hardware, software, and / or firmware. For example, various general-purpose machines may be used with programs written according to the teachings of the disclosed implementations, or it may be more convenient to construct dedicated devices or systems to perform the required methods and techniques.

[0108] The systems and methods disclosed herein can be implemented as computer program products, i.e., computer programs tangibly embodied in information carriers, e.g., machine-readable storage devices or propagating signals, for execution by or control of the operation of data processing devices, e.g., programmable processors, computers, or multiple computers. Computer programs can be written in any form of programming language, including compiled languages ​​or interpreted languages, and can be deployed as standalone programs or in any form, including modules, components, subroutines, or other units suitable for use in a computing environment. Computer programs can be deployed to run on a single computer, or on multiple computers distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network.

[0109] As used herein, the term "user" may refer to any entity, including a person or a computer.

[0110] Ordinal numbers such as "1st," "2nd," etc., can be related to order in some contexts, but as used in this document, ordinal numbers do not necessarily imply order. For example, ordinal numbers can be used simply to distinguish one item from another. For instance, distinguishing the first event from the second event does not imply any chronological order or fixed reference system (such as the first event in one paragraph of the description being different from the first event in another paragraph of the description).

[0111] The foregoing description is intended to illustrate, and not to limit, the scope of the present invention as defined by the attached claims. Other implementations are within the scope of the following claims.

[0112] These computer programs, which may also be referred to as programs, software, software applications, applications, components, or code, include machine instructions for a programmable processor and can be implemented in a high-level procedural and / or object-oriented programming language, and / or in assembly / machine language. As used herein, the term “machine-readable medium” refers to any computer program product, apparatus, and / or device, such as magnetic disks, optical disks, memory, and programmable logic devices (PLDs), used to provide machine instructions and / or data to a programmable processor, including a machine-readable medium that receives machine instructions as machine-readable signals. The term “machine-readable signals” refers to any signals used to provide machine instructions and / or data to a programmable processor. The machine-readable medium can store such machine instructions non-temporarily, for example, non-temporarily stored solid-state memory or a magnetic hard drive or any equivalent storage medium. The machine-readable medium can also, alternatively or additionally, store such machine instructions temporarily, for example, a processor cache or other random-access memory associated with one or more physical processor cores.

[0113] To provide user interaction, the subject matter described herein can be implemented on a computer having a display device, such as a cathode ray tube (CRT) or liquid crystal display (LCD) monitor, for displaying information to the user, and a keyboard and pointing device, such as a mouse or trackball, to which the user can provide input to the computer. User interaction can also be provided using other types of devices. For example, the feedback provided to the user may be sensory feedback in any form, such as visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback, and input from the user may be received in any form, but not limited to acoustic input, speech input, or tactile input.

[0114] The subject matter described herein can be implemented as a computing system including, for example, one or more backend components such as data servers, or one or more middleware components such as application servers, or one or more frontend components such as one or more client computers having a graphical user interface or a web browser on which a user can interact with an implementation of the subject matter described herein, or as any combination of such backend components, middleware components, or frontend components. The components of the system can be interconnected by any form or medium of digital data communication, such as a communication network. Examples of communication networks include, but are not limited to, a local area network ("LAN"), a wide area network ("WAN"), and the Internet.

[0115] A computing system may include clients and servers. Clients and servers are generally, but not exclusively, separate from one another and typically interact with each other via a communication network. The relationship between clients and servers arises from computer programs running on each computer that have a client-server relationship with one another.

[0116] The implementations described above do not represent all implementations that are consistent with the subject matter described herein. Rather, they are only some examples that are consistent with the aspects relating to the subject matter described herein. While some modifications have been described in detail above, other modifications or additions are possible. In particular, further features and / or variations can be provided in addition to those described herein. For example, the implementations described above may cover various combinations and partial combinations of the disclosed features, and / or combinations and partial combinations of some further features disclosed above. In addition, the logical flows shown in the accompanying figures and / or described herein do not necessarily require a specific order or sequence shown to achieve the desired result. Other implementations may fall within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. In accordance with a predetermined time schedule, during each of a plurality of time windows in a first period, data is received indicating the number of user devices (UEs) connected to each of a plurality of scheduling units of the wireless access network (RAN), and the number of UEs disconnected from each of the plurality of scheduling units of the RAN. Based on the received data, determine the maximum number of UEs connected to the scheduling unit at a certain time within the first period, A method performed by a computer, comprising: transmitting the maximum number of UEs determined above to the network manager of the RAN.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the received data is time-stamped such that the time during which the maximum number of UEs were connected to the scheduling unit is a known time.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the predetermined time schedule is configured such that data is received each time a predetermined period has elapsed within each of the time windows.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the data is received at the end of each of the plurality of time windows.

5. Each of the aforementioned time windows has a predetermined time length, The method according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the first period is the sum of the predetermined time lengths.

6. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the maximum number of UEs determined is transmitted to the network manager after the end of the first period.

7. The method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising repeating the receiving, determining, and transmitting for each of at least one additional periods after the first period.

8. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the scheduling unit is associated with at least one of the control plane components and user plane components of the base station's centralized unit.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the scheduling unit is associated with the control plane component of the central unit of the base station.

10. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the receiving, determining, and transmitting are performed by a base station of a wireless communication system.

11. The method according to claim 8, wherein the base station includes at least one of an eNodeB base station, a gNodeB base station, a wireless base station, a wireless access point, and any combination thereof.

12. The base station has a centralized unit having a processor that is communicatively connected to memory, The method according to claim 10, wherein the receiving, determining, and transmitting are performed by the centralized unit.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the centralized unit includes at least one of a control plane component, a user plane component, and any combination thereof.

14. The centralized unit is connected to at least one distributed unit (DU) in a communicative manner. Each of the at least one DU is connected to communicate with at least one radio unit (RU), The method according to claim 8, wherein the UE connected to the scheduling unit is communicated with at least one RU.

15. The method according to claim 8, wherein the centralized unit operates on an open wireless access network (O-RAN) or a virtual RAN.

16. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the receiving, determining, and transmitting are performed by a radio access network (RAN) node having at least one processor communicatively connected to at least one memory.

17. Receiving data indicating the number of user devices (UEs) connected to each of the multiple scheduling units of a wireless access network (RAN) and the number of UEs disconnected from each of the multiple scheduling units of the RAN, during each of the multiple time windows in a first period according to a predetermined time schedule. Based on the received data, determine the maximum number of UEs connected to the scheduling unit at a certain time within the first period, The maximum number of UEs determined above is transmitted to the network manager of the RAN, A device that performs an operation that includes the following.

18. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the received data is time-stamped such that the time during which the maximum number of UEs were connected to the scheduling unit is a known time.

19. The apparatus according to claim 17 or claim 18, wherein the predetermined time schedule is configured such that data is received each time a predetermined period has elapsed within each of the time windows.

20. The apparatus according to claim 17 or 18, wherein the data is received at the end of each of the plurality of time windows.

21. Each of the aforementioned time windows has a predetermined time length, The apparatus according to claim 17 or claim 18, wherein the first period is the sum of the predetermined time lengths.

22. The apparatus according to claim 17 or 18, wherein the maximum number of UEs determined is transmitted to the network manager after the end of the first period.

23. The apparatus according to claim 17 or 18, further comprising repeating the receiving, determining, and transmitting for each of at least one additional periods after the first period.

24. The apparatus according to claim 17 or 18, wherein the scheduling unit is associated with at least one of the control plane components and user plane components of the base station's central unit.

25. The apparatus according to claim 24, wherein the scheduling unit is associated with the control plane component of the central unit of the base station.

26. The apparatus according to claim 17 or 18, wherein the receiving, determining, and transmitting are performed by a base station of a wireless communication system.

27. The apparatus according to claim 24, wherein the base station includes at least one of an eNodeB base station, a gNodeB base station, a wireless base station, a wireless access point, and any combination thereof.

28. The base station has a centralized unit having at least one processor and at least one non-temporary storage medium, The apparatus according to claim 27, wherein the receiving, determining, and transmitting are performed by the central unit.

29. The apparatus according to claim 28, wherein the centralized unit includes at least one of a control plane component, a user plane component, and any combination thereof.

30. The centralized unit is connected to at least one distributed unit (DU) in a communicative manner. Each of the at least one DU is connected to communicate with at least one radio unit (RU), The apparatus according to claim 24, wherein the UE connected to the scheduling unit is communicated with at least one RU.

31. The apparatus according to claim 24, wherein the centralized unit operates on an open radio access network (O-RAN) or a virtual RAN.

32. The apparatus according to claim 17 or 18, wherein the receiving, determining, and transmitting are performed by a radio access network (RAN) node having at least one processor and at least one non-temporary storage medium.

33. A computer, In accordance with a predetermined time schedule, during each of a plurality of time windows in a first period, data is received indicating the number of user devices (UEs) connected to each of a plurality of scheduling units of the wireless access network (RAN), and the number of UEs disconnected from each of the plurality of scheduling units of the RAN. Based on the received data, determine the maximum number of UEs connected to the scheduling unit at a certain time within the first period, A computer program that causes the computer program to perform an operation including sending the maximum number of UEs determined above to the network manager of the RAN.

34. The computer program according to claim 33, wherein the received data is time-stamped such that the time during which the maximum number of UEs were connected to the scheduling unit is a known time.

35. The computer program according to claim 33 or claim 34, wherein the predetermined time schedule is configured such that data is received each time a predetermined period has elapsed within each of the time windows.

36. The computer program according to claim 33 or 34, wherein the data is received at the end of each of the plurality of time windows.

37. Each of the aforementioned time windows has a predetermined time length, The computer program according to claim 33 or claim 34, wherein the first period is the sum of the predetermined time lengths.

38. The computer program according to claim 33 or 34, wherein the maximum number of UEs determined is transmitted to the network manager after the end of the first period.

39. The computer program according to claim 33 or 34, further comprising the operation of repeating the receiving, determining, and transmitting for at least one additional period after the first period.

40. The computer program according to claim 33 or 34, wherein the scheduling unit is associated with at least one of the control plane components and user plane components of the base station's central unit.

41. The computer program according to claim 40, wherein the scheduling unit is associated with the control plane component of the central unit of the base station.

42. The computer program according to claim 33 or 34, wherein the receiving, determining, and transmitting are performed by a base station of a wireless communication system.

43. The computer program according to claim 40, wherein the base station includes at least one of an eNodeB base station, a gNodeB base station, a wireless base station, a wireless access point, and any combination thereof.

44. The base station has a centralized unit having a processor that is communicatively connected to memory, The computer program according to claim 43, wherein the receiving, determining, and transmitting are performed by the centralized unit.

45. The computer program according to claim 44, wherein the centralized unit includes at least one of control plane components, user plane components, and any combination thereof.

46. The centralized unit is connected to at least one distributed unit (DU) in a communicative manner. Each of the at least one DU is connected to communicate with at least one radio unit (RU), The computer program according to claim 40, wherein the UE connected to the scheduling unit is communicated with at least one RU.

47. The computer program according to claim 40, wherein the centralized unit operates on an open wireless access network (O-RAN) or a virtual RAN.

48. The computer program according to claim 33 or 34, wherein the receiving, determining, and transmitting are performed by a radio access network (RAN) node having at least one processor.

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