System and method for saving energy in a network

Abstract

The present disclosure relates generally to energy saving technologies, and more particularly to a system and method for saving energy using r-Apps (112) and x-Apps (114B) in an O-RAN (Open Radio Access Network). A user (128) may input an initial energy saving policy to an "energy saving" r-App (112) via a first computing device (124), which creates a policy to initiate measurements in NR capacity booster cells and candidate cells. The r-Apps may act on various inputs and decide to transition the NR booster cell to an energy saving mode. When all mobile terminals move to other cells, the NR capacity cell may transition to an energy saving mode. The r-Apps decide to deactivate the energy saving mode. A service management and orchestration (SMO) device (108) deactivates the energy saving mode of the capacity booster cell using an O1 interface.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to energy-saving technologies. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to systems and methods for saving energy using r-Apps and x-Apps in an O-RAN (Open Radio Access Network).

Background Art

[0002] The following description of the prior art is intended to provide background information relevant to the field of the present disclosure. This section may include specific aspects of the technology related to various features of the present disclosure. However, this section should be understood as being used only to deepen the reader's understanding of the present disclosure and not as an approval of the prior art.

[0003] Generally, 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) may be in the process of defining the energy-saving features of gNB (Next Generation Node B). According to 3GPP, a cell, network element, or network function may be in one of two states, such as a non-energy-saving state and an energy-saving state, with respect to energy saving. When a cell is in the energy-saving state, the cell may require candidate cells to pick up the load. However, a cell in the energy-saving state should not cause a coverage hole or impose an excessive load on surrounding cells. Further, all traffic on each cell may be expected to be diverted to other overlay / umbrella candidate cells before the cell transitions to the energy-saving state. One typical scenario for energy saving is to turn off capacity booster cells when traffic demand is low and reactivate them as needed. Energy saving includes two scenarios where a capacity booster cell gNB is fully or partially overlaid by candidate cell(s). Further, the energy-saving activation procedure and the energy-saving deactivation procedure may be initiated in different ways, such as a centralized energy-saving solution and a decentralized energy-saving solution.

[0004] Currently, energy-saving methods provide basic tools for transitioning cells, network elements, or network functions to either a non-energy-saving or energy-saving state. However, current energy-saving methods may lack the ability to learn and adapt to the dynamic behavior of the network. Energy consumption is one of the major contributions to OPEX (operating costs) for network operators. Furthermore, the introduction of 5G (fifth generation) may increase the number of gNBs relative to coverage and capacity requirements. This may further increase the energy consumption of future network deployments. In addition, network operators may aim to reduce the power consumption of 5G networks in order to reduce their operating costs with energy-saving management solutions. With the future deployment of numerous gNBs, such as small base stations with high-band and large-scale MIMO (multiple input multiple output), promoting energy saving will be necessary, which presents a challenge. Managing 5G networks can contribute to energy saving by reducing the energy consumption of the 5G network while maintaining coverage, capacity, and quality of service. Network operators may determine the acceptable impact on coverage, capacity, and quality of service. Furthermore, reducing the power consumption of 5G networks could potentially minimize negative environmental impacts.

[0005] Therefore, in this field, there is a need to provide systems and methods that can overcome the aforementioned shortcomings of existing prior art without losing coverage or QoS (Quality of Service) during 5G network operation.

[0006] (Purpose of this disclosure) Some of the objectives of this disclosure that at least one embodiment satisfies are listed below.

[0007] The purpose of this disclosure is to provide efficient and reliable systems and methods for saving energy in networks.

[0008] The purpose of this disclosure is to provide a system and method for saving energy using r-App and x-App in an O-RAN (Open Radio Access Network).

[0009] The purpose of this disclosure is to enable RAN architectures to incorporate energy-saving features as a service that uniformly uses r-App and x-App into networks that can have multi-vendor O-RAN nodes.

[0010] The purpose of this disclosure is to enable r-App and x-App to function across RAN node technologies, multiple vendors, and types to conserve energy in the network.

[0011] The purpose of this disclosure is to use a RAN-based approach to induce cells, network elements, or network functions to activate / deactivate energy-saving modes.

[0012] The purpose of this disclosure is to improve the overall efficiency of activating / deactivating energy-saving modes by using machine learning techniques to learn dynamic behavior or networks and to induce cells, network elements, or network functions to activate / deactivate energy-saving modes.

[0013] The purpose of this disclosure is to enable LTE (Long-Term Evolution) and NR (New Radio) based technologies to be used in mobile network deployments, particularly in network architectures deployed based on O-RAN architectures, for energy saving in networks.

[0014] The purpose of this disclosure is to reduce operating costs through energy savings in typical O-RAN-based network deployments.

[0015] The purpose of this disclosure is to utilize energy-saving policies that are more optimized than conventional energy-saving policies. [Overview of the project]

[0016] This section is provided in a simplified form to illustrate the specific purposes and aspects of the present disclosure that are further described in the following embodiments for carrying out the invention. This summary of the invention is not intended to identify the main features or scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0017] In one embodiment, the Disclosure provides a system for saving energy in heterogeneous networks. The system may include a network device equipped with a Non-RT RIC (Non-Real-Time Radio Intelligent Controller) and commutably coupled to a Near-RT RIC (Near-Real-Time Radio Intelligent Controller). In one embodiment, the network device is further operably coupled to a plurality of cells in the heterogeneous network, the plurality of cells including one or more booster cells and one or more candidate cells. The plurality of cells may also be commutably coupled to an O-RAN (Open Radio Access Network Unit), and each cell may have one or more mobile terminals associated with the cell. In yet another embodiment, the network device may further include a processor that executes a set of executable commands which may be stored in memory, and which, at runtime, causes the network device to receive a set of data packets relating to an initial set of energy-saving requirements from one or more first arithmetic units, and further causes the network device to receive a set of measurements relating to the amount of energy consumed by the plurality of cells in the heterogeneous network and the amount of traffic associated with the heterogeneous network. The measurement group may be received by the execution of a second set of commands on the Near-RT RIC configured to extract the amount of energy consumed from each E2 node. The E2 interface is a bidirectional interface associated with the open radio access network node and the Near-RT RIC. The O-RAN DU may be associated with the O-RAN unit. The network device may then extract a first set of attributes based on the data packet group and the received measurement group by a first set of commands executed on the Non-RT RIC. The first set of attributes may relate to parameters associated with the optimal amount of energy saved in each cell of the heterogeneous network and the increase in the amount of traffic in the heterogeneous network that exceeds a predetermined threshold.The network device may further determine the amount of energy saved in the heterogeneous network based on the extracted first attribute set and a predetermined energy policy definition, using an ML (machine learning) engine associated with the network device. The network device may then activate one or more booster cells in energy-saving mode based on the amount of energy determined to be saved. Here, the first set of commands means r-App, and the second set of commands means x-App. Using r-App and x-App, the energy-saving system becomes more reliable, efficient, and configurable remotely.

[0018] In one embodiment, the network device may deactivate the energy-saving mode of one or more capacity booster cells using the second predetermined interface when the candidate cell reaches optimal energy consumption and the amount of traffic may rise to a predetermined threshold. The network device may further notify one or more neighboring cells that the energy-saving mode has been deactivated. Thus, the system may improve the overall efficiency of activating / deactivating energy-saving modes by using a RAN-based approach to guide cells, network elements, or network functions to activate / deactivate energy-saving modes, and by using machine learning techniques to learn dynamic behavior or the network, and by guiding cells, network elements, or network functions to activate / deactivate energy-saving modes.

[0019] In one embodiment, the network device may be further operably coupled to one or more mobile terminals by the O-RU (Open Radio Access Network Radio Unit). Thus, it is possible to have multi-vendor O-RAN nodes and to support various types of RAN nodes such as macro, micro, and pico, which conserve energy in the network.

[0020] In one embodiment, the energy-saving mode may include turning off one or more booster cells associated with the plurality of cells for a predetermined period of time.

[0021] In one embodiment, the first set of commands may be further configured to initiate a set of energy measurements stored in a centralized server in the one or more booster cells and the one or more candidate cells, regardless of whether the energy-saving mode is turned on or off.

[0022] In one embodiment, the first set of commands may be further configured to transmit the energy measurement set to the Near-RT RIC by executing the second set of commands via a predetermined interface.

[0023] In one embodiment, the second set of commands may instruct each of the E2 interfaces to start the predetermined set of energy measurements to the network device via the second predetermined interface.

[0024] In one embodiment, each node may further transmit the predetermined energy measurement group to the second command group. The second command group may be further configured to transmit feedback of the predetermined energy measurement group to the first command group via the second predetermined interface.

[0025] In one embodiment, the ML engine may be configured to move the one or more booster cells associated with the one or more booster cells to other cells, where the one or more booster cells are in an energy-saving mode and may be configured to stop receiving new one or more first computing units (124) and new one or more mobile terminals.

[0026] In one embodiment, the Near-RT RIC may be coupled to the O-DU (Open Radio Access Network Distributed Unit), and the O-DU may be further coupled to an O-CU-CP (Open Radio Access Network Central Unit Control Plane), an O-CU-UP (Open Radio Access Network Central Unit User Plane), and a UPF (User Plane Function).

[0027] In one embodiment, the network device (108) may be a SoC (System on Chip) system equipped with an MSA (Micro Service Architecture) having a plurality of micro-services that support portability.

[0028] In one embodiment, the network device may be modular and flexible to adapt to any type of change.

[0029] In one embodiment, the network device may be equipped with an ML-based prediction engine configured to predict energy consumption in the heterogeneous network. Thus, the system can enable LTE (Long-Term Evolution) and NR (New Radio)-based technologies used in mobile network deployments, particularly in network architectures, and further reduce operating costs through energy savings in a typical O-RAN-based network deployment that optimizes more than conventional energy-saving policies.

[0030] In one embodiment, the network device may be remotely monitored.

[0031] In one embodiment, the Disclosure provides a network device for saving energy in heterogeneous networks. The network device may include a Non-RT RIC (non-real-time radio intelligent controller) further communicably coupled to a Near-RT RIC (near-real-time radio intelligent controller), and a processor which may execute a set of executable commands stored in memory, during which the processor causes the network device to receive a set of data packets relating to an initial set of energy-saving requirements from one or more first arithmetic units, and further, at a predetermined time, a set of measurements relating to the amount of energy consumed by the plurality of cells in the heterogeneous network and the amount of traffic associated with the heterogeneous network. The set of measurements may be received by the execution of a second set of commands on the Near-RT RIC configured to extract the amount of energy consumed from each E2 node. The E2 interface is a bidirectional interface associated with an open radio access network and the Near-RT RIC. The O-RAN DU may be associated with the O-RAN unit. The network device may extract a first attribute group based on the data packet group and the received measurement group by a first set of commands executed by the Non-RT RIC. The first attribute group may relate to parameters associated with the optimal amount of energy saved in each cell of the heterogeneous network and an increase in the amount of traffic in the heterogeneous network that exceeds a predetermined threshold. The network device may further determine the amount of energy saved in the heterogeneous network based on the extracted first attribute group and a predetermined energy policy definition by an ML (machine learning) engine associated with the network device. The network device may then activate one or more booster cells in energy-saving mode based on the amount of energy determined to be saved.

[0032] In one embodiment, the disclosure provides a method for saving energy in heterogeneous networks. The method may include the step of a network device receiving a set of data packets related to an initial set of energy-saving requirements from one or more first computing units. In one embodiment, the network device may be equipped with a Non-RT RIC (non-real-time radio intelligent controller), commutably coupled to a Near-RT RIC (near-real-time radio intelligent controller), and further operably coupled to a plurality of cells in the heterogeneous network. The plurality of cells may include one or more booster cells and one or more candidate cells. The plurality of cells may further commutably coupled to an O-RAN (open radio access network unit), and each cell may have one or more mobile terminals associated with the cell. The network device may further include the step of receiving a set of measurements related to the amount of energy consumed by the plurality of cells in the heterogeneous network and the amount of traffic associated with the heterogeneous network at a predetermined time. In one embodiment, the measurement group may be received by the execution of a second set of commands on the Near-RT RIC, which is configured to extract the amount of energy consumed from each E2 node, which may be a bidirectional interface associated with an open radio access network and the Near-RT RIC. The O-RAN DU may be further associated with the O-RAN unit. The method may also include the step of extracting a first set of attributes based on the data packet group and the received measurement group by a first set of commands executed on the Non-RT RIC. The first set of attributes may relate to parameters associated with the optimal amount of energy saved in each cell of the heterogeneous network and an increase in the amount of traffic in the heterogeneous network beyond a predetermined threshold.The method may also include a step of determining the amount of energy to be saved in the heterogeneous network based on the extracted first attribute set and a predetermined energy policy definition using an ML (machine learning) engine associated with the network device. The method may further include a step of switching one or more booster cells to energy-saving mode based on the amount of energy determined to be saved. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0033] The accompanying drawings incorporated herein and constituting part of the present invention illustrate examples of embodiments of the disclosed methods and systems, and the same reference numerals are used throughout the different drawings. Components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, and instead, emphasis is placed on clearly illustrating the principles of the present invention. Some drawings may use block diagrams to show components, and the internal circuitry of each component may not be shown. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the inventions in such drawings include inventions of electrical, electronic components or circuits commonly used to realize these components.

[0034] [Figure 1A] An exemplary network architecture is shown that can implement or can be implemented using the proposed system of this disclosure, according to one embodiment of this disclosure. [Figure 1B] This document provides a detailed architecture of a network device and associated units that can implement or use the proposed system of this disclosure, according to one embodiment of this disclosure. [Figure 2] This disclosure illustrates an exemplary representation of a proposed service management and SMO (orchestration) system / Near-RT RIC (near-real-time RAN (radio access network) intelligent controller) that uses an O-RAN (open radio access network) to conserve energy in a network, according to one embodiment of this disclosure. [Figure 3] An exemplary block diagram representation of a system architecture according to one embodiment of this disclosure is shown. [Figure 4A] An exemplary flowchart illustrating a method for saving energy in a network using O-RAN by turning off a capacity boosting cell, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, is shown. [Figure 4B] An exemplary flowchart illustrating a method for deactivating the energy-saving mode of a capacity-boosting cell in energy-saving mode, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, is shown. [Figure 5A] This diagram shows a sequence diagram representation of centralized energy-saving deactivation of an overlaid NR capacity booster cell according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5B] This diagram shows a sequence diagram representation of centralized energy-saving activation of an overlaid NR (New Radio) capacity booster cell according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] This document illustrates exemplary computer systems that may be utilized in embodiments of the present disclosure or in embodiments of the present invention.

[0035] The above will become clearer from the following detailed embodiments for carrying out the invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0036] The following description provides various specific details for illustrative purposes and to fully understand the embodiments of the disclosure. However, it is evident that embodiments of the disclosure can be implemented without these specific details. Some of the features described below can be used independently of each other or in any combination of other features. Each feature may not address all of the above problems, or may address only some of them. Some of the above problems may not be fully addressed by any of the features described herein.

[0037] The following description provides only exemplary embodiments and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of this disclosure. Rather, the following description of exemplary embodiments provides a useful explanation for carrying out the exemplary embodiments for those skilled in the art. It should be understood that various modifications can be made to the function and arrangement of the components without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention provided.

[0038] The term RAN (Radio Access Network) RIC (Intelligent Controller) refers to an open RAN RIC that provides an open hosting platform and is responsible for controlling and optimizing RAN functions. RICs come in two forms: quasi-real-time and non-real-time, incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) / ML (machine learning) into their decision-making capabilities and adapting to specific latency or control loop requirements.

[0039] Therefore, a near-real-time RIC can control other RAN components, including CUs (Central Units) and DUs (Distributed Units), and perform network optimization actions that can be executed between 10 milliseconds and 1 second. The RT (Non-Real-Time) RIC, a concept developed by the O-RAN Alliance, incorporates intelligence into system design to perform network management tasks and functions for control loops exceeding 1 second. Essentially, a Non-RT RIC provides network and subscriber data to a Near-RT RIC along with AI-based recommendations, while the latter provides real-time optimization.

[0040] This invention provides efficient and reliable systems and methods for saving energy in a network using O-RAN (Open Radio Access Network). This disclosure provides systems and methods that enable an O-RAN architecture to include energy-saving features as a service that uniformly uses first and second sets of commands in a network that may have multi-vendor O-RAN nodes. The first and second sets of commands can function across RAN node technologies (macro, micro, pico, etc.), multiple vendors, and types. This disclosure provides systems and methods that use a RAN-based approach to induce cells, network elements, or network functions to activate / deactivate energy-saving modes. This disclosure provides systems and methods that use machine learning techniques to learn dynamic behavior or networks and improve the overall efficiency of activating / deactivating energy-saving modes by inducing cells, network elements, or network functions to activate / deactivate energy-saving modes. This disclosure provides systems and methods that enable LTE (Long-Term Evolution) and NR (New Radio) based technologies used in mobile network deployments, particularly network architectures deployed based on O-RAN architectures, for energy saving in networks. This disclosure provides a system and method for reducing operating costs through energy saving in a typical O-RAN-based network deployment. The energy saving method utilizes machine learning techniques to form dynamic energy saving policies. These policies can be more optimized than conventional energy saving policies.

[0041] Figure 1A shows an exemplary network architecture that can implement the proposed system (100) of the Disclosure according to one embodiment of the Disclosure. Figure 1A shows a plurality of cells (115-1, 115-2, ..., 115-N) (also referred to individually as cells (115) and collectively as a plurality of cells (115)) operably coupled to a network device (108) by a heterogeneous network (105). For example, the heterogeneous network may include two or more types of nodes organized into a hierarchical cluster. The heterogeneous network (or, as referred to herein simply as the network (105)) may be wireless and wired and can support 2G, 3G, 4G, LTE, 5G, 6G and other next-generation communication services. Each cell (115) may include a base station (117). The base station (117) may include a booster power unit that boosts signal transmission, and each such cell may be referred to as a booster cell. To clearly illustrate the operation of multiple cells (115) to those skilled in the art, a rectangular cross-section (115-4) of the multiple cells (115) is drawn showing a mobile terminal (also called a mobile station or MS) (111), a first cell (107), and a second cell (109). To provide communication services, the first cell (107) has a first cell area (101), and the second cell (109) has a second cell area (103). A mobile terminal (111) located in the overlapping area of ​​the first cell area (101) and the second cell area (103) can send and receive signals with the network (105) via an adjacent cell (107) or (109). When the mobile terminal (111) is turned on, the mobile terminal (111) can initiate the cell selection process. In this process, if the mobile device (111) receives parameters for the first cell (107), the first cell becomes a candidate cell. Alternatively, if the mobile device (111) receives parameters for the second cell (109), the second cell becomes a candidate cell.

[0042] In one embodiment, whenever traffic in the network (105), for example, the number of users in the network, increases beyond a predetermined limit, one or more booster cells in a group of cells may be activated. When network traffic increases, candidate cells can be upgraded to booster cells.

[0043] The network device (108) may be further associated with an O-RU (Open Radio Access Radio Unit) (104) and one or more first arithmetic units (124-1, 124-2…124-N) (referred to individually as arithmetic units (124) and collectively as multiple arithmetic units (124)), as shown in Figure 1B.

[0044] Referring to Figure 1B, an exemplary detailed architecture (150) of a network device (108) (also referred to as a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) device (108) or simply as an SMO device (108)) and one or more modules associated with the network device (108) are shown, which can implement or be implemented using the System of the Disclosure according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown, the network device (108) is equipped with a Non-RT RIC (Non-Real-Time Radio Intelligent Controller) (110) and may be operably coupled to a Near-RT RIC (Near-Real-Time Radio Intelligent Controller) (114A) that promotes energy saving in the network based on predetermined energy policy definitions received from users (128-1, 128-2, 128-3…128-N) (individually referred to as users (128), and collectively referred to as users (128)) associated with one or more first computing units (124). The SMO device (108) may be further operably coupled to one or more mobile terminals (111) via an O-RU (Open Radio Access Network Radio Unit) (104). The SMO (108) may be communicably coupled to one or more first arithmetic units (individually referred to as first arithmetic units (124) and collectively referred to as multiple first arithmetic units (124)).

[0045] Furthermore, the Non-RT RIC (110) may include a first set of commands (hereinafter also called r-App (112)), and the Near-RT RIC (114A) may include a second set of commands (114B) (hereinafter also called x-App (114B)). The SMO device (108) and the Near-RT RIC (114A) may be coupled to an O-DU (Open Radio Access Network Distributed Unit) (106). The O-DU (106) may be coupled to the O-CU-CP (Open Radio Access Network Central Unit Control Plane) (116) and the Near-RT RIC (114A) by their respective bidirectional interfaces (130-2) and (130-1) (also called E2 interface 130). The O-DU (106) may be further operably coupled to the O-CU-UP (Open Radio Access Network Central Unit User Plane) (118) by an F1 interface. The Near-RT RIC (114A) may also be coupled to the O-CU-CP (116) and O-CU-UP (118) via another E2 interface (130-3). The O-CU-CP (116) may be coupled to the O-CU-UP (118). Furthermore, the O-CU-CP (116) may be coupled to the 5G (fifth generation) core (5GC) (120), and the O-CU-UP (118) may be coupled to the UPF (User Plane Function) (122).

[0046] In one embodiment, booster cells (interchangeably referred to as capacity boosting cells or NR (Nu-Radio) capacity booster cells) may be turned off to conserve energy. The energy-saving process may be based on, but is not limited to, a predetermined energy policy definition, such as a centralized energy-saving solution proposed in 3GPP TS 28.310 V16.3.0 (2020-12) Section 6.2.2. The user (128) may input an initial energy-saving policy to an "energy-saving" r-App (112) in a non-RT RIC (110) via a first computing unit (124). The "energy-saving" r-App (112) may create a policy to initiate energy measurement groups in NR (Nu-Radio) capacity booster cells and candidate cells. The r-App (112) may send the policy to an x-App (114B) in a Near-RT RIC (114A) via a predetermined interface, such as an A1 interface.

[0047] In one embodiment, x-App(114B) is one or more E2 as shown in Figure 1. node You may issue a command to start the energy measurement group. E2 node The energy measurement group may be transmitted to the SMO system (108) via a second predetermined interface, such as the O1 interface, but not limited thereto. Furthermore, E2 node It may also send the report to x-App(114B). In one embodiment, x-App(114B) is E2 node Reports may be collected from and policy feedback may be sent to r-App(112) via the A1 interface.

[0048] In one embodiment, the ML (machine learning) module (216) (see Figure 2) may process measurement data stored in the SMO device (108) and may also infer measurement data. The ML module may send feedback to r-App (112). r-App (112) may act on various inputs and may decide to switch the NR booster cell to energy-saving mode. Furthermore, r-App (112) may send commands to the SMO system (108).

[0049] In one embodiment, the SMO device (108) may configure the NR capacity booster cell to enter energy-saving mode. The SMO device (108) may also configure other cells to indicate that the booster cell is transitioning to energy-saving mode. Furthermore, the booster cell may move each mobile terminal (111) to another cell and stop receiving new mobile terminals. Once all mobile terminals have moved to another cell, the booster cell may transition to energy-saving mode. Furthermore, the booster cell may indicate the transition to the SMO device (108).

[0050] In one embodiment, the SMO device (108) may indicate in r-App(112) that the NR capacity booster cell has entered energy-saving mode. Furthermore, r-App(112) may continue to collect measurements.

[0051] In one embodiment, the SMO device (108) and Near-RT RIC (114A) may be, but are not limited to, a System-on-Chip (SoC) system. In another embodiment, the on-site data acquisition, storage, matching, processing, decision-making, and operational logic may be, but are not limited to, coded using a Microservices Architecture (MSA). To support portability, multiple microservices may be containerized and event-based.

[0052] In one embodiment, the network architecture (100) may be modular and flexible to accommodate any kind of change in the SMO system (108), and the Near-RT RIC (114A) as proximity processing may be acquired for energy saving in the network. The details of the SMO equipment (108) and Near-RT RIC (114A) configuration can be changed on the fly.

[0053] In one embodiment, the SMO device (108) may be remotely monitored, ensuring complete data, application, and physical security of the SMO device (108). In one embodiment, data may be carefully collected, stored in a cloud-based data lake, and processed to extract actionable insights. Thus, a predictive maintenance approach can be achieved.

[0054] In exemplary embodiments, the communication network (105) may include, but is not limited to, at least part of one or more networks having one or more nodes that transmit, receive, forward, generate, buffer, store, route, switch, process, or combine thereof one or more messages, packets, signals, waves, voltage or current levels, or some combination thereof. The network may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: wireless networks, wired networks, the Internet, intranets, public networks, private networks, packet-switched networks, circuit-switched networks, ad-hoc networks, infrastructure networks, PSTNs (Public Switched Telephone Networks), cable networks, cellular networks, satellite networks, fiber optic networks, and some combination thereof.

[0055] In another exemplary embodiment, a server (not shown in Figure 1B) may be included in the architecture (100). The server may include, but is not limited to, a standalone server, a server blade, a server rack, a bank of servers, a server farm, hardware supporting part of a cloud service or system, a home server, hardware running a virtualization server, one or more processors that run code and function as a server, one or more machines that perform the server-side functions described herein, at least some of the above, and one or more combinations thereof.

[0056] In one embodiment, one or more first computing units (124) and one or more mobile terminals (111) may communicate with the SMO device (108) via a set of executable commands on any operating system, including but not limited to Android™, iOS™, and Kai OS™. In one embodiment, one or more first computing units (124) and one or more mobile terminals (111) may include, but are not limited to, any electrical, electronic, electromechanical or equipment, one or more of the above-mentioned devices (mobile phones, smartphones, VR (virtual reality) devices, AR (augmented reality) devices, laptops, general-purpose computers, desktops, personal digital assistants, tablet computers, and mainframe computers), or other computing units. The arithmetic unit may include, but is not limited to, one or more built-in or externally coupled accessories, including visual aids (camera, audio aid, microphone, and keyboard), input devices for receiving user input (touchpad, touch-enabled screen, and electronic pen), receiving devices for receiving audio or visual signals in any frequency range, and transmitting devices for transmitting audio or visual signals in any frequency range. It should be understood that one or more first arithmetic units (124) and one or more mobile terminals are not limited to the above devices, and various other devices may be used. The smart arithmetic unit may be one of the appropriate systems for storing data and other personal / confidential information.

[0057] Figure 2 shows an exemplary representation of a proposed SMO (Service Management and Orchestration) device (108) for energy saving in a network using Open-RAN (O-RAN), according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, the SMO device (108) may include one or more processors(or more)(202). One or more processors(or more)(202) may be implemented as one or more microprocessors, microcomputers, microcontrollers, edge or fog microcontrollers, digital signal processors, central processing units, logic circuits, and / or any device that processes data based on operation commands. In particular, one or more processors(or more)(202) may be configured to fetch and execute computer-readable commands stored in the memory(204) of the SMO system(108). The memory(204) may store one or more computer-readable commands or routines in a non-transient computer-readable storage medium that may be fetched and executed to create or share data packets across network services. The memory (204) may include, for example, volatile memory such as RAM, or any non-temporary storage device including non-volatile memory such as EPROM or flash memory.

[0058] In one embodiment, the SMO device may include an interface(s) 206. The interface(s)(206) may include various interfaces, such as interfaces for data input / output devices, including I / O devices and storage devices. The interface(s)(206) can facilitate communication of the SMO system(108). The interface(s)(206) may also provide communication paths for one or more components of the SMO system(108). Such components may include, but are not limited to, a processing unit / engine(208) and a database(210).

[0059] A processing unit / engine (208) may be implemented as a combination of hardware and programming (e.g., programmable instructions) to implement one or more functions of a processing engine(s)(208). In embodiments of this embodiment, such a combination of hardware and programming may be implemented in several different ways. For example, the programming for a processing engine(s)(208) may be processor-executable instructions stored in a non-temporary machine-readable storage medium, and the hardware for a processing engine(s)(208) may include processing resources (e.g., one or more processors) that execute such instructions. In this embodiment, the machine-readable storage medium may store instructions that implement a processing engine(s)(208) when executed by the processing resources. In such embodiments, the SMO device (108) may include a machine-readable storage medium that stores instructions and processing resources that execute instructions, or the machine-readable storage medium may be separate but accessible to the SMO device (108) and the processing resources. In other embodiments, the processing engine(s)(208) may be implemented by electronic circuits. Furthermore, the SMO device(108) may include an ML (machine learning) module.

[0060] The processing engine (208) may include one or more engines selected from the data acquisition engine (212), signal acquisition engine (214), machine learning engine (216), prediction engine (218), and other engines (220). The processing engine (208) may, but is not limited to, perform edge-based microservice event processing.

[0061] In one embodiment, the data acquisition engine (212) and the signal acquisition engine (214) may receive initial energy saving policy information from one or more first computing units (124) and receive measurement data relating to the amount of energy consumed by multiple cells (115) and the amount of traffic associated with heterogeneous networks (105) at a predetermined time. In one embodiment, measurement dataThis is received by the execution of a second set of commands (114B) on the Near-RT RIC (114A) which is configured to extract the amount of energy consumed from each E2 node. That's fine. Each E2 Do is , Via the E2 interface (130), Associated with open radio access networks and the Near-RT RIC(114A) That's fine.

[0062] In another embodiment, the ML engine extracts a first set of attributes based on a data packet set and a received set of measurements. The first set of attributes may relate to parameters associated with the optimal amount of energy saved in each cell of the heterogeneous network (105) and an increase in the amount of traffic in the heterogeneous network that exceeds a predetermined threshold. The ML engine (216) may further determine the amount of energy saved in the heterogeneous network (105) based on the extracted first set of attributes and a predetermined energy policy definition. The ML engine (216) may then activate one or more booster cells in energy-saving mode based on the amount of energy determined to be saved. The ML engine may further initiate an energy measurement set in one or more booster cells and one or more candidate cells, regardless of whether the energy-saving mode is switched on or off, and then transmit the energy measurement set to the Near-RT RIC (114B) by executing a second set of commands (114A) via a predetermined interface.

[0063] In one embodiment, The second command group (114B) is: E2 interface (130) via one or more E2 nodes You may instruct the system to start a predetermined energy measurement. The one or more E2 nodes transmit the measurement data obtained from the energy measurement to the network device (108) via a second predetermined interface, and provide a report regarding the measurement data. Second command group (114B) You may send it to [the appropriate address]. The second set of commands (114B) is: Based on the report Feedback 、A1 It may be further configured to transmit to a first set of commands (112) via an interface.

[0064] In one embodiment, the ML engine (216) may be further configured to move one or more booster cells in energy-saving mode to other cells one or more first arithmetic units (124) and one or more mobile terminals associated with one or more booster cells. The ML engine (216) may be further configured to stop receiving new one or more first arithmetic units (124) and new one or more mobile terminals from one or more booster cells.

[0065] In one embodiment, the prediction engine (218) may be configured to predict energy consumption in heterogeneous networks (105) and, if the amount of traffic associated with the heterogeneous networks increases beyond a predetermined threshold, to deactivate the energy-saving mode of one or more capacity booster cells using a second predetermined interface. The prediction engine (218) may be further configured to further notify one or more neighboring cells that the energy-saving mode has been deactivated.

[0066] Figure 3 shows an exemplary block diagram of a system architecture (300) in one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0067] The system architecture (300) is an O-RAN architecture. The r-App (112) may have an interface that can supply external information to the operator network. The Near-RT RIC (114A) may be a logic function that enables near real-time control and optimization of RAN components and resources through granular data collection and actions via the E2 interface (130), as shown in Figure 3. The Near-RT RIC (114A) may include AI (artificial intelligence) / ML (machine learning) workflows, including model training, inference, and updates, which are handled by the x-App (114B).

[0068] Furthermore, the Non-RT RIC(110) may include logic functions within an SMO (Service Management and Orchestration System)(108) that may drive content carried via the A1 interface, as shown in Figure 3. The Non-RT RIC(110) may include a Non-RT RIC framework and a Non-RT RIC application such as an r-App(112). Furthermore, the Non-RT RIC framework may function within the SMO(108) to logically terminate the A1 interface to a Near-RT RIC(114A), and may expose the internal SMO services required for their runtime processing to the r-App(112) via the R1 interface. The Non-RT RIC framework may function within the non-RT RIC(110) and may provide an AI / ML workflow including model training, inference, and updates required for the r-App(112).

[0069] Furthermore, the O1 interface from the O-RAN component may be terminated at SMO(108). O-CU-CP(116) may be a logic node hosting the control plane portions of the RRC and PDCP protocols. Furthermore, O-CU-UP(118) may be a logic node hosting the user plane portions of the PDCP and SDAP protocols. O-DU(106) may be a logic node hosting the RLC (Radio Link Control) / MAC (Media Access Control) / PHY (Upper Physical) layers based on the lower layer functional partitioning. The E2 interface is a logic node that terminates the E2 interface. Furthermore, the O-RAN node may be terminated at the F1 interface, which in the case of NR access is O-CU-CP(116), O-CU-UP(118), O-DU(106), or any combination, and in the case of E-UTRA access is O-eNB(318). Non-RT RIC applications, such as r-App(112), may be modular applications that leverage functionality exposed via the R1 interface of the non-RT RIC framework to provide value-added services related to RAN operation. These value-added services related to RAN operation include, but are not limited to, driving the A1 interface, recommending values ​​and actions that may be applied later via the O1 / O2 interfaces, and generating “enriched information” for use with other r-App(112), etc. r-App(112) may function within the non-RT RIC(304) and enable non-real-time control and optimization of RAN components and resources, and policy-based guidance to applications / features of the Near-RT RIC(114A). Furthermore, Near-RT RIC applications, such as x-App(114B), may run within the Near-RT RIC(114A). Such applications are likely to include one or more microservices and may be able to identify what data they consume and what data they provide at the time of onboarding. This application is independent of Near-RT RIC(114A) and may be provided by any third party.E2 enables a direct association between x-App(114B) and RAN functionality.

[0070] Furthermore, the O-Cloud (316) may be a cloud computing platform that includes a collection of physical infrastructure nodes that meet O-RAN requirements to host the relevant O-RAN functions of Near-RT RIC (114A), CU-CP (116), O-CU-UP (118), and O-DU (106), supporting software components (such as operating systems, virtual machine monitors, and container runtimes), and appropriate management and orchestration functions. Additionally, the O1 interface may exist between the SMO framework and the components of O-RAN management for operations and management that may enable fault, configuration, accounting, performance, security, (FCAPS) management, PNF (Physical Network Functions) software management, and file management. Furthermore, the O2 interface may exist between the SMO framework and the O-Cloud (316) to support O-RAN virtual network functions. Furthermore, the A1 interface may exist between the Non-RT RIC (110) and the Near-RT RIC (114A). The purpose of the A1 interface may be to enable the non-RT RIC function to provide policy-based guidance, ML model management, and enhancement information to the Near-RT RIC function so that the RAN can optimize RRM (Radio Resource Management), etc., under specific conditions. The E2 interface may then connect the Near-RT RIC (114A) to one or more O-CU-CPs (116), one or more O-CU-UPs (118), and one or more O-DUs (106). The R1 interface may exist between the r-App (112) and the non-RT RIC framework. Energy-saving policies may be formed, modified, and deleted in r-App (112) using input from the user (128) via the first computing unit (124), machine-learned algorithms, and feedback from x-App (114B). The energy-saving x-App (114B) may collect measurement data from the E2 interface, execute the policies formed by r-App (112), and send feedback back to r-App (112).r-App(112) may use the O1 interface from the SMO device(108) to push energy-saving related configurations to the E2 interface.

[0071] Figure 4A shows an exemplary flowchart illustrating how to save energy in a network using O-RAN by turning off a capacity boosting cell, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0072] In block (402), method (400a) may include the processor (202) receiving the energy saving policy via r-App (112). In block (404), method (400a) may include the processor (202) instructing x-App (114B) to start measurement via r-App (112). In block (406), method (400a) may include the processor (202) instructing x-App (114B) to access the E2 interface. E2 node connected by (130) This may include subscribing to the start of measurement. In block (408), method (400a) is performed by processor (202) E2 node This may include generating E2 reports and O1 events via the subscription of x-App(114B). In block (410), method (400a) is performed by processor (202) via x-App(114B) to generate E2 reports and O1 events. nodeThe method may include collecting reports from and sending feedback to r-App(112). In block (412), the method (400a) may include the processor (202) collecting feedback and / or events via r-App(112). In block (414), the method (400a) may include the processor (202) enabling energy saving for a capacity boosting cell that has been turned on based on an input via r-App(112). In block (416), the method (400a) may include the processor (202) instructing the SMO device (108) via r-App(112) to make a decision to enable energy saving mode. In block (418), the method (400a) may include the processor (202) transitioning a capacity boosting cell to energy saving mode via the SMO device (108) using the O1 interface and indicating the transition to other cells. In block (420), method (400a) is measured by processor (202). Collection of data, reports, or feedback This may include continuously evaluating the decision.

[0073] Figure 4B is an exemplary flowchart illustrating a method for deactivating the energy-saving mode of a capacity-boosting cell in energy-saving mode in one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0074] In block (422), method (400b) may include the processor (202) collecting measurement data, A1 feedback, and ML (machine learning) module data via r-App (112). In block (424), method (400b) may include the processor (202) deciding to deactivate the energy-saving mode via r-App (112). In block (426), method (400b) may include the processor (202) requesting the SMO device (108) to perform the decision via r-App (112). In block (428), method (400b) may include the processor (202) deactivating the energy-saving mode of the capacity booster cell using the O1 interface via the SMO device (108). In block (430), method (400b) may include notifying other neighboring cells via the SMO device (108) by the processor (202).

[0075] Figure 5A shows a sequence diagram (500A) of centralized energy-saving deactivation of an overlaid NR capacity booster cell in one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0076] In step (502), the user (128) may input an initial energy saving policy to the "energy saving" r-App (112) in the non-RT RIC (110). The energy saving r-App (112) in the non-RT RIC (110) may create a policy to start measurements in the NR capacity booster cell and candidate cell. In step (504), the r-App (112) in the non-RT RIC (110) may send the policy to the x-App (114B) in the Near-RT RIC (114A). In steps (506), (508), and (510), the x-App (114B) sends the E2 interface E2 node connected via (130) You may instruct it to start the appropriate measurement. In steps (512), (514), and (516), E2 nodeYou may also send the report to x-App(114B). In steps (518) and (520), E2 node The measurement data may be transmitted to the SMO device (108) via the O1 interface. x-App (114B) is E2 node Collect reports from and send them to the r-App(112) of the non-RT RIC(110) via the A1 interface. feedback You may send it.

[0077] The ML module may process the measurement data stored in the SMO device (108) and may also infer the measurement data. In step (522), the ML module of x-App (114B) may send feedback to the r-App (112) of non-RT RIC (110). The r-App (112) may act on various inputs and decide to switch the NR (New Radio) booster cell to energy-saving mode. In step (524), the r-App (112) may send a command to the SMO device (108).

[0078] In step (526), ​​the SMO device (108) may configure the NR capacity booster cell to enter energy-saving mode. In step (528), the SMO device (108) may also configure other cells to indicate that the NR capacity booster cell has transitioned to energy-saving mode. In step (530), the NR capacity booster cell may move its associated mobile terminals to other cells and stop new mobile terminal registrations. Once all mobile terminals have moved to other cells, the NR capacity cell may transition to energy-saving mode. The NR capacity booster cell may indicate to the SMO device (108) that it is in energy-saving mode. In step (532), the SMO device (108) may indicate to the r-App (112) that the NR capacity booster cell has transitioned to energy-saving mode. The x-App (114B) of the Near-RT RIC (114A) may collect the requested information and send feedback to the non-RT RIC (110) via the A1 interface. r-App(112) may continue to collect measurements.

[0079] Figure 5B shows a sequence diagram of centralized energy-saving deactivation of an overlaid NR (New Radio) capacity booster cell in one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0080] In steps (542) and (544), the "energy-saving" r-App(112) may continue to monitor measurement reports and input from the ML (machine learning) module, and if the load on candidate cells is high, the "energy-saving" r-App(112) may decide to turn on an NR capacity booster cell.

[0081] In step (546), r-App(112) may send information to SMO device(108) to disable energy saving mode for the NR capacity booster cell. In step (548), SMO device(108) may send configuration information to the NR capacity booster cell to disable energy saving mode. In step (550), SMO device(108) may also configure other cells to indicate that the NR capacity booster cell is ready to receive traffic. In step (552), the NR capacity booster cell may disable energy saving mode and indicate this to SMO device(108). In step (554), SMO device(108) may send information to r-App(112) indicating that the energy saving mode for the NR capacity booster cell has been disabled. r-App(112) may monitor the NR cells.

[0082] Figure 6 shows an exemplary computer system that may or may be used in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 6, the computer system (600) may include an external storage device (610), a bus (620), main memory (630), read-only memory 640, mass storage device (650), a communication port (660), and a processor (670). Those skilled in the art will understand that the computer system may include multiple processors and communication ports. The processor (670) may include, but is not limited to, Intel® Itanium® or Itanium 2 processors, AMD® Opteron® or Athlon MP® processors, Motorola® series processors, FortisBC® system-on-chip processors, and other future processors. The processor (670) may include various modules associated with embodiments of the present invention. The communication port (660) may be any of the following: an RS-232 port for modem-based dial-up connections, a 10 / 100 Ethernet port, a Gigabit or 10 Gigabit port using copper or fiber, a serial port, a parallel port, or any other existing or future port. The communication port (660) may be selected depending on the network, such as a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), and any network to which the computer system connects. The main memory (630) may be RAM (Random Access Memory) or any other dynamic storage device commonly known in the art. The read-only memory (640) may be any static storage device, but is not limited to a PROM (Programmable Read-Only Memory) chip that stores static information such as boot or BIOS instructions for the processor 670. The mass storage (650) may be any current or future mass storage solution that can be used to store information and / or instructions.Examples of solutions for mass storage include, but are not limited to, PATA (Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment) or SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) hard disk drives or solid-state drives (internal or external, e.g., having Universal Serial Bus (USB) and / or Firewire interfaces), such as those available from Seagate (e.g., Seagate Barracuda 782 family) or Hitachi (e.g., Hitachi Deskstar 13K800), one or more optical disks, and RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) storage, such as arrays of disks (e.g., SATA arrays), available from various vendors including Dot Hill Systems Corp., LaCie, Nelsan Technologies, Inc., and Enhance Technology, Inc.

[0083] The bus (620) connects the processor(s)(670) to other memory, storage, and communication blocks in a communicative manner. The bus (620) may also be other buses, such as PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnection) / PCI Expansion (PCI-X) buses, SCSI (Small Computer System Interface), and USB for connecting expansion cards, drives, and other subsystems, as well as an FSB (Front Side Bus) for connecting the processor(s)(670) to a software system.

[0084] Optionally, operator and management interfaces such as displays, keyboards, and cursor control devices may also be coupled to a bus (620) to support direct interaction between the operator and the computer system. Other operator and management interfaces may be provided via a network connection connected by a communication port (660). External storage devices (610) may be any type of external hard drive, floppy drive, IOMEGA® Zip drive, CD-ROM (Compact Disc - Read-Only Memory), CD-RW (Compact Disc - Rewritable), or DVD-ROM (Digital Video Disc - Read-Only Memory). The above components are merely illustrative of various possibilities. The exemplary computer systems described above do not limit the scope of this disclosure.

[0085] While this specification places considerable emphasis on preferred embodiments, it should be understood that many embodiments can be made without departing from the principles of the present invention, and many modifications can be made in the preferred embodiments. These and other modifications in the preferred embodiments of the present invention will be obvious to those skilled in the art based on the disclosure herein, and it should be clearly understood that the foregoing descriptions are not limiting to this disclosure but should be implemented merely as examples.

[0086] (Effects of this disclosure) This disclosure provides an efficient and reliable system and method for saving energy in a network using O-RAN (Open Radio Access Network).

[0087] This disclosure provides a system and method that enables a RAN architecture to incorporate energy-saving features as a service that uniformly uses r-Apps and x-Apps into a network that may have multi-vendor O-RAN nodes. Such r-Apps and x-Apps can function across RAN node technologies, multiple vendors, and types (macro, micro, pico, etc.).

[0088] This disclosure provides a system and method for inducing a cell, network element, or network function to activate / deactivate an energy-saving mode using a RAN-based approach.

[0089] This disclosure provides a system and method for improving the overall efficiency of activating / deactivating energy-saving modes by using machine learning techniques to learn dynamic behavior or networks and inducing cells, network elements, or network functions to activate / deactivate energy-saving modes.

[0090] This disclosure provides a system and method for enabling LTE (Long-Term Evolution) and NR (New Radio) based technologies used in mobile network deployments, particularly in network architectures deployed based on O-RAN architectures, for energy saving in networks.

[0091] This disclosure provides a system and method for reducing operating costs through energy saving in a typical O-RAN-based network deployment. The energy saving method utilizes machine learning techniques to form dynamic energy saving policies. These policies can be more optimized than conventional energy saving policies.

[0092] (Reserved rights) Parts of the disclosure in this patent document include materials subject to intellectual property rights, including but not limited to copyrights, designs, trademarks, IC layout designs, and / or trademark protections, belonging to JPL (Jio Platforms Limited) or its affiliates (hereinafter referred to as the Owner). As expressed in the patent application or record with the Patent and Trademark Office, the Owner has no objection to any person making a complete copy of the patent document or patent disclosure, but reserves all other rights. All rights to such intellectual property are fully reserved by the Owner. This patent document includes systems and methods as defined in 3GPP TS (Technical Specification) 21.801.

Claims

1. A network device (108) configured as an SMO (Service Management and Orchestration) device, equipped with a Non-RTRIC (Non-Real-Time Radio Intelligent Controller) (110) and communicably coupled to a Near-RTRIC (Near-Real-Time Radio Intelligent Controller) (114A), The network device (108) is operably coupled to a plurality of cells (115) in a heterogeneous network (105), and the plurality of cells (115) include one or more NR capacity booster cells and one or more candidate cells. The first command group r-App (112) executed on the Non-RT RIC (110) receives initial energy saving policy information, creates a measurement start policy to start energy measurements in the one or more NR capacity booster cells and the one or more candidate cells, and transmits the measurement start policy to the second command group x-App (114B) executed on the Near-RT RIC (114A) via the A1 interface. The x-App (114B) instructs one or more E2 nodes connected via the E2 interface (130) to start the energy measurement. The one or more E2 nodes transmit measurement data relating to energy consumption and traffic volume to the network device (108) via the O1 interface, and transmit a report relating to the measurement data to the x-App (114B). The x-App (114B) collects the reports from the one or more E2 nodes and sends feedback to the r-App (112) via the A1 interface. Based on the feedback, the r-App (112) instructs the network device (108) to switch one or more NR capacity booster cells to energy-saving mode. The system (100) for saving energy in the heterogeneous network (105) is characterized in that the network device (108) uses the O1 interface to switch one or more NR capacity booster cells to the energy-saving mode.

2. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that the initial energy saving policy information is input by a user (128) via one or more first computing units (124).

3. The system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein at least one of the plurality of cells (115) has one or more mobile terminals (111) associated with the cell, and the network device (108) is operably coupled to the one or more mobile terminals (111) via an O-RU (Open Radio Access Network Radio Unit) (104).

4. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that the energy-saving mode includes turning off one or more NR capacity booster cells included in the plurality of cells (115) for a predetermined period of time.

5. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that the one or more E2 nodes include at least one of O-DU (106), O-CU-CP (116), and O-CU-UP (118) in NR access.

6. The system according to claim 1 or 5, characterized in that the E2 interface (130) connects the Near-RT RIC (114A) to at least one of the O-DU (106), O-CU-CP (116), and O-CU-UP (118).

7. The system according to claim 6, characterized in that the O-DU (106) is coupled to the O-CU-CP (116) and the O-CU-UP (118), and the O-CU-UP (118) is coupled to the UPF (User Plane Function) (122).

8. The system according to claim 1, wherein the x-App (114B) subscribes to the start of measurement to one or more E2 nodes via the E2 interface (130), and the one or more E2 nodes generate or transmit the measurement data and the report in response to the subscription by the x-App (114B).

9. The system according to claim 1, wherein the network device (108) comprises other cells including the one or more candidate cells to indicate that the one or more NR capacity booster cells have transitioned to the energy-saving mode.

10. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that one or more NR capacity booster cells move the mobile terminals (111) associated with the NR capacity booster cell to other cells, stop accepting new mobile terminals, and after all mobile terminals associated with the NR capacity booster cell have moved to other cells, transition to the energy-saving mode.

11. The system according to claim 1, wherein the r-App (112), in addition to the feedback, collects events relating to the energy measurement and, based on the feedback and the events, instructs the network device (108) to switch to the energy-saving mode.

12. The system according to claim 1, wherein the network device (108) indicates to the r-App (112) that one or more NR capacity booster cells have entered the energy-saving mode, and the r-App (112) continues to collect the measurement data, the report or the feedback to evaluate the decision regarding the transition to the energy-saving mode.

13. The system according to claim 1, wherein the r-App (112) collects measurement data and A1 feedback, decides to deactivate the energy-saving mode, requests the network device (108) to perform the decision, and the network device (108) uses the O1 interface to deactivate the energy-saving mode of one or more NR capacity booster cells and notifies adjacent cells.

14. A method for saving energy in a heterogeneous network (105), The heterogeneous network (105) includes a plurality of cells (115) which include one or more NR capacity booster cells and one or more candidate cells. The aforementioned method, It is configured as an SMO (Service Management and Orchestration) device and is executed using a network device (108) which includes a Non-RT RIC (Non-Real-Time Radio Intelligent Controller) (110) and is communicably coupled to a Near-RT RIC (Near-Real-Time Radio Intelligent Controller) (114A), The first set of commands, r-App (112), which is executed on the Non-RT RIC (110), receives initial energy saving policy information, The r-App (112) creates a measurement start policy for initiating energy measurements in the one or more NR capacity booster cells and the one or more candidate cells, The r-App (112) transmits the measurement start policy to the x-App (114B), which is a second set of commands executed on the Near-RT RIC (114A), via the A1 interface. The x-App (114B) instructs one or more E2 nodes connected via the E2 interface (130) to start the energy measurement, The one or more E2 nodes transmit measurement data relating to energy consumption and traffic volume to the network device (108) via the O1 interface, and transmit a report relating to the measurement data to the x-App (114B), The x-App (114B) collects the reports from one or more E2 nodes and sends feedback to the r-App (112) via the A1 interface, The r-App (112) instructs the network device (108) to switch one or more NR capacity booster cells to energy-saving mode based on the feedback, The network device (108) includes using the O1 interface to switch one or more NR capacity booster cells to the energy-saving mode, A method characterized by the following:

15. The method according to 14, further comprising turning off one or more NR capacity booster cells for a predetermined period of time in the energy-saving mode.

Images