Communication methods and related devices

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and related device for waking up a remote device based on parameters corresponding to an optical signal, thereby reducing the overhead of analyzing a wake-up instruction by the remote device. Additionally, if the remote device does not continuously maintain a communication link for bidirectional communication between the remote device and a control device, the remote device can wake up at any time. As a result, a remote device in an energy-saving mode can power off more components, thereby improving energy savings. In the method, the control device transmits a first optical signal to a first remote device, and the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal are for waking up the first remote device. In some implementations, the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal include at least one of optical signal strength or loss of signal (LOS) detection.

Description

Technical Field

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[0001] This application relates to the field of communications, and in particular, to communication methods and related devices.

Background Art

[0002] As wireless communication technology develops from 2G, 3G, and 4G to 5G, future 6G, etc., network communication standards are also continuously evolving accordingly, and the requirements for the bearer capabilities of network devices are becoming increasingly high. Components such as filters or power amplifiers (PAs) can be newly added to network devices to enhance the bearer capabilities of network devices.

[0003] However, due to the increase in the number of components within network devices, the power consumption of network devices has increased significantly. Therefore, how to implement energy-saving optimization of network devices is an urgent technical problem to be solved.

Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a communication method and related devices for waking up a remote device based on parameters corresponding to optical signals, as a result of which the overhead for the remote device to analyze wake-up instructions can be reduced. In addition, if the remote device does not continuously maintain a communication link for two-way communication between the remote device and the control device, the remote device can wake up at any time. As a result, the remote device in the energy-saving mode can turn off the power of more components, and an improvement in the energy-saving effect is expected.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] A first aspect of this application provides a communication method. The method is applied to a control device. The method is performed by the control device, or by a part of a component within the control device (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system), or by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the control device. In the first aspect and its possible implementations, an example in which the method is performed by a control device is used for illustrative purposes. In the method, the control device transmits a first optical signal to a first remote device, and the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal are for waking up the first remote device.

[0006] Based on the above technical solution, when the first remote device is in energy-saving mode, the control device may transmit a first optical signal to the first remote device when the control device determines that the first remote device needs to be woken up, and the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal are for waking up the first remote device. In other words, after receiving the first optical signal, the first remote device may wake up based on the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal. Therefore, compared to an implementation where the remote device can analyze the optical signal and further determine the wake-up instruction only based on the analysis results, in the above technical solution, the first remote device can wake up based on the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal, and as a result, the overhead of the remote device analyzing the wake-up instruction can be reduced, and it is expected that the energy-saving effect can be improved.

[0007] In addition, in the above-described implementation where the first remote device is woken up based on parameters corresponding to the first optical signal, the first remote device may be woken up at any time when it is not continuously maintaining a communication link for bidirectional communication between the remote device and the control device. As a result, the first remote device, which is in energy-saving mode, can power off more components in order to further improve the energy-saving effect.

[0008] In this application, it should be understood that when a remote device (e.g., a first remote device, or a second or third remote device that may occur hereafter) is in an energy-saving mode, it means that some of the functional components within the remote device are powered off (or in a sleep state, low-power state, standby state, etc.). Therefore, the energy-saving mode may be referred to as sleep mode, low-power mode, standby mode, etc., and is not limited herein.

[0009] In this application, the remote device is a network device having wireless signal processing capabilities, and the control device is a network device having the functionality to control the remote device. It should be understood that the remote device and the control device may have other names.

[0010] For example, a remote device is radio equipment (RE), and a control device is a radio equipment controller (REC).

[0011] In another example, the remote device is a remote radio unit (RRU), and the control device is a baseband unit (BBU).

[0012] In another example, the remote device is an active antenna unit (AAU), and the control device is a BBU.

[0013] In another example, the remote device is a radio unit (RU), and the control device is a distributed unit (DU).

[0014] In another example, the remote device is an RE / RRU / AAU / RU, and the control device is a remote control device. Remote control devices include, but are not limited to, remote network management devices, Operation and Maintenance Centers (OMCs), and base station control units.

[0015] In a possible implementation of the first embodiment, the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal includes at least one of optical signal intensity or signal loss (LOS) detection.

[0016] It should be understood that the optical signal intensity refers to the optical signal power value and is used to wake up the first remote device when the power value of the first optical signal is a specific value (the optical signal power value is within a preset range). Specifically, if the specific value is 0 (or the preset range is greater than 0), the optical signal intensity may be expressed alternatively as whether there is an optical signal, whether there is optical power, whether there is a flash, etc.

[0017] Optionally, when the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal includes the optical signal intensity, the wake-up of the first remote device may be triggered after the first remote device receives the first optical signal, when the first remote device determines that the value of the optical signal intensity of the first optical signal is a preset value (or within a preset range).

[0018] Optionally, when the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal includes LOS detection, the wake-up of the first remote device may be triggered after the first remote device receives the first optical signal, when the first remote device determines that an LOS signal is generated (or not generated) for the first optical signal.

[0019] Optionally, when the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal include optical signal intensity and LOS detection, the wake-up of the first remote device may be triggered when the first remote device determines, after receiving the first optical signal, that the value of the optical signal intensity of the first optical signal is a preset value (or within a preset range) and that an LOS signal is generated (or not generated) for the first optical signal.

[0020] It should be noted that the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal may be implemented in alternative ways, in addition to the implementation forms described above. For example, the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal may include the magnitude of the optical signal energy, the duration of the continuous optical signal, or other parameters corresponding to the optical signal. This is not limited to the foregoing.

[0021] In a possible implementation of the first embodiment, the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal is for waking up the first remote device, including the fact that the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal includes the optical signal intensity, where the optical signal intensity is represented as N bits, and the value of the N bits is a first value, where the first optical signal is for waking up the first remote device, and N is a positive integer.

[0022] Based on the technical solution described above, when the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal includes the optical signal intensity, after the first remote device receives the first optical signal, the first remote device may decide to wake up the received first optical signal if the value of the N bits is a first value, and as a result, the first remote device is flexibly controlled to perform the corresponding behavior based on the value of the N bits.

[0023] Optionally, if the value of N bits is a value other than the first value, the control device may instruct the first remote device to perform a different action based on the other value, for example, by instructing the first remote device to match clock information, by instructing the first remote device to transmit relevant information for one or more power supplies (e.g., operating voltage and operating current), or by performing a different implementation. This is not limited herein.

[0024] Optionally, N bits include at least two parts of the bit. For example, the first part of the bit may be represented as the N1 bit, and the second part of the bit may be represented as the N2 bit, where the N1 bit indicates the target remote device to be woken up (for example, the value of the N1 bit is the identifier or index number of the target remote device), and the N2 bit is for waking up the target remote device.

[0025] Optionally, when the value of N bits is the first value, N bits indicate that the first remote device should be woken up. When the value of N bits is the second value, N bits indicate that another remote device (for example, the second remote device described later) should be woken up.

[0026] Optionally, the first value is a preconfigured value or the first value is a group of preconfigured values. When the first value is a group of preconfigured values, the group of values satisfies that the value of M bits out of N bits is 1 and the value of the remaining N - M bits is 0, where M is an integer less than or equal to N.

[0027] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the first optical signal is a periodic signal.

[0028] Based on the above technical solution, the first optical signal for waking up the first remote device may be a periodic signal, and the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal transmitted in each period indicates waking up the first remote device. As a result, the first remote device can be woken up in each period, and it is expected to improve the probability that the first remote device is woken up.

[0029] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the first remote device is included in at least two remote devices, and the at least two remote devices are cascade-connected to a control device.

[0030] Based on the above technical solution, the first remote device woken up based on the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal is included in at least two remote devices, and the at least two remote devices are cascade-connected to a control device. As a result, the solution is not limited by a direct connection scenario and can be applied to a cascade connection scenario (for example, at least two remote devices and a control device are networked in a chain form, a star form, or a mesh network form).

[0031] In a possible implementation of the first embodiment, the first remote device is one of at least two remote devices and is an intermediate device cascaded to a control device, and the method further includes the control device transmitting a second optical signal to a second remote device via the first remote device, wherein the parameters corresponding to the second optical signal are for waking up the second remote device.

[0032] Based on the technical solution described above, when the first remote device is one of at least two remote devices and is an intermediate device cascaded to a control device, the control device can further transmit a second optical signal to another remote device via the first remote device and wake up the other remote device based on parameters corresponding to the second optical signal, thereby flexibly controlling different remote devices in a cascaded connection scenario.

[0033] In a possible implementation of the first embodiment, the control device transmitting a second optical signal to a second remote device via a first remote device includes the control device transmitting a second optical signal to the second remote device via the first remote device after determining that the first remote device has been woken up.

[0034] Based on the technical solution described above, after determining that the first remote device has been woken up, the control device transmits a second optical signal to the second remote device via the first remote device, and as a result, the first remote device, after being woken up, identifies the second optical signal and transmits the second optical signal to the second remote device when it determines that the receiver of the second optical signal points to the second remote device. In other words, before the first remote device is woken up, the first remote device can be expected to power off (or sleep) the components corresponding to the communication link between the first remote device and the second remote device (and the components configured to identify the second optical signal) to further improve the energy saving effect of the first remote device.

[0035] Optionally, the process by which a control device transmits a second optical signal to a second remote device via a first remote device does not need to depend on waking up the first remote device. For example, when the first remote device is in energy-saving mode, the first remote device can keep the components corresponding to the communication link between the first and second remote devices (and components configured to identify the second optical signal) powered on, and support the transfer of the second optical signal before the first remote device is woken up, thereby allowing the control device to flexibly control the wake-up process of each remote device.

[0036] In a possible implementation of the first embodiment, the first remote device is one of at least two remote devices, which is an endpoint device cascaded to a control device, and the control device transmitting a first optical signal to the first remote device includes the control device transmitting a first optical signal to the first remote device via a third remote device.

[0037] Based on the technical solution described above, if the first remote device is one of at least two remote devices and is an endpoint device cascaded to the control device, the control device may transmit the first optical signal to the first remote device via another remote device (e.g., a third remote device), thereby allowing the control device to flexibly control the wake-up process of each remote device.

[0038] In a possible implementation of the first embodiment, the method further includes the control device transmitting instruction information to the first remote device, the instruction information instructing the first remote device to enter the energy-saving mode.

[0039] Optionally, the instruction information may further indicate other information, such as at least one of the following: the start time when the first remote device enters energy-saving mode, the end time when the first remote device enters energy-saving mode, and the duration for which the first remote device enters energy-saving mode.

[0040] Optionally, after the first remote device enters energy-saving mode based on instruction information (or after the first remote device has determined that it has entered energy-saving mode, after it has decided to enter energy-saving mode, or before it enters energy-saving mode), the first remote device may, by using a response, further send a response to the control device to indicate that the first remote device has entered (or is going to enter) energy-saving mode.

[0041] Optionally, the first remote device may decide to enter energy-saving mode by an alternative method. For example, the first remote device may decide to enter energy-saving mode for a specific period of time by a manual configuration method by maintenance personnel (or by pre-configuration before distribution).

[0042] A second aspect of this application provides a communication method. The method is applied to a first remote device. The method may be performed by the first remote device, or by a component (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system) within the first remote device, or the method may be implemented by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functionality of the first remote device. In the second aspect and its possible implementations, an example in which the method is performed by the first remote device is used for illustrative purposes. In the method, the first remote device receives a first optical signal. The first remote device wakes up based on parameters corresponding to the first optical signal.

[0043] Based on the technical solution described above, when the first remote device is in energy-saving mode, the first remote device may wake up after receiving the first optical signal based on the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal. Therefore, compared to an implementation where the remote device can analyze the optical signal and further determine the wake-up instruction only based on the analysis results, in the technical solution described above, the first remote device can wake up based on the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal, and as a result, the overhead of analyzing the wake-up instruction by the remote device can be reduced, and an improvement in energy-saving effect can be expected.

[0044] In addition, in the above-described implementation where the first remote device is woken up based on parameters corresponding to the first optical signal, the first remote device may be woken up at any time when it is not continuously maintaining a communication link for bidirectional communication between the remote device and the control device. As a result, the first remote device, which is in energy-saving mode, can power off more components in order to further improve the energy-saving effect.

[0045] In a possible implementation of the second embodiment, the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal includes at least one of optical signal intensity or LOS detection.

[0046] It should be understood that the optical signal intensity refers to the optical signal power value and is used to wake up the first remote device when the power value of the first optical signal is a specific value (the optical signal power value is within a preset range). Specifically, if the specific value is 0 (or the preset range is greater than 0), the optical signal intensity may be expressed alternatively as whether there is an optical signal, whether there is optical power, whether there is a flash, etc.

[0047] Optionally, when the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal includes the optical signal intensity, the wake-up of the first remote device may be triggered after the first remote device receives the first optical signal, when the first remote device determines that the value of the optical signal intensity of the first optical signal is a preset value (or within a preset range).

[0048] Optionally, when the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal includes LOS detection, the wake-up of the first remote device may be triggered after the first remote device receives the first optical signal, when the first remote device determines that an LOS signal is generated (or not generated) for the first optical signal.

[0049] Optionally, when the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal include optical signal intensity and LOS detection, the wake-up of the first remote device may be triggered when the first remote device determines, after receiving the first optical signal, that the value of the optical signal intensity of the first optical signal is a preset value (or within a preset range) and that an LOS signal is generated (or not generated) for the first optical signal.

[0050] It should be noted that the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal may be implemented in alternative ways, in addition to the implementation forms described above. For example, the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal may include the magnitude of the optical signal energy, the duration of the continuous optical signal, or other parameters corresponding to the optical signal. This is not limited to the foregoing.

[0051] In a possible implementation of the second embodiment, the first remote device is in an energy-saving mode, and P modules in the first remote device are powered off, where P is a positive integer, and the P modules include at least one of a first module configured to process radio signals, a second module configured to power the first module, a third module configured to transmit optical signals, and a fourth module configured to power the third module.

[0052] It can be understood that the process by which the first remote device wakes up the first remote device based on parameters corresponding to a first optical signal may also involve the first remote device waking up some or all of the P modules.

[0053] Based on the technical solution described above, when the first remote device is in energy-saving mode, P modules within the first remote device are powered off, and more components are powered off as much as possible in order to improve the energy-saving effect. In addition, the P modules can be implemented by using at least one of the above in order to improve the flexibility of the implementation form of the solution.

[0054] Optionally, both the second and fourth modules are power supply modules (also referred to as power supplies). The second and fourth modules may be the same module or different modules; this is not limited herein.

[0055] In a possible implementation of the second embodiment, the module configured to process radio signals includes at least one of a central processing unit (CPU), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or a radio frequency unit.

[0056] Optionally, a module configured to process a radio signal may further include other components, for example, components configured to implement at least one function in coding, rate matching, scrambling, modulation, layer mapping, precoding, resource element (RE) mapping, digital beamforming (BF), inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT), cyclic prefix (CP) addition, and analog BF; and in another example, components configured to implement at least one function in decoding, rate matching, descrambling, demodulation, inverse discrete Fourier transform (IDFT), channel equalization (or channel estimation), RE demapping, digital BF, fast Fourier transform (FFT), CP rejection, and analog BF.

[0057] In a possible implementation of the second embodiment, the first remote device is in an energy-saving mode, Q modules in the first remote device are powered on, where Q is a positive integer, and the Q modules include at least one of a fifth module configured to receive an optical signal, a sixth module configured to power the fifth module, a seventh module configured to identify parameters corresponding to an optical signal, and an eighth module configured to power the seventh module.

[0058] Based on the technical solution described above, when the first remote device is in energy-saving mode, Q modules within the first remote device are powered on, and these Q modules support the reception of optical signals and implement wake-up at any time based on parameters corresponding to the optical signals. In addition, the Q modules may be implemented by using at least one of the above to improve the flexibility of the implementation form of the solution.

[0059] Optionally, a seventh module configured to identify parameters corresponding to optical signals may be a microcontroller unit (MCU), an optical signal detection circuit, a thin control unit, or the like.

[0060] Optionally, both the sixth and eighth modules are power supply modules (also referred to as power supplies). The sixth and eighth modules may be the same module or different modules; this is not limited herein.

[0061] In a possible implementation of the second embodiment, the seventh module is integrated into the fifth module, or the seventh module is integrated into the eighth module.

[0062] Based on the technical solution described above, a seventh module configured to identify parameters corresponding to optical signals can be implemented in any one of the above-described methods to improve the flexibility of the implementation form of the solution.

[0063] Optionally, the seventh module may be a module located independently of the fifth module or the eighth module.

[0064] In a possible implementation of the second aspect, the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal is for waking up the first remote device, including the fact that the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal includes the optical signal intensity, where the optical signal intensity is represented as N bits, and the value of N bits is a first value, where the first optical signal is for waking up the first remote device, and N is a positive integer.

[0065] When the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal includes the optical signal intensity, after the first remote device receives the first optical signal, the first remote device may decide to wake up the received first optical signal if the value of the N bits is a first value, and as a result, the first remote device is flexibly controlled to perform the corresponding behavior based on the value of the N bits.

[0066] Optionally, if the value of N bits is a value other than the first value, the control device may instruct the first remote device to perform a different action based on the other value, for example, by instructing the first remote device to match clock information, by instructing the first remote device to transmit relevant information for one or more power supplies (e.g., operating voltage and operating current), or by performing a different implementation. This is not limited herein.

[0067] Optionally, N bits include at least two parts of the bit. For example, the first part of the bit may be represented as the N1 bit, and the second part of the bit may be represented as the N2 bit, where the N1 bit indicates the target remote device to be woken up (for example, the value of the N1 bit is the identifier or index number of the target remote device), and the N2 bit is for waking up the target remote device.

[0068] Optionally, when the value of N bits is the first value, N bits indicate that the first remote device should be woken up. When the value of N bits is the second value, N bits indicate that another remote device (for example, the second remote device described later) should be woken up.

[0069] Optionally, the first value is either a pre-configured value or a group of pre-configured values. When the first value is a group of pre-configured values, the group satisfies the condition that M bits out of N bits are 1 and the remaining NM bits are 0, where M is an integer less than or equal to N.

[0070] In a possible implementation of the second embodiment, the first optical signal is a periodic signal.

[0071] Based on the technical solution described above, the first optical signal for waking up the first remote device may be a periodic signal, and the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal transmitted in each period indicate that the first remote device will be woken up. As a result, the first remote device can be woken up in each period, and it is expected that the probability of the first remote device being woken up will be improved.

[0072] In a possible implementation of the second embodiment, the first remote device comprises at least two remote devices, the at least two remote devices being cascaded to a control device.

[0073] Based on the technical solution described above, the first remote device, which is woken up based on parameters corresponding to the first optical signal, comprises at least two remote devices, the at least two remote devices being cascaded to a control device, and as a result the solution is not limited to direct connection scenarios but can be applied to cascaded connection scenarios (for example, the at least two remote devices and the control device are networked in a chain, star, or mesh network configuration).

[0074] In a possible implementation of the second embodiment, the first remote device is one of at least two remote devices, which is an intermediate device cascaded to a control device, and the method further includes the first remote device receiving a second optical signal, the parameters corresponding to the second optical signal being for waking up the second remote device. The first remote device transmits the second optical signal to the second remote device.

[0075] Based on the technical solution described above, when the first remote device is one of at least two remote devices and is an intermediate device cascaded to a control device, the control device can further transmit a second optical signal to another remote device via the first remote device and wake up the other remote device based on parameters corresponding to the second optical signal, thereby flexibly controlling different remote devices in a cascaded connection scenario.

[0076] In a possible implementation of the second embodiment, the first remote device transmitting the second optical signal to the second remote device includes the first remote device waking up the first remote device and then transmitting the second optical signal to the second remote device.

[0077] Based on the technical solution described above, after determining that the first remote device has been woken up, the control device transmits a second optical signal to the second remote device via the first remote device, and as a result, the first remote device, after being woken up, identifies the second optical signal and transmits the second optical signal to the second remote device when it determines that the receiver of the second optical signal points to the second remote device. In other words, before the first remote device is woken up, the first remote device can be expected to power off (or sleep) the components corresponding to the communication link between the first remote device and the second remote device (and the components configured to identify the second optical signal) to further improve the energy saving effect of the first remote device.

[0078] Optionally, the process by which a control device transmits a second optical signal to a second remote device via a first remote device does not need to depend on waking up the first remote device. For example, when the first remote device is in energy-saving mode, the first remote device can keep the components corresponding to the communication link between the first and second remote devices (and components configured to identify the second optical signal) powered on, and support the transfer of the second optical signal before the first remote device is woken up, thereby allowing the control device to flexibly control the wake-up process of each remote device.

[0079] In a possible implementation of the second embodiment, the first remote device is one of at least two remote devices, which is an endpoint device cascaded to a control device, and the first remote device receives the first optical signal via the third remote device.

[0080] Based on the technical solution described above, if the first remote device is one of at least two remote devices and is an endpoint device cascaded to the control device, the control device may transmit the first optical signal to the first remote device via another remote device (e.g., a third remote device), thereby allowing the control device to flexibly control the wake-up process of each remote device.

[0081] In a possible implementation of the second embodiment, the method further includes the first remote device receiving instruction information from the control device, the instruction information instructing the first remote device to enter the energy-saving mode.

[0082] Optionally, the instruction information may further indicate other information, such as at least one of the following: the start time when the first remote device enters energy-saving mode, the end time when the first remote device enters energy-saving mode, and the duration for which the first remote device enters energy-saving mode.

[0083] Optionally, after the first remote device enters energy-saving mode based on instruction information (or after the first remote device has determined that it has entered energy-saving mode, after it has decided to enter energy-saving mode, or before it enters energy-saving mode), the first remote device may, by using a response, further send a response to the control device to indicate that the first remote device has entered (or is going to enter) energy-saving mode.

[0084] Optionally, the first remote device may decide to enter energy-saving mode by an alternative method. For example, the first remote device may decide to enter energy-saving mode for a specific period of time by a manual configuration method by maintenance personnel (or by pre-configuration before distribution).

[0085] A third aspect of this application provides a communication device. The communication device may implement a method according to the first aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect. The communication device includes a corresponding unit or module configured to perform the method. The unit or module included in the communication device may be implemented using software and / or hardware. For example, the device may be a control device, a component within a control device (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system), or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of a control device.

[0086] The communication device includes a processing unit and a transceiver unit. The processing unit is configured to determine a first optical signal, the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal being for waking up a first remote device. The transceiver unit is configured to transmit the first optical signal to the first remote device.

[0087] In a possible implementation of the third embodiment, the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal includes at least one of optical signal intensity or LOS detection.

[0088] In a possible implementation of the third aspect, the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal is for waking up the first remote device, including the fact that the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal includes the optical signal intensity, where the optical signal intensity is represented as N bits, and the value of N bits is a first value, where the first optical signal is for waking up the first remote device, and N is a positive integer.

[0089] In a possible implementation of the third embodiment, the first optical signal is a periodic signal.

[0090] In a possible implementation of the third embodiment, the first remote device comprises at least two remote devices, the at least two remote devices being cascaded to the control device.

[0091] In a possible implementation of the third embodiment, the first remote device is one of at least two remote devices and is an intermediate device cascaded to a control device, and the transceiver unit is further configured to transmit a second optical signal to a second remote device via the first remote device, wherein the parameters corresponding to the second optical signal are for waking up the second remote device.

[0092] In a possible implementation of the third embodiment, after the processing unit determines that the first remote device is woken up, the transceiver unit transmits the second optical signal to the second remote device via the first remote device.

[0093] In a possible implementation of the third embodiment, the first remote device is one of at least two remote devices, which is an endpoint device cascaded to a control device, and the transceiver unit is specifically configured to transmit a first optical signal to the first remote device via the third remote device.

[0094] A fourth aspect of this application provides a communication device. The communication device may implement a method according to the second aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the second aspect. The communication device includes a corresponding unit or module configured to perform the method. The unit or module included in the communication device may be implemented using software and / or hardware. For example, the device may be a first remote device, the device may be a component within the first remote device (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system), or the device may be a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the first remote device.

[0095] The communication device includes a processing unit and a transceiver unit. The transceiver unit is configured to receive a first optical signal. The processing unit is configured to wake up a first remote device based on parameters corresponding to the first optical signal.

[0096] In a possible implementation of the fourth embodiment, the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal includes at least one of optical signal intensity or LOS detection.

[0097] In a possible implementation of the fourth embodiment, the first remote device is in an energy-saving mode, and P modules within the first remote device are powered off, where P is a positive integer, and the P modules include at least one of a first module configured to process radio signals, a second module configured to power the first module, a third module configured to transmit optical signals, and a fourth module configured to power the third module.

[0098] In a possible implementation of the fourth embodiment, the module configured to process radio signals includes at least one of a main central processing unit CPU, an intermediate frequency application integrated circuit (ASIC), or a radio frequency unit.

[0099] In a possible implementation of the fourth embodiment, the first remote device is in an energy-saving mode, Q modules in the first remote device are powered on, where Q is a positive integer, and the Q modules include at least one of a fifth module configured to receive an optical signal, a sixth module configured to power the fifth module, a seventh module configured to identify parameters corresponding to an optical signal, and an eighth module configured to power the seventh module.

[0100] In a possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the seventh module is integrated into the fifth module, or the seventh module is integrated into the eighth module.

[0101] In a possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal is for waking up the first remote device, including the fact that the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal includes the optical signal intensity, where the optical signal intensity is represented as N bits, and the value of N bits is a first value, where the first optical signal is for waking up the first remote device, and N is a positive integer.

[0102] In a possible implementation of the fourth embodiment, the first optical signal is a periodic signal.

[0103] In a possible implementation of the fourth embodiment, the first remote device comprises at least two remote devices, the at least two remote devices being cascaded to a control device.

[0104] In a possible implementation of the fourth embodiment, the first remote device is one of at least two remote devices and is an intermediate device cascaded to a control device, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive a second optical signal, the parameter corresponding to the second optical signal is for waking up the second remote device, and the transceiver unit is further configured to transmit the second optical signal to the second remote device.

[0105] In a possible implementation of the fourth embodiment, the transceiver unit transmits the second optical signal to the second remote device after the processing unit has woken up the first remote device.

[0106] In a possible implementation of the fourth embodiment, the first remote device is one of at least two remote devices, which is an endpoint device cascaded to a control device, and the transceiver unit is specifically configured to receive the first optical signal via the third remote device.

[0107] A fifth aspect of this application provides a communication device including at least one processor, the at least one processor being coupled to memory, the processor being configured to perform a method according to the first aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect.

[0108] For example, memory is configured to store a program or instructions. At least one processor is configured to execute a program or instructions, thereby the device implements a method according to the first embodiment or any one of the possible implementations of the first embodiment.

[0109] A sixth aspect of this application provides a communication device including at least one processor, the at least one processor being coupled to memory, the processor being configured to perform a method according to the second aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the second aspect.

[0110] For example, memory is configured to store a program or instructions. At least one processor is configured to execute a program or instructions, thereby the device implements a method according to a second embodiment or any one of the possible implementations of the second embodiment.

[0111] A seventh aspect of this application provides a communication device comprising at least one logic circuit and an input / output interface. The logic circuit is configured to perform a method according to the first aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect.

[0112] An eighth aspect of this application provides a communication device comprising at least one logic circuit and an input / output interface. The logic circuit is configured to perform a method according to the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0113] A ninth aspect of this application provides a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium is configured to store one or more computer-executable instructions. When a computer-executable instruction is executed by a processor, the processor performs a method according to the first aspect or one of the possible implementations of the first aspect, or the processor performs a method according to the second aspect or one of the possible implementations of the second aspect.

[0114] A tenth aspect of this application provides a computer program product (also referred to as a computer program). When the computer program product is executed by a processor, the processor performs a method according to the first aspect or one of possible implementations of the first aspect, or the processor performs a method according to the second aspect or one of possible implementations of the second aspect.

[0115] An eleventh aspect of this application provides a chip system, which includes at least one processor configured to support a communication device when implementing a function in any one of the first aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect, or configured to support a communication device when implementing a function in any one of the second aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the second aspect.

[0116] In possible designs, the chip system may further include memory. The memory is configured to store program instructions and data required by the communication device. The chip system may include a chip or a chip and other discrete components. Optionally, the chip system may further include interface circuits. The interface circuits provide program instructions and / or data to at least one processor.

[0117] A twelfth aspect of this application provides a communication system, the communication system comprising a communication device of the third aspect and a communication device of the fourth aspect, the communication system comprising a communication device of the fifth aspect and a communication device of the sixth aspect, or the communication system comprising a communication device of the seventh aspect and a communication device of the eighth aspect.

[0118] For the technical effects brought about by any one of the design methods from the third to the twelfth embodiment, please refer to the technical effects brought about by the first or second embodiment and the different design methods of the first or second embodiment. Further details are not described herein. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0119] [Figure 1] These are some diagrams illustrating application scenarios based on this application. [Figure 2] These are some diagrams illustrating application scenarios based on this application. [Figure 3] These are some diagrams illustrating application scenarios based on this application. [Figure 4]These are some diagrams illustrating application scenarios based on this application. [Figure 5] These are some diagrams illustrating application scenarios based on this application. [Figure 6] These are some diagrams illustrating application scenarios based on this application. [Figure 7] This is a diagram of the signal processing method according to this application. [Figure 8] These are some diagrams illustrating application scenarios based on this application. [Figure 9] These are some diagrams illustrating application scenarios based on this application. [Figure 10] These are some diagrams illustrating application scenarios based on this application. [Figure 11] These are some diagrams illustrating application scenarios based on this application. [Figure 12] These are some diagrams of the communication device according to this application. [Figure 13] These are some diagrams of the communication device according to this application. [Figure 14] These are some diagrams of the communication device according to this application. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0120] The following describes the technical solutions of this application with reference to the accompanying drawings. All other solutions obtained by those skilled in the art based on this application without creative effort shall fall within the scope of protection of this application.

[0121] To help those skilled in the art better understand, some terms used in this application are first explained and described.

[0122] (1) The terminal device may be a wireless terminal device capable of receiving scheduling and instruction information for network devices. The wireless terminal device may be a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to a user, a handheld device with wireless connectivity, or another processing device connected to a wireless modem.

[0123] Terminal devices can communicate with one or more core networks or the internet via a radio access network (RAN). Terminal devices are also sometimes referred to as terminals, user equipment (UE), mobile stations, or mobile terminals. Terminal devices can be widely used in a variety of scenarios, including device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grids, smart furniture, smart offices, smart wearables, smart transportation, smart cities, or satellite communications. Terminals may include mobile phones, tablet computers, computers with wireless receiver capabilities, wearable devices, vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles, helicopters, airplanes, hot air balloons, ships, robots, robotic arms, and smart home devices. The device form of the terminal is not limited to the embodiments of this application.

[0124] (2) A network device may be a device within a wireless network. For example, a network device may be a radio access network (RAN) node (or device) that connects terminal devices to a wireless network.

[0125] In some implementations, network devices may further include satellites, aircraft, and the like.

[0126] In addition, in other possible cases, the network device may be another device that provides wireless communication capabilities to the terminal device. The specific technologies and device forms used by the network device are not limited in this application. For the sake of clarity, this is not limited in this application.

[0127] Optionally, the network device may further include core network devices, such as an access and mobility management function (AMF), a user plane function (UPF), or a session management function (SMF).

[0128] In this application, a device configured to implement the functions of a network device may be a network device, or a device capable of supporting a network device when implementing its functions, such as a processor, circuit, chip, or chip system. The device may be installed in a network device or used in connection with a network device. In the technical solutions provided in this application, an example in which the device configured to implement the functions of a network device is a network device is used to illustrate the technical solutions provided in this application.

[0129] In this application, the device configured to implement the functions of a terminal device may be a terminal device, or a device capable of supporting a terminal device in implementing its functions, such as a processor, circuit, chip, or chip system. The device may be attached to a terminal device or used in combination with a terminal device. In the technical solutions provided in this application, an example in which the device configured to implement the functions of a terminal device is a terminal device is used to illustrate the technical solutions provided in this application.

[0130] (3) The terms “system” and “network” in this application may be used interchangeably. “At least one” means one or more, and “multiple” means two or more. “And / or” describes an association between related objects and indicates that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B may indicate that only A exists, both A and B exist, and only B exists, and A and B may be singular or plural. The letter “ / ” generally indicates an “or” relationship between related objects. “At least one of the following” or similar expressions indicate any combination of items, including singular items or any combination of multiple items. For example, “At least one of A, B, and C” includes A, B, C, AB, AC, BC, or ABC. In addition, unless otherwise specified, ordinal numbers such as “first” and “second” in this application are for distinguishing multiple subjects and not to limit the order, chronological order, priority, or importance of multiple subjects.

[0131] This application can be applied to a variety of possible communication systems. For example, it can be applied to long-term evolution (LTE) systems, new radio (NR) systems, open radio access networks (O-RAN or ORAN), cloud radio access networks (CRAN), or new radio vehicle to everything (NR V2X) systems. Alternatively, this application can be applied to systems having hybrid networking of multiple access technologies (e.g., LTE and 5G). Alternatively, this application can be applied to device-to-device (D2D) communication systems, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication systems, the Internet of Things (IoT), or unmanned aerial vehicle communication systems. Alternatively, this application can be applied to non-terrestrial communication systems, such as satellite communication systems or high-altitude communication platforms.

[0132] Figure 1 illustrates possible and non-limiting application scenarios of the present application. The solutions provided in the present application may be applied to the communication system 1000 shown in Figure 1. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system 1000 includes a radio access network (RAN) 100 and a core network 200. The RAN 100 may include at least one RAN device (e.g., 110a and 110b in Figure 1, collectively referred to as 110). The RAN 100 may further include at least one terminal (e.g., 120a to 120j in Figure 1, collectively referred to as 120). The terminals 120a to 120j are connected to the RAN device 110 wirelessly. The RAN 100 may further include other RAN devices such as wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices (not shown in Figure 1). The access network device 110 is connected to the core network 200 wirelessly or wired. Core network devices within a core network and access network devices within a wireless access network may be different physical devices, or they may be the same physical device integrating the logical functions of the core network and the wireless access network. This is not limited to these. Terminals may be connected to each other wirelessly. Access network devices may be connected to each other wired or wirelessly. Figure 1 is for illustrative purposes only. The communication system may further include other network devices, such as wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices (not shown in Figure 1).

[0133] For example, in Figure 1, RAN 100 may be configured as a cellular system related to the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP®). For example, RAN 100 may be configured as a 4th generation (4G) mobile communication system, a 5th generation (5G) mobile communication system, or a future-oriented evolutionary system (e.g., a 6G mobile communication system). Alternatively, RAN 100 may be an open radio access network (O-RAN or ORAN) or a cloud radio access network (CRAN). Alternatively, RAN 100 may be a communication system integrating two or more of the above systems.

[0134] RAN devices 110, sometimes referred to as RAN nodes, RAN entities, or access nodes, constitute part of a communication system and are configured to help terminals implement wireless access. Multiple RAN nodes 110 within the communication system 1000 may be nodes of the same category or nodes of different categories. In some scenarios, the roles of RAN nodes 110 and terminals 120 are relative. For example, network element 120i in Figure 1 may be a helicopter or unmanned aerial vehicle and may be configured as a mobile base station. In the case of terminal 120j accessing RAN 100 via network element 120i, network element 120i is a base station. However, in the case of base station 110a, network element 120i is a terminal. RAN nodes 110 and terminals 120 may also be referred to as communication devices. For example, network elements 110a and 110b in Figure 1 may be understood as communication devices with base station functionality, and network elements 120a-120j may be understood as communication devices with terminal functionality.

[0135] In possible scenarios, access network devices may include base stations, evolved NodeBs (eNodeBs), transmission reception points (TRPs), next-generation NodeBs (gNBs) in 5G mobile communication systems, next-generation NodeBs in 6th generation (6G) mobile communication systems, and access nodes within base stations in future mobile communication systems. Access network devices may also be macro base stations (e.g., 110a in Figure 1), micro base stations or indoor stations (e.g., 110b in Figure 1), relay nodes or donor nodes, or radio controllers in CRAN scenarios. Optionally, access network devices may also be servers, wearable devices, or in-vehicle devices. For example, in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology, an access network device may be a roadside unit (RSU). Multiple access network devices within a communication system may be base stations of the same category or base stations of different categories. A base station may communicate with a terminal directly, or it may communicate with a terminal via a relay station. A terminal can communicate with multiple base stations using different access technologies.

[0136] In another possible scenario, multiple RAN nodes cooperate to assist a terminal when performing radio access, and different RAN nodes implement some of the base station's functions separately. For example, a RAN node may be a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU control plane (CP), a CU user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU). CUs and DUs may be located separately or may be included in the same network element, for example, a baseband unit (BBU). An RU may be included in a radio device or radio frequency unit, for example, a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0137] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may have alternative names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, in an ORAN system, CU may be called O-CU (Open CU), DU may be called O-DU, CU-CP may be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP may be called O-CU-UP, and RU may be called O-RU. For ease of explanation, CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and RU are used as illustrative examples in this application. Any unit within a CU (or CU-CP or CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application may be implemented using a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of software and hardware modules. CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, and RU may implement different protocol layer functions.

[0138] Communication between access network devices and terminal devices may conform to a specific protocol layer structure. The protocol layer may include a control plane protocol layer and a user plane protocol layer. The control plane protocol layer may include at least one of the following: radio resource control (RRC) layer, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, radio link control (RLC) layer, medium access control (MAC) layer, and physical (PHY) layer. The user plane protocol layer may include at least one of the following: service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, PDCP layer, RLC layer, MAC layer, and physical layer.

[0139] In one implementation example, as shown in Figure 2, an access network device may include at least one CU and at least one DU. This design is sometimes referred to as CU isolation and DU isolation. One CU may be connected to one or more DUs. CUs and DUs may be obtained through separation based on the protocol layers of the wireless network. For example, the functions of the PDCP layer and the protocol layers above the PDCP layer (e.g., the RRC layer and the SDAP layer) are configured on the CU, and the functions of the protocol layers below the PDCP layer (e.g., the RLC layer, MAC layer, and PHY layer) are configured on the DU. In another example, the functions of the protocol layers above the PDCP layer are configured on the CU, and the functions of the PDCP layer and the protocol layers below the PDCP layer are configured on the DU. This is not limited to this. If the CU includes a CU-CP and a CU-UP, the CU-CP may be configured to implement the control plane functions of the CU, and the CU-UP may be configured to implement the user plane functions of the CU. For example, when a CU is configured to implement the functions of the PDCP layer, RRC layer, and SDAP layer, CU-CP is configured to implement the functions of the RRC layer and the control plane functions of the PDCP layer, and CU-UP is configured to implement the functions of the SDAP layer and the user plane functions of the PDCP layer. The names CU and DU are not limited in this application. For example, CU may be referred to as the first access network element, and DU may be referred to as the second access network element.

[0140] The division of CU and DU processing functions based on the protocol layer is merely an example. Alternatively, the division may be performed in a different manner. For example, a CU or DU may have more protocol layer functions through the division, or a CU or DU may have only some of the protocol layer processing functions through the division. For example, some of the RLC layer functions and the protocol layer functions above the RLC layer may be placed on the CU, and the remaining RLC layer functions and the protocol layer functions below the RLC layer may be placed on the DU. In another example, the functions of a CU or DU may be divided based on service category or other system requirements, for example, based on latency. Functions that need to meet low latency requirements for processing time may be placed on the DU, and functions that do not need to meet latency requirements for processing time may be placed on the CU.

[0141] The CU may be connected to the core network. Optionally, the CU may have some of the core network's functions.

[0142] Furthermore, some of the functions of the DU may be located elsewhere. As shown in Figure 2, some of the functions may be implemented by a radio unit (RU). The RU may have radio functionality. The name of the RU is not limited in this application. For example, the RU may be referred to as a third access network element. The DU and RU may be separated or divided in the PHY layer. For example, the DU may implement higher-layer functions of the PHY layer, and the RU may implement lower-layer functions of the PHY layer, or lower-layer functions and radio functionality. The higher-layer functions of the PHY layer include functions closer to the MAC layer, and the lower-layer functions of the PHY layer include functions closer to radio. For example, the higher-layer functions of the PHY layer include one or more of forward error correction (FEC) coding / decoding, scrambling, or modulation / demodulation. The lower-layer functions of the PHY layer include one or more of the following: fast Fourier transform (FFT) / inverse fast Fourier transform (iFFT) transformations, beamforming, and physical random access channel (PRACH) extraction and filtering. The RU may perform radio signaling communication with terminal devices via an air interface. The precoding functions of the PHY layer may be located in the DU or RU. There can be various possible schemes for dividing the DU and RU; this is not limited to these.

[0143] There is an interface between the DU and the RU. For example, depending on the partitioning scheme, the interface between the DU and the RU may be a common public radio interface (CPRI) interface or an enhanced common public radio interface (eCPRI) interface.

[0144] Figure 3 is a diagram of the architecture of an access network device. An access network device includes one or more functional modules configured to implement signal processing. As shown in Figure 3, physical layer functions are used as an example. An access network device includes one or more of the following functions: coding, rate matching, scrambling, modulation, layer mapping, precoding, resource element (RE) mapping, digital beamforming (BF), inverse fast fourier transform (IFFT) / cyclic prefix (CP) addition, decoding, derate matching, descrambling, demodulation, inverse discrete fourier transform (IDFT), channel equalization (or channel estimation), RE demapping, digital BF, fast fourier transform (FFT) / CP rejection, digital to analog (DA) conversion, analog BF, analog to digital (AD) conversion, or analog BF.

[0145] One or more functional modules may be implemented using software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. Physically, functional modules may be individual or integrated. It should be understood that the functional modules described above are merely examples. Depending on the design, an access network device may include more other modules (e.g., scheduling modules, power control modules, hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) modules, flow control modules, mobility management modules, or artificial intelligence (AI) modules) or may not include the functional modules shown in Figure 4 (e.g., not including the digital BF module). The access network device may further include a fronthaul (FH) interface between the DU and RU to implement communication between the DU and RU. The fronthaul interface may include, but is not limited to, a CPRI or eCPRI. In possible implementations, the DU is located in the BBU and the RU is located in the RRU / AAU / RRH, and the interface between the BBU and RRU / AAU / RRH may also be referred to as the fronthaul interface. To implement a fronthaul interface, the BBU and RRU / AAU / RRH may be connected via a fronthaul network, or the DU and RU may be connected via a fronthaul network. For example, the fronthaul network includes, but is not limited to, fiber direct connections and wavelength division networks.

[0146] An access network device can support one or more categories of fronthaul interfaces, and different fronthaul interfaces correspond to DUs and RUs, respectively, with different functions. As shown in Figure 4, when the fronthaul interface between the DU and RU is CPRI, the DU is configured to implement one or more baseband functions, and the RU is configured to implement one or more radio functions. When the fronthaul interface between the DU and RU is eCPRI, compared to CPRI, some of the downlink and / or uplink baseband functions are moved from the DU to the RU due to the implementation configuration. Different schemes for dividing the DU and RU correspond to different categories (category, abbreviated as Cat) of the eCPRI. Figure 3 shows examples of six eCPRIs represented by using Cat A, B, C, D, E, and F (which may be represented by Options A through F, Options 1 through 6, or another scheme). It can be understood that there may be yet another division scheme between the DU and RU, i.e., there may be yet another category of eCPRI.

[0147] eCPRI Cat A is used as an example. For downlink transmissions, splitting is performed by using layer mapping as the splitting point. The DU is configured to implement one or more functions within the layer mapping and functions prior to the layer mapping (i.e., one or more of coding, rate matching, scrambling, modulation, and layer mapping), as well as another function after the layer mapping has been moved to the RU for implementation purposes (e.g., RE mapping, digital BF, or IFFT / CP addition). For uplink transmissions, splitting is performed by using RE demapping as the splitting point. The DU is configured to implement one or more functions within the demapping and functions prior to the demapping (i.e., one or more of decoding, derate matching, descrambling, demodulation, IDFT, channel equalization, and RE demapping), as well as another function after the demapping has been moved to the RU for implementation purposes (e.g., one or more of digital BF or FFT / CP rejection).

[0148] Similarly, eCPRI Cat B, Cat C, Cat D, Cat E, and Cat F correspond to different methods of dividing the DU and RU, respectively. The division point and the functions before the division point are implemented by the DU, and the functions after the division point are implemented by the RU. See Figure 4 for the division points of the various categories of eCPRI. Details will not be explained one by one again. For example, in the case of eCPRI Cat B, RE mapping is used as the division point for downlink transmission, and RE demapping is used as the division point for uplink transmission. For uplink transmission, RE mapping and the functions before RE mapping are implemented by the DU, and the functions after RE mapping and radio functions are implemented by the RU. For downlink transmission, RE demapping and the functions before RE demapping are implemented by the DU, and the functions after RE demapping and radio functions are implemented by the RU.

[0149] The eCPRI segmentation scheme may be symmetric with respect to uplinks and downlinks, for example, eCPRI Cat B and Cat C shown in Figure 3. Alternatively, the eCPRI segmentation scheme may be asymmetric with respect to uplinks and downlinks, for example, eCPRI Cat A, Cat D, Cat E, and Cat F shown in Figure 3. This is not limited to these. Optionally, different segmentation schemes may be configured for uplinks and / or downlinks, i.e., different categories of eCPRI may be configured for different channels or different groups of channels. One group of channels may contain one or more channels.

[0150] In possible designs, the DU is located at the BBU, the RU is located at the RRU / AAU / RRH, and a processing unit configured to implement baseband functionality at the BBU is referred to as a baseband high (BBH) layer unit, while a processing unit configured to implement baseband functionality at the RRU / AAU / RRH is referred to as a baseband low (BBL) layer unit.

[0151] In recent years, energy conservation has become a major topic of discussion. For network devices (for example, a network device could be a RAN node in Figure 1 or 2, or a functional module in Figure 3), how to achieve energy conservation and emission reduction without significantly compromising the customer experience is a topic of discussion among equipment vendors and operators.

[0152] To implement energy conservation, network devices can enter an energy-saving mode (also known as deep sleep mode, sleep mode, low power consumption mode, or standby mode) based on control from a remote network management device. When entering an energy-saving mode, the network device shuts down some or all of its functions to implement energy conservation. The network management device is sometimes referred to as the control device. The following describes an example of the implementation process of an energy-saving mode when the network device is a distributed base station, using the scenarios shown in Figures 4 to 6.

[0153] As shown in Figure 4, a distributed base station includes a baseband unit (BBU as an example) and one or more radio modules (AAU / RRU as an example) connected to the baseband unit. The BBU and AAU / RRU may be connected to each other via an optical signal transmission link, for example, via optical fiber. In addition, the BBU and AAU / RRU may communicate with each other via optical modules (for example, the optical modules may be small form-factor pluggable (SFP) as shown in the figure). An optical module includes a submodule configured to transmit (TX) optical signals and a submodule configured to receive (RX) optical signals. In addition, an optical module may be further configured to perform optical-to-electrical conversion. For example, an optical module can convert an electrical signal from a processing module (e.g., a chip or processor) into an optical signal for transmission over an optical fiber. In another example, an optical module can convert an optical signal received from an optical fiber into an electrical signal for processing performed by a processing module.

[0154] In the case of a distributed base station as shown in Figure 4, when the BBU and AAU / RRU are connected to each other via optical fiber or another possible communication medium, the AAU / RRU may be referred to as a remote radio module, remote device, remote module, etc. If the BBU can control the AAU / RRU, the BBU may be referred to as a control device, control module, etc. Optionally, the control device for the AAU / RRU may be a third-party device, but is not limited to this. For example, the control device may be a separate control device located independently of the BBU and AAU / RRU. In embodiments of this application, the BBU and AAU / RRU are different hardware devices, software modules, or combinations of hardware devices and software modules located separately or in a distributed manner, and the actual distance between the BBU and AAU / RRU is not limited. For example, the BBU and AAU / RRU may be independent hardware devices connected via optical fiber, or the BBU and AAU / RRU may be different software modules that can be loaded onto the same device or group of the same devices, but is not limited to this.

[0155] Optionally, the BBU includes a main control board and a baseband board. The main control board is primarily configured to control and manage other boards in the system. In addition, the control board may further control and manage the baseband board and transmit service upstream to higher-layer device boards. The baseband board (also referred to as the baseband processing unit) primarily completes the baseband processing of signals (e.g., channel coding and decoding, or modulation and demodulation; see the relevant description in Figure 3 for details). In addition, the baseband board may further provide transmit management and interfaces, such as managing radio resources and providing clock signals.

[0156] A distributed base station, as shown in Figure 4, is used as an example. To implement energy saving, during periods of low traffic, the distributed base station is expected to enter an energy-saving mode (or deep sleep mode) to obtain a better energy efficiency gain.

[0157] A possible energy saving method for the remote device is shown in Figure 5. The radio service components (i.e., the radio components in Figure 5, intermediate frequency ASIC, etc.) are powered off, but the CPU and optical module within the remote device remain alive (i.e., they remain powered on or are not powered off). In Figure 5, the optical module is primarily configured to receive or transmit optical signals over the optical fiber. Since the communication link between the remote device and the BBU is in a keep-alive state, the BBU can wake up the remote device at any time by using messages. The main CPU within the remote device is primarily configured to manage and control the components or modules within the AAU / RRU, for example, it can control the operating state of each component, such as powering it off or powering it on. The intermediate frequency ASIC / radio component is primarily configured to complete the intermediate radio processing of the radio frequency unit.

[0158] As shown in Figure 5, when the base station enters energy-saving / sleep mode, the main control board and baseband board within the BBU, as well as the optical modules, power supply, and main CPU within the AAU / RRU, are all in power-consuming execution mode, maintaining the basic communication link between the AAU and the BBU. Service-related components / devices within the AAU / RRU (e.g., radio components and intermediate frequency ASICs in the figure) enter an energy-saving / power-off state. When a device needs to provide service again, the BBU wakes up the AAU / RRU using a message.

[0159] Another possible energy-saving method is shown in Figure 6. The timing of entering and exiting sleep mode is configured (or agreed upon). When entering sleep mode, the AAU / RRU enters energy-saving mode. When exiting sleep mode, the AAU / RRU is woken up.

[0160] As shown in Figure 6, the BBU determines a predetermined period for entering energy-saving / sleep mode, and transmits this period instruction to a remote device such as the AAU / RRU. At the start of the predetermined period, the main control board in the BBU, the auxiliary power supply in the AAU / RRU (configured to supply power to modules such as control units in energy-saving mode), and the control unit in the AAU / RRU (e.g., CPU) are all in power-consuming execution mode, while other components (e.g., optical modules, mains power supply, wireless components, and intermediate frequency ASICs in the AAU / RRU) enter a power-off state. During this energy-saving period, communication between the AAU / RRU and the BBU is not maintained because the optical modules are powered off; that is, the AAU / RRU and the BBU cannot communicate with each other. At the end of the predetermined period, the control unit in the AAU / RRU wakes up the device. In this case, the optical modules, mains power supply, wireless components, intermediate frequency ASICs, etc., are powered on.

[0161] However, several problems still exist with the energy-saving implementation processes described above. For example, in the energy-saving process shown in Figure 5, bidirectional communication capability between the BBU and the AAU (or between the BBU and the RRU) is maintained, standby power consumption remains high, and it is difficult for the device to enter a standby mode with extremely low power consumption levels (e.g., milliwatt levels). In another example, in the energy-saving process shown in Figure 6, the optical module is powered off, making it impossible to maintain basic communication between the AAU and the BBU, and the remote device AAU / RRU cannot wake up at any time to provide service.

[0162] To solve the above-mentioned problems, this application provides a communication method and associated device for waking up a remote device based on parameters corresponding to an optical signal, thereby reducing the overhead of the remote device analyzing the wake-up instruction. In addition, if the remote device does not continuously maintain a communication link for bidirectional communication between the remote device and the control device, the remote device can be woken up at any time, and as a result, the remote device in energy-saving mode can turn off the power to more components, which is expected to improve the energy-saving effect. The following description will be provided with reference to the attached drawings.

[0163] Figure 7 is a diagram of the communication method according to this application. This method includes the following steps.

[0164] S701: The control device transmits a first optical signal.

[0165] S702: The first remote device wakes up based on parameters corresponding to the first optical signal.

[0166] In possible implementations, the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal transmitted by the control device in step S701 include at least one of optical signal intensity or signal loss (LOS) detection.

[0167] It should be understood that optical signal intensity can refer to the optical signal power value. For example, optical signal intensity is used to wake up a first remote device when the power value of the first optical signal is a specific value (the optical signal power value is within a preset range). Specifically, if the specific value is 0 (or the preset range is greater than 0), optical signal intensity may alternatively be expressed as whether there is an optical signal, whether there is optical power, whether there is a flash, etc.

[0168] Optionally, when the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal includes the optical signal intensity, the wake-up of the first remote device may be triggered after the first remote device receives the first optical signal, when the first remote device determines that the value of the optical signal intensity of the first optical signal is a preset value (or within a preset range).

[0169] Optionally, when the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal includes LOS detection, the wake-up of the first remote device may be triggered after the first remote device receives the first optical signal, when the first remote device determines that an LOS signal is generated (or not generated) for the first optical signal.

[0170] In one implementation example, the LOS signal may be an LOS alarm signal that is determined to occur when a receiving end in a communication system does not receive a signal transmitted by a transmitting end. In other words, when a first remote device determines that it has not received an optical signal from a control device on the communication link between the first remote device and the control device, the first remote device determines that an LOS signal has occurred for the first optical signal, and as a result, the wake-up of the first remote device is triggered. When a first remote device determines that it has received an optical signal from a control device on the communication link between the first remote device and the control device, the first remote device determines that no LOS signal has occurred for the first optical signal, and as a result, the wake-up of the first remote device is triggered.

[0171] In another implementation example, the LOS signal may be an LOS alarm signal that is determined to occur when the power of an optical signal received by a receiving end in a communication system is continuously below a specified threshold within a predetermined duration (e.g., 5 microseconds (μs) or 10 μs). In other words, when the first remote device determines that the power of an optical signal received from a control device on the communication link between the first remote device and the control device is continuously below a predetermined threshold within a predetermined duration, the first remote device determines that an LOS signal has occurred for the first optical signal, and as a result, the wake-up of the first remote device is triggered. Alternatively, when the first remote device determines that the power of an optical signal received from a control device on the communication link between the first remote device and the control device is not continuously below a predetermined threshold within a predetermined duration, the first remote device determines that no LOS signal has occurred for the first optical signal, and as a result, the wake-up of the first remote device is triggered.

[0172] Optionally, when the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal include optical signal intensity and LOS detection, the wake-up of the first remote device may be triggered when the first remote device determines, after receiving the first optical signal, that the value of the optical signal intensity of the first optical signal is a preset value (or within a preset range) and that an LOS signal is generated (or not generated) for the first optical signal.

[0173] It should be noted that the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal may be implemented in alternative ways, in addition to the implementation forms described above. For example, the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal may include the magnitude of the optical signal energy, the duration of the continuous optical signal, or other parameters corresponding to the optical signal. This is not limited to the foregoing.

[0174] In possible implementations, if the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal includes the optical signal intensity, the optical signal intensity may be represented as N bits, where N is a positive integer, and if the value of N bits is a first value, the first optical signal is for waking up the first remote device. Therefore, when the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal includes the optical signal intensity, after the first remote device receives the first optical signal, the first remote device may decide to wake up the received first optical signal if it represents the received first optical signal as N bits and the value of N bits is a first value, and as a result, the first remote device is flexibly controlled to perform the corresponding behavior based on the value of N bits.

[0175] Optionally, if the value of N bits is a value other than the first value, the control device may instruct the first remote device to perform a different action based on the other value, for example, by instructing the first remote device to match clock information, by instructing the first remote device to transmit relevant information for one or more power supplies (e.g., operating voltage and operating current), or by performing a different implementation. This is not limited herein.

[0176] Optionally, N bits include at least two parts of the bit. For example, the first part of the bit may be represented as the N1 bit, and the second part of the bit may be represented as the N2 bit, where the N1 bit indicates the target remote device to be woken up (for example, the value of the N1 bit is the identifier or index number of the target remote device), and the N2 bit is for waking up the target remote device.

[0177] Optionally, when the value of N bits is the first value, N bits indicate that the first remote device should be woken up. When the value of N bits is the second value, N bits indicate that another remote device (for example, the second remote device described later) should be woken up.

[0178] Optionally, the first value is either a pre-configured value or a group of pre-configured values. When the first value is a group of pre-configured values, the group satisfies the condition that M bits out of N bits are 1 and the remaining NM bits are 0, where M is an integer less than or equal to N.

[0179] In possible implementations, the first optical signal is a periodic signal. Specifically, the first optical signal for waking up the first remote device may be a periodic signal, and the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal transmitted in each period indicates that the first remote device should be woken up, thereby allowing the first remote device to be woken up in each period, which is expected to improve the probability of the first remote device being woken up.

[0180] Based on the technical solution shown in Figure 7, when the first remote device is in energy-saving mode, the control device may, in step S701, transmit a first optical signal to the first remote device when the control device determines that the first remote device needs to be woken up, and the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal are for waking up the first remote device. In other words, after the first remote device receives the first optical signal, in step S702, the first remote device may wake up based on the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal. Therefore, compared to an implementation where the remote device analyzes the information carried by the optical signal and can only further determine the wake-up instruction based on the analysis results, in the above technical solution, the first remote device can be woken up based on the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal, and as a result, the overhead of the remote device analyzing the wake-up instruction can be reduced, and it is expected that the energy-saving effect will be improved.

[0181] In addition, in the above-described implementation where the first remote device is woken up based on parameters corresponding to the first optical signal, the first remote device may be woken up at any time when it is not continuously maintaining a communication link for bidirectional communication between the remote device and the control device. As a result, the first remote device, which is in energy-saving mode, can power off more components in order to further improve the energy-saving effect.

[0182] In this application, it should be understood that when a remote device (e.g., a first remote device, or a second or third remote device that may occur hereafter) is in an energy-saving mode, it means that some of the functional components within the remote device are powered off (or in a sleep state, low-power consumption state, standby state, etc.). Therefore, the energy-saving mode may be referred to as sleep mode, low-power consumption mode, standby mode, etc., and is not limited herein.

[0183] In this application, the remote device may be a network device having wireless signal processing capabilities, and the control device is a network device having the function of controlling the remote device. It should be understood that the remote device and the control device may have other names.

[0184] For example, a remote device is radio equipment (RE), and a control device is a radio equipment controller (REC).

[0185] In another example, the remote device is a remote radio unit (RRU), and the control device is a baseband unit (BBU).

[0186] In another example, the remote device is an active antenna unit (AAU), and the control device is a BBU.

[0187] In another example, the remote device is a radio unit (RU), and the control device is a distributed unit (DU).

[0188] In another example, the remote device is an RE / RRU / AAU / RU, and the control device is a remote control device. Remote control devices include, but are not limited to, remote network management devices, Operation and Maintenance Centers (OMCs), and base station control units.

[0189] In possible implementations, prior to step S701, the method further includes the first remote device receiving instruction information from a control device, which instructs the first remote device to enter energy-saving mode.

[0190] Optionally, the instruction information may further indicate other information, such as at least one of the following: the start time when the first remote device enters energy-saving mode, the end time when the first remote device enters energy-saving mode, and the duration for which the first remote device enters energy-saving mode.

[0191] Optionally, after the first remote device enters energy-saving mode based on instruction information (or after the first remote device has determined that it has entered energy-saving mode, after it has decided to enter energy-saving mode, or before it enters energy-saving mode), the first remote device may, by using a response, further send a response to the control device to indicate that the first remote device has entered (or is going to enter) energy-saving mode.

[0192] Optionally, the first remote device may decide to enter energy-saving mode by an alternative method. For example, the first remote device may decide to enter energy-saving mode for a specific period of time by a manual configuration method by maintenance personnel (or by pre-configuration before distribution).

[0193] In possible implementations, when the first remote device is in energy-saving mode, P modules within the first remote device are powered off, where P is a positive integer, and the P modules include at least one of the following: a first module configured to process radio signals, a second module configured to power the first module, a third module configured to transmit optical signals, and a fourth module configured to power the third module. Thus, when the first remote device is in energy-saving mode, P modules within the first remote device are powered off, and it is expected that as many components as possible will be powered off, improving the energy-saving effect. In addition, the P modules can be implemented by using at least one of the above to improve the flexibility of the implementation of the solution.

[0194] It can be understood that the process by which the first remote device wakes up the first remote device based on parameters corresponding to a first optical signal may also involve the first remote device waking up some or all of the P modules.

[0195] Optionally, both the second and fourth modules are power supply modules (also referred to as power supplies). The second and fourth modules may be the same module or different modules; this is not limited herein.

[0196] Optionally, a module configured to process radio signals includes at least one of the following: a central processing unit (CPU), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or a radio frequency unit.

[0197] Optionally, a module configured to process a radio signal may further include other components, for example, components configured to implement at least one function in coding, rate matching, scrambling, modulation, layer mapping, precoding, resource element (RE) mapping, digital beamforming (BF), inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT), cyclic prefix (CP) addition, analog BF, and digital-to-analog (DA) conversion; and in another example, components configured to implement at least one function in decoding, rate matching, descrambling, demodulation, inverse discrete Fourier transform (IDFT), channel equalization (or channel estimation), RE demapping, digital BF, fast Fourier transform (FFT), CP rejection, analog BF, and analog-to-digital (AD) conversion.

[0198] In a possible implementation, when the first remote device is in energy-saving mode, Q modules within the first remote device are powered on, where Q is a positive integer, and the Q modules include at least one of a fifth module configured to receive an optical signal, a sixth module configured to power the fifth module, a seventh module configured to identify parameters corresponding to the optical signal, and an eighth module configured to power the seventh module. Thus, when the first remote device is in energy-saving mode, Q modules within the first remote device are powered on, and the Q modules are for supporting the reception of an optical signal and for implementing wake-up at any time based on parameters corresponding to the optical signal. In addition, the Q modules may be implemented by using at least one of the above to improve the flexibility of the implementation of the solution. In this solution, the seventh module can wake up another module within the remote device. The wake-up method may be direct wake-up (e.g., a wake-up command is sent via a direct connection) or indirect wake-up (e.g., a wake-up command is transferred via a relay device, or the seventh module wakes up the ninth module first, and then the ninth module wakes up another module). This is not limited to these methods. The ninth module may be the first module or another independently located module. This is not limited to these methods.

[0199] Optionally, both the sixth and eighth modules are power supply modules (also referred to as power supplies). The sixth and eighth modules may be the same module or different modules; this is not limited herein.

[0200] Optionally, the seventh module is integrated with the fifth module (i.e., the fifth module is configured to receive optical signals and identify parameters corresponding to the optical signals), the seventh module is integrated with the sixth module, or the seventh module is integrated with the eighth module.

[0201] Optionally, the seventh module may be a module located independently of the fifth module, the sixth module, or the eighth module.

[0202] The following describes P modules and Q modules using an example that utilizes the implementation scenario shown in Figure 8.

[0203] In the example shown in Figure 8, it should be understood that the control device is a BBU and the first remote device is AAU 1 / RRU 1.

[0204] For the P modules within AAU 1 / RRU 1, the first module configured to process radio signals includes the main control unit CPU / hardware accelerate controller (HAC), intermediate frequency ASIC, radio frequency unit, etc., as shown in the figure; the second module configured to supply power to the first module includes part of the power supply (the shaded portion of the power supply shown in the figure); the third module configured to transmit optical signals is the SFP-TX shown in the figure; and the fourth module configured to supply power to the third module includes part of the power supply (the shaded portion of the power supply shown in the figure).

[0205] For the Q modules in AAU 1 / RRU 1, the fifth module configured to receive optical signals is the SFP-RX in the figure, the sixth module configured to power the fifth module is part of the power supply in the figure (the blank space in the power supply shown in the figure), the seventh module configured to identify parameters corresponding to the optical signals includes the MCU in the figure, and the eighth module configured to power the seventh module is part of the power supply in the figure (the blank space in the power supply shown in the figure).

[0206] Optionally, the example shown in Figure 8 uses a configuration in which power modules (including the second, fourth, sixth, and eighth modules) are integrated to provide a single power source. In actual application, any one of the power modules may be implemented using an independent power source, or any two or more of the power modules may be implemented in an integrated manner. This is not limited herein.

[0207] Multiple flexible implementations of the MCU are possible, at will. For example, in Figure 8, the MCU may be integrated into the optical module. In another example, in Figure 9, the MCU may be integrated into the power supply. In addition to the implementation examples shown in Figures 8 and 9, the MCU may alternatively be a module located independently of the optical module and power supply, or it may alternatively be integrated into the main CPU, or other implementations exist. This is not limited to this specification.

[0208] When the method shown in Figure 7 is applied to the scenario shown in Figure 8, the main control board in the BBU notifies the baseband board to instruct AAU 1 / RRU 1 and AAU 2 / RRU 2 to enter energy-saving mode. Upon receiving the instruction, AAU 1 / RRU 1 replies to the BBU with a response corresponding to the instruction, and AAU 1 / RRU 1 powers off all devices / components other than the power supply that powers the SFP-RX, MCU, and optical modules.

[0209] Optionally, after receiving a response message, the BBU powers off the baseband board. Optionally, modules configured to receive optical signals in the BBU may also be powered off.

[0210] The BBU may perform step S701 if the service needs to be provided. Specifically, the BBU powers on the baseband board and transmits the agreed optical signal (i.e., the first optical signal described above) through the baseband board to the SFP-RX. The parameters corresponding to the agreed optical signal are for waking up AAU 1 / RRU 1. The MCU in AAU 1 / RRU 1 receives the optical signal that satisfies the agreement and triggers a power-on in step S702 to exit the power-off / sleep / energy-saving state.

[0211] Optionally, the MCU in AAU 1 / RRU 1 receives an optical signal that satisfies the agreement. After the MCU triggers the power-on, the sequence for triggering the power-on of components such as the CPU / HAC, SFP-TX, intermediate frequency ASIC, and radio frequency unit is not limited. For example, after triggering the power-on, the MCU may sequentially send power-on trigger signals to components such as the CPU / HAC, SFP-TX, intermediate frequency ASIC, and radio frequency unit. In another example, after triggering the power-on, the MCU may send a power-on trigger signal to the CPU, which then sends power-on trigger signals to components such as the SFP-TX, intermediate frequency ASIC, and radio frequency unit.

[0212] In one implementation example, the parameter corresponding to the agreed optical signal may be the optical signal intensity. For example, in the example shown in Figure 8, the BBU controls the TX channel of this segment of the optical module to send an optical on / off signal, i.e., the agreed optical signal described above, in a specific sequence to wake up AAU 1 / RRU 1.

[0213] An example is used for illustration where the agreed optical signal is a 4-bit symbol (i.e., 4 bits instead of N bits to represent the first optical signal in the method described above). Assume that 1 represents the presence of light, 0 represents the absence of light (or vice versa), or that 1 represents the light intensity / power is greater than (or greater than) a first threshold, and 0 represents the light intensity / power is less than (or less than) a first threshold. Alternatively, this scheme can be described as follows: The optical signal may consist of four sub-periods, where the light intensity in each sub-period may be represented as 1 bit, the bit value being 0 or 1 based on the light intensity, and the four sub-periods may be represented as a total of 4 bits. The duration of all sub-periods may be the same or different; this is not limited. The agreed optical signal may take various possible forms. A 4-bit optical signal can have 16 values. Optionally, based on energy ratios, the 16 values ​​are: Class 0 {0000}; Class 1 {0001,0010,0100, and 1000}; Class 2 {0011,0101,0110,1001,1010,and 1100}; Class 3 {0111,1110,1011,and 1101};and Class 4 {1111} It can be classified into five classes, which can be represented as follows.

[0214] As explained above, when the value of N bits is the first value, N bits indicate that the first remote device should be woken up.

[0215] Optionally, when the first value is a certain value, "1010" is used as the wake-up signal among the 16 values ​​mentioned above. For example, if the BBU needs to wake up AAU 1 / RRU 1, the BBU sends an optical signal with the corresponding value "1010" to AAU 1 / RRU 1 via the optical module's Tx port. After receiving the optical signal via the optical module's Rx port, AAU 1 / RRU 1 distributes the optical signal to the MCU for processing. When the MCU learns that the value of the optical signal is "1010", the MCU triggers the wake-up of AAU 1 / RRU 1.

[0216] For example, if it is agreed that "1010" will be the wake-up signal, the optical power transmitted over the optical fiber can be represented as shown in Figure 10. That is, the wake-up signal may be determined depending on whether there is optical power corresponding to the signal in each preset period (for example, the preset period may be shown as time width (abbreviated as tw) in the figure). AAU 1 / RRU 1 reads the received optical power (shown as RX Power) of the optical module with a sampling period of less than tw seconds. Within the sampling period, if there is power, the record is 0, and if there is no power, the record is 1. AAU 1 / RRU 1 collects statistics for four consecutive seconds. If the on / off information of 0101 is identified, the device is woken up.

[0217] In particular, if it is agreed that "1111" is the wake-up signal, this device can be woken up as long as the remote device detects a specific duration of optical power on the optical fiber.

[0218] Optionally, when the BBU needs to wake up a remote device, the BBU transmits the aforementioned optical signals cyclically (or periodically) in the hope of increasing the probability that AAU 1 / RRU 1 will be woken up.

[0219] Optionally, the first value is a group of values. For example, in the five classes described above, the values ​​within a class may be used as optical signals to wake up AAU 1 / RRU 1. For example, the entirety of Class 2 is used as wake-up information. See the description above for the processing steps. In addition, for a wake-up information receiver, the execution of the five classes described above can be implemented using the processes shown in Table 1 below.

[0220] [Table 1]

[0221] Optionally, to improve the system's tolerance, a group of signals, such as Class 2 described above, can typically be used as a wake-up signal. In addition, to further improve robustness, a range from 35% to 65% (or another range including 50% corresponding to Class 2, e.g., 30% to 60%) can be considered Class 2. Statistically, in the case of 50%, even if the clock deviation between the peer end and the local end is quite large, the statistical deviation for whether optical power is present is not large, the interference prevention capability is strong, and the discriminability is high.

[0222] In one example of an implementation, the MCU may be located in a different position in the scenario shown in Figure 8. For example, in the scenario shown in Figure 9, the MCU may be integrated into the power supply.

[0223] In possible implementations, in any one of the technical solutions described above, the first remote device is comprised of at least two other remote devices, and at least two of these remote devices are cascaded to a control device. Specifically, the first remote device, which is woken up based on parameters corresponding to a first optical signal, is comprised of at least two other remote devices, and at least two of these remote devices are cascaded to a control device. As a result, the solution is not limited to direct connection scenarios and can be applied to cascaded connection scenarios (e.g., at least two remote devices and the control device are networked in a chain, star, or mesh network configuration).

[0224] In possible implementations, the first remote device is one of at least two remote devices and is an intermediate device cascaded to a control device, and the method further includes the control device transmitting a second optical signal to a second remote device via the first remote device, wherein the parameters corresponding to the second optical signal are for waking up the second remote device. Specifically, if the first remote device is one of at least two remote devices and is an intermediate device cascaded to a control device, the control device can further transmit a second optical signal to another remote device via the first remote device and wake up the other remote device based on the parameters corresponding to the second optical signal, thereby flexibly controlling different remote devices in a cascaded connection scenario.

[0225] In possible implementations, the transmission of a second optical signal by a control device to a second remote device via a first remote device includes the transmission of the second optical signal by the control device via the first remote device after it has determined that the first remote device has been woken up. Specifically, after it has determined that the first remote device has been woken up, the control device transmits the second optical signal to the second remote device via the first remote device, thereby allowing the first remote device to identify the second optical signal after being woken up and transmit the second optical signal to the second remote device when it determines that the receiver of the second optical signal indicates the second remote device. In other words, before the first remote device is woken up, the first remote device can be expected to further improve the energy-saving effect of the first remote device by powering off (or putting to sleep) the components corresponding to the communication link between the first remote device and the second remote device (and the components configured to identify the second optical signal).

[0226] Optionally, the process by which a control device transmits a second optical signal to a second remote device via a first remote device does not need to depend on waking up the first remote device. For example, when the first remote device is in energy-saving mode, the first remote device can keep the components corresponding to the communication link between the first and second remote devices (and components configured to identify the second optical signal) powered on, and support the transfer of the second optical signal before the first remote device is woken up, thereby allowing the control device to flexibly control the wake-up process of each remote device.

[0227] In possible implementations, the first remote device is one of at least two remote devices and is an endpoint device cascaded to the control device, and the control device transmitting the first optical signal to the first remote device includes the control device transmitting the first optical signal to the first remote device via a third remote device. Specifically, if the first remote device is one of at least two remote devices and is an endpoint device cascaded to the control device, the control device may transmit the first optical signal to the first remote device via another remote device (e.g., a third remote device), thereby allowing the control device to flexibly control the wake-up process of each remote device.

[0228] For example, in the scenario shown in Figure 11, the control device could be the BBU in the figure. For example, the first remote device could be AAU 1 / RRU 1 in the figure, and the third remote device could be another AAU / RRU or the switching device in the figure.

[0229] In Figure 11, in the implementation process for AAU 1 / RRU 1 entering energy-saving mode, the BBU sends an instruction to the interconnected switching device to enter energy-saving mode, after which the switching device may forward the instruction to AAU 1 / RRU 1 so that AAU 1 / RRU 1 enters energy-saving mode. In addition, when the BBU determines that AAU 1 / RRU 1 needs to be woken up, the BBU wakes up the switching device using the agreed-upon optical signal described above, and the switching device then forwards a wake-up signal to wake up the AAU / RRU device.

[0230] Optionally, as described above, the agreed optical signal received by the switching device may contain N bits. When N bits contain N1 and N2 bits, N1 indicates the target remote device to be woken up (for example, the value of N1 is the identifier or index number of the target remote device), and N2 is for waking up the target remote device. Therefore, in the scenario shown in Figure 11, after the switching device receives the optical signal from the BBU, if the switching device determines that the receiver of the optical signal is the switching device based on N1 in the N bits corresponding to the parameters of the optical signal, the switching device may wake up this device based on N1. If the switching device determines that the receiver of the optical signal is AAU 1 / RRU 1 based on N1 in the N bits corresponding to the parameters of the optical signal, the switching device may forward the optical signal to AAU 1 / RRU 1 so that AAU 1 / RRU 1 wakes up this device based on N1. For example, when the value of bit N1 is an agreed value or within the agreed range, the optical signal is for waking up the device. For different devices, such as a switching device and AAU 1 / RRU 1, the agreed value or range of agreed values ​​may be the same or different. This is not limited to these.

[0231] In particular, if the switching device is a physical optical splitting device, the switching device can directly transfer the BBU's wake-up signal to the interconnected AAU 1 / RRU 1.

[0232] From the implementation process described above, it can be seen that the technical solution provided in this application can solve the problem of needing to wake up a remote device at any given time simply by controlling parameters corresponding to the optical signal, without relying on the establishment of an optical transmission link in the data link layer and layers above the data link layer.

[0233] In some implementation processes, a thin control end (e.g., the MCU mentioned above) is introduced into the remote device AAU / RRU to complete control / processing functions during energy-saving periods. That is, after the remote device enters deep sleep mode, the power consumption of the remote device only needs to be sufficient to maintain power supply to the thin control end and the optical module RX (TX may be turned off). The thin control end can be understood as a control module that provides only a few / limited control or processing functions. Compared to a conventional control module CPU within the AAU / RRU, the thin control end can have a simpler design and lower energy consumption.

[0234] In some implementation processes, the remote device reserves only the RX channel of the optical module and one thin control unit for low-power consumption operation, while all other components / devices are energy-saving / powered off.

[0235] In some implementation processes, a control device transmits an optical signal (or optical signal intensity) over an optical fiber, and a remote device acquires the received optical power (RX channel) within the optical module. When the optical power meets certain conditions, the remote device is autonomously woken up by using a thin control end. In other words, it is agreed that a signal value or class of signal values ​​is the wake-up signal. Thus, the optical power signal transmitted over the optical fiber link is demodulated using a statistical acquisition method, and as a result, the system has strong noise immunity and accurate wake-up.

[0236] In some implementation processes, if a remote device has cascaded TOPOs, star TOPOs, and other TOPOs, higher-level devices can wake up lower-level devices level by level. Solutions are not limited by direct connection constraints and can be applied to scenarios such as networking in chain, star, or mesh network configurations.

[0237] To implement the functions in the method provided in this application, a device for performing the method may include a hardware structure and / or software module to implement the functions described above in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a combination of a hardware structure and a software module. Whether the functions described above are performed by using a hardware structure, a software module, or a combination of a hardware structure and a software module depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0238] Refer to Figure 12. This application provides a communication device 1200. The device 1200 includes a processing unit 1201 and a transceiver unit 1202.

[0239] In one implementation example, the communication device 1200 may implement the functions of the control device in the method described above, and thus can also realize the beneficial effects of the method described above. In this application, the communication device 1200 may be a control device, or it may be a software module, integrated circuit, element, etc., within the control device, for example, a chip. This is not limited. The following explanation will be provided by using an example in which the communication device 1200 is a control device.

[0240] Specifically, the processing unit 1201 is configured to determine a first optical signal, and the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal are for waking up a first remote device. The transceiver unit 1202 is configured to transmit the first optical signal to the first remote device.

[0241] In possible implementations, the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal includes at least one of the following: optical signal intensity or LOS detection.

[0242] In possible implementations, the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal is for waking up the first remote device if the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal includes the optical signal intensity, where the optical signal intensity is represented as N bits and the value of N bits is the first value, where the first optical signal is for waking up the first remote device, and N is a positive integer.

[0243] In possible implementations, the first optical signal is a periodic signal.

[0244] In possible implementations, the first remote device comprises at least two remote devices, and at least two remote devices are cascaded to a control device.

[0245] In a possible implementation, the first remote device is one of at least two remote devices and is an intermediate device cascaded to a control device, and the transceiver unit 1202 is further configured to transmit a second optical signal to a second remote device via the first remote device, the parameters corresponding to the second optical signal being for waking up the second remote device.

[0246] In a possible implementation, after the processing unit 1201 determines that the first remote device has been woken up, the transceiver unit 1202 transmits a second optical signal to the second remote device via the first remote device.

[0247] In a possible implementation, the first remote device is one of at least two remote devices and is an endpoint device cascaded to a control device, and the transceiver unit 1202 is specifically configured to transmit a first optical signal to the first remote device via a third remote device.

[0248] In another implementation example, the communication device 1200 may implement the functions of the first remote device in the method described above, and thus can also implement the beneficial effects of the method described above. In this application, the communication device 1200 may be the first remote device, or it may be a software module, integrated circuit, element, etc., such as a chip, within the first remote device. This is not limited to this. The following explanation will be provided by using an example in which the communication device 1200 is the first remote device.

[0249] Specifically, the transceiver unit 1202 is configured to receive a first optical signal. The processing unit 1201 is configured to wake up a first remote device based on parameters corresponding to the first optical signal.

[0250] In possible implementations, the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal includes at least one of the following: optical signal intensity or LOS detection.

[0251] In a possible implementation, the first remote device is in an energy-saving mode, and P modules within the first remote device are powered off, where P is a positive integer, and the P modules include at least one of the following: a first module configured to process radio signals, a second module configured to power the first module, a third module configured to transmit optical signals, and a fourth module configured to power the third module.

[0252] In possible implementations, a module configured to process radio signals includes at least one of the following: a main central processing unit (CPU), an intermediate frequency application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or a radio frequency unit.

[0253] In a possible implementation, the first remote device is in energy-saving mode, Q modules within the first remote device are powered on, where Q is a positive integer, and the Q modules include at least one of a fifth module configured to receive an optical signal, a sixth module configured to power the fifth module, a seventh module configured to identify parameters corresponding to the optical signal, and an eighth module configured to power the seventh module.

[0254] In possible implementations, the seventh module is integrated into the fifth module, or the seventh module is integrated into the eighth module.

[0255] In possible implementations, the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal is for waking up the first remote device if the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal includes the optical signal intensity, where the optical signal intensity is represented as N bits and the value of N bits is the first value, where the first optical signal is for waking up the first remote device, and N is a positive integer.

[0256] In possible implementations, the first optical signal is a periodic signal.

[0257] In possible implementations, the first remote device comprises at least two remote devices, and at least two remote devices are cascaded to a control device.

[0258] In a possible implementation, the first remote device is one of at least two remote devices and is an intermediate device cascaded to a control device, the transceiver unit 1202 is further configured to receive a second optical signal, the parameters corresponding to the second optical signal are for waking up the second remote device, and the transceiver unit 1202 is further configured to transmit the second optical signal to the second remote device.

[0259] In a possible implementation, after the processing unit 1201 wakes up the first remote device, the transceiver unit 1202 transmits a second optical signal to the second remote device.

[0260] In a possible implementation, the first remote device is one of at least two remote devices and is an endpoint device cascaded to a control device, and the transceiver unit 1202 is specifically configured to receive the first optical signal via the third remote device.

[0261] Please note that for details regarding the information execution process of the units within the communication device 1200, please refer to the description of the method described above in this application. Further details are not described herein.

[0262] Figure 13 is another diagram of the structure of the communication device 1300 according to this application. The communication device 1300 has at least a logic circuit 1301. The communication device 1300 may be a chip or an integrated circuit.

[0263] Optionally, the communication device further includes an input / output interface 1302.

[0264] The transceiver unit 1202 shown in Figure 12 may be a communication interface. The communication interface may also be the input / output interface 1302 shown in Figure 13, and the input / output interface 1302 may include an input interface and an output interface. Alternatively, the communication interface may be a transceiver circuit, and the transceiver circuit may include an input interface circuit and an output interface circuit.

[0265] Optionally, the logic circuit 1301 may be configured to determine a first optical signal, and the input / output interface 1302 may be configured to transmit the first optical signal, the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal being for waking up a first remote device. It should be understood that the logic circuit 1301 and the input / output interface 1302 may further perform other steps performed by the control device in any one of the above examples, thereby implementing corresponding beneficial effects. Further details are again not described herein.

[0266] Optionally, the input / output interface 1302 may be configured to receive a first optical signal, and the logic circuit 1301 may wake up the first remote device based on parameters corresponding to the first optical signal. It should be understood that the logic circuit 1301 and the input / output interface 1302 may further perform other steps performed by the first remote device in any one of the examples described above, thereby implementing corresponding beneficial effects. Further details are again not described herein.

[0267] In possible implementations, the processing unit 1201 shown in Figure 12 may be the logic circuit 1301 shown in Figure 13.

[0268] Optionally, the logic circuit 1301 may be a processing unit, and some or all of the functions of the processing unit may be implemented using software.

[0269] Optionally, the processing unit may include memory and a processor. The memory is configured to store computer programs, and the processor reads and executes computer programs stored in memory, and performs the corresponding processes and / or steps in any manner.

[0270] Optionally, the processing unit may consist only of a processor. Memory, configured to store computer programs, is located outside the processing unit, and the processor is connected to the memory via circuits / wires to read and execute the computer programs stored in the memory. The memory and processor may be integrated together or physically independent of each other.

[0271] Optionally, the processing unit may consist of one or more chips or one or more integrated circuits. For example, the processing unit may consist of one or more field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), system-on-a-chip (SoCs), central processing units (CPUs), network processors (NPs), digital signal processors (DSPs), microcontroller units (MCUs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), or other integrated chips, or any combination of the aforementioned chips or processors.

[0272] Figure 14 is a diagram of the structure of the communication device 1400 in the above-described example according to this application. Specifically, the communication device 1400 may be a communication device used as a control device or a first remote device in the above-described example. For the structure of the communication device, please refer to the structure shown in Figure 14.

[0273] The communication device 1400 includes at least one processor 1411 and at least one network interface 1414.

[0274] Furthermore, optionally, the communication device further includes at least one memory 1412, at least one transceiver 1413, and one or more antennas 1415. The processor 1411, memory 1412, transceiver 1413, and network interface 1414 are connected to each other, for example, via a bus. In this application, the connection may include various categories of interfaces, transmission lines, buses, etc., but is not limited thereto. The antennas 1415 are connected to the transceiver 1413. The network interface 1414 is configured to enable the communication device to communicate with another communication device via a communication link. For example, the network interface 1414 may include a network interface between the communication device and a core network device, for example, an S1 interface. The network interface may also include a network interface between the communication device and another communication device (for example, another network device or core network device), for example, an X2 or Xn interface.

[0275] Processor 1411 is primarily configured to process communication protocols and data, control the entire communication device, execute software programs, and process data from the software programs, for example, to support the communication device when performing actions in the implementation process described above. The communication device may include a baseband processor and a central processing unit. The baseband processor is primarily configured to process communication protocols and data. The central processing unit is primarily configured to control the entire terminal device, execute software programs, and process data from the software programs. Processor 1411 in Figure 14 may integrate the functions of a baseband processor and a central processing unit. Those skilled in the art will understand that the baseband processor and the central processing unit may, alternatively, be independent processors interconnected by using a technology such as a bus. Those skilled in the art will understand that a network device may include multiple baseband processors to adapt to different network standards, a network device may include multiple central processing units to enhance the processing power of the network device, and the components of the network device may be connected via various buses. The baseband processor may, alternatively, be represented as a baseband processing circuit or baseband processing chip. The central processing unit may, alternatively, be represented as a central processing circuit or central processing chip. The functions for processing communication protocols and communication data may be incorporated into the processor or stored in memory in the form of a software program, and the processor implements the baseband processing functions by executing the software program.

[0276] The memory is primarily configured to store software programs and data. Memory 1412 may exist independently or be connected to the processor 1411. Optionally, memory 1412 may be integrated with the processor 1411, for example, on a single chip. Memory 1412 can store program code for executing the technical solution of this application, and the processor 1411 controls the execution. Various categories of computer program code to be executed can also be considered drivers for the processor 1411.

[0277] Figure 14 shows only one memory and one processor. In actual network devices, there may be multiple processors and multiple memories. Memory is sometimes referred to as a storage medium, storage device, etc. Memory can be a storage element located on the same chip as the processor, i.e., an on-chip storage element, or a separate storage element. This is not limited to the present application.

[0278] The transceiver 1413 may be configured to support the reception or transmission of radio signals between a communication device and a terminal, and the transceiver 1413 may be connected to an antenna 1415. The transceiver 1413 includes a transmitter Tx and a receiver Rx. Specifically, one or more antennas 1415 can receive radio signals. The receiver Rx in the transceiver 1413 is configured to receive radio signals from the antenna, convert the radio signals into digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals, and provide the digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals to the processor 1411, which then further processes the digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals, for example, performing demodulation and decoding. In addition, the transmitter Tx in the transceiver 1413 is further configured to receive modulated digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals from the processor 1411, convert modulated digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals into radio signals, and transmit radio signals via one or more antennas 1415. Specifically, the receiver Rx can selectively perform single-level or multi-level downmixing and analog-to-digital conversion on the radio signal to acquire a digital baseband signal or a digital intermediate frequency signal. The sequence of downmixing and analog-to-digital conversion is adjustable. The transmitter Tx can selectively perform single-level or multi-level upmixing and digital-to-analog conversion on the modulated digital baseband signal or digital intermediate frequency signal to acquire a radio signal. The sequence of upmixing and digital-to-analog conversion is adjustable. Digital baseband signals and digital intermediate frequency signals may be collectively referred to as digital signals.

[0279] The transceiver 1413 may also be referred to as a transceiver unit, transceiver device, etc. Optionally, components configured to implement the receiving function within the transceiver unit may be considered as receiving units, and components configured to implement the transmitting function within the transceiver unit may be considered as transmitting units. That is, a transceiver unit includes both a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. The receiving unit may also be referred to as a receiver, input port, receiving circuit, etc. The transmitting unit may also be referred to as a transmitter, transmitting circuit, etc.

[0280] It should be noted that the communication device 1400 shown in Figure 14 may be specifically configured to implement the steps implemented by the control device or the first remote device in the method described above, and to implement the technical effects corresponding to the control device or the first remote device. For specific implementation forms of the communication device 1400 shown in Figure 14, please refer to the description in the method described above. Details will not be described one by one again in this specification.

[0281] The modularization in this application is merely an example and represents only a logical functional division; other divisions are possible in actual implementations. In addition, the functional modules in this application may be integrated into a single processor, exist physically independently, or consist of two or more modules integrated into a single module. The integrated modules may be implemented in hardware form or in the form of software functional modules.

[0282] All or part of the technical solutions provided in this application can be implemented by using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When software is used to implement the technical solution, all or part of the technical solution can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the procedures or functions according to this application are generated. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a dedicated computer, a computer network, a network device, a terminal device, or another programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted in a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, or digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, or microwave) manner from a website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center. The computer-readable storage medium can be any usable medium accessible by a computer or a data storage device, such as a server or a data center integrating one or more usable media. The usable media may be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., digital video disc (DVD)), a semiconductor medium, etc.

[0283] In this application, cross-references can be made between examples without logical contradiction. For example, cross-references can be made between methods and / or terms in an example of a method, cross-references can be made between functions and / or terms in an example of a device, and cross-references can be made between functions and / or terms in an example of a device and an example of a method.

[0284] It is clear that those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to this application without departing from the scope of this application. This application intends to cover these modifications and variations of this application on the condition that these modifications and variations of this application fall within the scope of the claims of this application and the scope of their equivalent technologies.

Explanation of Reference Signs

[0285] 100 RAN 110 RAN device, RAN node 110a Base station, network element 110b Network element 120 Terminal, network element 120a~120j Terminal, network element 200 Core network 300 Internet 1000 Communication system 1200 Communication device 1201 Processing unit 1202 Transceiver unit 1300 Communication device 1301 Logic circuit 1302 Input / output interface 1400 Communication device 1411 Processor 1412 Memory 1413 Transceiver 1414 Network interface 1415 Antenna

Claims

1. A step of transmitting a first optical signal by a control device, wherein the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal is for waking up a first remote device. Includes, The parameters corresponding to the first optical signal include the optical signal intensity. A method of communication, The parameter corresponding to the first optical signal is for waking up the first remote device. A communication method wherein the optical signal intensity is represented as 4 bits, and when the 4-bit value representing one of five classes is a first value, the first optical signal is for waking up the first remote device.

2. The communication method according to claim 1, wherein the first optical signal is a periodic signal.

3. The communication method according to claim 1, wherein the first remote device comprises at least two remote devices, and the at least two remote devices are cascaded to the control device.

4. The first remote device is one of the at least two remote devices and is an intermediate device cascaded to the control device, and the communication method is The control device transmits a second optical signal to a second remote device via the first remote device, wherein the parameter corresponding to the second optical signal is for waking up the second remote device. Further including, The communication method according to claim 3.

5. The step of transmitting a second optical signal to a second remote device via the first remote device is: The control device includes the step of transmitting the second optical signal to the second remote device via the first remote device after determining that the first remote device has been woken up. The communication method according to claim 4.

6. The steps of receiving a first optical signal by a first remote device, A step in which the first remote device wakes up based on a parameter corresponding to the first optical signal, wherein the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal is Steps including optical signal intensity, A communication method including, A communication method wherein the optical signal intensity is represented as 4 bits, and when the 4-bit value representing one of five classes is a first value, the first optical signal is for waking up the first remote device.

7. The first remote device is in energy-saving mode, and P modules within the first remote device are powered off, where P is a positive integer. The P modules mentioned above are A first module configured to process wireless signals, A second module configured to supply power to the first module, A third module configured to transmit optical signals, A fourth module configured to supply power to the third module, including at least one of the following: The communication method according to claim 6.

8. The first remote device is in energy-saving mode, and Q modules within the first remote device are powered on, where Q is a positive integer. The aforementioned Q modules are A fifth module configured to receive optical signals, A sixth module configured to supply power to the fifth module, A seventh module configured to identify parameters corresponding to the aforementioned optical signal, An eighth module configured to supply power to the seventh module, including at least one of the following: The communication method according to claim 6.

9. The seventh module is integrated into the fifth module, or The aforementioned module 7 is integrated into the aforementioned module 8. The communication method according to claim 8.

10. The communication method according to claim 6, wherein the first optical signal is a periodic signal.

11. The communication method according to claim 6, wherein the first remote device comprises at least two remote devices, and the at least two remote devices are cascaded to a control device.

12. The first remote device is one of the at least two remote devices and is an intermediate device cascaded to the control device, and the communication method is The first remote device receives a second optical signal, wherein the parameter corresponding to the second optical signal is for waking up the second remote device. The first remote device transmits the second optical signal to the second remote device, The communication method according to claim 11, further comprising:

13. The step of transmitting the second optical signal to the second remote device is: The first remote device wakes up, and the first remote device transmits the second optical signal to the second remote device, The communication method according to claim 12.

14. A communication device comprising a unit configured to perform the communication method described in any one of Claims 1 to 5.

15. A communication device comprising at least one processor and memory, wherein the at least one processor is coupled to the memory and the processor is configured to perform the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

16. A communication device comprising a unit configured to perform the communication method described in any one of claims 6 to 13.

17. A communication device comprising at least one processor and memory, wherein the at least one processor is coupled to the memory and the processor is configured to perform the communication method according to any one of claims 6 to 13.

18. A communication system comprising a communication device configured to perform the communication method described in any one of claims 1 to 5, and a communication device configured to perform the communication method described in any one of claims 6 to 13.

19. A computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores instructions, and when the instructions are executed by a computer, the communication method described in any one of claims 1 to 13 is implemented on the computer-readable storage medium.

20. A computer program that includes instructions, and when the instructions are executed on a computer, enables the computer to perform the communication method described in any one of claims 1 to 13.

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