Communication method and related apparatus

Abstract

A communication method and a related apparatus, which relate to the technical field of communications. The method comprises: when a first trigger condition is met, generating first information, wherein the first information comprises at least one of an identifier of a first host node, and a first interface identifier allocated by the first host node to a mobile termination (MT) of a relay node. In the method, a trigger condition for generating (or sending) first information required for a transport migration management process is clearly provided, and when the trigger condition is met, a first host node can generate (or send) the first information in a timely manner, such that a CU connected to a DU of a relay node can receive, in a timely manner and within a correct time period, the first information, which is required for initiating the transport migration management process, thereby successfully establishing cross-topology flow transport, and ensuring the smooth completion of a cross-topology communication service.

Description

Communication method and related device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on June 16, 2023, with application number 202310726997.8 and application name “Communication Methods and Related Devices”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and related devices. Background Art

[0003] Compared to the fourth-generation mobile communication system, the fifth-generation (5G) and future mobile communication systems impose even more stringent requirements on various network performance indicators. For example, 5G boasts a 1,000-fold increase in capacity compared to 4G, requiring wider coverage, ultra-high reliability, and ultra-low latency. Given the abundance of high-frequency carrier frequency resources, the use of high-frequency small cell networks is becoming increasingly popular in hotspots to meet the ultra-high capacity requirements of 5G. Due to the poor propagation characteristics of high-frequency carriers, severe attenuation due to obstruction, and limited coverage, a large number of small cells need to be deployed densely. However, providing fiber backhaul for these densely deployed small cells is costly and difficult to implement, necessitating the need for economical and convenient backhaul solutions. Furthermore, to meet the need for wide coverage, fiber deployment is challenging and expensive in remote areas, necessitating the design of flexible and convenient access and backhaul solutions. Integrated access and backhaul (IAB) technology provides a solution to the above two problems: its access link (access link) and backhaul link (backhaul link, BL) both adopt wireless transmission solutions, reducing the deployment of optical fibers.

[0004] In an IAB network, a relay node (RN), also known as an IAB node, provides wireless access services and forwards service data for user equipment (UE). The UE's service data is transmitted by the IAB node via a wireless backhaul link to an IAB donor, also known as a donor node or donor gNodeB (DgNB). An IAB node consists of a mobile termination (MT) and a distributed unit (DU). When facing its parent node, the IAB node acts as a terminal device, i.e., the MT. When facing its child node (which may be another IAB node or a UE), it is considered a network device, i.e., the DU. A donor base station (DgNB) can be an access network element with full base station functionality, or an access network element with a separate centralized unit (CU) and distributed unit (DU). The host base station is connected to the core network element (e.g., connected to the 5G core network) serving the UE and provides wireless backhaul functionality for the IAB node.

[0005] In an IAB network, DU migration and MT migration are completely decoupled between IAB nodes. When the CU connected to the MT of an IAB node differs from the CU connected to the DU, the CU connected to the DU initiates the IAB transport migration management process with the CU connected to the MT to establish cross-topology traffic transmission. However, because the IAB node fails to receive the information required to initiate the IAB transport migration management process at the correct time, cross-topology traffic transmission between the IAB and DU connected CUs cannot be established.

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] The embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and related apparatus, so that an IAB node can receive the information required to initiate an IAB TRANSPORT MIGRATION MANAGEMENT process at the correct time, thereby ensuring that the CU connected to the IAB-DU can successfully establish cross-topology traffic transmission.

[0008] In the present invention, the CU (or host) to which the MT is connected and the CU (or host) to which the DU is connected refer to logical connections, not physical direct connections. For example, the MT has an RRC connection with the CU to which it is connected, and the DU has an F1 interface connection with the CU to which it is connected. Furthermore, the logical connection may be in a state of being established (for example, the DU has determined to establish an F1 connection with a certain CU, but the F1 interface has not yet been established and is about to initiate the establishment of the F1 interface) or in an established state (for example, the DU has already established an F1 interface with the CU to which it is connected).

[0009] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be performed by a communication device. The communication device can be a device, or a chip (system) or circuit for a device, which is not limited in this application. The method is applied to a first host node, including:

[0010] When a first trigger condition is met, generating first information, the first information including at least one of an identifier of the first host node and a first interface identifier allocated by the first host node to a mobile terminal MT of the relay node;

[0011] The first trigger condition includes at least one of the following:

[0012] Receive second information from the relay node, where the second information is used to request the first information; or receive third information, where the third information is used to indicate that the authorization of the relay node has been passed; or receive fourth information from the relay node, where the fourth information is used to indicate that the relay node has joined the network; or receive fifth information, where the fifth information is used to instruct the MT of the relay node to switch from the second host node to the first host node.

[0013] In an embodiment of the present application, a communication method is provided, in which the first host node generates first information when the first trigger condition is met, so that when the first trigger condition is met, the relay node can receive the first information required to initiate the TRANSPORT MIGRATION MANAGEMENT process, thereby ensuring that the host node connected to the DU of the relay node can initiate the TRANSPORT MIGRATION MANAGEMENT process to the first host node and successfully establish cross-topology traffic transmission.

[0014] In the embodiments of the present application, the first host node may be a device equipped with a processor / chip capable of executing computer-executable instructions, or may be a processor / chip capable of executing computer-executable instructions. In the embodiments of the present application, the first host node is connected to the MT of the relay node. When the communication method in the embodiments of the present application is applied to an IAB network, the relay node may be an IAB node, and the first host node may be connected to the MT of the IAB node.

[0015] The relay node in the embodiment of the present application may be a device equipped with a processor / chip that can be used to execute computer-executable instructions, or may be a processor / chip that can be used to execute computer-executable instructions. The relay node in the embodiment of the present application includes a terminal-side part facing the parent node and a network-side part facing the child node, for example, it may include MT and DU, or it may include MT and gNB, and the embodiment of the present application does not limit this. Among them, the DU migration and MT migration of the relay node are completely decoupled, so the host node connected to the MT of the relay node and the host node connected to the DU may be different. The MT of the relay node is connected to the first host node, and the DU of the relay node is connected to the third host node. When the communication method in the embodiment of the present application is applied to the IAB network, the relay node may be an IAB node, the MT of the IAB node is connected to the first host node, and the DU of the IAB node is connected to the third host node.

[0016] The second host node in the embodiment of the present application may be a device equipped with a processor / chip that can be used to execute computer-executable instructions, or may be a processor / chip that can be used to execute computer-executable instructions. The second host node in the embodiment of the present application is the source CU corresponding to the MT of the relay node. It is understood that the MT of the relay node is migrated from the second host node to the first host node. When the communication method in the embodiment of the present application is applied to an IAB network, the relay node may be an IAB node, and the second host node may be the source CU corresponding to the MT of the IAB node. It is understood that the MT of the IAB node is migrated from the second host node to the first host node.

[0017] The third host node in the embodiment of the present application can be a device equipped with a processor / chip that can be used to execute computer-executable instructions, or a processor / chip that can be used to execute computer-executable instructions. The third host node in the embodiment of the present application is connected to the DU of the relay node. When the communication method in the embodiment of the present application is applied to an IAB network, the relay node can be an IAB node, and the third host node can be connected to the DU of the IAB node.

[0018] In the embodiment of the present application, the first information includes at least one of an identifier of the first host node and a first interface identifier allocated by the first host node to the MT of the relay node. The first interface identifier is used to identify the MT of the relay node and can specifically be an Xn interface identifier (UE XnAP ID) or an NG interface identifier (UE NGAP ID), which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0019] The first trigger condition in the embodiment of the present application includes but is not limited to: the first host node receives second information from the relay node, where the second information is used to request the first information; or, the first host node receives third information, where the third information is used to indicate that the authorization of the relay node has been passed; or, the first host node receives fourth information from the relay node, where the fourth information is used to indicate that the relay node has joined the network; or, the first host node receives fifth information, where the fifth information is used to instruct the MT of the relay node to switch from the second host node to the first host node.

[0020] Among them, the above-mentioned second information can be carried in a radio resource control (RRC) message, such as Msg5 or IABOtherInformation. The third information received by the first host node can come from the access and mobility management function (AMF) or from the second host node, and the embodiment of the present application does not limit this. The above-mentioned fifth information can be information that the MT of the relay node requests to switch from the second host node to the first host node, or it can be switching completion information after the MT of the relay node completes switching from the second host node to the first host node, and the embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

[0021] It is understood that when the first trigger condition is met, the first host node generates the first information. In this case, the first trigger condition can be understood as a condition that triggers the first host node to generate the first information. Optionally, when the first trigger condition is met, the first host node also sends the first information. In this case, the first trigger condition can be understood as a condition that triggers the first host node to generate and send the first information.

[0022] Currently, DU migration and MT migration on relay nodes are completely decoupled. Therefore, when the host node of a relay node's MT connection is different from the host node of the DU connection, the CU connected to the DU is required to initiate the relay node's transport migration management process to the CU connected to the MT to establish cross-topology traffic transmission. However, because the relay node cannot receive the information required to initiate the transport migration management process at the correct time, the CU connected to the relay node's DU connection cannot establish cross-topology traffic transmission, which in turn causes cross-topology communication services to fail. For example, the CU connected to the DU of the relay node has cross-topology communication service requirements and needs to establish cross-topology traffic transmission to the CU connected to the MT of the relay node at the first moment. However, the CU connected to the MT of the relay node does not know when to send the information required to initiate the transmission migration management process to the MT of the relay node. For example, the information required to initiate the transmission migration management process is sent to the MT of the relay node at the second moment after the first moment. This will result in the CU connected to the DU of the relay node failing to receive the information required to initiate the transmission migration management process in time at the correct time, resulting in the CU connected to the DU of the relay node being unable to establish cross-topology traffic transmission.

[0023] In the embodiment of the present application, a first trigger condition for generating (or generating and sending) the first information required for the transmission migration management process is clearly given. When the above first trigger condition is met, the first host node can generate (or generate and send) the first information in a timely manner, so that the CU connected to the DU of the relay node can receive the first information required to initiate the transmission migration management process in a timely manner within the correct time, thereby successfully establishing cross-topology traffic transmission and ensuring the smooth completion of cross-topology communication services. The "generate" in the embodiment of the present application can also be equivalently expressed as "allocate".

[0024] In a possible implementation, the second information includes an identifier of a third host node and / or an identifier of the relay node, the third host node is connected to the distributed unit DU of the relay node, and the third host node is different from the first host node.

[0025] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of the second information is provided, specifically, the second information includes an identifier of a third host node and / or an identifier of a relay node, the third host node is connected to the DU of the relay node, and the third host node is different from the first host node, that is, the CU to which the MT of the relay node is connected is different from the CU to which the DU is connected. It is understandable that the first host node can determine whether the third host node and the first host node are the same host node based on the identifier of the third host node. If not, it is considered that cross-topology traffic transmission needs to be established subsequently.

[0026] Optionally, the identifier of the third donor node may be a gNB ID and / or an IP address; the identifier of the relay node may be a gNB-DU ID and / or an IP address, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0027] In a possible implementation manner, when the relay node is authorized, the first information further includes backhaul link configuration information.

[0028] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of the first information is provided. Specifically, when the authorization of the relay node has been approved, the first information generated by the first host node also includes backhaul link configuration information, which is used to establish a backhaul link for communication. It is understandable that for the MT network access scenario of the relay node, when the authorization of the relay node has been approved, the first information may also include backhaul link configuration information. For the DU migration scenario of the relay node, the backhaul link configuration information in the first information is optional, because the backhaul link is always located in the topology of the first host node, and the backhaul link configuration can directly reuse the configuration of the source DU.

[0029] Optionally, the backhaul link configuration information includes but is not limited to at least one of a default backhaul radio link control channel (default BH RLC CH), a default routing identifier (default routing ID), and a backhaul link adaptation layer protocol address (BAP address).

[0030] In a possible implementation manner, the first information further includes an identifier of the relay node.

[0031] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of the first information is provided. Specifically, in a scenario where a first host node generates the first information and sends the first information to a third host node, the first information may further include an identifier of a relay node. It is understood that the third host node may determine that the relay node is an authorized node based on the identifier of the relay node included in the first information and the first interface identifier allocated by the first host node to the MT of the relay node, thereby allowing the establishment of an F1 interface with the relay node and performing relevant F1 interface configuration.

[0032] Optionally, the identifier of the relay node may be a gNB-DU ID and / or an IP address, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0033] In addition, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication method, which can be performed by a communication device. The communication device can be a device, or a chip (system) or circuit for a device, which is not limited in this application. The method is applied to a first host node and includes:

[0034] If and only if it is determined that the authorization of the relay node has been passed, generating first information, the first information including backhaul link configuration information;

[0035] The step of determining that the relay node has been authorized includes: receiving third information, wherein the third information is used to indicate that the relay node has been authorized. Optionally, the third information may come from an access and mobility management function (AMF), for example, carried in a UE initial context setup request message INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST or a UE context modification request message UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST; or may come from a second host node, for example, carried in a HANDOVER REQUEST message, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0036] Regarding the technical effects brought about by the communication method of the embodiment of the present application, please refer to the introduction of the technical effects corresponding to the first aspect and the corresponding implementation methods.

[0037] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be performed by a communication device. The communication device can be a device, or a chip (system) or circuit for a device, which is not limited in this application. The method is applied to a first host node, including:

[0038] When the second trigger condition is met, sending first information, where the first information includes at least one of an identifier of the first host node and a first interface identifier allocated by the first host node to a mobile terminal MT of the relay node;

[0039] The second trigger condition includes at least one of the following:

[0040] Receive second information from the relay node, where the second information is used to request the first information; or receive third information, where the third information is used to indicate that the authorization of the relay node has been passed; or receive fourth information from the relay node, where the fourth information is used to indicate that the relay node has joined the network; or receive fifth information, where the fifth information is used to instruct the MT of the relay node to switch from the second host node to the first host node.

[0041] In an embodiment of the present application, a communication method is provided, in which the first host node sends the first information when the second trigger condition is met, so that when the second trigger condition is met, the relay node can receive the first information required to initiate the TRANSPORT MIGRATION MANAGEMENT process, thereby ensuring that the host node connected to the DU of the relay node can initiate the TRANSPORT MIGRATION MANAGEMENT process to the first host node and successfully establish cross-topology traffic transmission.

[0042] In the embodiments of the present application, the first host node may be a device equipped with a processor / chip capable of executing computer-executable instructions, or may be a processor / chip capable of executing computer-executable instructions. In the embodiments of the present application, the first host node is connected to the MT of the relay node. When the communication method in the embodiments of the present application is applied to an IAB network, the relay node may be an IAB node, and the first host node may be connected to the MT of the IAB node.

[0043] The relay node in the embodiment of the present application may be a device equipped with a processor / chip that can be used to execute computer-executable instructions, or may be a processor / chip that can be used to execute computer-executable instructions. The relay node in the embodiment of the present application includes a terminal-side part facing the parent node and a network-side part facing the child node, for example, it may include MT and DU, or it may include MT and gNB, and the embodiment of the present application does not limit this. Among them, the DU migration and MT migration of the relay node are completely decoupled, so the host node connected to the MT of the relay node and the host node connected to the DU may be different. The MT of the relay node is connected to the first host node, and the DU of the relay node is connected to the third host node. When the communication method in the embodiment of the present application is applied to the IAB network, the relay node may be an IAB node, the MT of the IAB node is connected to the first host node, and the DU of the IAB node is connected to the third host node.

[0044] The second host node in the embodiment of the present application may be a device equipped with a processor / chip that can be used to execute computer-executable instructions, or may be a processor / chip that can be used to execute computer-executable instructions. The second host node in the embodiment of the present application is the source CU corresponding to the MT of the relay node. It is understood that the MT of the relay node is migrated from the second host node to the first host node. When the communication method in the embodiment of the present application is applied to an IAB network, the relay node may be an IAB node, and the second host node may be the source CU corresponding to the MT of the IAB node. It is understood that the MT of the IAB node is migrated from the second host node to the first host node.

[0045] The third host node in the embodiment of the present application can be a device equipped with a processor / chip that can be used to execute computer-executable instructions, or a processor / chip that can be used to execute computer-executable instructions. The third host node in the embodiment of the present application is connected to the DU of the relay node. When the communication method in the embodiment of the present application is applied to an IAB network, the relay node can be an IAB node, and the third host node can be connected to the DU of the IAB node.

[0046] In the embodiment of the present application, the first information includes at least one of an identifier of the first host node and a first interface identifier allocated by the first host node to the MT of the relay node. The first interface identifier is used to identify the MT of the relay node and can specifically be an Xn interface identifier (UE XnAP ID) or an NG interface identifier (UE NGAP ID), which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0047] The second trigger condition in the embodiment of the present application includes but is not limited to: the first host node receives second information from the relay node, the second information is used to request the first information; or, the first host node receives third information, the third information is used to indicate that the authorization of the relay node has been passed; or, the first host node receives fourth information from the relay node, the fourth information is used to indicate that the relay node has joined the network; or, the first host node receives fifth information, the fifth information is used to instruct the MT of the relay node to switch from the second host node to the first host node.

[0048] Among them, the above-mentioned second information can be carried in a radio resource control (RRC) message, such as Msg5 or IABOtherInformation. The third information received by the first host node can come from the AMF or from the second host node, and the embodiment of the present application does not limit this. The above-mentioned fifth information can be information that the MT of the relay node requests to switch from the second host node to the first host node, or it can be switching completion information after the MT of the relay node completes switching from the second host node to the first host node. The embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

[0049] It is understandable that when the second trigger condition is met, the first host node sends the first information. The second trigger condition at this time can be understood as a condition that triggers the first host node to send the first information. Optionally, the generation of the first information by the first host node can also be triggered by the second trigger condition. Alternatively, the generation of the first information is unrelated to the second trigger condition, and the second trigger condition is only used to trigger the sending of the first information. This embodiment of the present application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0050] Optionally, the first host node sends the above-mentioned first information, which can be specifically sent to a relay node, or to a third host node. This embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

[0051] Currently, DU migration and MT migration on relay nodes are completely decoupled. Therefore, when the host node of a relay node's MT connection is different from the host node of the DU connection, the CU connected to the DU is required to initiate the relay node's transport migration management process to the CU connected to the MT to establish cross-topology traffic transmission. However, because the relay node cannot receive the information required to initiate the transport migration management process at the correct time, the CU connected to the relay node's DU connection cannot establish cross-topology traffic transmission, which in turn causes cross-topology communication services to fail. For example, the CU connected to the DU of the relay node has cross-topology communication service requirements and needs to establish cross-topology traffic transmission to the CU connected to the MT of the relay node at the first moment. However, the CU connected to the MT of the relay node does not know when to send the information required to initiate the transmission migration management process to the MT of the relay node. For example, the information required to initiate the transmission migration management process is sent to the MT of the relay node at the second moment after the first moment. This will result in the CU connected to the DU of the relay node failing to receive the information required to initiate the transmission migration management process in time at the correct time, resulting in the CU connected to the DU of the relay node being unable to establish cross-topology traffic transmission.

[0052] In an embodiment of the present application, a second trigger condition for sending (or generating and sending) the first information required for the transmission migration management process is clearly given. When the above-mentioned second trigger condition is met, the first host node can send (or generate and send) the first information in a timely manner, so that the CU connected to the DU of the relay node can receive the first information required to initiate the transmission migration management process in a timely manner within the correct time, thereby successfully establishing cross-topology traffic transmission and ensuring the smooth completion of cross-topology communication services.

[0053] In a possible implementation, the second information includes an identifier of a third host node and / or an identifier of the relay node, the third host node is connected to the distributed unit DU of the relay node, and the third host node is different from the first host node.

[0054] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of the second information is provided, specifically, the second information includes an identifier of a third host node and / or an identifier of a relay node, the third host node is connected to the DU of the relay node, and the third host node is different from the first host node, that is, the CU to which the MT of the relay node is connected is different from the CU to which the DU is connected. It is understandable that the first host node can determine whether the third host node and the first host node are the same host node based on the identifier of the third host node. If not, it is considered that cross-topology traffic transmission needs to be established subsequently.

[0055] Optionally, the identifier of the third donor node may be a gNB ID and / or an IP address; the identifier of the relay node may be a gNB-DU ID and / or an IP address, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0056] In a possible implementation manner, when the relay node is authorized, the first information further includes backhaul link configuration information.

[0057] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of the first information is provided. Specifically, when the relay node's authorization has been approved, the first information sent by the first host node also includes backhaul link configuration information for establishing a backhaul link for communication. It is understandable that for the MT network access scenario of the relay node, when the relay node's authorization has been approved, the first information may also include backhaul link configuration information. For the DU migration scenario of the relay node, the backhaul link configuration information in the first information is optional, because the backhaul link is always located in the topology of the first host node, and the backhaul link configuration can directly reuse the configuration of the source DU.

[0058] Optionally, the backhaul link configuration information includes but is not limited to at least one of a default backhaul radio link control channel (default BH RLC CH), a default routing identifier (default routing ID), and a backhaul link adaptation layer protocol address (BAP address).

[0059] In a possible implementation manner, the first information further includes an identifier of the relay node.

[0060] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of the first information is provided. Specifically, in a scenario where a first host node sends the first information to a third host node, the first information may further include an identifier of a relay node. It is understood that the third host node may determine that the relay node is an authorized node based on the identifier of the relay node included in the first information and the first interface identifier allocated by the first host node to the MT of the relay node, thereby allowing the establishment of an F1 interface with the relay node and performing relevant F1 interface configuration.

[0061] Optionally, the identifier of the relay node may be a gNB-DU ID and / or an IP address, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0062] In addition, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication method, which can be performed by a communication device. The communication device can be a device, or a chip (system) or circuit for a device, which is not limited in this application. The method is applied to a first host node and includes:

[0063] If and only if it is determined that the authorization of the relay node has been passed, sending first information to the relay node, where the first information includes backhaul link configuration information;

[0064] The method for determining whether the relay node has been authorized is described in the first aspect.

[0065] Regarding the technical effects brought about by the communication method of the embodiment of the present application, please refer to the introduction of the technical effects corresponding to the second aspect and the corresponding implementation methods.

[0066] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method that can be performed by a communication device. The communication device can be a device, or a chip (system) or circuit for a device, which is not limited in this application. The method is applied to a relay node and includes:

[0067] When a trigger condition is met, receiving first information from a first host node, where the first information includes at least one of an identifier of the first host node and a first interface identifier allocated by the first host node to the MT of the relay node;

[0068] The triggering condition includes at least one of the following:

[0069] Sending second information to the first host node, where the second information is used to request the first information; or, the authorization of the relay node has been passed; or, sending fourth information to the first host node, where the fourth information is used to indicate that the relay node has joined the network; or, the MT of the relay node is switched from the second host node to the first host node.

[0070] In an embodiment of the present application, a communication method is provided, in which, when a trigger condition is met, a relay node receives first information from a first host node, so that the relay node can receive the first information required to initiate a TRANSPORT MIGRATION MANAGEMENT process at the correct time (i.e., when the trigger condition is met), thereby ensuring that the host node to which the DU of the relay node is connected can initiate a TRANSPORT MIGRATION MANAGEMENT process to the first host node and successfully establish cross-topology traffic transmission.

[0071] The relay node, the first host node, the second host node, and the third host node in the embodiments of the present application can refer to the description corresponding to the first aspect or the second aspect above.

[0072] In the embodiment of the present application, the first information includes at least one of an identifier of the first host node and a first interface identifier allocated by the first host node to the MT of the relay node. The first interface identifier is used to identify the MT of the relay node and can specifically be an Xn interface identifier (UE XnAP ID) or an NG interface identifier (UE NGAP ID), which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0073] The trigger conditions in the embodiments of the present application include but are not limited to: the relay node sends second information to the first host node, where the second information is used to request the first information; or, the authorization of the relay node has been passed; or, the relay node sends fourth information to the first host node, where the fourth information is used to indicate that the relay node has joined the network; or, the MT of the relay node switches from the second host node to the first host node.

[0074] The second information may be carried in a radio resource control (RRC) message, such as Msg5 or IABOtherInformation. The MT of the relay node switches from the second host node to the first host node, which may be information that the MT of the relay node requests switching from the second host node to the first host node, or may be switching completion information after the MT of the relay node completes switching from the second host node to the first host node. The embodiment of the present application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0075] Currently, DU migration and MT migration on relay nodes are completely decoupled. Therefore, when the host node of a relay node's MT connection is different from the host node of the DU connection, the CU connected to the DU is required to initiate the relay node's transport migration management process to the CU connected to the MT to establish cross-topology traffic transmission. However, because the relay node cannot receive the information required to initiate the transport migration management process at the correct time, the CU connected to the relay node's DU connection cannot establish cross-topology traffic transmission, which in turn causes cross-topology communication services to fail. For example, the CU connected to the DU of the relay node has cross-topology communication service requirements and needs to establish cross-topology traffic transmission to the CU connected to the MT of the relay node at the first moment. However, the CU connected to the MT of the relay node does not know when to send the information required to initiate the transmission migration management process to the MT of the relay node. For example, the information required to initiate the transmission migration management process is sent to the MT of the relay node at the second moment after the first moment. This will result in the CU connected to the DU of the relay node failing to receive the information required to initiate the transmission migration management process in time at the correct time, resulting in the CU connected to the DU of the relay node being unable to establish cross-topology traffic transmission.

[0076] In the embodiment of the present application, the trigger conditions for receiving the first information required for the transmission migration management process are clearly given. When the above trigger conditions are met, the relay node can receive the first information in a timely manner at the correct time, so that the CU connected to the DU of the relay node can receive the first information required to initiate the transmission migration management process in a timely manner at the correct time, thereby successfully establishing cross-topology traffic transmission and ensuring the smooth completion of cross-topology communication services.

[0077] In a possible implementation, the second information includes an identifier of a third host node and / or an identifier of the relay node, the third host node is connected to the distributed unit DU of the relay node, and the third host node is different from the first host node.

[0078] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of the second information is provided, specifically, the second information includes an identifier of a third host node and / or an identifier of a relay node, the third host node is connected to the DU of the relay node, and the third host node is different from the first host node, that is, the CU to which the MT of the relay node is connected is different from the CU to which the DU is connected. It is understandable that the first host node can determine whether the third host node and the first host node are the same host node based on the identifier of the third host node. If not, it is considered that cross-topology traffic transmission needs to be established subsequently.

[0079] Optionally, the identifier of the third donor node may be a gNB ID and / or an IP address; the identifier of the relay node may be a gNB-DU ID and / or an IP address, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0080] In a possible implementation manner, when the relay node is authorized, the first information further includes backhaul link configuration information.

[0081] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of the first information is provided. Specifically, when the relay node's authorization is approved, the received first information also includes backhaul link configuration information for establishing a backhaul link for communication. It is understandable that for the MT network access scenario of the relay node, when the relay node's authorization is approved, the first information may also include backhaul link configuration information. For the DU migration scenario of the relay node, the backhaul link configuration information in the first information is optional because the backhaul link is always located in the topology of the first host node. The backhaul link configuration can directly reuse the configuration of the source DU.

[0082] Optionally, the backhaul link configuration information includes but is not limited to at least one of a default backhaul radio link control channel (default BH RLC CH), a default routing identifier (default routing ID), and a backhaul link adaptation layer protocol address (BAP address).

[0083] In one possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0084] Send sixth information to the first node, where the sixth information is used to indicate an identifier of the first host node.

[0085] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation for indicating the identity of the first donor node is provided. Specifically, the relay node sends sixth information to the first node. The sixth information is used to indicate the identity of the first donor node, such as the gNB ID and / or IP address of the CU of the first donor node and / or the gNB-DU ID and / or IP address of the donor-DU of the first donor node. In this embodiment of the present application, the first node is an operation and maintenance management (OAM) function. By sending the sixth information to the first node, the OAM function is informed that the IP address required by the relay node is under the first donor node, so that the first node can allocate the correct IP address to the relay node.

[0086] In one possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0087] In a case where the first information further includes backhaul link configuration information, determining that the relay node has been authorized;

[0088] Send seventh information to the third host node, where the seventh information is used to request to establish an F1 interface.

[0089] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation method for establishing an F1 interface is provided. Specifically, when the first information also includes return link configuration information, it can be inferred that the relay node has been authorized. At this time, the seventh information can be sent to the third host node to request the establishment of the F1 interface.

[0090] In addition, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication method, which can be performed by a communication device. The communication device can be a device, or a chip (system) or circuit for a device, which is not limited in this application. The method is applied to a relay node and includes:

[0091] If the relay node is determined to be a mobile relay node, sixth information is sent to the first node, where the sixth information indicates an identifier of the first donor node, such as the gNB ID and / or IP address of the CU of the first donor node and / or the gNB-DU ID and / or IP address of the donor-DU of the first donor node. The first donor node is the donor node to which the MT of the relay node is connected, and the first node is the OAM of the relay node.

[0092] Regarding the technical effects brought about by the communication method of the embodiment of the present application, please refer to the introduction of the technical effects corresponding to the third aspect and the corresponding implementation methods.

[0093] In addition, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication method, which can be performed by a communication device. The communication device can be a device, or a chip (system) or circuit for a device, which is not limited in this application. The method is applied to a relay node and includes:

[0094] receiving first information from a first host node, and determining, when the first information includes backhaul link configuration information, that the relay node has been authorized, wherein the first host node is a host node to which an MT of the relay node is connected;

[0095] Send seventh information to the third host node, where the seventh information is used to request to establish an F1 interface.

[0096] Regarding the technical effects brought about by the communication method of the embodiment of the present application, please refer to the introduction of the technical effects corresponding to the third aspect and the corresponding implementation methods.

[0097] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be performed by a communication device. The communication device can be a device, or a chip (system) or circuit for a device, which is not limited in this application. The method is applied to a third host node, which is connected to the DU of the relay node, and includes:

[0098] receiving seventh information from the relay node, where the seventh information is used to request establishment of an F1 interface;

[0099] Determining, based on the seventh information, that the relay node has been authorized;

[0100] or,

[0101] receiving first information from a first host node, the first information including an identifier of the relay node and at least one of an identifier of the first host node and a first interface identifier allocated by the first host node to an MT of the relay node, the first host node being different from the third host node;

[0102] Based on the first information, it is determined that the relay node has passed authorization.

[0103] In an embodiment of the present application, a communication method is provided, wherein a third host node receives seventh information from a relay node and determines, based on the seventh information, that the relay node has been authorized, thereby allowing the third host node to establish an F1 interface with the relay node and perform related F1 configuration. Alternatively, the third host node receives first information from a first host node and determines, based on the first information, that the relay node has been authorized, thereby allowing the third host node to establish an F1 interface with the relay node and perform related F1 configuration.

[0104] The relay node, the first host node, the second host node, and the third host node in the embodiments of the present application can refer to the description corresponding to the first aspect or the second aspect above.

[0105] The seventh information in the embodiment of the present application is used to request the establishment of an F1 interface and is sent by the relay node to the third host node when the first information includes backhaul link configuration information. It is understood that as long as the third host node can receive the seventh information, it indicates that the first host node has definitely configured relevant backhaul link resources for the relay node, indicating that the first host node has definitely inferred that the relay node has been authorized. Therefore, the third host node can determine that the relay node has been authorized based on the seventh information, thereby allowing the establishment of the F1 interface with the relay node and performing the relevant F1 configuration.

[0106] The first information in the embodiment of the present application includes the identifier of the relay node, and at least one of the identifier of the first host node and the first interface identifier allocated by the first host node to the MT of the relay node. The first interface identifier is used to identify the MT of the relay node, and can specifically be an Xn interface identifier (UE XnAP ID) or an NG interface identifier (UE NGAP ID), which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. It is understandable that the third host node can infer that the relay node has been authorized based on the identifier of the relay node and the first interface identifier included in the received first information, thereby allowing the establishment of an F1 interface with the relay node and performing related F1 configuration.

[0107] Through the embodiment of the present application, the third host node can determine that the relay node has been authorized based on the received seventh information or the first information, thereby allowing the establishment of an F1 interface with the relay node and performing relevant F1 configuration. If there is a traffic transmission demand between the third host node and the relay node, the third host node can initiate a transmission migration management process to the first host node, and correctly carry the interface identifier of the MT of the relay node under the first host node and the third host node and the IP address of the relay node, thereby successfully establishing cross-topology traffic transmission and ensuring the smooth completion of cross-topology communication services.

[0108] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be performed by a communication device. The communication device can be a device, or a chip (system) or circuit for a device, which is not limited in this application. The method is applied to a fourth host node, which is the host node to which the DU of the relay node is connected before migration, including:

[0109] Sending eighth information to the relay node, where the eighth information includes a first interface identifier allocated by the first host node to the MT of the relay node;

[0110] or,

[0111] Ninth information is sent to the first host node, where the ninth information includes the first interface identifier allocated by the first host node to the MT of the relay node and / or the second interface identifier allocated by the fourth host node to the MT of the relay node.

[0112] In an embodiment of the present application, a communication method is provided, in which the fourth host node sends eighth information to the relay node, or the fourth host node sends ninth information to the first host node.

[0113] The relay node, the first host node, the second host node, and the third host node in the embodiments of the present application can refer to the description corresponding to the first aspect or the second aspect above.

[0114] The fourth host node in the embodiment of the present application may be a device equipped with a processor / chip that can be used to execute computer-executable instructions, or may be a processor / chip that can be used to execute computer-executable instructions. The fourth host node in the embodiment of the present application is the source CU corresponding to the DU of the relay node. It can be understood that the DU of the relay node is migrated from the fourth host node to the third host node. When the communication method in the embodiment of the present application is applied to an IAB network, the relay node may be an IAB node, and the fourth host node may be the source CU corresponding to the DU of the IAB node. It can be understood that the DU of the IAB node is migrated from the fourth host node to the third host node.

[0115] The eighth information in the embodiment of the present application includes a first interface identifier assigned by the first host node to the MT of the relay node. The first interface identifier is used to identify the MT of the relay node and can be an Xn interface identifier (UE XnAP ID) or an NG interface identifier (UE NGAP ID). This embodiment of the present application does not limit this. Optionally, the eighth information can be carried in a message that triggers the relay node to initiate establishment of an F1 interface to the third host node.

[0116] The ninth information in the embodiment of the present application includes a first interface identifier assigned by the first host node to the MT of the relay node, and / or a second interface identifier assigned by the fourth host node to the MT of the relay node. The first interface identifier is used by the first host node to identify the MT of the relay node, and the second interface identifier is used by the fourth host node to identify the MT of the relay node. The above-mentioned first interface identifier and second interface identifier can specifically be an Xn interface identifier (UE XnAP ID) or an NG interface identifier (UE NGAP ID), and the embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

[0117] Through the embodiments of the present application, in a scenario where the source CU (i.e., the fourth host node) corresponding to the DU of the relay node triggers DU migration, the first interface identifier of the MT of the relay node under the first host node can be directly or indirectly notified to the relay node, so that the relay node can further inform the target CU (i.e., the third host node) corresponding to the DU of the relay node of this information, so as to help the third host node successfully establish cross-topology traffic transmission and ensure the smooth completion of cross-topology communication services.

[0118] In a possible implementation, the ninth information further includes an identifier of a third host node, the third host node is connected to the DU of the relay node, and the third host node is different from the first host node.

[0119] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of the ninth information is provided. Specifically, the ninth information also includes an identifier of the third host node, which can be the gNB ID and / or IP address of the third host node. This embodiment of the present application is not limited to this.

[0120] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be performed by a communication device. The communication device can be a device, or a chip (system) or circuit for a device, which is not limited in this application. The method is applied to a relay node and includes:

[0121] receiving eighth information from a fourth host node, the eighth information including a first interface identifier allocated by the first host node to the MT of the relay node, the fourth host node being the host node to which the DU of the relay node was connected before migration;

[0122] or,

[0123] Tenth information is received from the first host node, where the tenth information includes a first interface identifier allocated by the first host node to the MT of the relay node.

[0124] In an embodiment of the present application, a communication method is provided, in which a relay node receives eighth information from a fourth host node, or the relay node receives tenth information from a first host node.

[0125] The relay node, the first host node, the second host node, and the third host node in the embodiment of the present application may refer to the description corresponding to the first or second aspect above. The fourth host node in the embodiment of the present application may refer to the description corresponding to the fifth aspect above.

[0126] The eighth information in the embodiment of the present application includes a first interface identifier assigned by the first host node to the MT of the relay node. The first interface identifier is used to identify the MT of the relay node and can be an Xn interface identifier (UE XnAP ID) or an NG interface identifier (UE NGAP ID). This embodiment of the present application does not limit this. Optionally, the eighth information can be carried in a message that triggers the relay node to initiate establishment of an F1 interface to the third host node.

[0127] The tenth information in the embodiment of the present application includes the first interface identifier assigned by the first host node to the MT of the relay node. The first interface identifier can specifically be an Xn interface identifier (UE XnAP ID) or an NG interface identifier (UE NGAP ID). The embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

[0128] Through the embodiments of the present application, in a scenario where the source CU (i.e., the fourth host node) corresponding to the DU of the relay node triggers DU migration, the first interface identifier of the MT of the relay node under the first host node can be directly or indirectly notified to the relay node, so that the relay node can further inform the target CU (i.e., the third host node) corresponding to the DU of the relay node of this information, so as to help the third host node successfully establish cross-topology traffic transmission and ensure the smooth completion of cross-topology communication services.

[0129] In a possible implementation, the tenth information further includes an identifier of a third host node, the third host node is connected to the DU of the relay node, and the third host node is different from the first host node.

[0130] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of the tenth information is provided. Specifically, the tenth information also includes an identifier of the third donor node, which can be the gNB ID and / or IP address of the third donor node. This embodiment of the present application is not limited to this. It is understood that carrying the identifier of the third donor node can implicitly indicate that the relay node has the function of triggering the establishment of an F1 interface with the third donor node, eliminating the need for the fourth donor node to send an additional message to the relay node to trigger the relay node to initiate the establishment of an F1 interface with the third donor node.

[0131] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be performed by a communication device. The communication device can be a device, or a chip (system) or circuit for a device, which is not limited in this application. The method is applied to a first host node, including:

[0132] receiving ninth information from a fourth host node, the ninth information including a first interface identifier assigned by the first host node to the MT of the relay node and / or a second interface identifier assigned by the fourth host node to the MT of the relay node, the fourth host node being the host node to which the DU of the relay node was connected before migration;

[0133] Sending tenth information to the relay node, where the tenth information includes the first interface identifier allocated by the first host node to the MT of the relay node.

[0134] In an embodiment of the present application, a communication method is provided, in which a first host node receives ninth information from a fourth host node and sends tenth information to a relay node.

[0135] The relay node, the first host node, the second host node, and the third host node in the embodiment of the present application may refer to the description corresponding to the first or second aspect above. The fourth host node in the embodiment of the present application may refer to the description corresponding to the fifth aspect above.

[0136] The ninth information in the embodiment of the present application includes a first interface identifier assigned by the first host node to the MT of the relay node, and / or a second interface identifier assigned by the fourth host node to the MT of the relay node. The first interface identifier is used by the first host node to identify the MT of the relay node, and the second interface identifier is used by the fourth host node to identify the MT of the relay node. The above-mentioned first interface identifier and second interface identifier can specifically be an Xn interface identifier (UE XnAP ID) or an NG interface identifier (UE NGAP ID), and the embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

[0137] The tenth information in the embodiment of the present application includes the first interface identifier assigned by the first host node to the MT of the relay node. The first interface identifier can specifically be an Xn interface identifier (UE XnAP ID) or an NG interface identifier (UE NGAP ID). The embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

[0138] Through the embodiments of the present application, in a scenario where the source CU (i.e., the fourth host node) corresponding to the DU of the relay node triggers DU migration, the first interface identifier of the MT of the relay node under the first host node can be indirectly sent by the first host node to inform the relay node, so that the relay node can further inform the target CU (i.e., the third host node) corresponding to the DU of the relay node of this information, so as to help the third host node successfully establish cross-topology traffic transmission and ensure the smooth completion of cross-topology communication services.

[0139] In a possible implementation, the ninth information and / or the tenth information further includes an identifier of a third host node, the third host node is connected to the DU of the relay node, and the third host node is different from the first host node.

[0140] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of the ninth information and / or the tenth information is provided. Specifically, the ninth information and / or the tenth information further includes an identifier of the third donor node, which may be the gNB ID and / or IP address of the third donor node. This embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto. It will be appreciated that carrying the identifier of the third donor node implicitly indicates that the relay node has the function of triggering the establishment of an F1 interface with the third donor node, eliminating the need for the fourth donor node to send an additional message to the relay node to trigger the relay node to initiate the establishment of an F1 interface with the third donor node.

[0141] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which includes a module or unit for executing the method as described in any one of the first aspects.

[0142] In one possible design, the apparatus includes:

[0143] a processing unit, configured to generate first information when a first trigger condition is met, the first information comprising at least one of an identifier of the communication device and a first interface identifier allocated by the communication device to a mobile terminal MT of the relay node;

[0144] The first trigger condition includes at least one of the following:

[0145] Receive second information from the relay node, where the second information is used to request the first information; or receive third information, where the third information is used to indicate that the authorization of the relay node has been passed; or receive fourth information from the relay node, where the fourth information is used to indicate that the relay node has joined the network; or receive fifth information, where the fifth information is used to instruct the MT of the relay node to switch from the second host node to the communication device.

[0146] In one possible implementation, the device further includes:

[0147] A communication unit is configured to send the first information.

[0148] The methods performed by the above-mentioned processing unit and communication unit can refer to the methods corresponding to the above-mentioned first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0149] Regarding the technical effects brought about by the eighth aspect and any possible implementation method, please refer to the introduction of the technical effects corresponding to the first aspect and the corresponding implementation method.

[0150] In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device comprising a module or unit for executing the method as described in any one of the second aspects.

[0151] In one possible design, the apparatus includes:

[0152] a communication unit, configured to send first information when a second trigger condition is met, wherein the first information includes at least one of an identifier of the communication device and a first interface identifier allocated by the communication device to a mobile terminal MT of the relay node;

[0153] The second trigger condition includes at least one of the following:

[0154] Receive second information from the relay node, where the second information is used to request the first information; or receive third information, where the third information is used to indicate that the authorization of the relay node has been passed; or receive fourth information from the relay node, where the fourth information is used to indicate that the relay node has joined the network; or receive fifth information, where the fifth information is used to instruct the MT of the relay node to switch from the second host node to the communication device.

[0155] In one possible implementation, the device further includes:

[0156] A processing unit is configured to generate the first information.

[0157] The methods performed by the above-mentioned processing unit and communication unit can refer to the methods corresponding to the above-mentioned second aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0158] Regarding the technical effects brought about by the ninth aspect and any possible implementation method, please refer to the introduction of the technical effects corresponding to the second aspect and the corresponding implementation method.

[0159] In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which includes a module or unit for executing the method described in any one of the third aspects.

[0160] In one possible design, the apparatus includes:

[0161] a communication unit, configured to receive, when a trigger condition is met, first information from a first host node, the first information comprising at least one of an identifier of the first host node and a first interface identifier allocated by the first host node to the MT of the communication device;

[0162] The triggering condition includes at least one of the following:

[0163] Sending second information to the first host node, where the second information is used to request the first information; or, the authorization of the communication device has been passed; or, sending fourth information to the first host node, where the fourth information is used to instruct the communication device to access the network; or, the MT of the communication device switches from the second host node to the first host node.

[0164] In one possible implementation, the device further includes:

[0165] A processing unit is configured to determine that the communication device has been authorized when the first information further includes backhaul link configuration information.

[0166] The methods performed by the above-mentioned processing unit and communication unit can refer to the methods corresponding to the above-mentioned third aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0167] Regarding the technical effects brought about by the tenth aspect and any possible implementation method, please refer to the introduction of the technical effects corresponding to the third aspect and the corresponding implementation method.

[0168] In the eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which includes a module or unit for executing the method described in any one of the fourth aspects.

[0169] In one possible design, the apparatus includes:

[0170] a communication unit, configured to receive seventh information from the relay node, wherein the seventh information is used to request establishment of an F1 interface;

[0171] a processing unit, configured to determine, based on the seventh information, that the relay node has been authorized;

[0172] or,

[0173] a communication unit, configured to receive first information from a first host node, the first information including an identifier of the relay node and at least one of an identifier of the first host node and a first interface identifier allocated by the first host node to the MT of the relay node, the first host node being different from the communication device;

[0174] A processing unit is configured to determine, based on the first information, whether the relay node has been authorized.

[0175] The methods performed by the above-mentioned processing unit and communication unit can refer to the methods corresponding to the above-mentioned fourth aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0176] Regarding the technical effects brought about by the eleventh aspect and any possible implementation method, please refer to the introduction of the technical effects corresponding to the fourth aspect and the corresponding implementation method.

[0177] In the twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which includes a module or unit for executing the method described in any one of the fifth aspects.

[0178] In one possible design, the apparatus includes:

[0179] a communication unit, configured to send eighth information to the relay node, wherein the eighth information includes a first interface identifier allocated by the first host node to the MT of the relay node;

[0180] or,

[0181] The communication unit is configured to send ninth information to the first host node, wherein the ninth information includes the first interface identifier allocated by the first host node to the MT of the relay node and / or the second interface identifier allocated by the communication device to the MT of the relay node.

[0182] In one possible implementation, the device further includes:

[0183] A processing unit is used to generate the eighth information or the ninth information.

[0184] The methods executed by the above-mentioned processing unit and communication unit can refer to the methods corresponding to the above-mentioned fifth aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0185] Regarding the technical effects brought about by the twelfth aspect and any possible implementation method, please refer to the introduction of the technical effects corresponding to the fifth aspect and the corresponding implementation method.

[0186] In the thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which includes a module or unit for executing the method as described in any one of the sixth aspects.

[0187] In one possible design, the apparatus includes:

[0188] a communication unit, configured to receive eighth information from a fourth host node, the eighth information including a first interface identifier allocated by the first host node to the MT of the communication device, the fourth host node being the host node to which the DU of the communication device was connected before migration;

[0189] or,

[0190] The communication unit is configured to receive tenth information from a first host node, where the tenth information includes a first interface identifier allocated by the first host node to the MT of the communication device.

[0191] The methods executed by the above-mentioned processing unit and communication unit can refer to the methods corresponding to the above-mentioned sixth aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0192] Regarding the technical effects brought about by the thirteenth aspect and any possible implementation method, please refer to the introduction of the technical effects corresponding to the sixth aspect and the corresponding implementation method.

[0193] In a fourteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which includes a module or unit for executing the method described in any one of the seventh aspects.

[0194] In one possible design, the apparatus includes:

[0195] a communication unit, configured to receive ninth information from a fourth host node, the ninth information including a first interface identifier assigned by the communication device to the MT of the relay node and / or a second interface identifier assigned by the fourth host node to the MT of the relay node, the fourth host node being the host node to which the DU of the relay node was connected before migration;

[0196] The communication unit is further configured to send tenth information to the relay node, where the tenth information includes the first interface identifier allocated by the communication device to the MT of the relay node.

[0197] In one possible implementation, the device further includes:

[0198] A processing unit is used to generate the tenth information.

[0199] The methods executed by the above-mentioned processing unit and communication unit can refer to the methods corresponding to the above-mentioned seventh aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0200] Regarding the technical effects brought about by the fourteenth aspect and any possible implementation method, please refer to the introduction of the technical effects corresponding to the seventh aspect and the corresponding implementation method.

[0201] Optionally, in the communication device described in any one of the eighth to fourteenth aspects and any possible implementation manner:

[0202] In one implementation, the communication apparatus is a communication device. When the communication apparatus is a communication device, the communication unit may be a transceiver or an input / output interface; and the processing unit may be at least one processor. Alternatively, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit. Alternatively, the input / output interface may be an input / output circuit.

[0203] In another implementation, the communication device is a chip (system) or circuit used in a communication device. When the communication device is a chip (system) or circuit used in a communication device, the communication unit may be a communication interface (input / output interface), interface circuit, output circuit, input circuit, pin, or related circuit on the chip (system) or circuit; and the processing unit may be at least one processor, processing circuit, or logic circuit.

[0204] In a fifteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising a processor. The processor is coupled to a memory and can be configured to execute instructions in the memory to implement the method of any of the first to seventh aspects and any possible implementation methods described above. Optionally, the communication device further comprises a memory. Optionally, the communication device further comprises a communication interface, the processor being coupled to the communication interface.

[0205] In a sixteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising: a logic circuit and a communication interface. The communication interface is configured to receive or send information; the logic circuit is configured to receive or send information via the communication interface, so that the communication device executes the method of any one of aspects one to seven and any possible implementation thereof.

[0206] In the seventeenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which is used to store a computer program (also referred to as code, or instructions); when the computer program is run on a computer, the method of any one of the above-mentioned aspects from the first to the seventh aspect and any possible implementation method is implemented.

[0207] In the eighteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, which includes: a computer program (also referred to as code, or instructions); when the computer program is run, it enables the computer to execute any one of the above-mentioned aspects from the first to the seventh aspect and any possible implementation method.

[0208] In a nineteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip, comprising a processor configured to execute instructions. When the processor executes the instructions, the chip performs the method of any one of aspects 1 to 7 above, and any possible implementation thereof. Optionally, the chip further comprises a communication interface configured to receive or transmit signals.

[0209] In aspect 20, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which includes at least one communication device as described in aspects 8 to 14, or the communication device described in aspect 15, or the communication device described in aspect 16, or the chip described in aspect 19.

[0210] In aspect 21, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, comprising at least one of a first host node, a relay node, a third host node, and a fourth host node, wherein the first host node is used to execute the method of the above-mentioned first aspect or second aspect or seventh aspect and any possible implementation method, the relay node is used to execute the method of the above-mentioned third aspect or sixth aspect and any possible implementation method, the third host node is used to execute the method of the above-mentioned fourth aspect and any possible implementation method, and the fourth host node is used to execute the method of the above-mentioned fifth aspect and any possible implementation method.

[0211] In addition, in the process of executing the method described in any one of the first to seventh aspects and any possible implementation methods, the process of sending information and / or receiving information in the above method can be understood as the process of the processor outputting information and / or the process of the processor receiving input information. When outputting information, the processor can output the information to the transceiver (or communication interface, or sending module) so that it can be transmitted by the transceiver. After the information is output by the processor, it may also need to undergo other processing before it reaches the transceiver. Similarly, when the processor receives input information, the transceiver (or communication interface, or sending module) receives the information and inputs it into the processor. Furthermore, after the transceiver receives the information, the information may need to undergo other processing before it is input into the processor.

[0212] Based on the above principles, for example, the sending of information mentioned in the above method can be understood as the processor outputting information. For another example, the receiving of information can be understood as the processor receiving input information.

[0213] Optionally, for the operations such as transmission, sending and receiving involved in the processor, if there is no special explanation, or if they do not conflict with their actual functions or internal logic in the relevant description, they can be more generally understood as processor output, reception, input and other operations.

[0214] Optionally, in the process of executing the method described in any one of the first to seventh aspects and any possible implementation methods, the processor may be a processor specifically used to execute these methods, or a processor that executes these methods by executing computer instructions in a memory, such as a general-purpose processor. The memory may be a non-transitory memory, such as a read-only memory (ROM), which may be integrated with the processor on the same chip or may be separately provided on different chips. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the type of memory and the configuration of the memory and the processor.

[0215] In a possible implementation, the at least one memory is located outside the device.

[0216] In yet another possible implementation, the at least one memory is located within the device.

[0217] In another possible implementation, part of the at least one memory is located inside the device, and another part of the memory is located outside the device.

[0218] In this application, the processor and the memory may also be integrated into one device, that is, the processor and the memory may also be integrated together.

[0219] In an embodiment of the present application, the trigger conditions for generating (or sending) the first information required for the transmission migration management process are clearly given. When the trigger conditions are met, the first host node can generate (or send) the first information in a timely manner, so that the CU connected to the DU of the relay node can receive the first information required to initiate the transmission migration management process in a timely manner within the correct time, thereby successfully establishing cross-topology traffic transmission and ensuring the smooth completion of cross-topology communication services. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0220] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

[0221] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an IAB system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0222] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an IAB node provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0223] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an IAB network provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0224] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a control plane protocol architecture in an IAB network provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0225] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a user plane protocol architecture in an IAB network provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0226] FIG6 is an example of an IAB network architecture diagram provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0227] FIG7 is an example of a BAP topology of an IAB network provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0228] FIG8 is an example of DU migration in an IAB network provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0229] FIG9 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0230] FIG10 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0231] FIG11 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0232] FIG12 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0233] FIG13 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0234] FIG14 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0235] FIG15 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0236] FIG16 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a chip provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0237] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of this application clearer, the embodiments of this application will be described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of this application.

[0238] The terms "first" and "second" in the specification, claims, and drawings of this application are used to distinguish different objects, not to describe a specific order. In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product, or device that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but may optionally include steps or units that are not listed, or may optionally include other steps or units that are inherent to the process, method, product, or device.

[0239] The “embodiment” mentioned herein means that the specific features, structures or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. The appearance of this phrase in various places in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it an independent or alternative embodiment that is mutually exclusive with other embodiments. It can be understood explicitly and implicitly by those skilled in the art that in the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified and there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between the various embodiments are consistent and can be referenced to each other, and the technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form a new embodiment according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0240] It should be understood that in the present application, "at least one (item)" refers to one or more, "more than one" refers to two or more, "at least two (items)" refers to two or three and more than three, and "and / or" is used to describe the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, "A and / or B" can mean: only A exists, only B exists, and A and B exist at the same time, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following items" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b or c can mean: a, b, c, "a and b", "a and c", "b and c", or "a and b and c", where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0241] It should be noted that in this application, "indication" can include direct indication, indirect indication, explicit indication, and implicit indication. When describing that a certain indication information is used to indicate A, it can be understood that the indication information carries A, directly indicates A, or indirectly indicates A.

[0242] In this application, the information indicated by the indication information is referred to as information to be indicated. In specific implementations, there are many ways to indicate the information to be indicated. For example, but not limited to, the information to be indicated can be directly indicated, such as the information to be indicated itself or an index of the information to be indicated. The information to be indicated can also be indirectly indicated by indicating other information, where the other information is associated with the information to be indicated. Alternatively, only a portion of the information to be indicated can be indicated, while the rest of the information to be indicated is known or agreed upon in advance. For example, the order of arrangement of the information to be indicated can be pre-agreed upon (e.g., as specified by a protocol) to achieve the indication of specific information, thereby reducing indication overhead to a certain extent. The information to be indicated can be sent as a whole or divided into multiple sub-information and sent separately. The transmission period and / or transmission timing of these sub-information can be the same or different. The specific transmission method is not limited in this application. The transmission period and / or transmission timing of these sub-information can be pre-defined, for example, according to a protocol, or can be configured by the transmitting device by sending configuration information to the receiving device.

[0243] It should be noted that in this application, "send" can be understood as "output" and "receive" can be understood as "input". "Send information to A", where "to A" only indicates the direction of information transmission, A is the destination, and does not limit "sending information to A" to direct transmission on the air interface. "Sending information to A" includes sending information directly to A, and also includes sending information indirectly to A through a transmitter, so "sending information to A" can also be understood as "outputting information to A". Similarly, "receiving information from A" indicates that the source of the information is A, including receiving information directly from A, and also including receiving information indirectly from A through a receiver, so "receiving information from A" can also be understood as "inputting information from A".

[0244] Before introducing the present application, some of the terms used in the embodiments of the present application are briefly explained to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

[0245] 1) Terminal side device is a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to users. In the embodiments of the present application, the terminal side device may be referred to as user equipment (UE), terminal device, terminal, mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), etc. For example, the terminal side device may include a handheld device with a wireless connection function, or a communication device connected to a wireless modem. The terminal side device can communicate with the core network via the radio access network (RAN) and exchange voice and / or data with the RAN.

[0246] Some examples of terminal-side devices include: mobile stations (MS), subscriber units, cellular phones, smart phones, wireless data cards, personal digital assistants (PDAs), computers, tablet computers, wireless modems, handsets, laptop computers, machine type communication (MTC) terminals, wearable devices, and vehicle-mounted terminal devices. Terminal-side devices also include restricted devices, such as devices with low power consumption, limited storage capacity, or limited computing power. Terminal-side devices also include information sensing devices such as barcodes, radio frequency identification (RFID), sensors, global positioning systems (GPS), and laser scanners.

[0247] The functions of the terminal-side device can be implemented by hardware components inside the terminal device, and the above-mentioned hardware components can be a processor and / or a programmable chip inside the above-mentioned terminal device. Optionally, the chip can be implemented by an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a programmable logic device (PLD). The above-mentioned PLD can be any one of a complex programmable logical device (CPLD), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a generic array logic (GAL), and a system on a chip (SOC), or any combination thereof.

[0248] 2) Donor gNodeB, also known as the donor node, can access the core network through the donor node. In other words, the donor base station is a device in the communication system that connects the terminal side device to the core network. The donor base station is generally connected to the core network through a wired link (such as an optical fiber cable). The donor base station can be responsible for receiving data from the core network and forwarding it to the wireless backhaul device (such as an IAB node), or receiving data from the wireless backhaul device and forwarding it to the core network. The donor base station can generally be connected to the network via a wired connection.

[0249] As an example, the donor base station may include a radio network controller (RNC), a node B (NB), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a home base station (e.g., a home evolved NodeB, or home Node B, HNB), a base band unit (BBU), etc., and may also include an evolved base station (NodeB or eNB or e-NodeB, evolutionary Node B) in an evolved LTE system (LTE-Advanced, LTE-A), or may also include a next generation node B (gNB) in a fifth generation mobile communication technology (5G) new radio (NR) system. As another example, the donor base station may include a centralized unit (CU) (abbreviated as Donor-CU or gNB-CU in this application) and a distributed unit (DU) (abbreviated as Donor-DU or gNB-DU in this application). The gNB-CU and gNB-DU are connected via the F1 interface, which may further include a control plane interface (F1-C) and a user plane interface (F1-U). The donor-CU and the core network are connected via a next-generation (NG) interface. A gNB-CU or donor-CU may exist with a separate user plane (UP) (referred to herein as CU-UP) and control plane (CP) (referred to herein as CU-CP). Specifically, a gNB-CU or donor-CU consists of a CU-CP and a CU-UP. A gNB-CU may include one gNB-CU-CP and at least one gNB-CU-UP. Alternatively, a donor-CU may include one donor-CU-CP and at least one donor-CU-UP.

[0250] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in the ORAN system, CU may also be called O-CU (Open CU), DU may also be called O-DU, CU-CP may also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be called O-CU-UP, and RU may also be called O-RU. For the convenience of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU as examples for description. Any unit of CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0251] The functions of the donor base station may be implemented by hardware components within the donor base station, such as a processor and / or programmable chip within the donor base station. For example, the chip may be implemented using an ASIC or a programmable logic device (PLD). The PLD may be any one of a CPLD, an FPGA, a GAL, and a SOC, or any combination thereof.

[0252] This application provides a communication method, which is applied to the field of communication technology, such as communication in an IAB network. In order to more clearly describe the solution of this application, some knowledge related to IAB is first introduced below.

[0253] In an IAB network, an IAB node can establish a wireless backhaul link with one or more upper-level nodes and access the core network through the upper-level node. The upper-level node can perform certain control on the relay node through various signaling (for example, data scheduling, timing modulation, power control, etc.). In addition, the relay node can establish an access link with one or more lower-level nodes and provide access services for one or more lower-level nodes. The upper-level node of the relay node can be a base station or another relay node. The lower-level node of the relay node can be a terminal or another relay node. In some cases, the upper-level node of an IAB node can also be referred to as its upstream node or parent node, and the lower-level node of the IAB node can also be referred to as its downstream node or child node.

[0254] Please refer to FIG1 , which is a schematic structural diagram of an IAB system provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0255] As shown in Figure 1, an IAB node provides wireless access and wireless backhaul for UEs. An IAB donor node provides wireless backhaul functionality to the IAB node and provides an interface between the UE and the core network. The IAB node connects to the IAB donor node via a wireless backhaul link, connecting the UE served by the IAB node to the core network.

[0256] Please refer to FIG. 2 , which is a schematic diagram of the structure of an IAB node provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0257] As shown in Figure 2, the IAB node in NR can be divided into two parts: the Mobile Equipment Unit (MT) and the User Equipment Unit (DU). The MT can also be understood as a component similar to a UE. In an IAB node, the MT is referred to as a function residing on the IAB node. Since the MT functions similarly to a regular UE, it can be understood that the MT is used for communication between the IAB node and its upper-level nodes. The DU, in contrast to the CU function of network equipment, is used for communication between the IAB node and its lower-level nodes. It should be understood that the upper-level node can be a base station or other IAB node, and the lower-level node can be a UE or other IAB node.

[0258] The communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems including relay nodes, such as NR systems, LTE systems, LTE-A systems, worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), or wireless local area networks (WLAN). In LTE, relay nodes are generally referred to as RNs. In NR, relay nodes are generally referred to as IAB nodes. In some embodiments, relay nodes may also be referred to as relay devices, or relay transmission and reception points (rTRPs), and the upper node of the relay node may be a network device (including a DU of a network device, or including a CU of a network device, etc.).

[0259] Please refer to FIG3 , which is a schematic diagram of the structure of an IAB network provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0260] As shown in Figure 3, the IAB network includes multiple UEs and multiple IAB nodes. Figure 3 takes two UEs and five IAB nodes as an example. Among them, the two UEs are UE1 and UE2, and the five IAB nodes are IAB nodes 1 to IAB nodes 5. It should be understood that the thick line in Figure 3 indicates the access link, and the thin line indicates the backhaul link. Among them, UE2 can be connected to the host base station via IAB node 5, IAB node 2, and IAB node 1. UE2 can also be connected to the host base station via IAB node 4, IAB node 2, and IAB node 1. Alternatively, UE2 can also be connected to the host base station via IAB node 4, IAB node 3, and IAB node 1. UE1 can be connected to the host base station via IAB node 4, IAB node 3, and IAB node 1. UE1 can be connected to the host base station via IAB node 4, IAB node 2, and IAB node 1.

[0261] It should be noted that the communication system shown in Figure 3 is only an example and does not limit the application scenarios applicable to the embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that the use of IAB nodes in the embodiments of the present application is only for descriptive purposes and does not mean that the solution of the embodiments of the present application is only used in NR scenarios. In the embodiments of the present application, IAB nodes can generally refer to any node or device with a relay function. The use of IAB nodes and relay nodes in the implementation of this application should be understood to have the same meaning.

[0262] In an IAB network, an IAB node is connected to the core network via an IAB host node. For example, in a standalone (SA) 5G architecture, an IAB node is connected to the 5G core network (5GC / 5GCN) via an IAB host node. For another example, in a dual connectivity (DC) or multi-connectivity (MC) 5G architecture (e.g., non-standalone, NSA scenarios), on the primary path, an IAB node can be connected to the evolved packet core (EPC) via an evolved NodeB (eNB), or to the 5G core network via an IAB host.

[0263] In the IAB network, a transmission path between the UE and the IAB host may include one or more IAB nodes. Each IAB node needs to maintain a wireless backhaul link towards the parent node, and also needs to maintain a wireless link with the child node. If the child node of the IAB node is a UE, there is a wireless access link between the IAB node and its child node (i.e., the UE). If the child node of the IAB node is another IAB node, there is a wireless backhaul link between the IAB node and its child node (i.e., the other IAB node). For example, referring to Figure 3, in the path "UE1→IAB node 4→IAB node 3→IAB node 1→IAB host", UE1 accesses IAB node 4 through a wireless access link, IAB node 4 is connected to IAB node 3 through a wireless backhaul link, IAB node 3 is connected to IAB node 1 through a wireless backhaul link, and IAB node 1 is connected to the IAB host node through a wireless backhaul link.

[0264] In the embodiment of the present application, the access IAB node refers to the IAB node accessed by the UE, and the intermediate IAB node refers to the IAB node that provides wireless backhaul services for the UE or IAB node. For example, referring to Figure 3, in the path "UE1→IAB node 4→IAB node 3→IAB node 1→IAB host", IAB node 4 is the access IAB node, and IAB node 3 and IAB node 1 are intermediate IAB nodes. It should be noted that an IAB node is an access IAB node for the UE accessing the IAB node; it is an intermediate IAB node for the UE accessing other IAB nodes. Therefore, whether an IAB node is an access IAB node or an intermediate IAB node is not fixed and can be determined based on the specific application scenario.

[0265] It should be noted that the communication system shown in Figure 3 is only an example and does not limit the application scenarios applicable to the embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that the use of the IAB node in the embodiments of the present application is only for descriptive purposes and does not mean that the solution of the embodiments of the present application is only used in new radio (NR) scenarios.

[0266] An F1 interface exists between the DU of the IAB node and the CU of the IAB host. This F1 interface may include a control plane and a user plane. The user plane is maintained between the IAB-DU and the IAB donor CU-UP, while the control plane is maintained between the IAB-DU and the IAB donor CU-CP. This F1 interface may also be referred to as an F1* interface, and this embodiment of the application does not impose any restrictions on the name of this interface. This document will refer to this interface as the F1 interface as an example.

[0267] The F1 interface supports user plane protocols (F1-U / F1*-U) and control plane protocols (F1-C / F1*-C). The user plane protocols include one or more of the following protocol layers: the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol User Plane (GTP-U), the User Datagram Protocol (UDP), and the Internet Protocol (IP). The control plane protocols include one or more of the following protocol layers: the F1 Application Protocol (F1AP), the Stream Control Transport Protocol (SCTP), and the IP. The control plane of the F1 / F1* interface enables interface management, IAB-DU management, and UE context configuration between the IAB node and the IAB host. The user plane of the F1 / F1* interface enables user plane data transmission and downlink transmission status feedback between the IAB node and the IAB host.

[0268] For example, please refer to Figures 4 and 5, where Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a control plane protocol architecture in an IAB network provided in an embodiment of the present application, and Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a user plane protocol architecture in an IAB network provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0269] On the control plane, as shown in Figure 4, a Uu interface is established between UE1 and IAB2-DU. The corresponding protocol layers include the radio link control protocol (RLC), media access control (MAC), and physical layer (PHY). An F1-C interface is established between the IAB2-DU and IAB donor CU 1. The corresponding protocol layers include the F1AP and SCTP layers. IAB donor DU 1 and IAB donor CU 1 are connected via a wired connection. The corresponding protocol layers include the Internet Protocol (IP), Layer 2, and Layer 1. BLs are established between IAB Node 2 and IAB Node 3, between IAB Node 3 and IAB Node 1, and between IAB Node 1 and IAB donor DU 1. The corresponding protocol layers include the Backhaul Adaptation Protocol (BAP), RLC, MAC, and PHY layers. In addition, a peer-to-peer radio resource control (RRC) layer and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer are established between UE1 and IAB donor CU 1, and a peer-to-peer IP layer is established between IAB2-DU and IAB donor DU 1.

[0270] As can be seen, compared to the control plane protocol stack for a single air interface, the DU connected to the IAB node implements the functions of a single air interface gNB-DU (i.e., establishing peer RLC, MAC, and PHY layers with the UE, and establishing peer F1AP and SCTP layers with the CU). In other words, the DU connected to the IAB node in the IAB network implements the functions of a single air interface gNB-DU, while the IAB donor CU implements the functions of a single air interface gNB-CU.

[0271] On the control plane, RRC messages are encapsulated in F1AP messages for transmission between the access IAB node and the IAB donor CU. Specifically, in the uplink, UE1 encapsulates the RRC message in a PDCP protocol data unit (PDU), which is processed sequentially by the RLC, MAC, and PHY layers before being sent to the IAB2-DU. The IAB2-DU is processed sequentially by the PHY, MAC, and RLC layers to obtain a PDCP PDU. This PDCP PDU is then encapsulated in a F1AP message and processed sequentially by the SCTP and IP layers to obtain an IP packet. The IAB2-MT processes the IP packet through the BAP, RLC, MAC, and PHY layers before sending it to the IAB3-DU. The IAB3-DU is processed sequentially by the PHY, MAC, RLC, and BAP layers to obtain an IP packet. The IAB3-MT then uses similar operations as the IAB2-MT to send the IP packet to the IAB1-DU. Similarly, the IAB1-MT sends the IP packet to the IAB donor DU 1. After IAB donor DU 1 parses the IP packet, it sends it to IAB donor CU 1. IAB donor CU 1 processes the IP packet through the SCTP layer, the F1AP layer, and the PDCP layer, obtaining an RRC message. The downlink direction is similar and will not be described here.

[0272] For the user plane, as shown in Figure 5, a Uu interface is established between UE1 and IAB2-DU. The peer protocol layers include the RLC layer, MAC layer, and PHY layer. An F1-U interface is established between the IAB2-DU and IAB donor CU 1. The peer protocol layers include the GTP-U layer and the User Datagram Protocol (UDP) layer. IAB donor DU 1 and IAB donor CU 1 are connected via a wired connection. The peer protocol layers include the IP layer, L2, and L1. A BL is established between IAB node 2 and IAB node 3, between IAB node 3 and IAB node 1, and between IAB node 1 and IAB donor DU 1. The peer protocol layers include the BAP layer, RLC layer, MAC layer, and PHY layer. Furthermore, the peer SDAP layer and PDCP layer are established between UE1 and IAB donor CU 1, and the peer IP layer is established between the IAB2-DU and IAB donor DU 1.

[0273] As can be seen, compared to the user plane protocol stack of a single air interface, the IAB access node DU implements some of the functions of a single air interface gNB-DU (i.e., establishing peer RLC, MAC, and PHY layers with the terminal, and establishing peer GTP-U and UDP layers with the IAB donor CU 1). It can be understood that the IAB access node DU implements the functions of a single air interface gNB-DU, while the IAB donor CU implements the functions of a single air interface gNB-CU.

[0274] On the user plane, PDCP packets are encapsulated and transmitted in a GTP-U tunnel between the access IAB node and the IAB donor CU. The GTP-U tunnel is established on the F1-U interface.

[0275] The communication method provided in this application is primarily applicable to IAB networks, including standalone (SA) and non-standalone (NSA) IAB networks. An IAB node consists of a mobile operator (MT) and a user-defined unit (DU). An IAB donor can be further divided into a DU and a user-defined unit (CU). The CU can also be divided into a CU-CP and a CU-UP.

[0276] Please refer to FIG. 6 , which is an example of an IAB network architecture diagram provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0277] Figure 6 shows an example of an IAB node connected to an IAB donor via a wireless backhaul link. Figure 6 uses a scenario involving one UE, two IAB nodes, and two IAB donors. The two IAB nodes are IAB node 1 and IAB node 2, each consisting of an MT and a DU. The two IAB donors are IAB donor 1 and IAB donor 2. Each IAB donor can be further divided into a DU and a CU, and the CU can be further divided into a CU-CP and a CU-UP. In Figure 6, the MT of IAB node 2 and the DU of IAB node 1, the MT of IAB node 1 and the DU of IAB donor 1, and the MT of IAB node 1 and the DU of IAB donor 2 all communicate through a wireless backhaul (BH) link; a Uu interface is established between the UE and the IAB2-DU; an F1-C interface is established between the IAB donor DU and the IAB donor CU-CP, and an F1-U interface is established between the IAB donor DU and the IAB donor CU-UP; the DU of IAB donor 2 and the CU of IAB donor 1 are connected through an Internet protocol (IP) network.

[0278] When the IAB node operates in SA mode, the IAB node can be connected to one parent node or two parent nodes. The two parent nodes can be controlled by the same IAB donor or by different IAB donors. An F1 interface is established between the DU part of the IAB node and an IAB donor. The IAB donor can be connected to the 5G core network, which is the dotted line part in Figure 6. The IAB-donor-CU-CP is connected to the control plane network elements (such as access and mobility management functions) in the 5GC through the NG control plane interface (NG-C), and the IAB-donor-CU-UP is connected to the user plane network elements (such as user plane functions) in the 5GC through the NG user plane interface (NG-U).

[0279] When the IAB node works in NSA mode, the IAB-donor-CU-UP can be connected to the EPC (for example, connected to the serving gateway (SGW)) through the S1 user plane interface (S1-U), there is an LTE Uu air interface connection between the MeNB and the MT of the IAB node, there is an X2-C interface between the MeNB and the IAB-donor-CU-CP, and the MeNB is connected to the EPC through the S1 interface (including the S1 interface user plane and the S1 interface control plane), which is the dotted line part in Figure 6.

[0280] In another possible scenario, the MeNB in ​​Figure 6 can be replaced with a 5G gNB. The LTE-Uu interface in Figure 6 is correspondingly replaced with an NR-Uu interface. The gNB can establish user plane and / or control plane interfaces with the 5GC. The gNB and IAB-donor provide dual connectivity services for the IAB node. The gNB can act as the primary base station or secondary base station for the IAB node.

[0281] The above is an example of an application scenario of the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application. It should be understood that the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application is not limited to application only in the network architecture shown in Figure 6.

[0282] A border node in an IAB network can be called a border IAB node, or simply a border node. A border node in an IAB network has the following characteristics: the DU of the border node terminates at a different IAB-donor-CU than the DU of at least one of its parent nodes. Assume that an IAB node in an IAB network has two parent nodes, and the DU of the IAB node terminates at the CU of IAB-donor 1, the DU of one of the IAB node's parents terminates at the CU of IAB-donor 1, and the DU of the other parent of the IAB node terminates at the CU of IAB-donor 2. This IAB node is a border node (such as IAB-node2 in Figure 7).

[0283] For example, in an IAB network, in order to enhance network robustness and achieve more refined load balancing and topology management, the border node can perform a partial migration process, that is, the MT of the border node (IAB-MT2 in Figure 7) switches from one parent node (IAB-node1 in Figure 7) to another parent node (IAB-node3 in Figure 7). The two parent nodes belong to topologies controlled by different host CUs, that is, IAB-node1 in Figure 7 belongs to the topology controlled by Donor-CU1 (the solid box part in Figure 7), and IAB-node3 belongs to the topology controlled by Donor-CU2 (the dotted box part in Figure 7). During the partial migration process, the RRC connection of IAB-MT2 is switched from CU1 to CU2, but the F1 connection of IAB-DU2 is still terminated in CU1 (as shown by the solid arrow in Figure 7), and is not migrated to CU2 along with IAB-MT2. It can be understood that the F1 connection of IAB node 4, the child node of IAB node 2, can also be terminated in CU1 (as shown by the dotted arrow in Figure 7).

[0284] For example, the F1 interface of IAB node 2 is terminated at CU1, and IAB host 1 can be referred to as the F1-terminating IAB-donor of IAB node 2. CU2 has an RRC connection with IAB node 2, but the F1 connection of IAB node 2 is not terminated at CU2, and IAB host 2 can be referred to as the non-F1-terminating IAB-donor of IAB node 2.

[0285] After IAB node 2 switches from the CU1 topology to the CU2 topology, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release-17 standard (R17) introduces the IAB Transport Migration Management process to migrate the data traffic of IAB node 2 from the CU1 topology to the CU2 topology. That is, CU1 can perform the IAB Transport Migration Management process to migrate the data traffic of IAB node 2 to CU2 through the Xn interface between CU1 and CU2. The IAB Transport Migration Management process is as follows:

[0286] Step S701: CU1 sends an IAB Transport Migration Management request message to CU2. Correspondingly, CU2 receives the IAB Transport Migration Management request message.

[0287] CU1 is the F1-terminating IAB-donor of IAB node 2, and CU2 is the non-F1-terminating IAB-donor of IAB node 2. The IAB transport migration management request message is used to request migration of data traffic of IAB node 2 to CU2.

[0288] Step S702: CU2 sends an IAB Transport Migration Management response message to CU1. Correspondingly, CU1 receives the IAB Transport Migration Management response message.

[0289] The IAB transport migration management response message is used to respond to the IAB transport migration management request message, so as to migrate the data traffic of the IAB node 2 to the CU2.

[0290] For a detailed description of the above-mentioned "IAB Transport Migration Management" process, please refer to R17 TS 38.423. In the above-mentioned "IAB Transport Migration Management" process, CUs implement data traffic offloading by exchanging the quality of service (QoS) of data traffic and the corresponding integrated access and backhaul (IAB) configuration information. The R17 standard defines that this process is initiated by the F1-terminating IAB-donor (i.e., CU1 in Figure 7) to the Non-F1-terminating IAB-donor (i.e., CU2 in Figure 7).

[0291] In the IAB network, IAB nodes are mobile, such as vehicle-mounted IAB nodes. For example, a mobile IAB node can be called a mobile IAB node (mIAB). As shown in Figure 7, the mIAB node can switch from IAB donor 1 to IAB donor 2 during movement. Since the coverage of the donor CU1 is limited, it is impossible to maintain the F1 connection with the mIAB-DU all the time. Therefore, the F1 connection of the mIAB-DU needs to be migrated from Donor-CU1 to Donor-CU2. In this scenario, the way in which the mIAB-DU needs to migrate the RRC connection and the F1 connection from Donor-CU1 to Donor-CU2 can be called full migration.

[0292] Furthermore, in an IAB network, given the wide mobility of IAB nodes, when the above-mentioned mAB node moves far away, it may be difficult for the mAB-DU to maintain an IP connection with the original CU, or the transmission delay may be very large. Therefore, to support wide-range mobility, Rel-18 introduced an important feature, DU migration.

[0293] Please refer to FIG8 , which is an example of DU migration in an IAB network provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0294] As shown in Figure 8, the RRC connection of mAB-MT is always on CU2, and the F1 interface of mAB-DU is migrated from CU1 to CU3. The mAB-DU1 and mAB-DU2 in Figure 8 can be understood as two logical DUs on a physical DU. DU migration is achieved in this way: assuming that the source DU is mAB-DU1, mAB-node generates a new logical DU as mAB-DU2, mAB-DU2 establishes an F1 interface with CU3, CU1 sends a UE handover request to CU3, and switches the UE from the cell under mAB-DU1 to the cell under mAB-DU2. Then CU1 releases the F1 interface between it and mAB-DU1. At this point, DU migration is completed.

[0295] In Rel-18, it is assumed that DU migration and MT migration are completely decoupled, that is, the DU's CU and the MT's CU can always be different. Therefore, if the F1 terminating CU of the mAB-DU is always CU2, the MT does not necessarily switch from CU1 to CU2 (although this is possible); in DU migration, the MT can be in CU2 while the DU migrates from CU1 to CU3 (specifically, CU2 can be the same CU as CU1 or CU3). The reason for assuming that DU migration and MT migration are completely decoupled is that the DU migration process is relatively complex (requiring the generation of two logical DUs and the switching of UEs one by one to the new logical DU). DU migration should not be frequent, and the DU's CU should preferably be a CU with a relatively large control range. MT migration, on the other hand, is a MT switch and may be performed frequently. The selection of the MT CU is determined by signal quality, and the MT's CU may be different from the DU's CU.

[0296] Based on the above assumption that DU migration and MT migration are completely decoupled, during the IAB node network access process, the MT's RRC connection and the DU's F1 interface can be terminated on different CUs. For the cases where the MT and DU are connected to different CUs during DU migration and IAB network access, cross-topology traffic transmission needs to be established. This requires the IAB-DU's CU (such as CU3 in Figure 8) to initiate the IAB transport migration management (IAB TRANSPORT MIGRATION MANAGEMENT) process to the IAB-MT's CU (such as CU2 in Figure 8). This process is associated with the IAB-MT. The IAB-DU's CU needs to allocate an Xn interface identifier (UE XnAP ID) to the IAB-MT, and needs to know the UE XnAP ID of this IAB-MT under CU2, and carry these two UE XnAP IDs in the IAB TRANSPORT MIGRATION MANAGEMENT REQUEST message to identify that these cross-topology traffic are associated with this IAB-MT.

[0297] How does an IAB-node know which CU its DU is connected to when joining the network? How does the IAB-node know which DU migration it needs to perform and the corresponding target CU? Currently, there are two methods: OAM triggering or CU triggering. The following describes each method in detail:

[0298] (1) In the case of OAM triggering, OAM configures the CU of the IAB-DU (for DU migration, it refers to the target CU) on the IAB-node. For example, it can be pre-configured when the IAB leaves the factory (for example, for IAB nodes with a determined approximate deployment location or deployed on a fixed running track, such as the IAB node on a bus); or after the IAB-MT joins the network, the OAM server selects a nearby base station that is suitable as the CU of the IAB-DU based on the location of the IAB-node, and sends the identifier of the IAB-DU CU to the IAB-node through the PDU session between the IAB-MT and the core network.

[0299] (2) For CU-triggered scenarios, specifically, for network access, CU2 informs the IAB-MT of CU1's identifier; for DU migration, CU1 informs the IAB-DU1 of CU3's identifier (it is generally not considered that CU2 informs the IAB-MT because DU migration is triggered by the DU's source CU). IAB-DU1 triggers IAB-DU2 through the internal interface to initiate the establishment of the F1 interface to CU3.

[0300] However, during the IAB network access process, when the MT and DU are connected to different CU scenarios (including OAM-triggered and CU-triggered scenarios) and DU migration scenarios (specifically OAM-triggered scenarios), the CU of the IAB-MT does not know when to send the UE XnAP ID allocated to the IAB-MT to the IAB-MT, as well as for CU-triggered DU migration. For example, in Figure 8, CU1 triggers the IAB-node to perform DU migration. At this time, the IAB-node does not know how to obtain the UE XnAP ID under CU2, which will cause the IAB node to be unable to receive the information required to initiate the TRANSPORT MIGRATION MANAGEMENT process at the correct time, resulting in the CU connected to the IAB-DU being unable to establish cross-topology traffic transmission, and thus causing the cross-topology communication service to fail.

[0301] In view of this, an embodiment of the present application provides a new communication method that enables the IAB node to receive the information required to initiate the IAB TRANSPORT MIGRATION MANAGEMENT process at the correct time, thereby ensuring that the CU connected to the IAB-DU can successfully establish cross-topology traffic transmission and ensure the smooth completion of cross-topology communication services.

[0302] Please refer to Figure 9, which is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication method is applied to the field of communication technology, such as communication in an IAB network, and includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0303] S901: The first host node generates first information.

[0304] S902: The first host node sends first information to the relay node / third host node. Correspondingly, the relay node / third host node receives the first information from the first host node.

[0305] It can be understood that the relay node in the embodiment of the present application can be a device equipped with a processor / chip that can be used to execute computer-executable instructions, or it can be a processor / chip that can be used to execute computer-executable instructions, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited to this. The relay node in the embodiment of the present application includes a terminal-side part facing the parent node and a network-side part facing the child node, for example, it can include MT and DU, or it can include MT and gNB, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited to this. Among them, the DU migration and MT migration of the relay node are completely decoupled, so the host node connected to the MT of the relay node and the host node connected to the DU can be different. The MT of the relay node is connected to the first host node, and the DU of the relay node is connected to the third host node. Optionally, when the communication method in the embodiment of the present application is applied to the IAB network, the relay node can be an IAB node, the MT of the IAB node is connected to the first host node, and the DU of the IAB node is connected to the third host node. Exemplarily, the relay node may be the mIAB in FIG. 8 , configured to execute the communication method in the embodiment of the present application, so as to receive the information required to initiate the IAB TRANSPORT MIGRATION MANAGEMENT process at the correct time, thereby ensuring that the CU connected to the IAB-DU can successfully establish cross-topology traffic transmission.

[0306] It can be understood that the first host node in the embodiment of the present application can be a device equipped with a processor / chip that can be used to execute computer-executable instructions, or it can be a processor / chip that can be used to execute computer-executable instructions, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited to this. The first host node in the embodiment of the present application is connected to the MT of the relay node. Optionally, when the communication method in the embodiment of the present application is applied to the IAB network, the relay node can be an IAB node, and the first host node can be connected to the MT of the IAB node. Exemplarily, the first host node can be CU2 in Figure 8 above, which is used to execute the communication method in the embodiment of the present application, so that the IAB node can receive the information required to initiate the IAB TRANSPORT MIGRATION MANAGEMENT process at the correct time, thereby ensuring that the CU connected to the IAB-DU can successfully establish cross-topology traffic transmission.

[0307] It is understandable that the second host node in the embodiment of the present application can be a device equipped with a processor / chip that can be used to execute computer-executable instructions, or it can be a processor / chip that can be used to execute computer-executable instructions, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited to this. The second host node in the embodiment of the present application is the source CU corresponding to the MT of the relay node. It is understandable that the MT of the relay node is migrated from the second host node to the first host node. Optionally, when the communication method in the embodiment of the present application is applied to the IAB network, the relay node can be an IAB node, and the second host node can be the source CU corresponding to the MT of the IAB node. It is understandable that the MT of the IAB node is migrated from the second host node to the first host node.

[0308] It can be understood that the third host node in the embodiment of the present application can be a device equipped with a processor / chip that can be used to execute computer-executable instructions, or it can be a processor / chip that can be used to execute computer-executable instructions, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited to this. The third host node in the embodiment of the present application is connected to the DU of the relay node. Optionally, when the communication method in the embodiment of the present application is applied to the IAB network, the relay node can be an IAB node, and the third host node can be connected to the DU of the IAB node. Exemplarily, the third host node can be CU3 in Figure 8 above, which is used to execute the communication method in the embodiment of the present application, so that the IAB node can receive the information required to initiate the IAB TRANSPORT MIGRATION MANAGEMENT process at the correct time, thereby ensuring that the CU connected to the IAB-DU can successfully establish cross-topology traffic transmission.

[0309] Specifically, the above S901 and / or S902 are executed when the following triggering conditions are met:

[0310] Case 1:

[0311] When the first trigger condition is met, the first host node generates the first information. The first trigger condition in this case can be understood as a condition that triggers the first host node to generate the first information. Optionally, when the first trigger condition is met, the first host node also sends the first information. The first trigger condition in this case can be understood as a condition that triggers the first host node to generate and send the first information.

[0312] Case 2:

[0313] When the second trigger condition is met, the first host node sends the first information. The second trigger condition in this case can be understood as a condition that triggers the first host node to send the first information. Optionally, the generation of the first information by the first host node can also be triggered by the second trigger condition, or the generation of the first information is unrelated to the second trigger condition, and the second trigger condition is only used to trigger the sending of the first information. This embodiment of the present application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0314] The first trigger condition and / or the second trigger condition include but are not limited to any one or more of the following:

[0315] (1) The relay node sends the second information to the first host node. Correspondingly, the first host node receives the second information from the relay node, where the second information is used to request the first information.

[0316] (2) The first host node receives third information, where the third information is used to indicate that the authorization of the relay node has been passed.

[0317] (3) The relay node sends fourth information to the first host node. Correspondingly, the first host node receives the fourth information from the relay node. The fourth information is used to instruct the relay node to join the network.

[0318] (4) The first host node receives fifth information, where the fifth information is used to instruct the MT of the relay node to switch from the second host node to the first host node.

[0319] It should be understood that the first trigger condition and the second trigger condition may be the same or different, and this is not a limitation of the present embodiment. In addition, the above-listed trigger conditions are merely illustrative of possible triggering steps S901 and / or S902 and should not be construed as limiting the present embodiment. Embodiments derived from supplements or reasonable variations of the above trigger conditions fall within the scope of protection of the present embodiment.

[0320] The first information includes at least one of an identifier of the first host node and a first interface identifier assigned by the first host node to the MT of the relay node. The first interface identifier is used to identify the MT of the relay node, and may be an Xn interface identifier (UE XnAP ID) or an NG interface identifier (UE NGAP ID), which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0321] Optionally, the second information may be carried in a radio resource control (RRC) message, such as Msg5 or IABOtherInformation.

[0322] Optionally, the above-mentioned third information may come from the access and mobility management function (AMF), for example, carried in the UE initial context establishment request message INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST or the UE context modification request message UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST; or it may come from the second host node, for example, carried in the handover request HANDOVER REQUEST message. This embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

[0323] Optionally, the relay node authorization information may include IAB authorization information (IAB Authorized) and / or Mobile IAB authorization information (Mobile IAB Authorized). The IAB authorization information and Mobile IAB authorization information may be two different information elements. When the value of the IAB Authorized and / or Mobile IAB Authorized information element is "authorized," it indicates that the relay node has been authorized.

[0324] Optionally, the fourth information may be IAB node indication information or mobile IAB node indication information sent by the IAB-MT (for example, sent in Msg5), used to indicate that the IAB node is an IAB node or a mobile IAB node.

[0325] Optionally, the fifth information may be information indicating that the relay node's MT requests to switch from the second host node to the first host node, or may be switching completion information after the relay node's MT completes switching from the second host node to the first host node. This embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

[0326] Currently, DU migration and MT migration on relay nodes are completely decoupled. Therefore, when the host node of a relay node's MT connection is different from the host node of the DU connection, the CU connected to the DU is required to initiate the relay node's transport migration management process to the CU connected to the MT to establish cross-topology traffic transmission. However, because the relay node cannot receive the information required to initiate the transport migration management process at the correct time, the CU connected to the relay node's DU connection cannot establish cross-topology traffic transmission, which in turn causes cross-topology communication services to fail. For example, the CU connected to the DU of the relay node has cross-topology communication service requirements and needs to establish cross-topology traffic transmission to the CU connected to the MT of the relay node at the first moment. However, the CU connected to the MT of the relay node does not know when to send the information required to initiate the transmission migration management process to the MT of the relay node. For example, the information required to initiate the transmission migration management process is sent to the MT of the relay node at the second moment after the first moment. This will result in the CU connected to the DU of the relay node failing to receive the information required to initiate the transmission migration management process in time at the correct time, resulting in the CU connected to the DU of the relay node being unable to establish cross-topology traffic transmission.

[0327] In an embodiment of the present application, the trigger conditions for generating (or sending, or generating and sending) the first information required for the transmission migration management process are clearly given. When the above trigger conditions are met, the first host node can generate (or send, or generate and send) the first information in a timely manner, so that the CU connected to the DU of the relay node can receive the first information required to initiate the transmission migration management process in a timely manner within the correct time, thereby successfully establishing cross-topology traffic transmission and ensuring the smooth completion of cross-topology communication services.

[0328] In a possible embodiment, the second information includes an identifier of the third host node and / or an identifier of the relay node.

[0329] The third host node is connected to the DU of the relay node, and the third host node is different from the first host node, that is, the CU to which the MT of the relay node is connected is different from the CU to which the DU is connected.

[0330] It is understandable that the first host node can determine whether the third host node and the first host node are the same host node based on the identifier of the third host node. If not, it is considered that cross-topology traffic transmission needs to be established subsequently.

[0331] Optionally, the identifier of the third donor node may be a gNB ID and / or an IP address; the identifier of the relay node may be a gNB-DU ID and / or an IP address, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0332] In a possible embodiment, when the relay node is authorized, the first information generated by the first host node further includes backhaul link configuration information for establishing a backhaul link for communication.

[0333] It is understood that for the MT network access scenario of the relay node, if the relay node has been authorized, the first information may also include backhaul link configuration information. For the DU migration scenario of the relay node, the backhaul link configuration information in the first information is optional, because the backhaul link is always located in the topology of the first host node, and the backhaul link configuration can directly reuse the configuration of the source DU.

[0334] Optionally, the backhaul link configuration information includes but is not limited to at least one of a default backhaul radio link control channel (default BH RLC CH), a default routing identifier (default routing ID), and a backhaul link adaptation layer protocol address (BAP address).

[0335] In a possible embodiment, in a scenario where the first host node generates the first information and sends the first information to the third host node, the first information may further include an identifier of the relay node.

[0336] It can be understood that the third host node can determine that the relay node is an authorized node based on the identifier of the relay node included in the first information and the first interface identifier assigned by the first host node to the MT of the relay node, thereby allowing the establishment of an F1 interface with the relay node and performing relevant F1 interface configuration.

[0337] Optionally, the identifier of the relay node may be a gNB-DU ID and / or an IP address, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0338] In a possible embodiment, the communication method further includes:

[0339] The relay node sends the sixth information to the first node, and correspondingly, the first node receives the sixth information from the relay node.

[0340] The sixth information is used to indicate an identifier of the first donor node, such as a gNB-DU ID and / or IP address of the first donor node.

[0341] The first node in the embodiment of the present application is an operation and maintenance management (OAM) function.

[0342] It can be understood that, by sending the sixth information to the first node, the OAM relay node can be informed that the required IP address is that of the first host node.

[0343] In a possible embodiment, the communication method further includes:

[0344] When the first information includes the backhaul link configuration information, the relay node determines that the relay node has been authorized and sends the seventh information to the third host node. Correspondingly, the third host node receives the seventh information from the relay node.

[0345] The seventh information is used to request to establish an F1 interface.

[0346] It is understandable that, when the first information further includes backhaul link configuration information, it can be inferred that the relay node has been authorized. In this case, the seventh information can be sent to the third host node to request the establishment of the F1 interface.

[0347] Please refer to Figure 10, which is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. It is understood that the steps in the embodiment of the present application can be considered as reasonable variations or supplements to the embodiment in Figure 9 above; alternatively, it is understood that the communication method in the embodiment of the present application can also be considered as an embodiment that can be executed independently, and this application does not limit this. The communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application is applicable to the field of communication technology, such as communication in an IAB network.

[0348] It can be understood that the CU3 involved in the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the third host node in the communication method shown in Figure 9 above, the IAB (including IAB-DU and IAB-MT) involved in the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the relay node in the communication method shown in Figure 9 above, the CU2 involved in the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the first host node in the communication method shown in Figure 9 above, and the OAM involved in the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the first node in the communication method shown in Figure 9 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0349] The communication method includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0350] Step 0: The IAB-MT accesses the network from the serving cell under CU2. The core network authenticates it and initiates an initial context setup request (INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST) to CU2. This message indicates that the authorization status of the IAB node is "authorized".

[0351] Step 1 (optional): The IAB-MT indicates the identity of CU2 (e.g., gNB ID and / or IP address of CU2) and / or the identity of donor-DU2 (e.g., gNB-DU ID and / or IP address of donor-DU2) to the OAM server to inform OAM that the IP address required by the IAB-node is under CU2 or donor-DU2.

[0352] Step 2 (optional): The OAM server sends the IP address under CU2 to the IAB-MT.

[0353] It is understandable that the above steps 1 and 2 are optional, because the IAB-node has multiple ways to obtain the IP address. It does not necessarily have to request it from the OAM, but can also request it directly from the CU2, or the CU2 can directly send it to the IAB-node.

[0354] Step 3 (optional): IAB-MT sends an RRC message to CU2 (for example, Msg5 message or IABOtherInformation) to request CU2 to generate and send UE XnAP ID (for the network access scenario, IAB-MT has just joined the network, and CU2 has not yet interacted with other CUs about the demand for Xn messages of this MT, so at this time, CU2 must be triggered to "generate" the UE XnAP ID first).

[0355] Optionally, this message may carry CU3's identifier (e.g., gNB ID and / or IP address) to inform CU2 of the identity of the CU in the IAB-DU. If CU2 discovers that it is not itself, it triggers step 4. Carrying CU3's identifier is optional, because the IAB-MT can also directly request the UE XnAP ID without informing CU2 of CU3's identity. Alternatively, in the CU-triggered scenario, CU3 and CU2 have already exchanged identifiers, in which case this RRC message does not need to carry CU3's identifier.

[0356] Optionally, this message may also carry the gNB-DU ID and / or IP address of the IAB-DU of this node, so that in the subsequent Option 2, CU2 sends the gNB-DU identifier and UE XnAP ID to CU3, so that CU3 can associate the IAB-DU and UE XnAP ID after receiving the gNB-DU identifier carried in the F1 interface setup request (F1 SETUP REQUEST). In this way, when initiating the IAB transport migration management (TRANSPORT MIGRATION MANAGEMENT) process for the traffic of this IAB-DU in subsequent steps, the correct UE XnAP ID is carried.

[0357] It is understandable that step 3 is optional. In the case of CU triggering, CU3 directly informs CU2 that it is the CU of IAB-DU, and step 3 is not required. In addition, there may be other triggering conditions for OAM triggering, including but not limited to the following:

[0358] (1) After CU2 receives the RRC message for requesting UE XnAP ID in step 3, it generates a UE XnAP ID for this IAB-MT and sends this UE XnAP ID to IAB-MT (such as Option 1) or directly to CU3 (such as Option 2). If the RRC message carries the identifier of CU3, CU2 can optionally determine whether CU3 and CU2 are the same CU. If not, it is considered that cross-topology traffic transmission needs to be established later, and a UE XnAP ID is generated for this IAB-MT, and this UE XnAP ID is sent to IAB-MT (such as Option 1) or directly to CU3 (such as Option 2) (This is optional and can be triggered upon receipt of the message without judgment).

[0359] (2) In Rel-18, since the migration of IAB-DU and IAB-MT has been completely decoupled, when CU2 receives the authorization approval indication in step 0, it can also directly generate a UE XnAP ID for this IAB-MT and send this UE XnAP ID to the IAB-MT (such as Option 1) or directly to CU3 (such as Option 2). Because this information will be needed sooner or later, it can be directly allocated and sent when the IAB-MT joins the network.

[0360] (3) Similar to trigger condition (2), in addition to "authorization passed," the trigger condition may also be CU2 receiving an indication message indicating IAB-MT network access, such as receiving an IAB indication message or a mobile IAB indication message reported by IAB-MT (e.g., reported in Msg5). In this case, the UE XnAP ID can be directly generated and sent to the IAB-MT (e.g., Option 1) or directly to CU3 (e.g., Option 2). This rule may be configured by OAM on CU2.

[0361] (4) Considering the migration of IAB-MT, if IAB-MT migrates from another CU to CU2, CU2 may also send the UE XnAP ID to IAB-MT (Option 1, such as through a handover command) or directly to CU3 (Option 2) after receiving the handover request message (HANDOVER REQUEST) about IAB-MT or the handover completion message (RRCReconfigurationComplete) about IAB-MT for subsequent use.

[0362] CU2 is triggered by step 0 or step 3 and can execute different options:

[0363] Option 1:

[0364] Step 4: CU2 sends an RRC message to the IAB-MT, carrying the UE XnAP ID assigned by CU2 to the IAB-MT. In addition, for network access scenarios, it is also necessary to carry the backhaul link (BH) configuration, including but not limited to at least one of the default backhaul radio link control channel (default BH RLC CH), the default routing identifier (default routing ID), and the backhaul link adaptation layer protocol address (BAP address); for DU migration scenarios, the BH configuration is optional because the BH is always located in the CU2 topology and the BH configuration can directly reuse the source DU. In addition, it may also optionally carry the IP address of the IAB-node under CU2 and at least one of the gNB IDs of CU2.

[0365] Step 5: The IAB-DU initiates an F1 interface setup request (F1 SETUP REQUEST) to CU3, carrying at least one of CU2's gNB ID and / or the NR Cell Global Identifier (NCGI) of the cell the MT is accessing, the UE XnAP ID assigned by CU2 to the IAB-MT, and the IP address of the IAB-node. It is understood that if the IAB-MT receives the BH configuration from step 4, the IAB-MT can infer that it is authorized and can initiate the F1 interface setup request in step 5.

[0366] Step 6: Based on the F1 SETUP REQUEST message sent by the IAB-node in Step 5 and the relevant information in the message, CU3 infers that this is an authorized IAB node and allows the establishment of the F1 interface and the relevant F1 configuration. Receiving the F1 SETUP REQUEST message indicates that CU2 has already configured the relevant backhaul link resources for the IAB-MT, meaning that CU2 must know that the IAB-node is authorized to do so.

[0367] Option 2:

[0368] Step 4: CU2 sends an IAB access request to CU3, carrying the UE XnAP ID assigned to the IAB-MT and the identifier of the IAB-DU (IP address and / or gNB-DU ID).

[0369] Step 5 (optional): CU2 sends an RRC message to the IAB-MT, carrying the BH configuration and, optionally, the IP address of the IAB-node under CU2. This message is mandatory for network access scenarios and optional for DU migration scenarios because the BH always resides in the CU2 topology and the BH configuration can be reused directly from the source DU.

[0370] Step 6: The IAB-DU initiates an F1 interface setup request (F1 SETUP REQUEST) to CU3, normally carrying the IAB-DU identifier. Since CU3 has already received the correspondence between the IAB-DU identifier and the IAB-MT's UE XnAP ID in step 4, it can carry the correct UE XnAP ID when initiating the IAB TRANSPORT MIGRATION MANAGEMENT process for this IAB-DU's traffic in subsequent steps. Similar to Option 1, if the IAB-MT receives the BH configuration from step 5, it can infer that it is in an authorized state and can initiate the F1 interface setup request in step 6.

[0371] Step 7: Based on the IAB-DU identifier and the UE XnAP ID of the IAB-MT received from CU2 in step 4, CU3 infers that this is an authorized IAB node and allows the establishment of the F1 interface and related F1 configuration. Alternatively, based on the F1 SETUP REQUEST message sent by the IAB-node in step 6, CU3 infers that this is an authorized IAB node and allows the establishment of the F1 interface and related F1 configuration.

[0372] After CU3 completes the above different options (Option 1 or Option 2), it executes step 8: If there is a traffic transmission requirement between CU3 and IAB-DU, CU3 can initiate the IAB TRANSPORT MIGRATION MANAGEMENT process to CU2, correctly carrying the UE XnAP ID of IAB-MT under CU2 and CU3 and the IP address of the IAB node.

[0373] Through the embodiments of the present application, the triggering conditions for the IAB-MT CU to allocate and send the UE XnAP ID to the IAB-MT are clarified, so that the UE XnAP ID of the IAB-MT can be correctly transmitted to the CU of the IAB-DU at the required time, thereby successfully establishing cross-topology traffic transmission in the IAB integration to different CU scenarios and DU migration scenarios.

[0374] Please refer to Figure 11, which is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. It is understandable that the steps in the embodiment of the present application can be regarded as reasonable variations or supplements of the embodiments in Figures 9 or 10 above; or, it is understandable that the communication method in the embodiment of the present application can also be regarded as an embodiment that can be executed independently, and the present application does not limit this. The communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application is applied to the field of communication technology, such as communication of an IAB network, and the communication method includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0375] S1101: The fourth host node sends the eighth information to the relay node. Correspondingly, the relay node receives the eighth information from the fourth host node.

[0376] S1102: The fourth host node sends ninth information to the first host node. Correspondingly, the first host node receives the ninth information from the fourth host node.

[0377] S1103: The first host node sends the tenth information to the relay node. Correspondingly, the relay node receives the tenth information from the first host node.

[0378] It can be understood that the relay node involved in the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the relay node in the communication method shown in Figure 9 above, and the first host node involved in the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the first host node in the communication method shown in Figure 9 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0379] It is understandable that the fourth host node in the embodiment of the present application can be a device equipped with a processor / chip that can be used to execute computer-executable instructions, or it can be a processor / chip that can be used to execute computer-executable instructions, and the embodiment of the present application does not limit this. The fourth host node in the embodiment of the present application is the source CU corresponding to the DU of the relay node. It is understandable that the DU of the relay node is migrated from the fourth host node to the third host node. Optionally, when the communication method in the embodiment of the present application is applied to the IAB network, the relay node can be an IAB node, and the fourth host node can be the source CU corresponding to the DU of the IAB node. It is understandable that the DU of the IAB node is migrated from the fourth host node to the third host node. Exemplarily, the fourth host node can be CU1 in Figure 8 above, which is used to execute the communication method in the embodiment of the present application, so that the IAB node can receive the information required to initiate the IAB TRANSPORT MIGRATION MANAGEMENT process at the correct time, thereby ensuring that the CU connected to the IAB-DU can successfully establish cross-topology traffic transmission.

[0380] Among them, the eighth information in the embodiment of the present application includes a first interface identifier assigned by the first host node to the MT of the relay node. The first interface identifier is used to identify the MT of the relay node. Specifically, it can be an Xn interface identifier (UE XnAP ID) or an NG interface identifier (UE NGAP ID). This embodiment of the present application does not limit this. Optionally, the eighth information can be carried in a message that triggers the relay node to initiate the establishment of an F1 interface to the third host node.

[0381] The ninth information in the embodiment of the present application includes a first interface identifier assigned by the first host node to the MT of the relay node, and / or a second interface identifier assigned by the fourth host node to the MT of the relay node. The first interface identifier is used by the first host node to identify the MT of the relay node, and the second interface identifier is used by the fourth host node to identify the MT of the relay node. The above-mentioned first interface identifier and second interface identifier can specifically be an Xn interface identifier (UE XnAP ID) or an NG interface identifier (UE NGAP ID), and the embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

[0382] The tenth information in the embodiment of the present application includes the first interface identifier assigned by the first host node to the MT of the relay node. The first interface identifier can specifically be an Xn interface identifier (UE XnAP ID) or an NG interface identifier (UE NGAP ID). The embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

[0383] It can be understood that the above step S1101 can form an independent and complete solution, that is, the fourth host node sends the eighth information to the relay node, and correspondingly, the relay node receives the eighth information from the fourth host node.

[0384] Through the embodiments of the present application, in a scenario where the source CU (i.e., the fourth host node) corresponding to the DU of the relay node triggers DU migration, the first interface identifier of the MT of the relay node under the first host node can be notified to the relay node by directly sending the eighth information to the relay node, so that the relay node can further inform the target CU (i.e., the third host node) corresponding to the DU of the relay node of this information, so as to help the third host node successfully establish cross-topology traffic transmission and ensure the smooth completion of cross-topology communication services.

[0385] It can be understood that the above steps S1102 and S1103 can form an independent and complete solution, that is, the fourth host node sends the ninth information to the first host node, and after the first host node receives the ninth information from the fourth host node, it sends the tenth information to the relay node, and the relay node receives the tenth information from the first host node.

[0386] Through the embodiments of the present application, in a scenario where the source CU (i.e., the fourth host node) corresponding to the DU of the relay node triggers DU migration, the first interface identifier of the MT of the relay node under the first host node can be indirectly sent by the first host node to inform the relay node, so that the relay node can further inform the target CU (i.e., the third host node) corresponding to the DU of the relay node of this information, so as to help the third host node successfully establish cross-topology traffic transmission and ensure the smooth completion of cross-topology communication services.

[0387] In a possible embodiment, the ninth information further includes an identifier of the third host node.

[0388] The third donor node is connected to the DU of the relay node, and the third donor node is different from the first donor node. The identifier of the third donor node can specifically be the gNB ID and / or IP address of the third donor node, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0389] In a possible embodiment, the tenth information further includes an identifier of the third host node.

[0390] The third donor node is connected to the DU of the relay node, and the third donor node is different from the first donor node. The identifier of the third donor node can specifically be the gNB ID and / or IP address of the third donor node, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0391] It can be understood that carrying the identifier of the third host node can implicitly indicate that it has the function of triggering the relay node to initiate the establishment of an F1 interface to the third host node, and there is no need for the fourth host node to send an additional message to the relay node to trigger the relay node to initiate the establishment of an F1 interface to the third host node.

[0392] Please refer to Figure 12, which is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. It is understood that the steps in the embodiments of the present application can be considered as reasonable variations or supplements to the embodiments in Figures 9, 10, or 11 above; alternatively, it is understood that the communication method in the embodiments of the present application can also be considered as an embodiment that can be executed independently, and this application does not limit this. The communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application is applied to the field of communication technology, such as communication in an IAB network.

[0393] It can be understood that the CU3 involved in the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the third host node in the communication method shown in Figure 9 above, the IAB (including IAB-DU2, IAB-MT, IAB-DU1) involved in the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the relay node in the communication method shown in Figure 9 above, the CU2 involved in the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the first host node in the communication method shown in Figure 9 above, and the CU1 involved in the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the fourth host node in the communication method shown in Figure 11 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0394] The communication method includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0395] Step 1: The source CU (CU1) of the IAB-DU decides to perform DU migration.

[0396] Different options can be executed:

[0397] Option 1:

[0398] The IAB-node obtains the UE XnAP ID allocated by CU2 to the IAB-MT from CU1.

[0399] Step 2: CU1 sends an F1 interface setup trigger message (F1AP message) to IAB-DU1, triggering the IAB-node to perform DU migration. The F1AP message carries the UE XnAP ID assigned by CU2 to the IAB-MT and, optionally, the identity of CU3 (e.g., gNB ID and / or IP address). Previously, traffic between CU1 and IAB-DU1 was transmitted through the CU2 topology. CU1 and CU2 had previously exchanged IAB TRANSPORT MIGRATION MANAGEMENT procedures regarding IAB-MT. Therefore, CU1 knows the UE XnAP ID of the IAB-MT in CU2 and can send it directly to the IAB-node.

[0400] Option 2:

[0401] The IAB-node obtains the UE XnAP ID allocated by CU2 to the IAB-MT from CU2.

[0402] Step 2: CU1 sends an Xn interface trigger message to CU2, triggering CU2 to send the UE XnAP ID of the IAB-MT in CU2 to the IAB-node. This message carries the UE XnAP ID of the IAB-MT in CU1 and / or CU2, informing CU2 which IAB-MT this is. Optionally, it also carries the identifier of CU3 (e.g., gNB ID and / or IP address).

[0403] Step 3: CU2 sends an RRC message to the IAB-MT, carrying the IAB-MT's UE XnAP ID within CU2. Optionally, it may also carry the CU3 identifier (e.g., gNB ID and / or IP address). If the CU3 identifier is included in this message, it implicitly indicates that this message triggers the IAB-node to initiate the establishment of the F1 interface with CU3, eliminating the need for CU1 to send the trigger information to the IAB-node in step 4.

[0404] Step 4 (optional): CU1 sends an F1 interface establishment trigger message (F1AP message) to IAB-DU1 to trigger the IAB-node to perform DU migration. Optionally, the message carries the identifier of CU3 (e.g., gNB ID and / or IP address).

[0405] After executing the above different options (Option 1 or Option 2), the IAB executes step 5: IAB-DU2 sends an F1 interface establishment request (F1 SETUP REQUEST) message to CU3, requesting to establish the F1 interface, carrying at least one of CU2's gNB ID and / or the NCGI of the IAB-MT access cell, the UE XnAP ID allocated by CU2 to the IAB-MT, and the IP address of the IAB-node.

[0406] Step 6: If traffic transmission needs to occur between CU3 and IAB-DU, CU3 can initiate the IAB TRANSPORT MIGRATION MANAGEMENT process to CU2, correctly carrying the UE XnAP ID of the IAB-MT under CU2 and CU3 and the IP address of the IAB node.

[0407] Through the embodiments of the present application, it is clarified that in the scenario where the source CU of the IAB-DU triggers DU migration, the IAB-node can obtain the UE XnAP ID under CU2, so that in the scenario where the source CU of the IAB-DU triggers DU migration, the UE XnAP ID of the IAB-MT under the CU of the IAB-MT is notified to the IAB-node directly or indirectly, so that the IAB-node can further inform the target CU of the IAB-DU of this information, so as to help the target CU of the IAB-DU successfully establish cross-topology traffic transmission.

[0408] In addition, the present application also provides a communication method in a DU migration scenario.

[0409] Please refer to Figure 13, which is a flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. It is understood that the steps in the embodiments of the present application can be regarded as reasonable variations or supplements to the embodiments in Figures 9, 10, 11, or 12 above; alternatively, it is understood that the communication method in the embodiments of the present application can also be regarded as an embodiment that can be executed independently, and this application does not limit this. The communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application is applied to the field of communication technology, such as communication in an IAB network.

[0410] It can be understood that the CU3 involved in the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the third host node in the communication method shown in Figure 9 above, the IAB (including IAB-DU2, IAB-MT, IAB-DU1) involved in the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the relay node in the communication method shown in Figure 9 above, and the CU1 involved in the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the fourth host node in the communication method shown in Figure 11 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0411] The communication method includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0412] In the DU migration scenario, different options can be implemented:

[0413] Option 1:

[0414] Steps 1 and 2: In the case of OAM-triggered DU migration, the IAB-node decides to perform DU migration. IAB-DU1 sends a message to CU1, requesting QoS-related information about the traffic on IAB-DU1, such as the traffic index and traffic profile.

[0415] Option 2:

[0416] Step 1: In the case where CU triggers DU migration, CU1 decides to perform DU migration.

[0417] After executing the above different options (Option 1 or Option 2), CU1 performs step 3: CU1 sends an F1 interface message (F1AP message) to IAB-DU1, carrying QoS-related information of the traffic on IAB-DU1, such as traffic index and traffic profile.

[0418] Step 4: IAB-DU2 initiates an F1 interface setup request (F1 SETUP REQUEST) message to CU3, carrying QoS-related information of the traffic on IAB-DU1, for example, including at least one of the traffic index and traffic profile, and the number of users in the cell under IAB-DU1.

[0419] In this embodiment of the present application, IAB-DU2 informs CU3 of traffic-related information (QoS parameters, number of users, etc.) under IAB-DU1 in the F1 SETUP REQUEST. Because this traffic will be subsequently migrated to CU3, CU3 can refer to this information and decide whether to accept the F1 interface establishment request based on its own processing capabilities.

[0420] It is understandable that, on the one hand, because this traffic is actually transmitted through the BH resources under CU2, whether QoS can be met is determined by the BH link quality and has little to do with CU3. A more reasonable assumption is that CU3's control plane has specific processing capabilities and CU3 can decide whether to accept the establishment of the F1 interface based on the number of users under IAB-DU1. On the other hand, the network's service to UEs is best-effort, and UEs are not necessarily considered when establishing the interface. Therefore, this embodiment is optional.

[0421] Through the embodiments of the present application, in the DU migration scenario, the target CU of the IAB-DU can obtain traffic-related information under the IAB-DU before the F1 interface is established. This allows the target CU of the IAB-DU to refer to this information and make a more reasonable decision on whether to accept the F1 interface establishment request based on its own processing capabilities.

[0422] The above describes in detail the methods of the embodiments of the present application. The following provides an apparatus for implementing any method in the embodiments of the present application. For example, an apparatus is provided that includes units (or means) for implementing each step performed by the device in any of the above methods.

[0423] As shown in Figure 14, the communication device 140 may include a communication unit 1401 and a processing unit 1402. The communication unit 1401 and the processing unit 1402 may be software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0424] The communication unit 1401 can implement a sending function and / or a receiving function, and can also be described as a transceiver unit. The communication unit 1401 can also be a unit that integrates an acquisition unit and a transmission unit, wherein the acquisition unit is used to implement the receiving function and the transmission unit is used to implement the transmission function. Optionally, the communication unit 1401 can be used to receive information sent by other devices, and can also be used to send information to other devices.

[0425] In one possible design, the communication device 140 may correspond to the first host node in the method embodiments shown in Figures 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 above, such as the communication device 140 may be the first host node or a chip in the first host node. The communication device 140 may include a unit for executing the operations performed by the first host node in the method embodiments shown in Figures 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 above, and each unit in the communication device 140 is respectively for implementing the operations performed by the first host node in the method embodiments shown in Figures 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 above. The description of each unit is as follows:

[0426] The processing unit 1402 is configured to generate first information when a first trigger condition is met, where the first information includes at least one of an identifier of the communication device and a first interface identifier allocated by the communication device to a mobile terminal MT of the relay node;

[0427] The first trigger condition includes at least one of the following:

[0428] Receive second information from the relay node, where the second information is used to request the first information; or receive third information, where the third information is used to indicate that the authorization of the relay node has been passed; or receive fourth information from the relay node, where the fourth information is used to indicate that the relay node has joined the network; or receive fifth information, where the fifth information is used to instruct the MT of the relay node to switch from the second host node to the communication device.

[0429] In one possible implementation, the device further includes:

[0430] The communication unit 1401 is configured to send the first information.

[0431] or;

[0432] The communication unit 1401 is configured to send first information when a second trigger condition is met, where the first information includes at least one of an identifier of the communication device and a first interface identifier allocated by the communication device to a mobile terminal MT of the relay node;

[0433] The second trigger condition includes at least one of the following:

[0434] Receive second information from the relay node, where the second information is used to request the first information; or receive third information, where the third information is used to indicate that the authorization of the relay node has been passed; or receive fourth information from the relay node, where the fourth information is used to indicate that the relay node has joined the network; or receive fifth information, where the fifth information is used to instruct the MT of the relay node to switch from the second host node to the communication device.

[0435] In one possible implementation, the device further includes:

[0436] The processing unit 1402 is configured to generate the first information.

[0437] In another possible design of the communication device 140 shown in FIG14 , the communication device 140 may correspond to the relay node in the method embodiments shown in FIG9 , FIG10 , FIG11 , FIG12 , and FIG13 , for example, the communication device 140 may be a relay node or a chip in a relay node. The communication device 140 may include a unit for performing the operations performed by the relay node in the method embodiments shown in FIG9 , FIG10 , FIG11 , FIG12 , and FIG13 , and each unit in the communication device 140 is for implementing the operations performed by the relay node in the method embodiments shown in FIG9 , FIG10 , FIG11 , FIG12 , and FIG13 . The description of each unit is as follows:

[0438] a communication unit 1401 configured to receive, when a trigger condition is met, first information from a first host node, the first information including at least one of an identifier of the first host node and a first interface identifier allocated by the first host node to the MT of the communication device;

[0439] The triggering condition includes at least one of the following:

[0440] Sending second information to the first host node, where the second information is used to request the first information; or, the authorization of the communication device has been passed; or, sending fourth information to the first host node, where the fourth information is used to instruct the communication device to access the network; or, the MT of the communication device switches from the second host node to the first host node.

[0441] In one possible implementation, the device further includes:

[0442] The processing unit 1402 is configured to determine whether the communication device has been authorized when the first information further includes backhaul link configuration information.

[0443] In another possible design of the communication device 140 shown in FIG14 , the communication device 140 may correspond to the third host node in the method embodiments shown in FIG9 , FIG10 , FIG11 , FIG12 , and FIG13 , such as the communication device 140 may be a third host node or a chip in the third host node. The communication device 140 may include a unit for executing the operations performed by the third host node in the method embodiments shown in FIG9 , FIG10 , FIG11 , FIG12 , and FIG13 , and each unit in the communication device 140 is respectively for implementing the operations performed by the third host node in the method embodiments shown in FIG9 , FIG10 , FIG11 , FIG12 , and FIG13 . The description of each unit is as follows:

[0444] The communication unit 1401 is configured to receive seventh information from the relay node, where the seventh information is used to request establishment of an F1 interface;

[0445] The processing unit 1402 is configured to determine, based on the seventh information, that the relay node has been authorized;

[0446] or,

[0447] a communication unit 1401 configured to receive first information from a first host node, the first information including an identifier of the relay node and at least one of an identifier of the first host node and a first interface identifier allocated by the first host node to an MT of the relay node, the first host node being different from the communication device;

[0448] The processing unit 1402 is configured to determine, based on the first information, whether the relay node has been authorized.

[0449] The methods executed by the processing unit 1402 and the communication unit 1401 can refer to the methods corresponding to Figures 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0450] Regarding the technical effects brought about by any of the above designs and any possible implementation methods, please refer to the introduction of the technical effects of the corresponding methods in Figures 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0451] Optionally, in the communication device described in any of the foregoing designs and any of the possible implementations:

[0452] In one implementation, the communication apparatus is a communication device. When the communication apparatus is a communication device, the communication unit may be a transceiver or an input / output interface; and the processing unit may be at least one processor. Alternatively, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit. Alternatively, the input / output interface may be an input / output circuit.

[0453] In another implementation, the communication device is a chip (system) or circuit used in a communication device. When the communication device is a chip (system) or circuit used in a communication device, the communication unit may be a communication interface (input / output interface), interface circuit, output circuit, input circuit, pin, or related circuit on the chip (system) or circuit; and the processing unit may be at least one processor, processing circuit, or logic circuit.

[0454] According to an embodiment of the present application, each unit in the device shown in Figure 14 can be separately or all merged into one or several other units to constitute, or a certain (some) unit therein can also be split into multiple smaller units to constitute, which can achieve the same operation without affecting the realization of the technical effects of the embodiments of the present application. The above-mentioned units are divided based on logical functions. In practical applications, the function of a unit can also be realized by multiple units, or the function of multiple units can be realized by one unit. In other embodiments of the present application, other units can also be included based on electronic equipment. In practical applications, these functions can also be implemented with the assistance of other units, and can be implemented by collaboration of multiple units.

[0455] It should be noted that the implementation of each unit may also refer to the corresponding description of the method embodiments shown in the above-mentioned Figures 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13.

[0456] In the communication device 140 described in FIG. 14 , the IAB node can receive the information required to initiate the IAB TRANSPORT MIGRATION MANAGEMENT process at the correct time, thereby ensuring that the CU connected to the IAB-DU can successfully establish cross-topology traffic transmission.

[0457] Please refer to FIG. 15 , which is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0458] It should be understood that the communication device 150 shown in Figure 15 is only an example. The communication device of the embodiment of the present application may also include other components, or include components with similar functions to the various components in Figure 15, or not include all the components in Figure 15.

[0459] The communication device 150 includes a communication interface 1501 and at least one processor 1502 .

[0460] The communication device 150 may correspond to any node or device among the first host node, the relay node, the third host node, and the fourth host node. The communication interface 1501 is used to send and receive signals, and the at least one processor 1502 executes program instructions so that the communication device 150 implements the corresponding process of the method executed by the corresponding device in the above method embodiment.

[0461] In one possible design, the communication device 150 may correspond to the first host node in the method embodiments shown in Figures 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 above. For example, the communication device 150 may be the first host node or a chip in the first host node. The communication device 150 may include components for executing the operations performed by the first host node in the above method embodiments, and each component in the communication device 150 is respectively for implementing the operations performed by the first host node in the above method embodiments. Specifically, it may be as follows:

[0462] Processor 1502 is configured to generate first information when a first trigger condition is met, where the first information includes at least one of an identifier of the communication device and a first interface identifier allocated by the communication device to a mobile terminal MT of the relay node;

[0463] The first trigger condition includes at least one of the following:

[0464] Receive second information from the relay node, where the second information is used to request the first information; or receive third information, where the third information is used to indicate that the authorization of the relay node has been passed; or receive fourth information from the relay node, where the fourth information is used to indicate that the relay node has joined the network; or receive fifth information, where the fifth information is used to instruct the MT of the relay node to switch from the second host node to the communication device.

[0465] In one possible implementation, the device further includes:

[0466] The communication interface 1501 is used to send the first information.

[0467] or;

[0468] The communication interface 1501 is configured to send first information when a second trigger condition is met, where the first information includes at least one of an identifier of the communication device and a first interface identifier allocated by the communication device to a mobile terminal MT of the relay node;

[0469] The second trigger condition includes at least one of the following:

[0470] Receive second information from the relay node, where the second information is used to request the first information; or receive third information, where the third information is used to indicate that the authorization of the relay node has been passed; or receive fourth information from the relay node, where the fourth information is used to indicate that the relay node has joined the network; or receive fifth information, where the fifth information is used to instruct the MT of the relay node to switch from the second host node to the communication device.

[0471] In one possible implementation, the device further includes:

[0472] Processor 1502 is configured to generate the first information.

[0473] In another possible design, the communication device 150 may correspond to the relay node in the method embodiments shown in Figures 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 above. For example, the communication device 150 may be a relay node or a chip in a relay node. The communication device 150 may include components for performing the operations performed by the relay node in the above method embodiments, and each component in the communication device 150 is respectively for implementing the operations performed by the relay node in the above method embodiments. Specifically, the following may be shown:

[0474] a communication interface 1501 configured to receive, when a trigger condition is met, first information from a first host node, the first information including at least one of an identifier of the first host node and a first interface identifier allocated by the first host node to the MT of the communication device;

[0475] The triggering condition includes at least one of the following:

[0476] Sending second information to the first host node, where the second information is used to request the first information; or, the authorization of the communication device has been passed; or, sending fourth information to the first host node, where the fourth information is used to instruct the communication device to access the network; or, the MT of the communication device switches from the second host node to the first host node.

[0477] In one possible implementation, the device further includes:

[0478] The processor 1502 is configured to determine whether the communication device has been authorized when the first information further includes backhaul link configuration information.

[0479] In another possible design, the communication device 150 may correspond to the third host node in the method embodiments shown in Figures 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 above. For example, the communication device 150 may be a third host node or a chip in the third host node. The communication device 150 may include components for executing the operations performed by the third host node in the above method embodiments, and each component in the communication device 150 is respectively for implementing the operations performed by the third host node in the above method embodiments. Specifically, it may be as follows:

[0480] Communication interface 1501, configured to receive seventh information from the relay node, where the seventh information is used to request establishment of an F1 interface;

[0481] Processor 1502 is configured to determine, based on the seventh information, that the relay node has been authorized;

[0482] or,

[0483] a communication interface 1501, configured to receive first information from a first host node, the first information including an identifier of the relay node and at least one of an identifier of the first host node and a first interface identifier allocated by the first host node to the MT of the relay node, the first host node being different from the communication device;

[0484] The processor 1502 is configured to determine, based on the first information, whether the relay node has been authorized.

[0485] The methods executed by the processor 1502 and the communication interface 1501 can refer to the methods corresponding to Figures 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0486] Regarding the technical effects brought about by any of the above designs and any possible implementation methods, please refer to the introduction of the technical effects of the corresponding methods in Figures 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0487] In the communication device 150 described in FIG. 15 , the IAB node can receive the information required to initiate the IAB TRANSPORT MIGRATION MANAGEMENT process at the correct time, thereby ensuring that the CU connected to the IAB-DU can successfully establish cross-topology traffic transmission.

[0488] It should be understood that when the communication device 150 is the first host node / third host node / fourth host node, it includes a CU and a DU. The CU may include a communication interface, a processor, and optionally a memory. The communication interface can be used to communicate with the CU of the host node or the DU of the IAB node. The DU may also include a communication interface, a processor, and a memory, as well as a bus connecting the communication interface, the processor, and the memory. The communication interface is used to communicate with the MT of the IAB node.

[0489] For the case where the communication device may be a chip or a chip system, reference may be made to the schematic structural diagram of the chip shown in FIG16 .

[0490] As shown in Figure 16 , chip 160 includes a processor 1601 and an interface 1602. There may be one or more processors 1601, and there may be multiple interfaces 1602. It should be noted that the functions corresponding to processor 1601 and interface 1602 can be implemented through hardware design, software design, or a combination of hardware and software, without limitation.

[0491] Optionally, the chip 160 may further include a memory 1603 , which is used to store necessary program instructions and data.

[0492] In the present application, processor 1601 may be configured to call from memory 1603 an implementation program for the communication method provided in one or more embodiments of the present application on one or more devices or nodes in the first host node, the second host node, or the first node, and execute the instructions contained in the program. Interface 1602 may be configured to output the execution results of processor 1601. In the present application, interface 1602 may be specifically configured to output various messages or information from processor 1601.

[0493] Regarding the communication method provided by one or more embodiments of the present application, reference may be made to the embodiments shown in Figures 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0494] The processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), and the processor may also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc.

[0495] The memory in the embodiments of the present application is used to provide storage space, in which data such as an operating system and computer programs can be stored. The memory includes, but is not limited to, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), or compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM).

[0496] According to the method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program is stored. When the computer program runs on one or more processors, the method shown in Figures 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 can be implemented.

[0497] According to the method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program. When the computer program runs on a processor, it can implement the methods shown in Figures 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13.

[0498] An embodiment of the present application also provides a system, which includes at least one communication device 140 or communication device 150 or chip 160 as described above, and is used to execute the steps executed by the corresponding device in any of the embodiments of Figures 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13.

[0499] An embodiment of the present application also provides a system, which includes at least one of a first host node, a relay node, a third host node, and a fourth host node. The first host node is used to execute the steps executed by the first host node in any of the above-mentioned Figures 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13. The relay node is used to execute the steps executed by the relay node in any of the above-mentioned Figures 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13. The third host node is used to execute the steps executed by the third host node in any of the above-mentioned Figures 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13. The fourth host node is used to execute the steps executed by the fourth host node in any of the above-mentioned Figures 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13.

[0500] An embodiment of the present application further provides a processing device, including a processor and an interface; the processor is used to execute the method in any of the above method embodiments.

[0501] It should be understood that the above-mentioned processing device can be a chip. For example, the processing device can be a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component, a system on chip (SoC), a central processing unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), a digital signal processing circuit (DSP), a microcontroller unit (MCU), a programmable logic device (PLD) or other integrated chip. The various methods, steps and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented or executed. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be any conventional processor, etc. The steps of the method disclosed in conjunction with the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as being executed by a hardware decoding processor, or can be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module can be located in a storage medium well-known in the art, such as random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and, in conjunction with its hardware, completes the steps of the above method.

[0502] It is understood that the memory in the embodiments of the present application may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchronous link DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct RAM bus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0503] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other 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 may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a high-density digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disc (SSD)).

[0504] The units in the above-mentioned various apparatus embodiments completely correspond to the electronic devices in the method embodiments, and the corresponding modules or units perform the corresponding steps. For example, the communication unit (transceiver) performs the receiving or sending steps in the method embodiments, and other steps except sending and receiving can be performed by the processing unit (processor). The functions of the specific units can be referred to the corresponding method embodiments. Among them, there can be one or more processors.

[0505] It is understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the electronic device can perform some or all of the steps in the embodiments of the present application. These steps or operations are merely examples, and the embodiments of the present application can also perform other operations or variations of various operations. In addition, the various steps can be performed in a different order than those presented in the embodiments of the present application, and it is possible that not all operations in the embodiments of the present application need to be performed.

[0506] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0507] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0508] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0509] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0510] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0511] If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or the part that contributes or the part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory ROM, a random access memory RAM, a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

[0512] The above is only a specific implementation method of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any technician familiar with this technical field can easily think of changes or replacements within the technical scope disclosed in this application, which should be covered by the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: When the first trigger condition is met, generating first information, the first information including at least one of an identifier of the first host node and a first interface identifier allocated by the first host node to the mobile terminal MT of the relay node; The first trigger condition includes at least one of the following: Receive second information from the relay node, the second information is used to request the first information; or, receive third information, the third information is used to indicate that the authorization of the relay node has been passed; or, receive fourth information from the relay node, the fourth information is used to indicate that the relay node has entered the network; or, receive fifth information, the fifth information is used to instruct the MT of the relay node to switch from the second host node to the first host node.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The second information includes an identifier of a third host node and / or an identifier of the relay node, the third host node is connected to a distributed unit DU of the relay node, and the third host node is different from the first host node.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that In the case that the relay node is authorized, the first information further includes backhaul link configuration information.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The first information also includes an identifier of the relay node.

5. A communication method, characterized in that: include: When the second trigger condition is met, sending first information, the first information including at least one of an identifier of the first host node and a first interface identifier allocated by the first host node to the mobile terminal MT of the relay node; The second trigger condition includes at least one of the following: Receive second information from the relay node, the second information is used to request the first information; or, receive third information, the third information is used to indicate that the authorization of the relay node has been passed; or, receive fourth information from the relay node, the fourth information is used to indicate that the relay node has entered the network; or, receive fifth information, the fifth information is used to instruct the MT of the relay node to switch from the second host node to the first host node.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The second information includes an identifier of a third host node and / or an identifier of the relay node, the third host node is connected to a distributed unit DU of the relay node, and the third host node is different from the first host node.

7. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that In the case that the relay node is authorized, the first information further includes backhaul link configuration information.

8. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that The first information also includes an identifier of the relay node.

9. A communication method, characterized in that: include: When a trigger condition is met, receiving first information from a first host node, the first information including at least one of an identifier of the first host node and a first interface identifier allocated by the first host node to an MT of the relay node; The trigger condition includes at least one of the following: Sending second information to the first host node, where the second information is used to request the first information; or, the authorization of the relay node has been passed; or, sending fourth information to the first host node, where the fourth information is used to indicate that the relay node has joined the network; Alternatively, the MT of the relay node is switched from the second host node to the first host node.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The second information includes an identifier of a third host node and / or an identifier of the relay node, the third host node is connected to a distributed unit DU of the relay node, and the third host node is different from the first host node.

11. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that In the case that the relay node is authorized, the first information further includes backhaul link configuration information.

12. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that The method further comprises: Send sixth information to the first node, where the sixth information is used to indicate an identifier of the first host node.

13. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 12, characterized in that The method further comprises: In a case where the first information also includes backhaul link configuration information, determining that the relay node has been authorized; The seventh information is sent to the third host node, where the seventh information is used to request to establish the F1 interface.

14. A communication method, characterized in that: include: receiving seventh information from the relay node, wherein the seventh information is used to request to establish an F1 interface; Based on the seventh information, determining that the relay node has been authorized; or, receiving first information from a first host node, the first information including an identifier of the relay node, and at least one of an identifier of the first host node and a first interface identifier allocated by the first host node to an MT of the relay node, the first host node being different from a third host node, and the third host node being connected to a DU of the relay node; Based on the first information, it is determined that the relay node has passed the authorization.

15. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Sending eighth information to the relay node, where the eighth information includes a first interface identifier allocated by the first host node to the MT of the relay node; or, Send ninth information to the first host node, the ninth information including the first interface identifier assigned by the first host node to the MT of the relay node, and / or the second interface identifier assigned by the fourth host node to the MT of the relay node, the fourth host node being the host node to which the DU of the relay node is connected before migration.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The ninth information also includes an identifier of a third host node, the third host node is connected to the DU of the relay node, and the third host node is different from the first host node.

17. A communication method, characterized in that: include: receiving eighth information from a fourth host node, the eighth information including a first interface identifier allocated by the first host node to the MT of the relay node, the fourth host node being a host node to which the DU of the relay node is connected before migration; or, A tenth message is received from a first host node, where the tenth message includes a first interface identifier allocated by the first host node to the MT of the relay node.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that The tenth information also includes an identifier of a third host node, the third host node is connected to the DU of the relay node, and the third host node is different from the first host node.

19. A communication method, characterized in that: include: receiving ninth information from a fourth host node, the ninth information including a first interface identifier assigned by the first host node to the MT of the relay node, and / or a second interface identifier assigned by the fourth host node to the MT of the relay node, the fourth host node being a host node to which the DU of the relay node is connected before migration; Sending tenth information to the relay node, where the tenth information includes the first interface identifier allocated by the first host node to the MT of the relay node.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that The ninth information and / or the tenth information also includes an identifier of a third host node, the third host node is connected to the DU of the relay node, and the third host node is different from the first host node.

21. A communication device, characterized in that: Comprising a module or unit for performing the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, or claims 5 to 8, or claims 9 to 13, or claim 14, or claims 15 to 16, or claims 17 to 18, or claims 19 to 20.

22. A communication device, characterized in that: include: processor; When the processor calls the computer program or instruction in the memory, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 4 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 5 to 8 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 9 to 13 is executed, or the method according to claim 14 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 15 to 16 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 17 to 18 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 19 to 20 is executed.

23. A communication device, characterized in that: comprising a logic circuit and an interface, wherein the logic circuit and the interface are coupled; The interface is used to input data to be processed, and the logic circuit processes the data to be processed according to the method described in any one of claims 1 to 4, or claims 5 to 8, or claims 9 to 13, or claim 14, or claims 15 to 16, or claims 17 to 18, or claims 19 to 20 to obtain processed data, and the interface is used to output the processed data.

24. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: include: The computer-readable storage medium is used to store instructions or computer programs; when the instructions or the computer program are executed, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 4 is implemented, or the method according to any one of claims 5 to 8 is implemented, or the method according to any one of claims 9 to 13 is implemented, or the method according to claim 14 is implemented, or the method according to any one of claims 15 to 16 is implemented, or the method according to any one of claims 17 to 18 is implemented, or the method according to any one of claims 19 to 20 is implemented.

25. A computer program product, characterized in that include: instructions or computer programs; When the instructions or the computer program are executed, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 4 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 5 to 8 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 9 to 13 is executed, or the method according to claim 14 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 15 to 16 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 17 to 18 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 19 to 20 is executed.

26. A communication system, characterized in that: Comprising the communication device according to claim 21, or the communication device according to claim 22, or the communication device according to claim 23.

27. A communication system, characterized in that: including at least one of the following: a first host node, a relay node, a third host node, and a fourth host node; The first host node is used to execute the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 4 or claims 5 to 8 or claims 19 to 20, the relay node is used to execute the method as described in any one of claims 9 to 13 or claims 17 to 18, the third host node is used to execute the method as described in claim 14, and the fourth host node is used to execute the method as described in any one of claims 15 to 16.

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