RLC channel mapping restriction for multipath with common relay

Abstract

Systems, methods, and instrumentalities are described herein for a radio link control (RLC) channel mapping restriction for multipath with a common relay. For example, a device, such as a wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) may establish a multipath associated with an ingress RLC channel (e.g., a primary ingress and a duplicated RLC channels) and an egress RLC channel (e.g., a primary egress and a duplicated egress RLC channels). The multipath may be a first path for the primary egress RLC channel and a second path for the duplicated egress RLC channel. The WTRU receive first and second path information. The WTRU may determine that the first path and the second path have a common relay. If the first and the second paths have the common relay, the WTRU may send a request to a first relay associated with the first path and a second relay associated with the second path.

Description

RLC CHANNEL MAPPING RESTRICTION FOR MULTIPATH WITH COMMON RELAYCROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 531 ,170, filed August ?, 2023 the contents of which is incorporated by reference herein.BACKGROUND

[0001] Mobile communications using wireless communication continue to evolve. A fifth generation may be referred to as 5G. A previous (legacy) generation of mobile communication may be, for example, fourth generation (4G) long term evolution (LTE).SUMMARY

[0002] Systems, methods, and instrumentalities are described herein for a radio link control (RLC) channel mapping restriction for multipath with a common relay. For example, a device, such as a wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) may perform (e.g., configured to perform) one or more of the following.

[0003] The WTRU may establish a multipath associated with an ingress RLC channel and an egress RLC channel. The ingress RLC channel may be, or may include, a primary ingress RLC channel and a duplicated ingress RLC channel. The egress RLC channel may be, or may include, a primary egress RLC channel and a duplicated egress RLC channel. The multipath may be, or may include, a first path that is associated with the primary egress RLC channel and a second path that is associated with the duplicated egress RLC channel. In examples, the WTRU may receive a configuration for the multipath. The configuration may be, or may include, a multipath quality of service (QoS) flow that enables a multipath duplication. Based on the configuration, the WTRU may establish the multipath, e.g., associated with the ingress RLC channel and the egress RLC channel.

[0004] The WTRU receive path information. For example, the WTRU may receive first path information and second path information. The first path information may be associated with the first path and the second path information may be associated with the second path. The first path information may be, or may include, a list of relay WTRU IDs in the first path. The second path information may be, or may include, a list of relay WTRU IDs in the second path. The first path information and / or the second pathinformation may be received from at least one of: a discovery procedure, relay selection procedure, a path selection procedure, or an indication from a destination WTRU that performs a path selection procedure.

[0005] The WTRU may determine that the first path and the second path have a same relay. For example, the same relay may be, or may include, a common relay. For example, the WTRU may determine that first path and the second path have a common relay based on the list of relay WTRU IDs in the first and second paths. For example, the WTRU may determine that a WTRU ID from the list of relay WTRU IDs in the first path matches with a WTRU ID from the list of relay WTRU IDs from the second path.

[0006] Based on the determination that the first path and the second path have the common relay, the WTRU may send a request to a first relay associated with the first path and a second relay associated with the second path. The first relay may be associated with a first set of child nodes and the second relay may be associated with a second set of child nodes. The WTRU may send the request using at least one of a non-access stratum (NAS) message or a PC5 radio resource control (RRC) message. The request may be, or may include or may indicate, a mapping restriction restricting a mapping between a one-to-one mapping between the ingress RLC channel to the egress RLC channel. The one-to-one mapping may be, or may include, mapping the primary ingress RLC channel to the primary egress RLC channel and / or mapping the duplicated ingress RLC channel to the duplicated egress RLC channel.

[0007] The WTRU may determine that the first relay associated with the first path and the second relay associated with the second path are the common relay. Based on the determination that the first relay and the second relay are the common relay, the WTRU may apply the mapping restriction to the first relay and the second relay.

[0008] In examples, The WTRU may determine that the first relay associated with the first path and the second relay associated with the second path are not the common relay. Based on the determination that the first relay and the second relay are not the common relay, the WTRU may forward the request to one or more subsequent relays until a common relay is found. For example, based on the determination that the first relay and the second relay are not the common relay, the WTRU may forward the request to a third relay and a fourth relay. As described herein, m the request may be, or may include, a mapping restriction restricting a mapping between a one-to-one mapping between the ingress RLC channel to the egress RLC channel. The one-to-one mapping may be, or may include, mapping the primary ingress RLC channel to the primary egress RLC channel and / or mapping the duplicated ingress RLC channel to the duplicated egress RLC channel.

[0009] The third relay may be a subsequent relay to the first relay and the fourth relay may be a subsequent relay to the second relay. The third relay may be associated with a third path and the fourthrelay may be associated with a fourth path. The WTRU may determine that the third relay associated with the third path and the fourth relay associated with the fourth path are the common relay.

[0010] In examples, the WTRU may determine that the third relay associated with the third path and the fourth relay associated with the fourth path are the common relay. Based on the determination that the third relay and the fourth relay are the common relay, the WTRU may apply the mapping restriction to the third relay and the fourth.

[0011] In examples, the WTRU may determine that the third relay associated with the third path and the fourth relay associated with the fourth path are not the common relay. Based on the determination that the third relay and the fourth relay are not the common relay, the WTRU may continue to forward the request to a fifth relay and a sixth relay. The fifth relay may be a subsequent relay to the third relay and the sixth relay may be a subsequent relay to the fourth relay. The fifth relay may be associated with a fifth path and the sixth relay may be associated with a sixth path. As described herein, the request may be, or may include, a mapping restriction restricting a mapping between a one-to-one mapping between the ingress RLC channel to the egress RLC channel. The one-to-one mapping may be, or may include, mapping the primary ingress RLC channel to the primary egress RLC channel and / or mapping the duplicated ingress RLC channel to the duplicated egress RLC channel.

[0012] The WTRU described herein may be, e.g., may be a source WTRU. The WTRU may receive a message from a common relay WTRU. The message may be, or may include, mapping information for a RLC duplication channel associated with the common relay WTRU. The mapping information may indicate a one-to-one mapping restriction for the RLC duplication channel associated with the common relay WTRU.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] FIG. 1A is a system diagram illustrating an example communications system in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented;

[0014] FIG. 1 B is a system diagram illustrating an example wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1A according to an embodiment;

[0015] FIG. 1C is a system diagram illustrating an example radio access network (RAN) and an example core network (CN) that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1 A according to an embodiment;

[0016] FIG. 1 D is a system diagram illustrating a further example RAN and a further example CN that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1A according to an embodiment;

[0017] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a WTRU-to-network relay.

[0018] FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a user plane protocol stack for an L2 WTRU-to-network relay.

[0019] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a WTRU-to-WTRU relay.

[0020] FIG. 5 illustrates an example architecture for an L2 WTRU-to-WTRU Relay.

[0021] FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a source WTRU sending a 1-1 mapping request for multiple (e.g., two) duplication RLC channels.EXAMPLE NETWORKS FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0022] FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating an example communications system 100 in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented. The communications system 100 may be a multiple access system that provides content, such as voice, data, video, messaging, broadcast, etc., to multiple wireless users. The communications system 100 may enable multiple wireless users to access such content through the sharing of system resources, including wireless bandwidth. For example, the communications systems 100 may employ one or more channel access methods, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), zero-tail unique-word DFT-Spread OFDM (ZT UW DTS-s OFDM), unique word OFDM (UW-OFDM), resource block-filtered OFDM, filter bank multicarrier (FBMC), and the like.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 1A, the communications system 100 may include wireless transmit / receive units (WTRUs) 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, a RAN 104 / 113, a ON 106 / 115, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 108, the Internet 110, and other networks 112, though it will be appreciated that the disclosed embodiments contemplate any number of WTRUs, base stations, networks, and / or network elements. Each of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may be any type of device configured to operate and / or communicate in a wireless environment. By way of example, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, any of which may be referred to as a “station” and / or a “ST A”, may be configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals and may include a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a fixed or mobile subscriber unit, a subscription-based unit, a pager, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smartphone, a laptop, a netbook, a personal computer, a wireless sensor, a hotspot or Mi-Fi device, an Internet of Things (loT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery), an industrial device and applications (e.g., a robot and / or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and / or an automated processing chain contexts), a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, and the like. Any of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and 102d may be interchangeably referred to as a UE.

[0024] The communications systems 100 may also include a base station 114a and / or a base station 114b. Each of the base stations 114a, 114b may be any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as the CN 106 / 115, the Internet 110, and / or the other networks 112. By way of example, the base stations 114a, 114b may be a base transceiver station (BTS), a Node-B, an eNode B, a Home Node B, a Home eNode B, a gNB, a NR NodeB, a site controller, an access point (AP), a wireless router, and the like. While the base stations 114a, 114b are each depicted as a single element, it will be appreciated that the base stations 114a, 114b may include any number of interconnected base stations and / or network elements.

[0025] The base station 114a may be part of the RAN 104 / 113, which may also include other base stations and / or network elements (not shown), such as a base station controller (BSC), a radio network controller (RNC), relay nodes, etc. The base station 114a and / or the base station 114b may be configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals on one or more carrier frequencies, which may be referred to as a cell (not shown). These frequencies may be in licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or a combination of licensed and unlicensed spectrum. A cell may provide coverage for a wireless service to a specific geographical area that may be relatively fixed or that may change over time. The cell may further be divided into cell sectors. For example, the cell associated with the base station 114a may be divided into three sectors. Thus, in one embodiment, the base station 114a may include three transceivers, i.e., one for each sector of the cell. In an embodiment, the base station 114a may employ multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) technology and may utilize multiple transceivers for each sector of the cell. For example, beamforming may be used to transmit and / or receive signals in desired spatial directions.

[0026] The base stations 114a, 114b may communicate with one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d over an air interface 116, which may be any suitable wireless communication link (e.g., radio frequency (RF), microwave, centimeter wave, micrometer wave, infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV), visible light, etc.). The air interface 116 may be established using any suitable radio access technology (RAT).

[0027] More specifically, as noted above, the communications system 100 may be a multiple access system and may employ one or more channel access schemes, such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, and the like. For example, the base station 114a in the RAN 104 / 113 and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), which may establish the air interface 116 using wideband CDMA (WCDMA). WCDMA may include communication protocols such as High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) and / or Evolved HSPA (HSPA+). HSPA may include High-Speed Downlink (DL) Packet Access (HSDPA) and / or High-Speed UL Packet Access (HSUPA).

[0028] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), which may establish the air interface 116 using Long Term Evolution (LTE) and / or LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) and / or LTE-Advanced Pro (LTE-A Pro).

[0029] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as NR Radio Access , which may establish the air interface 116 using New Radio (NR).

[0030] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement multiple radio access technologies. For example, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement LTE radio access and NR radio access together, for instance using dual connectivity (DC) principles. Thus, the air interface utilized by WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be characterized by multiple types of radio access technologies and / or transmissions sent to / from multiple types of base stations (e.g., an eNB and a gNB).

[0031] In other embodiments, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement radio technologies such as IEEE 802.11 (i.e., Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), IEEE 802.16 (i.e., Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)), CDMA2000, CDMA2000 1X, CDMA2000 EV-DO, Interim Standard 2000 (IS-2000), Interim Standard 95 (IS-95), Interim Standard 856 (IS-856), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE (GERAN), and the like.

[0032] The base station 114b in FIG. 1 A may be a wireless router, Home Node B, Home eNode B, or access point, for example, and may utilize any suitable RAT for facilitating wireless connectivity in a localized area, such as a place of business, a home, a vehicle, a campus, an industrial facility, an air corridor (e.g., for use by drones), a roadway, and the like. In one embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.11 to establish a wireless local area network (WLAN). In an embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.15 to establish a wireless personal area network (WPAN). In yet another embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may utilize a cellular-based RAT (e.g., WCDMA, CDMA2000, GSM, LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR etc.) to establish a picocell or femtocell. As shown in FIG. 1 A, the base station 114b may have a direct connection to the Internet 110. Thus, the base station 114b may not be required to access the Internet 110 via the CN 106 / 115.

[0033] The RAN 104 / 113 may be in communication with the CN 106 / 115, which may be any type of network configured to provide voice, data, applications, and / or voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services to one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d. The data may have varying quality of service (QoS)requirements, such as differing throughput requirements, latency requirements, error tolerance requirements, reliability requirements, data throughput requirements, mobility requirements, and the like. The CN 106 / 115 may provide call control, billing services, mobile location-based services, pre-paid calling, Internet connectivity, video distribution, etc., and / or perform high-level security functions, such as user authentication. Although not shown in FIG. 1A, it will be appreciated that the RAN 104 / 113 and / or the CN 106 / 115 may be in direct or indirect communication with other RANs that employ the same RAT as the RAN 104 / 113 or a different RAT. For example, in addition to being connected to the RAN 104 / 113, which may be utilizing a NR radio technology, the CN 106 / 115 may also be in communication with another RAN (not shown) employing a GSM, UMTS, CDMA 2000, WiMAX, E-UTRA, or WiFi radio technology.

[0034] The CN 106 / 115 may also serve as a gateway for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to access the PSTN 108, the Internet 110, and / or the other networks 112. The PSTN 108 may include circuit- switched telephone networks that provide plain old telephone service (POTS). The Internet 110 may include a global system of interconnected computer networks and devices that use common communication protocols, such as the transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP) and / or the internet protocol (IP) in the TCP / IP internet protocol suite. The networks 112 may include wired and / or wireless communications networks owned and / or operated by other service providers. For example, the networks 112 may include another CN connected to one or more RANs, which may employ the same RAT as the RAN 104 / 113 or a different RAT.

[0035] Some or all of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d in the communications system 100 may include multi-mode capabilities (e.g., the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may include multiple transceivers for communicating with different wireless networks over different wireless links). For example, the WTRU 102c shown in FIG. 1A may be configured to communicate with the base station 114a, which may employ a cellular-based radio technology, and with the base station 114b, which may employ an IEEE 802 radio technology.

[0036] FIG. 1 B is a system diagram illustrating an example WTRU 102. As shown in FIG. 1 B, the WTRU 102 may include a processor 118, a transceiver 120, a transmit / receive element 122, a speaker / microphone 124, a keypad 126, a display / touchpad 128, non-removable memory 130, removable memory 132, a power source 134, a global positioning system (GPS) chipset 136, and / or other peripherals 138, among others. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may include any sub-combination of the foregoing elements while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[0037] The processor 118 may be a general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, Application SpecificIntegrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) circuits, any other type of integrated circuit (IC), a state machine, and the like. The processor 118 may perform signal coding, data processing, power control, input / output processing, and / or any other functionality that enables the WTRU 102 to operate in a wireless environment. The processor 118 may be coupled to the transceiver 120, which may be coupled to the transmit / receive element 122. While FIG. 1 B depicts the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 as separate components, it will be appreciated that the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 may be integrated together in an electronic package or chip.

[0038] The transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit signals to, or receive signals from, a base station (e.g., the base station 114a) over the air interface 116. For example, in one embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be an antenna configured to transmit and / or receive RF signals. In an embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be an emitter / detector configured to transmit and / or receive IR, UV, or visible light signals, for example. In yet another embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and / or receive both RF and light signals. It will be appreciated that the transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and / or receive any combination of wireless signals.

[0039] Although the transmit / receive element 122 is depicted in FIG. 1 B as a single element, the WTRU 102 may include any number of transmit / receive elements 122. More specifically, the WTRU 102 may employ MIMO technology. Thus, in one embodiment, the WTRU 102 may include two or more transmit / receive elements 122 (e.g., multiple antennas) for transmitting and receiving wireless signals over the air interface 116.

[0040] The transceiver 120 may be configured to modulate the signals that are to be transmitted by the transmit / receive element 122 and to demodulate the signals that are received by the transmit / receive element 122. As noted above, the WTRU 102 may have multi-mode capabilities. Thus, the transceiver 120 may include multiple transceivers for enabling the WTRU 102 to communicate via multiple RATs, such as NR and IEEE 802.11, for example.

[0041] The processor 118 of the WTRU 102 may be coupled to, and may receive user input data from, the speaker / microphone 124, the keypad 126, and / or the display / touchpad 128 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) display unit or organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display unit). The processor 118 may also output user data to the speaker / microphone 124, the keypad 126, and / or the display / touchpad 128. In addition, the processor 118 may access information from, and store data in, any type of suitable memory, such as the non-removable memory 130 and / or the removable memory 132. The non-removable memory 130 may include random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), a hard disk, or any other type of memory storage device. The removable memory 132 may include a subscriber identity module (SIM) card,a memory stick, a secure digital (SD) memory card, and the like. In other embodiments, the processor 118 may access information from, and store data in, memory that is not physically located on the WTRU 102, such as on a server or a home computer (not shown).

[0042] The processor 118 may receive power from the power source 134, and may be configured to distribute and / or control the power to the other components in the WTRU 102. The power source 134 may be any suitable device for powering the WTRU 102. For example, the power source 134 may include one or more dry cell batteries (e.g., nickel-cadmium (NiCd), nickel-zinc (NiZn), nickel metal hydride (NiMH), lithium-ion (Li-ion), etc.), solar cells, fuel cells, and the like.

[0043] The processor 118 may also be coupled to the GPS chipset 136, which may be configured to provide location information (e.g., longitude and latitude) regarding the current location of the WTRU 102. In addition to, or in lieu of, the information from the GPS chipset 136, the WTRU 102 may receive location information over the air interface 116 from a base station (e.g., base stations 114a, 114b) and / or determine its location based on the timing of the signals being received from two or more nearby base stations. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may acquire location information by way of any suitable locationdetermination method while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[0044] The processor 118 may further be coupled to other peripherals 138, which may include one or more software and / or hardware modules that provide additional features, functionality and / or wired or wireless connectivity. For example, the peripherals 138 may include an accelerometer, an e-compass, a satellite transceiver, a digital camera (for photographs and / or video), a universal serial bus (USB) port, a vibration device, a television transceiver, a hands free headset, a Bluetooth® module, a frequency modulated (FM) radio unit, a digital music player, a media player, a video game player module, an Internet browser, a Virtual Reality and / or Augmented Reality (VR / AR) device, an activity tracker, and the like. The peripherals 138 may include one or more sensors, the sensors may be one or more of a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a hall effect sensor, a magnetometer, an orientation sensor, a proximity sensor, a temperature sensor, a time sensor; a geolocation sensor; an altimeter, a light sensor, a touch sensor, a magnetometer, a barometer, a gesture sensor, a biometric sensor, and / or a humidity sensor.

[0045] The WTRU 102 may include a full duplex radio for which transmission and reception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated with particular subframes for both the UL (e.g., for transmission) and downlink (e.g., for reception) may be concurrent and / or simultaneous. The full duplex radio may include an interference management unit to reduce and or substantially eliminate self-interference via either hardware (e.g., a choke) or signal processing via a processor (e.g., a separate processor (not shown) or via processor 118). In an embodiment, the WRTU 102 may include a half-duplex radio for which transmissionand reception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated with particular subframes for either the UL (e.g., for transmission) or the downlink (e.g., for reception)).

[0046] FIG. 1 C is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 104 and the CN 106 according to an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 104 may employ an E-UTRA radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 104 may also be in communication with the CN 106.

[0047] The RAN 104 may include eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c, though it will be appreciated that the RAN 104 may include any number of eNode-Bs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. In one embodiment, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may implement MIMO technology. Thus, the eNode-B 160a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and / or receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a.

[0048] Each of the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the UL and / or DL, and the like. As shown in FIG. 1 C, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may communicate with one another over an X2 interface.

[0049] The CN 106 shown in FIG. 1 C may include a mobility management entity (MME) 162, a serving gateway (SGW) 164, and a packet data network (PDN) gateway (or PGW) 166. While each of the foregoing elements are depicted as part of the CN 106, it will be appreciated that any of these elements may be owned and / or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

[0050] The MME 162 may be connected to each of the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c in the RAN 104 via an S1 interface and may serve as a control node. For example, the MME 162 may be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, bearer activation / deactivation, selecting a particular serving gateway during an initial attach of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like. The MME 162 may provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN 104 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as GSM and / or WCDMA.

[0051] The SGW 164 may be connected to each of the eNode Bs 160a, 160b, 160c in the RAN 104 via the S1 interface. The SGW 164 may generally route and forward user data packets to / from the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. The SGW 164 may perform other functions, such as anchoring user planes during inter- eNode B handovers, triggering paging when DL data is available for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, managing and storing contexts of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like.

[0052] The SGW 164 may be connected to the PGW 166, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices.

[0053] The CN 106 may facilitate communications with other networks. For example, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to circuit-switched networks, such as the PSTN 108, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and traditional land-line communications devices. For example, the CN 106 may include, or may communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN 106 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to the other networks 112, which may include other wired and / or wireless networks that are owned and / or operated by other service providers.

[0054] Although the WTRU is described in FIGS. 1 A-1 D as a wireless terminal, it is contemplated that in certain representative embodiments that such a terminal may use (e.g., temporarily or permanently) wired communication interfaces with the communication network.

[0055] In representative embodiments, the other network 112 may be a WLAN.

[0056] A WLAN in Infrastructure Basic Service Set (BSS) mode may have an Access Point (AP) for the BSS and one or more stations (STAs) associated with the AP. The AP may have an access or an interface to a Distribution System (DS) or another type of wired / wireless network that carries traffic in to and / or out of the BSS. Traffic to STAs that originates from outside the BSS may arrive through the AP and may be delivered to the STAs. Traffic originating from STAs to destinations outside the BSS may be sent to the AP to be delivered to respective destinations. Traffic between STAs within the BSS may be sent through the AP, for example, where the source STA may send traffic to the AP and the AP may deliver the traffic to the destination STA. The traffic between STAs within a BSS may be considered and / or referred to as peer-to- peer traffic. The peer-to-peer traffic may be sent between (e.g., directly between) the source and destination STAs with a direct link setup (DLS). In certain representative embodiments, the DLS may use an 802.11e DLS or an 802.11 z tunneled DLS (TDLS). A WLAN using an Independent BSS (I BSS) mode may not have an AP, and the STAs (e.g., all of the STAs) within or using the IBSS may communicate directly with each other. The IBSS mode of communication may sometimes be referred to herein as an “ad- hoc” mode of communication.

[0057] When using the 802.11 ac infrastructure mode of operation or a similar mode of operations, the AP may transmit a beacon on a fixed channel, such as a primary channel. The primary channel may be a fixed width (e.g., 20 MHz wide bandwidth) or a dynamically set width via signaling. The primary channel may be the operating channel of the BSS and may be used by the STAs to establish a connection with theAP. In certain representative embodiments, Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA / CA) may be implemented, for example in in 802.11 systems. For CSMA / CA, the STAs (e.g., every STA), including the AP, may sense the primary channel. If the primary channel is sensed / detected and / or determined to be busy by a particular STA, the particular STA may back off. One STA (e.g., only one station) may transmit at any given time in a given BSS.

[0058] High Throughput (HT) STAs may use a 40 MHz wide channel for communication, for example, via a combination of the primary 20 MHz channel with an adjacent or nonadjacent 20 MHz channel to form a 40 MHz wide channel.

[0059] Very High Throughput (VHT) STAs may support 20MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, and / or 160 MHz wide channels. The 40 MHz, and / or 80 MHz, channels may be formed by combining contiguous 20 MHz channels. A 160 MHz channel may be formed by combining 8 contiguous 20 MHz channels, or by combining two non-contiguous 80 MHz channels, which may be referred to as an 80+80 configuration. For the 80+80 configuration, the data, after channel encoding, may be passed through a segment parser that may divide the data into two streams. Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) processing, and time domain processing, may be done on each stream separately. The streams may be mapped on to the two 80 MHz channels, and the data may be transmitted by a transmitting STA. At the receiver of the receiving STA, the above described operation for the 80+80 configuration may be reversed, and the combined data may be sent to the Medium Access Control (MAC).

[0060] Sub 1 GHz modes of operation are supported by 802.11af and 802.11 ah. The channel operating bandwidths, and carriers, are reduced in 802.11af and 802.11 ah relative to those used in 802.11 n, and 802.11 ac. 802.11 af supports 5 MHz, 10 MHz and 20 MHz bandwidths in the TV White Space (TVWS) spectrum, and 802.11ah supports 1 MHz, 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, and 16 MHz bandwidths using non- TVWS spectrum. According to a representative embodiment, 802.11 ah may support Meter Type Control / Machine-Type Communications, such as MTC devices in a macro coverage area. MTC devices may have certain capabilities, for example, limited capabilities including support for (e.g., only support for) certain and / or limited bandwidths. The MTC devices may include a battery with a battery life above a threshold (e.g., to maintain a very long battery life).

[0061] WLAN systems, which may support multiple channels, and channel bandwidths, such as 802.11 n, 802.11 ac, 802.11 af, and 802.11 ah, include a channel which may be designated as the primary channel. The primary channel may have a bandwidth equal to the largest common operating bandwidth supported by all STAs in the BSS. The bandwidth of the primary channel may be set and / or limited by a STA, from among all STAs in operating in a BSS, which supports the smallest bandwidth operating mode. In the example of 802.11 ah, the primary channel may be 1 MHz wide for STAs (e.g., MTC type devices)that support (e.g., only support) a 1 MHz mode, even if the AP, and other STAs in the BSS support 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, 16 MHz, and / or other channel bandwidth operating modes. Carrier sensing and / or Network Allocation Vector (NAV) settings may depend on the status of the primary channel. If the primary channel is busy, for example, due to a STA (which supports only a 1 MHz operating mode), transmitting to the AP, the entire available frequency bands may be considered busy even though a majority of the frequency bands remains idle and may be available.

[0062] In the United States, the available frequency bands, which may be used by 802.11 ah, are from 902 MHz to 928 MHz. In Korea, the available frequency bands are from 917.5 MHz to 923.5 MHz. In Japan, the available frequency bands are from 916.5 MHz to 927.5 MHz. The total bandwidth available for 802.11 ah is 6 MHz to 26 MHz depending on the country code.

[0063] FIG. 1 D is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 113 and the CN 115 according to an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 113 may employ an NR radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 113 may also be in communication with the CN 115.

[0064] The RAN 113 may include gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c, though it will be appreciated that the RAN 113 may include any number of gNBs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. In one embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement MIMO technology. For example, gNBs 180a, 108b may utilize beamforming to transmit signals to and / or receive signals from the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c. Thus, the gNB 180a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and / or receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement carrier aggregation technology. For example, the gNB 180a may transmit multiple component carriers to the WTRU 102a (not shown). A subset of these component carriers may be on unlicensed spectrum while the remaining component carriers may be on licensed spectrum. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement Coordinated Multi-Point (CoMP) technology. For example, WTRU 102a may receive coordinated transmissions from gNB 180a and gNB 180b (and / or gNB 180c).

[0065] The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using transmissions associated with a scalable numerology. For example, the OFDM symbol spacing and / or OFDM subcarrier spacing may vary for different transmissions, different cells, and / or different portions of the wireless transmission spectrum. The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using subframe or transmission time intervals (TTIs) of various or scalable lengths (e.g., containing varying number of OFDM symbols and / or lasting varying lengths of absolute time).

[0066] The gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be configured to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c in a standalone configuration and / or a non-standalone configuration. In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c without also accessing other RANs (e.g., such as eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c). In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may utilize one or more of gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c as a mobility anchor point. In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using signals in an unlicensed band. In a non-standalone configuration WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with / connect to gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c while also communicating with / connecting to another RAN such as eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c. For example, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement DC principles to communicate with one or more gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c and one or more eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c substantially simultaneously. In the non-standalone configuration, eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may serve as a mobility anchor for WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may provide additional coverage and / or throughput for servicing WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c.

[0067] Each of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the UL and / or DL, support of network slicing, dual connectivity, interworking between NR and E- UTRA, routing of user plane data towards User Plane Function (UPF) 184a, 184b, routing of control plane information towards Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 182a, 182b and the like. As shown in FIG. 1 D, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may communicate with one another over an Xn interface.

[0068] The CN 115 shown in FIG. 1 D may include at least one AMF 182a, 182b, at least one UPF 184a, 184b, at least one Session Management Function (SMF) 183a, 183b, and possibly a Data Network (DN) 185a, 185b. While each of the foregoing elements are depicted as part of the CN 115, it will be appreciated that any of these elements may be owned and / or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

[0069] The AMF 182a, 182b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in the RAN 113 via an N2 interface and may serve as a control node. For example, the AMF 182a, 182b may be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, support for network slicing (e.g., handling of different PDU sessions with different requirements), selecting a particular SMF 183a, 183b, management of the registration area, termination of NAS signaling, mobility management, and the like. Network slicing may be used by the AMF 182a, 182b in order to customize CN support for WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c based on the types of services being utilized WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. For example, different network slices may be established for different use cases such as services relying on ultra-reliable low latency (URLLC) access, services relying on enhanced massive mobile broadband (eMBB) access,services for machine type communication (MTC) access, and / or the like. The AMF 162 may provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN 113 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, and / or non-3GPP access technologies such as WiFi.

[0070] The SMF 183a, 183b may be connected to an AMF 182a, 182b in the CN 115 via an N11 interface. The SMF 183a, 183b may also be connected to a UPF 184a, 184b in the CN 115 via an N4 interface. The SMF 183a, 183b may select and control the UPF 184a, 184b and configure the routing of traffic through the UPF 184a, 184b. The SMF 183a, 183b may perform other functions, such as managing and allocating UE IP address, managing PDU sessions, controlling policy enforcement and QoS, providing downlink data notifications, and the like. A PDU session type may be IP-based, non-IP based, Ethernetbased, and the like.

[0071] The UPF 184a, 184b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in the RAN 113 via an N3 interface, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet- switched networks, such as the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices. The UPF 184a, 184b may perform other functions, such as routing and forwarding packets, enforcing user plane policies, supporting multi-homed PDU sessions, handling user plane QoS, buffering downlink packets, providing mobility anchoring, and the like.

[0072] The CN 115 may facilitate communications with other networks. For example, the CN 115 may include, or may communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN 115 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the CN 115 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to the other networks 112, which may include other wired and / or wireless networks that are owned and / or operated by other service providers. In one embodiment, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be connected to a local Data Network (DN) 185a, 185b through the UPF 184a, 184b via the N3 interface to the UPF 184a, 184b and an N6 interface between the UPF 184a, 184b and the DN 185a, 185b.

[0073] In view of Figures 1A-1 D, and the corresponding description of Figures 1A-1 D, one or more, or all, of the functions described herein with regard to one or more of: WTRU 102a-d, Base Station 114a-b, eNode-B 160a-c, MME 162, SGW 164, PGW 166, gNB 180a-c, AMF 182a-b, UPF 184a-b, SMF 183a-b, DN 185a-b, and / or any other device(s) described herein, may be performed by one or more emulation devices (not shown). The emulation devices may be one or more devices configured to emulate one or more, or all, of the functions described herein. For example, the emulation devices may be used to test other devices and / or to simulate network and / or WTRU functions.

[0074] The emulation devices may be designed to implement one or more tests of other devices in a lab environment and / or in an operator network environment. For example, the one or more emulation devicesmay perform the one or more, or all, functions while being fully or partially implemented and / or deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network in order to test other devices within the communication network. The one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, or all, functions while being temporarily implemented / deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network. The emulation device may be directly coupled to another device for purposes of testing and / or may performing testing using over-the-air wireless communications.

[0075] The one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, including all, functions while not being implemented / deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network. For example, the emulation devices may be utilized in a testing scenario in a testing laboratory and / or a non-deployed (e.g., testing) wired and / or wireless communication network in order to implement testing of one or more components. The one or more emulation devices may be test equipment. Direct RF coupling and / or wireless communications via RF circuitry (e.g., which may include one or more antennas) may be used by the emulation devices to transmit and / or receive data.

[0076] A radio link control (RLC) channel configuration procedure may be implemented in a network (e.g., new radio (NR) vehicle to everything (V2X)). An RLC channel configuration procedure may provide a configuration procedure for unicast, groupcast, and / or broadcast. A transmission (TX) WTRU may determine a sidelink (SL) bearer configuration (e.g., packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), RLC, medium access control (MAC), etc., one or more configuration parameters) from a quality of service (QoS) profile of a QoS flow initiated by one or more upper layers of the TX WTRU.

[0077] Determination of the bearer configuration may be based on (e.g., depend on) the radio resource control (RRC) state of the TX WTRU. A WTRU may obtain a bearer configuration to use, for example, from a system information block (SIB) or configuration (e.g., preconfiguration), respectively, for example, if / when the TX WTRU is in RRCJDLE / RRCJNACTIVE or out of network coverage (OOC). An SIB and / or preconfiguration may include a list (e.g., an exhaustive list) of bearer configurations to be used for a (e.g., each) QoS profile. A WTRU may use a bearer configuration (e.g., a default bearer configuration), for example, if a QoS profile is not included in the SIB and / or preconfiguration. A WTRU may map the QoS flow to the default bearer. A WTRU (e.g., in RRC_CONNECTED) may send the QoS profile of the QoS flow to the network (e.g., if / when the flow is initiated). A WTRU may receive the bearer configuration for the QoS flow from dedicated RRC signaling.

[0078] A network (e.g., in mode 1) may manage scheduling one or more resources to a TX WTRU, e.g., in support of meeting latency requirements associated with each transmission. A WTRU may perform scheduling, for example, in mode 2. Managing latency may be built into a resource selection procedure, e.g., in mode 2. A WTRU may select one or more resources with a resource selection window defined by apacket delay budget (PDB) of the priority data (e.g., the highest priority data) available for transmission, for example, if / when data triggers a resource selection procedure, which may support meeting latency associated with data. The network may not be involved in defining the PDB (e.g., in the logical channel), for example, since the PDB is known to the TX WTRU from a QoS profile.

[0079] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a WTRU-to-network relay.

[0080] An RLC channel configuration procedure may be implemented in WTRU-to-network relays. An example of a user plane protocol stack for L2 WTRU to network relays is shown in FIG. 3.

[0081] FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a user plane protocol stack for an L2 WTRU-to-network relay.

[0082] A WTRU may receive a bearer configuration from a network in dedicated RRC signaling, e.g., with normal Uu. A network may (e.g., for WTRU to NW Relays) configure the end-to-end service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) and PDCP to the remote WTRU, the sidelink relay adaptation protocol (SRAP) at the remote WTRU and the Relay WTRU, and the RLC and below at the remote WTRU and below. Configuration may be performed by the network (e.g., using dedicated RRC signaling), for example, since the remote WTRU (e.g., apart from communicating to the network via a Relay) may be treated like a normal WTRU in Uu. A remote WTRU may receive a data radio bearer (DRB) configuration, for example, using dedicated signaling (e.g., RRCReconfiguration message) similar to Uu, except that the DRB configuration may be received via a Relayed signaling radio bearer (SRB).

[0083] The network may configure the adaptation layer (e.g., SRAP) in WTRU to NW Relays. The SRAP at the Relay WTRU may handle the multiplexing of PC5 RLC channels to Uu RLC channels (e.g., in uplink) and vice versa (e.g., in downlink). The network may multiplex multiple PC5-RLC channels, e.g., in uplink, to a (e.g., the same) Uu RLC channel. The adaptation layer may perform the routing (e.g., according to the mapping) upon reception of packets at the Relay WTRU.

[0084] The remote WTRU may be in mode 2 (e.g., by definition) for WTRU to NW Relays and / or for transmission on sidelink. Latency associated with a remote WTRU’s uplink transmissions may include an SL part and a Uu part. The network may control the latency on the Uu part. The WTRU may control the latency on the SL part, (e.g., through resource selection). There may be some coordination so that the sum of the latencies meets the PDB of a packet. The PDB associated with a packet may represent the end to end latency. PDB may not be used for determining the resource selection window. The network may configure the PDB split. The network may provide the remote WTRU, e.g., for each SL LCH that may be relayed by the Relay, a PDB that may be used for a resource selection procedure, e.g., in mode 2.

[0085] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a WTRU-to-WTRU relay.

[0086] FIG. 5 illustrates an example architecture for an L2 WTRU-to-WTRU Relay.

[0087] WTRUs involved in WTRU-to-WTRU Relays (e.g., source WTRU, destination WTRU, and / or Relay WTRU) may be in coverage or out of coverage and may be in any RRC state.

[0088] Relay operation may support N-1 mapping between ingress and egress RLC channels. RLC channel configuration may include a Prioritized Bit Rate (PBR), which may be used to guarantee a data rate for an (e.g., each) RLC channel. PBR may be determined for an (e.g., each) egress RLC channel of a Relay WTRU for a multihop / multipath scenario while supporting N-1 mapping.

[0089] A multihop / multipath Relay may be configured to satisfy an end-to-end (E2E) QoS. One or more Tx WTRUs (e.g., all Tx WTRUs) in the multihop chain may coordinate to determine transmission parameters for each hop to satisfy the E2E QoS. A (e.g., each) WTRU may determine the Tx parameter.

[0090] A multihop / multipath Relay may include multiple (e.g., two) multipaths that have a common Relay, which may reduce the diversity of multipath. A common Relay WTRU may enhance its transmission to maintain the reliability of data transmission from the source to the destination. In a transmission enhancement procedure for duplication RLC, duplication data from the source may not be multiplexed with other data from other WTRUs (e.g., duplication data may not be multiplexed with other data).

[0091] A WTRU may use N-1 RLC channel mapping to determine whether to map a new ingress RLC channel to an existing channel or a new RLC channel.

[0092] A WTRU may determine an RLC channel configuration. A WTRU (e.g., source WTRU and / or a Relay WTRU) may determine an RLC channel configuration of an egress RLC channel. The RLC channel configuration may include one or more of the following parameters (e.g., in any combination): a PDCP configuration; an RLC mode (e.g., acknowledged mode (AM) or unacknowledged mode (UM)), a MAC logical configuration; and / or a PDB.

[0093] An RLC channel configuration may include a PDCP configuration, which may include one or more of the following: an indication whether a radio bearer (RB) requires multipath duplication to be enabled / disabled and / or the number of duplication paths; and / or an indication whether the RB requires multiple carrier duplication and / or the number of duplication carriers.

[0094] An RLC channel configuration may include an RLC mode (e.g., AM or UM) and / or one or more associated parameters (e.g., for each mode). The one or more parameters for AM Mode may include one or more of the following: a maximum retransmission threshold, which may be used to declare radio link failure (RLF); a sequence number length for AM mode; and / or a PollByte, PollPDU, which may be used to determine the frequency of polling for protocol data unit (PDU) reception acknowledgement. The one or more parameters for UM Mode may include, for example, a sequence number length for UM mode.

[0095] An RLC channel configuration may include a MAC logical configuration, which may include one or more of the following (e.g., in any combination): a priority of the LCH; a Prioritized Bit Rate (PBR) of theLCH, which may be used to guarantee a data rate of data in the LCH; a Bucket Size Duration (BSD) of the LCH; and / or a HARQ feedback type (e.g., HARQ enabled / disabled).

[0096] An RLC channel configuration may include a Packet Delay Budget (PDB), which may be the transmission delay budget in the current hop.

[0097] An egress RLC channel configuration may be determined, for example, based on one or more of the following (e.g., in any combination): a configuration of an / each ingress RLC channel; the number of ingress RLC channels mapped to the egress RLC channel; the number of parent nodes having an ingress RLC channel mapped to the egress RLC channel; the number of parent nodes; the number of child nodes; a load of the WTRU, which may be determined based on the number of child nodes, the number of parent nodes, and / or the channel occupancy (CR) of the WTRU; the priority associated with an / each ingress RLC channel; the priority associated with the egress RLC channel; a channel busy ratio (CBR) of the resource pool; and / or a determined value of one or more egress RLC parameters.

[0098] An egress RLC channel configuration may include a configuration of an / each ingress RLC channel. For example, the priority of the ingress RLC channel may be the highest priority of the ingress RLC channels. For example (e.g., if an RLC channel has HARQ enabled), a WTRU may (e.g., determine to) enable HARQ for the egress RLC channel.

[0099] An egress RLC channel configuration may include a determined value of one or more egress RLC parameters. For example, a WTRU may determine a priority of an RLC channel based on the determined PDB of the current hop. For example, a WTRU may determine a priority of an RLC channel based on whether the WTRU enabled / disabled multiple carrier duplication for the RLC channel. A WTRU may reduce the priority of an RLC channel, for example, if the WTRU enables multicarrier duplication. The WTRU may increase the priority of the RLC channel, for example, if otherwise, e.g., if the WTRU disables multicarrier duplication.

[0100] A WTRU may receive a configuration of multiple RLC channel configurations. In some examples, a WTRU (e.g., source WTRU, Relay WTRU, and / or the like) may receive a set of possible RLC channel configurations. Each RLC channel configuration may have a set of values associated with the parameters included in the RLC channel configuration. A (e.g., each) configured RLC channel may have an associated RLC channel configuration index. In some examples, the set of RLC channel configurations may be preconfigured. In some examples, the set of RLC channel configurations may be configured by a base station, such as a gNB, (e.g., via dedicated RRC or SIB). In some examples, the set of RLC channel configurations may be received from another node.

[0101] A WTRU may establish a QoS flow with an associated QoS requirement. In some examples, a WTRU (e.g., source WTRU) may establish a QoS flow with one or more of the following QoS requirements:flow bit rate; minimum range; resource type, such as a Guarantee Bit Rate (GBR), Delay critical GBR, or Non-GBR; priority; Packet Delay Budget (PDB); reliability (e.g., Packet Error Rate (PER)); and / or Maximum Data Burst Volume (MDBV).

[0102] A source WTRU may map a QoS flow to an RLC channel. A source WTRU may establish one or more E2E QoS flows (e.g., with an associated PC5 5QI (PQI) or 5G QoS indicator (5QI) index) for data communication between a source WTRU and a destination WTRU. The source WTRU may map a (e.g., each) E2E QoS flow to one or more RLC channels. The WTRU may map an (e.g., one) E2E QoS flow to multiple RLC channels. The WTRU may map multiple QoS flows to an (e.g., one) RLC channel.

[0103] In a multihop Relay, a source may transmit its QoS flow to a destination via one or multiple intermediate relays. A WTRU or a network node (e.g., a gNB) may be in the path from the source node to the destination node, e.g., including the source and the destination. A source node and a destination node may be a WTRU or an network entity, such as a gNB. A child node may refer to the transmitter of the subsequent hop or the receiver of the current hop. A parent node may refer to the transmitter of the previous node, in which the WTRU is the receiver.

[0104] A WTRU may receive an RLC configuration from the previous node. A WTRU (e.g., a Relay WTRU) may receive one or more ingress RLC channels from a parent node. A WTRU may receive an ingress RLC channel configuration from a parent node (e.g., the source WTRU or a parent Relay). The WTRU may (e.g., also) receive information about an E2E QoS flow, which may be indicated, for example, via a 5QI or a PQI index.

[0105] A WTRU may indicate an RLC configuration of an egress RLC channel to a child node. A WTRU (e.g., a Relay WTRU), e.g., upon determining its egress RLC channel configuration, may indicate the RLC channel configuration to the child node. The WTRU may (e.g., also) indicate the information about the E2E QoS flow ID (e.g., 5QI and / or PQI index) associated with its egress RLC channel and / or the remaining PDB to the child node. An egress RLC channel of a parent node may be equivalent and / or may be used interchangeably with an ingress RLC channel of a child node.

[0106] A WTRU may indicate the information of an egress RLC configuration to a parent node. A WTRU (e.g., a Relay WTRU), e.g., upon determining an egress RLC channel configuration, may indicate one or more parameters of an RLC channel configuration back to a parent node. For example, the WTRU may indicate to a parent node regarding how the WTRU maps the ingress RLC channel of the egress RLC channel.

[0107] A WTRU may apply an RLC channel mapping restriction for multipath with a common relay. A WTRU (e.g., a source WTRU), e.g., upon establishment of a QoS flow with multipath duplication enabled, may (e.g., determine to) request the Relay WTRU in a (e.g., each) path to restrict one-to-one mappingbetween the duplication ingress RLC channel (e.g., the primary and duplicated ingress RLCs) and egress RLC channel. The WTRU may forward the request to one or more subsequent relays, for example, if the WTRU has common Relay WTRUs between multiple (e.g., two) paths.

[0108] A WTRU (e.g., a source WTRU) may be configured to perform one or more of the following. A WTRU may be configured with multipath from a source to a destination. A WTRU may establish a multipath radio bearer having multiple (e.g., two) associated egress RLC channels in (e.g., two) paths (e.g., primary and duplicated RLC channels). A WTRU may receive path information (e.g., a list of Relay WTRU IDs for a / each path). A WTRU may (e.g., if the two paths have a common Relay) send a request to (e.g., two) first Relays in the (e.g., two) paths to perform one or more of the following: restrict one-to-one mapping between an ingress RLC channel to an egress RLC channel; and / or forward the request to the subsequent Relay WTRU until the common Relay. A WTRU may transmit data of the multipath radio bearer using multiple (e.g., two) associated duplication egress RLC channels in multiple (e.g., two) configured paths.

[0109] A WTRU may establish a QoS flow with (e.g., requiring) multipath duplication enabled. A WTRU (e.g., source WTRU) may establish a QoS flow, which may require multipath duplication enabled. The WTRU may map the QoS flow to multiple RLC channels. An RLC channel (e.g., each RLC channel) may be transmitted to a (e.g., one) path. The primary RLC channel may be transmitted in the primary path and a (e.g., each) duplicated channel may be transmitted in another path.

[0110] A WTRU may determine whether it has a common Relay WTRU for multipath. A WTRU (e.g., source WTRU) may determine whether it is a common Relay WTRU of a multipath, for example, based on the set of WTRU IDs associated with each path. A WTRU may determine that multiple (e.g., two) paths have a common Relay WTRU, for example, if a (e.g., one) WTRU ID (e.g., a Relay WTRU ID) is common in the multiple (e.g., two) or more paths. A WTRU may obtain (e.g., determine) the path information (e.g., the set of WTRU IDs in each path) from the discovery, relay selection, and / or path selection procedure, e.g., in case the WTRU is performing path selection. A WTRU may (e.g., alternatively) obtain (e.g., determine) the path information from another node (e.g., from the destination WTRU, which may perform a path selection procedure).

[0111] A WTRU may send a request, such as an RLC channel mapping restriction request, to a child node. A WTRU, e.g., upon establishment of a QoS flow with multipath duplication enabled, may send a mapping restriction request, which may be sent, e.g., via an NAS (e.g., PC5-S) or a PC5 RRC message, to the set of child nodes associated with the multipath duplication. The request may include one or more (e.g., any combination) of the following: restrict one-to-one mapping between an ingress RLC duplication channel to the egress RLC channel; and / or forward the request to the subsequent Relay WTRU along the path to the destination WTRU until the common Relay WTRU.

[0112] A Relay WTRU may apply an RLC mapping request from the source WTRU. A child node (e.g., a child Relay WTRU) may (e.g., then) apply a one-to-one restriction, for example, by mapping the ingress RLC duplication channel to a separate egress RLC channel. The WTRU may (e.g., then) send the egress RLC channel configuration to its child node. The configuration may indicate a one-to-one mapping restriction to its egress RLC channel. The indication may be indicated, for example, by a one-to-one restriction flag in a message including the RLC channel configuration, which may help the common Relay WTRU to differentiate the data from the RLC duplication channel and / or to implement one or more procedures to improve the reliability of the data from the RLC duplication channel.

[0113] A WTRU may receive RLC duplication channel mapping information from a common Relay WTRU. A WTRU (e.g., source WTRU) may receive a message from another WTRU (e.g., a common Relay WTRU) indicating the mapping information of its RLC duplication channel. The common Relay WTRU may implicitly / explicitly indicate that a one-to-one mapping restriction for the RLC duplication channel may not be required. For example, the common Relay WTRU may apply a similar configuration for a duplication and a non-duplication RLC channel. A WTRU, e.g., upon reception of an indication from the common Relay WTRU, may forward a restriction release message (e.g., one-to-one mapping restriction release for an RLC duplication channel) to the child node. In some examples, a child node may reconfigure its RLC duplication channel. In some examples, the child node may keep the same configuration.

[0114] FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a source WTRU sending a 1-1 mapping request for multiple (e.g., two) duplication RLC channels.

[0115] In some examples (e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 6), the source WTRU may have a multipath with the destination WTRU. The multipath may have Relay4 as a common Relay WTRU. The source WTRU, e.g., upon establishment of a QoS flow with multipath duplication enabled, may send a one-to-one RLC mapping restriction for its RLC duplication channels to Relayl and Relay2. Relayl may (e.g., then) apply the restriction to the ingress RLC duplication channel and send the restriction to Relay3. Relay2 may apply the one-to-one restriction, e.g., since it already connects directly to the common Relay WTRU.

[0116] As described herein, the WTRU may establish a multipath associated with an ingress RLC channel and an egress RLC channel. The ingress RLC channel may be, or may include, a primary ingress RLC channel and a duplicated ingress RLC channel. The egress RLC channel may be, or may include, a primary egress RLC channel and a duplicated egress RLC channel. The multipath comprises a first path that is associated with the primary egress RLC channel and a second path that is associated with the duplicated egress RLC channel. In examples, the WTRU may receive a configuration for the multipath. The configuration may be, or may include, a multipath QoS flow that enables a multipath duplication. Based onthe configuration, the WTRU may establish the multipath, e.g., associated with the ingress RLC channel and the egress RLC channel.

[0117] The WTRU receive path information. For example, the WTRU may receive first path information and second path information. The first path information may be associated with the first path and the second path information may be associated with the second path. The first path information may be, or may include, a list of relay WTRU IDs in the first path. The second path information may be, or may include, a list of relay WTRU IDs in the second path. The first path information and / or the second path information may be received from at least one of: a discovery procedure, relay selection procedure, a path selection procedure, or an indication from a destination WTRU that performs a path selection procedure.

[0118] The WTRU may determine that the first path associated with the first path and the second path associated with the second path have a same relay. For example, the same relay may be, or may include, a common relay. For example, the WTRU may determine that first path and the second path have a common relay based on the list of relay WTRU IDs in the first and second paths. For example, the WTRU may determine that a WTRU ID from the list of relay WTRU IDs in the first path matches with a WTRU ID from the list of relay WTRU IDs from the second path

[0119] Based on the determination that the first path associated with the first path and the second path associated with the second path have the common relay, the WTRU may send a request to a first relay associated with the first path and a second relay associated with the second path. The first relay may be associated with a first set of child nodes and the second relay may be associated with a second set of child nodes. The WTRU may send the request using at least one of a NAS message or a PC5 RRC message. The request may be, or may include, a mapping restriction restricting a mapping between a one-to-one mapping between the ingress RLC channel to the egress RLC channel. The one-to-one mapping may be, or may include, mapping the primary ingress RLC channel to the primary egress RLC channel and / or mapping the duplicated ingress RLC channel to the duplicated egress RLC channel.

[0120] The WTRU may determine that the first relay associated with the first path and the second relay associated with the second path are the common relay. Based on the determination that the first relay and the second relay are the common relay, the WTRU may apply the mapping restriction to the first relay and the second relay.

[0121] In examples, the WTRU may determine that the first relay associated with the first path and the second relay associated with the second path are not the common relay. Based on the determination that the first relay and the second relay are not the common relay, the WTRU may forward the request to one or more subsequent relays until a common relay is found. For example, based on the determination that the first relay associated with the first path and the second relay associated with the second path are not thecommon relay, the WTRU may forward the request to a third relay and a fourth relay. The third relay may be a subsequent relay to the first relay and the fourth relay may be a subsequent relay to the second relay. The third relay may be associated with a third path and the fourth relay may be associated with a fourth path. As described herein, the request may be, or may include, a mapping restriction restricting a mapping between a one-to-one mapping between the ingress RLC channel to the egress RLC channel. The one-to- one mapping may be, or may include, mapping the primary ingress RLC channel to the primary egress RLC channel and / or mapping the duplicated ingress RLC channel to the duplicated egress RLC channel.

[0122] The WTRU may determine that the third relay associated with the third path and the fourth relay associated with the fourth path are the common relay. Based on the determination that the third relay and the fourth relay are the common relay, the WTRU may apply the mapping restriction to the third relay and the fourth.

[0123] The WTRU may determine that the third relay associated with the third path and the fourth relay associated with the fourth path are not the common relay. Based on the determination that the third relay and the fourth relay are not the common relay, the WTRU may continue to forward the request to a fifth relay and a sixth relay. The fifth relay may be a subsequent relay to the third relay and the sixth relay may be a subsequent relay to the fourth relay. The fifth relay may be associated with a fifth path and the sixth relay may be associated with a sixth path.

[0124] The WTRU described herein may be, e.g., may be a source WTRU. The WTRU may receive a message from a common relay WTRU. The message may be, or may include, mapping information for a RLC duplication channel associated with the common relay WTRU. The mapping information may indicate a one-to-one mapping restriction for the RLC duplication channel associated with the common relay WTRU.

[0125] Although features and elements described above are described in particular combinations, each feature or element may be used alone without the other features and elements of the preferred embodiments, or in various combinations with or without other features and elements.

[0126] Although the implementations described herein may consider 3GPP specific protocols, it is understood that the implementations described herein are not restricted to this scenario and may be applicable to other wireless systems. For example, although the solutions described herein consider LTE, LTE-A, New Radio (NR) or 5G specific protocols, it is understood that the solutions described herein are not restricted to this scenario and are applicable to other wireless systems as well.

[0127] The processes described above may be implemented in a computer program, software, and / or firmware incorporated in a computer-readable medium for execution by a computer and / or processor. Examples of computer-readable media include, but are not limited to, electronic signals (transmitted overwired and / or wireless connections) and / or computer-readable storage media. Examples of computer- readable storage media include, but are not limited to, a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a register, cache memory, semiconductor memory devices, magnetic media such as, but not limited to, internal hard disks and removable disks, magneto-optical media, and / or optical media such as compact disc (CD)-ROM disks, and / or digital versatile disks (DVDs). A processor in association with software may be used to implement a radio frequency transceiver for use in a WTRU, terminal, base station, RNC, and / or any host computer.

Claims

Claims1 . A wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) comprising: a processor configured to: establish a multipath associated with an ingress radio link control (RLC) channel and an egress RLC channel, wherein the ingress RLC channel comprises a primary ingress RLC channel and a duplicated ingress RLC channel, and the egress RLC channel comprises a primary egress RLC channel and a duplicated egress RLC channel, wherein the multipath comprises a first path that is associated with the primary egress RLC channel and a second path that is associated with the duplicated egress RLC channel; receive first path information and second path information, wherein the first path information is associated with the first path, and the second path information is associated with the second path; determine that the first path and the second path have a common relay; and based on the determination that the first path and the second path have the common relay, send a request to a first relay associated with the first path and a second relay associated with the second path.

2. The WTRU of claim 1 , wherein the request indicates a mapping restriction restricting a mapping between a one-to-one mapping between the ingress RLC channel to the egress RLC channel, wherein the one-to-one mapping comprises mapping the primary ingress RLC channel to the primary egress RLC channel and mapping the duplicated ingress RLC channel to the duplicated egress RLC channel, and wherein the processor is configured to: determine that the first relay associated with the first path and the second relay associated with the second path are a same relay, wherein the same relay is the common relay; and based on the determination that the first relay and the second relay are the common relay, apply the mapping restriction to the first relay and the second relay.

3. The WTRU of claim 1 , wherein the request indicates a mapping restriction restricting a mapping between a one-to-one mapping between the ingress RLC channel to the egress RLC channel, wherein the one-to-one mapping comprises mapping the primary ingress RLC channel to the primary egress RLC channel and mapping the duplicated ingress RLC channel to the duplicated egress RLC channel, and wherein the processor is configured to: determine that the first relay associated with the first path and the second relay associated with the second path are not a same relay, wherein the same relay is the common relay;based on the determination that the first relay and the second relay are not the common relay, forward the request to a third relay and a fourth relay, wherein the third relay is a subsequent relay to the first relay and the fourth relay is a subsequent relay to the second relay, wherein the third relay is associated with a third path and the fourth relay is associated with a fourth path; determine that the third relay associated with the third path and the fourth relay associated with the fourth path are the common relay; and based on the determination that the third relay and the fourth relay are the common relay, apply the mapping restriction to the third relay and the fourth relay.

4. The WTRU of claim 1 , wherein the request indicates a mapping restriction restricting a mapping between a one-to-one mapping between the ingress RLC channel to the egress RLC channel, wherein the one-to-one mapping comprises mapping the primary ingress RLC channel to the primary egress RLC channel and mapping the duplicated ingress RLC channel to the duplicated egress RLC channel, and wherein the processor is configured to: determine that the first relay associated with the first path and the second relay associated with the second path are not a same relay, wherein the same relay is the common relay; based on the determination that the first relay and the second relay are not the common relay, forward the request to a third relay and a fourth relay, wherein the third relay is a subsequent relay to the first relay and the fourth relay is a subsequent relay to the second relay, wherein the third relay is associated with a third path and the fourth relay is associated with a fourth path; determine that the third relay associated with the third path and the fourth relay associated with the fourth path are the common relay; and based on the determination that the third relay and the fourth relay are not the common relay, continue to forward the request to a fifth relay and a sixth relay, wherein the fifth relay is a subsequent relay to the third relay and the sixth relay is a subsequent relay to the fourth relay, and wherein the fifth relay is associated with a fifth path and the sixth relay is associated with a sixth path.

5. The WTRU of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to: receive a configuration for the multipath, wherein the configuration indicates a multipath quality of service (QoS) flow that enables a multipath duplication.

6. The WTRU of claim 1 , wherein the first path information comprises a list of relay WTRU identifications (IDs) in the first path and the second path information comprise a list of relay WTRU IDs in the second path.

7. The WTRU of claim 6, wherein to determine that the first path and the second path have the common relay comprises the processor being configured to: determine that a WTRU ID from the list of relay WTRU IDs in the first path matches with a WTRU ID from the list of relay WTRU IDs from the second path.

8. The WTRU of claim 1 , wherein the first path information and the second path information are received from at least one of: a discovery procedure, relay selection procedure, a path selection procedure, or an indication from a destination WTRU that performs a path selection procedure.

9. The WTRU of claim 1 , wherein the first relay is associated with a first set of child nodes and the second relay is associated with a second set of child nodes, and the request is sent using at least one of a non-access stratum message or a PC5 radio resource control (RRC) message.

10. The WTRU of claim 1 , wherein the WTRU comprises a source WTRU, and wherein the processor is configured to: receive a message from a common relay WTRU, wherein the message comprises mapping information for a RLC duplication channel associated with the common relay WTRU, wherein the mapping information indicates a one-to-one mapping restriction for the RLC duplication channel associated with the common relay WTRU; and based on the message, forward a restriction release message to at least one of the first relay or the second relay.

11. A method performed by a wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) comprising: establishing a multipath associated with an ingress radio link control (RLC) channel and an egress RLC channel, wherein the ingress RLC channel comprises a primary ingress RLC channel and a duplicated ingress RLC channel, and the egress RLC channel comprises a primary egress RLC channel and a duplicated egress RLC channel, wherein the multipath comprises a first path that is associated with the primary egress RLC channel and a second path that is associated with the duplicated egress RLC channel; receiving first path information and second path information, wherein the first path information is associated with the first path, and the second path information is associated with the second path; determining that the first path and the second path have a common relay; andbased on the determination that the first path and the second path have the common relay, sending a request to a first relay associated with the first path and a second relay associated with the second path.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the request indicates a mapping restriction restricting a mapping between a one-to-one mapping between the ingress RLC channel to the egress RLC channel, wherein the one-to-one mapping comprises mapping the primary ingress RLC channel to the primary egress RLC channel and mapping the duplicated ingress RLC channel to the duplicated egress RLC channel, and wherein the method comprises: determining that the first relay associated with the first path and the second relay associated with the second path are a same relay, wherein the same relay is the common relay; and based on the determination that the first relay and the second relay are the common relay, applying the mapping restriction to the first relay and the second relay.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the request indicates a mapping restriction restricting a mapping between a one-to-one mapping between the ingress RLC channel to the egress RLC channel, wherein the one-to-one mapping comprises mapping the primary ingress RLC channel to the primary egress RLC channel and mapping the duplicated ingress RLC channel to the duplicated egress RLC channel, and wherein the method comprises: determining that the first relay associated with the first path and the second relay associated with the second path are not a same relay, wherein the same relay is the common relay; based on the determination that the first relay and the second relay are not the common relay, forwarding the request to a third relay and a fourth relay, wherein the third relay is a subsequent relay to the first relay and the fourth relay is a subsequent relay to the second relay, wherein the third relay is associated with the a third path and the fourth relay is associated with a fourth path; determining that the third relay associated with the third path and the fourth relay associated with the fourth path are the common relay; and based on the determination that the third relay and the fourth relay are the common relay, applying the mapping restriction to the third relay and the fourth relay.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein the the request indicates a mapping restriction restricting a mapping between a one-to-one mapping between the ingress RLC channel to the egress RLC channel, wherein the one-to-one mapping comprises mapping the primary ingress RLC channel to the primaryegress RLC channel and mapping the duplicated ingress RLC channel to the duplicated egress RLC channel, and wherein the method comprises: determining that the first relay associated with the first path and the second relay associated with the second path are not a same relay, wherein the same relay is the common relay; based on the determination that the first relay and the second relay are not the common relay, forwarding the request to a third relay and a fourth relay, wherein the third relay is a subsequent relay to the first relay and the fourth relay is a subsequent relay to the second relay, wherein the third relay is associated with a third path and the fourth relay is associated with a fourth path; determining that the third relay associated with the third path and the fourth relay associated with the fourth path are the common relay; and based on the determination that the third relay and the fourth relay are not the common relay, continuing to forward the request to a fifth relay and a sixth relay, wherein the fifth relay is a subsequent relay to the third relay and the sixth relay is a subsequent relay to the fourth relay.

15. The method of claim 11 , wherein the method comprises: receiving a configuration for the multipath, wherein the configuration indicates a multipath quality of service (QoS) flow that enables a multipath duplication.

16. The method of claim 11 , wherein the first path information comprises a list of relay WTRU identifications (IDs) in the first path and the second path information comprise a list of relay WTRU IDs in the second path.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein determining that the first path and the second path have the common relay comprises: determining that a WTRU ID from the list of relay WTRU IDs in the first path matches with a WTRU ID from the list of relay WTRU IDs from the second path.

18. The method of claim 11 , wherein the first path information and the second path information are received from at least one of: a discovery procedure, relay selection procedure, a path selection procedure, or an indication from a destination WTRU that performs a path selection procedure.

19. The method of claim 11 , wherein the first relay is associated with a first set of child nodes and the second relay is associated with a second set of child nodes, and the request is sent using at least one of a non-access stratum message or a PC5 radio resource control (RRC) message.

20. The method of claim 11 , wherein the WTRU comprises a source WTRU, and wherein the method comprises: receiving a message from a common relay WTRU, wherein the message comprises mapping information for a RLC duplication channel associated with the common relay WTRU, wherein the mapping information indicates a one-to-one mapping restriction for the RLC duplication channel associated with the common relay WTRU; and based on the message, forwarding a restriction release to at least one of the first relay or the second relay.

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