Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

A communication method and apparatus. The method comprises: when a network management system allocates an IP address to an IAB node, the IAB node can report to a donor-CU the IP address allocated by the network management system, and the donor-CU acquires a BAP address of a donor-DU associated with the IP address, and sends the corresponding BAP address to the IAB node, so that the IAB node can acquire the BAP address of the donor-DU associated with the IP address, thereby ensuring correct transmission of uplink data.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to a Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China on August 25, 2023, with application number 202311086500.7 and entitled "A Communication Method and Device," the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and apparatus. Background Art

[0004] Compared to fourth-generation (4G) mobile communication systems, fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication systems impose even more stringent requirements on various network performance indicators. These include a 1,000-fold capacity increase, wider coverage requirements, ultra-high reliability, and low latency. Given the abundance of high-frequency wave resources, the use of high-frequency small cell networks is becoming increasingly popular in hotspots to meet the ultra-high capacity requirements of 5G. High-frequency carrier propagation characteristics are poor, with severe attenuation due to obstruction, resulting in limited coverage. This necessitates the dense deployment of large numbers of small cells. Providing fiber backhaul for these densely deployed small cells is, consequently, costly and difficult to implement, necessitating the need for cost-effective and efficient 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 offers a solution to both of these issues: its access link (AL) and backhaul link (BL) utilize wireless transmission, reducing fiber deployment. Within IAB technology, a key research area is how IAB nodes obtain the backhaul adaptation protocol (BAP) address of the donor distributed unit (DU), associated with its Internet Protocol (IP) address.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] The embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and apparatus, which enable an IAB node to obtain a BAP address of a donor-DU associated with an IP address.

[0007] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method is performed by an IAB node, or a module (e.g., a chip or circuit) within the IAB node. Taking the IAB node as an example, the method includes: the IAB node receiving first information from a network manager, the first information including an Internet Protocol (IP) address assigned to the IAB node by the network manager; the IAB node sending second information including the IP address to a donor-CU (a centralized unit of a host node); and the IAB node receiving third information from the donor-CU, the third information including a backhaul Link Adaptation Layer (BAP) address, the BAP address being the BAP address of a donor-DU (a distributed unit of the host node) associated with the IP address. Optionally, the network manager may perform Operational Management (OAM) for the IAB node.

[0008] Through the above design, when the network manager assigns an IP address to the IAB node, the IAB node can report the IP address assigned by the network manager to the donor-CU. The donor-CU obtains the BAP address of the donor-DU associated with the IP address and sends the corresponding BAP address to the IAB node, so that the IAB node can obtain the BAP address of the donor-CU associated with the IP address.

[0009] In one design, it also includes: the IAB node determines the BAP routing identifier corresponding to the uplink data, the BAP routing identifier includes the BAP address; the IAB node determines the IP address associated with the BAP address based on the third information; the IAB node uses the IP address as the source IP address of the uplink data; and the IAB node sends the uplink data to the donor-CU.

[0010] Through the above design, in uplink data transmission: the IAB node can select an IP address from at least one configured IP address as the source IP address of the uplink data based on the BAP address of the target node included in the BAP routing identifier, where the BAP address of the target node can be the BAP address of the donor-DU, thereby ensuring the correct transmission of the uplink data.

[0011] The second aspect is the donor-CU side corresponding to the first aspect. The beneficial effects can be found in the description of the first aspect. A communication method is provided. The execution subject of the method is the donor-CU, or a module in the donor-CU (such as a chip or circuit, etc.). Taking the donor-CU as the execution subject as an example, the method includes the donor-CU receiving second information from the IAB node, the second information including the Internet Protocol IP address, which is the IP address assigned by the network management to the IAB node; the donor-CU sending third information to the IAB node, the third information including the backhaul link adaptation layer protocol BAP address, the BAP address is the BAP address of the host node distributed unit donor-DU associated with the IP address.

[0012] In one design, the further steps include: the donor-CU obtaining an association between the donor-DU and the IP address; the donor-CU determining, based on the association between the donor-DU and the IP address, a donor-DU associated with the IP address; and the donor-CU determining a BAP address of the donor-DU as the BAP address. Optionally, after determining the BAP address of the donor-DU, the donor-CU may send the BAP address to the donor-DU.

[0013] In one design, the donor-CU obtains the association relationship between the donor-DU and the IP address, including: the donor-CU sends fourth information to at least one donor-DU it manages, where the fourth information is used to request the donor-DU for the IP address associated with it; the donor-CU receives fifth information from the donor-DU, where the fifth information includes the IP address associated with it reported by the donor-DU; the donor-CU determines the association relationship between the donor-DU and the IP address based on the fifth information and the second information.

[0014] In one design, the donor-CU obtains the association relationship between the donor-DU and the IP address, including: the donor-CU receives sixth information from the network management, the sixth information includes the identifier of at least one donor-DU and the IP address of at least one IAB node; the donor-CU determines the association relationship between the donor-DU and the IP address based on the sixth information and the second information.

[0015] In one design, it also includes: the donor-CU determines the donor-DU associated with the IP address based on the IP address of at least one donor-DU it manages; the donor-CU determines the BAP address of the donor-DU, which is the BAP address.

[0016] In one design, it also includes: the donor-CU sends seventh information to at least one donor-DU it manages, the seventh information includes an IP address, and the seventh information is used to inquire whether the donor-DU is associated with the IP address; the donor-CU receives eighth information from the donor-DU, and the eighth information is used to instruct the donor-DU to associate the IP address; the donor-CU determines the BAP address based on the eighth information.

[0017] According to a third aspect, a communication method is provided, in which the execution subject is an IAB node, or a module (chip or circuit, etc.) in the IAB node. Taking the IAB node as the execution subject as an example, the method includes: the IAB node receives a first indication from a host node centralized unit donor-CU, and the first indication is used to indicate the number of host node distributed units donor-DU that can be reached by the IAB node, or to indicate whether the number of donor-DUs that can be reached by the IAB node is one.

[0018] In one design, when the number of donor-DUs reachable by the IAB node is one, the method further includes: the IAB node sending a first request to a network manager or a donor-CU, the first request being used to request the network manager or the donor-CU to allocate an IP address to the IAB node. Optionally, the network manager performs Operation, Management, and Maintenance (OAM) for the IAB node.

[0019] In one design, when the number of donor-DUs reachable by the IAB node is multiple, the method further includes: the IAB node sending a second request to the donor-CU, where the second request is used to request the donor-CU to allocate an IP address to the IAB node.

[0020] Through the above design, when the number of donor-DUs reachable by the IAB node is one, the IAB node can request an IP address from the network management or donor-CU. When the number of donor-DUs reachable by the IAB node is multiple, the IAB node can request an IP address from the donor-CU, which can ensure the correct transmission of uplink data.

[0021] In the fourth aspect, this aspect is the host donor-CU side corresponding to the third aspect. The beneficial effects can be found in the description of the third aspect. A communication method is provided, and the execution subject of the method is the donor-CU, or a module in the donor-CU (such as a chip or circuit, etc.). Taking the donor-CU as the execution subject as an example, the method includes: the donor-CU determines the number of host node distributed units donor-DU that can be reached by the access backhaul integrated IAB node; the donor-CU sends a first indication to the IAB node, and the first indication is used to indicate the number of donor-DUs that can be reached by the IAB node, or to indicate whether the number of donor-DUs that can be reached by the IAB node is one.

[0022] In a fifth aspect, a communication method is provided, wherein the execution subject of the method is an IAB node, or a module in the IAB node (such as a chip or circuit, etc.). Taking the IAB node as the execution subject as an example, the method includes: the IAB node receives a second indication from the host node centralized unit donor-CU; wherein the second indication is used to indicate a method for the IAB node to obtain an Internet Protocol IP address, and / or indicate whether the IAB node is allowed to obtain an IP address from a network manager. The method for the IAB node to obtain an IP address includes obtaining an IP address from a donor-CU or obtaining an IP address from a network manager.

[0023] Through the above design, the donor-CU determines the way the IAB node requests the IP address, or indicates whether the IAB node is allowed to obtain the IP address from the network management, and indicates it to the IAB node, thereby ensuring the correct transmission of uplink data.

[0024] In one design, when the second indication is used to instruct the IAB node to obtain the IP address from the network manager, or to indicate that the IAB node is allowed to obtain the IP address from the network manager, the number of donor-DUs reachable by the IAB node is one.

[0025] In one design, when the second indication is used to instruct the IAB node to obtain the IP address from the donor-CU and / or to indicate that the IAB node is not allowed to obtain the IP address from the network manager, the number of donor-DUs reachable by the IAB node is multiple.

[0026] In one design, when the second indication is used to instruct the IAB node to obtain the IP address from a network manager, the method further includes: the IAB node sends a third request to the network manager, where the third request is used to request the network manager to allocate an IP address to the IAB node.

[0027] In one design, when the second indication is used to indicate that the IAB node is allowed to obtain an IP address from the network manager, it also includes: the IAB node sends a fourth request to the network manager, the fourth request is used to request the network manager to allocate an IP address for the IAB node; or, the IAB node sends a fifth request to the donor-CU, the fifth request is used to request the donor-CU to allocate an IP address for the IAB node.

[0028] In one design, when the second indication is used to indicate that the IAB node obtains the IP address from the donor-CU, and / or indicates that the IAB node is not allowed to obtain the IP address from the network manager, it also includes: the IAB node sends a sixth request to the donor-CU, and the sixth request is used to request the donor-CU to allocate an IP address to the IAB node.

[0029] In one design, when the second indication is used to instruct the IAB node to obtain the IP address from a donor-CU and / or to indicate that the IAB node is not allowed to obtain the IP address from the network manager, the second indication includes the IP address of the IAB node.

[0030] In the sixth aspect, the donor-CU side corresponding to the fifth aspect, the beneficial effects can be found in the description of the fifth aspect. A communication method is provided, and the execution subject of the method is the donor-CU, or a module in the donor-CU (for example, a chip or circuit, etc.). The method includes: the donor-CU sends a second indication to the access and backhaul integrated IAB node; wherein the second indication is used to indicate the method for the IAB node to obtain the Internet Protocol IP address, and / or indicate whether the IAB node is allowed to obtain the IP address from the network management. The method for the IAB node to obtain the IP address includes obtaining the IP address from the donor-CU or obtaining the IP address from the network management.

[0031] In one design, the further step includes: the donor-CU determining the number of donor-DUs of the host node that can be reached by the IAB node; and the donor-CU determining a second indication based on the number of donor-DUs that can be reached by the IAB node.

[0032] In one design, the donor-CU determines a second indication based on the number of donor-DUs reachable by the IAB node, including: when the number of donor-DUs reachable by the IAB node is one, the second indication is used to instruct the IAB node to obtain an IP address from a network manager, or to indicate that the IAB node is allowed to obtain an IP address from a network manager.

[0033] In one design, the donor-CU determines a second indication based on the number of donor-DUs reachable by the IAB node, including: when the number of donor-DUs reachable by the IAB node is multiple, the second indication is used to instruct the IAB node to obtain an IP address from the donor-CU, and / or to indicate that the IAB node is not allowed to obtain an IP address from the network manager.

[0034] In one design, when the second indication is used to instruct the IAB node to obtain the IP address from a donor-CU and / or to indicate that the IAB node is not allowed to obtain the IP address from the network manager, the second indication includes the IP address of the IAB node.

[0035] In a seventh aspect, a communication method is provided, wherein the method is performed by an IAB node, or a module (chip or circuit, etc.) within the IAB node. Taking the IAB node as the performing entity, the method includes: the IAB node receiving first configuration information from a network manager, the first configuration information including an Internet Protocol (IP) address assigned by the network manager to the IAB node and a backhaul Link Adaptation Layer (BAP) address of a donor distributed unit (donor-DU) associated with the IP address. Optionally, the network manager performs Operations Management and Maintenance (OAM) for the IAB node.

[0036] Through the above design, when the network management configures the IP address for the IAB node, it will also configure the BAP address of the donor-DU associated with the IP address, so that the IAB node can correctly obtain the association between the IP address and the BAP address of the donor-DU. During uplink data transmission, the IAB node can obtain the BAP routing identifier according to the uplink mapping rule, and select the IP address associated with the BAP address of the target donor-DU included in the BAP routing identifier as the source IP address of the uplink data, thereby avoiding or reducing the uplink data from being mistakenly discarded when it reaches the target donor-DU, and ensuring the correct transmission of uploaded data.

[0037] In one design, it also includes: the IAB node determines the BAP routing identifier corresponding to the uplink data, the BAP routing identifier includes the BAP address; the IAB node determines the IP address associated with the BAP address based on the first configuration information; the IAB node uses the IP address associated with the BAP address as the source IP address of the uplink data; and the IAB node sends the uplink data to the donor-CU.

[0038] In the eighth aspect, the eighth aspect is the network management side corresponding to the seventh aspect. For the beneficial effects, please refer to the description of the seventh aspect. A communication method is provided. The execution subject of the method is the network management, or a module in the network management (such as a chip or circuit, etc.). Taking the network management as the execution subject as an example, the method includes: the network management assigns an Internet Protocol (IP) address to the integrated access and backhaul IAB node; the network management determines the backhaul link adaptation layer protocol (BAP) address of the host node distributed unit (donor-DU) associated with the IP address; the network management sends first configuration information to the IAB node, the first configuration information including the IP address assigned by the network management to the IAB node and the BAP address of the donor-DU associated with the IP address. Optionally, the network management performs operation, management, and maintenance (OAM) for the IAB node.

[0039] In one design, the network manager determines the BAP address of the donor-DU associated with the IP address, including: the network manager receives the ninth information, the ninth information includes the identifier of the donor-DU and the BAP address of the donor-DU; the network manager determines the BAP address of the donor-DU associated with the IP address based on the ninth information.

[0040] In one design, the ninth information comes from a network manager of a donor node centralized unit donor-CU or a network manager of a donor-DU.

[0041] In one design, the network manager determines a BAP address of a donor-DU associated with an IP address, including: the network manager assigns a BAP address to the donor-DU connected to the IAB node.

[0042] In one design, it also includes: the network manager sends the BAP address of the donor-DU.

[0043] In one design, the network manager sends the BAP address of the donor-DU to the network manager of the donor-CU, or the network manager of the donor-DU, or the donor-DU.

[0044] A ninth aspect provides a communication method, wherein the method is performed by an IAB node, or a module (chip or circuit, etc.) within the IAB node. Taking the IAB node as an example, the method includes: when the IAB node cannot determine the association between an Internet Protocol (IP) address and a backhaul Link Adaptation Layer (BAP) address of a donor-DU, the IAB node arbitrarily selects an IP address from the IAB node's IP addresses as the source IP address of uplink data; and the IAB node sends the uplink data to the donor-DU. Optionally, the IP address of the IAB node is assigned to the IAB node by a network administrator.

[0045] With the above design, the network management system can assign IP addresses to IAB nodes. The IAB nodes can randomly select an IP address from the IP addresses assigned by the network management system and use this IP address as the source IP address for uplink data. The donor-DU can also be configured to exempt this IP address from filtering, thereby ensuring the correct transmission of uplink data.

[0046] In the tenth aspect, the tenth aspect is the donor-CU side corresponding to the ninth aspect. For the beneficial effects, please refer to the description of the ninth aspect. A communication method is provided, and the execution subject of the method is the donor-CU, or a module (chip or circuit, etc.) in the donor-CU. Taking the donor-CU as the execution subject as an example, it includes: the donor-CU receives an Internet Protocol IP address from the integrated access and backhaul IAB node, and the IP address is the IP address assigned by the network management to the IAB; the donor-CU sends a second configuration information to the donor-DU, and the second configuration information is used to configure the donor-DU to exempt the IP address from filtering. Exemption from filtering means that when the donor-DU receives uplink data with a source IP address as an IP address or downlink data with a target IP address as an IP address, the uplink data or downlink data will not be discarded.

[0047] In an eleventh aspect, a device is provided that can implement the method of the first, third, fifth, seventh, or ninth aspect. For example, the device includes means for executing the method of the first, third, fifth, seventh, or ninth aspect. The device can be implemented in hardware, software, or by executing the corresponding software implementation in hardware.

[0048] In one design, the apparatus includes a unit that performs the first, third, fifth, seventh, or ninth aspect described above.

[0049] In one design, the apparatus includes a processor configured to execute the method of the first, third, fifth, seventh, or ninth aspect described above.

[0050] In one design, the device includes a processor and an interface circuit, the interface circuit is used to receive signals from other devices outside the device and transmit them to the processor or send signals from the processor to other devices outside the device, and the processor is used to implement the above-mentioned first aspect, third aspect, fifth aspect, seventh aspect or ninth aspect through logic circuits or execution code instructions.

[0051] In one design, the device includes a processor and a memory, and the processor is used to execute a computer program or instructions stored in the memory, so that the device implements the method of the first aspect, third aspect, fifth aspect, seventh aspect or ninth aspect above.

[0052] In a twelfth aspect, a device is provided that can implement the method of the second, fourth, sixth, eighth, or tenth aspect. For example, the device includes means for executing the corresponding method of the second, fourth, sixth, eighth, or tenth aspect. The device can be implemented through hardware, software, or hardware executing the corresponding software implementation.

[0053] In one design, the apparatus includes a unit that performs the second, fourth, sixth, eighth, or tenth aspects described above.

[0054] In one design, the apparatus includes a processor configured to execute the method of the second, fourth, sixth, eighth, or tenth aspect described above.

[0055] In one design, the device includes a processor and an interface circuit, the interface circuit is used to receive signals from other devices outside the device and transmit them to the processor or send signals from the processor to other devices outside the device, and the processor is used to implement the methods of the second, fourth, sixth, eighth or tenth aspects above through logic circuits or execution code instructions.

[0056] In one design, the device includes a processor and a memory, and the processor is used to execute a computer program or instruction stored in the memory, so that the device implements the method of the second aspect, fourth aspect, sixth aspect, eighth aspect or tenth aspect above.

[0057] In the thirteenth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed on a computer, the computer implements the method of any one of the first to tenth aspects above.

[0058] In a fourteenth aspect, a computer program product is provided, comprising a computer program or instructions, which enables the method of any one of the above-mentioned first to tenth aspects to be executed when the computer program or instructions are executed by a computer.

[0059] In the fifteenth aspect, a chip is provided, comprising a processor, wherein the processor is coupled to a memory and is used to execute a computer program or instruction stored in the memory, so that the chip implements the method of any one of the above-mentioned first to tenth aspects.

[0060] In the sixteenth aspect, a communication system is provided, comprising: a first communication device and a second communication device; wherein the first communication device is used to implement the method of the first aspect above, and the second communication device is used to implement the method of the second aspect above; or, the first communication device is used to implement the method of the third aspect above, and the second communication device is used to implement the method of the fourth aspect above; or, the first communication device is used to implement the method of the fifth aspect above, and the second communication device is used to implement the method of the sixth aspect above; or, the first communication device is used to implement the method of the seventh aspect above, and the second communication device is used to implement the method of the eighth aspect above; or, the first communication device is used to implement the method of the ninth aspect above, and the second communication device is used to implement the method of the tenth aspect above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0061] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a mobile communication system used in an embodiment of the present application;

[0062] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of an IAB network provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] FIG3 is a flow chart provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0064] FIG4 is another flow chart provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0065] FIG5 is another flow chart provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0066] FIG6 is another flow chart provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0067] FIG7 is another flow chart provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0068] FIG8 is a schematic structural diagram of a device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0069] FIG9 is another schematic structural diagram of the device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0070] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of this application more clear, the application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The specific operation methods and functional descriptions in the method embodiments can also be applied to the device embodiments or system embodiments.

[0071] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system 1000 used in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system 1000 includes a radio access network 100 and a core network 200. Optionally, the communication system 1000 may also include the Internet 300. The radio access network (RAN) 100 may include at least one RAN node (such as 110a and 110b in Figure 1, collectively referred to as 110), and may also include at least one terminal (such as 120a-120j in Figure 1, collectively referred to as 120). The terminal is connected to the radio access network device via wireless communication, and the radio access network device is connected to the core network via wireless or wired communication. The core network device and the radio access network device may be independent and different physical devices, or the functions of the core network device and the logical functions of the radio access network device may be integrated into the same physical device, or a physical device may integrate some of the functions of the core network device and some of the functions of the radio access network device. Terminals and radio access network devices may be connected to each other via wired or wireless communication.

[0072] The RAN 100 may be a cellular system related to the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as a fourth generation (4G) mobile communication system, a fifth generation (5G) mobile communication system, or a future-oriented evolution system, such as a sixth generation (6G) mobile communication system. The RAN 100 may also be an open access network (O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), or a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system. The RAN 100 may also be a communication system that integrates two or more of the above systems.

[0073] RAN node 110, sometimes also referred to as access network equipment, RAN entity, or access node, constitutes part of the communication system and facilitates wireless access for terminals. Multiple RAN nodes 110 in communication system 1000 can be of the same type or different types. In some scenarios, the roles of RAN node 110 and terminal 120 are relative. For example, network element 120i in Figure 1 can be a helicopter or drone, which can be configured as a mobile base station. For terminal 120j accessing RAN 100 via network element 120i, network element 120i is a base station; however, for base station 110a, network element 120i is a terminal. RAN node 110 and terminal 120 are sometimes referred to as communication devices. For example, network elements 110a and 110b in Figure 1 can be understood as communication devices with base station functionality, and network elements 120a-120j can be understood as communication devices with terminal functionality.

[0074] In one possible scenario, a RAN node may be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a next generation base station in a 6G mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system. A RAN node may be a macro base station (such as 110a in FIG1 ), a micro base station or an indoor station (such as 110b in FIG1 ), a relay node or a donor node, or a wireless controller in a CRAN scenario. Optionally, a RAN node may also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle or an onboard device. For example, an access network device in vehicle to everything (V2X) technology may be a road side unit (RSU). All or part of the functions of a RAN node in this application may also be implemented by software functions running on hardware, or by virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (such as a cloud platform). A RAN node in this application may also be a logical node, a logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of a RAN node.

[0075] In another possible scenario, multiple RAN nodes collaborate to assist the terminal in achieving wireless access, and different RAN nodes implement part of the functions of the base station respectively. For example, the RAN node can be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU). The CU and DU can be set separately, or they can be included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or radio frequency unit, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0076] 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.

[0077] A terminal is a device with wireless transceiver capabilities that can send signals to or receive signals from a RAN node. A terminal may also be referred to as a terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. Terminals can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, smart city, etc. A terminal can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver capabilities, wearable device, vehicle, aircraft, ship, robot, robotic arm, smart home device, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form used by the terminal.

[0078] In one design, RAN 100 may also include a wireless relay device or a wireless backhaul device. In one implementation, a terminal may access a RAN node via the wireless relay device or the wireless backhaul device. In the following description, unless otherwise specified, the wireless relay device or the wireless backhaul device is used as an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, and the RAN node is used as a donor node.

[0079] The IAB node can provide wireless access services for the terminal, and the terminal's business data can be transmitted to the host node through the IAB node. The IAB node can access the host node directly or through other IAB nodes. The IAB node includes a mobile terminal (MT) and a DU. Among them, when the IAB node faces its parent node, its parent node can be a host node or another IAB node, and the IAB node plays the role of a terminal. In this case, it is the DU that provides the terminal role for the IAB node. When the IAB node faces its child node, its child node can be another IAB node or a terminal, and the IAB node plays the role of a network device. In this case, it is the DU that provides the network device role for the IAB node. The host node may include a CU and a DU. The host node can be connected to the core network that provides services to the terminal, such as the 5G core network. The CU included in the host node can be called a donor-CU, and the DU included in the host node can be called a donor-DU.

[0080] In one possible implementation, the transmission path between a terminal and a host node may include one or more IAB nodes. For an IAB node, if the child node of the IAB node is a terminal, the AL is used between the IAB node and the terminal. If the child node of the IAB node is another IAB node, the BL is used between the IAB node and the other IAB node, and the BL is also used between the host node and the IAB node. For example, as shown in Figure 2, a transmission path between terminal 1 and the host node is: terminal 1 → IAB node 4 → IAB node 3 → IAB node 1 → host node. Terminal 1 accesses IAB node 4 via the AL, IAB node 4 accesses IAB node 3 via the BL, IAB node 3 accesses IAB node 1 via the BL, and IAB node 1 accesses the host node via the BL, and so on.

[0081] In wireless backhaul networks, a protocol layer, called the Backhaul Adaptation Protocol (BAP), is introduced to implement functions such as packet routing and bearer mapping within the wireless backhaul network. The BAP layer originates at the IAB node connecting the endpoints and ends at the host node. A BAP layer exists in every IAB node and host node along a transmission path. In one design, the donor-CU can assign BAP addresses to the IAB nodes and donor-DUs it manages. In this way, BAP addresses can be used to identify an IAB node and donor-DU within the wireless backhaul network. The donor-CU can configure mapping rules for the IAB nodes, which can be either uplink or downlink. The mapping rules include at least a mapping between the donor-CU's IP address and tunnel endpoint ID (TEID) and a BAP routing identifier. The BAP routing identifier consists of the target node's BAP address and a path ID (identity). For uplink transmission, the target node is the host node, and the BAP address of the target node included in the BAP routing identifier can be the BAP address of the donor-DU; for downlink transmission, the target node is the IAB node connected to the terminal, and the BAP address of the target node included in the BAP routing identifier can be the BAP address of the IAB node connected to the terminal.

[0082] Take the example of the IAB node connected to the terminal sending uplink data. The IAB node uses the data radio bearer (DRB) to receive the uplink data sent by the terminal. The IAB node uses the DRB corresponding to the uplink data to determine the donor-CU that has a mapping relationship with the DRB. The IAB node determines the BAP routing identifier corresponding to the donor-CU corresponding to the DRB of the uplink data based on the mapping relationship between {IP address and TEID of the donor-CU} and {BAP routing identifier} included in the uplink mapping rule. In addition, there is a peer IP layer between the IAB node connected to the UE and the host node. The IAB node connected to the UE needs to at least encapsulate the uplink data at the IP layer. During the encapsulation process, it needs to obtain the IP address of the IAB node, use the IP address as the source IP address of the uplink data, and carry the source IP address in the uplink data. In one implementation, an IAB node may be configured with multiple IP addresses.

[0083] In one design, the donor-CU can configure an IP address for the IAB node. When the donor-CU configures an IP address for the IAB node, the configuration information also carries the BAP address of the donor-DU associated with the IP address. In one implementation, when the IAB node needs to select the source IP address for uplink data from multiple IP addresses, it can select the IP address associated with the donor-DU's BAP address as the source IP address for the uplink data based on the BAP address of the donor-DU included in the BAP routing identifier obtained from the uplink mapping rule.

[0084] In addition to the donor-CU being able to configure an IP address for the IAB node, the network manager can also configure an IP address for the IAB node. When the network manager configures an IP address for the IAB node, how the IAB node obtains the BAP address of the donor-DU associated with the IP address is a technical problem to be solved by the embodiments of this application.

[0085] [Example 1]

[0086] In the first embodiment, the network management can configure an IP address for the IAB node. When the IAB node receives the IP address configured by the network management, it sends the IP address to the donor-CU. The donor-CU obtains the BAP address of the donor-DU associated with the IP address and sends the BAP address of the donor-DU to the IAB node. As shown in Figure 3, a process is provided, which at least includes:

[0087] Step 310: The network manager sends first information to the IAB node. The IAB node receives the first information from the network manager. The first information includes the IP address allocated by the network manager to the IAB node.

[0088] In one design, the network management is operations administration and maintenance (OAM), which can be used for the configuration and management of network devices such as IAB nodes, donor-CUs, and donor-DUs. IAB nodes, donor-CUs, and donor-DUs can be connected to OAM, for example, through core network devices, or through IP networks. The OAMs corresponding to IAB nodes, donor-CUs, and donor-DUs can be the same or different. In the subsequent description of this application, the example in which the OAMs corresponding to IAB nodes, donor-CUs, and donor-DUs are different is mainly used for description. In one implementation, the OAM of the IAB node can allocate an IP address to the IAB node, that is, the network management in step 310 can be the OAM of the IAB node. Optionally, the first information can be an IP address allocation message.

[0089] In embodiments of the present application, an IAB node is used to provide wireless access and wireless backhaul services to child nodes (which may be other IAB nodes or terminals). An IAB node may be mobile and may be referred to as a mobile IAB node or a Layer 3 relay node. An IAB node may include two components: an IAB-MT (abbreviated as MT) and an IAB-DU (abbreviated as DU). In one implementation, as shown in Figure 3, the IAB-MT may receive first information from a network manager and send the first information to the IAB-DU. Optionally, in a dual-connectivity scenario, the IAB-MT may connect to two different upstream nodes, which may be IAB nodes or host nodes. When considering a dual-connectivity scenario, the IP address assigned by the network manager to the IAB node is used for communication between the IAB node and the host node. Alternatively, when considering a Layer 3 relay node, the relay node may include both mobile terminal functionality (MT) and base station functionality (gNB). In embodiments of the present application, the term "DU" may be replaced with the gNB functionality of the relay node.

[0090] Step 320: The IAB node sends second information to the donor-CU. The donor-CU receives the second information from the IAB node. The second information includes the IP address allocated by the network manager to the IAB node.

[0091] Step 330: the donor-CU sends third information to the IAB node. The IAB node receives the third information from the donor-CU. The third information includes a BAP address. The BAP address is the BAP address of the donor-DU associated with the IP address.

[0092] In this embodiment of the present application, when the IAB node receives the IP address assigned by the network manager, it may execute step 320 to report the IP address assigned by the network manager to the donor-CU. The donor-CU may determine the BAP address of the donor-DU associated with the IP address and, in step 330, send the BAP address to the IAB node.

[0093] Optionally, the second information may be an RRC message, and the name of the RRC message may be IAB other information (IABOtherInformation). In one implementation, as shown in FIG3 , the IAB-MT may send the second information to the donor-CU. Optionally, the third information may be an RRC reconfiguration message. In one implementation, as shown in FIG3 , the donor-CU may send the third information to the IAB-DU. Taking into account the situation that the network management can allocate multiple IP addresses to the IAB node and the IAB node reports multiple IP addresses to the donor-CU at one time, the donor-CU sends the third information to the IAB node, which includes not only the BAP address but also its corresponding IP address.

[0094] Optionally, the process further includes: Step 340: After the donor-CU determines the BAP address of the donor-DU associated with the IP address, the donor-CU may also send the BAP address to the donor-DU for configuring the BAP address for the donor-DU. Considering that if the IAB node here is the first IAB node connected to the donor-DU, and the donor-DU has not previously been served by an IAB node and has not been assigned a BAP address, the donor-CU may trigger the allocation of a BAP address to the donor-DU associated with the IP address after receiving the IP address reported by the IAB node.

[0095] There is no restriction on the order of executing step 330 and step 340. For example, after the donor-CU determines the BAP address of the donor-DU associated with the IP address, step 330 may be executed first and then step 340, or step 340 may be executed first and then step 330, etc.

[0096] In the first embodiment, the donor-CU obtains the BAP address of the donor-DU corresponding to the IP address. The following three solutions are provided:

[0097] Solution 1: The donor-CU obtains the association between the donor-DU and the IP address. Based on the association between the donor-DU and the IP address, the donor-CU determines the donor-DU associated with the IP address. The donor-CU determines the BAP address of the donor-DU associated with the IP address as the BAP address of the donor-DU associated with the IP address.

[0098] For example, the association relationship between donor-DUs and IP addresses obtained by the donor-CU includes: the first donor-DU is associated with IP addresses 1 to 10, the second donor-DU is associated with IP addresses 11 to 20, and the third donor-DU is associated with IP addresses 21 to 30. If the IP address assigned by the network management to the IAB node as reported by the IAB node is IP address 11, it can be determined that IP address 11 is associated with the second donor-DU. The donor-CU can send the BAP address of the second donor-DU to the IAB node.

[0099] In one design, the donor-CU obtains the association relationship between the donor-DU and the IP address, including: the donor-CU sends fourth information to at least one donor-DU it manages, and the fourth information is used to request the donor-DU for the IP address associated with it. The donor-CU receives fifth information from the donor-DU, and the fifth information includes the IP address associated with it reported by the donor-DU. The donor-CU determines the association relationship between the donor-DU and the IP address based on the fifth information and the second information. Optionally, there is an F1 interface between the donor-CU and the donor-DU it manages, and the fourth information and the fifth information can interact through the F1 interface. The fourth information and the fifth information can be F1 application protocol (F1AP) messages.

[0100] For example, a donor node may include a donor-CU and at least one donor-DU. The donor-DU is responsible for allocating IP addresses, and the donor-DU stores the IP addresses it allocates. In an embodiment of the present application, there is an association relationship between the donor-DU and the IP addresses it allocates or stores. In one implementation, the donor-DU may inquire about the IP addresses it manages from at least one donor-DU it manages. The donor-CU determines the association relationship between the donor-DU and the IP address based on the IP address information fed back by at least one donor-DU. Or,

[0101] The donor-CU may receive sixth information from the network management, the sixth information including the identifier of at least one donor-DU and the IP address of at least one IAB node; the donor-CU may determine the association between the IP address reported by the IAB node and the donor-DU based on the sixth information and the second information. For example, the network management may be the OAM of the IAB node, or the OAM of the donor-DU, etc., without limitation. The network management may obtain the association between the donor-DU and the IP address assigned to the donor-DU, and send the association to the donor-CU via the sixth information, so that the donor-CU may obtain the association between the donor-DU and the IP address, etc., and further obtain the association between the IP address reported by the IAB node and the donor-DU, etc.

[0102] The second solution: The donor-CU can determine the donor-DU associated with the IP address reported by the IAB node based on the IP address of at least one donor-DU it manages; the donor-CU determines the BAP address of the donor-DU, which is the BAP address of the donor-DU associated with the IP address reported by the IAB node. In an embodiment of the present application, the donor-CU can obtain the IP address of the donor-DU it manages. The donor-CU can match the IP address assigned to it by the network manager reported by the IAB node with the IP address of at least one donor-DU it manages; if the match is successful for a donor-DU, it is considered that the IP address assigned to it by the network manager reported by the IAB node is associated with the donor-DU. For example, the IP address reported by the IAB node and the IP address of the donor-DU can be compared within a certain bit range; if the two are consistent, it is considered that the two are matched successfully; otherwise, the match fails. For example, in the embodiments of the present application, an IP address may be 32 bits. If the first 16 bits of the IP address of an IAB node and the IP address of a donor-DU are identical, the two IP addresses are considered to match successfully. Optionally, the matching rule between the IP address reported by the IAB node and the IP address of the donor-DU may be preset or configured for the donor-CU by the donor-CU's OAM.

[0103] Solution 3: The donor-CU sends seventh information to at least one donor-DU it manages. The seventh information includes the IP address reported by the IAB node and is used to inquire whether a donor-DU is associated with the IP address of the IAB node. The donor-CU receives eighth information from the donor-DU, indicating the associated IP address of the donor-DU. The donor-CU determines the BAP address based on the eighth information. Optionally, the seventh and eighth information can be F1AP messages.

[0104] For example, when the donor-CU receives the IP address assigned by the network manager reported by the IAB node, it can send the IP address to at least one donor-DU under its management. After receiving the IP address, a donor-DU can determine whether the IP address is under its management. In one implementation, if the IP address is under its management, it replies to the donor-CU with association; if it is not associated, it does not reply. Alternatively, the donor-DU can also reply with no association when it is not associated, etc., without limitation. In the above description, it is mainly described that the donor-DU replies with the eighth information when it is associated. When the donor-CU receives a response of association of a donor-DU, the BAP address of the donor-DU can be used as the BAP address of the donor-DU associated with the IP address assigned by the network manager. Optionally, in addition to replying to the donor-CU with an indication of whether the association is established, the donor-DU can also reply to the donor-CU with the associated IP address and the identifier of the donor-DU. For example, the eighth information mentioned above may include, in addition to the associated indication information, the associated IP address and / or the identifier of the donor-DU. Optionally, the identifier of the donor-DU may include at least one of the following: the identifier of the gNB-DU, the IP address of the donor-DU, or the BAP address of the donor-DU. This design primarily considers that the network manager can allocate multiple IP addresses to the IAB node. The IAB node reports all of these multiple IP addresses to the donor-CU. The donor-CU simultaneously queries the donor-DUs it manages for the donor-DUs associated with these multiple IP addresses. A donor-DU may be associated with a portion of these multiple IP addresses. Therefore, when a donor-DU responds to the association, in addition to responding to the association indication information, it also needs to respond with the specific IP address to which it is associated. Furthermore, the donor-DU may also respond with the identifier of the current donor-DU.

[0105] In the embodiment of the present application, after step 330, the following steps may also be included:

[0106] Taking uplink transmission as an example, the IAB node determines the BAP routing identifier corresponding to the uplink data. The BAP routing identifier includes the BAP address. Based on the third information, the IAB node determines the IP address associated with the BAP address. The IAB node uses the IP address as the source IP address of the uplink data. The IAB node sends the uplink data to the donor-CU.

[0107] In one implementation, the donor-CU may configure an uplink mapping rule for the IAB node, where the uplink mapping rule includes at least a correspondence between {donor-CU's IP address and TEID} and {BAP routing identifier}. The IAB node may first obtain the BAP routing identifier corresponding to the uplink data according to the uplink mapping rule. Thereafter, the IAB node obtains the IP address associated with the BAP address based on the BAP address of the donor-DU included in the BAP routing identifier. The IP address associated with the BAP address is used as the source IP address of the uplink data, and the source IP address is carried in the uplink data, and the uplink data is sent to the next-hop IAB node. And / or, the IP address associated with the BAP address is used as the destination IP address of the downlink data and sent to the donor-CU.

[0108] In one design, the IAB node in the embodiments of the present application may specifically be the IAB node connected to the terminal. It is understood that there is a peer IP layer between the IAB node connected to the terminal and the host node. Therefore, IP layer encapsulation is only required for the IAB node connected to the terminal. During IP layer encapsulation, an IP address associated with the BAP address of the donor-DU obtained in the uplink mapping rule must be selected from multiple IP addresses as the source IP address for encapsulation.

[0109] Through the above design, when the network manager assigns an IP address to the IAB node, the IAB node can report the IP address assigned by the network manager to the donor-CU. The donor-CU obtains the BAP address of the donor-DU associated with the IP address and sends the corresponding BAP address to the IAB node, so that the IAB node can obtain the BAP address of the donor-DU associated with the IP address, thereby ensuring the correct transmission of uplink data.

[0110] [Example 2]

[0111] Different from the concept of embodiment 1, in embodiment 2: the donor-CU may send a first indication to the IAB node, which is used to indicate the number of donor-DUs that the IAB node can reach, or whether the number of donor-DUs that can be reached is one. Optionally, if the number of donor-DUs that the IAB node can reach is one, the IAB node may request an IP address from the network manager; otherwise, the IAB node requests an IP address from the donor-CU. As shown in Figure 4, the process at least includes:

[0112] Step 410: The donor-CU sends a first instruction to the IAB node, and the IAB node receives the first instruction from the donor-CU.

[0113] The first indication is used to indicate the number of donor-DUs reachable by the IAB node, or to indicate whether the number of donor-DUs reachable by the IAB node is one. Optionally, the first indication may be carried in an RRC message. For example, the donor-CU may send an RRC message to the IAB node, and the IAB node receives the RRC message from the donor-CU, where the RRC message carries the first indication. In one design, as shown in FIG4 , the donor-CU may send the first indication to the IAB-MT.

[0114] In one design, upon receiving the first indication, the IAB node may determine, based on the first indication, whether the number of donor-DUs reachable by the IAB node is one. If the number of donor-DUs reachable by the IAB node is one, the IAB node sends a first request to the network management or donor-CU, which may request the network management or donor-CU to allocate an IP address to the IAB node. Alternatively, if the number of donor-DUs reachable by the IAB node is multiple, the IAB node sends a second request to the donor-CU, which may request the donor-CU to allocate an IP address to the IAB node. Optionally, the network management may be the OAM of the IAB node.

[0115] In one implementation, the process of the donor-CU allocating an IP address to the IAB node includes: the donor-CU sending the IP address allocated to it and the BAP address of the donor-DU associated with the IP address to the IAB node. The process of the network manager allocating an IP address to the IAB node includes: the network manager sending the IP address allocated to it to the IAB node.

[0116] In one implementation, when the donor-CU allocates an IP address to an IAB node, since the donor-DU is responsible for IP address management, the donor-CU can request an IP address from a donor-DU reachable by the IAB node and send the IP address to the IAB node. Therefore, in the design where the donor-CU allocates an IP address to an IAB node, the IP address allocated by the donor-CU is managed by the reachable donor-DU. Alternatively, the IP address allocated by the donor-CU to the IAB node is associated with the donor-DU reachable by the IAB node. As previously mentioned, when the donor-CU allocates an IP address to an IAB node, in addition to sending the IP address to the IAB node, it also sends the BAP address of the donor-DU associated with the IP address. The BAP address of the donor-DU associated with the IP address can be considered the BAP address of the donor-DU that manages the IP address, i.e., the BAP address of a donor-DU reachable by the IAB node.

[0117] In one implementation, when a network manager assigns an IP address to an IAB node, the network manager may obtain an IP address from a donor-DU reachable by the IAB node and assign the IP address to the IAB node. That is, when the network manager assigns an IP address to an IAB node, the IP address is actually managed by a donor-DU reachable by the IAB node. For example, when the network manager assigns an IP address to an IAB node, the network manager may obtain the IP addresses managed by a donor-DU reachable by the IAB node and assign one or more of the IP addresses managed by the network manager to the IAB node. Alternatively, the network manager may first assign an IP address to the IAB node and then send the IP address to a donor-DU reachable by the IAB node. The network manager may store the IP address for the reachable donor-DU, deeming the IP address to be managed by the network manager, or deeming the IP address to be associated with a donor-DU reachable by the IAB node.

[0118] In one design, in uplink data transmission, when the donor-DU receives the uplink data sent by the IAB node, it will determine whether the source IP address of the uplink data is under its own management. If it is managed by itself, the uplink data will be sent to the donor-CU; otherwise, the uplink data will be discarded. In an embodiment of the present application, when the IAB node has a reachable donor-DU, the IAB node can request the donor-CU or OAM to assign an IP address to it. As mentioned above, when the donor-CU or OAM assigns an IP address to the IAB node, the IP address it assigns is managed by the reachable donor-DU. Therefore, the IAB node can arbitrarily select an IP address when multiple IP addresses are configured. Since the IP address is managed by the currently reachable donor-DU, the uplink data will not be discarded by the donor-DU. Alternatively, when the IAB node has multiple reachable donor-DUs, the IAB node needs to select an IP address associated with the BAP address of the target donor-DU as the source IP address based on the BAP address of the target donor-DU included in the BAP routing identifier obtained from the uplink mapping rule. That is, the IAB node needs to select the IP address managed by the target donor-DU as the source IP address from multiple IP addresses, thereby avoiding or reducing the discarding of uplink data when the donor-DU receives the uplink data, resulting in erroneous transmission of the uplink data.

[0119] Through the above design, when the number of donor-DUs reachable by the IAB node is one, the IAB node can request an IP address from the network management or donor-CU. When the number of donor-DUs reachable by the IAB node is multiple, the IAB node can request an IP address from the donor-CU, which can ensure the correct transmission of uplink data.

[0120] [Example 3]

[0121] The difference between the third embodiment and the second embodiment is that the donor-CU can determine the method for the IAB node to obtain an IP address based on the number of donor-DUs reachable by the IAB node. Then, the donor-CU sends a second indication to the IAB node, which is used to indicate the method for the IAB node to obtain an IP address and / or indicate whether the IAB node is allowed to obtain an IP address from the network management. As shown in Figure 5, a process is provided, which at least includes:

[0122] Step 510: The donor-CU sends a second instruction to the IAB node, and the IAB node receives the second instruction from the donor-CU.

[0123] The second indication is used to indicate how the IAB node obtains an IP address and / or whether the IAB node is allowed to obtain an IP address from a network manager. The IAB node may obtain an IP address from a donor-CU or from a network manager. Optionally, in Embodiment 3, the network manager may be the OAM of the IAB node. In one design, as shown in FIG5 , the donor-CU may send the second indication to the IAB-MT, and the IAB-MT receives the second indication from the donor-CU.

[0124] Optionally, before step 510, the following may be included: Step 500: The donor-CU determines the number of donor-DUs reachable by the IAB node; the donor-CU determines a second indication based on the number of donor-DUs reachable by the IAB node. For example, when the number of donor-DUs reachable by the IAB node is one, the second indication is used to instruct the IAB node to obtain an IP address from the network manager, or to indicate that the IAB node is permitted to obtain an IP address from the network manager. Alternatively, when the number of donor-DUs reachable by the IAB node is multiple, the second indication is used to instruct the IAB node to obtain an IP address from the donor-CU, and / or to indicate that the IAB node is not permitted to obtain an IP address from the network manager.

[0125] It is understood that in the third embodiment, when the second indication is used to indicate that the IAB node obtains the IP address from the network manager, the IAB node can obtain the IP address from the network manager. For example, the IAB node can send a third request to the network manager, and the third request is used to request the network manager to allocate an IP address to the IAB node. Further, when the network manager receives the third request, the network manager can send a third response to the IAB node, and the third response can include the IP address allocated by the network manager to the IAB node. Or,

[0126] When the second indication is used to indicate that the IAB node is allowed to obtain an IP address from the network manager, the IAB node can obtain the IP address from the network manager, or can obtain the IP address from the donor-CU, etc., without limitation. For example, taking the example of the IAB node obtaining an IP address from the network manager, the IAB node sends a fourth request to the network manager, and the fourth request is used to request the network manager to allocate an IP address to the IAB node. Further, the network manager may send a fourth response to the IAB node, and the fourth response includes the IP address allocated by the network manager to the IAB node. Or, taking the example of the IAB node obtaining an IP address from the donor-CU. The IAB node sends a fifth request to the donor-CU, and the fifth request is used to request the donor-CU to allocate an IP address to the IAB node. Further, the donor-CU may send a fifth response to the IAB node, and the fifth response includes the IP address allocated by the donor-CU to the IAB node. Or,

[0127] When the second indication is used to indicate that the IAB node obtains the IP address from the donor-CU, and / or indicates that the IAB node is not allowed to obtain the IP address from the network management, the IAB node can obtain the IP address from the donor-CU. For example, the IAB node sends a sixth request to the donor-CU, and the sixth request is used to request the donor-CU to allocate an IP address to the IAB node. Further, the donor-CU may send a sixth response to the IAB node, and the sixth response includes the IP address allocated by the donor-CU to the IAB node. Or,

[0128] In one implementation, when the second indication indicates that the IAB node obtains its IP address from the donor-CU and / or indicates that the IAB node is not permitted to obtain its IP address from the network management system, the second indication includes the IP address of the IAB node. That is, when the donor-CU determines that the IAB node obtains its IP address from the donor-CU and / or indicates that the IAB node is not permitted to obtain its IP address from the network management system, the donor-CU may directly allocate an IP address to the IAB node and send the IP address to the IAB node via the second indication. The IAB node can directly obtain the IP address from the second indication. Of course, the IP address is allocated by the donor-CU. The IAB node does not need to send a request to the donor-CU to request that the donor-CU allocate an IP address for the IAB node, thereby reducing signaling overhead for the IAB node. Alternatively, the IP address may exist independently of the second indication, for example, the donor-CU may send the second indication and the IP address of the IAB node to the IAB node. In one implementation, the donor-CU may send an RRC message to the IAB node, where the RRC message includes the second indication and the IP address allocated by the donor-CU to the IAB node.

[0129] Through the above design, the donor-CU determines the way the IAB node requests the IP address, or indicates whether the IAB node is allowed to obtain the IP address from the network management, and indicates it to the IAB node, thereby ensuring the correct transmission of uplink data.

[0130] [Example 4]

[0131] In the fourth embodiment, the network manager uses the same method as the donor-CU to assign an IP address to the IAB node. For example, when the network manager assigns an IP address to the IAB node, it will include the BAP address of the donor-DU associated with the assigned IP address. As shown in Figure 6, a process is provided, which includes at least:

[0132] Step 610: The network manager sends first configuration information to the IAB node. The IAB node receives the first configuration information from the network manager. The first configuration information includes the IP address allocated by the network manager to the IAB node and the BAP address of the donor-DU associated with the IP address.

[0133] Optionally, the name of the first configuration information may be IP address allocation. After receiving the first configuration information, the IAB node may report the IP address configured for it by the network manager to the donor-CU. In the fourth embodiment, unless otherwise specified, the network manager may be the OAM of the IAB node. In one implementation, as shown in Figure 6, the network manager may send the first configuration information to the IAB-MT, and the IAB-MT may send the first configuration information to the IAB-DU.

[0134] In one design, before step 610, the method further includes: step 600: the network manager allocates an IP address to the IAB node; the network manager determines the BAP address of the donor-DU associated with the IP address. In embodiment 4, the method for the network manager to determine the BAP address of the donor-DU associated with the IP address includes:

[0135] Example 1: The network management system may receive ninth information, which includes a donor-DU identifier and a donor-DU BAP address. For example, the donor-DU identifier includes a gNB-DU ID and / or the donor-DU IP address. Based on the ninth information, the network management system determines the donor-DU BAP address associated with the IP address. The ninth information may be named "donor-DU BAP address notification" or the like.

[0136] Example 1.1: The ninth message comes from the donor-CU's network management. For example, if the network management is OAM, the donor-CU's OAM can send the ninth message to the IAB node's OAM.

[0137] For example, the donor-CU may send the identifier of the donor-DU it manages and the BAP address allocated to the donor-DU to the donor-CU's OAM. The donor-CU's OAM then sends ninth information to the IAB node's OAM. This ninth information includes information such as the donor-DU's identifier and the donor-DU's BAP address. In this case, the ninth information is said to be from the donor-CU's OAM. When allocating an IP address to the IAB node, the IAB node's OAM may configure an IP address from the donor-DU's identifier to the IAB node. When sending this IP address to the IAB node, the IAB node's OAM may also send the donor-DU's BAP address to the IAB node.

[0138] Example 1.2: The ninth message comes from the network management of the donor-DU. For example, if the network management is OAM, the OAM of the donor-DU can send the ninth message to the OAM of the IAB node.

[0139] For example, a donor-CU may send the identifier of a managed donor-DU and the BAP address allocated to the donor-DU to the donor-DU's OAM. The donor-DU's OAM then sends this information to the IAB node's OAM via the ninth message. In this case, the ninth message is said to be from the donor-DU's OAM. When allocating an IP address to the IAB node, the IAB node's OAM may send an IP address from the donor-DU's identifier to the IAB node. When sending this IP address to the IAB node, the IAB node's OAM may also send the donor-DU's BAP address to the IAB node.

[0140] Example 2: The network management system assigns a BAP address to the donor-DU connected to the IAB node.

[0141] Taking the OAM of an IAB node as an example, the OAM of the IAB node optionally also needs to send the BAP address allocated for the donor-DU to the donor-DU. For example, in one implementation, the OAM of the IAB node can send the BAP address of the donor-DU. For example, the OAM of the IAB node sends the BAP address of the donor-DU to the OAM of the donor-CU. The OAM of the donor-CU sends the BAP address of the donor-DU to the donor-CU, and the donor-CU then sends the BAP address of the donor-DU to the donor-DU. Alternatively, the OAM of the IAB node can send the BAP address of the donor-DU to the OAM of the donor-DU, and the OAM of the donor-DU then sends the BAP address of the donor-DU to the donor-DU.

[0142] For example, in addition to allocating an IP address to the IAB node, the OAM of the IAB node also allocates a BAP address to the donor-DU connected to the IAB node. For example, in one implementation, the OAM of the IAB node may obtain the identifier of the donor-DU connected to the IAB node, where the identifier of the donor-DU includes, for example, the gNB-DU ID and / or the IP address of the donor-DU. In an embodiment of the present application, the OAM of the IAB node may allocate to the IAB node an IP address managed by one of the donor-DUs connected to the IAB node, and simultaneously allocate a BAP address to the connected donor-DU. Furthermore, the OAM of the IAB node may send the identifier of the donor-DU and the allocated BAP address to the corresponding donor-DU. In one implementation, the OAM of the IAB node may send the identifier of the donor-DU and the allocated BAP address to the OAM of the donor-CU, which in turn sends this information to the donor-CU. The donor-CU then sends this information to the corresponding donor-DU via an F1AP message. Alternatively, in another implementation, the OAM of the IAB node may send the identifier of the donor-DU and the BAP address allocated thereto to the OAM of the donor-DU, and the OAM of the donor-DU sends the above information to the donor-DU.

[0143] Optionally, after receiving the first configuration information, the IAB node further includes: in uplink data transmission: the IAB node determines a BAP routing identifier corresponding to the uplink data, where the BAP routing identifier includes a BAP address; the IAB node determines an IP address associated with the BAP address based on the first configuration information; the IAB node uses the IP address associated with the BAP address as the source IP address of the uplink data; and the IAB node sends the uplink data to the donor-CU. And / or, the IAB node uses the IP address associated with the BAP address as the destination IP address of the downlink data and sends it to the donor-CU.

[0144] Through the above design, when the network management configures the IP address for the IAB node, it will also configure the BAP address of the donor-DU associated with the IP address, so that the IAB node can correctly obtain the association between the IP address and the BAP address of the donor-DU. During uplink data transmission, the IAB node can obtain the BAP routing identifier according to the uplink mapping rule, and select the IP address associated with the BAP address of the target donor-DU included in the BAP routing identifier as the source IP address of the uplink data, thereby avoiding or reducing the uplink data from being mistakenly discarded when it reaches the target donor-DU, and ensuring the correct transmission of uploaded data.

[0145] [Example 5]

[0146] In the fifth embodiment, when the IAB node cannot determine the association between the IP address and the BAP address of the donor-DU, the IAB node can arbitrarily select an IP address from the multiple IP addresses configured by the network management as the source IP address of the uplink data. One possible problem is that there is a security filtering mechanism on the donor-DU side. Take uplink data transmission as an example: when the donor-DU receives uplink data, it will determine whether the source IP address of the uplink data is managed by it, or is called associated with it. If the source IP address of the uplink data is managed by it or associated with it, the uplink data is sent to the donor-CU, otherwise the uplink data is discarded to ensure that illegal data does not reach the donor-CU. Optionally, the security filtering mechanism can be configured for the donor-DU by the donor-CU, or the OAM of the donor-DU, etc. In this fifth embodiment, the donor-DU can be configured to exempt the IP address assigned by the network management from filtering, thereby ensuring the correct transmission of data. As shown in Figure 7, a process is provided, which at least includes:

[0147] Step 710: The network manager allocates an IP address to the IAB node, and sends the IP address allocated to the IAB node to the IAB node. The IAB node receives the IP address allocated by the network manager. Step 710 is optional.

[0148] In one implementation, as shown in Figure 7, the network manager may send the IP address allocated by it to the IAB node to the IAB-MT, and the IAB-MT may send the IP address allocated by the network manager to the IAB-DU. Optionally, the network manager may be the OAM of the IAB node, etc.

[0149] Step 720: The IAB node sends the IP address allocated by the network manager to the donor-CU, and the donor-CU receives the IP address from the IAB node.

[0150] In one implementation, as shown in FIG7 , the IAB-MT may send the IP address allocated by the network administrator to the donor-CU.

[0151] Step 730: The donor-CU sends second configuration information to the donor-DU. The second configuration information is used to configure the donor-DU to exempt the above IP address from filtering.

[0152] Among them, filtering-free means that when the donor-DU receives uplink data with a source IP address of IP address or downlink data with a destination IP address of IP address, the uplink data or downlink data will not be discarded. The security filtering mechanism mentioned above mainly describes the uplink filtering mechanism, and a downlink filtering mechanism can also exist on the donor-DU side. For example, when the donor-DU receives downlink data from the donor-CU, it can determine whether the destination IP address of the downlink data is managed by itself or associated with itself; if it is managed by itself or associated with itself, the donor-DU will send the downlink data to the next-hop IAB node; otherwise, the downlink data will be discarded.

[0153] It is understood that the second configuration information may explicitly indicate that IP addresses are exempt from filtering. For example, the second configuration information may include a whitelist of exempted IP addresses, which includes at least one IP address exempt from filtering. For example, the second configuration information may be named an IAB Transport Network Layer Address Exception (TNL) information element, which carries the IP addresses exempt from filtering. Alternatively, the second configuration information may implicitly indicate that IP addresses are exempt from filtering. For example, the donor-CU may configure a downlink mapping rule for the IP addresses associated with other donor-DUs for the donor-DU, thereby also exempting IP addresses assigned by the network management from filtering. Alternatively, in step 730, the second configuration information may instruct the donor-DU to disable filtering rules. This way, the donor-DU no longer filters any uplink or downlink data. For example, during uplink data transmission, when the donor-DU receives uplink data from the IAB node, it no longer filters the uplink data and may send the uplink data to the donor-CU. In downlink data transmission, when the donor-DU receives downlink data from the donor-CU, it no longer performs filtering on the downlink data and can send the downlink data to the next-hop IAB node.

[0154] In one description, upon receiving the trigger of step 720, the donor-CU may execute step 730 to configure the filtering-free rule for the donor-DU. In the description of step 730, it can be considered that the donor-CU configures the filtering-free rule for the donor-DU. Alternatively, the OAM of the donor-DU may also configure the filtering-free rule for the donor-DU. For example, step 730 may be replaced by: the OAM of the donor-DU sends the second configuration information to the donor-DU, and the donor-DU receives the second configuration information from the OAM of the donor-DU. There is no limitation on the way in which the OAM of the donor-DU obtains the IP address configured by the OAM of the IAB node for the IAB node. For example, the OAM of the donor-DU and the OAM of the IAB node may interact with each other to obtain the IP address configured by the OAM of the IAB node for the IAB node, etc.

[0155] Step 740: Taking uplink transmission as an example, when the IAB node cannot determine the association between the IP address and the BAP address of the donor-DU, it arbitrarily selects an IP address from the IP addresses of the IAB node as the source IP address of the uplink data, and the IAB node sends the uplink data to the donor-DU.

[0156] With the above design, the network management system can assign IP addresses to IAB nodes. The IAB nodes can randomly select an IP address from the IP addresses assigned by the network management system and use it as the source IP address for uplink data. The donor-DU can also be configured to exempt this IP address from filtering, thereby ensuring the correct transmission of uplink data. For downlink transmission, the donor-CU can randomly select an IP address from the IP addresses configured by the network management system for the IAB node as the destination IP address. The donor-DU no longer filters the destination IP address of downlink data, thereby ensuring the correct transmission of downlink data.

[0157] It is understood that in the embodiments of the present application:

[0158] 1. In addition to focusing on describing the differences between different processes, the descriptions of different processes can refer to each other.

[0159] 2. In the processes of Figures 3 to 7, the IAB node, donor-DU, donor-CU, and network management are used as examples for description. It is understood that in each process, the functions of the terminal can be implemented by the terminal, or by a module in the terminal (e.g., a chip or circuit, etc.). The functions of the donor-DU can be implemented by the donor-DU, or by a module in the donor-DU. The functions of the donor-CU can be implemented by the donor-CU, or by a module in the donor-CU. The functions of the network management can be implemented by the network management, or by a module in the network management, etc.

[0160] 3. Each of the flow charts in FIG. 3 to FIG. 7 may include fewer steps or more steps than the flow chart or text description, without limitation.

[0161] 4. In the embodiments of the present application, "(such as an IAB node) receives information from (such as a network management or donor-CU)" can be understood as the source of the information being the network management or donor-CU and the destination being the IAB node, which may include the IAB node directly or indirectly receiving information from the network management or donor-CU. The information may undergo necessary processing between the source and destination, such as format changes, but the destination can understand the valid information from the source. Similar expressions in this application can be understood similarly and will not be repeated here.

[0162] In the embodiments provided in the present application above, the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application are introduced from the perspective of the interaction between the IAB node, donor-DU, donor-CU and network management. In order to implement the various functions in the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application, the IAB node, donor-DU, donor-CU and network management, etc., may include hardware structures and / or software modules, and implement the above functions in the form of hardware structures, software modules, or hardware structures plus software modules. Whether a certain function of the above functions is executed in the form of hardware structures, software modules, or hardware structures plus software modules depends on the design constraints of the specific application of the technical solution.

[0163] Figures 8 and 9 are schematic diagrams of possible devices provided in embodiments of the present application. These communication devices can implement the functions of the IAB node, donor-CU, or network management in the above-mentioned method embodiments. Therefore, it is possible to achieve the beneficial effects of the above-mentioned method embodiments.

[0164] As shown in FIG8 , the communication device 800 includes a processing unit 810 and a transceiver unit 820 .

[0165] For example, the processing unit 810 may also be referred to as a processor, a processing board, a processing module, a processing device, etc. The transceiver unit 820 may also be referred to as a transceiver, a transceiver, a transceiver module, a transceiver device, a communication unit, etc. Furthermore, the transceiver unit 820 may include at least one of a transmitting unit and a receiving unit. The transmitting unit and the receiving unit may be integrated together or two independent units.

[0166] In one design, communication apparatus 800 may implement the functionality of the IAB node or donor-CU in FIG3 :

[0167] For example, when the communication device 800 is used to implement the function of the IAB node in Figure 3: the transceiver unit 820 is used to receive first information from the network manager, and the first information includes the Internet Protocol IP address assigned by the network manager to the IAB node; the transceiver unit 820 is also used to send second information to the host node centralized unit donor-CU, and the second information includes the IP address; the transceiver unit 820 is also used to receive third information from the donor-CU, and the third information includes the backhaul link adaptation layer protocol BAP address, and the BAP address is the BAP address of the host node distributed unit donor-DU associated with the IP address.

[0168] For example, when the communication device 800 is used to implement the function of the donor-CU in Figure 3: the transceiver unit 820 is used to receive second information from the IAB node, and the second information includes an Internet Protocol IP address, which is the IP address assigned by the network administrator to the IAB node; the transceiver unit 820 is also used to send third information to the IAB node, and the third information includes a backhaul link adaptation layer protocol BAP address, and the BAP address is the BAP address of the host node distributed unit donor-DU associated with the IP address.

[0169] In one design, communication apparatus 800 may implement the functionality of the IAB node or donor-CU in FIG4 :

[0170] For example, when the communication device 800 is used to implement the function of the IAB node in Figure 4: the transceiver unit 820 is used to receive a first indication from the host node centralized unit donor-CU, and the first indication is used to indicate the number of host node distributed units donor-DU that can be reached by the IAB node, or to indicate whether the number of donor-DUs that can be reached by the IAB node is one.

[0171] For example, when the communication device 800 is used to implement the function of the donor-CU in Figure 4: the processing unit 810 is used to determine the number of donor-DU distributed units of the host node that can be reached by the access backhaul integrated IAB node; the transceiver unit 820 is used to send a first indication to the IAB node, and the first indication is used to indicate the number of donor-DUs that can be reached by the IAB node, or to indicate whether the number of donor-DUs that can be reached by the IAB node is one.

[0172] In one design, communication apparatus 800 may implement the functionality of the IAB node or donor-CU in FIG5 :

[0173] For example, when the communication device 800 is used to implement the function of the IAB node in Figure 5: the transceiver unit 820 is used to receive a second indication from the donor node centralized unit donor-CU; wherein the second indication is used to indicate a method for the IAB node to obtain an Internet Protocol IP address, and / or indicate whether the IAB node is allowed to obtain an IP address from a network manager, and the method for the IAB node to obtain an IP address includes obtaining an IP address from a donor-CU or obtaining an IP address from a network manager.

[0174] For example, when the communication device 800 is used to implement the function of the donor-CU in Figure 5: the transceiver unit 820 is used to send a second indication to the access and backhaul integrated IAB node; wherein the second indication is used to indicate the method for the IAB node to obtain the Internet Protocol IP address, and / or indicate whether the IAB node is allowed to obtain the IP address from the network management, and the method for the IAB node to obtain the IP address includes obtaining the IP address from the donor-CU or obtaining the IP address from the network management.

[0175] In one design, communication apparatus 800 implements the functionality of the IAB node or network management in FIG. 6 :

[0176] For example, when the communication device 800 is used to implement the function of the IAB node in Figure 6: the transceiver unit 820 is used to receive first configuration information from the network manager, and the first configuration information includes the Internet Protocol IP address assigned by the network manager to the IAB node and the backhaul link adaptation layer protocol BAP address of the host node distributed unit donor-DU associated with the IP address.

[0177] For example, when the communication device 800 is used to implement the function of the network management in Figure 6: the processing unit 810 is used to allocate an Internet Protocol IP address to the IAB node; the network management determines the backhaul link adaptation layer protocol BAP address of the host node distributed unit donor-DU associated with the IP address; the transceiver unit 820 is used to send first configuration information to the IAB node, and the first configuration information includes the IP address allocated by the network management to the IAB node and the BAP address of the donor-DU associated with the IP address.

[0178] In one design, communication apparatus 800 may implement the functionality of the IAB node or donor-CU in FIG. 7 :

[0179] For example, when the communication device 800 is used to implement the function of the IAB node in Figure 7: the processing unit 810 is used to arbitrarily select an IP address from the IP addresses of the IAB node as the source IP address of the uplink data when the association between the Internet Protocol IP address and the backhaul link adaptation layer protocol BAP address of the host node distributed unit donor-DU cannot be determined; the transceiver unit 820 is used to send uplink data to the donor-DU.

[0180] For example, when the communication device 800 is used to implement the function of the donor-CU in Figure 7: the transceiver unit 820 is used to receive the Internet Protocol IP address from the IAB node, and the IP address is the IP address assigned by the network administrator to the IAB; the transceiver unit 820 is also used to send second configuration information to the donor-DU, and the second configuration information is used to configure the donor-DU to exempt the IP address from filtering. Exemption from filtering means that when the donor-DU receives uplink data with a source IP address as the IP address or downlink data with a target IP address as the IP address, the uplink data or the downlink data will not be discarded.

[0181] For a more detailed description of the processing unit 810 and the transceiver unit 820, reference may be made to the description in the above method embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0182] It is understood that the division of units in the embodiments of the present application is schematic and is only a logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. In addition, the various functional units in the embodiments of the present application can be integrated into a physical device (for example, a processor), or each functional unit can be a separate physical device, or two or more units can be integrated into a unit for implementation. The above-mentioned integrated units can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules.

[0183] Figure 9 shows another schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 900 provided in an embodiment of the present application. For example, the communication device 900 shown in Figure 9 can be a hardware circuit implementation of the communication device 800 shown in Figure 8. For ease of illustration, Figure 9 only shows the main parts of the communication device.

[0184] As shown in Figure 9, the communication device 900 includes a processor 910 and an interface circuit 920. The processor 910 and the interface circuit 920 are coupled to each other.

[0185] For example, the processor 910 may be a central processing unit (CPU), other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The interface circuit 920 may be a transceiver or an input / output circuit, etc.

[0186] Optionally, the communication device 900 may further include a memory 930 for storing instructions executed by the processor 910, or storing input data required by the processor 910 to execute instructions, or storing data generated after the processor 910 executes instructions. For example, instructions may also be referred to as computer programs, or computer program codes, etc.

[0187] For example, the memory 930 can be a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory, 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), a register, a hard disk, a mobile hard disk, a compact disc ROM (CD-ROM), or any other form of storage medium known in the art.

[0188] When the communication device 900 is used to implement the functions of the IAB node, donor-CU, or network management in Figures 3 to 7, the processor 910 is used to implement the functions of the processing unit 810, and the interface circuit 920 is used to implement the functions of the transceiver unit 820.

[0189] In one design, the interface circuit 920 is used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device 900 and transmit them to the processor 910, or to send signals from the processor 910 to other communication devices outside the communication device. The processor 910 implements the functions of the IAB node, donor-CU or network management in Figures 3 to 7 above through logic circuits or executing code instructions.

[0190] An embodiment of the present application also provides a communications device comprising a processor and a memory, the processor and memory being coupled together, the processor being configured to implement the functions of the IAB node, donor-CU, or network management system in Figures 3 to 7 . For example, the processor may execute instructions in the memory to cause the communications device to implement one or more functions described in the aforementioned method embodiments, such as the functions implemented by the IAB node, donor-CU, or network management system in Figures 3 to 7 . In one exemplary embodiment, a storage medium is coupled to the processor, enabling the processor to read information from and write information to the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium may also be an integral part of the processor. The processor and storage medium may be located in an ASIC. Alternatively, the ASIC may be located in the IAB node, donor-CU, or network management system in Figures 3 to 7 . The processor and storage medium may also exist as discrete components in the IAB node, donor-CU, or network management system in Figures 3 to 7 .

[0191] An embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device, which includes a processor, and the processor is used to implement the functions of the IAB node, donor-CU, or network management in Figures 3 to 7.

[0192] The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions, which may also be referred to as a computer program, computer program code, etc. The instructions, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the functions of the IAB node, donor-CU, or network management system in Figures 3 to 7 of the above method embodiments.

[0193] Optionally, the computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device, or other programmable device. The computer program or 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 program or instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via a wired or wireless method. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer, or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a magnetic tape; an optical medium, such as a digital video disc; or a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium may be a volatile or non-volatile storage medium, or may include both volatile and non-volatile types of storage media.

[0194] The present application also provides a computer program product, including a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are executed on a computer, the methods of the IAB node, donor-CU, or network management system described in Figures 3 to 7 are executed. For example, the computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on the computer, the processes or functions of the IAB node, donor-CU, or network management system described in Figures 3 to 7 of the present application are fully or partially executed.

[0195] It is understood that the methods in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any other combination. When implemented by software, they can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product.

[0196] An embodiment of the present application further provides a chip, which includes a processor coupled to a memory, and the processor is configured to execute computer programs or instructions stored in the memory, so that the chip implements the functions of the IAB node, donor-CU, or network management in Figures 3 to 7. For example, taking the chip implementing the functions of the donor-CU as an example, the chip can receive information from other modules of the donor-CU (such as a radio frequency or antenna, etc.), and the information can be sent by the IAB node to the donor-CU. Alternatively, the chip can send information to other modules in the donor-CU (such as a radio frequency or antenna, etc.), and the information is sent by the donor-CU to the IAB node, etc.

[0197] An embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, including: a first communication device and a second communication device.

[0198] Among them, the first communication device can implement the function of the IAB node in Figure 3 above; the second communication device can implement the function of the donor-CU in Figure 3 above. Alternatively, the first communication device can implement the function of the IAB node in Figure 4 above; the second communication device can implement the function of the donor-CU in Figure 4 above. Alternatively, the first communication device can implement the function of the IAB node in Figure 5 above; the second communication device can implement the function of the donor-CU in Figure 5 above. Alternatively, the first communication device can implement the function of the IAB node in Figure 6 above; the second communication device can implement the function of the network management in Figure 6 above. Alternatively, the first communication device can implement the function of the IAB node in Figure 7 above; the second communication device can implement the function of the donor-CU in Figure 7 above. For the specific structure of the first communication device or the second communication device, please refer to the previous description, such as the structural description in Figure 8 or Figure 9.

[0199] In the description of this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more than one" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the text description of this application, the character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship; "including at least one of A, B or C" can mean: including A; including B; including C; including A and B; including A and C; including B and C; including A, B and C.

[0200] The various numbers used in the embodiments of this application are for ease of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. The order of the sequence numbers of the above processes does not necessarily indicate the order in which they are executed. The order in which the processes are executed should be determined by their functions and internal logic.

[0201] Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various changes and modifications to the present application without departing from the scope of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: The access backhaul integrated IAB node receives first information from a network manager, wherein the first information includes an Internet Protocol IP address allocated by the network manager to the IAB node; The IAB node sends second information to a donor node centralized unit donor-CU, where the second information includes the IP address; The IAB node receives third information from the donor-CU, where the third information includes a backhaul link adaptation layer protocol BAP address, where the BAP address is a BAP address of a host node distributed unit donor-DU associated with the IP address.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Also includes: The IAB node determines a BAP routing identifier corresponding to the uplink data, where the BAP routing identifier includes the BAP address; The IAB node determines the IP address associated with the BAP address according to the third information; The IAB node uses the IP address as the source IP address of the uplink data; The IAB node sends the uplink data to the donor-CU.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The network manager performs operation management and maintenance (OAM) for the IAB node.

4. A communication method, characterized in that: include: The donor node centralized unit donor-CU receives second information from the access backhaul integrated IAB node, where the second information includes an Internet Protocol IP address, and the IP address is an IP address allocated by the network management to the IAB node; The donor-CU sends third information to the IAB node, where the third information includes a backhaul link adaptation layer protocol BAP address, where the BAP address is a BAP address of a donor node distributed unit donor-DU associated with the IP address.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that Also includes: The donor-CU obtains the association relationship between the donor-DU and the IP address; The donor-CU determines the donor-DU associated with the IP address according to the association relationship between the donor-DU and the IP address; The donor-CU determines the BAP address of the donor-DU as the BAP address.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The donor-CU obtains the association relationship between the donor-DU and the IP address, including: The donor-CU sends fourth information to at least one donor-DU managed by it, where the fourth information is used to request the donor-DU for an IP address associated with it; The donor-CU receives fifth information from the donor-DU, where the fifth information includes an IP address associated with the donor-DU and reported by the donor-DU; The donor-CU determines the association relationship between the donor-DU and the IP address based on the fifth information and the second information.

7. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The donor-CU obtains the association relationship between the donor-DU and the IP address, including: The donor-CU receives sixth information from the network management, where the sixth information includes an identifier of at least one donor-DU and an IP address of at least one IAB node; The donor-CU determines the association relationship between the donor-DU and the IP address based on the sixth information and the second information.

8. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that Also includes: The donor-CU determines the donor-DU associated with the IP address according to the IP address of at least one donor-DU managed by the donor-CU; The donor-CU determines the BAP address of the donor-DU as the BAP address.

9. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that Also includes: The donor-CU sends seventh information to at least one donor-DU managed by it, wherein the seventh information includes the IP address, and the seventh information is used to inquire whether the donor-DU is associated with the IP address; The donor-CU receives eighth information from the donor-DU, where the eighth information is used to instruct the donor-DU to associate with the IP address; The donor-CU determines the BAP address according to the eighth information.

10. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 9, characterized in that Also includes: The donor-CU sends the BAP address to the donor-DU.

11. A communication method, characterized in that: include: The access backhaul integrated IAB node receives a first indication from a donor-CU of a host node centralized unit, wherein the first indication is used to indicate the number of donor-DUs of the host node reachable by the IAB node, or to indicate the number of donor-DUs reachable by the IAB node. Whether the quantity is one.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that When the number of donor-DUs reachable by the IAB node is one, the method further includes: the IAB node sending a first request to the network management or the donor-CU, wherein the first request is used to request the network management or the donor-CU to allocate an Internet Protocol IP address to the IAB node.

13. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that When the number of donor-DUs reachable by the IAB node is multiple, the method further includes the IAB node sending a second request to the donor-CU, where the second request is used to request the donor-CU to allocate an IP address to the IAB node.

14. A communication method, characterized in that: include: The host node centralized unit donor-CU determines the number of the host node distributed units donor-DU that can be reached by the access backhaul integrated IAB node; The donor-CU sends a first indication to the IAB node, where the first indication is used to indicate the number of donor-DUs reachable by the IAB node, or to indicate whether the number of donor-DUs reachable by the IAB node is one.

15. A communication method, characterized in that: include: The access backhaul integrated IAB node receives a second indication from the donor node centralized unit donor-CU; The second indication is used to indicate a method for the IAB node to obtain an Internet Protocol IP address and / or to indicate whether the IAB node is allowed to obtain an IP address from a network manager. The method for the IAB node to obtain an IP address includes obtaining an IP address from a donor-CU or obtaining an IP address from a network manager.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that When the second indication is used to indicate that the IAB node obtains the IP address from the network management, or indicates that the IAB node is allowed to obtain the IP address from the network management, the number of donor-DUs reachable by the IAB node is one.

17. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, When the second indication is used to indicate that the IAB node obtains the IP address from the donor-CU and / or indicates that the IAB node is not allowed to obtain the IP address from the network management, the number of donor-DUs reachable by the IAB node is multiple.

18. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that When the second indication is used to indicate that the IAB node obtains the IP address from a network manager, the method further includes: the IAB node sends a third request to the network manager, wherein the third request is used to request the network manager to allocate an IP address to the IAB node.

19. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that When the second indication is used to indicate that the IAB node is allowed to obtain an IP address from the network manager, it also includes: the IAB node sends a fourth request to the network manager, and the fourth request is used to request the network manager to allocate an IP address to the IAB node; or, the IAB node sends a fifth request to the donor-CU, and the fifth request is used to request the donor-CU to allocate an IP address to the IAB node.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein: When the second indication is used to indicate that the IAB node obtains the IP address from the donor-CU, and / or indicates that the IAB node is not allowed to obtain the IP address from the network management, it also includes: the IAB node sends a sixth request to the donor-CU, and the sixth request is used to request the donor-CU to allocate an IP address to the IAB node.

21. The method of claim 15, wherein: When the second indication is used to indicate that the IAB node obtains the IP address from the donor-CU and / or indicates that the IAB node is not allowed to obtain the IP address from the network management, the second indication includes the IP address of the IAB node.

22. A communication method, characterized in that: include: The donor node centralized unit donor-CU sends a second indication to the access backhaul integrated IAB node; The second indication is used to indicate the way in which the IAB node obtains the Internet Protocol IP address and / or whether the IAB node is allowed to obtain the IP address from the network management. The way in which the IAB node obtains the IP address includes obtaining the IP address from the donor-CU or obtaining the IP address from the network management.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein: Also includes: The donor-CU determines the number of donor-DUs of the host node that can be reached by the IAB node; The donor-CU determines the second indication according to the number of donor-DUs reachable from the IAB node.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein: The donor-CU determines the second indication according to the number of donor-DUs reachable from the IAB node, including: When the number of donor-DUs reachable by the IAB node is one, the second indication is used to indicate that the IAB node obtains the IP address from the network management, or to indicate that the IAB node is allowed to obtain the IP address from the network management.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein: The donor-CU determines the second indication according to the number of donor-DUs reachable from the IAB node, including: When the number of donor-DUs reachable by the IAB node is multiple, the second indication is used to indicate that the IAB node obtains the IP address from the donor-CU and / or indicates that the IAB node is not allowed to obtain the IP address from the network management.

26. The method according to any one of claims 22 to 25, characterized in that When the second indication is used to indicate that the IAB node obtains the IP address from the donor-CU and / or indicates that the IAB node is not allowed to obtain the IP address from the network management, the second indication includes the IP address of the IAB node.

27. A communication method, characterized in that: include: The access backhaul integrated IAB node receives first configuration information from the network management, wherein the first configuration information includes an Internet Protocol IP address allocated by the network management to the IAB node and a backhaul link adaptation layer protocol BAP address of a donor node distributed unit donor-DU associated with the IP address.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein: Also includes: The IAB node determines a BAP routing identifier corresponding to the uplink data, where the BAP routing identifier includes the BAP address; The IAB node determines, according to the first configuration information, an IP address associated with the BAP address; The IAB node uses the IP address associated with the BAP address as the source IP address of the uplink data; The IAB node sends the uplink data to a donor node centralized unit donor-CU.

29. A communication method, characterized in that: include: The network management allocates Internet Protocol IP addresses to the integrated access and backhaul IAB nodes; The network management determines the backhaul link adaptation layer protocol BAP address of the donor node distributed unit donor-DU associated with the IP address; The network manager sends first configuration information to the IAB node, where the first configuration information includes an IP address allocated by the network manager to the IAB node and a BAP address of a donor-DU associated with the IP address.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein: The network manager determines the BAP address of the donor-DU associated with the IP address, including: the network manager receives the ninth information, the ninth information includes the identifier of the donor-DU and the BAP address of the donor-DU; the network manager determines the BAP address of the donor-DU associated with the IP address based on the ninth information.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein: The ninth information comes from the network manager of the donor node centralized unit donor-CU, or the network manager of the donor-DU.

32. The method according to any one of claims 29 to 31, characterized in that The network manager determines the BAP address of the donor-DU associated with the IP address, including: the network manager allocates the BAP address to the donor-DU connected to the IAB node.

33. The method according to any one of claims 29 to 32, characterized in that Also includes: The network manager sends the BAP address of the donor-DU.

34. The method according to any one of claims 29 to 33, characterized in that Also includes: The network manager sends the BAP address of the donor-DU to the network manager of the donor-CU, or the network manager of the donor-DU, or the donor-DU.

35. A communication method, characterized in that: include: When the access backhaul integrated IAB node cannot determine the association between the Internet Protocol IP address and the backhaul link adaptation layer protocol BAP address of the host node distributed unit donor-DU, an IP address is arbitrarily selected from the IP addresses of the IAB node as the source IP address of the uplink data; The IAB node sends the uplink data to the donor-DU.

36. A communication method, characterized in that: include: The donor node centralized unit donor-CU receives an Internet Protocol IP address from the access backhaul integrated IAB node, where the IP address is the IP address assigned by the network management to the IAB node; The donor-CU sends second configuration information to the host node distributed unit donor-DU, and the second configuration information is used to configure the donor-DU to exempt the IP address from filtering. The filtering-free means that when the donor-DU receives uplink data with a source IP address as an IP address or downlink data with a target IP address as an IP address, the uplink data or the downlink data will not be discarded.

37. A communication device, characterized in that: Comprising a unit for implementing the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, or a unit of the method as claimed in any one of claims 11 to 13, or a unit of the method as claimed in any one of claims 15 to 21, or a unit of the method as claimed in claim 27 or 28, or a unit of the method as claimed in claim 35.

38. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a processor and a memory, wherein the processor and the memory are coupled, and the processor is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, or the method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, or the method according to any one of claims 15 to 21, or the method according to claim 27 or 28, or the method according to claim 35.

39. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is used to receive a signal from other communication devices other than the communication device and transmit it to the processor or send the signal from the processor to other communication devices other than the communication device, and the processor is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, or the method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, or the method according to any one of claims 15 to 21, or the method according to claim 27 or 28, or the method according to claim 35 through a logic circuit or executing code instructions.

40. A communication device, characterized in that: Comprising a unit for implementing the method as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 10, or a unit of the method as claimed in claim 14, or a unit of the method as claimed in any one of claims 22 to 26, or a unit of the method as claimed in any one of claims 29 to 34, or a unit of the method as claimed in claim 36.

41. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a processor and a memory, wherein the processor and the memory are coupled, and the processor is used to implement the method as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 10, or the method as claimed in claim 14, or the method as claimed in any one of claims 22 to 26, or the method as claimed in any one of claims 29 to 34, or the method as claimed in claim 36.

42. A communication device, characterized in that: The invention comprises a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor or send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device, and the processor is used to implement the method as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 10, or the method as claimed in claim 14, or the method as claimed in any one of claims 22 to 26, or the method as claimed in any one of claims 29 to 34, or the method as claimed in claim 36 through a logic circuit or execution code instructions.

43. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The computer-readable storage medium stores instructions, which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to execute the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, or the method as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 10, or the method as claimed in any one of claims 11 to 13, or the method as claimed in claim 14, or the method as claimed in any one of claims 15 to 21, or the method as claimed in any one of claims 22 to 26, or the method as claimed in claim 27 or 28, or the method as claimed in any one of claims 29 to 34, or the method as claimed in claim 35, or the method as claimed in claim 36.

44. A computer program product, characterized in that The method comprises a computer program or an instruction, which, when executed by the device, causes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 to be executed, or the method according to any one of claims 4 to 10 to be executed, or the method according to any one of claims 11 to 13 to be executed, or the method according to claim 14 to be executed, or the method according to any one of claims 15 to 21 to be executed, or the method according to any one of claims 22 to 26 to be executed, or the method according to claim 27 or 28 to be executed, or the method according to any one of claims 29 to 34 to be executed, or the method according to claim 35 to be executed, or the method according to claim 36 to be executed.

45. A chip, characterized in that: The invention comprises a processor coupled to a memory and configured to execute a computer program or instruction stored in the memory, so that the chip implements the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, or implements the method as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 10, or the method as claimed in any one of claims 11 to 13, or the method as claimed in claim 14, or the method as claimed in any one of claims 15 to 21, or the method as claimed in any one of claims 22 to 26, or the method as claimed in claim 27 or 28, or the method as claimed in any one of claims 29 to 34, or the method as claimed in claim 35, or the method as claimed in claim 36.

46. ​​A communication system, characterized in that: include: a first communication device and a second communication device; The first communication device is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 3; The second communication device is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 4 to 10; or, The first communication device is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 11 to 13; the second communication device is used to implement the method according to claim 14; or, The first communication device is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 15 to 21; the second communication device is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 22 to 26; or, The first communication device is used to implement the method according to claim 27 or 28; the second communication device is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 29 to 34; or, The first communication device is used to implement the method as claimed in claim 35; the second communication device is used to implement the method as claimed in claim 36.

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