Mobility management method and apparatus

Abstract

Provided in the embodiments of the present application are a mobility management method and apparatus. The method comprises: on the basis of an acquired first report, a first network device CU determining a second network device DU corresponding to the first report; and the first network device CU sending the first report to the second network device DU, wherein the second network device DU is a device subordinate to the first network device CU. On the basis of the embodiments of the present application, under a CU-DU architecture, after receiving a first report, a network device CU may forward the first report to a corresponding network device DU, such that the network device DU may perform corresponding parameter adjustment on the basis of the first report, thereby improving the LTM robustness.

Description

Mobility management method and device Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communication technologies. Background Art

[0002] Mobility scenarios in wireless communication systems include L1 / L2 triggered mobility (LTM, also known as layer 1 / layer 2 triggered mobility) scenarios. In LTM, the network device sends LTM candidate cell configuration information to the terminal device, and the terminal device performs a downlink and / or uplink synchronization process with the LTM candidate cell; the terminal device performs L1 measurement and sends the L1 measurement results corresponding to the LTM candidate cell to the network device; the network device determines the LTM target cell for the LTM cell change for the terminal device based on the L1 measurement results, and sends it to the terminal device via L2 signaling; correspondingly, the terminal device executes the LTM cell change process to the LTM target cell. In LTM, the network device notifies the terminal device to perform a serving cell change via L1 / L2 signaling to reduce latency, overhead, and interruption time.

[0003] In a distributed architecture, access network equipment can be divided into centralized units (CU) and distributed units (DU). In one possible implementation, a CU can manage multiple DUs. In the LTM process under the CU-DU architecture, the DU sends L2 signaling to the terminal device, such as an LTM cell change message, so that the terminal device moves from the coverage area of ​​the serving cell to the coverage area of ​​the LTM target cell. The serving cell and the LTM target cell belong to the same CU, the same DU, or different DUs.

[0004] It should be noted that the above introduction to the technical background is merely intended to provide a clear and complete description of the technical solutions of this application and facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art. Simply because these solutions are described in the background technology section of this application, it should not be assumed that the above technical solutions are well known to those skilled in the art.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] The inventors discovered that if a connection failure occurs during the LTM process, it is necessary to consider optimizing the LTM-related configuration for subsequent mobility management. Connection failures include radio link failure (RLF), handover failure (HOF), timer expiration, or other reasons that cause a connection failure between the terminal device and the current serving cell.

[0007] Currently, self-organizing networks (SONs) have introduced network optimization mechanisms, including mobility robustness optimization (MRO). The existing MRO mechanism records mobility parameters on terminal devices, generates corresponding mobility reports, and reports them to network devices, allowing them to better adjust mobility-related parameters.

[0008] The mobility report may include at least one of the following reports: a failure report, a success mobility report, a random access report (RA report), a connection establishment failure report (CEF report) or other reports. Among them, the failure report includes a radio link failure report (RLF report) or any one or more of other failure reports, and the successful mobility report includes various successful mobility reports, such as a successful handover report, a successful secondary cell addition or change report, or any one or more of other success reports.

[0009] However, in LTM scenarios, when a network device DU (Distributed Unit) performs mobility operations, existing mobility reports are only sent to the network device CU (Centralized Unit) or the base station, resulting in the network device DU performing the mobility operation being unable to obtain the required LTM mobility reports. In addition, LTM mobility operations may occur between one or more network device DUs under a network device CU. According to current technology, the receiving network device only sends LTM-related mobility reports to the network device CU, resulting in the network device DU performing the mobility operation being unable to obtain the required LTM mobility reports.

[0010] To address at least one of the above problems or other similar problems, embodiments of the present application provide a method and apparatus for mobility management.

[0011] According to one aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a mobility management apparatus is provided, which is configured in a first network device CU, wherein the apparatus includes:

[0012] a determining unit configured to determine, based on the received first report, a second network device DU corresponding to the first report;

[0013] a sending unit configured to send the first report to the second network device DU;

[0014] The second network device DU is a device under the first network device CU.

[0015] According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present application, there is provided a mobility management apparatus, which is configured on a third network device, wherein the apparatus includes:

[0016] a determining unit, configured to determine, based on the received first report, information of cells to which the first report needs to be forwarded;

[0017] A sending unit is configured to send the first report and the cell information to be forwarded to a first network device CU.

[0018] According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a mobility management apparatus is provided, which is configured in a first network device CU, wherein the apparatus includes:

[0019] a receiving unit configured to receive a first report and cell information to be forwarded corresponding to the first report;

[0020] A sending unit is configured to send the first report to a second network device to which the cell information to be forwarded belongs according to the cell information to be forwarded.

[0021] One of the beneficial effects of the embodiments of the present application is that: according to the embodiments of the present application, under the CU-DU architecture, after the network device CU receives the first report, it can forward the first report to the corresponding network device DU, so that the network device DU can make corresponding parameter adjustments based on the first report, thereby improving the robustness of LTM.

[0022] With reference to the following description and accompanying drawings, specific embodiments of the present application are disclosed in detail, indicating the manner in which the principles of the present application can be employed. It should be understood that the embodiments of the present application are not limited in scope. Within the spirit and scope of the appended claims, the embodiments of the present application include many variations, modifications and equivalents.

[0023] Features described and / or illustrated with respect to one embodiment may be used in the same or similar manner in one or more other embodiments, combined with features in other embodiments, or substituted for features in other embodiments.

[0024] It should be emphasized that the term "include / comprising" when used herein refers to the presence of features, integers, steps or components, but does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps or components. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] The elements and features described in one figure or one embodiment of the present application can be combined with the elements and features shown in one or more other figures or embodiments. In addition, in the accompanying drawings, similar reference numerals represent corresponding parts in several figures and can be used to indicate corresponding parts used in more than one embodiment.

[0026] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of an inter-cell mobility scenario based on L1 / L2;

[0027] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of the forwarding process of the RLF report between network devices;

[0028] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a method for mobility management according to an embodiment of the first aspect of the present application;

[0029] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a forwarding process of a first report according to a method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0030] FIG5 is another schematic diagram of the forwarding process of the first report according to the method of an embodiment of the present application;

[0031] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of a method for mobility management according to an embodiment of the second aspect of the present application;

[0032] FIG7 is another schematic diagram of a method for mobility management according to an embodiment of the second aspect of the present application;

[0033] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a forwarding process of a first report according to a method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0034] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of a mobility management apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present application;

[0035] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of a mobility management apparatus according to an embodiment of the fourth aspect of the present application;

[0036] FIG11 is another schematic diagram of a device for mobility management according to an embodiment of the fourth aspect of the present application;

[0037] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0038] FIG13 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039] The above and other features of the present application will become apparent through the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description and the accompanying drawings, specific embodiments of the present application are disclosed in detail, which illustrate some embodiments in which the principles of the present application can be adopted. It should be understood that the present application is not limited to the described embodiments. On the contrary, the present application includes all modifications, variations and equivalents that fall within the scope of the appended claims.

[0040] In the embodiments of the present application, the terms "first", "second", etc. are used to distinguish different elements from the name, but do not indicate the spatial arrangement or temporal order of these elements, and these elements should not be limited by these terms. The term "and / or" includes any one and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed terms. The terms "comprising", "including", "having", etc. refer to the presence of the stated features, elements, components or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components or components.

[0041] In the embodiments of this application, the singular forms "a," "the," etc. include plural forms and should be broadly understood to mean "a" or "a type" rather than being limited to "one." Furthermore, the term "said" should be understood to include both singular and plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Furthermore, the term "according to" should be understood to mean "at least in part based on...", and the term "based on" should be understood to mean "at least in part based on...", unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0042] In the embodiments of the present application, a scenario involving network devices and / or terminal devices is taken as an example.

[0043] In the above scenario, the network device may include at least one of a core network device, a third-party application device, an operation administration and maintenance (OAM), and an access network device.

[0044] The core network device may refer to a device in the core network (CN) that provides service support for the terminal device. As some examples, the core network device may be at least one of the following: a mobility and management entity (MME), an access and mobility management function (AMF) entity, a session management function (SMF) entity, a user plane function (UPF) entity, a location management function (LMF) entity, and the like, which are not listed here one by one. Among them, the AMF entity may be responsible for the access management and mobility management of the terminal, the SMF entity may be responsible for session management, such as the establishment of a user session, and the UPF entity may be a functional entity of the user plane, mainly responsible for connecting to the external network. The LMF entity may manage the overall coordination and scheduling of resources required for the location of the terminal device registered with the core network device or accessing the core network device. It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, the entity may also be referred to as a network element or a functional entity, such as the AMF entity may also be referred to as an AMF network element or an AMF functional entity, and so on.

[0045] The third-party application device can be an OTT service (over the top server) or other third-party device.

[0046] OAM is a network device that performs operations, management, and maintenance on the network according to the actual needs of the operator's network operations.

[0047] The access network device is an access device that the terminal device uses to access the communication system wirelessly. The access network device can be a base station (BS), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a base station (next generation NodeB, gNB) in the fifth generation (5G) mobile communication system, a base station in the sixth generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system. The access network device can also be a module or unit that completes part of the functions of the base station. For example, it can be at least one of the following modules or units: a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a centralized unit control plane (CU control plane, CU-CP), a centralized unit user plane (CU user plane, CU-CP), an integrated access backhaul (IAB) or other modules or units. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and / or specific device form adopted by the access network device. The access network equipment can be deployed on land, including indoors / outdoors, and can be handheld or vehicle-mounted; it can also be deployed on the water, on an airplane, on a balloon or on a satellite; the access network equipment can be deployed in a fixed location or on a mobile carrier, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0048] In the above scenarios, a terminal device can be a device with wireless transceiver capabilities that can send signals to and / or receive signals from an access network device. A terminal device can also be referred to as a terminal, mobile station, or mobile terminal. A terminal device can be a mobile phone, tablet, or other device with wireless intelligent transceiver capabilities. Terminal devices can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), the Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, and various smart scenarios.

[0049] In the above scenarios, access network devices and terminal devices, and terminal devices and terminal devices can communicate via licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or both. The embodiments of this application do not limit the spectrum resources used for wireless communications.

[0050] The following description is made by taking an example where a terminal device fails to connect to the current serving cell and the mobility report is an RLF report.

[0051] In this example, the terminal device may record relevant information in the RLF report, generate, and send the RLF report. FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a process for forwarding an RLF report between network devices. As shown in FIG2 , the forwarding process may include:

[0052] 210: The terminal device detects that a connection failure occurs in the current serving cell, and the terminal device generates an RLF report. Exemplarily, the RLF report may include at least one of the following information:

[0053] · Failed cell information: The failed cell is a cell where the terminal device detects a connection failure. The cell information may include at least one of the following information: a cell global identifier (CGI), a physical cell identifier (PCI) and frequency information, a cell identifier (cell ID), a non-public network identifier (NPN ID), a non-terrestrial network identifier (NTN ID) or other cell identifiers. Among them, the CGI may include a public land mobile network (PLMN ID) and a cell ID. Optionally, the failed cell information may also include a tracking area code (TAC) and / or identification information of the network device to which the failed cell belongs, such as a global network device identifier. In the mobility process, the failed cell may also be referred to as a target cell.

[0054] Previous serving cell information: The previous serving cell is the primary cell (former primary cell) from which the terminal device last received a mobility command. In the mobility process, the previous serving cell may also be referred to as a source cell.

[0055] Failure type information: such as RLF and HOF.

[0056] Connection failure time information: The connection failure time information may be used to indicate the length of time from the last (or most recent) receipt of a handover command (or reconfiguration message) by the terminal device to the detection of a connection failure by the terminal device.

[0057] 220: The terminal device sends RLF report presence indication information to the connected network device (receiving node). The connected network device may be referred to as the receiving network device.

[0058] 230: The terminal device receives the RLF report request sent by the network device;

[0059] 240: The terminal device sends an RLF report to the receiving network device;

[0060] 250: The receiving network device forwards the RLF report to the target network device;

[0061] As an example, the receiving network device determines the target network device to which the RLF report needs to be forwarded based on the failure type. For example,

[0062] If the failure type is HOF, the receiving network device forwards the RLF report to the network device corresponding to the previous serving cell (e.g., the source base station in the handover process, SgNB), such as by forwarding the RLF report via a failure indication message.

[0063] If the failure type is RLF, the receiving network device forwards the RLF report to the network device corresponding to the failed cell (if the terminal device has not performed the switching process before this RLF, the network device is the base station gNB corresponding to the cell where the RLF occurs, or if the terminal device has performed the switching process before this RLF, the network device is the target base station TgNB in ​​the previous switching process), such as forwarding the RLF report through a failure indication message; Figure 2 takes the example of the terminal device performing the switching process before this RLF. It can be understood that if the network device corresponding to the failed cell (such as the target base station TgNB) determines that the mobility failure type is premature switching or switching to the wrong cell, further, the network device corresponding to the failed cell forwards the RLF report to the network device corresponding to the previous serving cell (such as the source base station SgNB), for example, forwarding the RLF report through a switching report message.

[0064] The following describes embodiments of the present application with reference to the accompanying drawings and detailed descriptions. For ease of description, the following description uses a base station as an example of an access network device. In the following description, "if," "under the circumstances," and "when" can be used interchangeably to avoid confusion.

[0065] It is understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device and / or the network device may perform some or all of the steps in the embodiments of the present application. These steps or operations are merely examples, and the embodiments of the present application may also perform other operations or variations of various operations. In addition, the various steps may be performed in a different order than those presented in the embodiments of the present application, and it is possible that not all of the operations in the embodiments of the present application may be performed.

[0066] Embodiments of the first aspect

[0067] An embodiment of the present application provides a method for mobility management, which is described from the perspective of a first network device CU.

[0068] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a method for mobility management according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG3 , the method includes:

[0069] 310: The first network device CU determines the second network device DU corresponding to the first report according to the obtained first report;

[0070] 320: The first network device CU sends the first report to the second network device DU.

[0071] In the embodiment of the present application, the second network device DU is a device under the first network device CU.

[0072] It is worth noting that FIG3 above only schematically illustrates an embodiment of the present application, and the present application is not limited thereto. For example, other operations may be added or some operations may be reduced. Those skilled in the art may make appropriate modifications based on the above content, and are not limited to the description of FIG3 above.

[0073] According to the method of the above embodiment, a forwarding mechanism for the first network device CU to determine the first report is introduced. As a result, under the CU-DU architecture, after the first network device CU receives the first report, it can forward the first report to the corresponding network device DU, so that the corresponding network device DU can make corresponding parameter adjustments based on the first report, thereby improving the robustness of LTM.

[0074] In an embodiment of the present application, the first report is a mobility report, which may include, for example, at least one of the following reports described above: a failure report, a success mobility report, a random access report (RA report), a connection establishment failure report (CEF report) or other reports, etc. For details, please refer to the relevant technology.

[0075] In some embodiments, the first report includes failure type information. The first network device CU can determine, based on the first report, that the first report is an LTM-related report, and can also determine, based on the failure type information, the second network device DU corresponding to the first report, i.e., the target network device. For example, the first network device CU determines that the mobility process corresponding to the first report is LTM, and the first network device CU further determines, based on the failure type information in the first report, the second network device DU corresponding to the first report.

[0076] In the above embodiment, the second network device DU corresponding to the first report may be the network device DU to which the previous serving cell in the first report belongs, or may be the network device DU to which the failed cell in the first report belongs.

[0077] For example, if the failure type information indicates a HOF, the first network device CU determines that the second network device DU corresponding to the first report is the network device DU to which the previous serving cell belongs. At this time, the first network device CU sends the first report to the network device DU to which the previous serving cell belongs.

[0078] In the above example, the network device DU to which the previous serving cell belongs may be referred to as a source DU, and the first network device CU may send the first report to the source DU via an access and mobility indication message, a failure indication message or other messages.

[0079] For another example, if the failure type information indicates RLF, the first network device CU determines that the second network device DU corresponding to the first report is the network device DU to which the failed cell belongs. In this case, the first network device CU sends the first report to the network device DU to which the failed cell belongs.

[0080] In the above example, the first network device CU may send the first report to the network device DU to which the failed cell belongs through an access and mobility indication message, a failure indication message or other messages.

[0081] As a possible example, the first report may include first time information, where the first time information is connection time information between the terminal device and the failed cell. For example, the first time information may be used to indicate the length of time from the last (or most recent) receipt of a handover command (or reconfiguration message, or LTM mobility command (such as an LTM cell change message)) by the terminal device to the detection of a connection failure by the terminal device.

[0082] In the above example, after receiving the above first report, the network device DU to which the failed cell belongs determines that the first report is an LTM-related report. If there is no first time information in the first report, or the time length indicated by the first time information is greater than or equal to the first time threshold, the network device DU to which the failed cell belongs can optimize the corresponding LTM mobility configuration information based on the first report, thereby improving robustness.

[0083] As an example, the terminal device accesses the failed cell from a non-connected state, or the terminal device switches from the previous service cell to the failed cell, the terminal device receives the configuration information of the LTM candidate cell sent from the failed cell, the terminal device detects the RLF between the terminal device and the failed cell, the first time information does not exist in the first report, or the connection time between the terminal device and the failed cell in the first report (that is, the time length indicated by the first time information) is greater than or equal to the first time threshold. It can be understood that in the above scenario, the network device DU to which the failed cell belongs can optimize the corresponding LTM mobility configuration information based on the first report.

[0084] In the above embodiment, the first time threshold is used to determine whether the connection failure is caused by the relevant mobility configuration of the network device DU to which the failed cell belongs. It can be preset by the protocol or obtained by the network device DU from OAM, that is, configured by OAM.

[0085] In the above embodiment, after receiving the above-mentioned first report, the network device DU to which the failed cell belongs determines that the first report is an LTM-related report, and determines that the time length indicated by the first time information is less than or equal to the second time threshold. The network device DU to which the failed cell belongs can send a message (referred to as the first message) to the first network device CU to indicate the reason for the connection failure.

[0086] As an example, the terminal device enters the failed cell from the previous service cell through the LTM mechanism, the terminal device detects the RLF between the terminal device and the failed cell, and the connection time between the terminal device and the failed cell (the time length indicated by the first time information) is less than or equal to the second time threshold. In the above scenario, the network device DU to which the failed cell belongs can send a first message to the first network device CU.

[0087] In the above embodiment, the definition of the second time threshold is the same as that of the first time threshold, and its value may be the same as or different from that of the first time threshold.

[0088] In the above embodiment, the first network device CU may receive the above first message and confirm the cause of the connection failure according to the first message.

[0089] As a possible implementation, the first message may include at least one of the following: a message type, interface identification information of the terminal device on the CU and DU interfaces on the DU side of the network device to which the failed cell belongs, and interface identification information of the terminal device on the CU and DU interfaces on the CU side of the first network device. The message type is used to uniquely identify the message. As an example, the first message may include at least one of a message type, a gNB-CU UE F1AP ID, and a gNB-DU UE F1AP ID.

[0090] As another possible implementation, the first message may include at least one of a message type and a transaction ID. The transaction ID is used to uniquely identify the process. As an example, the first message may include at least one of a message type and a transaction ID.

[0091] In some implementations, the first message further includes at least one of the following:

[0092] The first report mentioned above (e.g. LTM RLF report);

[0093] First indication information used to indicate the reason for the LTM connection failure;

[0094] Previous service cell information;

[0095] Identification information of the DU to which the previous serving cell belongs (e.g., gNB-DU ID);

[0096] Name of the DU to which the previous serving cell belongs (e.g., gNB-DU name);

[0097] Identification information of the terminal device in the previous serving cell;

[0098] Mobility information of terminal devices;

[0099] Identification information of the mobility information of the terminal device.

[0100] In the above embodiment, the first report is used by the first network device CU to forward the first report. As a possible implementation, if the first network device CU deletes the first report after sending it to the network device DU to which the failed cell belongs, carrying the first report in the first message can ensure that the first network device CU successfully retrieves and forwards the first report to the corresponding network device DU.

[0101] In the above embodiment, the first indication information is used to indicate that the current connection failure of the first network device CU is not caused by the network device DU, or is used to indicate that the current connection failure of the first network device CU is caused by other network devices DU.

[0102] In the above embodiment, the previous serving cell information is used by the first network device CU to determine the cell to which the first report needs to be forwarded and / or the network device DU to which the cell belongs (ie, the source DU).

[0103] In the above embodiment, the identification information of the terminal device in the previous service cell may be the cell radio network temporary identifier (Cell Radio-Network Temporary Identifier, C-RNTI) of the terminal device in the previous service cell, or it may be the interface identification information of the DU side of the network device to which the previous service cell of the terminal device belongs at the CU and DU interfaces, or it may be other identification information that can uniquely identify the terminal device in the previous service cell or the DU side of the network device to which the previous service cell belongs.

[0104] In the above embodiment, the mobility information of the terminal device is used to indicate the configuration information of the mobility parameters corresponding to the current connection failure, such as mobility information.

[0105] In the above embodiment, the identification information of the mobility information of the terminal device is used to indicate the identification information of the configuration information of the mobility parameters corresponding to the current connection failure, such as the mobility information index (mobility information index) and the mobility information identifier (mobility information identifier), which can be used to determine the configuration information of the corresponding mobility parameters.

[0106] As an example, the first message may be a failure transfer message, an LTM RLF report failure transfer message, a handover report message, or other messages.

[0107] In the above embodiment, after receiving the above first message, the first network device CU may further send the above first report to the network device DU to which the previous serving cell belongs.

[0108] In the above embodiment, optionally, when the first network device CU receives the first message, the first network device CU can determine the corresponding network device DU (source DU) based on the previous service cell information in the first report, and thus send the corresponding first report to the source DU, so that the source DU can adjust the corresponding mobility configuration parameters based on the first report, thereby improving the LTM robustness.

[0109] As an example, the first network device CU may send the first report to the network device DU to which the previous serving cell belongs through an access and mobility indication message, a failure indication message or other messages.

[0110] In the above embodiment, the first network device CU determines that the first report is an LTM-related report and, based on the failure type information, determines the second network device DU corresponding to the first report. Furthermore, the second network device DU determines that the first report is an LTM-related report and, based on the first time information, further determines whether to optimize its corresponding LTM mobility configuration information based on the first report.

[0111] In some other embodiments, the first network device CU determines that the first report is an LTM-related report. The first network device CU may determine the second network device DU corresponding to the first report based on the failure type information and the first time information.

[0112] For example, if the failure type information indicates a handover failure (HOF), the first network device CU determines that the second network device DU corresponding to the first report is the network device DU belonging to the previous serving cell. Thus, the first network device CU sends the first report to the network device DU belonging to the previous serving cell. It is understood that in this scenario, the first network device CU can determine the second network device DU corresponding to the first report based on the failure type information.

[0113] For another example, if the failure type information indicates a radio link failure (RLF), and the first time information does not exist in the first report, or the time length indicated by the first time information is greater than or equal to the third time threshold, the first network device CU determines that the second network device DU corresponding to the first report is the network device DU to which the failed cell belongs. Thus, the first network device CU sends the first report to the network device DU to which the failed cell belongs. In this scenario, the first network device CU can determine the second network device DU corresponding to the first report based on the failure type information and the first time information.

[0114] For another example, if the failure type indicated by the failure type information is a radio link failure (RLF), and if the first time information is less than or equal to the fourth time threshold, the first network device CU determines that the second network device DU corresponding to the above-mentioned first report is the network device DU to which the previous cell belonged. Thus, the first network device CU sends the above-mentioned first report to the network device DU to which the previous serving cell belonged. In this scenario, the first network device CU can determine the second network device DU corresponding to the first report based on the failure type information and the first time information. It can be understood that the first network device CU can also send at least one of the following information to the network device DU to which the previous serving cell belonged: identification information of the terminal device in the previous serving cell, mobility information of the terminal device, and identification information of the mobility information of the terminal device.

[0115] In the above example, the definitions of the third and fourth time thresholds are the same as those of the first time threshold. Furthermore, the values ​​of the third and fourth time thresholds can be the same or different. The third and / or fourth time thresholds can be preset by the protocol, obtained by the first network device CU from the OAM (i.e., configured by OAM), or obtained by the first network device CU from the second network device DU.

[0116] The method of the embodiment of the present application is described below with reference to specific examples.

[0117] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a forwarding process of a first report according to a method according to an embodiment of the present application. In the example of FIG4 , the first report is an LTM RLF report, and the receiving network device and the first network device CU are different network devices. As shown in FIG4 , the process includes:

[0118] 410: During the LTM mobility process, the terminal device detects an LTM-related connection failure, records it, and generates an LTM RLF report. The LTM RLF report includes failure type information.

[0119] 420: The terminal device sends the LTM RLF report to the receiving network device (receiving node);

[0120] 430: The receiving network device sends an LTM RLF report to a corresponding network device CU (referred to as the first network device CU);

[0121] 440: The network device CU determines the network device DU (referred to as the second network device DU) corresponding to the LTM RLF report based on the failure type information.

[0122] If the failure type information is HOF, execute 450; if the failure type information is RLF, execute 460;

[0123] 450: The network device CU sends an LTM RLF report to the network device DU to which the previous serving cell belongs;

[0124] 460: The network device CU sends an LTM RLF report to the network device DU to which the failed cell belongs;

[0125] 470: The network device DU to which the failed cell belongs sends a first message to the network device CU, where the first message is used to indicate to the network device CU that the reason for the LTM connection failure is a problem with other network devices DU.

[0126] 480: The network device CU sends an LTM RLF report to the network device DU to which the previous serving cell belongs.

[0127] In operation 410, optionally, the LTM RLF report may also include at least one of failed cell information, first time information, and previous serving cell information. For descriptions of failure type information, failed cell information, first time information, and previous serving cell information, reference may be made to the descriptions in other embodiments of the present application and will not be repeated here.

[0128] It can be understood that the LTM mobility process may refer to the terminal device receiving the configuration information of the LTM candidate cell and / or the terminal device receiving the LTM cell change message.

[0129] In operation 420, only the operation result is described. Similar to the process of FIG2 , operation 420 can be completed by the following three operations:

[0130] Operation 420-1: The terminal device sends an indication message indicating that an LTM RLF report is stored to the connected network device; the connected network device is, for example, the aforementioned receiving network device;

[0131] Operation 420-2: The terminal device receives request indication information for reporting an LTM RLF report sent by the connected network device; as an example, the request indication information may be carried in a terminal device information request (UE information request) message, but the present application is not limited thereto.

[0132] Operation 420 - 3: The terminal device sends an LTM RLF report to the receiving network device. As an example, the LTM RLF report may be carried in a terminal device information response (UE information response) message, but the present application is not limited thereto.

[0133] In operation 430, the corresponding network device CU is the CU to which the previous serving cell of the LTM RLF report belongs or the network device CU to which the failed cell belongs. As an example, the receiving network device may send the LTM RLF report to the corresponding network device CU via a failure indication message or other message.

[0134] In operation 440, if the failure type information is HOF, the network device CU determines that the corresponding second network device DU is the network device DU belonging to the previous serving cell, and operation 450 is performed, i.e., the network device CU sends the LTM RLF report to the network device DU belonging to the previous serving cell. As an example, the network device CU can send the LTM RLF report to the network device DU belonging to the previous serving cell via an access and mobility indication message, a failure indication message, or other message.

[0135] In operation 440, if the failure type information is RLF, the network device CU determines that the corresponding second network device DU is the network device DU to which the failed cell belongs, and operation 460 is performed, i.e., the network device CU sends the LTM RLF report to the network device DU to which the failed cell belongs. As an example, the network device CU may send the LTM RLF report to the network device DU to which the failed cell belongs via an access and mobility indication message, a failure indication message, or other message.

[0136] As a possible implementation manner, the network device CU determines that the LTM RLF report is an LTM-related report, and then performs operation 440 .

[0137] As another possible implementation, operation 440 can be replaced by operation 440', where the network device CU determines that the LTM RLF report is an LTM-related report and, based on the failure type information, determines the network device DU (referred to as the second network device DU) corresponding to the LTM RLF report. That is, "determining that the LTM RLF report is an LTM-related report" and "determining the network device DU corresponding to the LTM RLF report" are performed in parallel, without any particular order.

[0138] In operation 450, after the network device CU sends the above-mentioned LTM RLF report to the network device DU to which the previous serving cell belongs, the network device DU to which the previous serving cell belongs can optimize the corresponding LTM mobility configuration information according to the LTM RLF report, thereby improving robustness.

[0139] It is understandable that the network device CU may also send at least one of the following information to the network device DU to which the previous serving cell belongs: identification information of the terminal device in the previous serving cell, mobility information of the terminal device, and identification information of the mobility information of the terminal device.

[0140] In operation 460, after the network device CU sends the LTM RLF report to the network device DU to which the failed cell belongs, the network device DU to which the failed cell belongs determines whether to optimize its LTM mobility configuration information according to the LTM RLF report.

[0141] In one possible implementation, after receiving the LTM RLF report, the DU to which the failed cell belongs determines that the LTM RLF report is an LTM-related report. Furthermore, if the LTM RLF report does not contain first time information, or if the time length indicated by the first time information is greater than or equal to a first time threshold, the network device DU to which the failed cell belongs may optimize the corresponding LTM mobility configuration information based on the LTM RLF report to improve robustness. If the time length indicated by the first time information is less than or equal to a second time threshold, operations 470 and 480 are performed.

[0142] For the description of the first time information, the first time threshold and the second time threshold, please refer to the description in other embodiments of the present application and will not be repeated here.

[0143] In operation 470, the description of the first message can refer to the description in other embodiments of the present application and will not be repeated here.

[0144] In operation 480, as an example, the network device CU may send an LTM RLF report to the network device DU to which the previous serving cell belongs via an access and mobility indication message, a failure indication message, or other message. The description of how the network device CU sends the LTM RLF report to the network device DU to which the previous serving cell belongs can be found in other embodiments of the present application and will not be repeated here.

[0145] It is worth noting that in the embodiments of the present application, the receiving network device and the first network device CU are described as different network devices, and the present application does not limit this. If the receiving network device and the first network device CU are the same network device, the above operation 430 can be understood as an internal operation of the network device and does not need to be performed.

[0146] FIG5 is another schematic diagram of the forwarding process of the first report according to the method of an embodiment of the present application. In the example of FIG5 , the first report is still taken as an LTM RLF report, and the receiving network device and the first network device CU are still taken as different network devices. As shown in FIG5 , the process includes:

[0147] 510: During the LTM mobility process, the terminal device detects an LTM-related connection failure, records it, and generates an LTM RLF report. The LTM RLF report includes failure type information and first time information.

[0148] 520: The terminal device sends the LTM RLF report to the receiving network device (receiving node);

[0149] 530: The receiving network device sends an LTM RLF report to a corresponding network device CU (referred to as the first network device CU);

[0150] 540: The network device CU determines the network device DU (referred to as the second network device DU) corresponding to the LTM RLF report according to the failure type information and / or the first time information.

[0151] If the failure type information is HOF, execute 550; if the failure type information is RLF, execute 560;

[0152] 550: The network device CU sends an LTM RLF report to the network device DU to which the previous serving cell belongs;

[0153] 560: The network device CU sends an LTM RLF report to the network device DU to which the failed cell belongs.

[0154] In operation 510, optionally, the LTM RLF report may also include at least one of the failed cell information and the previous serving cell information. For descriptions of the failure type information, the failed cell information, the first time information, and the previous serving cell information, reference may be made to the descriptions in other embodiments of the present application and will not be repeated here.

[0155] It can be understood that the LTM mobility process may refer to the terminal device receiving the configuration information of the LTM candidate cell and / or the terminal device receiving the LTM cell change message.

[0156] Operations 520 to 530 and operations 550 to 560 are respectively the same as operations 420 to 430 and operations 450 to 460 shown in FIG. 4 , and their contents are incorporated herein and are not repeated here.

[0157] In operation 540 , the network device CU determines the second network device DU according to the failure type information and / or the first time information included in the LTM RLF report.

[0158] For example, if the failure type information indicates a handover failure (HOF), the first network device CU determines that the second network device DU corresponding to the LTM RLF report is the network device DU to which the previous serving cell belongs, and the first network device CU performs operation 550 .

[0159] For another example, if the failure type information indicates that the failure type is a radio link failure (RLF), and if the first time information is less than or equal to the fourth time threshold, the first network device CU determines that the second network device DU corresponding to the LTM RLF report is the network device DU to which the previous serving cell belongs, and the first network device CU performs operation 550.

[0160] For another example, if the failure type information indicates that the failure type is a radio link failure (RLF), and if the first time information does not exist in the LTM RLF report or the first time information is greater than or equal to the third time threshold, the first network device CU determines that the second network device DU corresponding to the LTM RLF report is the network device DU to which the failed cell belongs, and the first network device CU performs operation 560.

[0161] As a possible implementation manner, the network device CU determines that the LTM RLF report is an LTM-related report, and the network device CU performs operation 540 .

[0162] As another possible implementation, operation 540 may be replaced by operation 540', i.e., the network device CU determines the LTM RLF report as an LTM-related report, and determines the network device DU (referred to as the second network device DU) corresponding to the LTM RLF report based on the above-mentioned failure type information and / or the first time information; that is, "determining the LTM RLF report as an LTM-related report" and "determining the network device DU corresponding to the LTM RLF report based on the above-mentioned failure type information and / or the first time information" are executed in parallel, and there is no order of precedence.

[0163] For the description of the first time information, the third time threshold, and the fourth time threshold, reference may be made to the description in other embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0164] The above embodiments are merely exemplary descriptions of the methods of the present application, but the present application is not limited thereto, and appropriate modifications may be made based on the above embodiments. For example, the above embodiments may be used individually, or one or more of the above embodiments may be combined.

[0165] According to the method of the embodiment of the present application, a forwarding mechanism for the first network device CU to determine the first report is introduced, that is, the first network device CU determines the corresponding network device DU based on the failure type information or the failure type information and / or the first time information. As a result, under the CU-DU architecture, after the first network device CU receives the first report, it can forward the first report to the corresponding network device DU, so that the corresponding network device DU can make corresponding parameter adjustments according to the first report, thereby improving the robustness of LTM.

[0166] Embodiments of the second aspect

[0167] An embodiment of the present application provides a method for mobility management.

[0168] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of a method for mobility management according to an embodiment of the present application, which is described from the perspective of a third network device. As shown in FIG6 , the method includes:

[0169] 610: The third network device determines, based on the received first report, cell information to which the first report needs to be forwarded;

[0170] 620: The third network device sends the first report and the cell information to be forwarded to the first network device CU.

[0171] It is worth noting that FIG6 above only schematically illustrates an embodiment of the present application, and the present application is not limited thereto. For example, the execution order of the various operations may be appropriately adjusted, and other operations may be added or some operations may be reduced. Those skilled in the art may make appropriate modifications based on the above content, and are not limited to the description of FIG6 above.

[0172] According to the method of the above embodiment, a receiving network device (referred to as a third network device) is introduced to determine a forwarding mechanism for the first report when the first report is an LTM-related report. As a result, under the CU-DU architecture, after the first network device CU receives the first report, it can forward the first report to the corresponding network device DU, so that the corresponding network device DU can make corresponding parameter adjustments based on the first report, thereby improving the robustness of LTM.

[0173] In the above embodiment, in operation 610, it is understandable that the third network device may determine that the first report is an LTM-related report based on the first report, and may also determine the cell information to be forwarded based on the failure type information in the first report.

[0174] In some embodiments, the first report includes failure type information, and the third network device determines the cell information to which the first report is to be forwarded based on the failure type information.

[0175] For example, if the failure type indicated by the failure type information is HOF, the third network device determines that the cell information to which the first report is to be forwarded is the previous service cell information, and the third network device sends the first report and the previous service cell information (that is, the cell information to be forwarded is set to the previous service cell information) to the first network device CU.

[0176] For another example, if the failure type indicated by the failure type information is RLF, the third network device determines that the cell information of the first report to be forwarded is the failed cell information, and the third network device sends the first report and the failed cell information (that is, the cell information to be forwarded is set to the failed cell information) to the first network device CU.

[0177] According to the above embodiment, after receiving the above first report and the cell information to be forwarded, the first network device may send the first report to the second network device DU to which the cell information to be forwarded belongs according to the cell information to be forwarded.

[0178] FIG7 is another schematic diagram of a method for mobility management according to an embodiment of the present application, which is described from the perspective of a first network device CU. As shown in FIG7 , the method includes:

[0179] 710: The first network device CU receives a first report and cell information to be forwarded corresponding to the first report.

[0180] 720: The first network device CU sends a first report to the second network device DU to which the cell information to be forwarded belongs according to the cell information to be forwarded.

[0181] It is worth noting that FIG7 above only schematically illustrates the embodiment of the present application, and the present application is not limited thereto. For example, the execution order of the various operations may be appropriately adjusted, and other operations may be added or some operations may be reduced. Those skilled in the art may make appropriate modifications based on the above content, and are not limited to the description of FIG7 above.

[0182] In the above embodiment, as mentioned above, the cell information to be forwarded may be the previous serving cell information or the failed cell information.

[0183] If the cell information to be forwarded is the previous serving cell information, the first network device CU may send the first report to the second network device DU to which the previous serving cell information belongs. As an example, the first network device CU may send the first report via an access and mobility indication message, a failure indication message, or other messages.

[0184] If the cell information to be forwarded is failed cell information, the first network device CU may send the first report to the second network device DU to which the failed cell information belongs. As an example, the first network device CU may send the first report via an access and mobility indication message, a failure indication message, or other messages.

[0185] In the above embodiment, after the second network device DU to which the failed cell information belongs receives the first report, it can determine whether it is necessary to optimize its LTM mobility configuration information based on the first report. For specific implementation methods, please refer to the description of operation 460 and will not be repeated here. In the above embodiment, it can be understood that if the connection failure type is RLF, the second network device DU can also send a first message to the first network device CU, and the first message is used to indicate the reason for the LTM connection failure. In the embodiment of the present application, as shown in Figure 7, the method can also include:

[0186] 730: The first network device CU receives a first message sent by the second network device DU (the second network device DU to which the failed cell belongs). The first message is used to indicate to the first network device CU that the reason for the LTM connection failure is a problem with the other network device DU.

[0187] For the description of the first message, please refer to the description in operation 470 and will not be repeated here.

[0188] 740: The first network device CU sends a first report to the network device DU to which the previous serving cell belongs.

[0189] The description of the first network device CU sending the first report to the network device DU to which the previous serving cell belongs may refer to the description in operation 480 and will not be repeated here.

[0190] In the above embodiment, as a possible implementation manner, the first message may include at least one of the following:

[0191] Message type;

[0192] Interface identification information of the terminal device on the second network device DU side to which the failed cell belongs;

[0193] Interface identification information of the terminal device on the CU side of the first network device.

[0194] As an example, the first message may include at least one of message type, gNB-CU UE F1AP ID, and gNB-DU UE F1AP ID.

[0195] In the above embodiment, as another possible implementation manner, the first message may include at least one of the following:

[0196] Message type;

[0197] Business identification information.

[0198] As an example, the first message may include at least one of a message type and a transaction ID.

[0199] In the two possible implementations above, the first message may further include at least one of the following:

[0200] the first report;

[0201] First indication information used to indicate the reason for the LTM connection failure;

[0202] The above-mentioned serving cell information;

[0203] Identification information of the DU to which the previous serving cell belongs (e.g., gNB-DU ID);

[0204] Name of the DU to which the previous serving cell belongs (e.g., gNB-DU name);

[0205] The identification information of the terminal device's previous serving cell;

[0206] Mobility information of terminal devices;

[0207] Identification information of the mobility information of the terminal device.

[0208] In the above embodiment, the relevant content of the first message has been described in the embodiment of the first aspect, and its content is incorporated here and will not be repeated here.

[0209] In the above embodiment, in operation 740, optionally, the first network device CU can determine the corresponding network device DU (source DU) based on the previous service cell information in the first report, and thus send the corresponding first report to the source DU, so that the source DU can adjust the corresponding mobility configuration parameters based on the first report, thereby improving the LTM robustness.

[0210] As an example, the first network device CU may send the first report to the network device DU to which the previous serving cell belongs through an access and mobility indication message, a failure indication message or other messages.

[0211] The method of the embodiment of the present application is described below with reference to specific examples.

[0212] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of the forwarding process of the first report according to the method of an embodiment of the present application. In the example of FIG8 , the first report is an LTM RLF report, and the receiving network device and the first network device CU are different network devices. As shown in FIG8 , the process includes:

[0213] 810: During the LTM mobility process, the terminal device detects an LTM-related connection failure, records it, and generates an LTM RLF report. The LTM RLF report includes failure type information.

[0214] 820: The terminal device sends the LTM RLF report to the receiving node (the third network device).

[0215] 830: The receiving node determines, based on the failure type information, information of the cell to which the LTM RLF report needs to be forwarded.

[0216] 840: The receiving node sends the LTM RLF report and the cell information to be forwarded to the network device CU (first network device CU);

[0217] For the description of the cell information to be forwarded, reference may be made to the description of operations 710 and / or 720 , which will not be repeated here.

[0218] If the failure type information is HOF, the receiving node sends the LTM RLF report and the previous serving cell information to the network device CU, and the network device CU may perform operation 850; if the failure type information is RLF, the receiving node sends the LTM RLF report and the failed cell information to the network device CU, and the network device CU may perform operation 860;

[0219] 850: The network device CU sends an LTM RLF report to the network device DU to which the previous serving cell belongs;

[0220] 860: The network device CU sends an LTM RLF report to the network device DU to which the failed cell belongs.

[0221] 870: The network device DU to which the failed cell belongs sends a first message to the network device CU, where the first message is used to indicate to the network device CU that the reason for the LTM connection failure is a problem with other network devices DU.

[0222] 880: The network device CU sends an LTM RLF report to the network device DU to which the previous serving cell belongs.

[0223] In the above example, the operations of 810 and 820 are the same as the operations of 410 and 420 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 , and are not described again here.

[0224] In operation 830, the receiving node determines, based on the LTM RLF report, that the LTM RLF report is a report corresponding to an LTM-related connection failure, and determines, based on the failure type information, the cell information to which the LTM RLF report needs to be forwarded (i.e., determines the cell information to be forwarded), that is, determines the mechanism for forwarding the LTM RLF report.

[0225] In operation 840, if the failure type information is HOF, the cell information to be forwarded is the previous serving cell information, and the receiving node sends the LTM RLF report and the previous serving cell information to the network device CU; if the failure type information is RLF, the cell information to be forwarded is the failed cell information, and the receiving node sends the LTM RLF report and the failed cell information to the network device CU.

[0226] In operation 850, the LTM RLF report optionally further includes previous serving cell information. The network device CU determines the network device DU to which it belongs based on the previous serving cell information, and then sends the LTM RLF report to the corresponding network device DU. As an example, the network device CU may send the LTM RLF report to the corresponding network device DU via an access and mobility indication message, a failure indication message, or other message.

[0227] In operation 860, the LTM RLF report optionally further includes information about the failed cell. The network device CU determines the network device DU to which the failed cell belongs based on the failed cell information, and then sends the LTM RLF report to the corresponding network device DU. As an example, the network device CU may send the LTM RLF report to the corresponding network device DU via an access and mobility indication message, a failure indication message, or other message.

[0228] In operation 870, the network device DU to which the failed cell belongs sends a first message to the network device CU. The relevant content of the first message has been described above and will not be repeated here. The processing of operation 870 can refer to operation 470 of the embodiment of Figure 4 and will not be repeated here.

[0229] In operation 880, the network device CU sends an LTM RLF report to the network device DU to which the previous serving cell belongs. For the processing of operation 880, reference may be made to operation 480 of the embodiment of FIG4 and no further details will be given here.

[0230] In operation 880, as an example, the network device CU may send an LTM RLF report to the network device DU to which the previous serving cell belongs via an access and mobility indication message, a failure indication message, or other messages. The details have been explained above and will not be repeated here.

[0231] The above embodiments are merely exemplary descriptions of the methods of the present application, but the present application is not limited thereto, and appropriate modifications may be made based on the above embodiments. For example, the above embodiments may be used individually, or one or more of the above embodiments may be combined.

[0232] According to the method of the embodiment of the present application, a forwarding mechanism for the receiving network device to determine the first report is introduced. As a result, under the CU-DU architecture, after the first network device CU receives the first report, it can forward the first report to the corresponding network device DU, so that the corresponding network device DU can make corresponding parameter adjustments based on the first report, thereby improving the robustness of LTM.

[0233] Embodiments of the third aspect

[0234] The present application provides an apparatus for mobility management. This apparatus may be, for example, a network device, or one or more components or assemblies configured on the network device. Because the principle underlying the problem solved by this apparatus is the same as that of the first network device CU in the method of the first embodiment, its specific implementation may refer to the implementation of the method of the first embodiment, and the details of the commonality will not be repeated.

[0235] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of a device for mobility management according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG9 , the device 900 includes:

[0236] A determining unit 910, which determines a second network device DU corresponding to the first report according to the acquired first report;

[0237] The sending unit 920 sends the first report to the second network device DU.

[0238] In some embodiments, the first report includes failure type information, and the determining unit 910 determines the second network device DU corresponding to the first report according to the failure type information.

[0239] For example, if the failure type indicated by the failure type information is handover failure (HOF), the determining unit 910 determines that the second network device DU corresponding to the first report is the network device DU to which the previous serving cell belongs;

[0240] For another example, if the failure type indicated by the failure type information is radio link failure (RLF), the determining unit 910 determines that the second network device DU corresponding to the first report is the network device DU to which the failed cell belongs.

[0241] In some embodiments, if the second network device DU corresponding to the first report is the network device DU to which the failed cell belongs, as shown in FIG9 , the apparatus 900 further includes:

[0242] The receiving unit 930 receives a first message sent by the network device DU to which the failed cell belongs, where the first message is used to indicate a reason for the LTM connection failure.

[0243] In the above embodiment, as a possible implementation manner, the first message may include at least one of the following:

[0244] Message type;

[0245] Interface identification information of the terminal device on the network device DU side to which the failed cell belongs;

[0246] Interface identification information of the terminal device on the CU side of the first network device.

[0247] In the above embodiment, as another possible implementation manner, the first message includes at least one of the following:

[0248] Message type;

[0249] Business identification information.

[0250] In the above embodiment, optionally, the first message may further include at least one of the following:

[0251] the first report;

[0252] First indication information used to indicate the reason for the LTM connection failure;

[0253] Previous service cell information;

[0254] Identification information of the DU to which the previous serving cell belongs (e.g., gNB-DU ID);

[0255] Name of the DU to which the previous serving cell belongs (e.g., gNB-DU name);

[0256] Identification information of the terminal device in the previous serving cell;

[0257] Mobility information of terminal devices;

[0258] Identification information of the mobility information of the terminal device.

[0259] In the above embodiment, the first indication information is used to indicate that the LTM connection failure is not caused by the network device DU to which the failed cell belongs, or is used to indicate that the LTM connection failure is caused by other network device DU.

[0260] In the above embodiment, the identification information of the previous serving cell of the terminal device includes one of the following:

[0261] The temporary wireless network identifier of the terminal device in the previous serving cell;

[0262] Interface identification information of the terminal device on the DU side of the network device to which the previous serving cell belonged;

[0263] The identification information that can uniquely identify the terminal device in the previous serving cell or the network device DU side to which the previous serving cell belongs.

[0264] In the above embodiment, after the receiving unit 930 receives the above first message, the sending unit 920 may further send the above first report to the network device DU to which the previous serving cell belongs.

[0265] In other embodiments, the first report also includes first time information, which is used to indicate the length of the connection time between the terminal device and the failed cell; the determination unit 910 determines the second network device DU corresponding to the first report based on the above failure type information and the first time information.

[0266] For example, if the failure type indicated by the failure type information is handover failure (HOF), the determining unit 910 determines that the second network device DU corresponding to the first report is the network device DU to which the previous serving cell belongs;

[0267] For another example, if the failure type indicated by the failure type information is a radio link failure (RLF) and the first time information does not exist in the first report or the first time information is greater than or equal to the third time threshold, the determining unit 910 determines that the second network device DU corresponding to the first report is the network device DU to which the failed cell belongs;

[0268] For another example, if the failure type information indicates that the failure type is radio link failure (RLF) and the first time information is less than or equal to the fourth time threshold, the determination unit 910 determines that the second network device DU corresponding to the first report is the network device DU to which the previous serving cell belongs.

[0269] The above embodiments of the present application are illustrative, but the present application is not limited thereto, and appropriate modifications can be made based on the above embodiments. For example, the above embodiments can be used alone, or one or more of the above embodiments can be combined.

[0270] It is worth noting that the above description only describes the components or modules related to this application, but this application is not limited thereto. The above-mentioned device may also include other components or modules. For the specific content of these components or modules, please refer to the relevant art. In addition, the above-mentioned components or modules can be implemented by hardware facilities such as processors, memories, transmitters, and receivers; the implementation of this application is not limited to this.

[0271] According to the apparatus of the embodiment of the present application, a forwarding mechanism for the first network device CU to determine the first report is introduced, that is, the first network device CU determines the corresponding network device DU based on the failure type information or based on the failure type information and / or the first time information. Thus, under the CU-DU architecture, after the first network device CU receives the first report, it can forward the first report to the corresponding network device DU, so that the corresponding network device DU can make corresponding parameter adjustments based on the first report, thereby improving the robustness of LTM.

[0272] Embodiments of the fourth aspect

[0273] An embodiment of the present application provides a device for mobility management.

[0274] Figure 10 is another schematic diagram of a mobility management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. The apparatus may be a network device, or may be one or more components or assemblies configured on the network device. Since the principle of solving the problem of this apparatus is the same as that of the third network device in the method of the embodiment of the second aspect, its specific implementation can refer to the implementation of the method of the embodiment of the second aspect, and the details of the same content will not be repeated here.

[0275] As shown in FIG10 , the apparatus 1000 includes:

[0276] a determining unit 1010, configured to determine, based on the received first report, information of cells to which the first report needs to be forwarded;

[0277] The sending unit 1020 sends the first report and the cell information to be forwarded to the first network device CU.

[0278] In some embodiments, the first report includes failure type information, and the determining unit 1010 determines the cell information to which the first report needs to be forwarded according to the failure type information.

[0279] For example, if the failure type indicated by the failure type information is handover failure (HOF), the determining unit 1010 determines that the cell information to which the first report needs to be forwarded is the previous serving cell information;

[0280] For another example, if the failure type indicated by the failure type information is radio link failure (RLF), the determining unit 1010 determines that the cell information for which the first report needs to be forwarded is failed cell information.

[0281] Figure 11 is another schematic diagram of a mobility management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. This apparatus may be a network device, or may be one or more components or assemblies configured on the network device. Because the principles underlying the problem solved by this apparatus are the same as those of the first network device CU in the method of the second aspect, its specific implementation can refer to the implementation of the method of the second aspect, and the details will not be repeated here.

[0282] As shown in FIG11 , the apparatus 1100 includes:

[0283] A receiving unit 1110, configured to receive a first report and cell information to be forwarded corresponding to the first report;

[0284] The sending unit 1120 is configured to send the first report to the second network device DU to which the cell information to be forwarded belongs according to the cell information to be forwarded.

[0285] In the embodiment of the present application, the cell information to be forwarded is the previous serving cell information or the failed cell information.

[0286] In some embodiments, if the cell information to be forwarded is the previous serving cell information, the sending unit 1120 sends the first report to the second network device DU to which the previous serving cell belongs.

[0287] In some embodiments, if the cell information to be forwarded is information of a failed cell, the first network device CU sends the first report to the second network device DU to which the failed cell belongs.

[0288] In the above embodiment, the receiving unit 1110 further receives a first message sent by the second network device to which the failed cell belongs, where the first message is used to indicate the reason for the LTM connection failure.

[0289] In the above embodiment, in a possible implementation, the first message includes at least one of the following:

[0290] Message type;

[0291] Interface identification information of the terminal device on the second network device DU side to which the failed cell belongs;

[0292] Interface identification information of the terminal device on the CU side of the first network device.

[0293] In the foregoing embodiment, in another possible implementation, the first message includes at least one of the following:

[0294] Message type;

[0295] Business identification information.

[0296] In the above embodiment, the first message may further include at least one of the following:

[0297] the first report;

[0298] First indication information used to indicate the reason for the LTM connection failure;

[0299] Previous service cell information;

[0300] Identification information of the DU to which the previous serving cell belongs (e.g., gNB-DU ID);

[0301] Name of the DU to which the previous serving cell belongs (e.g., gNB-DU name);

[0302] Identification information of the terminal device in the previous serving cell;

[0303] Mobility information of terminal devices;

[0304] Identification information of the mobility information of the terminal device.

[0305] In the above embodiment, the first indication information is used to indicate that the LTM connection failure is not caused by the second network device DU to which the failed cell belongs, or is used to indicate that the LTM connection failure is caused by other network device DU.

[0306] In the above embodiment, the identification information of the previous serving cell of the terminal device includes one of the following:

[0307] The temporary wireless network identifier of the terminal device in the previous serving cell;

[0308] Interface identification information of the terminal device on the second network device DU side to which the previous serving cell belongs;

[0309] The identification information of the terminal device can be uniquely identified in the previous serving cell or the second network device DU side to which the previous serving cell belongs.

[0310] In the above embodiment, after the receiving unit 1110 receives the above first message, the sending unit 1120 may further send the first report to the second network device DU to which the previous serving cell belongs.

[0311] The above embodiments of the present application are illustrative, but the present application is not limited thereto, and appropriate modifications can be made based on the above embodiments. For example, the above embodiments can be used alone, or one or more of the above embodiments can be combined.

[0312] It is worth noting that the above description only describes the components or modules related to this application, but this application is not limited thereto. The above-mentioned device may also include other components or modules. For the specific content of these components or modules, please refer to the relevant art. In addition, the above-mentioned components or modules can be implemented by hardware facilities such as processors, memories, transmitters, and receivers; the implementation of this application is not limited to this.

[0313] According to the apparatus of the embodiment of the present application, a forwarding mechanism for determining the first report by the receiving network device is introduced, thereby enabling, under the CU-DU architecture, the first network device CU to forward the first report to the corresponding network device DU after receiving the first report, so that the corresponding network device DU can make corresponding parameter adjustments based on the first report, thereby improving the robustness of LTM.

[0314] Embodiments of the fifth aspect

[0315] An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, including a network device and a terminal device.

[0316] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application, schematically illustrating a situation using a terminal device and a network device as an example. As shown in FIG12 , a communication system 1200 may include a network device 1210 and terminal devices 1220 and 1230. For simplicity, FIG12 illustrates only two terminal devices and one network device as an example, but the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0317] In the embodiment of the present application, existing services or future services can be transmitted between the network device 1210 and the terminal devices 1220 and 1230. For example, these services may include but are not limited to: enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type communication (mMTC), and ultra-reliable and low-latency communication (URLLC), etc.

[0318] It is worth noting that FIG12 shows that both terminal devices 1220 and 1230 are within the coverage range of network device 1210, but the present application is not limited thereto. Both terminal devices 1220 and 1230 may not be within the coverage range of network device 1210, or one terminal device 1220 may be within the coverage range of network device 1210 while the other terminal device 1230 is outside the coverage range of network device 1210.

[0319] In some embodiments, a network device includes the apparatus 900 described in the embodiment of the third aspect, serving as a first network device CU, and is configured to perform the method described in the embodiment of the first aspect. Since the method has been described in detail in the embodiment of the first aspect, its content is incorporated herein and is not repeated.

[0320] In other embodiments, the network device includes the apparatus 1000 or 1100 described in the embodiment of the fourth aspect, and is configured as a third network device (i.e., a receiving network device) or a first network device CU to perform the method described in the embodiment of the second aspect. Since the method has been described in detail in the embodiment of the second aspect, its content is incorporated herein and is not repeated here.

[0321] An embodiment of the present application also provides a network device, which may be, for example, a base station, such as a gNB in ​​an intra-DU mobility scenario or an inter-DU mobility scenario, but the present application is not limited thereto and may also be other network devices.

[0322] Figure 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating the structure of a network device according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 13 , network device 1300 may include a processor 1310 and a memory 1320 ; the memory 1320 is coupled to the processor 1310 . The memory 1320 may store various data and information processing programs, which are executed under the control of the processor 1310 .

[0323] In some embodiments, the functions of the device 900 of the embodiment of the third aspect or the devices 1000, 1100 of the embodiment of the fourth aspect can be integrated into the processor 1310, wherein the processor 1310 can be configured to execute a program to implement the method described in the embodiment of the first aspect or the second aspect, the contents of which are incorporated herein and will not be repeated here.

[0324] In other embodiments, the apparatus 900 of the embodiment of the third aspect or the apparatus 1000, 1100 of the embodiment of the fourth aspect may be configured separately from the processor 1310. For example, the apparatus 900 of the embodiment of the third aspect or the apparatus 1000, 1100 of the embodiment of the fourth aspect may be configured as a chip connected to the processor 1310, and the functions of the apparatus 900 of the embodiment of the third aspect or the apparatus 1000, 1100 of the embodiment of the fourth aspect may be implemented through the control of the processor 1310.

[0325] Furthermore, as shown in FIG13 , network device 1300 may further include transceivers 1330 and 1340. The functions of these components are similar to those in the prior art and are not further described here. It is worth noting that network device 1300 does not necessarily include all of the components shown in FIG13 ; furthermore, network device 1300 may also include components not shown in FIG13 , for which reference may be made to the prior art.

[0326] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program, wherein when the program is executed in a network device, the program causes the network device to execute the method described in the embodiment of the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0327] An embodiment of the present application further provides a storage medium storing a computer program, wherein the computer program enables a network device to execute the method described in the embodiment of the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0328] The above devices and methods of the present application can be implemented by hardware or by a combination of hardware and software. The present application relates to such a computer-readable program that, when executed by a logic component, enables the logic component to implement the devices or components described above, or enables the logic component to implement the various methods or steps described above. The present application also relates to a storage medium for storing the above program, such as a hard disk, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a DVD, a flash memory, etc.

[0329] The method / device described in conjunction with the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as hardware, a software module executed by a processor, or a combination of the two. For example, one or more of the functional block diagrams shown in the figure and / or one or more combinations of functional block diagrams can correspond to various software modules of the computer program flow or to various hardware modules. These software modules can respectively correspond to the various steps shown in the figure. These hardware modules can be implemented by solidifying these software modules, for example, using a field programmable gate array (FPGA).

[0330] The software module may be located in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. A storage medium may be coupled to a processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium; or the storage medium may be an integral part of the processor. The processor and the storage medium may be located in an ASIC. The software module may be stored in the memory of the mobile terminal or in a memory card that can be inserted into the mobile terminal. For example, if the device (such as a mobile terminal) uses a large-capacity MEGA-SIM card or a large-capacity flash memory device, the software module may be stored in the MEGA-SIM card or the large-capacity flash memory device.

[0331] One or more of the functional blocks and / or one or more combinations of functional blocks described in the accompanying drawings may be implemented as a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component, or any appropriate combination thereof for performing the functions described in this application. One or more of the functional blocks and / or one or more combinations of functional blocks described in the accompanying drawings may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in communication with a DSP, or any other such configuration.

[0332] The present application has been described above in conjunction with specific embodiments. However, those skilled in the art should understand that these descriptions are merely illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present application. Those skilled in the art may make various modifications and variations to the present application based on the spirit and principles of the present application, and such modifications and variations are also within the scope of the present application.

[0333] Regarding the implementation methods including the above embodiments, the following additional notes are also disclosed:

[0334] 1. A method for mobility management, wherein the method comprises:

[0335] The third network device determines, according to the received first report, the cell information to which the first report needs to be forwarded;

[0336] The third network device sends the first report and the cell information to be forwarded to the first network device CU.

[0337] 2. The method according to Supplement 1, wherein:

[0338] The first report includes failure type information, and the third network device determines the cell information to which the first report needs to be forwarded according to the failure type information.

[0339] 3. The method according to Supplementary Note 2, wherein:

[0340] If the failure type indicated by the failure type information is handover failure (HOF), the third network device determines that the cell information to which the first report needs to be forwarded is the previous serving cell information;

[0341] If the failure type indicated by the failure type information is radio link failure (RLF), the third network device determines that the cell information for which the first report needs to be forwarded is failed cell information.

[0342] 4. A method for mobility management, wherein the method comprises:

[0343] The first network device CU receives the first report and the cell information to be forwarded corresponding to the first report;

[0344] The first network device CU sends the first report to the second network device DU to which the cell information to be forwarded belongs according to the cell information to be forwarded.

[0345] 5. The method according to Supplement 4, wherein:

[0346] The cell information to be forwarded is the previous serving cell information or the failed cell information;

[0347] If the cell information to be forwarded is the previous serving cell information, the first network device CU sends the first report to the second network device DU to which the previous serving cell belongs;

[0348] If the cell information to be forwarded is the failed cell information, the first network device CU sends the first report to the second network device DU to which the failed cell belongs.

[0349] 6. The method according to Supplementary Note 5, wherein the method further comprises:

[0350] The first network device CU receives a first message sent by a second network device to which the failed cell belongs, where the first message is used to indicate a reason for the LTM connection failure.

[0351] 7. The method according to Supplementary Note 6, wherein:

[0352] The first message includes at least one of the following:

[0353] Message type;

[0354] Interface identification information of the terminal device on the second network device DU side to which the failed cell belongs;

[0355] Interface identification information of the terminal device on the CU side of the first network device;

[0356] Alternatively, the first message includes at least one of the following:

[0357] Message type;

[0358] Business identification information.

[0359] 8. The method according to Note 6 or 7, wherein the first message further includes at least one of the following:

[0360] the first report;

[0361] First indication information used to indicate the reason for the LTM connection failure;

[0362] Previous service cell information;

[0363] Identification information of the DU to which the previous serving cell belongs (e.g., gNB-DU ID);

[0364] Name of the DU to which the previous serving cell belongs (e.g., gNB-DU name);

[0365] Identification information of the terminal device in the previous serving cell;

[0366] Mobility information of terminal devices;

[0367] Identification information of the mobility information of the terminal device.

[0368] 9. The method according to Supplementary Note 8, wherein:

[0369] The first indication information is used to indicate that the LTM connection failure is not caused by the second network device DU to which the failed cell belongs, or is used to indicate that the LTM connection failure is caused by other network device DU;

[0370] The identification information of the terminal device in the previous serving cell includes one of the following:

[0371] The temporary wireless network identifier of the terminal device in the previous serving cell;

[0372] Interface identification information of the terminal device on the second network device DU side to which the previous serving cell belongs;

[0373] The identification information of the terminal device can be uniquely identified on the previous serving cell or the second network device DU side to which the previous serving cell belongs.

[0374] 10. The method according to Supplementary Note 6, further comprising:

[0375] The first network device CU further sends the first report to the second network device DU to which the previous serving cell belongs.

Claims

1. An apparatus for mobility management, configured in a first network device CU, wherein, The device includes: A determination unit, which determines a second network device DU corresponding to the first report according to the obtained first report; A sending unit, which sends the first report to the second network device DU; Wherein, the second network device DU is a device under the first network device CU.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The first report includes failure type information, and the first network device CU determines the second network device DU corresponding to the first report according to the failure type information.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein, If the failure type indicated by the failure type information is handover failure (HOF), the determination unit determines that the second network device DU corresponding to the first report is the network device DU to which the previous serving cell belongs; If the failure type indicated by the failure type information is radio link failure (RLF), the determination unit determines that the second network device DU corresponding to the first report is the network device DU to which the failed cell belongs.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein, The device further includes: A receiving unit. If the second network device DU corresponding to the first report is the network device DU to which the failed cell belongs, the receiving unit receives a first message sent by the network device DU to which the failed cell belongs, and the first message is used to indicate the reason for the layer 1 / layer 2 triggered mobility (LTM) connection failure.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein, The first message includes at least one of the following: Message type; Interface identification information of the terminal device on the side of the network device DU to which the failed cell belongs; Interface identification information of the terminal device on the side of the first network device CU.

6. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein, The first message includes at least one of the following: Message type; Service identification information.

7. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein, The first message includes at least one of the following: The first report; First indication information for indicating the reason for the LTM connection failure; Previous serving cell information; Identification information of the DU to which the previous serving cell belongs; Name information of the DU to which the previous serving cell belongs; Identification information of the terminal device in the previous serving cell; Mobility information of the terminal device; Identification information of the mobility information of the terminal device.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein, The first indication information is used to indicate that the LTM connection failure is not caused by the network device DU to which the failed cell belongs, or is used to indicate that the LTM connection failure is caused by other network device DUs.

9. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein, The identification information of the terminal device in the previous serving cell includes one of the following: The cell radio network temporary identifier of the terminal device in the previous serving cell; Interface identification information of the terminal device on the side of the network device DU to which the previous serving cell belongs; Identification information that can uniquely identify the terminal device in the previous serving cell or on the side of the network device DU to which the previous serving cell belongs.

10. The device according to claim 4, wherein, The sending unit also sends the first report to the network device DU to which the previous serving cell belongs.

11. The device according to claim 2, wherein, The first report further includes first time information, and the first time information is used to indicate the connection time length between the terminal device and the failed cell; The determination unit determines the second network device DU corresponding to the first report according to the failure type information and the first time information.

12. The device according to claim 11, wherein, If the failure type indicated by the failure type information is HOF, the determining unit determines that the second network device DU corresponding to the first report is the network device DU to which the previous serving cell belongs; If the failure type indicated by the failure type information is RLF, If the first time information is greater than or equal to the third time threshold, the determining unit determines that the second network device DU corresponding to the first report is the network device DU to which the failed cell belongs; If the first time information is less than or equal to the fourth time threshold, the determining unit determines that the second network device DU corresponding to the first report is the network device DU to which the previous serving cell belongs.

13. A network device, comprising a memory and a processor, the memory storing a computer program, wherein, The processor is configured to execute the computer program to implement the method described below: Determine the second network device DU corresponding to the first report according to the obtained first report; Send the first report to the second network device DU; Wherein, the second network device DU is a device under the first network device CU.

14. A communication system, wherein, The communication system includes a terminal device and the network device according to claim 13.

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