Network energy-saving implementation using o1 interface

Abstract

An apparatus (203) is disclosed. The apparatus (203) is configured to receive, from a Management Service (MnS) consumer (210), one or more policies for an Open-Radio Access Network (ORAN)-Radio Unit (O-RU) (230). The apparatus (203) is configured to examine one or more conditions associated with the O-RU (230) based on the one or more policies. Upon successfully examining the one or more conditions, the apparatus (203) is configured to apply the one or more policies at the O-RU (230). The apparatus (203) is configured to receive, from the O-RU (230), one of an acknowledgement message and a non-acknowledgment message based on an execution of the applied one or more policies. The apparatus (203) is configured to transmit, to the MnS consumer (210), a policy utilization status based on the received one of the acknowledgement message and the non-acknowledgment message.

Description

NETWORK ENERGY-SAVING IMPLEMENTATION USING O1 INTERFACECROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION (S)This application claims priority to IN provisional application 202411000750, filed on January 4, 2024, and IN provisional application 202411004452, filed on January 23, 2024; the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to Network Energy Saving (NES) implementation using an 01 interface.BACKGROUND

[0002] The information disclosed in this background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the disclosure and should not be taken as an acknowledgment or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.

[0003] A Radio Access Network (RAN) is an important component in a telecommunications system and includes multiple network entities or network components that facilitate connections with end-user devices (user equipment). In recent years, Open RAN (O- RAN) architecture has been developed that disaggregates functions of the RAN through various logical nodes. FIG. 1 illustrates an 0-RAN architecture 100 as per conventional arts.

[0004] The O-RAN architecture 100 includes a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) framework that manages and orchestrates various services such as resource allocation, network optimization, etc. within the network. Further, the O-RAN architecture 100 includeslogical nodes such as an O-RAN Radio Unit (O-RU), an O-RAN Centralized Unit (O-CU), and an O-RAN Distributed Unit (O-DU). The O-CU may further be disaggregated into the O-CU Control Plane (O-CU-CP) and the O-CU User Plane (O-CU-UP).

[0005] The O-RAN architecture 100 may be associated with Radio Intelligent Controllers (RICs). The RICs may be divided into non-real-time and near-real-time components. The NonReal Time RIC (Non-RT-RIC) is an element of the SMO while the near-RT RIC may reside within a telco edge or a regional cloud, and generally enables network optimization actions that take between ten milliseconds to one second to complete.

[0006] The O-Cloud may be a collection of physical RAN nodes that host the RICs, O-CUs, and O-DUs, the supporting software components (e.g., the operating systems and runtime environments), and the SMO. Further, the various components of the O-RAN architecture may communicate over corresponding interfaces, such as an 01 interface, an 02 interface, an Al interface, an E2 interface, etc.

[0007] In the conventional architecture, data is exchanged (transmitted and received) among the various components in the O-RAN based on certain policies. However, there is a need to optimize the handling of Transmission (TRx) policies in view of Network Energy Saving (NES) implementations.SUMMARY

[0008] This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts, in a simplified format, that are further described in the detailed description of the disclosure. This summary is neither intended to identify key or essential inventive concepts of the present disclosure nor is it intended to determine the scope of the disclosure.

[0009] Disclosed herein are systems and methods for network energy saving (NES) implementation using an 01 interface.

[0010] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, an apparatus is disclosed. The apparatus is configured to receive one or more policies for an Open-Radio Access Network (ORAN)-Radio Unit (0-RU) from an MnS consumer. The apparatus is configured to examine one or more conditions associated with the 0-RU based on the one or more policies. Next, the apparatus is configured to apply the one or more policies at the 0-RU upon successfully examining the one or more conditions. The apparatus is also configured to receive one of an acknowledgement message and a non-acknowledgment message based on an execution of the applied one or more policies. The acknowledgement message or the non-acknowledgment message is received from the O-RU. The apparatus is further configured to transmit a policy utilization status based on the received one of the acknowledgement message and the non- acknowledgment message to the MnS consumer.

[0011] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the apparatus is disclosed. The apparatus is configured to receive transmission (TRx) control -related capability information corresponding to an Open-Radio Access Network (ORAN)-Radio Unit (O-RU) and the MnS producer. The apparatus is also configured to transmit, to the MnS producer, one or more policies for the 0-RU based on the received TRx control -related capability information corresponding to the 0-RU and the MnS producer. The apparatus is configured to receive, from the MnS producer, a policy utilization status indicating implementation of at least one of the one or more policies at the 0-RU.

[0012] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the method is disclosed. The method includes receiving transmission (TRx) control -related capability information corresponding to an Open-Radio Access Network (ORAN)-Radio Unit (0-RU) and the MnSproducer. The TRx control -related capability information is received by a Management Service (MnS) consumer from an MnS producer. The method also comprises transmitting one or more policies for the O-RU based on the received TRx control -related capability information corresponding to the O-RU and the MnS producer. The one or more policies are transmitted by the MnS consumer to the MnS producer. The method further includes receiving a policy utilization status indicating implementation of at least one of the one or more policies at the O- RU. The policy utilization status is received by the MnS consumer from the MnS producer.

[0013] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is disclosed. The non-transitory computer-readable medium stores instructions. The instructions comprise one or more instructions that are executed by a Management Service (MnS) consumer. The MnS consumer comprises one or more processors. The one or more instructions cause the one or more processors to receive, from an MnS producer, transmission (TRx) control -related capability information corresponding to an Open- Radio Access Network (ORAN)-Radio Unit (O-RU) and the MnS producer. The one or more instructions cause the one or more processors to transmit, to the MnS producer, one or more policies for the O-RU based on the received TRx control related capability information corresponding to the O-RU and the MnS producer. The one or more instructions cause the one or more processors to receive, from the MnS producer, a policy utilization status indicating implementation of at least one of the one or more policies at the O-RU.

[0014] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is disclosed. The non-transitory computer-readable medium stores instructions. The instructions comprise one or more instructions that are executed by a Management Service (MnS) producer. The MnS producer comprises one or more processors. The one or more instructions cause the one or more processors to receive, from an MnSconsumer, one or more policies for an Open-Radio Access Network (ORAN)-Radio Unit (O- RU). The one or more instructions cause the one or more processors to examine one or more conditions associated with the O-RU based on the received one or more policies. The one or more instructions cause the one or more processors to apply the one or more policies at the O- RU upon successfully examining the one or more conditions. The one or more instructions cause the one or more processors to receive, from the O-RU, one of an acknowledgement message and a non-acknowledgment message based on an execution of the applied one or more policies. The one or more instructions cause the one or more processors to transmit, to the MnS consumer, a policy utilization status based on the received one of the acknowledgement message and the non-acknowledgment message.

[0015] To further clarify the advantages and features of the present disclosure, a more particular description of the disclosure will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which is illustrated in the appended drawing. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting its scope. The disclosure will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with the accompanying drawings.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Features, aspects, and advantages of embodiments of the disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals denote like elements, and wherein:FIG. 1 illustrates an O-RAN architecture, in accordance with a related art;FIG.2 illustrates an example block diagram depicting a configuration of a network management system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;FIGS. 3A-3B illustrate a process flow among an MnS consumer, an MnS producer, and an O- RU, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;FIGS. 4A-4B illustrate a process flow among the MnS consumer, the MnS producer, and the O-RU, in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure;FIG. 5A illustrates an information model for policy handling using a file management process, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;FIG. 5B illustrates an information model for Network Netconf Yang-based policy handling, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;FIG. 6 illustrates a flow chart of an example method, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; andFIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of an example device, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] The following detailed description of example embodiments refers to the accompanying drawings. The present disclosure provides illustrations and descriptions, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the implementations to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the present disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the implementations. Further, one or more features or components of oneembodiment may be incorporated into or combined with another embodiment (or one or more features of another embodiment). Additionally, the flowchart and description of operations provided below relate to at least one of the embodiments in the present disclosure. It should be noted that it is possible to make other embodiments that do not exactly match the flowchart and its description. It is understood that in other embodiments one or more operations may be omitted, one or more operations may be added, one or more operations may be performed simultaneously (at least in part).

[0018] It will be apparent that systems and / or methods, described herein, may be implemented in different forms of hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. The actual specialized control hardware or software code used to implement these systems and / or methods should not limit their implementations. Thus, the operation and behavior of the systems and / or methods are described herein without reference to specific software code. It is understood that software and hardware may be designed to implement the systems and / or methods based on the description herein.

[0019] Even though particular combinations of features are recited in the claims and / or disclosed in the specification, the particular combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of implementations. In fact, many of these features may be combined in ways not specifically recited in the claims and / or disclosed in the specification. Even if a dependent claim directly depends on only one claim, the present disclosure may indicate that the dependent claim is dependent on other claims in the claim set.

[0020] No element, act, or instruction used herein should be construed as critical or essential unless explicitly described as such. Also, as used herein, the articles “a” and “an” (in other words, nouns not mentioned in the plural) are intended to include one or more items, and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Also, as used herein, the terms “has,” “have,”“having,” “include,” “including,” or the like are intended to be open-ended terms. Further, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean “based, at least in part, on” unless explicitly stated otherwise. Furthermore, expressions such as “at least one of [A] and [B],” “[A] and / or [B],” or “at least one of [A] or [B]” are to be understood as including only A, only B, or both A and B.

[0021] The terms “control -related capability information”, “control -related capabilities”, “transmission (TRx) control -related capability information”, “TRx control related capabilities”, and / or other similar variations may be used interchangeably throughout the description of the present disclosure.

[0022] FIG.2 illustrates an example block diagram depicting a configuration of a network management system 200 (hereinafter referred to as “the system 200”), in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0023] The system 200 may include a Management Service (MnS) consumer 210, an MnS producer 220, and an 0-RU 230. The MnS consumer 210 may be configured to communicate with the MnS producer 220, as depicted in FIG. 2. The MnS consumer 210 may be configured to provide one or more network energy policies and / or configurations to the MnS producer 220. The MnS consumer 210 and / or the MnS producer 220 may correspond to an 0-RAN Management Function (MnF). The configurations as disclosed in FIG. 2 may be understood as parts of the configuration of the MnS consumer 210 and the MnS producer 220. Hereinafter, it is understood that terms including “unit” or “module” at the end may refer to the unit for processing at least one function or operation and may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. In an embodiment, the MnS consumer 210 may correspond to a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO), and the MnS producer 220 may correspond to an Open Radio Access Network (ORAN)-Distributed Unit (0-DU). For instance, the SMO plays the role of provisioning the MnS consumer 210 and the 0-DU playsthe role of provisioning the MnS producer 220. The MnS consumer 210 and the MnS producer 220 may be configured to provide management services to the system 200 and / or the 0-RU 230. In one embodiment, the MnS producer 220 may offer capabilities for the management and orchestration of networks and services. The MnS consumer 210 may interact with the MnS producer 220 to utilize the capabilities offered by the MnS producer 220. Hereinafter, it is understood that terms including “unit” or “module” at the end may refer to the unit for processing at least one function or operation and may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0024] Referring to FIG. 2, the MnS consumer 210 may include an apparatus 201 comprising one or more processor(s) 202 (also, referred to as the processor 202), a storage unit (e.g., a memory 204), and a communication unit 206 (e.g., communicator or communication interface). The communication unit 206 may perform functions such as transmitting and receiving signals. The memory 204 may include executable instructions that, when executed by the processor 202, cause the apparatus 201 to perform the steps as described with reference to FIGS. 3A-3B, and 6.

[0025] As an example, the processor 202 may be a single processing unit or a number of units, all of which could include multiple computing units. The processor 202 may be implemented as one or more microprocessors, microcomputers, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, central processing units, state machines, logic circuitries, and / or any devices that manipulate signals based on operational instructions. Among other capabilities, the processor 202 is configured to fetch and execute computer-readable instructions and data stored in the memory 204. The processor 202 may include one or a plurality of processors. At this time, one or a plurality of processors 202 may be a general -purpose processor, such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU), an Application Processor (AP), or the like, and an Al-dedicatedprocessor such as a Neural Processing Unit (NPU). The processor 202 may control the processing of input data in accordance with a predefined operating rule or Artificial Intelligence (Al) model stored in the non-volatile memory and the volatile memory, i.e., the memory 204. The predefined operating rule or artificial intelligence model is provided through training or learning.

[0026] The memory 204 may include any non-transitory computer-readable medium known in the art including, for example, volatile memory, such as Static Random-Access Memory (SRAM) and Dynamic Random-Access Memory (DRAM), and / or non-volatile memory, such as Read-Only Memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM, flash memories, hard disks, optical disks, and magnetic tapes.

[0027] The communication unit 206 may include communication devices / components such as antennas, transmitters, receivers, communication interfaces, etc.

[0028] In some embodiments, the apparatus 201 may be implemented as dedicated hardware units. In some embodiments, the apparatus 201 may be implemented in the form of virtualized software units in hardware or cloud environments,

[0029] Further, the MnS producer 220 may also include an apparatus 203. The apparatus 203 may include one or more processor(s) 212 (also, referred to as the processor 212), a storage unit (e.g., a memory 214), and a communication unit 216 (e.g., communicator or communication interface). The functionalities and features of the processor 212, the communication unit 216, and the memory 214 may be similar to those of the processor 202, the communication unit 206, and the memory 204, respectively of the MnS consumer 210. Therefore, a detailed explanation of the same is omitted herein for the sake of brevity of the present disclosure.

[0030] Referring to FIGS. 3A-3B, a process flow among the MnS consumer 210, the MnS producer 220, and the O-RU 230 is illustrated. The MnS consumer 210 may correspond to the SMO, or a Non-Real Time RAN Intelligent Controller (non-RT-RIC). The MnS producer 220 may correspond to an O-DU, and therefore may be interchangeably referred to as the 0-DU 220. The MnS consumer 210, the MnS producer 220, and the O-RU 230, may be configured to implement Radio Frequency (RF) channel reconfiguration of Transmission (TRx) control and / or a sleep mode, in order to facilitate Network Energy Saving (NES). The process flow may be implemented based on the following pre-conditions:• A connection is successfully established between the MnS producer 220 of the O- DU and the MnS consumer 210 via an 01 interface.• A connection is successfully established between the O-DU 220 and the O-RU 230 via a Fronthaul M-Plane (FH-M-Plane).• In a hierarchical deployment, the O-DU 220 is aware of the TRx control related capabilities of the O-RU 230.• The MnS consumer 210 has subscribed to Configuration Management (CM) notifications.

[0031] The process flow in FIGS. 3A-3B depicts changes to TRx control based NES implementation using an 01 interface.

[0032] At step 302a, the MnS consumer 210 sends a request to the MnS producer 220 using the 01 interface to obtain capabilities associated with the O-DU 220. In an embodiment, the request may be an <rpc> <get> command received by the O-DU 220 from the MnS consumer 210 for the TRx control capabilities. The <rpc> <get> command solicits information on the capabilities of the O-DU 220.

[0033] The MnS consumer 210 may also be configured to retrieve the TRx control -related information associated with the O-RU 230 connected with the MnS producer 220. In a hierarchical architecture, the MnS consumer 210 may retrieve the capabilities information of the O-RU 230 via the 01 interface, as shown by step 302b. In such embodiments, the MnS producer 220 may send a request to the O-RU 230 to obtain information related to the TRX control -related capabilities of the O-RU 230. The request may be an <rpc> <get> command sent by the MnS producer 220 via the FH M-plane interface.

[0034] In a hybrid architecture, the MnS consumer 210 may directly retrieve the TRx control -related capabilities of the O-RU 230 via the FH-M-Plane, as shown by step 302c. In such embodiment, the MnS consumer 210 may send the request to the O-RU 230 to obtain information related to the TRX control -related capabilities of the O-RU 230.

[0035] In one embodiment, the O-RU 230 may send a reply to the MnS consumer 210 and / or the MnS producer 220 indicating the capability parameters of the O-RU 230. The capability parameters may refer to the TRx control related capabilities or TRx control related Network Configuration (Netconf) capabilities. The reply may be a <rpc-reply> message with the capability parameters. The <rpc-reply> message may be sent via the FH M-plane interface.

[0036] In the hierarchical architecture, upon receiving the <rpc-reply> from the O-RU 230, the MnS producer 220 may advertise the capabilities of the O-RU 230, and / or the capabilities of the MnS producer 220, to the MnS consumer 210. In an embodiment, the MnS producer 220 may send a <rpc-reply> message to the MnS consumer 210 over the 01 interface. The <rpc- reply> message may indicate the TRx control -related capabilities of both the MnS producer 220 and the O-RU 230.

[0037] In some embodiments, the MnS consumer 210 may be subscribed for notifications from the MnS producer 220 and / or the O-RU 230 to receive the TRx control -relatedcapabilities from the MnS producer 220 and / or the O-RU 230. In some embodiments, the MnS producer 220 may be subscribed for notifications from the O-RU 230 to receive the TRx control -related capabilities from the O-RU 230.

[0038] Next, a TRx control -based energy-saving process may be implemented. In particular, at step 304, the MnS consumer 210 may provide one or more policies / configuration information to the MnS producer 220 to implement the TRx control-based energy-saving process. In one embodiment, the MnS consumer 210 may transmit specific configuration policy details or triggers to the MnS producer 220 to perform energy saving at the O-RU 230. In one embodiment, the MnS producer 220 may receive policy list(s) through one or more of a file management system or a Netconf yang model via the 01 interface. The file management system may include a process as described in Clause 10.6 and Clause 6.5.3 of O- RAN.WG10.0AM-Architecture-R003-vl 1.0. In one embodiment, the policy / configuration detail may include certain conditions related to the antenna mask and / or sleep mode. In one embodiment, the MnS consumer 210 may provide the policy / configuration information using an <rpc> <edit-config> <Policy details> command over the 01 interface. In one embodiment, the policy / configuration received from the MnS consumer 210 may correspond to one or more energy-saving features and / or methods, such as, but not limited to, antenna masking, sleep modes, and so forth.

[0039] In one embodiment, in response to the received policy / configuration information, the MnS producer 220 may perform the policy processing. Specifically, at step 306, the MnS producer 220 may examine one or more conditions associated with the received policy / configuration information. In one embodiment, the MnS producer 220 may examine the one or more conditions to perform the TRx control. At step 308.1, the MnS producer 220 may be configured to monitor / collect relevant data based on one or more conditions / thresholdsprovided in the received policy / configuration. In particular, the MnS producer 220 may determine whether the conditions / thresholds provided in the received policy / configuration are satisfied. In one embodiment, the conditions / thresholds may be based on Physical Resource Block (PRB) usage or traffic KPI threshold etc. The conditions / threshold may be monitored by the SMO by consuming the PM counters from the 0-DU and the O-CU, also the 0-RU. The SMO analyses the PM counters, notifications, and alarms and produce policies and / or trigger or provide configuration details to the 0-DU for the TRx Control and Advanced Sleep Mode use cases.

[0040] At step 308.2, the MnS producer 220 may send a specific antenna mask and / or the sleep mode to be activated through a Control-Plane (C-Plane) message, to the 0-RU 230. For example, the MnS producer 220 may communicate appropriate antenna mask values and / or the sleep mode to the 0-RU using the FH-C-Plane. In an embodiment, the specific antenna mask and / or the sleep mode may be based on the policy / configuration received from the MnS consumer 210 via the 01 interface. In one embodiment, the MnS producer 220 may transmit one or more NES commands to the 0-RU 230 based on the received policy / configuration information. The one or more NES commands may be transmitted to active one or more energy saving features such as, but not limited to, TRx control, an advanced sleep mode, a deep hibernate mode, and so forth.

[0041] Upon receiving the C-plane message from the MnS producer 220, the O-RU 230 may subsequently process the C-Plane message and activate the corresponding specific antenna mask and / or the sleep mode, as shown by step 308.3. Further, at step 310, the MnS producer 220 may receive an Acknowledgement (ACK) or a non-ACK (NACK) message from the O- RU 230. The ACK or the non-ACK message may be based on an execution of the applied oneor more policies. In an embodiment, the O-RU 230 may send the ACK / NACK message to the MnS producer / O-DU 220 via the FH-C Plane.

[0042] At step 312, the MnS producer 220 may notify a policy utilization status to the MnS consumer 210 based on the received ACK or NACK message from the O-RU 230.

[0043] At step 314, the MnS consumer 210 may analyze the received policy utilization status.

[0044] Alternatively, at step 316, the MnS producer 220 may perform regular Performance Monitoring (PM) reporting. In one embodiment, the MnS producer 220 may generate a PM counter report. The MnS producer 220 may transmit the generated PM counter report to the MnS consumer 210 via the 01 interface. The PM counter report may be based on the ACK or NACK messages from the O-RU 230. At step 318, the MnS consumer 210 may analyze the PM data (i.e., the PM counter report) as received from the MnS producer 220.

[0045] In one embodiment, at step 320, the MnS consumer 210 may remove one or more policies / configurations by transmitting a policy removal message to the MnS producer 220. The MnS consumer 210 may remove the one or more policies based on the analyzed policy utilization status and / or the PM data. In another embodiment, the MnS consumer 210 may update the one or more policies / configurations based on the analyzed policy utilization status and / or the PM data. The MnS consumer 210 may update the one or more policies / configurations by transmitting a policy update message to the MnS producer 220. In response to the transmitted policy removal message and / or the policy update message, the MnS consumer 210 may receive a notification related to policy removal and / or update status, at step 322.

[0046] FIGS. 4A-4B illustrate a process flow 400 among the MnS consumer 210, the MnS producer 220, and the O-RU 230, in accordance with another embodiment of the presentdisclosure. The MnS consumer 210 may correspond to the SMO, or a Non-Real Time RAN Intelligent Controller (non-RT-RIC). The MnS producer 220 may correspond to an 0-DU, and therefore may be interchangeably referred to as the 0-DU 220. In FIGS. 4A-4B, the MnS consumer 210, the MnS producer 220, and the 0-RU 230, may be configured to implement Radio Frequency (RF) channel reconfiguration of an advanced sleep mode, in order to facilitate Network Energy Saving (NES).

[0047] The steps 402.a-408.1 are similar to 302.a-308.1, as explained in reference to FIG. 3 A, , however instead of the TRx control -related capabilities, the MnS consumer 210 may receive advanced sleep mode-related capabilities at steps 402a-402c. The MnS consumer 210 may retrieve such advanced sleep mode related capabilities based on similar steps as performed to retrieve the TRx control -related capabilities. Therefore, a detailed description of such steps is omitted for the sake of brevity.

[0048] Upon retrieving the advanced sleep mode-related capabilities of the 0-RU 230, the advanced sleep mode based energy saving process is implemented. In particular, at step 404, the MnS consumer 210 may provide one or more policies / configuration information to the MnS producer 220 to implement the advanced sleep mode-based energy-saving process. In one embodiment, the MnS consumer 210 may transmit specific configuration policy details or triggers to the MnS producer 220 to perform energy saving at the 0-RU 230. In one embodiment, the MnS producer 220 may receive policy list(s) through one or more of a file management system or a Netconf yang model via the 01 interface, as discussed above. Next, the 0-DU 220 may provide / apply and / or enforce the policies related to the advanced sleep mode at the 0-RU 230. Specifically, at step 406, the MnS producer 220 may examine the one or more conditions related to the advanced sleep mode. At step 408.1, the MnS producer 220 may monitor / collect relevant data. Next at step 408.2, the MnS producer 220 may activate ordeactivate the appropriate advanced sleep mode in the O-RU 230 using the FH-C plane or M- Plane via the C-Plane or M-Plane messages, respectively. Specifically, at step 408.3, the O-RU 230 may activate / deactivate the specific deep sleep mode based on received command / instruction and / or trigger from the MnS producer 220. In an alternative embodiment, the MnS producer 220 may utilize M-Plane to deactivate the advanced sleep mode if deactivation via the C-Plane is not available. Thereafter, the O-RU 230 may process the C- Plane or M-Plane message and activates / deactivates the corresponding advanced sleep mode.

[0049] The steps 410-422 are similar to the steps 310-322 as explained in FIGS. 3A-3B, therefore a detailed description of the steps 410-422 are omitted for the sake of brevity.

[0050] FIG. 5A depicts the O-DU information model for policy handling using a file management process for TRx control (NESPolicy) containment and Advanced Sleep Mode (NESPolicy) containment. If any of the policy parameter(s) need to be changed, the O-DU 220 may download either the entire list of policies or the specific policy file, once the MnS consumer 210 indicates the file's availability. In some embodiments, this may be a fully vendor specific implementation. In some embodiments, the MnS consumer 210 pushes the read only policy file to the O-DU 220 and the manner of the MnS consumer 210 preparing the policy and the O-DU 220 reading and implementing the policy is up to proprietary implementation, in that, there is no standardized process. Since some of the policy parameters may be reused from the FH specification, standardizing the policy framework is beneficial to ensure consistency and interoperability.

[0051] FIG. 5B depicts an O-DU information model for Netconf Yang based policy handling that is common for both TRx control (NESPolicy) containment and Advanced Sleep Mode (NESPolicy) containment. Part (a) of FIG. 5B relates to network energy saving(NESPolicy) containment while part (b) of FIG. 5B relates to network energy saving (NESPolicy) inheritance.

[0052] As described above, the MnS consumer 210 (SMO / non-RT RIC) pushes the policy or configuration details to the O-DU 220 and / or sends a trigger / request to the O-DU 220 to activate or deactivate the TRx control in the 0-RU 230. In an embodiment, a Network Configuration Protocol (NETCONF) schema to push policy to the O-DU 220 is mentioned below:<rpc xmlns="um:ietf:params:xml:ns:netconf:base: 1.0" message-id- ' 1 "><copy-config><target><running / >< / target><source><url>https: / 7user@example.com:smo / cfg / NESPolicy.txt< / url><url>https: / / user@example.com:smo / cfg / o-du-nes.yang< / url>< / source><destination><gNB Id>3 < / gNB Id><cellLocalId> 1 < / cellLocalId>< / destination>< / copy-config>< / rpc><rpc-reply xmlns="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:netconf:base: 1.0" message-id- ' 1"><ok / >< / rpc-reply>

[0053] In an embodiment, the trxCtrlPolicyList may be sent by the MnS consumer 210 (SMO / non-RT RIC) for a given cell within the network since each cell can have the respective policy or list of policies (in view of various granularities in FH implementation (per array for TRx Control and per carrier / array / O-RU for ASM)).

[0054] In an embodiment, a policy configuration example is mentioned below:<rpc xmlns="um:ietf:params:xml:ns:netconf:base: 1.0" message-id- ' 1 "><edit-config><target><running / >< / target><gNB Id>3 < / gNB Id><cellLocal!d> 1 < / cellLocal!d><NESPolicy><policyld>l< / policyld><policyType> TRxControl or AdvancedSleepMode < / policyType><index>mask-name< / index><enable>antennaMask< / enable><sleepMode> SM#0 < / sleepMode><dataDir>DL or UL< / dataDir><num SI ots> 155 < / num SI ots><symbolMask>symbol_bitmask< / symbolMask><perfObjective><enable>fiveQitarget< / enable>< / perfObj ective><targetEc>x kWh< / targetEc><enable>target_avg_value< / enable>< / NESPolicy>< / edit-config>< / rpc><rpc-reply xmlns="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:netconf:base: 1.0" message-id- ' 1"><ok / >< / rpc-reply>

[0055] Policy (configuration) parameter details are provided in Table 1, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.Table 1

[0056] In an embodiment, a schema for deleting or modifying the TRx control policy list with ID “0” from the running configuration is mentioned below:<rpc xmlns="um:ietf:params:xml:ns:netconf:base: 1.0" message-id- ' 101 "><edit-config><target><running / >< / target><gNB Id>3 < / gNB Id><cellLocal!d> 1 < / cellLocal!d><default-op erati on>none< / default-op erati on><config xmlns:xc="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:netconf:base: 1.0"><top xmlns="http: / / example.com / schema / l ,2 / config"><NESPolicy xc:operation="delete" or “replace / merge”> / / ’’delete” for deleting and “replace / merge” to update / modify the policy list.<ID>0< / ID>< / NESPolicy>< / top>< / config>< / edit-config>< / rpc><rpc-reply xmlns="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:netconf:base: 1.0" message-id- ' 101 "><ok / >< / rpc-reply>

[0057] In an embodiment, a schema for deleting or modifying a specific TRx control policy of a particular TRx control policy list with ID “0” from the running configuration is mentioned below:<rpc xmlns="um:ietf:params:xml:ns:netconf:base:1.0" message-id- ' 101 "><edit-config><target><running / >< / target><gNB Id>3 < / gNB Id><cellLocalId> 1 < / cellLocalId><default-operation>none< / default-operation><config xmlns:xc="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:netconf:base:1.0"><top xmlns="http: / / example.com / schema / l ,2 / config"><NESPolicy><policyld xc:operation="delete" or “replace / merge”> identity in string / / ’’delete” for deleting and “replace / merge” to update / modify the specific TRx Control Policy of a particular TRx Control policy list.< / policyId>< / NESPolicy>< / top>< / config>< / edit-config>< / rpc><rpc-reply xmlns="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:netconf:base:1.0" message-id- ' 101<ok / >< / rpc-reply>

[0058] In an embodiment, a schema for deleting or modifying one or more parameters of aTRx policy of a particular TRx control policy list with ID “1111” from the running configuration is mentioned below:<rpc xmlns="um:ietf:params:xml:ns:netconf:base: 1.0" message-id- ' 101 "><edit-config><target><running / >< / target><gNB Id>3 < / gNB Id><cellLocalId> 1 < / cellLocalId><default-operation>none< / default-operation><config xmlns:xc="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:netconf:base: 1.0"><top xmlns="http: / / example.com / schema / l ,2 / config"><NESPolicy xc:operation= “delete” or "replace / merge"> / / ’’delete” for deleting the parameter and “replace / merge” to update / modify the one or more parameters of the policy.<policyld>l 11 l< / policyld><policyType>trxCtrlPolicy_l< / policyType><targetEOY KWh< / targetEC> / / Replace X KWh to Y KWh< / NESPolicy>< / top>< / config>< / edit-config>< / rpc><rpc-reply xmlns="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:netconf:base: 1.0" message-id- ' 101<ok / >< / rpc-reply>

[0059] In one or more embodiments, the present disclosure discloses O-DU data models and associated Netconf Yang implementations related to network energy saving. A tree view of O-DU data models that is specific to network energy saving implementation is provided below:C.3.3 o-ran-o-du-nes.yang module: o-ran-o-du-nes augment / me3 gpp : ManagedEl ement / gnb du3 gpp : GNBDUF uncti on :+— rw EnergySavings+— rw NESPolicy* [policyld]+— rw policyld string+— rw policyType string+— rw index? uint8+— rw antennaMask? binary+— rw sleepMode? string+— rw dataDir? uint8+— rw numSlots? uint64+— rw symbolMask? uint8+— rw perfObjective* [perfObjld]| +— rw perfObjld string| +— rw fiveQiTarget? string+— rw targetEc? string

[0060] In one or more embodiments, a complete GNBDU function data model tree view is provided below: module: _3gpp-nr-nrm-gnbdufunction augment / me3gpp:ManagedElement:+-rw GNBDUFunction* [id]+-rw id string+-rw attributes| +-rw userLabel? string| +-rw vnfParametersList!| | +-rw vnflnstanceld string| | +-rw vnfdld? string| | +-rw flavourld? string| | +-rw autoScalable boolean| +-rw peeParametersList!| | +-rw siteidentification string| | +-rw siteLatitude? decimal64| | +-rw siteLongitude? decimal64| | +-rw siteDescription string| | +-rw equipmentType string| | +-rw environmentType string| | +-rw powerinterface string| +-rw priority Label uint32| +-ro measurementsList* [idx]| | +-ro idx uint32| | +-ro measurementTypes* string| | +-ro gPs* uint32| +-rw resourceType string| +-rw rRMPolicyMemberList* [idx]| | +-rw idx uint32| | +-rw mcc Mcc| | +-rw mnc Mnc| | +-rw sNSSAI? types3gpp:SNssai| +-ro gNBId int64| +-rw gNBIdLength int32| +-rw gNBDUId int64| +-rw gNBDUName? string| +-rw id string| +-rw attributes| +-rw userLabel? string| +-ro nFServiceType string| +-rw sAP* [host port]| | +-rw host inethost| | +-rw port inetport-number| +-rw operations* [name]| | +-rw name string| | +-rw allowedNFTypes* string| | +-ro operationsemantics enumeration| +-rw administrativeState types3gpp:AdministrativeState| +-ro operationalState types3gpp:OperationalState| +-ro usageState types3gpp:usageState| +-ro registrationstate? enumeration+-rw nes:EnergySavings+-rw nes:NESPolicy* [policyld]+-rw nes:policyld string+-rw nes:policyType string+-rw nes:index? uint8+-rw nes:antennaMask? binary+-rw nes:sleepMode? string+-rw nes:dataDir? uint8+-rw nesmumSlots? uint64+-rw nes:symbolMask? uint8+-rw nes:perfObjective* [perfObjld]| +-rw nes:perfObjld string| +-rw nes:fiveQiTarget? string+— rw nes:targetEc? string

[0061] In an embodiment, a Netconf Yang data model of 0-DU that is specific to network energy saving implementation is provided below: module o-ran-o-du-nes { yang-version 1.1; namespace"um:o-ran:o-ran-o-du-nes"; prefix "nes";import _3gpp-common-managed-element { prefix me3gpp; } import _3gpp-common-top { prefix top3gpp; } import _3gpp-nr-nrm-gnbdufunction { prefix gnbdu3gpp; } import ietf-inet-types { prefix "inet"; } organization "O-RAN Alliance"; contact "www.o-ran.org"; description"This module defines the augmentation of the SA5 yang data model of GNBDU Function with NES parameters revision "2023-11-29" { description"version 1.0.0 - initial version"; reference " O-RAN. WG5.0-DU-01.0-v 10.00 " ;} grouping ESPolicy { description" Grouping for Network energy saving related policy related parameters"; list NESPolicy { key policyld; description"This refers to a policy, or a set of policies, or a list of configurations for 0-DU. These enable or disable energy-saving use cases such as TRx Control (RF Channel Reconfiguration) and Advanced Sleep Mode in 0-RU.";leaf policyld { type string; mandatory true; description"Represents the policy identifier for TRx Control and / or Advanced Sleep Mode related policies or configuration(s) to enable O-DU to perform the activation of the specific TRx Control configuration and the specific sleep mode (supported antenna mask values and sleep modes advertised by O-RU as outlined in clauses 20.3 and 20.4 of 0-RAN-WG4-MP- V13.00) in O-RU.";} leaf policyType { type string; mandatory true; description"Represents a TRx Control or Advanced Sleep Mode use case for which policies or configuration(s) are provided to O-DU by MnS Consumer (for e.g., SMO)";} leaf index { type uint8; description"Index corresponds to the mask-name in the list supported-trx-control -masks provided by O-RU in o-ran-module-cap.yang module and can be referenced in Clause 20.3.1.2 of O- RAN-WG4-MP-V13.00" ;} leaf antennaMask { type binary; description"antennaMask” corresponds to the antenna-mask in the list supported-trx-control-masks provided by the O-RU in o-ran-module-cap.yang module and can be referenced in Clause20.3.1.2 of 0-RAN-WG4-MP-V13.00 and also corresponds to the antMask in the ST4 message (Table 7.4.6-7) and can be referenced in Clause 7.4.6 of 0-RAN-WG4-CUS- V13.00";} leaf sleepMode { type string; description"sleepMode corresponds to the sleep-mode-type i.e., list of the supported sleep modes provided by the 0-RU in o-ran-module-cap.yang module and can be referenced in Clause 20.4.1 of 0-RAN-WG4-MP-V13.00 and also corresponds to the sleepMode in the ST4 message (Tables 7.4.6-7 and 7.4.6-8) and can be referenced in Clause 7.4.6 of 0-RAN-WG4- CUS-V13.00";} leaf dataDir { type uint8; description"dataDir is a 1 bit value that represents either Uplink (UL) or Downlink (DL) and corresponds to the dataDirection in the ST4 message common header (Table 7.4.6-1) and can be referenced in Clause 7.4.6 of 0-RAN-WG4-CUS-V13.00";} leaf numSlots { type uint64; description"numSlots represents the time duration for which a specific TRx Control configuration and / or sleep mode to be activated. The actual no of slots is combined value of numSlots in Table 7.4.6-2 and numSlotsExt in Table 7.4.6-7 of Clause 7.4.6 of O-RAN-WG4-CUS- V13.00";}leaf symbolMask { type uint8; description "symbolMask is a 14 bit mask that represents the symbol pattern for which a sleep mode #0 (SM#0) can be activated. symbolMask corresponds to the symbolMask in the ST4 message (Tables 7.4.6-7 and 7.4.6-8) and can be referenced in Clause 7.4.6 of 0-RAN- WG4-CUS-V13.00";} list perfObjective { key perfObjld; description"This list outlines the performance parameters that need to be met for the specific Network Energy Saving use case to be enabled."; leaf perfObjld { type string; mandatory true; description"Unique identifier of the Performance objective parameter.";} leaf fiveQiTarget { type string; description"This can be list of parameters to be used by 0-DU while implementing the energy saving in 0-RU, these parameters are defined in Clause 5.7.4 of 3GPP TS 23.501.";}} leaf targetEc { type string;description"Target average value of energy consumption, PEE.Energy (3GPP TS 28.552, clause 5.1.1.19.3), ofPNF (such as O-RU) in kWh.";}}} augment " / me3gpp:ManagedElement / gnbdu3gpp:GNBDUFunction" { description "Augmentation containing possible configuration for O-DU to host the NESPolicy"; container EnergySavings{ uses ESPolicy;}}}

[0062] Details regarding the attributes are mentioned in Table 2 below:Table 2

[0063] Details regarding the attribute properties are mentioned in Table 3 below:Table 3

[0064] In some embodiments, the isNullable value for attribute ‘antennaMask’ being ‘True’ allows the SMO (the MnS producer 210) to indicate the O-DU 220 to use any mask as the O- RU 230 can support any antenna mask.

[0065] Details regarding the attribute constraints are mentioned in Table 4 below:Table 4

[0066] FIG. 6 illustrates a flow chart of an example method 600, in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure. The method 600 may be performed by the MnS consumer 210 and / or associated apparatus 201.

[0067] At step 602, the MnS consumer 210 may receive the TRx control related capability information corresponding to the O-RU 230 and the MnS producer 220, from the MnS producer 220. In one embodiment, the MnS producer 220 may receive the TRx control related capability information from the O-RU 230. The MnS producer 220 may receive TRx control related capability information from the O-RU 230 via the M-Plane. The MnS producer 220 may then transmit the received TRx control related capability information from the O-RU 230 to the MnS consumer 210 via the 01 interface.

[0068] At step 604, the MnS consumer 210 may transmit the one or more policies and / or configurations for the O-RU 230 based on the received TRx control related capability information corresponding to the O-RU 230 and the MnS producer 220. The one or more policies and / or the configuration may be transmitted by the MnS consumer 210 to the MnS producer 220. In some non-limiting embodiments, the MnS consumer 210 may transmit the one or more policies and / or configuration via one or more of the Network Configuration Protocol (NETCONF), the file management system, or the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) command. The one or more policies and / or configurations may correspond to one or more Network Energy Saving (NES) policies to be implemented at the O-RU 230.

[0069] At step 606, the MnS consumer 210 may receive the policy utilization status indicating implementation of at least one of the one or more policies and / or the configurations at the O-RU 230. The MnS consumer 210 may receive the policy utilization status from the MnS producer 220. In one embodiment, upon receiving the policy utilization status, the MnS consumer 210 may determine whether there is a need to remove or update at least one of the one or more policies based on the received policy utilization status. In one embodiment, the MnS consumer 210 may receive one of a notification or a Performance Monitoring (PM) counters report including the policy utilization status of the at least one of the one or more policies at the O-RU 230. The MnS consumer 210 may receive the one of the notification or the PM counters report from the MnS producer 220. In one embodiment, the MnS producer 220 may examine the one or more conditions associated with the O-RU 230 based on the one or more policies and / or configurations. Upon successfully examining the one or more conditions, the MnS producer 220 may apply and / or enforce the one or more policies at the O- RU 230. The one or more policies are applied by activating the one or more TRX control configurations and the advanced sleep mode configurations in the O-RU 230. In oneembodiment, the MnS producer 220 may apply the policy by activating the one or more TRx control configuration and the advanced sleep Mode in the O-RU 230. The one or more policies may be one of the input from the MnS consumer 210, further the MnS consumer 210 may also provide the configuration details or configure the MnS producer 220 to activate the specific TRx Control configuration and / or the advanced sleep mode. The MnS producer 220 may receive one of an acknowledgement message and a non-acknowledgment message based on an execution of the applied one or more policies at the O-RU 230, from the O-RU 230. Based on the received acknowledgment or the non-acknowledgment message, the MnS producer 220 may transmit the policy utilization status to the MnS consumer 210.

[0070] Further, upon determining that there is a need to remove or update the at least one of the one or more policies, the MnS consumer 210 may transmit a policy removal or updating command for the determined at least one policy. In an embodiment, the MnS consumer 210 may transmit the policy removal or updating command to the MnS producer 220.

[0071] FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of a device / apparatus 700. As shown in FIG. 7, the device 700 includes a processor 710, a memory 720, a storage component 730, an input component 740, an output component 750, a communication interface 760, and a bus 770. The device 700 may be associated with the MnS consumer 210, the MnS producer 220, or the O- RU 230. In one embodiment, the device 700 may correspond to the apparatus 201 and / or the apparatus 203.

[0072] The processor 710, as used herein, means any type of computational circuit that may comprise hardware elements and software elements. The processor 710 may be embodied as a multi-core processor, a single core processor, or a combination of one or more multi-core processors and / or one or more single core processors, a distributed processing system, or the like. The processor 710 may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit(GPU), an accelerated processing unit (APU), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or another type of processing component.

[0073] The memory 720 includes a non-transitory computer readable medium. The memory 720 includes a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), and / or another type of dynamic or static storage device (e.g., a flash memory, a magnetic memory, and / or an optical memory) that stores information and / or instructions for use by the processor 710. The memory 720 comprises machine-readable instructions which are executable by the processor 710. These machine-readable instructions when executed by the processor 710 cause the processor 710 to perform one or more method steps of an embodiment described above.

[0074] The storage component 730 stores information and / or software related to the operation and use of the device 700. For example, the storage component 730 may include a hard disk (e.g., a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optic disk, and / or a solid-state disk), a compact disc (CD), a digital versatile disc (DVD), a floppy disk, a cartridge, a magnetic tape, and / or another type of non-transitory computer-readable medium, along with a corresponding drive.

[0075] The input component 740 is configured to receive information, such as user input. For example, the input component 740 may include, but not be limited to, a touch screen display, a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a button, a switch, and / or a microphone. Additionally, or alternatively, the input component 740 may include a sensor for sensing information (e.g., a global positioning system (GPS), an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and / or an actuator).

[0076] The output component 750 is configured to provide output information from the device 700. For example, the output component 750 may be, but not limited to, a display, a speaker, an instruction device to an external device, and / or one or more light-emitting diodes(LEDs).

[0077] The communication interface 760 is an interface that provides a communication connection to other devices, such as external devices and internal devices. The connection by the communication interface 760 can be a wired connection, a wireless connection, or a combination of wired and wireless connections, and can be a direct connection or an indirect connection via a communication network that exists between the device 700 and other devices. In other words, the standard of the communication interface 760 is not limited.

[0078] The bus 770 acts as an interconnect between the processor 710, the memory 720, the storage component 730, the input component 740, the output component 750, and the communication interface 760 of the device 700. The bus 770 may include a wired interconnection or a wireless interconnection.

[0079] The number and arrangement of components shown in FIG. 7 are provided as an example. In practice, the device 700 may include additional components, fewer components, different components, or differently arranged components than those shown in FIG. 7. Additionally, or alternatively, a set of components (e.g., one or more components) of the device 700 may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another set of components of the device 700. Further, one or more method steps described in any of the embodiments may be performed utilizing a plurality of devices 700 in communication with one another.

[0080] The present disclosure describes systems and methods for network energy saving implementation using 01 interface. The present disclosure further discloses O-DU information models and O-DU data models related to network energy saving implementations using 01 interface. Further, the disclosed systems and methods enable changes to the TRx Control and / or Advances Sleep Mode based network energy saving implementation with the help of 01interface and other associated interfaces such as Fronthaul interface between the O-DU and theO-RU.[1] An apparatus configured to: receive, from a Management Service (MnS) consumer, one or more policies for an Open-Radio Access Network (ORAN)-Radio Unit (O-RU); examine one or more conditions associated with the O-RU based on the one or more policies; upon successfully examining the one or more conditions, apply the one or more policies at the O-RU; receive, from the O-RU, one of an acknowledgement message and a nonacknowledgment message based on an execution of the applied one or more policies; and transmit, to the MnS consumer, a policy utilization status based on the received one of the acknowledgement message and the non-acknowledgment message.[2] The apparatus as described in [1], wherein the one or more policies indicate at least one of antenna mask value or a sleep mode to be implemented at the O-RU, and to apply the one or more policies the apparatus is configured to: transmit, to the O-RU, the at least one of the antenna mask value or the sleep mode based on the one or more policies.[3] The apparatus as described in any of [l]-[2], wherein to apply the one or more policies at the O-RU, the apparatus is configured to: transmit, to the O-RU, one or more Network Energy Saving (NES) commands based on the received one or more policies.[4] The apparatus as described in any of [l]-[3], wherein prior to receiving the one or more policies for O-RU, the apparatus is configured to: transmit, to the MnS consumer, transmission (TRx) control related capability information corresponding to the MnS producer and the O-RU.[5] The apparatus as described in any of [l]-[4], wherein the apparatus is implemented at an MnS producer.[6] An apparatus configured to: receive, from at least one of an MnS producer or an O-RU, TRx control related capability information corresponding to the MnS producer and the O-RU; transmit, to the MnS producer, one or more policies for the O-RU based on the received TRx control related capability information corresponding to the O-RU and the MnS producer; and receive, from the MnS producer, a policy utilization status indicating implementation of at least one of the one or more policies at the O-RU.[7] The apparatus as described in [6], wherein upon receiving the policy utilization status, the apparatus is configured to: determine whether there is a need to remove or update at least one of the one or more policies based on the received policy utilization status; and upon determining the need to remove or update the at least one of the one or more policies, remove or update the determined at least one policy.[8] The apparatus as described in any of [6]-[7], wherein to receive the policy utilization status, the apparatus is configured to receive, from the MnS producer, one of a notification or a Performance Monitoring (PM) counters report including the policy utilization status of the at least one of the one or more policies.[9] The apparatus as described in any of [6]-[8], wherein to transmit the one or more policies, the apparatus is configured to: transmit, to the MnS producer, the one or more policies via at least one of a Network Configuration Protocol (NETCONF), a file management system, or a Remote Procedure Call (RPC) command.

[0010] The apparatus as described in any of [6]-[9], wherein to receive the policy utilization status, the apparatus is configured to: receive, from the MnS producer, one of a notification or a Performance Monitoring (PM) counters report including the policy utilization status of the at least one of the one or more policies at the O-RU.

[0011] The apparatus as described in any of [6]-

[0010] , wherein the apparatus is configured to one of: receive the TRx control related capability information corresponding to the O-RU from the MnS producer via an 01 interface; or receive the TRx control related capability information corresponding to the O-RU from the O-RU via a Management-Plane (M-Plane).

[0012] The apparatus as described in any of [6]-[l 1], wherein the apparatus is implemented at a Management Service (MnS) consumer.

[0013] The apparatus as described in any of [6]-

[0012] , wherein the apparatus corresponds to one of a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) or a near-real-time Radio Access Network (RAN) Intelligent Controller (near RT RIC) based on a communication interface.

[0014] A method comprising: receiving, by an MnS consumer from at least one of an MnS producer or an O-RU, TRx control related capability information corresponding to the O-RU and the MnS producer;transmitting, by the MnS consumer to the MnS producer, one or more policies for theO-RU based on the received TRx control related capability information corresponding to theO-RU and the MnS producer; and receiving, by the MnS consumer from the MnS producer, a policy utilization status indicating implementation of at least one of the one or more policies at the O-RU.

[0015] The method as described in

[0014] , wherein upon receiving the policy utilization status, the method further comprises: determining, by the MnS consumer, whether there is a need to remove or update at least one of the one or more policies based on the received policy utilization status; and upon determining the need to remove or update the at least one of the one or more policies, removing or updating, by the MnS consumer, the determined at least one policy.

[0016] The method as described in any of

[0014] -

[0015] , wherein receiving, by the MnS consumer, the policy utilization status comprises: receiving, from the MnS producer, one of a notification or a Performance Monitoring (PM) counters report including the policy utilization status of the at least one of the one or more policies.

[0017] The method as described in any of

[0014] -

[0016] , wherein transmitting the one or more policies comprises: transmitting, by the MnS consumer to the MnS producer, the one or more policies via at least one of a Network Configuration Protocol (NETCONF), a file management system, or a Remote Procedure Call (RPC) command.

[0018] The method as described in any of

[0014] -

[0017] , wherein receiving, by the MnS consumer, the TRx control related capability information comprises:receiving, by the MnS producer, the TRx control related capability information from the O-RU via a M-Plane; and transmitting, by the MnS producer, the received TRx control related capability information to the MnS consumer via an 01 interface.

[0019] The method as described in any of

[0014] -

[0018] , wherein receiving, by the MnS consumer, the TRx control related capability information comprises: receiving, by the MnS consumer from the O-RU, the corresponding TRx control related capability information via a M-Plane.

[0020] The method as described in any of

[0014] -

[0019] , wherein the one or more policies correspond to one or more Network Energy Saving (NES) policies to be implemented at the O-RU.

[0021] The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein for receiving the policy utilization status, the method comprises: examining, by the MnS producer, one or more conditions associated with the O-RU based on the one or more policies; upon successfully examining the one or more conditions, applying, by the MnS producer, the one or more policies at the O-RU; receiving, by the MnS producer from the O-RU, one of an acknowledgement message and a non-acknowledgment message based on an execution of the applied one or more policies; and transmitting, by the MnS producer, the policy utilization status based on the received one of the acknowledgement message and the non-acknowledgment message.

[0022] A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions, the instructions comprising: one or more instructions that, when executed by a Management Service (MnS)consumer, the MnS consumer comprising one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: receive, from an MnS producer, transmission (TRx) control related capability information corresponding to an Open-Radio Access Network (ORAN)-Radio Unit (O- RU) and the MnS producer; transmit, to the MnS producer, one or more policies for the O-RU based on the received TRx control related capability information corresponding to the O-RU and the MnS producer; and receive, from the MnS producer, a policy utilization status indicating implementation of at least one of the one or more policies at the O-RU.

[0023] A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions, the instructions comprising: one or more instructions that, when executed by a Management Service (MnS) producer, the MnS producer comprising one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: receive, from an MnS consumer, one or more policies for an Open-Radio Access Network (ORAN)-Radio Unit (O-RU); examine one or more conditions associated with the O-RU based on the received one or more policies; upon successfully examining the one or more conditions, apply the one or more policies at the O-RU; receive, from the O-RU, one of an acknowledgement message and a nonacknowledgment message based on an execution of the applied one or more policies; andtransmit, to the MnS consumer, a policy utilization status based on the received one of the acknowledgement message and the non-acknowledgment message.

[0081] The embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented through at least one software program running on at least one hardware device and performing network management functions to control the elements. The elements can be at least one of a hardware device or a combination of hardware device and software module.

[0082] While specific language has been used to describe the disclosure, any limitations arising on account of the same are not intended. As would be apparent to a person in the art, various working modifications may be made to the method in order to implement the inventive concept as taught herein.

[0083] The drawings and the forgoing description give examples of embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of the described elements may well be combined into a single functional element. Alternatively, certain elements may be split into multiple functional elements. Elements from one embodiment may be added to another embodiment. For example, orders of processes described herein may be changed and are not limited to the manner described herein.

[0084] Moreover, the actions of any flow diagram need not be implemented in the order shown; nor do all of the acts necessarily need to be performed. Also, those acts that are not dependent on other acts may be performed in parallel with the other acts. The scope of embodiments is by no means limited by these specific examples. Numerous variations, whether explicitly given in the specification or not, such as differences in structure, dimension, and use of material, are possible. The scope of embodiments is at least as broad as given by the following claims.

[0085] Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have been described above with regard to specific embodiments. However, the benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any component(s) that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as a critical, required, or essential feature or component of any or all the claims.

[0086] The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and / or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of at least one embodiment, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.

Claims

We Claim:

1. An apparatus (203) configured to: receive, from a Management Service (MnS) consumer (210), one or more policies for an Open -Radio Access Network (ORAN)-Radio Unit (O-RU) (230); examine one or more conditions associated with the O-RU (230) based on the one or more policies; upon successfully examining the one or more conditions, apply the one or more policies at the O-RU (230); receive, from the O-RU (230), one of an acknowledgement message and a nonacknowledgment message based on an execution of the applied one or more policies; and transmit, to the MnS consumer (210), a policy utilization status based on the received one of the acknowledgement message and the non-acknowledgment message.

2. The apparatus (203) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one or more policies indicate at least one of antenna mask value or a sleep mode to be implemented at the O-RU (230), and to apply the one or more policies the apparatus (203) is configured to: transmit, to the O-RU (230), the at least one of the antenna mask value or the sleep mode based on the one or more policies.

3. The apparatus (203) as claimed in claim 1, wherein to apply the one or more policies at the O-RU (230), the apparatus (203) is configured to:transmit, to the 0-RU (230), one or more Network Energy Saving (NES) commands based on the received one or more policies.

4. The apparatus (203) as claimed in claim 1, wherein prior to receiving the one or more policies for O-RU (230), the apparatus (203) is configured to: transmit, to the MnS consumer (210), transmission (TRx) control related capability information corresponding to the MnS producer (220) and the O-RU (230).

5. The apparatus (203) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the apparatus (203) is implemented at an MnS producer (220).

6. An apparatus (201) configured to: receive, from at least one of an MnS producer (220) or an O-RU (230), TRx control related capability information corresponding to the MnS producer (220) and the O-RU (230); transmit, to the MnS producer (220), one or more policies for the O-RU (230) based on the received TRx control related capability information corresponding to the O-RU (230) and the MnS producer (220); and receive, from the MnS producer (220), a policy utilization status indicating implementation of at least one of the one or more policies at the O-RU (230).

7. The apparatus (201) as claimed in claim 6, wherein upon receiving the policy utilization status, the apparatus (201) is configured to: determine whether there is a need to remove or update at least one of the one or more policies based on the received policy utilization status; andupon determining the need to remove or update the at least one of the one or more policies, remove or update the determined at least one policy.

8. The apparatus (201) as claimed in claim 6, wherein to receive the policy utilization status, the apparatus (201) is configured to receive, from the MnS producer (220), one of a notification or a Performance Monitoring (PM) counters report including the policy utilization status of the at least one of the one or more policies.

9. The apparatus (201) as claimed in claim 6, wherein to transmit the one or more policies, the apparatus (201) is configured to: transmit, to the MnS producer (220), the one or more policies via at least one of a Network Configuration Protocol (NETCONF), a file management system, or a Remote Procedure Call (RPC) command.

10. The apparatus (201) as claimed in claim 6, wherein to receive the policy utilization status, the apparatus (201) is configured to: receive, from the MnS producer (220), one of a notification or a Performance Monitoring (PM) counters report including the policy utilization status of the at least one of the one or more policies at the O-RU (230).

11. The apparatus (201) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the apparatus (201) is configured to one of: receive the TRx control related capability information corresponding to the O- RU (230) from the MnS producer (220) via an 01 interface; orreceive the TRx control related capability information corresponding to the O-RU (230) from the O-RU (230) via a Management-Plane (M-Plane).

12. The apparatus (201) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the apparatus (201) is implemented at a Management Service (MnS) consumer (210).

13. The apparatus (201) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the apparatus (201) corresponds to one of a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) or a near-real-time Radio Access Network (RAN) Intelligent Controller (near RT RIC) based on a communication interface.

14. A method (600) comprising: receiving (602), by an MnS consumer (210) from at least one of an MnS producer (220) or an O-RU (230), TRx control related capability information corresponding to the O-RU (230) and the MnS producer (220); transmitting (604), by the MnS consumer (210) to the MnS producer (220), one or more policies for the O-RU (230) based on the received TRx control related capability information corresponding to the O-RU (230) and the MnS producer (220); and receiving (606), by the MnS consumer (210) from the MnS producer (220), a policy utilization status indicating implementation of at least one of the one or more policies at the O- RU (230).

15. The method (600) as claimed in claim 14, wherein upon receiving the policy utilization status, the method (600) further comprises:determining, by the MnS consumer (210), whether there is a need to remove or update at least one of the one or more policies based on the received policy utilization status; and upon determining the need to remove or update the at least one of the one or more policies, removing or updating, by the MnS consumer (210), the determined at least one policy.

16. The method (600) as claimed in claim 14, wherein receiving, by the MnS consumer (210), the policy utilization status comprises: receiving, from the MnS producer (220), one of a notification or a Performance Monitoring (PM) counters report including the policy utilization status of the at least one of the one or more policies.

17. The method (600) as claimed in claim 14, wherein transmitting the one or more policies comprises: transmitting, by the MnS consumer (210) to the MnS producer (220), the one or more policies via at least one of a Network Configuration Protocol (NETCONF), a file management system, or a Remote Procedure Call (RPC) command.

18. The method (600) as claimed in claim 14, wherein receiving, by the MnS consumer (210), the TRx control related capability information comprises: receiving, by the MnS producer (220), the TRx control related capability information from the O-RU (230) via a M-Plane; and transmitting, by the MnS producer (220), the received TRx control related capability information to the MnS consumer (210) via an 01 interface.

19. The method (600) as claimed in claim 14, wherein receiving, by the MnS consumer(210), the TRx control related capability information comprises: receiving, by the MnS consumer (210) from the O-RU (230), the corresponding TRx control related capability information via a M-Plane.

20. The method (600) as claimed in claim 14, wherein the one or more policies correspond to one or more Network Energy Saving (NES) policies to be implemented at the O-RU (230).

21. The method (600) as claimed in claim 14, wherein for receiving the policy utilization status, the method (600) comprises: examining, by the MnS producer (220), one or more conditions associated with the O-RU (230) based on the one or more policies; upon successfully examining the one or more conditions, applying, by the MnS producer (220), the one or more policies at the O-RU (230); receiving, by the MnS producer (220) from the O-RU (230), one of an acknowledgement message and a non-acknowledgment message based on an execution of the applied one or more policies; and transmitting, by the MnS producer (220), the policy utilization status based on the received one of the acknowledgement message and the non-acknowledgment message.

22. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions, the instructions comprising: one or more instructions that, when executed by a Management Service (MnS)consumer (210), the MnS consumer (210) comprising one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: receive, from an MnS producer (220), transmission (TRx) control related capability information corresponding to an Open-Radio Access Network (ORAN)- Radio Unit (O-RU) (230) and the MnS producer (220); transmit, to the MnS producer (220), one or more policies for the O-RU (230) based on the received TRx control related capability information corresponding to the O-RU (230) and the MnS producer (220); and receive, from the MnS producer (220), a policy utilization status indicating implementation of at least one of the one or more policies at the O-RU (230).

23. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions, the instructions comprising: one or more instructions that, when executed by a Management Service (MnS) producer (220), the MnS producer (220) comprising one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: receive, from an MnS consumer (210), one or more policies for an Open-Radio Access Network (ORAN)-Radio Unit (O-RU) (230); examine one or more conditions associated with the O-RU (230) based on the received one or more policies; upon successfully examining the one or more conditions, apply the one or more policies at the O-RU (230); receive, from the O-RU (230), one of an acknowledgement message and a nonacknowledgment message based on an execution of the applied one or more policies; andtransmit, to the MnS consumer (210), a policy utilization status based on the received one of the acknowledgement message and the non-acknowledgment message.

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