Access network system, sensing processing method, and communication apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides an access network system, a sensing processing method, and a communication apparatus. In the access network system, a network control device is additionally provided in a RAN device in a conventional CU-DU split architecture. The network control device can establish a first connection between at least one RU and at least one DU by means of a first interface and a second interface; in addition, the network control device can also establish a second connection between at least one DU and at least one CU by means of the second interface and a third interface. The fixed connection relationship among a RU, a DU, and a CU in the conventional technology is broken, such that the RU, the DU and the CU can implement full mesh connectivity by means of the network control device, thereby facilitating improvement of underlying cross-site coordination on a RAN side, and further facilitating improvement of the performance of cross-site services.

Description

Access network system, perception processing method and communication device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office on March 6, 2024, with application number 202410257714.4 and invention name “An access network system, perception processing method and communication device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communications, and in particular to an access network system, a perception processing method, and a communication device. Background Art

[0003] In the fifth-generation mobile communication technology (5G) system, base stations can be further composed of centralized units (CU) and distributed units (DU). This means that the functions of the next-generation node B (gNB) in the original access network are split, with some gNB functions deployed in a CU and the remaining functions deployed in the DU. This not only helps save costs but also facilitates network expansion. In addition to the logical gNB composed of the CU and DU, the base station also includes a remote radio unit (RU). The RU is a hardware unit that includes some physical (PHY) layer functions and antennas. The RU and DU are connected via a fronthaul (FH) interface. Generally, one RU can only connect to one DU, and one DU can only connect to one CU. There are no interfaces between RUs or DUs, and only the Xn interface exists between CUs.

[0004] However, for cross-site services, i.e., services that require data exchange between different base stations, base stations using the aforementioned architecture can only achieve high-level collaboration through the Xn interface between CUs or through the core network (CN). Therefore, the transmission latency of the aforementioned interfaces (e.g., Xn interface, NG interface, etc.) limits cross-site collaboration, resulting in performance degradation of cross-site services. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application provides an access network system, a perception processing method, and a communication device, which enable underlying cross-site collaboration on the RAN side through a new radio access network (RAN) architecture, thereby improving the performance of cross-site services.

[0006] In a first aspect, the present application provides an access network system, comprising a network control device, at least one radio frequency unit (RU), at least one distributed unit (DU), and at least one centralized unit (CU); wherein the network control device is connected to the at least one RU via a first interface; the network control device is connected to the at least one DU via a second interface; and the network control device is connected to the at least one CU via a third interface. In the access network system, the network control device is configured to establish a first connection between the at least one RU and the at least one DU via the first interface and the second interface; and to establish a second connection between the at least one DU and the at least one CU via the second interface and the third interface.

[0007] It can be seen that the access network system provided by the present application is to add a network control device to the RAN device in the traditional CU-DU separation architecture. The network control device can establish a first connection between at least one RU and at least one DU through the first interface and the second interface. In addition, the network control device can also establish a second connection between at least one DU and at least one CU through the second interface and the third interface. It breaks the fixed connection relationship between RU, DU and CU in traditional technology, so that RU, DU and CU can achieve Mesh full connectivity through the network control device, which is conducive to improving the underlying cross-site collaboration on the RAN side, and further conducive to improving the performance of cross-site services.

[0008] In one possible implementation, the at least one RU includes a first RU; the at least one DU includes a first DU. The network control device establishes the first connection through the following functions:

[0009] The network control device receives a first request message from the first RU through the first interface, where the first request message includes capability information of the first RU; the network control device sends a second request message to the first DU through the second interface, where the second request message includes capability information of at least one RU, where the capability information of at least one RU includes capability information of the first RU; the network control device receives a second response message from the first DU through the second interface, where the second response message includes capability configuration information of at least one RU, where the capability configuration information of at least one RU includes capability configuration information of the first RU; and the network control device sends a first response message to the first RU through the first interface, where the first response message includes capability configuration information of the first RU.

[0010] In this embodiment, the network control device can establish a first connection between at least one RU and at least one DU through the first interface and the second interface, breaking the fixed connection relationship between the RU and the DU in the traditional technology, so that at least one RU and at least one DU can be connected through the network control device, which is beneficial to improving the underlying cross-site collaboration on the RAN side, and further beneficial to improving the performance of cross-site services.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the at least one DU further includes a second DU; and the network control device is further configured to:

[0012] A second response message from the second DU is received through the second interface, where the second response message from the first DU carries the first capability configuration information of the first RU, and the second response message from the second DU carries the second capability configuration information of the first RU, where the first capability configuration information is different from the second capability configuration information; and, based on the first capability configuration information of the first RU and the second capability configuration information of the first RU, the third capability configuration information of the first RU is determined, where the third capability configuration information is the capability configuration information sent to the first RU through the first response message.

[0013] In this embodiment, when the network control device receives capability configuration information for the same RU (e.g., the first RU) from different DUs, the network control device determines the capability configuration information ultimately used by the same RU. Therefore, the network control device can determine the capability configuration information ultimately issued by the first RU based on the capability configuration information for the first RU from different DUs received in at least one second response message. This solves the problem of configuration conflicts that may exist between multiple RUs and multiple DUs, and helps to improve the success rate of establishing the first connection.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the capability type enabled by the first RU indicated by the first capability configuration information is different from the capability type enabled by the first RU indicated by the second capability configuration information; and / or, the parameters for enabling the first capability type indicated by the first capability configuration information are different from the parameters for enabling the first capability type indicated by the second capability configuration information.

[0015] In one possible implementation, the network control device is further used to: when the third capability configuration information is different from the first capability configuration information, the network control device sends the third capability configuration information to the first DU; when the third capability configuration information is different from the second capability configuration information, the network control device sends the third capability configuration information to the second DU.

[0016] In this embodiment, when the configuration determined by the network device is different from the configuration determined by the DU, the network device will report the updated capability configuration information to the DU so that the configuration for the same RU known by the DU and the network control device is consistent, and the configuration for the same RU known by different DUs is consistent.

[0017] In a possible implementation, the second response message further includes sensing capability information of the first DU, where the sensing capability information is used to indicate a sensing processing type and / or a sensing measurement type supported by the first DU.

[0018] In one possible implementation, the at least one CU includes a first CU;

[0019] The network control device establishes the second connection through the following functions:

[0020] The network control device receives a third request message from the first DU through the second interface, the third request message includes information of the first DU, and the information of the first DU includes information of the service cell of the first DU; the network control device sends a fourth request message to the first CU through the third interface, the fourth request message includes information of at least one DU, and the information of at least one DU includes information of the first DU; the network control device receives a fourth response message from the first CU through the third interface, the fourth response message includes configuration information of at least one DU, the configuration information of at least one DU includes configuration information of the first DU, and the configuration information of the first DU includes configuration information of the service cell of the first DU; and the network control device sends a third response message to the first DU through the second interface, the third response message includes configuration information of the first DU.

[0021] In this embodiment, the network control device can establish a second connection between at least one DU and at least one CU through the second interface and the third interface, breaking the fixed connection relationship between the DU and the CU in the traditional technology, so that at least one DU and at least one CU can be connected through the network control device, which is beneficial to improving the underlying cross-site collaboration on the RAN side, and further beneficial to improving the performance of cross-site services.

[0022] In a possible implementation, the information of the first DU further includes sensing capability information of the first DU; and the configuration information of the first DU further includes sensing capability configuration information of the first DU.

[0023] In one possible implementation, the fourth request message further includes capability information of at least one RU and / or capability configuration information of at least one RU, which helps the CU determine more appropriate configuration information for the DU based on the DU information and the RU capability information, thereby improving the efficiency of the CU in configuring the DU.

[0024] In a possible implementation, the at least one CU further includes a second CU; and the network control device is further configured to:

[0025] A fourth response message from the second CU is received through the third interface, where the fourth response message from the first CU carries the first configuration information of the first DU, and the fourth response message from the second CU carries the second configuration information of the first DU, where the first configuration information is different from the second configuration information; and, based on the first configuration information of the first DU and the second configuration information of the first DU, the third configuration information of the first DU is determined, where the third configuration information is the configuration information sent to the first DU through the third response message.

[0026] In this embodiment, when the network control device receives configuration information for the same DU (e.g., the first DU) from different CUs, the network control device determines the configuration information ultimately used by the same DU. Therefore, the network control device can determine the configuration information ultimately issued for the first DU based on the configuration information for the first DU from different CUs received in at least one fourth response message. This resolves the issue of configuration conflicts that may exist between multiple DUs and multiple CUs, and helps improve the success rate of establishing the first connection.

[0027] In a possible implementation, the network control device is further configured to: when the third configuration information is different from the first configuration information, send the third configuration information to the first CU.

[0028] In this embodiment, when the configuration determined by the network device is different from the configuration determined by the CU, the network device will report the updated configuration information to the CU so that the configuration for the same DU known by the CU and the network control device is consistent, and the configuration for the same DU known by different CUs is consistent.

[0029] In a second aspect, the present application provides a perception processing method, which is applied to the access network system described in the first aspect. The perception processing method can be performed by a network control device or by a component of the network control device (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system). Taking the network control device as an example, the network control device receives perception measurement data from at least one RU; then, the network control device obtains perception processing data based on the perception measurement data of the at least one RU.

[0030] In traditional technologies, perception measurement data needs to be transmitted to the CU on the RAN side. After the CU exchanges perception measurement data with the CU, the CU generates perception processing data. Alternatively, the perception measurement data is transmitted to the CN, which then generates perception processing data. In this application, however, the network control device can directly receive perception measurement data from at least one RU and obtain perception processing data based on the perception measurement data. Therefore, the perception measurement data can be processed into perception processing data without being transmitted to the CU or CN, which helps reduce the latency of perception processing and improve the efficiency of perception processing.

[0031] In a possible implementation, after the network control device acquires the perception processing data based on the perception measurement data of at least one RU, the perception processing method further includes: the network control device sending the perception processing data to at least one CU.

[0032] In this embodiment, the network control device can send the perception processing data to at least one CU, so that the CU uses the perception processing data or the CU performs further processing on the perception processing data.

[0033] In a possible implementation, the perception processing method further includes: the network control device receives a perception service request from at least one CU, where the perception service request is used to request initiation of at least one type of perception service.

[0034] In this embodiment, the network control device initiates the perception service based on the demand indication of the CU, thereby enabling the CU to instruct the network control device to initiate the perception service on demand, thereby improving the flexibility of initiating the perception service.

[0035] In a possible implementation, before the network control device receives the perception measurement data from at least one RU, the perception processing method further includes: the network control device sending perception measurement configuration information to the at least one RU, where the perception measurement configuration information is used to instruct the RU to perform perception measurement.

[0036] In this embodiment, the network control device can determine the perception measurement configuration information and send the perception measurement configuration information to the first RU, so that the perception measurement device can uniformly and efficiently configure each RU participating in this perception service, which is conducive to ensuring the configuration efficiency of the perception measurement configuration.

[0037] In a possible implementation, before the network control device receives perception measurement data from at least one RU, the perception processing method further includes: the network control device sends first indication information to a first RU in the at least one RU, the first indication information being used to instruct the first RU to perform a first perception measurement, and the first indication information being also used by the first RU to generate first perception measurement configuration information for the first perception measurement.

[0038] This embodiment is applied to an RU adopting a self-transmitting and self-receiving mode. The first RU generates a perception measurement configuration for the first RU, without the network control device generating the perception measurement configuration for the first RU. This helps to save the signaling overhead of the network control device sending the perception measurement configuration and improve the configuration efficiency of the perception measurement configuration.

[0039] In one possible implementation, before the network control device receives perception measurement data from at least one RU, the perception processing method further includes: the network control device receives second perception measurement configuration information from a second RU in the at least one RU, where the second perception measurement configuration information is used to instruct a first RU in the at least one RU to perform a second perception measurement; and the network control device sends the second perception measurement configuration information to the first RU.

[0040] This implementation manner is applied to an RU adopting the self-transmitting and receiving mode, which is beneficial to saving the processing overhead of the network control device in generating the perception measurement configuration and improving the configuration efficiency of the perception measurement configuration.

[0041] In a possible implementation, before the network control device receives the perception measurement data from at least one RU, the perception processing method further includes: the network control device establishing a first data transmission channel between the network control device and the at least one RU, the first data transmission channel being used to transmit the perception measurement data.

[0042] In one possible embodiment, the network control device establishes a first data transmission channel between the network control device and at least one RU, including: the network control device sends a fifth request message to at least one RU, the fifth request message includes transmission network layer information on the network control device side; the network control device receives a fifth response message from at least one RU, the fifth response message includes transmission network layer information on the RU side, and the transmission network layer information on the network control device side and the transmission network layer information on the RU side are used to establish the first data transmission channel.

[0043] In a possible implementation, the network control device acquires perception processing data based on perception measurement data of at least one RU, including: the network control device performs perception processing on the perception measurement data of at least one RU to obtain perception processing data.

[0044] In this embodiment, the network control device can directly receive perception measurement data from at least one RU and determine perception processing data based on the perception measurement data of at least one RU. Therefore, the perception measurement data can be processed into perception processing data without being transmitted to the CU or CN, which is conducive to reducing the latency of perception processing and improving the efficiency of perception processing.

[0045] In one possible implementation, the perception processing method further includes: a network control device receiving perception measurement data from at least one DU. The network control device performing perception processing on the perception measurement data of the at least one RU to obtain perception processed data, including: the network control device performing perception processing on the perception measurement data of the at least one RU and the perception measurement data of the at least one DU to obtain the perception processed data.

[0046] In this embodiment, the DU can participate in the perception measurement and feedback the perception measurement data of at least one DU to the network control device, so that the network control device can determine the perception processing data based on the perception measurement data of at least one RU and the perception measurement data of at least one DU. Therefore, the perception measurement data can be processed into perception processing data without being transmitted to the CU or CN, which is conducive to reducing the latency of perception processing and improving the efficiency of perception processing.

[0047] In one possible implementation, the network control device obtains perception processing data based on the perception measurement data of at least one RU, including: the network control device sends the perception measurement data of at least one RU to at least one DU; the network control device receives the perception processing data from at least one DU, and the perception processing data is determined by the DU based on the perception measurement data of at least one RU.

[0048] In this embodiment, the network control device can send the perception measurement data received from at least one RU to the DU, and the DU determines the perception processing data based on the perception measurement data of at least one RU. Therefore, the perception measurement data can be processed into perception processing data without being transmitted to the CU or CN, which is conducive to reducing the latency of perception processing and improving the efficiency of perception processing.

[0049] In a possible embodiment, before the network control device sends the perception measurement data of at least one RU to at least one DU, the perception processing method also includes: the network control device establishes a second data transmission channel between the network control device and at least one DU, and the second data transmission channel is used to transmit the perception measurement data and / or perception processing data.

[0050] In one possible embodiment, the network control device establishes a second data transmission channel between the network control device and at least one DU, including: the network control device sends a sixth request message to at least one DU, the sixth request message includes the transmission network layer information on the network control device side; the network control device receives a sixth response message from at least one DU, the sixth response message includes the transmission network layer information on the DU side, and the transmission network layer information on the network control device side and the transmission network layer information on the DU side are used to establish the second data transmission channel.

[0051] In a possible implementation manner, the sixth request message further includes quality of service (QoS) requirements of at least one type of perception measurement data.

[0052] In a third aspect, the present application provides a perception processing method, which is applied to the access network system described in the first aspect. The perception processing method can be performed by a DU or by a component of the DU (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system). Taking the DU as an example, the DU receives perception measurement data of at least one RU from a network control device; the DU determines perception processing data based on the perception measurement data of the at least one RU; and the DU sends the perception processing data to the network control device.

[0053] In this application, the DU can directly receive perception measurement data from at least one RU, obtain perception processing data based on the perception measurement data, and then return the perception processing data to the network control device. Therefore, the perception measurement data can be processed into perception processing data in the DU without being transmitted to the CU or CN, which is conducive to reducing the latency of perception processing and improving the efficiency of perception processing.

[0054] In a possible implementation, the network control device determines perception processing data based on perception measurement data of at least one RU, including: the network control device performs perception processing on the perception measurement data of at least one RU and the perception measurement data of the DU to obtain perception processing data.

[0055] In a possible embodiment, before the network control device receives the perception measurement data of at least one RU from the network control device, the perception processing method also includes: the network control device establishes a second data transmission channel between the network control device and the DU, and the second data transmission channel is used to transmit the perception measurement data and / or perception processing data.

[0056] In one possible implementation, the network control device establishes a second data transmission channel between the network control device and the DU, including: the network control device receives a sixth request message from the network control device, the sixth request message includes the transmission network layer information on the network control device side; the network control device sends a sixth response message to the network control device, the sixth response message includes the transmission network layer information on the DU side, and the transmission network layer information on the network control device side and the transmission network layer information on the DU side are used to establish the second data transmission channel.

[0057] In a possible implementation manner, the sixth request message further includes QoS requirements of at least one type of perception measurement data.

[0058] In a fourth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication device, which may be the network control device described in the aforementioned embodiments, or a chip within the network control device. The communication device may include a processing module and a transceiver module. When the communication device is a network control device, the processing module may be a processor, and the transceiver module may be a transceiver. The network control device may also include a storage module, which may be a memory. The storage module is configured to store instructions, and the processing module executes the instructions stored in the storage module to cause the network control device to perform the method described in any of the embodiments of the second aspect. When the communication device is a chip within the network control device, the processing module may be a processor, and the transceiver module may be an input / output interface, pin, or circuit, etc. The processing module executes the instructions stored in the storage module to cause the network control device to perform the method described in any of the embodiments of the second aspect. The storage module may be a storage module within the chip (e.g., a register, cache, etc.), or a storage module within the network control device located external to the chip (e.g., a read-only memory, random access memory, etc.).

[0059] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be the DU in the aforementioned embodiment, or a chip within the DU. The communication device may include a processing module and a transceiver module. When the communication device is a DU, the processing module may be a processor, and the transceiver module may be a transceiver; the DU may further include a storage module, and the storage module may be a memory; the storage module is used to store instructions, and the processing module executes the instructions stored in the storage module so that the DU performs the method in the third aspect or any one of the embodiments of the third aspect. When the communication device is a chip within a DU, the processing module may be a processor, and the transceiver module may be an input / output interface, a pin, or a circuit, etc.; the processing module executes the instructions stored in the storage module so that the DU performs the method in the third aspect or any one of the embodiments of the third aspect. The storage module may be a storage module within the chip (for example, a register, a cache, etc.), or it may be a storage module within the DU located outside the chip (for example, a read-only memory, a random access memory, etc.).

[0060] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which may be an integrated circuit chip. The integrated circuit chip includes a processor. The processor is coupled to a memory, which is configured to store programs or instructions. When the program or instructions are executed by the processor, the communication device performs the method described in any of the embodiments of the aforementioned aspects.

[0061] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute a method as described in any one of the aforementioned aspects.

[0062] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enable the computer to execute a method as described in any one of the embodiments in the foregoing aspects.

[0063] In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which includes a network control device that executes the aforementioned second aspect and any one of the embodiments of the second aspect, and a DU that executes the aforementioned third aspect and any one of the embodiments of the third aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0064] FIG1A is a diagram illustrating an example of an NG-RAN CU / DU separation architecture in a 5G system;

[0065] FIG1B is an example diagram of the composition structure of a RAN device;

[0066] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the structure of an access network system provided by the present application;

[0067] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a process for establishing a first connection between a network control device, an RU, and a DU in the present application;

[0068] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a process for establishing a second connection among the network control device, the DU, and the CU in the present application;

[0069] FIG5 is a flow chart of the perception processing method provided by this application;

[0070] FIG6 is another flowchart of the perception processing method provided by this application;

[0071] FIG7 is another flowchart of the perception processing method provided by this application;

[0072] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided by the present application;

[0073] FIG9 is another schematic diagram of the communication device provided in this application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0074] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments.

[0075] The terms "first," "second," "third," "fourth," and the like (if any) in the specification and claims of this application and in the accompanying drawings are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a particular order or sequential sequence. It should be understood that the terms used in this manner are interchangeable where appropriate so that the embodiments described herein can be implemented in an order other than that illustrated or described herein. In addition, the terms "including" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions, e.g., a process, method, system, product, or apparatus comprising a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units explicitly listed, but may include other steps or units not explicitly listed or inherent to such process, method, product, or apparatus.

[0076] It should be understood that the term "and / or" in this article is only a description of the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent three situations: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be single or multiple. In addition, the character " / " in this article generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. In addition, "at least one of the following" or similar expressions in this article is used to represent any combination of the listed items; for example, at least one of A, B and (or) C can represent the following six situations: A exists alone, B exists alone, C exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, B and C exist at the same time, A and C exist at the same time, and A, B and C exist at the same time, where A, B, and C can be single or multiple.

[0077] For ease of understanding, the following first introduces the system architecture and application scenarios applicable to the access network system and perception processing method proposed in this application:

[0078] The access network system and perception processing method proposed in this application can be applied to the fifth generation mobile communication technology (5G) system, the sixth generation mobile communication technology (6G) system and other communication systems that can divide the radio access network (RAN) equipment into CU and DU, but this application is not limited to this.

[0079] Figure 1A illustrates an example of a 5G NG-RAN CU / DU split architecture. The RAN equipment (also referred to as network equipment or RAN nodes, such as base stations like gNBs) in Figure 1A can be divided into a CU (e.g., gNB-CU) and a DU (e.g., gNB-DU). The RAN equipment, including the CU and DU, splits the protocol layers of the gNB in ​​the NR system. Some protocol layer functions are centrally controlled by the CU, while some or all of the remaining protocol layer functions are distributed in the DU, which is centrally controlled by the CU. Generally, multiple DUs can share a single CU. The division between the CU and DU can be based on the protocol stack. For example, one possible division is to deploy the radio resource control (RRC), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layers in the CU, while deploying the remaining radio link control (RLC), medium access control (MAC), and physical (PHY) layers in the DU. The CU and DU are connected via the F1 interface. The CU represents the gNB to which it belongs and is connected to the core network via the NG interface. The CU represents the gNB to which it belongs and is connected to other gNBs (or other CUs) via the Xn interface. In the actual deployment of traditional RAN equipment, in addition to the logical gNB composed of the CU and DU, the RAN equipment also includes the RU. The RU is a hardware unit that includes some PHY layer functions and / or antenna equipment. Optionally, the RU can be configured to be independent of the antenna equipment (for example, the antenna line device (ALD) (also known as the antenna linear device)), or it can be integrated with the antenna equipment. For example, in the 5G NR system, the aforementioned RU can be an active antenna unit (AAU), that is, a processing unit that integrates the remote radio unit (RRU) (or remote radio head (RRH)) and the antenna equipment.

[0080] As shown in Figure 1B, it is an example diagram of the composition structure of the RAN equipment. The RU and DU are connected through the fronthaul (Fronthaul, FH) link. The fronthaul link uses the fronthaul interface protocol to achieve connection. The fronthaul interface protocol is mainly responsible for the conversion between digital signals and radio signals. For example, the fronthaul interface protocol can be the common public radio interface (CPRI) protocol, or it can be the enhanced common public radio interface (eCPRI) protocol, or it can be a protocol that divides RU and DU according to other division rules, which is not limited in this application. Optionally, the fronthaul link also includes a converter (switch) network element, which is mainly responsible for the docking function of the transceiver in the fronthaul link, and can also be responsible for the conversion function between the CPRI protocol and the eCPRI protocol. It should be understood that in Figure 1B, the converter network element is only reflected between some RUs and DUs, and the converter network element is not reflected between some RUs and DUs. The deployment of the converter network element is not limited here. In addition, the link between the DU and the core network (CN) in Figure 1B is the backhaul link. In some scenarios, the link between the DU and the CU is further subdivided into the midhaul link. For example, the DU and CU are connected via the F1 interface. Generally, a CU can connect to multiple DUs, but a DU can only connect to one CU.

[0081] In some deployments, the network devices mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may include a CU, a DU, or both a CU and a DU, or a control plane CU node (central unit-control plane (CU-CP)), a user plane CU node (central unit-user plane (CU-UP)), and a DU node. For example, the network devices may include a gNB-CU-CP, a gNB-CU-UP, and a gNB-DU.

[0082] In some deployments, multiple RAN nodes collaborate to assist terminals in achieving wireless access, with different RAN nodes implementing portions of the base station's functionality. For example, a RAN node can be a CU, DU, CU-CP, CU-UP, or RU. The CU and DU can be separate or included in the same network element, such as the BBU. The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or radio unit, such as an RRU, AAU, or RRH.

[0083] The RAN node may support one or more types of fronthaul interfaces, and different fronthaul interfaces correspond to DUs and RUs with different functions. If the fronthaul interface between the DU and the RU is a common public radio interface (CPRI), the DU is configured to implement one or more baseband functions, and the RU is configured to implement one or more radio frequency functions. If the fronthaul interface between the DU and the RU is another interface, it will perform some of the downlink and / or uplink baseband functions relative to the CPRI. For example, for downlink, one or more of precoding, digital beamforming (BF), or inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) / cyclic prefix (CP) addition is moved from the DU to the RU for implementation; for uplink, one or more of digital beamforming (BF), or fast Fourier transform (FFT) / cyclic prefix (CP) removal is moved from the DU to the RU for implementation. In one possible implementation, the interface may be an enhanced common public radio interface (eCPRI). In the eCPRI architecture, the division between the DU and RU is different, corresponding to different types (category, Cat) of eCPRI, such as eCPRI Cat A, B, C, D, E, and F.

[0084] Taking eCPRI Cat A as an example, for downlink transmission, based on layer mapping, the DU is configured to implement layer mapping and one or more functions preceding it (i.e., one or more of coding, rate matching, scrambling, modulation, and layer mapping). Other functions after layer mapping (e.g., resource element (RE) mapping, digital beamforming (BF), or one or more of inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) / cyclic prefix (CP) addition) are moved to the RU for implementation. For uplink transmission, based on RE demapping, the DU is configured to implement demapping and one or more functions preceding it (i.e., one or more of decoding, rate matching, descrambling, demodulation, inverse discrete Fourier transform (IDFT), channel equalization, and RE demapping). Other functions after demapping (e.g., one or more of digital BF or fast Fourier transform (FFT) / CP removal) are moved to the RU for implementation. It is understandable that for the functional description of DU and RU corresponding to various types of eCPRI, reference can be made to the eCPRI protocol, which will not be described in detail here.

[0085] In one possible design, the processing unit for implementing baseband functions in the BBU is called a baseband high layer (BBH) unit, and the processing unit for implementing baseband functions in the RRU / AAU / RRH is called a baseband low layer (BBL) unit.

[0086] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in the ORAN system, CU may also be called O-CU (Open CU), DU may also be called O-DU, CU-CP may also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be called O-CU-UP, and RU may also be called O-RU. Any unit of CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0087] However, for cross-site business scenarios, that is, business scenarios that require data interaction between different base stations, traditional base stations generally adopt centralized cross-site collaboration or distributed cross-site protocols.

[0088] In a centralized cross-site collaboration scenario, the RUs of different base stations report the measured service data to their respective DUs through the FH interface. Each DU then reports it to the CU of each base station through the F1 interface. The CU then reports it to the core network CN or data network (DN) through the NG interface. The CN / DN then processes the service data and outputs the processing results. In a centralized cross-site collaboration scenario, high-level collaboration is achieved between base stations through CN / DN. However, the transmission delay of the aforementioned interfaces (for example, F1 interface, NG interface, etc.) limits cross-site collaboration, resulting in a decrease in the performance of cross-site services.

[0089] In a distributed cross-site collaboration scenario, the RUs of different base stations report the measured service data to their respective DUs through the FH interface, and each DU then reports it to the CU of each base station through the F1 interface. The CUs of different base stations then exchange service data through the Xn interface, process the service data, and output the processing results. In a distributed cross-site collaboration scenario, base stations collaborate through interfaces between base stations (for example, Xn interfaces). However, the transmission delay of the aforementioned interfaces (for example, F1 interfaces, Xn interfaces, etc.) limits cross-site collaboration, resulting in a decrease in the performance of cross-site services.

[0090] In this regard, the present application provides an access network system, a perception processing method, and a communication device, which enable the underlying cross-site collaboration on the RAN side through a new RAN architecture, thereby improving the performance of cross-site services. Exemplarily, the cross-site service in the present application may be a cross-site collaborative spectrum sensing (SS) service, in which base stations dynamically call satellite white space spectrum by collaboratively sensing satellite and cellular spectrum signals to improve the communication capacity of the cellular system. It should be understood that the cross-site service in the present application may also be a cross-site collaborative service between other base stations, and the present application does not limit the specific type of cross-site service.

[0091] The access network system 00 provided by this application is introduced below with reference to FIG2 :

[0092] As shown in Figure 2, the access network system 00 provided in this application includes a network control device 01, at least one RU 02, at least one DU 03, and at least one CU 04. The network control device 01 is connected to the at least one RU 02 via a first interface; the network control device 01 is connected to the at least one DU 03 via a second interface; and the network control device is connected to the at least one CU 04 via a third interface. The network control device 01 is configured to establish a first connection between the at least one RU 02 and the at least one DU 03 via the first interface and the second interface. In addition, the network control device 01 is further configured to establish a second connection between the at least one DU 03 and the at least one CU 04 via the second interface and the third interface.

[0093] It should be understood that the network control device 01 in the access network system 00 can be a network element or functional entity that can collect information of each network element (for example, RU, DU, CU, etc.) in the RAN device, or a network element or functional entity that can establish a connection between each network element in the RAN device, or a network element or functional entity that performs information forwarding between each network element in the RAN device, or a network element or functional entity that includes the aforementioned functions. Since the network control device 01 is mainly responsible for the management of each network element in the RAN device, in some scenarios, the network control device 01 can be referred to as an access control function (RAN Control Funciton, RCF) network element or entity. It should be understood that this application does not limit the specific name of the network control device 01.

[0094] It should be understood that the connections established by network control device 01 between various network elements in the RAN device primarily include a first connection and a second connection. The first connection is used to enable communication between RU 02 and DU 03. In some scenarios, the first connection can be understood as a fronthaul connection, and the first and second interfaces establishing the first connection can constitute a logical FH interface. Furthermore, the second connection is used to enable communication between DU 03 and CU 04. In some scenarios, the second connection can be understood as a midhaul connection, and the second and third interfaces establishing the second connection can constitute a logical F1 interface.

[0095] It can be seen that the access network system 00 shown in Figure 2 is a RAN device in a traditional CU-DU separation architecture with an additional network control device 01. The network control device 01 can establish a first connection between at least one RU 02 and at least one DU 03 through the first interface and the second interface. In addition, the network control device 01 can also establish a second connection between at least one DU 03 and at least one CU 04 through the second interface and the third interface. This breaks the fixed connection relationship between RU 02, DU 03 and CU 04 in traditional technology, allowing RU 02, DU 03 and CU 04 to achieve full Mesh connectivity through the network control device, which is beneficial to improving the underlying cross-site collaboration on the RAN side, and further beneficial to improving the performance of cross-site services.

[0096] 3 and 4 , respectively, an implementation manner in which the network control device 01 establishes a first connection and an implementation manner in which the network control device 01 establishes a second connection will be described.

[0097] As shown in FIG3 , the network control device, RU, and DU in this application establish a first connection through the following process:

[0098] In step 301 , a network control device receives a first request message from a first RU via a first interface. Accordingly, the first RU sends the first request message to the network control device via the first interface.

[0099] The first RU is one of the at least one RU connected to the network control device through the first interface. The first request message sent by the first RU includes capability information of the first RU.

[0100] It should be understood that this step only takes the first RU sending the first request message as an example, and in actual applications, the network control device is connected to at least one RU through the first interface, and some or all of the at least one RU send the first request message to the network control device. In one example, the network control device is connected to RU#1, RU#2, and RU#3 through the first interface respectively. If RU#1, RU#2, and RU#3 all have the need to establish a first connection with the network control device, RU#1, RU#2, and RU#3 can send the first request message 1, the first request message 2, and the first request message 3 to the network control device respectively. Among them, the first request message 1 carries the capability information of RU#1, the first request message 2 carries the capability information of RU#2, and the first request message 3 carries the capability information of RU#3. In another example, a network control device is connected to RU#1, RU#2, and RU#3 respectively through a first interface. If only some of RU#1, RU#2, and RU#3 (e.g., RU#1 and RU#2) need to establish a first connection with the network control device, RU#1 and RU#2 may send a first request message 1 and a first request message 2, respectively, to the network control device, while RU#3 may temporarily not send the first request message 3 to the network control device. The first request message 1 carries capability information of RU#1, and the first request message 2 carries capability information of RU#2.

[0101] It should also be understood that when at least two RUs in at least one RU send a first request message to the network control device, the at least two RUs may send the first request message to the network control device at the same time, or may send the first request message to the network control device at different times, which is not limited in this application.

[0102] In addition, the capability information of the first RU includes at least the physical layer capability information of the first RU (also called layer one capability information or communication capability information), which is used to indicate the capabilities of the physical layer supported by the first RU. For example, the physical layer capability information indicates whether the first RU supports inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT). For another example, the physical layer capability information indicates whether the first RU supports beam forming (BF). It should be noted that the capabilities of the physical layer supported by the first RU are related to the way the fronthaul link is divided. When different fronthaul interface protocols are used for functional division between the RU and the DU, the capabilities of the physical layer supported by the RU are different. This application does not limit the way the functions are divided between the RU and the DU.

[0103] Optionally, the capability information of the first RU further includes sensing capability information of the first RU, where the sensing capability information of the first RU is used to indicate the sensing measurement capability supported by the first RU and / or the sensing processing capability supported by the first RU.

[0104] Among them, the perception measurement capabilities supported by the first RU include the types of perception measurement data supported by the first RU, that is, what types of perception measurement data can the first RU obtain through perception measurement. Optionally, the types of perception measurement data supported by the first RU include at least one of layer 1 data (referred to as L1 data), layer 2 data (referred to as L2 data), layer 3 data (referred to as L3 data), or layer 4 data (referred to as L4 data). Different types of data require different transmission bandwidths. Exemplarily, L1 data can be in-phase / quadrature data (referred to as (In-phase / Quadrature, I / Q) data) of a radio frequency signal, etc., and the bandwidth requirement for transmitting L1 data is 5.2 Gbps; L2 data can be spectrum information, etc., and the bandwidth requirement for transmitting L2 data is 1.2 Gbps; L3 data can be point cloud information, etc., and the bandwidth requirement for transmitting L3 data is 15 Mbps; L4 data can be target information, etc., and the bandwidth requirement for transmitting L4 data is 40 Kbps. It should be understood that the types of perception measurement data mentioned above are merely examples listed based on the current development stage of perception measurement technology. With the development of perception measurement technology, perception measurement data may be extended to other types of data, and even the classification method of perception measurement data may change. This application does not limit the specific type of perception measurement data.

[0105] In addition, the perception processing capability supported by the first RU refers to the type of perception measurement data that the first RU can process, that is, what types of perception measurement data the first RU can process. For example, the perception processing capability supported by the first RU can be to process L1 data into L2 data. It should be understood that the type of perception measurement data supported by the first RU is determined by the functional deployment on the first RU. The lowest-level function of the first RU can collect L1 raw I / Q data. As the perception-related functions of the first RU increase, the first RU may further process the raw perception data to obtain data with different bandwidth requirements such as L2 to L4.

[0106] Optionally, the capability information of the first RU further includes location information of the first RU, where the location information of the first RU is used to indicate a physical location or a geographical location of the first RU. Exemplarily, the location information of the first RU may be location information of a transmission reception point (TRP).

[0107] It should be understood that different RUs in at least one RU connected to the network control device may report different RU capability information to the network control device. The capability information of different RUs may include the same type of capability information, but the specific parameters indicated by the capability information are different; or the capability information of different RUs may include different types of capability information, which is not limited by this application.

[0108] After the network control device collects the capability information of at least one RU from the at least one RU, the network control device will report the capability information of the at least one RU to at least one DU connected to the network control device. Specifically, the network control device will execute step 302.

[0109] Step 302: The network control device sends a second request message to the first DU through the second interface; correspondingly, the first DU receives the second request message from the network control device through the second interface.

[0110] The first DU is one of at least one DU connected to the network control device via the second interface. The second request message sent by the network control device to the first DU includes capability information of at least one RU. The capability information of the at least one RU includes the capability information of the first RU. For an introduction to the capability information of the first RU, please refer to step 301 above and will not be repeated here.

[0111] The capability information of the at least one RU may be capability information of all or part of the RUs received by the network control device, that is, the network control device sends the capability information of all or part of the received RUs to the first DU.

[0112] In one embodiment, the capability information of the at least one RU may be the capability information of all RUs received by the network control device. It can be understood that the network control device sends the capability information of all RUs received to the first DU based on the capability information of the RUs received. Exemplarily, the network control device receives a first request message 1, a first request message 2, and a first request message 3 from RU#1, RU#2, and RU#3, respectively, wherein the first request message 1 carries the capability information of RU#1, the first request message 2 carries the capability information of RU#2, and the first request message 3 carries the capability information of RU#3. The network control device carries the capability information of RU#1, RU#2, and RU#3 in a second request message and sends it to the first DU through the second interface.

[0113] Optionally, the network control device is connected to at least one DU via the second interface, and the network control device may further send capability information of all RUs received by the network control device to the at least one DU.

[0114] In this embodiment, the network control device reports the capability information of all RUs received by the network control device to at least one DU (including the first DU), so that at least one DU (including the first DU) can perceive all RUs connected to the network control device through the first interface, so that at least one DU (including the first DU) can determine a more flexible configuration for each RU.

[0115] In another embodiment, the capability information of the at least one RU may be the capability information of some RUs among the capability information of each RU received by the network control device. It can be understood that the network control device receives the capability information of multiple RUs, but the network control device only sends the capability information of some RUs to the first DU. Optionally, the network control device only sends the capability information of the RUs that are associated with the first DU to the first DU. If a certain RU is associated with the first DU, the first DU can configure the RU. The first DU may be associated with at least one RU. The association may be pre-configured or configured by a network management device (for example, operation administration and maintenance (OAM)), which is not limited in this application.

[0116] Exemplarily, the network control device receives first request message 1, first request message 2, and first request message 3 from RU#1, RU#2, and RU#3, respectively, where first request message 1 carries capability information of RU#1, first request message 2 carries capability information of RU#2, and first request message 3 carries capability information of RU#3. If both RU#1 and RU#2 are associated with the first DU, but RU#3 is not associated with the first DU, the network control device only carries the capability information of RU#1 and RU#2 in a second request message and sends it to the first DU via the second interface.

[0117] Optionally, the network control device is connected to at least one DU through a second interface. In addition to sending capability information of the RU associated with the first DU to the first DU, the network control device can also send capability information of the RU associated with other DUs to other DUs. This application is not limited.

[0118] In this embodiment, the network control device reports the capability information of the RU associated with the first DU to the first DU, thereby preventing the first DU from receiving capability information of RUs unrelated to the first DU, improving the transmission efficiency of the RU capability information, and facilitating the first DU to efficiently configure the RU.

[0119] Step 303: The network control device receives a second response message from the first DU through the second interface; accordingly, the first DU sends a second response message to the network control device through the second interface.

[0120] After the first DU receives the capability information of at least one RU from the network control device, the first DU determines the capability configuration information of the at least one RU. The first DU then sends the capability configuration information of the at least one RU to the network control device via a second response message. The second response message is a message in response to the second request message. The second response message includes the capability configuration information of the at least one RU, and the capability configuration information of the at least one RU includes the capability configuration information of the first RU.

[0121] It should be noted that "at least one RU's capability configuration information" is not necessarily the same as the "at least one RU" in "at least one RU's capability information." That is, the first DU may determine the capability configuration information of all RUs indicated by the received RU's capability information based on the received RU's capability information, or the first DU may determine the capability configuration information of some RUs indicated by the received RU's capability information based on the received RU's capability information.

[0122] In one possible implementation, the first DU determines the capability configuration information of all RUs indicated by the received capability information of the RU based on the received capability information of the RU.

[0123] In one example, the first DU determines a capability configuration information, and the capability configuration information is applicable to all RUs, that is, the capability configuration information is adapted to the RUs indicated by the capability information of all RUs received by the first DU. For example, the first DU receives the capability information of RU#1, the capability information of RU#2, and the capability information of RU#3 from the network control device, then the first DU determines the capability configuration information applicable to RU#1, RU#2, and RU#3, and sends the capability configuration information to the network control device through a second response message. It can be understood that when the capabilities indicated by the capability information of different RUs are similar, and the aforementioned different RUs perform the same or similar services, the first DU can determine the same capability configuration information for multiple RUs, which is conducive to improving the efficiency of the first DU in determining the capability configuration information of each RU.

[0124] In another example, the first DU determines different capability configuration information for different RUs, that is, the capability configuration information of different RUs is different. For example, the first DU receives the capability information of RU#1, the capability information of RU#2, and the capability information of RU#3 from the network control device, then the first DU determines the capability configuration information of RU#1, the capability configuration information of RU#2, and the capability configuration information of RU#3 respectively, and the capability configuration information of RU#1, the capability configuration information of RU#2, and the capability configuration information of RU#3 are not exactly the same. Then, the first DU carries the capability configuration information of RU#1, the capability configuration information of RU#2, and the capability configuration information of RU#3 in the second response message, and sends it to the network control device through the second response message. It can be understood that the network control device can configure the capability configuration information of each RU for different RUs based on the capability information of different RUs, thereby realizing the on-demand configuration of RU capabilities for different RUs and improving the flexibility of configuring RU capabilities.

[0125] In another possible implementation, the first DU determines the capability configuration information of some RUs indicated by the received capability information of the RU based on the capability information of the RU. For example, if the first DU receives capability information of multiple RUs, but only some of the multiple RUs are associated with the first DU, the first DU only determines the capability configuration information of some of the RUs. For an explanation of the association, please refer to the relevant description in step 302 above and will not be repeated here.

[0126] For example, a first DU receives capability information for RU#1, RU#2, and RU#3 from a network control device. If both RU#1 and RU#2 are associated with the first DU, but RU#3 is not, the first DU determines only the capability configuration information for RU#1 and RU#2. The first DU then sends the capability configuration information for RU#1 and RU#2 to the network control device in a second response message.

[0127] It should be understood that the first DU can determine the same capability configuration information for different RUs, or can determine different capability configuration information for different RUs, which is not limited here.

[0128] In actual applications, the first DU can use any of the aforementioned implementations to determine the capability configuration information of at least one RU.

[0129] In addition, the capability configuration information of the first RU is used to enable the capability of the first RU. Optionally, the capability configuration information of the first RU includes sensing capability configuration information of the first RU, and the sensing capability configuration information of the first RU is used to enable the sensing capability of the first RU.

[0130] Optionally, the second response message sent by the first DU also includes sensing capability information of the first DU. The sensing capability information of the first DU is used to indicate the sensing measurement capabilities supported by the first DU and / or the sensing processing capabilities supported by the first DU. It can also be understood that the sensing capability information of the first DU is used to indicate the sensing processing types and / or sensing measurement types supported by the first DU. The sensing measurement capabilities supported by the first DU include the types of sensing measurement data supported by the first DU, i.e., the types of sensing measurement data that the first DU can obtain through sensing measurement. Optionally, the types of sensing measurement data supported by the first DU include at least one of layer 1 data (referred to as L1 data), layer 2 data (referred to as L2 data), layer 3 data (referred to as L3 data), or layer 4 data (referred to as L4 data). Furthermore, the sensing processing capabilities supported by the first DU refer to the types of sensing measurement data that the first DU can process, i.e., the types of sensing measurement data that the first DU can process. For example, the sensing processing capabilities supported by the first DU may include processing L1 data into L2 data. For another example, the sensing processing capabilities supported by the first DU may include processing L1 data or L2 data into L3 data or L4 data.

[0131] It should be understood that the network control device is connected to at least one DU through a second interface. If the network control device sends capability information of at least one RU to at least one DU, the network control device may receive second response messages from different DUs from at least one DU respectively, and the capability configuration information of at least one RU carried in the second response messages from different DUs may be different.

[0132] In one possible implementation, in addition to receiving the second response message from the first DU through the second interface, the network control device also receives a second response message from the second DU through the second interface. The second response message from the first DU includes capability configuration information of at least one RU, and the second response message from the second DU includes capability configuration information of at least one RU. However, the capability configuration information of RUs from different DUs may not be exactly the same. In this case, the network control device will execute step 304 to resolve the configuration conflict.

[0133] Step 304: The network control device determines capability configuration information of each RU in the at least one RU based on the received capability configuration information of the at least one RU.

[0134] Optionally, when the capability configuration information for a particular RU comes from different DUs, the capability configuration information from the different DUs may be different, i.e., a configuration conflict may occur. For example, a first DU determines first capability configuration information for a first RU, and a second DU determines second capability configuration information for the first RU. The second response message from the first DU received by the network control device carries the first capability configuration information of the first RU, and the second response message from the second DU carries the second capability configuration information of the first RU, and the first capability configuration information and the second capability configuration information are different.

[0135] It should be understood that the first capability configuration information is different from the second capability configuration information, and may be implemented in at least one of the following ways:

[0136] In one implementation, the capability type enabled by the first RU indicated by the first capability configuration information is different from the capability type enabled by the first RU indicated by the second capability configuration information. For example, the first capability configuration information instructs the first RU to enable a first perception measurement capability, while the second capability configuration information instructs the first RU to enable a second perception measurement capability, where the first perception measurement capability is different from the second perception measurement capability. For example, the first capability configuration information instructs the first RU to measure L1 data and report the L1 data, while the second capability configuration information instructs the first RU to measure L1 data, process the L1 data into L2 data, and report the L2 data.

[0137] In another implementation, the first capability configuration information indicates that the parameters for enabling the first capability type are different from the parameters for enabling the first capability type indicated by the second capability configuration information. For example, the first capability configuration information instructs the first RU to enable the first perception measurement capability and use the first parameters, while the second capability configuration information instructs the first RU to enable the first perception measurement capability and use the second parameters, where the first parameters are different from the second parameters. For example, the first capability configuration information instructs the first RU to measure L1 data and report the L1 data using a bandwidth of 5.2 Gbps, while the second capability configuration information instructs the first RU to measure L1 data and report the L1 data using a bandwidth of 1 Gbps.

[0138] It should be understood that in actual applications, the capability configuration information determined by different DUs for the same RU may indicate different capability types and use different parameters, which is not limited in this application.

[0139] When the network control device receives capability configuration information for the same RU (for example, the first RU) from different DUs, the network control device determines the capability configuration information that the RU ultimately uses for the same RU, that is, the network control device determines the capability configuration information of each RU based on the capability configuration information of at least one RU received. Exemplarily, the network control device determines the third capability configuration information of the first RU based on the first capability configuration information of the first RU and the second capability configuration information of the first RU. The third capability configuration information is the capability configuration information sent to the first RU via the first response message. The third capability configuration information can be understood as the capability configuration information that the network control device ultimately sends to the first RU. It can be seen that the network control device can determine the capability configuration information that is ultimately sent down by the first RU based on the capability configuration information from different DUs for the first RU in at least one second response message received. This solves the problem of possible configuration conflicts between multiple RUs and multiple DUs, which is conducive to improving the success rate of establishing the first connection.

[0140] It should be understood that the third capability configuration information may be different from the first capability configuration information, may be different from the second capability configuration information, or may be different from both the first capability configuration information and the second capability configuration information.

[0141] Optionally, when the third capability configuration information is different from the first capability configuration information, the network control device sends the third capability configuration information to the first DU; when the third capability configuration information is different from the second capability configuration information, the network control device sends the third capability configuration information to the second DU. It can be understood that when the configuration determined by the network device is different from the configuration determined by the DU, the network device will report the updated capability configuration information to the DU so that the configuration for the same RU known to the DU and the network control device is consistent, and the configuration for the same RU known to different DUs is consistent.

[0142] Step 305: The network control device sends a first response message to the first RU through the first interface; correspondingly, the first RU receives the first response message from the network control device through the first interface.

[0143] The first response message refers to a message in response to the first request message, and includes capability configuration information of the first RU.

[0144] Specifically, after the network control device determines the capability configuration information ultimately used by the same RU, the network control device sends the capability configuration information of the RU to the corresponding RU via a first response message. Exemplarily, the network control device sends the first response message carrying the capability configuration information of the first RU to the first RU via the first interface, and the network control device sends the first response message carrying the capability configuration information of the second RU to the second RU via the first interface.

[0145] After each RU receives its own capability configuration information, each RU enables the capability indicated by the capability configuration information based on the capability configuration information of each RU. For example, after a first RU receives the capability configuration information of a first RU, the first RU enables the capability indicated by the capability configuration information based on the capability configuration information of the first RU. At this point, each RU (e.g., the first RU) completes the establishment of a first connection with the network control device.

[0146] In this embodiment, the network control device can establish a first connection between at least one RU and at least one DU through the first interface and the second interface, breaking the fixed connection relationship between the RU and the DU in the traditional technology, so that at least one RU and at least one DU can be connected through the network control device, which is beneficial to improving the underlying cross-site collaboration on the RAN side, and further beneficial to improving the performance of cross-site services.

[0147] As shown in FIG4 , the network control device, DU, and CU in this application establish a second connection through the following process:

[0148] Step 401: The network control device receives a third request message from the first DU through the second interface; accordingly, the first DU sends the third request message to the network control device through the second interface.

[0149] The first DU is one of at least one DU connected to the network control device via the second interface. Optionally, the first DU may be a DU that has established a first connection with at least one RU. The third request message sent by the first DU includes information about the first DU.

[0150] It should be understood that this step only takes the first DU sending the third request message as an example, and in actual applications, the network control device is connected to at least one DU through the second interface, and some or all of the at least one DU send a third request message to the network control device. In one example, the network control device is connected to DU#1, DU#2, and DU#3 through the second interface respectively. If DU#1, DU#2, and DU#3 all have the need to establish a second connection with the network control device, DU#1, DU#2, and DU#3 can send a third request message 1, a third request message 2, and a third request message 3 to the network control device respectively. Among them, the third request message 1 carries the information of DU#1, the third request message 2 carries the information of DU#2, and the third request message 3 carries the information of DU#3. In another example, the network control device is connected to DU#1, DU#2, and DU#3 respectively through the second interface. If only some of DU#1, DU#2, and DU#3 (for example, DU#1 and DU#2) need to establish a second connection with the network control device, DU#1 and DU#2 can send a third request message 1 and a third request message 2 to the network control device, respectively, while DU#3 can temporarily not send the third request message 3 to the network control device. The third request message 1 carries information about DU#1, and the third request message 2 carries information about DU#2.

[0151] It should also be understood that when at least two DUs out of at least one DU send a third request message to the network control device, the at least two DUs may send the third request message to the network control device at the same time, or may send the third request message to the network control device at different times, which is not limited in this application.

[0152] In addition, the information of the first DU includes information of a serving cell of the first DU, so that the CU determines which cells need to be activated based on the information of the serving cell of the first DU.

[0153] Optionally, the information of the first DU also includes perception capability information of the first DU; the perception capability information of the first DU is used to indicate the perception measurement capability supported by the first DU and / or the perception processing capability supported by the first DU.

[0154] Among them, the perception measurement capability supported by the first DU includes the type of perception measurement data supported by the first DU, that is, what types of perception measurement data can the first DU obtain through perception measurement. Optionally, the type of perception measurement data supported by the first DU includes at least one of layer 1 data (referred to as L1 data), layer 2 data (referred to as L2 data), layer 3 data (referred to as L3 data) or layer 4 data (referred to as L4 data). Different types of data require different transmission bandwidths. For an explanation of the types of the aforementioned various perception measurement data, please refer to the relevant introduction in the previous step 301 and will not be repeated here.

[0155] In addition, the perceptual processing capability supported by the first DU refers to the type of perceptual measurement data that the first DU can process, that is, what types of perceptual measurement data the first DU can process. For example, the perceptual processing capability supported by the first DU may be processing L2 data into L3 data or L4 data.

[0156] Optionally, the information of the first DU also includes physical layer capability information of the first DU (also called layer 1 capability information or communication capability information), which is used to indicate the capabilities of the physical layer supported by the first DU. It should be noted that the capabilities of the physical layer supported by the first DU are related to the way the fronthaul link is divided. When different fronthaul interface protocols are used for functional division between the RU and the DU, the capabilities of the physical layer supported by the DU are different. This application does not limit the way the functions are divided between the RU and the DU.

[0157] It should be understood that different DUs in at least one DU connected to the network control device may report different DU information to the network control device. The information of different DUs may include the same type of capability information, but the specific parameters indicated by the capability information are different; or the capability information of different DUs may include different types of capability information, which is not limited by this application.

[0158] After the network control device collects information about the at least one DU from the at least one DU, the network control device will report the information about the at least one DU to at least one CU connected to the network control device. Specifically, the network control device will execute step 402.

[0159] Step 402: The network control device sends a fourth request message to the first CU through the third interface; correspondingly, the first CU receives the fourth request message from the network control device through the third interface.

[0160] The first CU is one of at least one CU connected to the network control device via the third interface. The fourth request message sent by the network control device to the first CU includes information about at least one DU. The information about the at least one DU includes information about the first DU. For an introduction to the information about the first DU, please refer to step 401 above and will not be repeated here.

[0161] The information of the at least one DU may be information of all or part of the DUs received by the network control device, that is, the network control device sends information of all or part of the received DUs to the first CU.

[0162] In one embodiment, the information of the at least one DU may be the information of all DUs received by the network control device. It can be understood that the network control device sends the information of all received DUs to the first CU based on the information of the DUs received. Exemplarily, the network control device receives a third request message 1, a third request message 2, and a third request message 3 from DU#1, DU#2, and DU#3, respectively, wherein the third request message 1 carries the information of DU#1, the third request message 2 carries the information of DU#2, and the third request message 3 carries the information of DU#3. The network control device carries the information of DU#1, DU#2, and DU#3 in a fourth request message and sends it to the first CU through the third interface.

[0163] Optionally, the network control device is connected to at least one CU via a third interface, and the network control device may also send information of all DUs received by the network control device to the at least one CU.

[0164] In this embodiment, the network control device reports information of all DUs received by the network control device to at least one CU (including the first CU), so that at least one CU (including the first CU) can perceive all DUs connected to the network control device through the second interface, so that at least one CU (including the first CU) can determine a more flexible configuration for each DU.

[0165] In another embodiment, the information of the at least one DU may be the information of some DUs among the information of each DU received by the network control device. It can be understood that the network control device receives the information of multiple DUs, but the network control device only sends the information of some DUs to the first CU. Optionally, the network control device only sends the information of the DUs that are associated with the first CU to the first CU. If a DU is associated with the first CU, the first CU can configure the DU. The first CU can be associated with at least one DU. The association relationship can be pre-configured or configured by a network management device (for example, OAM), which is not limited in this application.

[0166] Exemplarily, the network control device receives third request message 1, third request message 2, and third request message 3 from DU#1, DU#2, and DU#3, respectively, where third request message 1 carries information about DU#1, third request message 2 carries information about DU#2, and third request message 3 carries information about DU#3. If both DU#1 and DU#2 are associated with the first CU, but DU#3 is not associated with the first CU, the network control device carries only the information about DU#1 and DU#2 in a fourth request message and sends it to the first CU via the third interface.

[0167] Optionally, the network control device is connected to at least one CU via a third interface. In addition to sending information about the DU associated with the first CU to the first CU, the network control device can also send information about the DU associated with other CUs to other CUs. This application does not limit this.

[0168] In this embodiment, the network control device reports the information of the DU associated with the first CU to the first CU, thereby preventing the first CU from receiving information of DUs unrelated to the first CU, improving the transmission efficiency of the DU information, and facilitating the first CU to efficiently configure the DU.

[0169] Optionally, the fourth request message also includes capability information of at least one RU and / or capability configuration information of at least one RU. For explanations of the capability information of the RU and the capability configuration information of the RU, please refer to the relevant description in the embodiment corresponding to FIG3 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0170] Optionally, the at least one RU is associated with the at least one DU. For example, a first connection has been established between the at least one RU and the at least one DU. That is, the network control device not only sends the information of the at least one DU to the first CU, but also sends the capability information of the at least one RU that establishes the first connection with the at least one DU, so that the first CU can determine more appropriate configuration information for the DU based on the information of the at least one DU and the capability information of the at least one RU.

[0171] Step 403: The network control device receives a fourth response message from the first CU through the third interface; accordingly, the first CU sends a fourth response message to the network control device through the third interface.

[0172] After receiving information about at least one CU from the network control device, the first CU determines configuration information for at least one DU. The first CU then sends the configuration information for the at least one DU to the network control device via a fourth response message. The fourth response message is a message in response to the fourth request message. The fourth response message includes the configuration information for the at least one DU, and the configuration information for the at least one DU includes the configuration information for the first DU.

[0173] It should be noted that "configuration information of at least one DU" is not necessarily the same as the "at least one DU" in "information of at least one DU." That is, the first CU may determine the configuration information of all DUs indicated by the received DU information based on the received DU information, or the first CU may determine the configuration information of some DUs indicated by the received DU information based on the received DU information.

[0174] In a possible implementation, the first CU determines the configuration information of all DUs indicated by the received DU information based on the received DU information. It can be understood that the first CU determines the configuration information of the DUs whose information it receives.

[0175] In one example, the first CU determines a configuration information that is applicable to all DUs, that is, the configuration information is adapted to the DUs indicated by the information of all DUs received by the first CU. For example, the first CU receives information about DU#1, DU#2, and DU#3 from the network control device, then the first CU determines the configuration information applicable to DU#1, DU#2, and DU#3, and sends the configuration information to the network control device through a fourth response message. It can be understood that when the capabilities indicated by the information of different DUs are similar, and the aforementioned different DUs perform the same or similar services, the first CU can determine the same configuration information for multiple DUs, which is beneficial to improving the efficiency of the first CU in determining the configuration information of each DU.

[0176] In another example, the first CU determines different configuration information for different DUs, that is, the configuration information of different DUs is different. For example, the first CU receives information about DU#1, DU#2, and DU#3 from the network control device, then the first CU determines the configuration information of DU#1, the configuration information of DU#2, and the configuration information of DU#3 respectively, and the configuration information of DU#1, the configuration information of DU#2, and the configuration information of DU#3 are not exactly the same. Then, the first CU carries the configuration information of DU#1, the configuration information of DU#2, and the configuration information of DU#3 in the fourth response message, and sends it to the network control device through the fourth response message. It can be understood that the network control device can configure the configuration information of each DU for different DUs based on the information of different DUs, thereby realizing the ability to configure DUs on demand for different DUs and improving the flexibility of the ability to configure DUs.

[0177] In another possible implementation, the first CU determines configuration information for some of the DUs indicated by the received DU information based on the received DU information. For example, if the first CU receives information about multiple DUs, but only some of the multiple DUs are associated with the first CU, the first CU determines configuration information for only some of the DUs. For an explanation of the association relationships, please refer to the relevant description in step 402 above and will not be repeated here.

[0178] For example, the first CU receives information about DU#1, DU#2, and DU#3 from the network control device. If both DU#1 and DU#2 are associated with the first CU, but DU#3 is not, the first CU determines only the configuration information for DU#1 and DU#2. The first CU then carries the configuration information for DU#1 and DU#2 in a fourth response message and sends it to the network control device via the fourth response message.

[0179] It should be understood that the first CU may determine the same configuration information for different DUs, or may determine different configuration information for different DUs, which is not limited here.

[0180] In practical applications, the first CU may adopt any of the aforementioned implementations to determine the configuration information of at least one DU.

[0181] The configuration information of the first DU includes configuration information of a serving cell of the first DU, and the configuration information of the serving cell of the first DU is used to indicate which cells in the first DU are activated. Exemplarily, the configuration information of the serving cell may include a list of cells to be activated by the first DU, which is used to indicate the cells that the first CU requests the first DU to activate.

[0182] Optionally, the configuration information of the first DU also includes perception capability configuration information of the first DU.

[0183] It should be understood that the network control device is connected to at least one CU through a third interface. If the network control device sends information of at least one DU to at least one CU, the network control device may receive fourth response messages from different CUs from at least one CU respectively, and the configuration information of at least one DU carried in the fourth response messages from different CUs may be different.

[0184] In one possible implementation, in addition to receiving the fourth response message from the first CU via the third interface, the network control device also receives a fourth response message from the second CU via the third interface. The fourth response message from the first CU includes configuration information for at least one DU, and the fourth response message from the second CU includes configuration information for at least one DU. However, the configuration information for DUs from different CUs may not be exactly the same. In this case, the network control device executes step 404 to resolve the configuration conflict.

[0185] Step 404: The network control device determines configuration information of each DU in the at least one DU based on the received configuration information of the at least one DU.

[0186] Optionally, when the configuration information for a certain DU comes from different CUs, the configuration information from different CUs may be different, that is, a configuration conflict may occur. For example, the first CU determines the first configuration information for the first DU, and the second CU determines the second configuration information for the first DU. The fourth response message from the first CU received by the network control device carries the first configuration information of the first DU, and the fourth response message from the second CU carries the second configuration information of the first DU, and the first configuration information is different from the second configuration information.

[0187] It should be understood that the first configuration information is different from the second configuration information, and may be implemented in at least one of the following ways:

[0188] In one implementation, the serving cell configuration information included in the first configuration information is different from the serving cell configuration information included in the second configuration information. For example, the serving cell configuration information determined by the first CU indicates activated cells A, B, and C, while the serving cell configuration information determined by the second CU indicates activated cells B, C, and D.

[0189] In another implementation, the perception capability configuration information of the first DU included in the first configuration information is different from the perception capability configuration information of the first DU included in the second configuration information.

[0190] In one example, the capability type enabled by the first DU indicated by the first configuration information is different from the capability type enabled by the second configuration information. For example, the first configuration information instructs the first DU to enable a first perception processing capability, while the second configuration information instructs the first DU to enable a second perception processing capability, where the first perception processing capability is different from the second perception processing capability. For example, the first configuration information instructs the first DU to process received L1 data as L2 data, while the second configuration information instructs the first DU to process received L1 data as L3 data.

[0191] In another example, the parameters for enabling the first capability type indicated by the first configuration information are different from the parameters for enabling the first capability type indicated by the second configuration information. For example, the first configuration information instructs the first DU to enable the first sensing processing capability and use third parameters, while the second configuration information instructs the first DU to enable the first sensing processing capability and use fourth parameters, where the third parameters are different from the fourth parameters.

[0192] It should be understood that in actual applications, the configuration information for the same DU determined by different CUs may simultaneously indicate different serving cell configuration information and perception capability configuration information, which is not limited in this application.

[0193] When the network control device receives configuration information for the same DU (for example, the first DU) from different CUs, the network control device determines the configuration information that the DU ultimately uses for the same DU, that is, the network control device determines the configuration information of each DU based on the configuration information of at least one DU received. Exemplarily, the network control device determines the third configuration information of the first DU based on the first configuration information of the first DU and the second configuration information of the first DU. The third configuration information is the configuration information sent to the first DU via the third response message. The third configuration information can be understood as the configuration information that the network control device ultimately sends to the first DU. It can be seen that the network control device can determine the configuration information that is ultimately sent down by the first DU based on the configuration information from different CUs for the first DU in at least one fourth response message received. This solves the problem of possible configuration conflicts between multiple DUs and multiple CUs, which is conducive to improving the success rate of establishing the first connection.

[0194] It should be understood that the third configuration information may be different from the first configuration information, may be different from the second configuration information, or may be different from both the first configuration information and the second configuration information.

[0195] Optionally, when the third configuration information is different from the first configuration information, the network control device sends the third configuration information to the first CU; when the third configuration information is different from the second configuration information, the network control device sends the third configuration information to the second CU. It can be understood that when the configuration determined by the network device is different from the configuration determined by the CU, the network device will report the updated configuration information to the CU so that the configuration for the same DU known to the CU and the network control device is consistent, and that the configuration for the same DU known to different CUs is consistent.

[0196] Step 405: The network control device sends a third response message to the first DU through the second interface; correspondingly, the first DU receives the third response message from the network control device through the second interface.

[0197] The third response message is a message in response to the third request message and includes configuration information of the first DU.

[0198] Specifically, after the network control device determines the configuration information ultimately used by the same DU, the network control device sends the configuration information of the DU to the corresponding DU via a third response message. Exemplarily, the network control device sends the third response message carrying the configuration information of the first DU to the first DU via the second interface, and the network control device sends the third response message carrying the configuration information of the second DU to the second DU via the second interface.

[0199] After each DU receives its own configuration information, it enables the capabilities indicated by the configuration information based on the configuration information of each DU and activates the serving cell. For example, after a first DU receives the configuration information of a first DU, it enables the capabilities indicated by the configuration information based on the configuration information of the first DU. At this point, each DU (e.g., the first DU) completes the establishment of the second connection with the network control device.

[0200] In this embodiment, the network control device can establish a second connection between at least one DU and at least one CU through the second interface and the third interface, breaking the fixed connection relationship between the DU and the CU in the traditional technology, so that at least one DU and at least one CU can be connected through the network control device, which is beneficial to improving the underlying cross-site collaboration on the RAN side, and further beneficial to improving the performance of cross-site services.

[0201] In addition, the network control device 01 provided in this application also has the function of processing perception data. As shown in Figure 5, a schematic diagram of the main process of the perception processing method provided in this application is shown. In the embodiment shown in Figure 5, the network control device, RU and DU mainly perform the following steps:

[0202] Step 501: A network control device receives sensing measurement data of at least one RU from the RU.

[0203] Among them, at least one RU is an RU that establishes a first connection with the network control device.

[0204] Specifically, at least one RU may perform perception measurement to obtain perception measurement data. The process of the RU performing the perception measurement may be that the RU sends a measurement signal and receives a feedback signal corresponding to the measurement signal, or that the RU sends a measurement signal and other RUs receive feedback signals corresponding to the measurement signal, or that the RU receives feedback signals corresponding to measurement signals sent by other RUs, which is not limited in this application.

[0205] Optionally, at least one RU may perform a perception measurement based on the perception measurement configuration, and each RU may thereby obtain its own perception measurement data. The perception measurement configuration may be determined by a network control device or autonomously by the RU. For details, please refer to step 603 in the embodiment corresponding to FIG. 6 below, which is not further described here.

[0206] Step 502: The network control device receives sensing measurement data of at least one DU from the DU.

[0207] The at least one DU is a DU that establishes a second connection with the network control device.

[0208] The DU's perception measurement data may be data obtained by the DU performing perception measurement, or may be intermediate data obtained by the DU performing preliminary processing on the RU's perception measurement data, which is not limited in this application. The process of the DU performing perception measurement may be the process of the DU collecting data generated by the perception service.

[0209] Optionally, at least one DU may perform a perception measurement based on the perception measurement configuration and obtain respective perception measurement data. The perception measurement configuration may be determined by the network control device or autonomously by the DU. For details, please refer to step 604 in the embodiment corresponding to FIG. 6 below, which is not further described here.

[0210] Note that step 502 is optional. For example, if the perception measurement service does not require the DU to perform perception measurement, the network control device and the DU do not perform step 502. Alternatively, if the DU is capable of performing perception measurement but does not require the network control device to process the perception measurement data, the network control device and the DU do not perform step 502.

[0211] Step 503: The network control device obtains perception processing data based on the perception measurement data of at least one RU (and the perception measurement data of at least one DU).

[0212] The perception processing data may be intermediate data of the perception service or the processing result ultimately used by the perception service, which is not limited in this application. For ease of introduction, in this embodiment, the data obtained by processing the perception measurement data is collectively referred to as perception processing data.

[0213] In one embodiment, if the network control device does not perform step 502, that is, the network control device only obtains the perception measurement data from at least one RU, the network control device obtains the perception processing data based on the perception measurement data of the at least one RU.

[0214] In another embodiment, if the network control device performs step 502, that is, the network control device not only obtains perception measurement data from at least one RU, but also obtains perception measurement data from at least one DU, then the network control device obtains perception processing data based on the perception measurement data of at least one RU and the perception measurement data of at least one DU.

[0215] It should be noted that in the present application, the network control device can determine the perception processing data based on the perception measurement data, or it can send the perception measurement data to the DU, and the DU determines the perception processing data based on the perception measurement data.

[0216] In one possible implementation, the network control device performs sensing processing on the sensing measurement data of at least one RU (and the sensing measurement data of at least one DU) to obtain sensing processed data. For details, please refer to the embodiment corresponding to FIG6 below.

[0217] In another possible implementation, the network control device sends the perception measurement data of at least one RU to at least one DU, and the at least one DU performs perception processing on the perception measurement data of the at least one RU (and the perception measurement data of at least one DU) to obtain perception-processed data. For details, please refer to the embodiment corresponding to FIG. 7 below.

[0218] Step 504: The network control device sends the perception processing data to at least one CU.

[0219] Step 504 is optional. For example, when the network control device can directly use the sensory processing data to configure or optimize the service, the network control device may not execute step 504. When the sensory processing data requires further processing by the CU, or the CU is required to configure or optimize the service, the network control device will execute step 504.

[0220] As can be seen, in traditional technologies, perception measurement data needs to be transmitted to the CU on the RAN side. After the CU exchanges perception measurement data with the CU, the CU generates perception processing data. Alternatively, the perception measurement data is transmitted to the CN, which then generates perception processing data. In this embodiment, however, the network control device can directly receive perception measurement data from at least one RU (and at least one DU) and obtain perception processing data based on the perception measurement data. Therefore, the perception measurement data can be processed into perception processing data without being transmitted to the CU or CN, which helps reduce the latency of perception processing and improve the efficiency of perception processing.

[0221] The following will further introduce the perception processing method provided by this application in conjunction with Figure 6. As shown in Figure 6, it is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the perception processing method provided by this application. In the embodiment shown in Figure 6, the network control device can process the perception measurement data into perception processing data. Specifically, the network control device, RU and DU mainly perform the following steps:

[0222] Step 601: A network control device receives a sensing service request from at least one CU.

[0223] The sensing service request is used to request initiation of at least one type of sensing service. It can be understood that the sensing service request is used to indicate the sensing requirements of the CU.

[0224] Optionally, the perception service request includes perception type information, which is used to indicate which type of perception service is initiated. Optionally, the perception service request also includes target area information, which is used to indicate the measurement signal of the area to be perceived by the initiated perception service. Optionally, the perception service request also includes a key performance indicator (KPI), which is used to indicate a key parameter for measuring the effectiveness of the perception service.

[0225] It should be noted that in this embodiment, step 601 is an optional step. For example, when the network control device autonomously initiates at least one type of sensing service, the network control device may not perform step 601.

[0226] Step 602: The network control device determines the RU and / or DU involved in the sensing service.

[0227] Specifically, the network control device determines the RU and / or DU participating in this perception service based on the perception demand (for example, the perception demand initiated by the CU or the perception demand initiated by the network control device) and combined with the perception capabilities of the RU and / or DU.

[0228] Specifically, the network control device can determine the perception capability of the RU based on the perception capability information and / or perception capability configuration information of the RU obtained from at least one RU. For example, in the process of establishing a first connection between the network control device and at least one RU, the network control device can receive the capability information of each RU from at least one RU, and the capability information of the RU includes the physical layer capability information, perception capability information, etc. of the RU; and the network control device can also receive the capability configuration information of the DU for each RU from at least one DU, and the capability configuration information includes perception capability configuration information. Therefore, the network control device can determine which perception capabilities are enabled for each RU based on the perception capability information and / or perception capability configuration information of each RU.

[0229] Specifically, the network control device can determine the perception capability of the DU based on the perception capability information and / or perception capability configuration information of the DU obtained from at least one DU. For example, in the process of establishing a second connection between the network control device and at least one RU, the network control device can receive information of each DU from at least one DU, and the information of the DU includes the perception capability information of the DU, etc.; and the network control device can also receive configuration information of the CU for each DU from at least one CU, and the configuration information includes perception capability configuration information. Therefore, the network control device can determine which perception capabilities are enabled for each DU based on the perception capability information and / or perception capability configuration information of each DU.

[0230] Optionally, after the network control device determines the RU and / or DU participating in this perception service, the network control device may generate perception measurement configuration information for the RU and / or DU, and send the perception measurement configuration information to the RU and / or DU. The perception measurement configuration information is used to configure the relevant parameters of the RU or DU in performing perception measurement. Exemplarily, the perception measurement configuration information includes information such as the perception target, sensitivity threshold, sampling rate, and trigger conditions. Optionally, the perception measurement configuration information also includes a compression indication for indicating whether to compress the perception measurement data. Optionally, the perception measurement configuration information also includes a perception measurement mode, which includes a self-transmitting and self-receiving mode and a self-transmitting and receiving mode. Among them, the self-transmitting and receiving mode refers to the same RU (or DU) sending a measurement signal and receiving a feedback signal corresponding to the measurement signal; the self-transmitting and receiving mode refers to one RU (or DU) sending a measurement signal and another RU (or DU) receiving the measurement signal.

[0231] It should be understood that when there are multiple RUs and / or multiple DUs participating in this perception service, the network control device can determine the perception measurement configuration information of each RU separately for each RU, and determine the perception measurement configuration information of each DU separately for each DU.

[0232] Step 603: The first RU obtains sensing measurement configuration information of the first RU.

[0233] The first RU is an RU participating in the current sensing service. The first RU may obtain the sensing measurement configuration information of the first RU by any of the following implementations:

[0234] In one possible implementation, a network control device generates perception measurement configuration information for a first RU, and then sends the perception measurement configuration information to the first RU, where the perception measurement configuration information is used to instruct the first RU to perform perception measurement. Optionally, the network control device sends the perception measurement configuration information for each RU to at least one RU participating in the perception service, where the at least one RU includes the first RU.

[0235] It should be noted that the RUs to which the network control device sends the perception measurement configuration information are related to the perception measurement mode of the RU. The perception measurement mode of the RU can be pre-configured or configured through the perception measurement configuration information, which is not limited here.

[0236] In one example, if the first RU adopts the self-transmitting and self-receiving mode, that is, the first RU sends a measurement signal, and the first RU receives a feedback signal corresponding to the measurement signal, the network control device only needs to send the first RU's perception measurement configuration information to the first RU to complete the perception measurement configuration of the first RU.

[0237] In another example, if the first RU adopts the self-transmitting and receiving mode, that is, the first RU sends a measurement signal and other RUs (for example, the second RU) receive a feedback signal corresponding to the measurement signal, then the network control device needs to send the first RU's perception measurement configuration information to the first RU, and send the second RU's perception measurement configuration information to the second RU, so that the second RU can know the measurement signal received from the first RU.

[0238] In this embodiment, the network control device can determine the perception measurement configuration information and send the perception measurement configuration information to the first RU, so that the perception measurement device can uniformly and efficiently configure each RU participating in this perception service, which is conducive to ensuring the configuration efficiency of the perception measurement configuration.

[0239] In another possible implementation, the first RU generates a perception measurement configuration for the first RU. Optionally, the network control device sends first indication information to a first RU among the at least one RU, where the first indication information is used to instruct the first RU to perform the first perception measurement. After the first RU receives the first indication information, the first RU generates first perception measurement configuration information for the first perception measurement.

[0240] This embodiment can be applied to an RU that adopts a self-transmitting and self-receiving mode. The first RU generates a perception measurement configuration for the first RU without the network control device generating the perception measurement configuration for the first RU. This is beneficial to saving the signaling overhead of the network control device sending the perception measurement configuration and improving the configuration efficiency of the perception measurement configuration.

[0241] In another possible implementation, other RUs (e.g., the second RU) generate a perception measurement configuration for the first RU. For example, the second RU adopts a self-transmitting and receiving mode, and the first RU serves as the receiving end of the measurement signal, that is, the second RU sends the measurement signal, and the first RU receives a feedback signal corresponding to the measurement signal. In this case, the second RU can generate perception measurement configuration information for the first RU (abbreviated as second perception measurement configuration information), and the second perception measurement configuration information is used to instruct the first RU in at least one RU to perform the second perception measurement. Then, the second RU sends the second perception measurement configuration information to the network control device, and then the network control device sends the second perception measurement configuration information to the first RU.

[0242] This embodiment can be applied to RUs that adopt the self-transmitting and receiving mode, which is beneficial to saving the processing overhead of the network control device in generating the perception measurement configuration and improving the configuration efficiency of the perception measurement configuration.

[0243] It should be understood that in actual applications, there may be multiple RUs participating in this perception service. Therefore, multiple RUs can respectively adopt any of the aforementioned implementation methods to obtain the perception measurement configuration information of the RU. The way in which different RUs obtain the perception measurement configuration information may be the same or different, and this application does not limit it.

[0244] Step 604: The first DU obtains sensing measurement configuration information of the first DU.

[0245] It should be understood that step 604 is an optional step. When the current sensing service involves the first DU, the first DU executes step 604; when the current sensing service does not involve the DU, the first DU does not execute step 604.

[0246] The first DU is a DU participating in this sensing service. The first DU may obtain the sensing measurement configuration of the first DU by any of the following implementations:

[0247] In one possible implementation, a network control device generates a perception measurement configuration for a first DU, and then sends perception measurement configuration information to the first DU, where the perception measurement configuration information is used to instruct the first DU to perform the perception measurement. Optionally, the perception measurement configuration information is used to configure relevant parameters for the DU to perform the perception measurement.

[0248] Optionally, the network control device sends the perception measurement configuration information of each DU to at least one DU participating in this perception service, where the at least one DU includes the first DU.

[0249] In this embodiment, the network control device can determine the perception measurement configuration information and send the perception measurement configuration information to the first DU, so that the perception measurement device can uniformly and efficiently configure each DU participating in this perception service, which is conducive to ensuring the configuration efficiency of the perception measurement configuration.

[0250] In another possible implementation, the first DU generates a perception measurement configuration for the first DU. Optionally, the network control device sends second indication information to a first DU among the at least one DU, where the second indication information is used to instruct the first DU to perform the first perception measurement. After the first DU receives the second indication information, the first DU generates third perception measurement configuration information for the first perception measurement.

[0251] In this embodiment, the DU can autonomously generate the perception measurement configuration, which is beneficial to saving the signaling overhead of the network control device sending the perception measurement configuration and improving the configuration efficiency of the perception measurement configuration.

[0252] It should be understood that in actual applications, there may be multiple DUs participating in this perception service. Therefore, multiple DUs can respectively adopt any of the aforementioned implementation methods to obtain the perception measurement configuration information of the DU. The way in which different DUs obtain the perception measurement configuration information may be the same or different, and this application does not limit it.

[0253] Step 605: The network control device receives sensing measurement data of the RU from at least one RU.

[0254] The RU's perception measurement data is data obtained by the RU performing perception measurements in this perception service. The perception measurement data can be L1 data, L2 data, or L3 data. The specific type of the perception measurement data is related to the RU's perception capability configuration information, that is, which perception capabilities the RU has enabled. For details, please refer to the relevant introduction in the previous article and will not be repeated here.

[0255] In addition, before the RU sends the RU's perception measurement data to the network control device, the network control device will establish a first data transmission channel with the RU, where the first data transmission channel is used to transmit the perception measurement data. For example, the perception measurement data measured by the RU can be transmitted to the network control device via the first data transmission channel.

[0256] Specifically, the network control device sends a fifth request message to at least one RU, the fifth request message including transport network layer (TNL) information on the network control device side; the network control device receives a fifth response message from at least one RU, the fifth response message including the transport network layer information on the RU side. The network control device then establishes a first data transmission channel based on the transport network layer information on the network control device side and the transport network layer information on the RU side.

[0257] For example, the transport network layer information on the network control device side can be the IP address or port number of the network control device, for example, the tunnel endpoint number of the GPRS tunneling protocol-user plane (GTP-U) at the user plane. The transport network layer information on the RU side can be the IP address or port number of the RU.

[0258] Step 606: The network control device receives sensing measurement data of at least one DU from the DU.

[0259] Step 606 is an optional step. The network control device only executes step 604 when the current sensing service involves DU; the network control device does not execute step 606 when the current sensing service does not involve DU.

[0260] In an example, the perception measurement data of the DU is data obtained by the DU performing perception measurement in this perception service. For example, the perception measurement data may be L1 data.

[0261] In another example, the sensing measurement data of the DU may also be data obtained by the DU processing the collected L1 data. For example, the sensing measurement data may be L2 data or L3 data obtained by the DU processing based on the L1 data.

[0262] It should be understood that in this embodiment, the specific type of perception measurement data is related to the perception capability configuration information of the DU, that is, it is related to which perception capabilities the DU has enabled. Please refer to the relevant introduction in the previous article for details and will not be repeated here.

[0263] In addition, before the DU sends the DU's perception measurement data to the network control device, the network control device will establish a second data transmission channel with the DU, and the second data transmission channel is used to transmit the perception measurement data. For example, the perception measurement data measured by the DU can be transmitted to the network control device via the second data transmission channel.

[0264] Specifically, the network control device sends a sixth request message to at least one DU, the sixth request message including TNL information on the network control device side; the network control device receives a sixth response message from at least one DU, the sixth response message including transport network layer information on the DU side. The network control device then establishes a second data transmission channel based on the transport network layer information on the network control device side and the transport network layer information on the DU side.

[0265] Exemplarily, the transport network layer information on the network control device side may be the IP address or port number of the network control device, for example, the tunnel endpoint number of GTP-U. The transport network layer information on the DU side may be the IP address or port number of the DU.

[0266] In step 607 , the network control device performs sensing processing on the sensing measurement data of at least one RU (and the sensing measurement data of at least one DU) to obtain sensing processed data.

[0267] Step 608: The network control device sends the perception processing data to at least one CU.

[0268] Step 608 is optional. For example, when the network control device can directly use the perception processing data to configure or optimize the service, the network control device may not execute step 608. When the perception processing data requires further processing by the CU, or the CU is required to configure or optimize the service, the network control device will execute step 608.

[0269] In this embodiment, the network control device can directly receive perception measurement data from at least one RU (and at least one DU) and determine perception processing data based on the perception measurement data of at least one RU (and the perception measurement data of at least one DU). Therefore, the perception measurement data can be processed into perception processing data without being transmitted to the CU or CN, which is conducive to reducing the latency of perception processing and improving the efficiency of perception processing.

[0270] Another embodiment of the perception processing method provided by this application will be described below with reference to FIG7 . In the embodiment shown in FIG7 , the network control device can send perception measurement data to the DU, which processes the perception measurement data into perception processing data. Specifically, the network control device, RU, and DU mainly perform the following steps:

[0271] Step 701: A network control device receives a sensing service request from at least one CU.

[0272] Step 702: The network control device determines the RU and / or DU involved in the sensing service.

[0273] Step 703: The first RU obtains sensing measurement configuration information of the first RU.

[0274] Step 704: The first DU obtains the sensing measurement configuration information of the first DU.

[0275] Step 704 is an optional step.

[0276] Step 705: The network control device receives sensing measurement data of the RU from at least one RU.

[0277] In this embodiment, steps 701 to 705 are similar to steps 601 to 605 in the embodiment corresponding to FIG. 6 . For details, please refer to the relevant introduction in steps 601 to 605 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0278] Step 706: The network control device sends the perception measurement data of the RU to at least one DU.

[0279] It should be understood that the network control device can send all the perception measurement data of at least one RU to a certain DU for processing; or, the network control device divides the perception measurement data of at least one RU into multiple parts and sends them to multiple DUs respectively, so that multiple DUs can be processed in parallel.

[0280] In addition, before the network control device sends the RU's perception measurement data to the DU, the network control device will establish a second data transmission channel with the DU. The second data transmission channel is used to transmit the perception measurement data and perception processing data. For example, the network control device can transmit the RU's perception measurement data received from the RU to the DU via the second data transmission channel.

[0281] Specifically, the network control device sends a sixth request message to at least one DU, the sixth request message including the network control device's TNL information. The network control device then receives a sixth response message from the at least one DU, the sixth response message including the DU's TNL information. The network control device then establishes a second data transmission channel based on the network control device's TNL information and the DU's TNL information. The specific implementation of establishing the second data transmission channel can be found in the description of step 606 above and is not detailed here.

[0282] Optionally, the sixth request message also includes QoS requirements for at least one type of perception measurement data. Exemplarily, the QoS requirements may be requirements such as processing accuracy, bit error rate, latency, or packet loss. Generally, the QoS requirements for different types of perception measurement data are generally different. For example, the QoS requirements may be processing accuracy requirements for different types of perception measurement data, for example, the processing accuracy requirements for the background information of the perception measurement are lower, and the processing accuracy requirements for the target information of the perception measurement are higher. The network control device sends the QoS requirements for at least one type of perception measurement data to at least one DU, so that the DU processes the perception measurement data based on the QoS requirements of various perception measurement data, thereby obtaining perception processing data that meets the requirements and improving the effectiveness of the perception processing data.

[0283] In step 707 , at least one DU performs perception processing on the perception measurement data of at least one RU (and the perception measurement data of at least one DU) to obtain perception processing data.

[0284] In a possible implementation, the DU does not participate in the perception measurement but can process the perception measurement data. The DU that receives the perception measurement data from the RU performs perception processing on the received perception measurement data from the RU to obtain perception processing data.

[0285] In another possible implementation, the DU participates in the perception measurement and generates perception measurement data. Upon receiving the perception measurement data from the RU, the DU performs perception processing based on the RU's perception measurement data and the DU's perception measurement data to obtain perception-processed data. For an explanation of the DU's perception measurement data, please refer to the previous description of step 606 and will not be repeated here.

[0286] Step 708: At least one DU sends the sensing processing data to the network control device.

[0287] Step 709: The network control device sends the perception processing data to at least one CU.

[0288] Step 709 is an optional step.

[0289] In one possible implementation, the network control device may directly forward the perception processing data received from at least one DU to at least one DU. Exemplarily, the perception processing data received by the network control device from at least one DU is L2 data. The network control device organizes and aggregates the received L2 data and sends the L2 data to at least one CU via a response message (e.g., a perception service response message in response to a perception service request).

[0290] In another possible implementation, the network control device may first perform perception processing on the perception processing data received from at least one DU, and then send the perception processing data processed by the network control device to at least one CU. Exemplarily, the perception processing data received by the network control device from at least one DU is L2 data. The network control device processes the received L2 data into L3 data or L4 data, and then sends the L3 data or L4 data to the at least one CU via a response message (e.g., a perception service response message in response to the perception service request).

[0291] In this embodiment, the network control device can send the perception measurement data received from at least one RU to the DU, and the DU determines the perception processing data based on the perception measurement data of at least one RU (and the perception measurement data of at least one DU). Therefore, the perception measurement data can be processed into perception processing data without being transmitted to the CU or CN, which is conducive to reducing the latency of perception processing and improving the efficiency of perception processing.

[0292] As shown in Figure 8, a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 80 provided in this application is provided. The communication device 80 can be the network control device in the embodiments corresponding to Figures 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7, or the DU in the embodiments corresponding to Figures 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7.

[0293] As shown in Figure 8, the communication device 80 may include a processor 801, a memory 803, and a communication interface 802. The processor 801 is coupled to the memory 803, and the processor 801 is coupled to the communication interface 802.

[0294] The processor 801 may be a central processing unit (CPU) or another type of processor. The processor 801 may be a single processor or may include multiple processors, and the specifics are not limited here. For example, when the communication device 80 implements the functions of a network control device, the processor 801 may be a central processing unit (CPU), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a combination thereof. The PLD may be a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a generic array logic (GAL), or any combination thereof. For example, when the communication device 80 implements the functions of a DU, the processor 801 is primarily used to process communication protocols and communication data, control the DU, execute software programs, and process software program data, for example, to support the communication device 80 in performing the actions described in the aforementioned embodiments. Processor 801 may include a baseband processor and a central processing unit. The baseband processor is primarily responsible for processing communication protocols and communication data, while the central processing unit is primarily responsible for controlling the entire communication device 80, executing software programs, and processing software program data. The baseband processor and central processing unit may also be independent processors interconnected via a bus or other technology.

[0295] In addition, the communication interface 802 is used for the communication device 80 to communicate with other communication devices. Exemplarily, when the communication device 80 implements the function of a network control device, the communication interface 802 includes a first interface connected to the RU, a second interface connected to the DU, and a third interface connected to the CU. Exemplarily, when the communication device 80 implements the function of a DU, the communication interface 802 includes a second interface connected to the network control device.

[0296] In addition, the aforementioned memory 803 is mainly used to store software programs and data. The memory 803 can exist independently and be connected to the processor 801. Optionally, the memory 803 can be integrated with the processor 801, for example, integrated into one or more chips. Among them, the memory 803 can store program codes for executing the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and is controlled and executed by the processor 801. The various types of computer program codes executed can also be regarded as drivers for the processor 801. The memory 803 may include volatile memory (volatile memory), such as random-access memory (RAM); the memory may also include non-volatile memory (non-volatile memory), such as read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, hard disk drive (HDD) or solid-state drive (SSD); the memory 803 may also include a combination of the above types of memory. The memory 803 may refer to a single memory or may include multiple memories. Exemplarily, the memory 803 is used to store various data.

[0297] In one design, the communication device 80 is used to execute the method of the network control device in the embodiment corresponding to Figure 3. Specifically, the processor 801 receives a first request message from the first RU through the communication interface 802 (e.g., the first interface), the first request message including the capability information of the first RU; the processor 801 sends a second request message to the first DU through the communication interface 802 (e.g., the second interface), the second request message including the capability information of at least one RU, the capability information of at least one RU including the capability information of the first RU; the processor 801 receives a second response message from the first DU through the communication interface 802 (e.g., the second interface), the second response message including the capability configuration information of at least one RU, the capability configuration information of at least one RU including the capability configuration information of the first RU; the processor 801 sends a first response message to the first RU through the communication interface 802 (e.g., the first interface), the first response message including the capability configuration information of the first RU.

[0298] In one possible embodiment, the communication interface 802 (for example, the second interface) is also used to receive a second response message from the second DU, the second response message from the first DU carries the first capability configuration information of the first RU, and the second response message from the second DU carries the second capability configuration information of the first RU, and the first capability configuration information is different from the second capability configuration information; the processor 801 determines the third capability configuration information of the first RU based on the first capability configuration information of the first RU and the second capability configuration information of the first RU, and the third capability configuration information is the capability configuration information sent to the first RU through the first response message.

[0299] In one possible implementation, the capability type enabled by the first RU indicated by the first capability configuration information is different from the capability type enabled by the first RU indicated by the second capability configuration information; and / or, the parameters for enabling the first capability type indicated by the first capability configuration information are different from the parameters for enabling the first capability type indicated by the second capability configuration information.

[0300] In a possible implementation, the processor 801 is further configured to control the communication interface 802 (eg, the second interface) to send the third capability configuration information to the first DU when the third capability configuration information is different from the first capability configuration information.

[0301] In another design, the communication device 80 is used to execute the method of the network control device in the embodiment corresponding to Figure 4 above. Specifically, the processor 801 receives a third request message from the first DU through the communication interface 802 (e.g., the second interface), the third request message including information of the first DU, and the information of the first DU including information of the serving cell of the first DU; the processor 801 sends a fourth request message to the first CU through the communication interface 802 (e.g., the third interface), the fourth request message including information of at least one DU, and the information of at least one DU including information of the first DU; the processor 801 receives a fourth response message from the first CU through the communication interface 802 (e.g., the third interface), the fourth response message including configuration information of at least one DU, the configuration information of at least one DU including configuration information of the first DU, and the configuration information of the first DU including configuration information of the serving cell of the first DU; the processor 801 sends a third response message to the first DU through the communication interface 802 (e.g., the second interface), the third response message including configuration information of the first DU.

[0302] Optionally, the information of the first DU also includes perception capability information of the first DU; the configuration information of the first DU also includes perception capability configuration information of the first DU.

[0303] Optionally, the fourth request message also includes capability information of at least one RU and / or capability configuration information of at least one RU.

[0304] In one possible embodiment, the processor 801 receives a fourth response message from the second CU through the communication interface 802 (for example, the third interface), the fourth response message from the first CU carries the first configuration information of the first DU, and the fourth response message from the second CU carries the second configuration information of the first DU, and the first configuration information is different from the second configuration information; the processor 801 determines the third configuration information of the first DU based on the first configuration information of the first DU and the second configuration information of the first DU, and the third configuration information is the configuration information sent to the first DU through the third response message.

[0305] In a possible implementation, when the third configuration information is different from the first configuration information, the processor 801 controls the communication interface 802 (eg, the third interface) to send the third configuration information to the first CU.

[0306] In another design, the communication device 80 is configured to execute the method of the network control device in the embodiment corresponding to FIG5, FIG6, or FIG7. The communication interface 802 is configured to receive perception measurement data from at least one RU; and the processor 801 is configured to obtain perception processing data based on the perception measurement data of the at least one RU.

[0307] In a possible implementation, the communication interface 802 is further configured to send perception processing data to at least one CU.

[0308] In a possible implementation, the communication interface 802 is further configured to receive a sensing service request from at least one CU, where the sensing service request is used to request initiation of at least one type of sensing service.

[0309] In a possible implementation, the communication interface 802 is further configured to send perception measurement configuration information to at least one RU, where the perception measurement configuration information is used to instruct the RU to perform perception measurement.

[0310] In a possible implementation, the communication interface 802 is further used to send first indication information to a first RU in at least one RU, where the first indication information is used to instruct the first RU to perform a first perception measurement, and the first indication information is also used by the first RU to generate first perception measurement configuration information for the first perception measurement.

[0311] In a possible implementation, the communication interface 802 is further used to receive second perception measurement configuration information from a second RU in at least one RU, where the second perception measurement configuration information is used to instruct a first RU in at least one RU to perform a second perception measurement; and send the second perception measurement configuration information to the first RU.

[0312] In a possible implementation, the processor 801 is further configured to establish a first data transmission channel between the network control device and at least one RU, where the first data transmission channel is used to transmit the sensing measurement data.

[0313] In one possible embodiment, the communication interface 802 is also used to: send a fifth request message to at least one RU, the fifth request message including the transmission network layer information on the network control device side; and receive a fifth response message from at least one RU, the fifth response message including the transmission network layer information on the RU side, the transmission network layer information on the network control device side and the transmission network layer information on the RU side are used to establish a first data transmission channel.

[0314] In a possible implementation, the processor 801 is specifically configured to perform perception processing on perception measurement data of at least one RU to obtain perception processing data.

[0315] In a possible implementation, the communication interface 802 is further configured to receive perception measurement data from at least one DU; the processor 801 is specifically configured to perform perception processing on the perception measurement data of at least one RU and the perception measurement data of at least one DU to obtain perception processing data.

[0316] In a possible implementation, the communication interface 802 is further configured to send perception measurement configuration information to at least one DU, where the perception measurement configuration information is used to instruct the DU to perform perception measurement.

[0317] In a possible implementation, the communication interface 802 is further used to send second indication information to a first DU in at least one DU, where the second indication information is used to instruct the first DU to perform a third perception measurement, and the second indication information is also used for the first DU to generate third perception measurement configuration information for the third perception measurement.

[0318] In one possible implementation, the communication interface 802 is further configured to send perception measurement data of at least one RU to at least one DU; and receive perception processing data from at least one DU, where the perception processing data is determined by the DU based on the perception measurement data of at least one RU.

[0319] In a possible implementation, the processor 801 is further configured to establish a second data transmission channel between the network control device and at least one DU, where the second data transmission channel is used to transmit perception measurement data and / or perception processing data.

[0320] In one possible implementation, communication interface 802 is further configured to send a sixth request message to at least one DU, the sixth request message including transmission network layer information on the network control device side; and receive a sixth response message from at least one DU, the sixth response message including transmission network layer information on the DU side. The transmission network layer information on the network control device side and the transmission network layer information on the DU side are used to establish a second data transmission channel. Optionally, the sixth request message also includes QoS requirements for at least one type of perception measurement data.

[0321] It should be noted that the specific implementation and beneficial effects of this embodiment can be referred to the method of the network control device in the above embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0322] In one design, a communication device 80 is configured to perform the method for a DU in the embodiments corresponding to FIG. 5 , FIG. 6 , or FIG. A communication interface 802 is configured to receive sensing measurement data of at least one RU from a network control device; a processor 801 is configured to determine sensing processing data based on the sensing measurement data of the at least one RU; and the communication interface 802 is configured to send the sensing processing data to the network control device.

[0323] In a possible implementation, the processor 801 is configured to perform perception processing on perception measurement data of at least one RU and perception measurement data of a DU to obtain perception processing data.

[0324] In a possible implementation, the processor 801 establishes a second data transmission channel between the network control device and the DU, where the second data transmission channel is used to transmit sensing measurement data and / or sensing processing data.

[0325] In one possible implementation, communication interface 802 is configured to receive a sixth request message from a network control device, the sixth request message including transmission network layer information on the network control device side; and send a sixth response message to the network control device, the sixth response message including transmission network layer information on the DU side, where the transmission network layer information on the network control device side and the transmission network layer information on the DU side are used to establish a second data transmission channel. Optionally, the sixth request message also includes QoS requirements for at least one type of perception measurement data.

[0326] In a possible implementation, the communication interface 802 is further configured to receive perception measurement configuration information of the DU from the network control device, where the perception measurement configuration information is used to instruct the DU to perform perception measurement.

[0327] In a possible implementation, the communication interface 802 is further used to receive second indication information from the network control device, where the second indication information is used to instruct the DU to perform a third perception measurement; and the processor 801 is used to generate third perception measurement configuration information for the third perception measurement based on the second indication information.

[0328] It should be noted that the specific implementation and beneficial effects of this embodiment can refer to the DU method in the above embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0329] As shown in FIG9 , the present application further provides a communication device 90. The communication device 90 may be a network control device or DU in an access network system, or a component of the network control device or DU (e.g., an integrated circuit, a chip, etc.). The communication device 90 may also be other communication modules for implementing the methods in the method embodiments of the present application.

[0330] The communication device 90 may include a processing module 901 (or a processing unit). Optionally, it may also include an interface module 902 (or a transceiver unit or transceiver module) and a storage module 903 (or a storage unit). The interface module 902 is used to implement communication with other devices. The interface module 902 may be, for example, a transceiver module or an input / output module.

[0331] In one possible design, one or more modules in FIG9 may be implemented by one or more processors, or by one or more processors and memory, or by one or more processors and transceivers, or by one or more processors, memory, and transceivers, which are not limited in this embodiment of the present application. The processor, memory, and transceiver may be provided separately or integrated.

[0332] The communication device 90 has the function of implementing the network control device described in the embodiment of the present application. For example, the communication device 90 includes a module or unit or means (means) corresponding to the network control device performing the steps involved in the network control device described in the embodiment of the present application. The function or unit or means (means) can be implemented by software, or by hardware, or by hardware executing the corresponding software implementation, or by a combination of software and hardware. For details, please refer to the corresponding description in the aforementioned corresponding method embodiment. Please refer to the communication device 80 in the corresponding embodiment of Figure 8 above for details.

[0333] Alternatively, the communication device 90 has the function of implementing the DU described in the embodiment of the present application. For example, the communication device 90 includes a module or unit or means (means) corresponding to the DU steps involved in the DU described in the embodiment of the present application. The function or unit or means (means) can be implemented by software, or by hardware, or by hardware executing the corresponding software implementation, or by a combination of software and hardware. For details, please refer to the corresponding description in the aforementioned corresponding method embodiment. Please refer to the communication device 80 in the corresponding embodiment of Figure 8 above for details.

[0334] In addition, the present application provides a computer program product comprising one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function according to the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. For example, the method related to the network control device as shown in Figures 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 is implemented. For another example, the method related to the DU as shown in Figures 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 is implemented. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be stored by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a digital versatile disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0335] In addition, the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program, and the computer program is executed by a processor to implement a method related to the network control device as shown in Figures 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 above.

[0336] In addition, the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program, and the computer program is executed by a processor to implement the DU-related method as shown in Figures 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 above.

[0337] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0338] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

Claims

1. An access network system, characterized in that: include: A network control device, at least one radio frequency unit (RU), at least one distributed unit (DU), and at least one centralized unit (CU); wherein the network control device is connected to the at least one RU via a first interface; the network control device is connected to the at least one DU via a second interface; and the network control device is connected to the at least one CU via a third interface. the network control device, configured to establish a first connection between the at least one RU and the at least one DU through the first interface and the second interface; The network control device is further used to establish a second connection between the at least one DU and the at least one CU through the second interface and the third interface.

2. The access network system according to claim 1, wherein: The at least one RU includes a first RU; the at least one DU includes a first DU; The network control device is specifically used to: receiving a first request message from the first RU through the first interface, where the first request message includes capability information of the first RU; Sending a second request message to the first DU through the second interface, where the second request message includes capability information of at least one RU, where the capability information of the at least one RU includes the capability information of the first RU; receiving, through the second interface, a second response message from the first DU, where the second response message includes capability configuration information of at least one RU, where the capability configuration information of the at least one RU includes the capability configuration information of the first RU; A first response message is sent to the first RU through the first interface, where the first response message includes capability configuration information of the first RU.

3. The access network system according to claim 2, wherein: The at least one DU further includes a second DU; The network control device is further used for: receiving, through the second interface, a second response message from the second DU, where the second response message from the first DU carries first capability configuration information of the first RU, and the second response message from the second DU carries second capability configuration information of the first RU, where the first capability configuration information is different from the second capability configuration information; Determine third capability configuration information of the first RU based on the first capability configuration information of the first RU and the second capability configuration information of the first RU, where the third capability configuration information is capability configuration information sent to the first RU through the first response message.

4. The access network system according to claim 3, wherein: The capability type enabled by the first RU as indicated by the first capability configuration information is different from the capability type enabled by the first RU as indicated by the second capability configuration information; and / or, The parameters for enabling a first capability type indicated by the first capability configuration information are different from the parameters for enabling the first capability type indicated by the second capability configuration information.

5. The access network system according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that: The network control device is further used for: In a case where the third capability configuration information is different from the first capability configuration information, the third capability configuration information is sent to the first DU.

6. The access network system according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that: The second response message also includes sensing capability information of the first DU, where the sensing capability information is used to indicate the sensing processing type and / or sensing measurement type supported by the first DU.

7. The access network system according to any one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that: The at least one CU includes a first CU; The network control device is specifically used to: receiving a third request message from the first DU through the second interface, where the third request message includes information about the first DU, and the information about the first DU includes information about a serving cell of the first DU; Sending a fourth request message to the first CU through the third interface, where the fourth request message includes information of at least one DU, where the information of the at least one DU includes information of the first DU; receiving, through the third interface, a fourth response message from the first CU, where the fourth response message includes configuration information of at least one DU, where the configuration information of the at least one DU includes configuration information of the first DU, and where the configuration information of the first DU includes configuration information of a serving cell of the first DU; A third response message is sent to the first DU through the second interface, where the third response message includes configuration information of the first DU.

8. The access network system according to claim 7, characterized in that: The information of the first DU also includes the perception capability information of the first DU; the configuration information of the first DU also includes the perception capability configuration information of the first DU.

9. The access network system according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that: The fourth request message also includes capability information of at least one RU and / or capability configuration information of at least one RU.

10. The access network system according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that: The at least one CU further includes a second CU; The network control device is further used for: receiving a fourth response message from the second CU through the third interface, where the fourth response message from the first CU carries first configuration information of the first DU, and the fourth response message from the second CU carries second configuration information of the first DU, where the first configuration information is different from the second configuration information; The third configuration information of the first DU is determined based on the first configuration information of the first DU and the second configuration information of the first DU, where the third configuration information is configuration information sent to the first DU through the third response message.

11. The access network system according to claim 10, wherein: The network control device is further used for: When the third configuration information is different from the first configuration information, the third configuration information is sent to the first CU.

12. A perception processing method, applied to a network control device in an access network system, the access network system comprising the network control device, at least one radio frequency unit RU, at least one distributed unit DU and at least one centralized unit CU, the network control device being connected to the at least one RU via a first interface; the network control device being connected to the at least one DU via a second interface; the network control device being connected to the at least one CU via a third interface; a first connection being established between the at least one RU and the at least one DU via the first interface and the second interface; a second connection being established between the at least one DU and the at least one CU via the second interface and the third interface; characterized in that include: receiving sensing measurement data from at least one RU; Acquire perception processing data based on the perception measurement data of the at least one RU.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The method further comprises: The perceptual processing data is sent to the at least one CU.

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that The method further comprises: A sensing service request is received from the at least one CU, where the sensing service request is used to request initiation of at least one type of sensing service.

15. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, characterized in that Before receiving the sensing measurement data from the at least one RU, the method further includes: Sending perception measurement configuration information to the at least one RU, where the perception measurement configuration information is used to instruct the RU to perform perception measurement.

16. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 15, characterized in that Before receiving the sensing measurement data from the at least one RU, the method further includes: First indication information is sent to a first RU in the at least one RU, where the first indication information is used to instruct the first RU to perform a first perception measurement, and the first indication information is also used by the first RU to generate first perception measurement configuration information for the first perception measurement.

17. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 16, characterized in that Before receiving the sensing measurement data from the at least one RU, the method further includes: receiving second perception measurement configuration information from a second RU among the at least one RU, where the second perception measurement configuration information is used to instruct a first RU among the at least one RU to perform a second perception measurement; Send the second perception measurement configuration information to the first RU.

18. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 17, characterized in that Before receiving the sensing measurement data from the at least one RU, the method further includes: A first data transmission channel is established between the network control device and the at least one RU, where the first data transmission channel is used to transmit the sensing measurement data.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that The establishing a first data transmission channel between the network control device and the at least one RU includes: Sending a fifth request message to the at least one RU, wherein the fifth request message includes transport network layer information on the network control device side; Receive a fifth response message from the at least one RU, the fifth response message including the transmission network layer information on the RU side, the transmission network layer information on the network control device side and the transmission network layer information on the RU side are used to establish the first data transmission channel.

20. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 19, characterized in that The acquiring the perception processing data based on the perception measurement data of the at least one RU includes: Perform perception processing on the perception measurement data of the at least one RU to obtain the perception processed data.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving sensing measurement data from at least one DU; Performing perception processing on the perception measurement data of the at least one RU to obtain the perception processed data includes: Perception processing is performed on the perception measurement data of the at least one RU and the perception measurement data of the at least one DU to obtain the perception processed data.

22. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 19, characterized in that The acquiring the perception processing data based on the perception measurement data of the at least one RU includes: Sending sensing measurement data of the at least one RU to at least one DU; The sensing processing data is received from the at least one DU, where the sensing processing data is determined by the DU based on the sensing measurement data of the at least one RU.

23. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that Before sending the sensing measurement data of the at least one RU to the at least one DU, the method further includes: A second data transmission channel is established between the network control device and the at least one DU, where the second data transmission channel is used to transmit the sensing measurement data and / or the sensing processing data.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein The establishing a second data transmission channel between the network control device and the at least one DU includes: Sending a sixth request message to the at least one DU, the sixth request message including transport network layer information on the network control device side; Receive a sixth response message from the at least one DU, the sixth response message including the transmission network layer information on the DU side, the transmission network layer information on the network control device side and the transmission network layer information on the DU side are used to establish the second data transmission channel.

25. The method according to claim 24, characterized in that The sixth request message further includes QoS requirements of at least one type of perception measurement data.

26. A communication device, characterized in that: including processor and memory; wherein the memory stores a computer program; The processor calls the computer program to cause the communication device to perform the method according to any one of claims 12 to 25.

27. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enable the computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 12 to 25.

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