Radio communication system and program

Abstract

This radio communication system (1) comprises: an acquisition unit (31) that acquires cosmic ray information including at least one of information indicating a state of a source of generation of cosmic rays and an observation result of the cosmic rays; an estimation unit (32) that estimates a generation trend of the cosmic rays on the basis of the cosmic ray information acquired by the acquisition unit (31); and a distribution unit (33) that distributes processing of a base station to a plurality of physical resources on the basis of a result of the estimation.

Description

Wireless communication system and program

[0001] The present invention relates to a wireless communication system and a program.

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a base station device having the functions of a CU (Central Unit) and a DU (Distributed Unit) among the functions of a radio access network (RAN).

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2022-135187

[0004] It is known that cosmic rays coming from outer space can cause degradation of semiconductor devices and errors such as data inversion in memories, etc. Cosmic rays entering the physical resources that make up a wireless access network can cause communication failures.

[0005] One aspect of the present invention aims to reduce the effects of cosmic rays on wireless communication systems.

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the wireless communication system of the present invention is a wireless communication system configured by allocating physical resources to the processing of base stations in a wireless access network, and is configured to include an acquisition unit that acquires cosmic ray information including at least one of information indicating the state of a cosmic ray source and observation results of cosmic rays, an estimation unit that estimates the tendency of cosmic ray generation based on the cosmic ray information acquired by the acquisition unit, and a distribution unit that distributes the processing of the base station to multiple physical resources based on the estimation results of the estimation unit.

[0007] The wireless communication system according to each aspect of the present invention may be realized by a computer. In this case, the program of the information processing device that realizes the information processing device on a computer by causing the computer to operate as each part (software element) of the information processing device, and the computer-readable recording medium on which the program is recorded, also fall within the scope of the present invention.

[0008] According to the present invention, the influence of cosmic rays on a wireless communication system can be reduced.

[0009] It is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a master station shown in Figure 1. It is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the master station shown in Figure 1 in a distributed processing mode. It is a functional block diagram related to processing in the distributed processing mode.

[0010] Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a wireless communication system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The wireless communication system 1 shown in Fig. 1 includes a core network CN, a central unit CU1, a distributed unit DU1, and wireless units RU1 and RU2.

[0011] In the wireless communication system 1 shown in Fig. 1, a central unit CU1 and a distributed unit DU1 are provided in a master station 2, and wireless units RU1 and RU2 are provided in a slave station 3. The wireless units RU1 and RU2 control antennas (not shown) to transmit and receive radio waves to and from UEs (User Equipment). The distributed unit DU1 performs signal modulation and demodulation, MAC layer communication control, etc. The central unit CU1 controls the distributed unit DU1 and the wireless units RU1 and RU2. The central unit CU1 is connected to a core network CN.

[0012] The function split in the wireless communication system 1, i.e., how the central unit, distributed units, and wireless units are divided into the master station 2 and the slave stations 3, is not limited to that shown in Fig. 1. For example, the distributed unit DU1 may be provided in the slave station 3.

[0013] The number of master stations 2 and slave stations 3 included in the wireless communication system 1 is not limited to those shown in Fig. 1. The number of central units and distributed units provided in each master station 2 and the number of wireless units provided in each slave station 3 are not limited to those shown in Fig. 1. The number of slave stations 3 connected to the master station 2 is not limited to those shown in Fig. 1. The number of wireless units connected to the distributed unit DU1 and the number of distributed units connected to the central unit CU1 are not limited to those shown in Fig. 1.

[0014] Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the master station 2 shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 2 shows a virtualization platform VPF and a physical resource pool HRP. The virtualization platform VPF includes a management master CM and a RAN node NODE.

[0015] The management master CM configures a POD (Point of Delivery) in the RAN node NODE according to a predetermined manifest, and allocates resources to the POD, etc. Figure 2 illustrates RICP, gNBP1, gNBP2, and gNBP3 as examples of PODs configured in the RAN node NODE.

[0016] RICP is a POD of RIC (RAN Intelligent Controller), which is a function that controls the radio access network using AI / ML (artificial intelligence / machine learning).

[0017] gNBP1, gNBP2, and gNBP3 are PODs of a gNB (next generation Node B) that functions as a base station 2. gNBP1 has a CU container CUC1 that functions as a central unit CU1 and a DU container DUC1 that functions as a distributed unit DU1. gNBP2 and gNBP3 have CU containers CUC2 and CUC3 that function as central units (CUs), and DU containers DUC2 and DUC3 that function as distributed units (DUs).

[0018] The physical resource pool HRP includes physical resources available for the radio access network. For example, the physical resource pool HRP includes servers SV1, SV2, and SV3 installed in a data center or the like. In FIG. 2, the server SV1 is assigned to the gNBP1, and the gNBP1 occupies a portion of the physical resource R1 of the server SV1. The server SV1 executes a predetermined program on the physical resource R1, thereby fulfilling the functions of the CU container CUC1 and the DU container DUC1 of the gNBP1.

[0019] In Figure 2, a server device SV2 is assigned to gNBP2, and gNBP2 occupies a portion of the physical resources R2 of the server device SV2. When the server device SV2 executes a predetermined program on the physical resources R2, the functions of the CU container CUC2 and DU container DUC2 of gNBP2 are realized. When the server device SV2 executes a predetermined program on the physical resources R2, the functions of the CU container CUC3 and DU container DUC3 of gNBP3 are realized. When the server device SV3 executes a predetermined program on the physical resources R3, the functions of the CU container CUC3 and DU container DUC3 of gNBP3 are realized.

[0020] The physical resources included in the physical resource pool HRP are not limited to physical resources located on the ground, but may also include, for example, artificial satellites orbiting the Earth.

[0021] The physical resources included in the physical resource pool HRP include those that are at risk of various errors occurring due to the influence of cosmic rays coming from outer space. Cosmic rays are high-energy radiation that travels through outer space, and include solar cosmic rays that originate from the sun and galactic cosmic rays that originate within the Milky Way.

[0022] Errors caused by the influence of cosmic rays include, for example, hard errors such as deterioration of semiconductor elements due to the total dose effect or the displacement damage effect, and soft errors such as data inversion in memory, etc. If an error occurs in the server device SV1 due to the influence of cosmic rays, there is a risk of communication failure in the gNBP1, where the allocation of physical resources is concentrated on the server device SV1.

[0023] The wireless communication system 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention has a distributed processing mode that distributes physical resources allocated to gNBP1 and the like. By distributing the allocated physical resources, the probability of an immediate communication failure can be reduced even if an error occurs in some of the physical resources due to the influence of cosmic rays. Furthermore, if an error occurs in some of the physical resources due to the influence of cosmic rays, the probability of a communication failure can be reduced by transferring the processing allocated to the physical resource where the error occurred to another physical resource.

[0024] 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the master station 2 shown in FIG. 1 in distributed processing mode. In FIG. 3, servers SV1, SV2, and SV3 are assigned to gNBP1. gNBP1 occupies a portion of the physical resources R11 of server SV1, a portion of the physical resources R12 of server SV2, and a portion of the physical resources R13 of server SV1. gNBP1 performs distributed processing using physical resources R11, R12, and R13 to perform the processing that was performed using physical resource R1 in FIG. 2.

[0025] 4 is a functional block diagram relating to processing in the distributed processing mode. As shown in FIG. 4, when the wireless communication system 1 is in the distributed processing mode, the RAN node NODE functions as an acquisition unit 31, an estimation unit 32, and a distribution unit 33.

[0026] The acquisition unit 31 acquires cosmic ray information including at least one of information indicating the state of cosmic ray sources and cosmic ray observation results. The acquisition unit 31 is executed, for example, by the RICP shown in Figures 2 and 3. The acquisition unit 31 acquires the cosmic ray information from, for example, a predetermined database DB that stores cosmic ray information. The acquisition unit 31 may also acquire various observation results from meteorological satellites such as GOES (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite).

[0027] The database DB may be a database managed by the service provider of the wireless communication system 1, or may be a database managed by a cosmic ray research institute, a university, or another entity other than the service provider of the wireless communication system 1. The cosmic ray information includes, for example, information on the activity status of solar flares, information on the amount of cosmic rays in the atmosphere, and the like.

[0028] The estimation unit 32 estimates the tendency of cosmic rays to occur based on the cosmic ray information acquired by the acquisition unit 31. More specifically, the estimation unit 32 acquires an estimation result of the tendency of cosmic rays to occur based on the output of the trained model M constructed by machine learning. The estimation unit 32 is executed, for example, by the RICP shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 .

[0029] The trained model M is a model that has previously been machine-learned to learn the relationship between cosmic ray information and the tendency of cosmic rays to occur. The input to the trained model M is the cosmic ray information acquired by the acquisition unit 31. The output from the trained model M is information regarding the tendency of cosmic rays to occur.

[0030] The information relating to the tendency for cosmic rays to occur includes, for example, information relating to the intensity of cosmic rays, the time periods when the intensity of cosmic rays exceeds a predetermined threshold, the time periods when solar flares are active, the degree of activity of solar flares, etc. The information relating to the intensity of cosmic rays is, for example, information indicating whether the intensity of cosmic rays is strong enough to cause errors in each physical resource of the physical resource pool HRP.

[0031] The distribution unit 33 determines a policy for allocating physical resources to each POD configured in the RAN node NODE based on the estimation result of the estimation unit 32, and distributes the processing of the base station (e.g., gNBP1) to multiple physical resources. The distribution unit 33 is executed, for example, by the management master CM. Based on the estimation result of the estimation unit 32, the distribution unit 33 distributes, for example, the processing of gNBP1 to multiple physical resources R11, R12, and R13.

[0032] Furthermore, if an error occurs in some of the physical resources in the physical resource pool HRP due to the influence of cosmic rays, the distribution unit 33 transfers the processing assigned to the physical resource in which the error occurred to another physical resource. For example, if an error occurs in the server device SV1, the processing of gNBP1 executed using the physical resource R11 is transferred to the server device SV2 or the server device SV3.

[0033] [Modification] In the above embodiment, the estimation unit 32 acquires an estimated result of the tendency of cosmic ray occurrence based on the output of the trained model M. However, the method of acquiring an estimated result of the tendency of cosmic ray occurrence is not limited to the method using the trained model M. The estimation unit 32 may acquire an estimated result of the tendency of cosmic ray occurrence without inputting the information acquired by the acquisition unit 31 into the trained model M. For example, when the cosmic ray information acquired by the acquisition unit 31 is information regarding the amount of cosmic rays in the atmosphere, the estimation unit 32 may derive an estimated result of the tendency of cosmic ray occurrence based on the information regarding the amount of cosmic rays in the atmosphere. When the cosmic ray information acquired by the acquisition unit 31 indicates that the amount of cosmic rays in the atmosphere is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the estimation unit 32 may acquire that the tendency of cosmic ray occurrence indicates that processing in the distributed processing mode should be performed.

[0034] [Example of Software Implementation] As described above, the functions of the master station 2 are executed by being allocated to physical resources (computational resources) such as the server device SV1 included in the physical resource pool HRP. The functions of the master station 2 (hereinafter referred to as the "device") are programs that cause a computer to function as the device, and can be implemented by the programs that cause the computer to function as the device. In this case, the device includes a computer having at least one control device (e.g., a processor) and at least one storage device (e.g., a memory) as hardware for executing the programs. The functions described in each of the above embodiments are realized by executing the programs using the control device and storage device.

[0035] The program may be non-transitory and may be recorded on one or more computer-readable recording media. The recording media may or may not be included in the device. In the latter case, the program may be supplied to the device via any wired or wireless transmission medium.

[0036] Furthermore, some or all of the functions of the control blocks can be realized by logic circuits. For example, an integrated circuit in which a logic circuit that functions as each of the control blocks is formed is also included in the scope of the present invention. In addition, the functions of the control blocks can also be realized by, for example, a quantum computer.

[0037] The processing of the estimation unit 32 described in the above embodiment may be performed by AI (Artificial Intelligence). In this case, the AI ​​may operate on the control device or another device (for example, an edge computer or a cloud server).

[0038] [Summary] A wireless communication system according to aspect 1 of the present invention is a wireless communication system configured by allocating physical resources to the processing of base stations in a wireless access network, and includes an acquisition unit that acquires cosmic ray information including at least one of information indicating the state of a cosmic ray source and observation results of cosmic rays, an estimation unit that estimates the tendency of cosmic ray generation based on the cosmic ray information acquired by the acquisition unit, and a distribution unit that distributes the processing of the base station to multiple physical resources based on the estimation results of the estimation unit.

[0039] According to the above configuration, the influence of cosmic rays on the wireless communication system can be reduced.

[0040] In a wireless communication system according to aspect 2 of the present invention, in the above aspect 1, the estimation unit may input the cosmic ray information acquired by the acquisition unit into a trained model that has previously undergone machine learning to determine the relationship between the cosmic ray information and the tendency for cosmic rays to occur, thereby acquiring an estimated result of the tendency for cosmic rays to occur from the trained model.

[0041] According to the above configuration, the relationship between cosmic ray information and the tendency of cosmic ray occurrence can be appropriately acquired through machine learning.

[0042] In a wireless communication system according to aspect 3 of the present invention, in the above aspect 1, the distribution unit may, when an error occurs due to the influence of cosmic rays in one of the plurality of physical resources to which the processing of the base station is distributed, transfer the processing being executed in the physical resource in which the error occurred to another physical resource.

[0043] According to the above configuration, even if an error actually occurs in the physical resources allocated to the processing of the base station, it is possible to prevent a communication failure from occurring.

[0044] A program according to aspect 4 of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to function as a base station provided in a wireless communication system according to any one of aspects 1 to 3, and may be configured to cause the computer to realize the functions provided by the base station.

[0045] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. Embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. Furthermore, new technical features can be formed by combining the technical means disclosed in each embodiment.

[0046] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Wireless communication system 2 Master station 3 Slave station 31 Acquisition unit 32 Estimation unit 33 Distribution unit CM Management master DB Database gNBP1, gNBP2, gNBP3 POD of gNB M Trained model NODE RAN node R1, R2, R3, R11, R12, R13 Physical resource RICP POD of RIC SV1, SV2, SV3 Server device

Claims

1. A wireless communication system configured by allocating physical resources to the processing of base stations in a wireless access network, comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires cosmic ray information including at least one of information indicating the state of cosmic ray sources and cosmic ray observation results; an estimation unit that estimates the tendency of cosmic ray generation based on the cosmic ray information acquired by the acquisition unit; and a distribution unit that distributes the processing of the base station to multiple physical resources based on the estimation results of the estimation unit.

2. The wireless communication system described in claim 1, wherein the estimation unit inputs the cosmic ray information acquired by the acquisition unit into a trained model that has previously learned the relationship between the cosmic ray information and the tendency for cosmic rays to occur, thereby acquiring an estimation result of the tendency for cosmic rays to occur from the trained model.

3. The wireless communication system of claim 1, wherein when an error occurs due to the effects of cosmic rays in one of the plurality of physical resources to which the base station's processing is distributed, the distribution unit transfers the processing being executed in the physical resource in which the error occurred to another physical resource.

4. A program for causing a computer to function as a base station provided in a wireless communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the program causing the computer to realize the functions provided by said base station.

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