Network configuration method and apparatus

Abstract

Disclosed in the embodiments of the present application are a network configuration method and apparatus, which are used for improving the generalization performance of a user equipment training model. The method in the embodiments of the present application comprises: a user equipment receiving first indication information sent by a first access network device, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating a first area range, the same association identifier within the first area range is associated with the same network-side condition, and the association identifier is used for identifying the network-side condition; the user equipment receiving second indication information sent by the first access network device, wherein the second indication information comprises a first association identifier, and the second indication information is used for instructing the user equipment to collect data; and the user equipment collecting the data, wherein the data is used for training a first model, and the first model is used by the user equipment to support communication with an access network device.

Description

Network configuration method and apparatus

[0001] The present application claims priority from the Chinese patent application No. 202411392157.3 filed on September 30, 2024, and entitled "Network configuration method and apparatus", the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] Embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communication, and in particular to a network configuration method and apparatus. BACKGROUND

[0003] With the development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, AI models are increasingly widely used in mobile communication networks. For example, a wireless communication system can use AI models for beam management (BM), positioning accuracy enhancement, mobility management, and channel state information (CSI) enhancement.

[0004] In the current scheme, the network side needs to configure the AI model training of the user equipment side. First, the user equipment side reports the AI capability information that can be supported to the network side, such as the AI model in the beam management scenario. Then, in order to ensure that the AI model of the user equipment side is applicable to the current network side condition, the network side introduces an association identifier to indicate the network side condition to the user equipment side, and indicates the association identifier to the user equipment through configuration information, so that the network can configure a model applicable to the current network condition.

[0005] However, in the current configuration process, the network side often allocates an association identifier to a single cell, which causes the AI model obtained by the user equipment side collecting data according to the association identifier to be applicable only to a single cell, resulting in poor generalization of the AI model. SUMMARY

[0006] Embodiments of the present application provide a network configuration method for improving the generalization performance of artificial intelligence models in a wireless communication system. Embodiments of the present application also provide a network configuration apparatus corresponding to the network configuration method, a user equipment, a network device, a computer readable storage medium, and a computer program product.

[0007] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a network configuration method, which can be executed by a user equipment, by a component of the user equipment, such as a processor, a chip or a chip system of the user equipment, or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the user equipment. The method provided in the first aspect comprises: receiving, by the user equipment, first indication information sent by a first access network device, the first indication information being used to indicate a first area range, the same association identifier in the first area range being associated with the same network side condition, and the association identifier being used to identify the network side condition; receiving, by the user equipment, second indication information sent by the first access network device, the second indication information comprising a first association identifier, and the second indication information being used to indicate that the user equipment collects data; and collecting, by the user equipment, the data, the data being used to train a first model, and the first model being used for communication between the user equipment and the first access network device.

[0008] In the embodiment of the present application, the user equipment can receive the first area range configuration of the access network device, and the same association identifier in the first area range corresponds to the same network side condition. Therefore, in the process of collecting the model training data, the user equipment can collect the data corresponding to the network side condition according to the first association identifier configured by the access network device. At the same time, since the first association identifier configured by the access network device can be mapped to multiple cells of the first area range, the model trained by the user equipment based on the first association identifier can also be applicable to the multiple cells, thereby improving the generalization performance of the model.

[0009] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information comprises one or more of the following: one or more cells corresponding to the first area range, a geographical area corresponding to the first area range, or one or more network device ranges corresponding to the first area range. The one or more cells can constitute a cell group or a cell list, and the one or more network devices can constitute an access network device list, that is, the first indication information can comprise a cell list or an access network device list.

[0010] In the embodiment of the present application, the first area range configured on the user equipment side can be one or more cells, one or more network device ranges, or one or more geographical areas, and the multiple implementation manners improve the richness of the first area range configuration manner.

[0011] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information comprises a first area range identifier. The first area range identifier comprises one or more geographical area identifiers or a cell group identifier formed by one or more cells. For example, the geographical area identifier is an ID of a geographical area, and the cell group identifier formed by one or more cells is, for example, a cell group ID.

[0012] The first area range configured by the user equipment in the embodiments of the present application can be an identifier of one or more cells constituting a cell group, or an identifier of one or more geographical areas, and various implementation manners improve the richness of the configuration manner of the first area range.

[0013] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information includes a first identifier, the first identifier is used to indicate whether the first cell and the second cell belong to the first area range, the first cell is a cell currently located by the user equipment, and the second cell is a target cell for switching of the user equipment. Alternatively, the first identifier is used to indicate whether the first access network device and the second access network device belong to the first area range, and the second access network device is a target access network device for switching of the user equipment.

[0014] In the embodiments of the present application, in the scenario of switching of the user equipment to a cell or an access network device, the first indication information received by the user equipment can further include a first identifier, the first identifier is used to indicate whether the cell or the access network device before and after the switching belongs to the same area range, and since the first identifier occupies a very small proportion, the configuration overhead of the user equipment is reduced.

[0015] In a possible implementation manner, the user equipment receives third indication information sent by the first access network device, the third indication information is used to indicate that the user equipment reports a first model, and the third indication information includes a first association identifier. The user equipment sends the first model corresponding to the first association identifier to the first access network device.

[0016] In the embodiments of the present application, the user equipment can receive the third indication information sent by the access network device to configure the reporting of the specified model, and the third indication information carries the association identifier of the specified reporting model, thereby improving the realizability of the user-side configuration of the reporting of the specified model.

[0017] In a possible implementation manner, the user equipment receives third indication information sent by the first access network device, the third indication information is used to indicate that the user equipment reports a first model, and the user equipment sends the first model and a first association identifier to the first access network device.

[0018] In the embodiments of the present application, the user equipment can receive the third indication information sent by the access network device to configure the reporting of multiple models, thereby improving the realizability of the user-side configuration of the reporting of multiple models.

[0019] In a possible implementation manner, when the first area range configured by the access network device side is changed, the user equipment receives fourth indication information sent by the first access network device, the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the first area range is updated, and the user equipment updates the first area range according to the fourth indication information, and the updating of the first area range includes expanding or reducing the first area range.

[0020] The user equipment in the embodiments of the present application can receive the fourth indication information sent by the access network device, so as to configure the user equipment to update the first area range, thereby improving the realizability of the user equipment side configuration after the network side condition changes.

[0021] In a possible implementation, the access network device includes a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU), and the user equipment receives the first indication information sent by the distributed unit (DU).

[0022] The network configuration method in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to the access network device under the open radio access network architecture, thereby improving the application range of the network configuration method.

[0023] In a second aspect, the embodiments of the present application provide a network configuration method, which can be executed by a network device, or by components of the network device, such as a processor, a chip or a chip system of the network device, and can also be implemented by a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the functions of the network device. The method provided in the first aspect includes: an access network device obtains first indication information, and sends the first indication information to user equipment, the first indication information being used to indicate a first area range, the same association identifier in the first area range being associated with the same network side condition, and the association identifier being used to identify the network side condition. The access network device sends second indication information to the user equipment, the second indication information including a first association identifier, and the second indication information being used to instruct the user equipment to collect data, the data being used to train a first model, and the first model being used for communication between the user equipment and the access network device.

[0024] In the embodiments of the present application, the access network device can configure the first area range for the user equipment, and the same association identifier in the first area range corresponds to the same network side condition. Therefore, in the process of model training data collection, the user equipment can collect data under the corresponding network side condition according to the first association identifier configured by the access network device. At the same time, since the first association identifier configured by the access network device can be mapped to multiple cells of the first area range, the model trained based on the data collected based on the first association identifier can also be applicable to multiple cells, thereby improving the generalization performance of the model.

[0025] In a possible implementation, the first indication information includes one or more of the following: one or more cells corresponding to the first area range, a geographical area corresponding to the first area range, or one or more network device ranges corresponding to the first area range. One or more cells can constitute a cell group or a cell list, and one or more network devices can constitute an access network device list, that is, the first indication information can include a cell list or an access network device list.

[0026] The first area range configured by the access network device to the user equipment in the embodiments of the present application can be one or more cells, one or more network device corresponding ranges, or one or more geographical areas, and various implementation manners improve the richness of the first area range configuration manner.

[0027] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information includes a first area range identifier. The first area range identifier includes one or more geographical area identifiers or a cell group identifier of one or more cells. For example, the geographical area identifier is an ID of a geographical area, and the cell group identifier of the cell group composed of one or more cells is, for example, a cell group ID.

[0028] The first area range configured by the access network device to the user equipment in the embodiments of the present application can be an identifier of a cell group composed of one or more cells or an identifier of one or more geographical areas, and various implementation manners improve the richness of the first area range configuration manner.

[0029] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information includes a first identifier, and the first identifier is used to indicate whether the first cell and the second cell belong to the first area range, the first cell being a cell currently located by the user equipment and the second cell being a target cell for switching of the user equipment. Alternatively, the first identifier is used to indicate whether the first access network device and the second access network device belong to the first area range, the second access network device being a target access network device for switching of the user equipment.

[0030] In the embodiments of the present application, in the cell or access network device switching scenario of the user equipment, the first indication information sent by the access network device to the user equipment further includes a first identifier, and the first identifier can indicate whether the cell or the access network device before and after the switching belongs to the same area range. Since the first identifier occupies a very small proportion, the configuration overhead of the user equipment is reduced.

[0031] In a possible implementation manner, the access network device sends third indication information to the user equipment, the third indication information is used to instruct the user equipment to report a first model, and the third indication information includes a first association identifier. The access network device receives the first model reported by the user equipment and corresponding to the first association identifier.

[0032] In the embodiments of the present application, the access network device can send third indication information to the user equipment to configure a specified model to be reported, and the third indication information carries an association identifier of the specified model to be reported, thereby improving the realizability of the specified model to be reported by the access network device.

[0033] In a possible implementation manner, the access network device sends third indication information to the user equipment, the third indication information is used to instruct the user equipment to report a first model, and the access network device receives the first model and a first association identifier reported by the user equipment.

[0034] The third indication information sent by the access network device to the user equipment in the embodiments of the present application can be used to configure the reporting of multiple models, thereby improving the realizability of the configuration of the access network device for the reporting of multiple models.

[0035] In a possible implementation, the access network device sends fourth indication information to the user equipment, and the fourth indication information is used to update the first area range, and the updating of the first area range includes expanding or reducing the first area range.

[0036] The fourth indication information sent by the access network device to the user equipment in the embodiments of the present application can be used to configure the user equipment to update the first area range, thereby improving the realizability of the configuration of the user equipment after the change of the network side conditions.

[0037] In a possible implementation, in the process of obtaining the first indication information, the access network device sends one or more network side conditions to a third device, receives a first message sent by the third device, and the first message includes the first indication information.

[0038] The network side conditions sent by the access network device to the third device in the embodiments of the present application can be used by the third device to determine the first indication information and configure the first indication information to the access network device through the first message, thereby improving the realizability of the access network device in obtaining the first indication information.

[0039] In a possible implementation, in the process of obtaining the first indication information, the first indication information is determined based on network side conditions, and the network side conditions include one or more of the following: network side conditions corresponding to the current access network device and network side conditions corresponding to multiple access network devices.

[0040] The access network device in the embodiments of the present application can determine the first indication information based on the network side conditions and configure the access network device, thereby improving the richness of the way in which the access network device obtains the first indication information.

[0041] In a possible implementation, the access network device obtains first configuration information, and the first configuration information includes one or more of the following: a correspondence between network side conditions and association identifiers, and a correspondence between the first area range and the association identifiers.

[0042] The access network device in the embodiments of the present application can also obtain the first configuration information, that is, configure the association identifiers in the access network device, thereby improving the realizability of the configuration of the association identifiers in the access network device.

[0043] In a possible implementation, the access network device determines that a network side condition changes, and sends the changed network side condition to the third device, where the changed network side condition is used to update the first indication information.

[0044] In the embodiments of the present application, when the network side condition changes, the access network device can send the changed network side condition to the third device, so that the third device can update the first area range configuration of the access network device, thereby improving the realizability of the area range configuration update.

[0045] In a possible implementation, the access network device includes a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU), the centralized unit (CU) sends the first indication information to the distributed unit (DU), and the centralized unit (CU) sends the first indication information to the user equipment.

[0046] In the embodiments of the present application, the network configuration method can be applied to the access network device under the open radio access network architecture, thereby improving the application range of the network configuration method.

[0047] In a third aspect, the embodiments of the present application provide a network configuration apparatus, which includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The transceiver unit is configured to receive the first indication information sent by the first access network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate the first area range, the same association identifier in the first area range is associated with the same network side condition, and the association identifier is used to identify the network side condition. The transceiver unit is further configured to receive the second indication information sent by the first access network device, where the second indication information includes the first association identifier, and the second indication information is used to instruct the user equipment to collect data. The processing unit is configured to collect the data, where the data is used to train the first model, and the first model is used for communication between the user equipment and the access network device.

[0048] In a possible implementation, the first indication information includes one or more of the following: one or more cells corresponding to the first area range, a geographical area corresponding to the first area range, or one or more network devices corresponding to the first area range.

[0049] In a possible implementation, the first indication information includes a first area range identifier.

[0050] In a possible implementation, the first indication information includes a first identifier, the first identifier is used to indicate whether the first cell and the second cell belong to the first area range, the first cell is a cell currently located by the user equipment, and the second cell is a target cell for cell switching of the user equipment, or the first identifier is used to indicate whether the first access network device and the second access network device belong to the first area range, and the second access network device is a target access network device for cell switching of the user equipment.

[0051] In a possible implementation, the transceiver is further configured to receive third indication information sent by the first access network device, the third indication information being used to instruct the user equipment to report the first model, and the third indication information comprising the first association identifier. The transceiver is configured to send the first model corresponding to the first association identifier to the first access network device.

[0052] In a possible implementation, the transceiver is further configured to receive third indication information sent by the first access network device, the third indication information being used to instruct the user equipment to report the first model, and the transceiver is configured to send the first model and the first association identifier to the first access network device.

[0053] In a possible implementation, the transceiver is further configured to receive fourth indication information sent by the first access network device, the fourth indication information being used to instruct to update the first area range, and the processing unit is further configured to update the first area range.

[0054] In a possible implementation, the access network device comprises a centralized unit CU and a distributed unit DU, and the transceiver is specifically configured to receive the first indication information sent by the centralized unit CU.

[0055] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a network configuration apparatus, which comprises a transceiver and a processing unit. The processing unit is configured to acquire first indication information, and the transceiver is configured to send the first indication information to user equipment, the first indication information being used to instruct a first area range, and the same association identifier in the first area range is associated with the same network side condition, and the association identifier is used to identify the network side condition. The transceiver is further configured to send second indication information to the user equipment, the second indication information comprising a first association identifier, and the second indication information being used to instruct the user equipment to collect data, the data being used to train a first model, and the first model being used for communication between the user equipment and an access network device supported by the user equipment.

[0056] In a possible implementation, the first indication information comprises one or more of the following: one or more cells corresponding to the first area range, a geographic area corresponding to the first area range, or one or more network devices corresponding to the first area range.

[0057] In a possible implementation, the first indication information comprises a first area range identifier.

[0058] In a possible implementation, the first indication information comprises a first identifier, the first identifier being used to indicate whether a first cell and a second cell belong to the first area range, the first cell being a current cell of the user equipment, and the second cell being a target cell for cell switching of the user equipment, or the first identifier being used to indicate whether a first access network device and a second access network device belong to the first area range, the second access network device being a target access network device for access network switching of the user equipment.

[0059] In a possible implementation, the transceiver is further configured to send third indication information to the user equipment, the third indication information being used to instruct the user equipment to report the first model, and the third indication information comprising the first association identifier; and receive the first model corresponding to the first association identifier sent by the user equipment.

[0060] In a possible implementation, the transceiver is further configured to send third indication information to the user equipment, the third indication information being used to instruct the user equipment to report the first model, and the third indication information comprising the first association identifier; and receive the first model corresponding to the first association identifier sent by the user equipment.

[0061] In a possible implementation, the transceiver is further configured to send fourth indication information to the user equipment, the fourth indication information being used to update the first area range.

[0062] In a possible implementation, the transceiver is further configured to send one or more first network side conditions to the third device, and receive a first message sent by the third device, the first message comprising the first indication information.

[0063] In a possible implementation, the processing unit is specifically configured to determine the first indication information based on network side conditions, the network side conditions comprising one or more of the following: a network side condition corresponding to the current access network device and network side conditions corresponding to a plurality of access network devices.

[0064] In a possible implementation, the processing unit is further configured to obtain first configuration information, the first configuration information comprising one or more of the following: a correspondence between the network side conditions and the association identifiers, and a correspondence between the first area range and the association identifiers.

[0065] In a possible implementation, when it is determined that the network side conditions change, the receiving unit is further configured to send the changed network side conditions to the third device, the changed network side conditions being used to update the first indication information.

[0066] In a possible implementation, the access network device comprises a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU), the transceiver is further configured to send the first indication information to the distributed unit (DU), and the transceiver is further configured to send the first indication information to the user equipment.

[0067] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a user equipment, the user equipment comprising a processor, the processor being coupled with a memory, and the processor being configured to store instructions, when the instructions are executed by the processor, to cause the user equipment to perform the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect.

[0068] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a network device, the network device comprising a processor coupled to a memory, the processor configured to store instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the network device to perform the method of the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0069] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored therein, the instructions, when executed by a computer, causing the computer to perform the method of the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0070] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, the computer program product comprising instructions, the instructions, when executed by a computer, causing the computer to implement the method of the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0071] It can be understood that the beneficial effects achievable by any of the network configuration apparatus, the user equipment, the network device, the computer-readable medium or the computer program product provided above can refer to the beneficial effects in the corresponding method, which will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0072] FIG. 1a is a schematic diagram of a system architecture of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0073] FIG. 1b is a schematic diagram of a system architecture of another wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0074] FIG. 1c is a schematic diagram of a system architecture of another wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0075] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a network configuration method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0076] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of another network configuration method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0077] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of another network configuration method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0078] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of another network configuration method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0079] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of another network configuration method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0080] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a network configuration apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0081] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0082] The embodiments of the present application provide a network configuration method and device, which are used to improve the generalization performance of an AI model in a wireless communication system.

[0083] The terms "first", "second", "third", "fourth" and the like in the description and claims of the present application and above drawings, if any, are used for distinguishing between similar objects and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that the use of the terms so termed is interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the description are, for example, capable of proper functionality, operation, and / or other performance in other than the order shown and / or described herein. Moreover, the use of the terms "including", "comprising", "having" and the like are used to mean including and / or comprising, but not limited to, an incorporation of an item or list of items with the thing functioning as an attribute, such that the thing incorporating the list of items is possessed of more than one non-exclusive attribute.

[0084] In the embodiments of the present application, the word "exemplary" or "for example" is used to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any implementation or design solution described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of the present application should not be construed as being preferred or superior over other implementations or design solutions. Rather, the use of "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present concepts in a concrete manner.

[0085] First, some terms involved in the embodiments of the present application are introduced, so as to facilitate the understanding of the technical solutions by those skilled in the art.

[0086] Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to a technology for simulating human intelligence by using a machine. The artificial intelligence technology includes machine learning and the like. The introduction of artificial intelligence into a mobile communication network can greatly improve the efficiency of network planning, network configuration and resource scheduling, and realize network intelligentization. Artificial intelligence can simulate any nonlinear model, so as to effectively adapt to the actual environment and approach the performance limit.

[0087] Channel state information (CSI) refers to information used to estimate and describe the characteristics of a communication link in wireless communication. The information can describe how a signal propagates from a transmitter to a receiver, and represent the combined effects of scattering, fading and power attenuation with distance. This process is also called channel estimation. In the process of specific implementation and application, for example, a base station sends a CSI reference signal to a user equipment for measurement by the user equipment, and the user equipment calculates various values and reports them to the base station to reflect the channel quality, so that the base station performs CSI acquisition or beam management.

[0088] In order to make the technical solutions of the present application clearer and easier to understand, the system architecture of the present application will be introduced below in combination with the drawings.

[0089] Please refer to FIG. 1a, which is a schematic diagram of a system architecture of a wireless communication system provided by an embodiment of the present application. In the example shown in FIG. 1a, the wireless communication system 10 includes a user equipment 101, an access network device 102 and a core network device 103, wherein the user equipment 101 can also be referred to as a user equipment side or a user side, the access network device 102 and the core network device 103 are also referred to as a network side device or a network side, and the user side and the network side constitute the wireless communication system 10, which can be a 4G network system, a 5G network system, a 6G network system or a network system that can evolve in the future, and the specific implementation is not limited. The specific functions of each part of the wireless communication system 10 will be introduced below.

[0090] The user equipment (UE) 101 refers to a device that provides communication functions for users, and the user equipment 101 can also be referred to as a terminal device, a mobile station (MS) or a mobile terminal (MT), etc. The user equipment 101 in the embodiments of the present application includes a mobile phone, a computer, a wearable device, a virtual reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (AR) device, a drone and a vehicle-mounted terminal, etc., and the specific implementation is not limited.

[0091] It should be noted that the user equipment 101 in the embodiments of the present application can contain a built-in AI module, which can train an AI model to provide data analysis and policy feedback related to wireless communication for the user equipment 101. For example, in a beam management scenario, the AI module of the user equipment 101 can intelligently select the best receiving beam according to the received signal quality, interference condition and other information, thereby optimizing the signal reception quality.

[0092] The access network device 102 refers to a device that accesses the user equipment 101 to a wireless network, and the access network device 102 can also be referred to as a base station, an access node or a network device. The access network device 102 in the embodiments of the present application can be an LTE eNB of a 4G access network, an NR gNB of a 5G access network, an ng-eNB or other access network device forms that can exist in the future, and the specific implementation is not limited.

[0093] The access network device 102 in the embodiments of the present application can also be built-in with an AI module. The AI module can be used to train an AI model, and can also provide data analysis and policy feedback related to wireless communication for the access network device 102. For example, in a beam management scenario, the AI module of the access network device can analyze the wireless channel environment in real time, dynamically adjust the beamforming parameters, and ensure that the signal is focused on the target user equipment, thereby improving the signal strength and transmission efficiency.

[0094] The core network device 103 is used to be responsible for access control, registration management, service management, mobility management, etc. of the user equipment 101 accessing the network. The core network device 103 also provides an interface to the external network as a bearer network. The core network device 103 in the embodiments of the present application can be an evolved packet core (EPC) of 4G, a 5G core network (5GC), or a form of core network device that may be evolved in the future, which is not limited specifically.

[0095] The core network device 103 includes a plurality of network elements with different functions. For example, in a 5G core network, the core network device 103 includes an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, a session management function (SMF) network element, and a user plane function (UPF) network element, etc.

[0096] In addition, the core network device 103 in the embodiments of the present application can also be built-in with an AI module. The AI module can provide data analysis and policy feedback related to wireless communication for the core network device 103 based on an AI model. For example, in a beam management scenario, the AI module of the core network device 103 does not directly participate in beam management, but the AI module can provide resource scheduling and optimization suggestions for the access network device 102 by analyzing network traffic, load, and other information.

[0097] It should be noted that the AI model in the user equipment 101, the access network device 102, and the core network device 103 described above can be applied to scenarios other than beam management, such as AI model-based positioning scenarios, AI model-based channel state information feedback enhancement scenarios, and AI model-based mobility management scenarios, which are not limited specifically.

[0098] In addition, the access network device 102 in the embodiments of the present application can also be an open radio access network (RAN) architecture, that is, the access network device 102 can be composed of multiple radio access network RAN nodes. The wireless communication system under the open RAN architecture is introduced below in combination with FIG. 1b and FIG. 1c.

[0099] Please refer to FIG. 1b, which is a schematic diagram of a system architecture of another wireless communication system provided by the embodiments of the present application. In the example shown in FIG. 1b, the wireless communication system 10 includes a user equipment 101, an access network device 102 and a core network device 103, which can be connected through an interface or an air interface, for example, NG, Xn, Uu.

[0100] Among them, the access network device 102 can include multiple RAN nodes, for example, the access network device 102 includes a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU), wherein the CU can also be split into CU-control plane (CP) and CU-user plane (UP). Among the multiple RAN nodes, one or more AI modules can also be arranged in the CU and the DU, or one or more AI modules can also be arranged in the CU-CP and the CU-UP.

[0101] It should be noted that the AI modules deployed in different devices can be the same or different, and the model of the AI module can achieve different functions according to different parameter configurations. An AI module can have one or more models, and each model can infer an output including one or more parameters. The learning process, training process or inference process of different models can be performed in different nodes or devices, or can be performed in the same node or device, which is not limited.

[0102] Please refer to FIG. 1c, which is a schematic diagram of a system architecture of another wireless communication system provided by the embodiments of the present application. In the example shown in FIG. 1c, the access network device 102 can be based on the open RAN architecture of the RAN intelligent controller (RIC), and under this architecture, the access network device 102 includes a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a RAN intelligent controller RIC and a radio unit (RU).

[0103] The RAN intelligent controller RIC includes a near-real-time RAN intelligent controller (near-RT RIC) and a non-real-time RAN intelligent controller (Non-RT RIC). The near-real-time RIC can be used for AI model training and inference. The near-real-time RIC can obtain training data or inference data on the network side or the user equipment side from a RAN node (for example, a CU, a CU-CP, a CU-UP, a DU, or an RU) or a user equipment 101. Optionally, the near-real-time RIC can send inference results to the RAN node or the user equipment. Optionally, the inference results can be exchanged between the CU, the DU, and the RU, for example, the near-real-time RIC sends the inference results to the DU, and the DU sends the inference results to the RU.

[0104] The non-real-time RIC can also be used for model training and inference. The non-real-time RIC can obtain training data or inference data on the network side or the user equipment side from a RAN node (for example, a CU, a CU-CP, a CU-UP, a DU, or an RU) or a user equipment, and the inference results can be sent to the RAN node or the user equipment. Optionally, the inference results can be exchanged between the CU, the DU, and the RU, for example, the non-real-time RIC sends the inference results to the DU, and the DU sends the inference results to the RU.

[0105] It should be noted that the near-real-time RIC and the non-real-time RIC can also be separately set as a network element, or the near-real-time RIC and the non-real-time RIC can also be part of other devices, and the specific implementation is not limited. For example, the non-real-time RIC is set in an operations, administration and maintenance (OAM) device, a cloud server, and a core network device. For another example, the near-real-time RIC can be set in a CU or a DU of an access network device.

[0106] Based on the wireless communication system 10 shown in FIG. 1a, the present application also provides a network configuration method. The network configuration method provided by the embodiments of the present application is described below in combination with the embodiments.

[0107] Please refer to FIG. 2, which is a flowchart of a network configuration method provided by an embodiment of the present application. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the method includes the following steps:

[0108] 201. The user equipment receives first indication information sent by the access network device, and the first indication information is used to indicate a first area range. In the first area range, the same association identifier corresponds to the same network side condition, and the association identifier is used to identify the network side condition.

[0109] In the embodiment of the present application, the access network device 102 needs to configure the user equipment 101 before the user equipment trains the AI model, so as to ensure that the model training data collected by the user equipment 101 is also collected under the corresponding network side condition.

[0110] In the embodiment of the present application, the access network device 102 can indicate the network side condition to the user equipment 101 by introducing an associated ID. The network side condition in the embodiment of the present application can include an antenna tilt angle, a base station height, etc., which are not restricted here.

[0111] In addition, since the network side condition corresponds to a certain area range, and there can be multiple different network side conditions in a larger area range, when the associated ID marks the network side condition, it needs to meet that, in a first area range, the same associated ID corresponds to the same network side condition. The first area range can be a specified any area range. The first area range in the embodiment of the present application can be a geographical area divided based on a geographical position, or a logical area divided based on one or more cells, which is not limited specifically.

[0112] The access network device 102 also needs to configure the first area range for the user equipment 101. Specifically, the access network device 102 can send first indication information to the user equipment 101, where the first indication information is used to indicate the first area range, and the network device sending the first indication information is the access network device in the first area range. The first indication information in the embodiment of the present application includes multiple implementation manners, which will be introduced in detail below.

[0113] In one possible implementation manner, the first indication information includes one or more cells corresponding to the first area range. When the first indication information includes one or more cells corresponding to the first area range, the one or more cells can constitute a cell group or a cell list, therefore, the first indication information sent by the access network device 102 to the user equipment 101 can include a cell list. The cell group includes the cell currently located by the user equipment.

[0114] The access network device 102 in the embodiments of the present application can broadcast the first indication information to multiple user equipment 101 through system messages, or can send the first indication information to the user equipment 101 through dedicated signaling, and the specific implementation is not limited. For example, the access network device 102 broadcasts the cell list corresponding to the first area range through a system information block (SIB) to the user equipment 101 under the access network device 102. For another example, the access network device 102 sends the cell list corresponding to the first area range to the user equipment 101 through a radio resource control (RRC) message.

[0115] It should be noted that in some possible implementations, the cell list corresponding to the first area range in the first indication information sent by the access network device 102 to the user equipment 101 can be a subset of the cell list corresponding to the first area range configured on the side of the access network device 102. For example, the cell list sent by the access network device 102 to the user equipment 101 only contains the neighboring cell of the user equipment 101, and the cell list configured on the side of the access network device also includes other cells in addition to the neighboring cell.

[0116] In a possible implementation, the first indication information includes one or more network devices corresponding to the first area range, and the one or more network devices can constitute a network device list or a base station list.

[0117] Similarly, the one or more network devices corresponding to the first area range in the first indication information sent by the access network device 102 to the user equipment 101 can also be a subset of the network device list corresponding to the first area range configured on the side of the access network device 102. For example, the base station list sent by the access network device 102 to the user equipment 101 only contains the neighboring base station of the user equipment 101, and the network device list configured on the side of the access network device 102 also includes other base stations in addition to the neighboring base station.

[0118] The one or more network devices corresponding to the first area range in the first indication information in the embodiments of the present application can be devices with the same or similar network side conditions as the current access network device 102, and the one or more cells corresponding to the first area range described above can also be cells with the same or similar network side conditions as the current cell.

[0119] The access network device 102 can send the network device list or cell list corresponding to the first area range and having the same or similar network side conditions to the user equipment 101 based on a system message or through a dedicated signaling configuration message. The configuration content in the dedicated signaling configuration message can be a subset of the configuration content in the system message. For the user equipment 101 in the connected state, the configuration content sent based on the dedicated signaling configuration message, such as the RRC message, is always received.

[0120] Since the number of access network devices and cells corresponding to the first area range and having the same or similar network side conditions is large, in order to reduce the signaling overhead, the access network device 102 can send the partial base station list and cell list corresponding to the first area range to the user equipment 101. For example, when the access network device 102 sends based on the system message, the first indication information only indicates to the user equipment 101 the neighboring cells having the same or similar network side conditions as the current cell and the neighboring base stations having the same or similar network side conditions as the current base station.

[0121] In a possible implementation, the first indication information includes one or more geographical areas corresponding to the first area range, and the geographical area can be determined based on geographical coordinates to provide a physical area of wireless communication service.

[0122] In a possible implementation, the first indication information includes a first area range identifier, which includes a geographical area identifier, a cell identifier of one or more cells, or a cell group identifier of one or more cells. For example, the geographical area identifier is an ID of a geographical area, the cell identifier of one or more cells is, for example, a lower cell ID, and the cell group identifier of one or more cells is, for example, a cell group ID.

[0123] When the access network device 102 sends the cell group identifier of the current cell to the user equipment 101, the access network device 102 can send the cell group identifier to the user equipment 101 based on a system message or through dedicated signaling, and the specific implementation is not limited. Since the cells having the same cell group identifier belong to the same cell group, the user equipment 101 can determine whether the cells belong to the same cell group according to the cell group identifier.

[0124] In a possible implementation, the first indication information further includes a first identifier, which is, for example, 1-bit indication information. When the user equipment 101 performs cell switching, the first identifier is used to indicate whether the first cell and the second cell belong to the first area range, that is, the first identifier can indicate whether the network side conditions of the first cell and the second cell are the same or similar. The first cell is the current cell of the user equipment, and the second cell is the target cell of the user equipment switching.

[0125] Similarly, when the user equipment performs access network device switching, the first identifier is used to indicate whether the first access network device and the second access network device are in the first area range, i.e., the first identifier can indicate whether the network side conditions of the first access network device and the second access network device are the same or similar. The first cell is the current access network device of the user equipment, and the second cell is the target access network device of the user equipment.

[0126] 202. The user equipment receives second indication information sent by the access network device, and the second indication information includes a first associated identifier. The second indication information is used to instruct the user equipment to collect data.

[0127] After the access network device 102 completes the related configuration of the first area range for the user equipment 101, the access network device 102 can configure the user equipment 101 to collect model training data through second indication information. The following will be specifically introduced:

[0128] The second indication information sent by the access network device 102 to the user equipment 101 includes a first associated identifier (associated ID). The first associated identifier is used to identify the network side condition. The second indication information can indicate the first associated identifier to the user equipment. The second indication information can also configure the user equipment 101 to collect data, which is the model training data corresponding to the first associated identifier.

[0129] In a possible manner, because the network side conditions of different access network devices 102 are the same or similar, the access network devices 102 negotiate the associated identifier, so that the same associated identifier is used to indicate the same network side condition between different access network devices 102. The specific implementation can be performed between the access network devices. The data collected by the user equipment 101 has the same associated identifier, and the cell or base station where the user equipment 101 is located is the same or similar. The user equipment 101 can use the data for training of the same model.

[0130] It should be noted that because the cells or base stations in the first area range can be assigned different associated identifiers, the associated identifier can be used to configure the user equipment 101 to collect data. For the same model, the user equipment 101 can determine whether the data collected by multiple cells or base stations can be used for training of the same model based on the associated identifier.

[0131] 203. The user equipment collects data, and the data is used to train a first model. The first model is used for communication between the user equipment and the access network device.

[0132] After the user equipment 101 is configured based on the first indication information and the second indication information, the user equipment 101 can collect data, and the collected data is used for training a first model, and the first model is used for communication between the user equipment 101 and the access network equipment 102. The first model in the embodiment of the present application can be an artificial intelligence (AI) model or a machine learning (ML) model, or can be a functional instance based on the AI model or the ML model, and the specific implementation is not limited.

[0133] In the process of data collection by the user equipment 101, it can be judged based on the first association identifier which data is used together for model training, and it can be determined based on the first indication information and the first association identifier that the model is applicable to the corresponding area range and the network side condition corresponding to the area range. For example, when the user equipment 101 collects data in a cell or a base station in the first area range, if the cell or the base station indicates the same association identifier, the data collected by the user equipment 101 can be used for training of the same model. In a possible implementation, after the user equipment 101 collects the data, the user equipment 101 can send the collected data to an external device for model training, and indicate to the external device information of the area range and the association identifier corresponding to the data. The external device is, for example, an over the top (OTT) service provider.

[0134] In an implementation, the user equipment 101 submits the collected data to an external device, and the external device trains a first model based on the data. In addition, the user equipment 101 can also indicate to the external device the corresponding first association identifier and the first area range, so as to indicate the area range and the network side condition corresponding to the user equipment 101 when collecting the data.

[0135] Based on the information, the external device can know that the data indicated by the same first association identifier and the first area range can be used together for training of the first model. After the external device obtains the first model, the external device sends the first model to the user equipment 101, and also indicates the corresponding relationship among the first model, the first association identifier and the first area range. The corresponding relationship indicates the application range of the first model of the user equipment 101, that is, the first model can be applied under the first area range and the network side condition corresponding to the first association identifier.

[0136] In another possible implementation, the user equipment 101 submits the collected data to an external device, while also indicating a second identifier, the user equipment 101 maintaining an association between the second identifier and the first association identifier, the first area range. The external device learns, based on the second identifier, which data can be used together for training of the first model, i.e., data associated with the same second identifier can be used for training of the first model. The external device trains the first model and sends the first model to the user equipment 101, while also indicating the second identifier. The user equipment 101 obtains the first model from the external device and determines, according to the indicated second identifier, that the first model can be applied under the first area range and the network side condition corresponding to the first association identifier.

[0137] In a possible case, the user equipment 101 can report a data collection configuration request to the access network device 102, the data collection configuration request being used to request the access network device 102 to configure data collection for the user equipment 101. The user equipment 101 can report, to the access network device 102, a user side data collection capability based on the data request, for example, for some user equipment 101, the storage space and the power are both high, and the user equipment 101 can participate more in data collection of the model, and thus can instruct the access network device to configure the user equipment to perform data collection and be used for model training as much as possible.

[0138] In an optional manner, the user equipment 101 can report a user side condition to the access network device 102, the user side condition being, for example, a power indication, a storage space indication, etc. The user side condition is used to indicate, to the access network device 102, a data collection capability. The access network device 102 selects a suitable user equipment 101 based on the user side condition and configures the user equipment to perform data collection.

[0139] 204. The user equipment obtains the first model.

[0140] After the external device completes training of the first model, the user equipment 101 obtains the trained first model from the external device and maintains a correspondence between the first model, the first area range, and the first association identifier.

[0141] In a possible implementation, after the user equipment 101 collects data, the user equipment 101 can also train the first model locally and maintain a correspondence between the first model, the first area range, and the first association identifier, which is not limited in detail.

[0142] The first model in the embodiment of the application can be an AI model that implements multiple functions in different scenarios, for example, the first model can be a beam management AI model in a beam management scenario, an AI model for positioning in a positioning scenario, an AI model for channel state information feedback enhancement, and an AI model for mobility management, which is not limited in detail.

[0143] 205. The user equipment receives third indication information sent by the access network device, and the third indication information is used to indicate that the user equipment reports the first model.

[0144] After the user equipment 101 obtains the first model, the access network device 102 can send third indication information to the user equipment 101, so that the user equipment 101 reports the first model. The following is a specific introduction:

[0145] In a possible implementation, the user equipment 101 receives third indication information sent by the access network device 102, the third indication information includes a first association identifier, and the third indication information is used to configure the user equipment 101 to report the first model. That is, in the embodiment of the present application, the access network device 102 can configure the user equipment 101 to report the model corresponding to the specified association identifier by specifying the association identifier.

[0146] In a possible implementation, the user equipment 101 receives third indication information sent by the access network device, and the third indication information is used to indicate that the user equipment 101 reports the first model. The user equipment 101 sends the first model and the first association identifier to the access network device 102. That is, when the access network device 102 does not specify the association identifier in the third indication information, the user equipment 101 sends one or more models to the access network device 102, and sends the association identifier corresponding to the one or more models.

[0147] It should be noted that in a possible implementation, the third indication information is also used to indicate the related features of the user equipment reporting the first model. The related features include the input data features and the output data features of the first model, for example, the input beam set A and the output beam set B of the model management model.

[0148] 206. The user equipment sends the first model to the access network device.

[0149] In a possible implementation, when the third indication information sent by the access network device 102 includes the first association identifier, the user equipment 101 sends the first model to the access network device 102 based on the third indication information. The first model is the model corresponding to the first association identifier, that is, the model trained under the network side condition corresponding to the first association identifier.

[0150] In a possible implementation, when the third indication information sent by the access network device 102 does not specify the association identifier, the user equipment 101 sends one or more models and the association identifier corresponding to the one or more models to the access network device 102 based on the third indication information.

[0151] 207. The access network device determines model configuration information.

[0152] After the access network device 102 receives the model reported by the user equipment 101, the access network device 102 can further determine model configuration information, which includes inference configuration information and monitoring configuration information, etc., wherein the inference configuration information includes configurations required when the model performs inference, such as learning rate, etc., and the monitoring configuration information includes relevant configuration information for monitoring the performance of the model, such as accuracy monitoring configuration and response time monitoring configuration, etc., which are not limited in particular.

[0153] In a possible implementation, when the reporting content of the user equipment 101 is multiple models and the associated identifiers corresponding to the multiple models, the access network device 102 can select the model corresponding to the specified associated identifier based on the associated identifier, and then determine the model configuration information for the model.

[0154] 208. The access network device sends the model configuration information to the user equipment.

[0155] In a possible implementation, after the access network device 102 determines the model configuration information, the access network device 102 sends the above model configuration information to the user equipment 101.

[0156] The above embodiments introduce the configuration process between the user equipment 101 and the access network device 102 in the network side condition configuration in the embodiments of the present application. The following introduces the configuration process of the access network device 102 side before the access network device 102 sends the first indication information to the user equipment 101 in combination with the accompanying drawings:

[0157] Please refer to FIG. 3, which is another network configuration flowchart provided by the embodiments of the present application. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the configuration process of the access network device 102 side can be divided into two configuration modes according to third-party configuration and autonomous configuration, wherein mode 1 is that the access network device requests third-party configuration, and mode 2 is that the access network device autonomously configures. The following will be introduced in detail respectively:

[0158] In mode 1, the method for the access network device to request the third-party node to configure the network side condition in the embodiments of the present application includes the following steps:

[0159] 301a. The access network device sends the network side condition to the third device.

[0160] The access network device 102 sends the network side condition to the third device, and the third device determines the first indication information and the first configuration information based on the network side condition, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate the first area range, and the first configuration information is used to indicate the associated identifier configuration. The following specifically introduces the process of the third device configuring the first indication information and the first configuration information to the access network device 102.

[0161] In a possible implementation, in the process in which the third device determines the first indication information based on the network side condition sent by the access network device 102, the third device assigns the first area range based on the network side condition sent by the access network device 102, and in the first area range, the same association identifier corresponds to the same network side condition.

[0162] In different implementations, the first indication information configured by the third device can be different content. For example, the first indication information can be one or more cells corresponding to the first area range or a geographic area corresponding to the first area range, or can be a base station list and a cell list corresponding to the first area range, or can be a first area range identifier, and the specific implementation is not limited. The implementation of the first indication information has been described in detail in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, and will not be repeated here.

[0163] In a possible implementation, in the process in which the third device determines the first configuration information based on the network side condition sent by the access network device 102, the third device assigns the association identifier based on the network side condition sent by the access network device 102, and the association identifier is used to identify the network side condition and can also be used to identify a specified area range.

[0164] In a possible manner, the association identifier is unique in a public land mobile network (PLMN), for example, when the gateway agrees to configure an association identifier under a PLMN, the first area range does not need to be configured.

[0165] In different implementations, the first configuration information in the embodiment of the present application includes one or more of the following: a corresponding relationship between the network side condition and the association identifier, and a corresponding relationship between the first area range and the association identifier. That is, the first configuration information is to configure the association identifier corresponding to the network side condition, or to configure the association identifier corresponding to the first area range, and the specific implementation is not limited.

[0166] It should be noted that the third device in the embodiment of the present application can be a core network device, an operation management and maintenance (OAM) node, an operator network management node, and a device vendor network management node, and the specific implementation is not limited.

[0167] In addition, the interaction between the access network device 102 and the third device in the embodiment of the present application can be defined in a standard protocol, for example, in the protocol of 3GPP, a plurality of interfaces and protocol support for network configuration of the third device can be defined. Alternatively, the interaction between the access network device 102 and the third device can also be different according to the specific product implementation.

[0168] 302a. The access network device receives the first message sent by the third device, and the first message includes the first indication information, and the first indication information indicates the first area range.

[0169] After the third device determines the first indication information based on the network side condition, the third device sends the first indication information to the access network device 102, so as to realize the configuration of the area range of the access network device. Specifically, the access network device receives the first message sent by the third device, the first message including the first indication information, and the first message is, for example, an RRC message.

[0170] 303a. The access network device receives the first configuration information sent by the third device, and the first configuration information indicates the association identifier configuration.

[0171] After the third device determines the first configuration information based on the network side condition, the third device sends the first configuration information to the access network device 103, so as to complete the configuration of the association identifier of the access network device.

[0172] In the manner 2, in the manner in which the access network device 102 in the embodiment of the present application configures the first indication information and the first configuration information, the range of the network side condition can be divided into two cases, the first case is to determine the configuration based on the network side condition of multiple access network devices, and the second case is to configure based on the network side condition of the current single access network device, the two cases correspond to steps 301b and 301c respectively, which will be introduced in detail below.

[0173] 301b. The access network device determines the first indication information and the first configuration information based on the network side condition of multiple access network devices.

[0174] In the first case, the access network device 102 can interact with other access network devices, so as to obtain interaction information, and the interaction information includes the network side condition of multiple access network devices. Then, the access network device 102 determines the first indication information and the first configuration information based on the network side condition of multiple access network devices.

[0175] Specifically, the access network device 102 determines multiple cells or access network devices with the same or similar network side condition based on the interaction information, or determines multiple cells and access network devices in an area range, or determines multiple cells or access network devices whose collected data can be used together to train a model, or determines multiple cells or access network devices to which the trained model can be applied. The access network device 102 can further obtain the first indication information for multiple cells or access network device cell groups or area ranges, and obtain the first configuration information by assigning association identifiers to multiple network side conditions.

[0176] In a possible implementation, the access network device 102 can also determine whether the multiple access network devices are in the same area range based on the network side conditions, for example, if the network side conditions between two access network devices are similar, it is determined that the two base stations are in one area range. The access network device 102 can also determine whether one or more cells are in the same cell group, for example, if the network side conditions of two cells are similar, it is determined that the two base stations are in one cell group.

[0177] 301c. The access network device determines the first indication information and the first configuration information based on the network side conditions of the current access network device.

[0178] In the second case, the access network device 102 can determine the first indication information and the first configuration information based on the network side conditions of the current access network device, wherein the network side conditions of the current access network device include the network side conditions corresponding to one or more cells.

[0179] Specifically, the access network device 102 can allocate an area range to one or more cells corresponding to the current access network device, that is, one access network device can correspond to multiple area ranges. The above allocation process can obtain the first indication information. The access network device 102 can also allocate an associated representation to the network side conditions in the area range to obtain the first configuration information.

[0180] It should be noted that the configuration mode of any one of the first indication information and the first configuration information in the above embodiment of FIG. 3 can be combined with the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, and the specific configuration is not limited.

[0181] In the embodiment of the present application, when the network side conditions change, the first indication information and the first configuration information also need to be updated. The following will be described in detail in combination with the embodiment described in FIG. 4:

[0182] Please refer to FIG. 4, which is a flow diagram of a network configuration update provided by an embodiment of the present application. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the method for network configuration update includes the following steps:

[0183] 401. The access network device sends the changed network side conditions to the third device.

[0184] In the embodiment of the present application, when the access network device 102 determines that the network side conditions change, the access network device 102 needs to report to the third device, so as to update the configuration of the first area range and the configuration of the associated identifier. Specifically, the access network device 102 sends the changed network side conditions to the third device, and the changed network side conditions include one or more of the following: network side conditions of one or more base stations and network side conditions of one or more cells.

[0185] 402. The third device sends the updated first indication information and the updated first configuration information to the access network device.

[0186] After determining the updated first indication information and the updated first configuration information based on the changed network side condition, the third device sends the updated first indication information and the updated first configuration information to the access network device 102. In the updated first indication information, the second area range indicated by the first indication information can be enlarged or reduced compared with the first area range. In the updated first configuration information, the associated identifier corresponding to the network side condition can be added or released.

[0187] In the embodiments of the present application, the third device can send the updated first indication information and the updated first configuration information in the same message, or can send the updated first indication information and the updated first configuration information in different messages, which is not limited.

[0188] 403. The access network device sends fourth indication information to the user equipment, and the fourth indication information is used to indicate updating the first area range.

[0189] In a possible implementation, the user equipment 101 receives the fourth indication information sent by the access network device 102, and the fourth indication information is used to indicate the second area range, which can update the first area range, and updating the first area range includes enlarging or reducing the first area range. For example, the number of the cell list in the first area range is increased or reduced.

[0190] In a possible implementation, the user equipment is not currently in the first area range, and then each time the user equipment 101 enters the first area range, the user equipment 101 updates the cell list corresponding to the first area range based on the SIB or RRC configuration, and stores the cell list corresponding to the first area range.

[0191] 404. The access network device sends fifth indication information to the user equipment, and the fifth indication information is used to indicate adding or releasing the associated identifier.

[0192] In a possible implementation, the user equipment 101 receives the fifth indication information sent by the access network device, and the fifth indication information is used to indicate adding or releasing the associated identifier.

[0193] For example, the fifth indication information is used to indicate the newly added second association identifier to the user equipment, the second association identifier indicates that the collected data of the user equipment is used for training the second model. At this time, the originally trained first model is still available, and the access network device 102 configures the user equipment 101 to train the newly added second model corresponding to the second association identifier. For another example, the fifth indication information is used to indicate that the first model corresponding to the first association identifier is deactivated, that is, the access network device 102 configures the user equipment to deactivate the first model corresponding to the first association identifier.

[0194] The network device in the embodiment of the application can be a plurality of radio access network (RAN) nodes under an open RAN architecture, and the access network device 102 includes a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU). The network configuration method under the open RAN architecture will be introduced below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0195] Please refer to FIG. 5, which is a flowchart of a network configuration provided by an embodiment of the application. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the method includes the following steps:

[0196] 501. The centralized unit (CU) sends first indication information to the distributed unit (DU).

[0197] The first indication information sent by the centralized unit (CU) to the distributed unit (DU) indicates the first area range. The various implementation manners of the first indication information sent by the CU to the DU in step 501 are consistent with the various implementation manners of the first indication information in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, and will not be described in detail.

[0198] For example, the centralized unit (CU) can indicate to the distributed unit (DU) a list of base stations in the first area range and having the same or similar network side conditions as the current base station, or a list of cells having the same or similar network side conditions as the current cell.

[0199] In a possible implementation manner, similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, in order to reduce signaling overhead, the centralized unit (CU) can indicate part of the information to the distributed unit (DU), for example, the cell list corresponding to the first area range in the first indication information sent by the CU to the DU can be a subset of the cell list corresponding to the first area range configured on the CU side.

[0200] In a possible implementation manner, similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, when the user equipment performs access network device switching, the centralized unit (CU) indicates to the distributed unit (DU) the switching configuration, that is, whether the target cell belongs to the first area range based on the first identifier in the first indication information, and whether the target base station belongs to the first area range based on the first identifier in the first indication information.

[0201] 502. The distributed unit DU sends the underlying RRC configuration to the centralized unit CU.

[0202] After the distributed unit DU receives the first indication information, the distributed unit DU generates the underlying RRC configuration, and sends the underlying RRC configuration to the centralized unit CU. The underlying RRC configuration includes the first indication information. After the centralized unit CU obtains the underlying RRC configuration, the centralized unit CU can generate an RRC message based on the underlying RRC configuration and transmit the RRC message to the user equipment 101 through the distributed unit DU, wherein the RRC message includes the first indication information.

[0203] 503. The user equipment receives the first indication information sent by the centralized unit CU, and the first indication information is used to indicate the first area range.

[0204] 504. The user equipment receives the second indication information sent by the centralized unit CU, and the second indication information carries the first association identifier.

[0205] 505. The user equipment collects data based on the first indication information and the first association identifier, and the data is used to train the first model, and the first model is used for communication between the user equipment and the centralized unit CU.

[0206] 506. The user equipment obtains the first model.

[0207] The method performed by the centralized unit CU in steps 503 to 506 in the embodiments of the present application is similar to the method performed by the access network device 102 in steps 201 to 204 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, and will not be described here.

[0208] Please refer to FIG. 6, which is a flow diagram of another network configuration provided by the embodiments of the present application. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the network device and the access network device 102 include the centralized unit CU and the distributed unit DU. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the configuration flow of the centralized unit CU side can also be divided into two configuration modes, wherein mode 1 is that the centralized unit CU requests third-party configuration, and mode 2 is that the centralized unit CU is configured independently. The following will be described in detail respectively:

[0209] In mode 1, the method for the centralized unit CU to request a third device to configure the network side condition in the embodiments of the present application includes the following steps:

[0210] 601a. The centralized unit CU sends the network side condition to the third device.

[0211] 602a. The centralized unit CU receives the first indication information sent by the third device, and the first indication information indicates the first area range.

[0212] 603a. The centralized unit CU receives first configuration information sent by the third device, and the first configuration information indicates association identifier configuration.

[0213] The method performed by the centralized unit CU in steps 601a to 603a in the embodiment of the present application is similar to the method performed by the access network device 102 in steps 301a to 303a in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, and thus will not be described here again.

[0214] In the manner 2, the manner in which the centralized unit CU in the embodiment of the present application configures the first indication information and the first configuration information by itself, the range of network side conditions can be divided into two cases, the first case is network side condition determination configuration based on multiple centralized units CUs, and the second case is network side condition configuration based on a current single centralized unit CU, the two cases correspond to steps 601b and 601c respectively, which will be introduced in detail below.

[0215] 601b. The centralized unit CU determines the first indication information and the first configuration information based on network side conditions of multiple centralized units CUs.

[0216] 601c. The centralized unit CU determines the first indication information and the first configuration information based on network side conditions of a current centralized unit CU.

[0217] The method performed by the centralized unit CU in steps 601b and 601c in the embodiment of the present application is similar to the method performed by the access network device 102 in steps 301b to 303c in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, and thus will not be described here again.

[0218] As can be seen from the above several embodiments, the access network device in the embodiment of the present application can configure the user equipment in the first area range, and the same association identifier in the first area range corresponds to the same network side condition. In the process of model training data collection, the user equipment can collect data under the corresponding network side condition according to the first association identifier configured by the access network device. Since the first association identifier can be mapped to multiple cells or access network devices in the first area range, the model trained by the user equipment based on the first association identifier can also be applicable to multiple cells or access network devices, thereby improving the generalization performance of the trained model.

[0219] Based on the above method embodiments, the embodiment of the present application further provides a network configuration device, and the memory management device provided by the embodiment of the present application will be introduced in detail below.

[0220] Please refer to FIG. 7, which is a structural schematic diagram of a network configuration apparatus provided in an embodiment of the present application. In the example shown in FIG. 7, the network configuration apparatus 700 is configured to implement the steps performed by the user equipment or the access network equipment in the above embodiments, and the network configuration apparatus 700 includes a transceiver unit 701 and a processing unit 702.

[0221] In one embodiment of the network configuration apparatus 700, the network configuration apparatus 700 is configured to implement the steps performed by the user equipment in the above embodiments.

[0222] The transceiver unit 701 is configured to receive first indication information sent by the first access network equipment, the first indication information being used to indicate a first area range, and the same association identifier is associated with the same network side condition within the first area range, and the association identifier is used to identify the network side condition. The transceiver unit 701 is further configured to receive second indication information sent by the first access network equipment, the second indication information including a first association identifier, and the second indication information being used to instruct the user equipment to collect data. The processing unit 702 is configured to collect the data, and the data is used to train a first model, and the first model is used to support the communication between the user equipment and the access network equipment.

[0223] In a possible implementation, the first indication information includes one or more of the following: one or more cells corresponding to the first area range, a geographic area corresponding to the first area range, or one or more network devices corresponding to the first area range.

[0224] In a possible implementation, the first indication information includes a first area range identifier.

[0225] In a possible implementation, the first indication information includes a first identifier, the first identifier being used to indicate whether the first cell and the second cell belong to the first area range, the first cell being a cell currently located by the user equipment, and the second cell being a target cell for the user equipment to switch to, or the first identifier being used to indicate whether the first access network equipment and the second access network equipment belong to the first area range, the second access network equipment being a target access network equipment for the user equipment to switch to.

[0226] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit 701 is further configured to receive third indication information sent by the first access network equipment, the third indication information being used to instruct the user equipment to report the first model, and the third indication information including the first association identifier. The transceiver unit 701 is configured to send the first model corresponding to the first association identifier to the first access network equipment.

[0227] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit 701 is further configured to receive third indication information sent by the first access network equipment, the third indication information being used to instruct the user equipment to report the first model, and the transceiver unit 701 is configured to send the first model and the first association identifier to the first access network equipment. In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit 701 is further configured to receive third indication information sent by the first access network equipment, the third indication information being used to instruct the user equipment to report the first model, and the transceiver unit 701 is configured to send the first model and the first association identifier to the first access network equipment.

[0228] In a possible implementation, the transceiver 701 is further configured to receive fourth indication information sent by the first access network device, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the first area range is updated, and the processing unit 702 is further configured to update the first area range.

[0229] In a possible implementation, the access network device includes a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU), and the transceiver 701 is specifically configured to receive the first indication information sent by the centralized unit (CU).

[0230] In another embodiment of the network configuration apparatus 700, the network configuration apparatus 700 is configured to implement each step performed by the access network device in each of the above embodiments.

[0231] The processing unit 702 acquires the first indication information, and the transceiver 701 is configured to send the first indication information to the user equipment, where the first indication information is used to indicate a first area range, and the same association identifier is associated with the same network side condition in the first area range, and the association identifier is used to identify the network side condition. The transceiver 701 is further configured to send second indication information to the user equipment, where the second indication information includes a first association identifier, and the second indication information is used to instruct the user equipment to collect data, and the data is used to train a first model, and the first model is used for communication between the user equipment and the access network device.

[0232] In a possible implementation, the first indication information includes one or more of the following: one or more cells corresponding to the first area range, a geographic area corresponding to the first area range, or one or more network devices corresponding to the first area range.

[0233] In a possible implementation, the first indication information includes a first area range identifier.

[0234] In a possible implementation, the first indication information includes a first identifier, where the first identifier is used to indicate whether a first cell and a second cell belong to the first area range, the first cell is a cell currently located by the user equipment, and the second cell is a target cell for handover of the user equipment, or the first identifier is used to indicate whether a first access network device and a second access network device belong to the first area range, and the second access network device is a target access network device for handover of the user equipment.

[0235] In a possible implementation, the transceiver 701 is further configured to send third indication information to the user equipment, where the third indication information is used to instruct the user equipment to report the first model, the third indication information includes the first association identifier, and the transceiver 701 is configured to receive the first model corresponding to the first association identifier sent by the user equipment.

[0236] In a possible implementation, the transceiver 701 is further configured to send third indication information to the user equipment, where the third indication information is used to instruct the user equipment to report the first model, and receive the first model and the first association identifier sent by the user equipment.

[0237] In a possible implementation, the transceiver 701 is further configured to send fourth indication information to the user equipment, where the fourth indication information is used to update the first area range.

[0238] In a possible implementation, the transceiver 701 is further configured to send one or more first network side conditions to the third device, and receive a first message sent by the third device, where the first message includes the first indication information.

[0239] In a possible implementation, the processing unit 702 is specifically configured to determine the first indication information based on network side conditions, where the network side conditions include one or more of the following: a network side condition corresponding to the current access network device and network side conditions corresponding to a plurality of access network devices.

[0240] In a possible implementation, the processing unit 702 is further configured to obtain first configuration information, where the first configuration information includes one or more of the following: a correspondence between the network side condition and the association identifier, and a correspondence between the first area range and the association identifier.

[0241] In a possible implementation, when it is determined that the network side condition changes, the transceiver is further configured to send the changed network side condition to the third device, where the changed network side condition is used to update the first indication information.

[0242] In a possible implementation, the access network device includes a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU), the transceiver 701 is further configured to send the first indication information to the distributed unit (DU), and the transceiver 701 is further configured to send the first indication information to the user equipment.

[0243] It can be understood that the transceiver 701 and the processing unit 702 in the network configuration apparatus 700 can be mapped to various modules in the user equipment 101 or the access network device 102 as functional modules, so as to realize the functions of various modules in the user equipment 101 or the access network device 102.

[0244] It should be understood that the division of units in the above apparatus is only a logical functional division, and all or part of the units can be integrated into a physical entity or physically separated when actually implemented. The units in the apparatus can all be implemented in the form of software invoked by a processing element; all be implemented in the form of hardware; or some units be implemented in the form of software invoked by a processing element and some units be implemented in the form of hardware. For example, each unit can be a separately established processing element, or can be integrated into a chip of the apparatus, and in addition, can be stored in the form of a program in a memory, and the function of the unit is invoked and executed by a processing element of the apparatus. In addition, all or part of the units can be integrated together or independently implemented. The processing element described herein can be a processor, which can be an integrated circuit with a signal processing capability. In the implementation process, each step of the above method or each unit can be implemented by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in the processing element or in the form of software invoked by the processing element.

[0245] It should be noted that, for the above method embodiments, in order to simply describe, they are all expressed as a series of action combinations, but those skilled in the art should know that the present application is not limited by the action sequence described, and those skilled in the art should also know that the embodiments described in the specification all belong to preferred embodiments, and the actions involved are not necessarily required by the present application.

[0246] Other reasonable combinations of steps that can be thought of by those skilled in the art according to the above description also belong to the protection scope of the present application. In addition, those skilled in the art should also be familiar with the fact that the embodiments described in the specification all belong to preferred embodiments, and the actions involved are not necessarily required by the present application.

[0247] Please refer to FIG. 8, which is a structural schematic diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 8, the communication device 800 includes a processor 801, a memory 802, a communication interface 803 and a bus 804, and the processor 801, the memory 802 and the communication interface 803 are coupled through the bus 804. The memory 802 stores instructions, and when the instructions in the memory 802 are executed, the communication device 800 executes the method performed by the user equipment or the access network equipment in the above method embodiments. When the communication device 800 executes the method performed by the user equipment in the above method embodiments, the communication device 800 is the user equipment, and when the communication device 800 executes the method performed by the access network equipment in the above method embodiments, the communication device 800 is the access network equipment.

[0248] The communication device 800 can be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement one or more of the above methods, for example, one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or, one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), or, one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or a combination of at least two of these forms of integrated circuits. For example, when units in the apparatus can be implemented by way of a processing element scheduler, the processing element can be a general purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU) or other processor able to fetch and execute program instructions. For example, these units can be integrated together in a system-on-a-chip (SOC) form.

[0249] The processor 801 can be a central processing unit (CPU), and can also be other general purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components or any combination thereof. The general purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0250] The memory 802 can be a volatile memory or a nonvolatile memory, or can include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. Among them, the nonvolatile memory can be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable PROM (EPROM), an electrically EPROM (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory can be a random access memory (RAM) used as an external cache. By way of example, and not limitation, many forms of RAM can be used, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM).

[0251] The executable program code stored in the memory 802 is executed by the processor 801 to respectively realize the functions of the foregoing units or modules, thereby realizing the information display method described above. That is, the memory 802 has instructions for executing the information display method described above.

[0252] The communication interface 803 uses a transceiving module such as, but not limited to, a network interface card, a transceiver, to realize the communication between the communication device 800 and other devices or communication networks.

[0253] The bus 804 can include, in addition to the data bus, a power bus, a control bus, and a state signal bus, etc. The bus can be a peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe) bus, or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, a unified bus (Ubus or UB), a compute express link (CXL), a cache coherent interconnect for accelerators (CCIX), etc. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc.

[0254] In another embodiment of the present application, a computer readable storage medium is also provided, and the computer readable storage medium stores computer execution instructions. When a processor of a device executes the computer execution instructions, the device executes the method performed by the user equipment or the access network equipment in the method embodiments.

[0255] In another embodiment of the present application, a computer program product is also provided, and the computer program product includes computer execution instructions stored in a computer readable storage medium. When a processor of a device executes the computer execution instructions, the device executes the method performed by the user equipment or the access network equipment in the method embodiments.

[0256] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working process of the system, device and unit described above can refer to the corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0257] In several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, device and method can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only schematic, for example, the division of the units is only a logical function division, and actual implementation can have another division manner, for example, a plurality of units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection between the units or components shown or discussed can be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interface, device or unit, and can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0258] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, may be located in one place, or may be distributed to multiple network units. Part or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the embodiment scheme.

[0259] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application can be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit can be physically present alone, or two or more units can be integrated in one unit. The integrated unit can be realized in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional unit.

[0260] The integrated unit, if realized in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, can be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical scheme of the present application essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art or the whole or part of the technical scheme can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium, including a plurality of instructions for causing a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The foregoing storage medium includes: a U disk, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM, read-only memory), a random access memory (RAM, random access memory), a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and various program code storage media.

Claims

1. A network configuration method characterized by, The method comprises: receiving first indication information sent by a first access network device, the first indication information being used to indicate a first area range, same association identifiers in the first area range being associated with same network side conditions, the association identifier being used to identify a network side condition; receiving second indication information sent by the first access network device, the second indication information comprising a first association identifier, the second indication information being used to instruct the user equipment to collect data; collecting data, the data being used to train a first model, the first model being used for communication between the user equipment and the access network device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The first indication information comprises one or more of the following: one or more cells corresponding to the first area range, a geographical area corresponding to the first area range, or one or more network devices corresponding to the first area range.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The first indication information comprises a first area range identifier.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The first indication information comprises a first identifier, the first identifier being used to indicate whether a first cell and a second cell belong to the first area range, the first cell being a cell currently located by the user equipment, the second cell being a target cell for handover of the user equipment, or the first identifier being used to indicate whether the first access network device and a second access network device belong to the first area range, the second access network device being a target access network device for handover of the user equipment.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The method further comprises: receiving third indication information sent by the first access network device, the third indication information being used to instruct the user equipment to report the first model, the third indication information comprising the first association identifier; sending, to the first access network device, the first model corresponding to the first association identifier.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The method further comprises: receiving third indication information sent by the first access network device, the third indication information being used to instruct the user equipment to report the first model; sending, to the first access network device, the first model and the first association identifier.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The method further comprises: receiving fourth indication information sent by the first access network device, the fourth indication information being used to instruct to update the first area range; updating the first area range.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The access network device comprises a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU), and the user equipment receiving first indication information sent by the access network device comprises: receiving the first indication information sent by the centralized unit (CU).

9. A network configuration method characterized by, The method comprises: obtaining first indication information; sending, to user equipment, the first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate a first area range, same association identifiers in the first area range being associated with same network side conditions, the association identifier being used to identify a network side condition; sending, to the user equipment, second indication information, the second indication information comprising a first association identifier, the second indication information being used to instruct the user equipment to collect data, the data being used to train a first model, the first model being used for communication between the user equipment and the access network device.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein, The first indication information comprises one or more of the following: one or more cells corresponding to the first area range, a geographical area corresponding to the first area range, or one or more network devices corresponding to the first area range.

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that, The first indication information comprises a first area range identifier.

12. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that, The first indication information comprises a first identifier, the first identifier being used to indicate whether a first cell and a second cell belong to the first area range, the first cell being a cell currently located by the user equipment, the second cell being a target cell for handover of the user equipment, or the first identifier being used to indicate whether a first access network device and a second access network device belong to the first area range, the second access network device being a target access network device for handover of the user equipment.

13. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 12, characterized in that, The method further comprises: sending third indication information to the user equipment, the third indication information being used to instruct the user equipment to report the first model, the third indication information comprising a first association identifier; receiving the first model corresponding to the first association identifier sent by the user equipment.

14. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 12, characterized in that, The method further comprises: sending third indication information to the user equipment, the third indication information being used to instruct the user equipment to report the first model; receiving the first model and the first association identifier sent by the user equipment.

15. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 14, characterized in that, The method comprises: sending fourth indication information to the user equipment, the fourth indication information being used to update the first area range.

16. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 15, characterized in that, The obtaining of the first indication information comprises: sending one or more first network side conditions to a third device; receiving the first message sent by the third device, the first message comprising the first indication information.

17. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 16, characterized in that, The obtaining of the first indication information comprises: determining the first indication information based on the network side conditions, the network side conditions comprising one or more of the following: a network side condition corresponding to a current access network device and network side conditions corresponding to a plurality of access network devices.

18. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 17, characterized in that, The method further comprises: obtaining first configuration information, the first configuration information comprising one or more of the following: a correspondence between the network side conditions and association identifiers, and a correspondence between the first area range and association identifiers.

19. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 18, characterized in that, The method further comprises: determining that the network side conditions have changed, and sending the changed network side conditions to the third device, the changed network side conditions being used to update the first indication information.

20. The method of any one of claims 9 to 19, wherein, The access network device comprises a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU), and the method further comprises: the centralized unit (CU) sending the first indication information to the distributed unit (DU); the sending of the first indication information to the user equipment comprises: the centralized unit (CU) sending the first indication information to the user equipment.

21. A user equipment, comprising: The user equipment comprises a processor coupled to a memory, the processor being used to store instructions, when the instructions are executed by the processor, to cause the user equipment to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 8. The user equipment comprises a processor coupled to a memory, the processor being used to store instructions, when the instructions are executed by the processor, to cause the user equipment to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 8.

22. A network device, comprising: comprising a processor coupled with a memory, the processor to store instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the network device to perform the method of any of claims 9-20.

23. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions, The instructions, when executed, cause a computer to perform the method of any of claims 1-8, or cause a computer to perform the method of any of claims 9-20.

24. A computer program product comprising instructions therein, the computer program product comprising instructions therein, characterized in that, The instructions, when executed, cause a computer to implement the method of any of claims 1-8, or cause a computer to implement the method of any of claims 9-20.

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