Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

Disclosed in the present application are a communication method and apparatus. The method comprises: a first communication apparatus determining first information, and sending the first information to a second communication apparatus, wherein the first information is used for instructing the second communication apparatus to reserve a first resource for at least one terminal apparatus, and the at least one terminal apparatus is to be handed over from the first communication apparatus to the second communication apparatus. In the present application, regardless of whether a model is deployed on a second communication apparatus, the second communication apparatus can reserve resources for at least one terminal apparatus. For example, if a model is deployed on the second communication apparatus, resources that are required by the at least one terminal apparatus and are indicated by a first communication apparatus can be used as input information of the model deployed on the second communication apparatus, and resources are reserved on the basis of output information of the model deployed on the second communication apparatus; alternatively, if no model is deployed on the second communication apparatus, resources are reserved on the basis of the resources that are required by the at least one terminal apparatus and are indicated by the first communication apparatus. Therefore, the resource management efficiency is improved.

Description

Communication method and apparatus

[0001] Cross-reference to Related Applications

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese Patent Application No. 202411391069.1, filed on September 30, 2024, and entitled “A Communication Method and Apparatus”, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and apparatus. BACKGROUND

[0004] Currently, a network device can receive resource information of other network devices, such as resource status, available capacity, and the like. If the network device has a deployed model, such as an artificial intelligence (AI) model, a machine learning (ML) model, and the like, the network device can use the resource information of other network devices as input information of the model deployed by the network device to predict resource information of the network device, so as to manage resources of the network device. However, if the network device does not have a deployed model, the resource information of other network devices has limited effect on the prediction of the resource information of the network device by the network device, and the resource management efficiency is low. SUMMARY

[0005] Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and apparatus for improving resource management efficiency.

[0006] In a first aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, which can be applied to a first communication apparatus. The first communication apparatus is a network side apparatus, for example, the first communication apparatus is a network device, or is other equipment including a network device function, or is a chip system (or a chip) or other functional module, the chip system or functional module can implement the function of the network device, and the chip system or functional module is arranged in the network device, for example. The method comprises: determining first information, and sending the first information to a second communication apparatus; wherein the first information is used to instruct the second communication apparatus to reserve first resources for at least one terminal apparatus, and the at least one terminal apparatus is to be switched from the first communication apparatus to the second communication apparatus.

[0007] In the embodiments of the present application, the first communication device can predict the resources required by the at least one terminal device to be handed over to the second communication device, for example, according to a model deployed by the first communication device. The first communication device can indicate the resources required by the at least one terminal device to be handed over to the second communication device to the second communication device, so that the second communication device determines the resources reserved by the second communication device for the at least one terminal device according to the resources required by the at least one terminal device. In this way, the second communication device can reserve resources for the at least one terminal device to be handed over to the second communication device regardless of whether the second communication device has a deployed model. For example, if the second communication device has a deployed model, the second communication device can take the resources required by the at least one terminal device to be handed over to the second communication device indicated by the first communication device as input information of the model deployed by the second communication device, reserve resources according to the output information of the model deployed by the second communication device, or if the second communication device does not have a deployed model, reserve resources according to the resources required by the at least one terminal device to be handed over to the second communication device indicated by the first communication device. The resource management efficiency is improved.

[0008] In a possible implementation, the first resources include all or part of the second resources, wherein the second resources are all or part of the resources required by the at least one terminal device predicted according to the model deployed by the first communication device.

[0009] In this implementation, multiple ways are provided for the first communication device to predict the resources required by the at least one terminal device to be handed over to the second communication device. For example, the first communication device can predict all the resources required by the at least one terminal device to be handed over to the second communication device according to a model deployed by the first communication device, and when indicating the resources required by the at least one terminal device to the second communication device, the first communication device can indicate all the resources required by the at least one terminal device predicted by the first communication device, or can indicate part of the resources required by the at least one terminal device predicted by the first communication device (for example, part of the resources selected from all the resources based on the demand of the second communication device, service demand, etc.). For another example, the first communication device can predict part of the resources required by the at least one terminal device to be handed over to the second communication device according to a model deployed by the first communication device (for example, the second communication device requests the first communication device to predict the resources of a certain network slice required to be reserved by the second communication device), and when indicating the resources required by the at least one terminal device to the second communication device, the first communication device can indicate part of the resources required by the at least one terminal device predicted by the first communication device. It can be seen that the first communication device has a flexible way to predict the resources required by the at least one terminal device to be handed over to the second communication device.

[0010] In a possible implementation, the first information is associated with one or more of the following: at least one cell corresponding to the at least one terminal device; at least one network slice corresponding to the at least one terminal device; at least one network slice group corresponding to the at least one terminal device; at least one protocol data unit (PDU) session corresponding to the at least one terminal device; and at least one PDU session group corresponding to the at least one terminal device.

[0011] In this implementation, various possibilities of granularity of the first information are provided, for example, per cell, per network slice, per network slice group, per PDU session, per PDU session group, and the like, that is, the first resource indicated by the first information can be a resource of a cell, a resource of a network slice, a resource of a network slice group, a resource of a PDU session, a resource of a PDU session group, and the like. In addition to the above, other possibilities of granularity of the first information are not limited.

[0012] In a possible implementation, the first information includes one or more of the following: a first time period, where the first time period is a time period during which the second communication device reserves the first resource for the at least one terminal device; a number and / or an identifier of the at least one terminal device; a number and / or an identifier of at least one cell corresponding to the at least one terminal device; a number and / or an identifier of at least one network slice corresponding to the at least one terminal device; a number and / or an identifier of at least one network slice group corresponding to the at least one terminal device; a number and / or an identifier of at least one PDU session corresponding to the at least one terminal device; a number and / or an identifier of at least one PDU session group corresponding to the at least one terminal device; a number of at least one resource included in the first resource; and a unit of at least one resource included in the first resource.

[0013] In this implementation, various ways in which the first communication device indicates the first resource are provided. For example, the first information can request the second communication device to reserve the first resource for the at least one terminal device in the first time period; or the first information can request the second communication device to reserve the first resource for 3 terminal devices; or the first information can request the second communication device to reserve resources of 3 cells, network slices, network slice groups, PDU sessions, or PDU session groups for the at least one terminal device; the first information can request the second communication device to reserve 1000 resources for the at least one terminal device; and the first information can request the second communication device to reserve 1000 resource blocks for the at least one terminal device. As can be seen, the first communication device indicates the first resource in a flexible manner.

[0014] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving second information from the second communication device; wherein the second information is used to request the first communication device to predict resources required to be reserved by the second communication device.

[0015] In this implementation, the second communication device can instruct the first communication device to predict resources required to be reserved by the second communication device according to its own needs, for example, when the second communication device does not have a deployed model and is unable to predict resources required to be reserved by the second communication device, the second communication device can instruct the first communication device to predict resources required to be reserved by the second communication device, thereby improving resource management efficiency.

[0016] In a possible implementation, the second information includes one or more of the following: a second time period, wherein the second time period is a time period for which resources are reserved by the second communication device; a number and / or an identifier of at least one cell; a number and / or an identifier of at least one network slice; a number and / or an identifier of at least one network slice group; a number and / or an identifier of at least one PDU session; and a number and / or an identifier of at least one PDU session group.

[0017] In this implementation, multiple ways are provided for the second communication device to request the first communication device to predict resources required to be reserved by the second communication device. For example, the second information can request the first communication device to predict resources required to be reserved by the second communication device in a second time period; or the first information can request the first communication device to predict resources of 3 cells, network slices, network slice groups, PDU sessions, or PDU session groups required to be reserved by the second communication device. It can be seen that the second communication device has a flexible way to request the first communication device to predict resources required to be reserved by the second communication device.

[0018] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: determining third information, and sending the third information to the second communication device; wherein the third information is used to indicate a capacity and coverage optimization (CCO) problem predicted by the first communication device, and the third information is included in a cause value of a first request message, the first request message being used to request the at least one terminal device to be switched to the second communication device.

[0019] In this embodiment, after the first communication device predicts the CCO problem of the first communication device, the first communication device can request to handover the at least one terminal device from the first communication device to the second communication device, i.e. initiate the handover procedure, and include the predicted CCO problem of the first communication device in the cause value of the request message. After the second communication device receives the request message, the second communication device can determine whether to allow the handover of the at least one terminal device from the first communication device to the second communication device according to the predicted CCO problem of the first communication device, i.e. perform admission control. For example, in order to avoid the predicted CCO problem of the first communication device, the second communication device can allow the handover of the at least one terminal device from the first communication device to the second communication device. Compared with the way that the first communication device and the second communication device avoid the predicted CCO problem of the first communication device by negotiating to adjust power, adjust coverage, adjust frequency band, etc., the normal access of other terminal devices located in the coverage of the first communication device and the second communication device will not be affected.

[0020] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving fourth information from the second communication device; wherein the fourth information is used to indicate the predicted CCO problem of the second communication device, and the fourth information is included in the cause value of a first response message, and the first response message is used to reject the handover of the at least one terminal device from the first communication device to the second communication device.

[0021] In this embodiment, after the second communication device predicts the CCO problem of the second communication device, if the second communication device receives a request message from the first communication device, the request message requests to handover the at least one terminal device from the first communication device to the second communication device, in order to avoid the predicted CCO problem of the second communication device, the second communication device can reject the handover of the at least one terminal device from the first communication device to the second communication device, and include the predicted CCO problem of the second communication device in the cause value of a response message, so that after the first communication device receives the response message, the first communication device can determine the reason why the second communication device rejects the handover of the at least one terminal device from the first communication device to the second communication device.

[0022] In a second aspect, the embodiments of the present application further provide a communication method, which can be applied to a second communication device, the second communication device being a network-side communication device, for example, the second communication device being a network device, or being another device including the function of a network device, or being a chip system (or, a chip) or another functional module capable of implementing the function of a network device, for example, the chip system or the functional module being arranged in a network device. The method comprises: receiving first information from a first communication device; wherein the first information is used to instruct the second communication device to reserve first resources for at least one terminal device, the at least one terminal device being to be switched from the first communication device to the second communication device.

[0023] In a possible implementation, the method further comprises: determining that the first information is input information of a model deployed by the second communication device; and / or reserving resources according to the first information.

[0024] In a possible implementation, the first resources include all or part of second resources, wherein the second resources are all or part of resources required by the at least one terminal device according to a model deployed by the first communication device.

[0025] In a possible implementation, the first information is associated with one or more of the following: at least one cell corresponding to the at least one terminal device; at least one network slice corresponding to the at least one terminal device; at least one network slice group corresponding to the at least one terminal device; at least one PDU session corresponding to the at least one terminal device; and at least one PDU session group corresponding to the at least one terminal device.

[0026] In a possible implementation, the first information includes one or more of the following: a first time period, wherein the first time period is a time period in which the second communication device reserves the first resources for the at least one terminal device; a number and / or an identifier of the at least one terminal device; a number and / or an identifier of at least one cell corresponding to the at least one terminal device; a number and / or an identifier of at least one network slice corresponding to the at least one terminal device; a number and / or an identifier of at least one network slice group corresponding to the at least one terminal device; a number and / or an identifier of at least one PDU session corresponding to the at least one terminal device; a number and / or an identifier of at least one PDU session group corresponding to the at least one terminal device; a number of at least one resource included in the first resources; and a unit of at least one resource included in the first resources.

[0027] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: sending second information to the first communication device; and wherein the second information is used to request the first communication device to predict the resource required to be reserved by the second communication device.

[0028] In a possible implementation, the second information includes one or more of the following: a second time period, wherein the second time period is a time period for which the second communication device reserves resources; a number and / or an identifier of at least one cell; a number and / or an identifier of at least one network slice; a number and / or an identifier of at least one network slice group; a number and / or an identifier of at least one PDU session; and a number and / or an identifier of at least one PDU session group.

[0029] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving third information from the first communication device; and wherein the third information is used to indicate the CCO problem predicted by the first communication device, and the third information is included in a cause value of a first request message, the first request message being used to request handover of the at least one terminal device from the first communication device to the second communication device.

[0030] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: adjusting a handover strategy of the at least one terminal device or all or part of terminal devices in a region where the at least one terminal device is located, according to the CCO problem predicted by the first communication device.

[0031] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: determining fourth information, and sending the fourth information to the first communication device; and wherein the fourth information is used to indicate the CCO problem predicted by the second communication device, and the fourth information is included in a cause value of a first response message, the first response message being used to reject handover of the at least one terminal device from the first communication device to the second communication device.

[0032] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be applied to a first communication device, for example, a network device, or other device including a network device function, or a chip system (or, a chip) or other functional module capable of implementing the function of a network device, for example, a chip system or functional module arranged in a network device. The method includes: determining third information, and sending the third information to a second communication device; and wherein the third information is used to indicate the CCO problem predicted by the first communication device, and the third information is included in a cause value of a first request message, the first request message being used to request handover of at least one terminal device from the first communication device to the second communication device.

[0033] In a possible implementation, the third information comprises one or more of: a third time period, wherein the third time period is a time period corresponding to a CCO problem predicted by the first communication device; and an identifier of the CCO problem predicted by the first communication device.

[0034] In a possible implementation, the third information is determined according to a model deployed by the first communication device.

[0035] In a possible implementation, the method further comprises: receiving fourth information from the second communication device, wherein the fourth information is used to indicate a CCO problem predicted by the second communication device, and the fourth information is included in a cause value of a first response message, the first response message being used to reject switching the at least one terminal device from the first communication device to the second communication device.

[0036] In a possible implementation, the fourth information comprises one or more of: a fourth time period, wherein the fourth time period is a time period corresponding to a CCO problem predicted by the second communication device; and an identifier of the CCO problem predicted by the second communication device.

[0037] In a possible implementation, the fourth information is determined according to a model deployed by the second communication device.

[0038] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be applied to a second communication device, for example, a network device, or other device comprising a function of the network device, or a chip system (or, a chip) or other functional module capable of implementing the function of the network device, for example, arranged in the network device. The method comprises: receiving third information from a first communication device, wherein the third information is used to indicate a CCO problem predicted by the first communication device, and the third information is included in a cause value of a first request message, the first request message being used to request switching the at least one terminal device from the first communication device to the second communication device.

[0039] In a possible implementation, the third information comprises one or more of: a third time period, wherein the third time period is a time period corresponding to a CCO problem predicted by the first communication device; and an identifier of the CCO problem predicted by the first communication device.

[0040] In a possible implementation, the third information is determined according to a model deployed by the first communication device.

[0041] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: adjusting a handover strategy of the at least one terminal device or all or part of terminal devices in a region where the at least one terminal device is located according to the CCO problem predicted by the first communication device.

[0042] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: determining fourth information, and sending the fourth information to the first communication device; wherein the fourth information is used to indicate the CCO problem predicted by the second communication device, and the fourth information is included in a cause value of a first response message, the first response message being used to reject handover of the at least one terminal device from the first communication device to the second communication device.

[0043] In a possible implementation, the fourth information includes one or more of the following: a fourth time period, wherein the fourth time period is a time period corresponding to the CCO problem predicted by the second communication device; and an identifier of the CCO problem predicted by the second communication device.

[0044] In a possible implementation, the fourth information is determined according to a model deployed by the second communication device.

[0045] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device. The communication device can be the first communication device of the first aspect. The communication device has the functions of the first communication device. The communication device is, for example, a network device, or other device including the function of the network device, or a chip system (or chip) or other functional module, the chip system or functional module being capable of implementing the function of the network device, and the chip system or functional module being, for example, arranged in the network device. In an optional implementation, the communication device includes a baseband device and a radio frequency device. In another optional implementation, the communication device includes a processing unit (also referred to as a processing module) and a transceiver unit (also referred to as a transceiver module). The transceiver unit is capable of implementing a sending function and a receiving function. When the transceiver unit implements the sending function, it can be referred to as a sending unit (also referred to as a sending module). When the transceiver unit implements the receiving function, it can be referred to as a receiving unit (also referred to as a receiving module). The sending unit and the receiving unit can be the same functional module, which is referred to as a transceiver unit and is capable of implementing the sending function and the receiving function. Alternatively, the sending unit and the receiving unit can be different functional modules, and the transceiver unit is a general term for these functional modules.

[0046] In an embodiment, the processing unit is configured to determine first information, wherein the first information is used to instruct the second communication device to reserve first resources for at least one terminal device to be handed over from the first communication device to the second communication device, and the transceiver is configured to send the first information to the second communication device.

[0047] In a sixth aspect, the embodiments of the present application further provide a communication device. The communication device can be the second communication device of the second aspect. The communication device has the functions of the second communication device. The communication device is, for example, a network device, or other device including the functions of the network device, or a chip system (or, a chip) or other functional module, which can realize the functions of the network device, and is, for example, arranged in the network device. In an optional implementation manner, the communication device includes a baseband device and a radio frequency device. In another optional implementation manner, the communication device includes a processing unit (also referred to as a processing module) and a transceiver (also referred to as a transceiver module). The transceiver can realize the functions of sending and receiving. When the transceiver realizes the function of sending, it can be referred to as a sending unit (also referred to as a sending module). When the transceiver realizes the function of receiving, it can be referred to as a receiving unit (also referred to as a receiving module). The sending unit and the receiving unit can be the same functional module, which is referred to as the transceiver, and can realize the functions of sending and receiving. Alternatively, the sending unit and the receiving unit can be different functional modules, and the transceiver is a general term of these functional modules.

[0048] In an embodiment, the transceiver is configured to receive first information from the first communication device, wherein the first information is used to instruct the second communication device to reserve first resources for at least one terminal device to be handed over from the first communication device to the second communication device, and the first resources are provided by the first communication device before the at least one terminal device is handed over to the second communication device.

[0049] In a seventh aspect, the embodiments of the present application further provide a communication apparatus. The communication apparatus can be the first communication apparatus in the third aspect. The communication apparatus has the functions of the first communication apparatus. The communication apparatus is, for example, a network device, or other device with network device function, or a chip system (or chip) or other functional module, which can realize the function of the network device, and is, for example, arranged in the network device. In an optional implementation manner, the communication apparatus includes a baseband apparatus and a radio frequency apparatus. In another optional implementation manner, the communication apparatus includes a processing unit (also called processing module) and a transceiver unit (also called transceiver module). The transceiver unit can realize the sending function and the receiving function. When the transceiver unit realizes the sending function, it can be called a sending unit (also called sending module). When the transceiver unit realizes the receiving function, it can be called a receiving unit (also called receiving module). The sending unit and the receiving unit can be the same functional module, which is called the transceiver unit and can realize the sending function and the receiving function. Alternatively, the sending unit and the receiving unit can be different functional modules, and the transceiver unit is the general term of these functional modules.

[0050] In an implementation manner, the processing unit is configured to determine third information, wherein the third information is used to indicate a predicted CCO problem of the first communication apparatus; and the transceiver unit is configured to send the third information to a second communication apparatus, wherein the third information is contained in a cause value of a first request message, and the first request message is used to request to switch at least one terminal device from the first communication apparatus to the second communication apparatus.

[0051] In an eighth aspect, the embodiments of the present application further provide a communication apparatus. The communication apparatus can be the second communication apparatus in the fourth aspect. The communication apparatus has the functions of the second communication apparatus. The communication apparatus is, for example, a network device, or another device having the functions of the network device, or a chip system (or chip) or another functional module capable of implementing the functions of the network device, e.g., arranged in the network device. In an optional implementation, the communication apparatus includes a baseband device and a radio frequency device. In another optional implementation, the communication apparatus includes a processing unit (also referred to as a processing module) and a transceiver unit (also referred to as a transceiver module). The transceiver unit can implement the sending function and the receiving function. When the transceiver unit implements the sending function, it can be referred to as a sending unit (also referred to as a sending module). When the transceiver unit implements the receiving function, it can be referred to as a receiving unit (also referred to as a receiving module). The sending unit and the receiving unit can be the same functional module, which is referred to as the transceiver unit and can implement the sending function and the receiving function. Alternatively, the sending unit and the receiving unit can be different functional modules, and the transceiver unit refers to these functional modules in general.

[0052] In an implementation, the transceiver unit is configured to receive third information from the first communication apparatus, wherein the third information is used to indicate the predicted CCO problem of the first communication apparatus, and the third information is included in a cause value of a first request message, and the first request message is used to request the at least one terminal device to be handed over from the first communication apparatus to the second communication apparatus.

[0053] In a ninth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided. The communication apparatus can be the first communication apparatus in the first aspect or the third aspect. The communication apparatus has the functions of the first communication apparatus. The communication apparatus is, for example, a network device, or another device having the functions of the network device, or a chip system (or chip) or another functional module capable of implementing the functions of the network device, e.g., arranged in the network device. The communication apparatus includes a processor configured to perform the functions of the first communication apparatus in the first aspect or the third aspect. Optionally, the communication apparatus further includes a memory. The memory is configured to store a computer program, and the processor is coupled to the memory. When the processor reads the computer program or instructions, the communication apparatus performs the method performed by the first communication apparatus in the above aspects. Optionally, the memory and the processor are integrated together.

[0054] In a tenth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided. The communication apparatus can be the second communication apparatus in the second aspect or the fourth aspect. The communication apparatus has the functions of the second communication apparatus. The communication apparatus is, for example, a network device, or another device having the functions of the network device, or a chip system (or chip) or another functional module capable of implementing the functions of the network device, which is, for example, arranged in the network device. The communication apparatus includes a processor configured to perform the functions of the second communication apparatus in the second aspect or the fourth aspect. Optionally, the communication apparatus further includes a memory. The memory is configured to store a computer program. The processor is coupled to the memory. When the processor reads the computer program or instructions, the communication apparatus performs the method performed by the second communication apparatus in the aspects. Optionally, the memory and the processor are integrated.

[0055] In an eleventh aspect, a communication system is provided. The communication system includes a first communication apparatus and a second communication apparatus. The first communication apparatus is configured to perform the method performed by the first communication apparatus in the first aspect or the third aspect. The first communication apparatus can be implemented by the communication apparatus in the fifth aspect or the seventh aspect or the ninth aspect. The second communication apparatus is configured to perform the method performed by the second communication apparatus in the second aspect or the fourth aspect. The second communication apparatus can be implemented by the communication apparatus in the sixth aspect or the eighth aspect or the tenth aspect.

[0056] In a twelfth aspect, a computer readable storage medium is provided. The computer readable storage medium is configured to store a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are executed, the method performed by the first communication apparatus or the second communication apparatus in the aspects is implemented.

[0057] In a thirteenth aspect, a computer program product is provided. The computer program product includes instructions. When the computer program or instructions are executed on a computer, the method in the aspects is implemented.

[0058] In a fourteenth aspect, a chip system is provided. The chip system includes a processor and an interface. The processor is configured to call and execute instructions from the interface, so that the chip system implements the method in the aspects.

[0059] The advantages of the second aspect to the fourteenth aspect and the embodiments thereof can refer to the advantages of the first aspect and any of the embodiments thereof, which will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0060] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0061] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a radio access network intelligent controller according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0062] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an artificial intelligence module according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] FIG. 4a is a schematic diagram of a CCO problem according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0064] FIG. 4b is a schematic diagram of a cell handover process according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0065] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0066] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0067] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0068] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0069] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0070] In order to make the purposes, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the embodiments of the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0071] The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application can be applied to a communication system related to the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP), for example, a long term evolution (LTE) communication system, a 5th generation (5G) mobile communication system (for example, a new radio (NR) communication system, or an NR communication system with multi-input multi-output (MIMO) technology, etc.), or can also be applied to other next-generation mobile communication systems, or other similar communication systems, or future evolution communication systems. Other similar communication systems can include wireless fidelity (WiFi), vehicle to everything (V2X), internet of things (IoT) system, narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) system, or industrial internet, etc.

[0072] Referring to FIG. 1, it is a structural schematic diagram of a communication system provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system 1000 can include a radio access network (RAN) 100 and a core network (CN) 200. Optionally, the communication system 1000 can also include an Internet 300.

[0073] The radio access network 100 includes at least one network device (such as the network devices 110a and 110b in FIG. 1, collectively referred to as network devices 110) and at least one terminal device (such as the terminal devices 120a-120j in FIG. 1, collectively referred to as terminal devices 120). The radio access network 100 can also include other devices, such as wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices (not shown in FIG. 1), etc. The terminal devices 120 are connected to the network devices 110 in a wireless manner. The network devices 110 are connected to the core network 200 in a wireless or wired manner.

[0074] The radio access network 100 can be a 3GPP related communication system (such as a 5G mobile communication system), or a future mobile communication system. The radio access network 100 can also be an open radio access network (O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), or a WiFi system. The radio access network 100 can also be a communication system that combines two or more of the above systems.

[0075] The network device 110, also referred to as a RAN node, a RAN entity, or an access node, etc., is used to help the terminal device 120 to implement wireless access. The network device 110 and the components (such as chips, processing units, or processors, etc.) in the network device 110 can be collectively referred to as a communication apparatus. For example, it can be the network device 110 shown in FIG. 1, or it can be a chip (system) in the network device 110 in FIG. 1.

[0076] In a possible scenario, the RAN node can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system, etc. The RAN node can be a macro base station (e.g., 110a in FIG. 1), a micro base station or an indoor station (e.g., 110b in FIG. 1), a relay node or a donor node, or a wireless controller in a CRAN scenario. Optionally, the RAN node can also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle or a vehicle-mounted device, etc. For example, the RAN node in the V2X technology can be a road side unit (RSU).

[0077] In another possible scenario, a plurality of RAN nodes can cooperate to assist the terminal device 120 to implement wireless access, and different RAN nodes respectively implement part of functions of a base station. For example, a RAN node can be a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU), etc. The CU and the DU can be separately arranged, or can also be included in the same network element, for example, in a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, for example, included in a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna processing unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH). The CU can complete functions of a radio resource control (RRC) protocol and a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) of the base station, and can also complete a function of a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP); the DU can complete functions of a radio link control (RLC) layer and a medium access control (MAC) layer of the base station, and can also complete a function of part of a physical (PHY) layer or all of the physical layer. For specific descriptions of the above-mentioned various protocol layers, refer to relevant technical specifications of the 3GPP.

[0078] In different systems, the CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), the DU, or the RU can also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in an ORAN system, the CU can also be referred to as an O-CU (open CU), the DU can also be referred to as an O-DU, the CU-CP can also be referred to as an O-CU-CP, the CU-UP can also be referred to as an O-CU-UP, and the RU can also be referred to as an O-RU. For the convenience of description, the CU, the CU-CP, the CU-UP, the DU, and the RU are taken as examples for description in this application. Any one of the CU (or the CU-CP, the CU-UP), the DU, and the RU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0079] In different systems, the RAN node can communicate with different devices. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, in an ORAN system, the RAN node (e.g., CU, DU or RU) can communicate with a RAN intelligent controller (RIC). The RIC includes a near-real time RIC (near-RT RIC) and a non-real time RIC (Non-RT RIC).

[0080] The near-RT RIC is used for model training and / or inference. For example, it is used for training an artificial intelligence (AI) model, and inference is performed using the AI model. The near-RT RIC can obtain network device side and / or terminal device side information from the RAN node and / or the terminal device. The information can be used as training data or inference data. Optionally, the near-RT RIC can submit the inference result to the RAN node and / or the terminal device. Optionally, the inference result can be exchanged between the CU and the DU, and / or between the DU and the RU. For example, the near-RT RIC submits the inference result to the DU, and the DU sends it to the RU.

[0081] The Non-RT RIC is used for model training and / or inference. For example, it is used for training an AI model, and inference is performed using the model. The Non-RT RIC can obtain network device side and / or terminal device side information from the RAN node and / or the terminal device. The information can be used as training data or inference data, and the inference result can be submitted to the RAN node and / or the terminal device. Optionally, the inference result can be exchanged between the CU and the DU, and / or between the DU and the RU. For example, the Non-RT RIC submits the inference result to the DU, and the DU sends it to the RU.

[0082] The near-RT RIC and the Non-RT RIC can also be separately set as a network element. Optionally, the near-RT RIC and the Non-RT RIC can also be part of other devices. For example, the near-RT RIC is set in the RAN node (e.g., in the CU or the DU), and the Non-RT RIC is set in an operation administration and maintenance (OAM) system, a cloud server, or other network devices.

[0083] For example, as shown in FIG. 3, in an ORAN system, network elements are connected through interfaces (such as NG, Xn or F1) or air interfaces. One or more AI modules (for ease of illustration, only 1 is shown in FIG. 3) are deployed in one or more of the network element nodes, such as a RAN node, a terminal device or one or more devices in an OAM system. The RAN node can be one RAN node or multiple RAN nodes, for example, including a CU and a DU. The CU and / or the DU can also be provided with one or more AI modules. Optionally, the CU can also be split into a CU-CP and a CU-UP. One or more AI modules are deployed in the CU-CP and / or the CU-UP.

[0084] The AI module is used to implement a corresponding AI function. The AI modules deployed in different network elements can be the same or different. The model of the AI module can implement different functions according to different parameter configurations. The model of the AI module can be configured based on one or more of the following parameters: a structural parameter (such as at least one of a number of neural network layers, a width of a neural network, a connection relationship between layers, a weight of a neuron, an activation function of a neuron, or a bias in the activation function), an input parameter (such as a type of the input parameter and / or a dimension of the input parameter), or an output parameter (such as a type of the output parameter and / or a dimension of the output parameter). The bias in the activation function can also be referred to as a bias of the neural network.

[0085] One AI module can have one or more models. One model can infer an output, which includes one parameter or multiple parameters. The learning process, the training process or the inference process of different models can be deployed in different nodes or devices, or can be deployed in the same node or device.

[0086] Embodiments of the present application do not limit the device form of the network device 110. The device for implementing the function of the network device 110 can be the network device 110; or can be a device capable of supporting the network device 110 to implement the function, such as a chip system. The device can be installed in the network device 110 or used in matching with the network device 110. In embodiments of the present application, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices. All or part of the functions of the network device 110 in the present application can also be implemented through software functions running on hardware, or through virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (such as a cloud platform).

[0087] The terminal device 120, which can also be referred to as a user equipment (UE), a mobile station (MS), a mobile terminal (MT), or the like, or a device that provides voice or data connectivity to a user, can also be an Internet of Things (IoT) device. The terminal device 120 and components (such as chips, processing units, or processors, or the like) in the terminal device 120 can be collectively referred to as a terminal apparatus. For example, the terminal device 120 can be the terminal device 120 shown in FIG. 1, or can be a chip (system) in the terminal device 120 in FIG. 1.

[0088] The terminal device 120 can include a handheld device having a wireless connection function, a vehicle-mounted device, and the like. Currently, the terminal device 120 can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a notebook computer, a palm computer, a mobile internet device (MID), a wearable device (such as a smart watch, a smart bracelet, a pedometer, smart glasses, and the like), a vehicle-mounted device (such as a car, a bicycle, an electric vehicle, an airplane, a ship, a train, a high-speed rail, and the like), a satellite terminal, a virtual reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (AR) device, a smart point of sale (POS) machine, a customer-premises equipment (CPE), a light UE, a reduced capability UE (REDCAP UE), a wireless terminal in industrial control, a smart home device (such as a refrigerator, a television, an air conditioner, an electricity meter, and the like), a smart robot, a mechanical arm, a workshop device, a wireless terminal in unmanned driving, a wireless terminal in telemedicine, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, or a wireless terminal in a smart home, a flight device (such as a smart robot, a hot air balloon, a drone, an airplane), and the like. The terminal device 120 can also be a vehicle apparatus, such as a whole vehicle apparatus, a vehicle-mounted module, a vehicle-mounted chip, an on board unit (OBU), or a telematics box (T-BOX), and the like. The terminal device 120 can also be other devices having a terminal function, for example, the terminal device 120 can also be a device that performs a terminal function in device to device (D2D) communication.

[0089] Embodiments of the present application do not limit the device form of the terminal device 120, and the device for implementing the function of the terminal device 120 can be the terminal device 120; or can be a device capable of supporting the terminal device 120 to implement the function, such as a chip system. The device can be installed in the terminal device 120 or used in matching with the terminal device 120. In embodiments of the present application, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices. All or part of the functions of the terminal device 120 in the present application can also be implemented by software functions running on hardware, or by virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (such as a cloud platform).

[0090] As briefly introduced above, the communication system to which embodiments of the present application are applicable is introduced below, and related technical solutions involved in embodiments of the present application are introduced.

[0091] (1) Network slicing (NS)

[0092] Network slicing can also be referred to as slicing, which is a complete instantiated logical network composed of a group of network functions (NFs), and is intended to use optimized resource allocation to more efficiently address the special needs of vertical services (such as high-definition video services with higher bandwidth requirements, remote control services with higher latency requirements, etc.). Network slicing enables an operator to build multiple end-to-end, virtual, isolated, and on-demand customized dedicated logical networks on one physical network, each logical network having different network functions, thereby better adapting to the differentiated needs of different vertical services.

[0093] Network slicing information prediction refers to that a network device can predict resource information (such as resource status, available capacity, etc.) of a network slice supported by the network device according to a model (such as an AI model, a machine learning (ML) model, etc.) deployed by the network device or other manners (such as an algorithm, etc.), to manage the network slice supported by the network device, such as reserving resources for a terminal device to be accessed to the network device or for a terminal device already accessed to the network device.

[0094] After the network device predicts the resource information of the network slice supported by the network device, the network device can send the predicted resource information of the network slice supported by the network device to other network devices. If the other network devices have a deployed model, the other network devices can take the resource information of the network slice supported by the network device as input information of the model deployed by the other network devices, and predict the resource information of the network slice supported by the other network devices. However, if the other network devices do not have a deployed model, the resource information of the network slice supported by the network device has limited effect on the prediction of the resource information of the network slice supported by the other network devices by the other network devices, that is, the other network devices cannot predict the resource information of the network slice supported by the other network devices according to the resource information of the network slice supported by the network device, and the resource management efficiency is low.

[0095] (2) Capacity and coverage optimization (CCO)

[0096] The capacity that can be supported by a network device and the area that can be covered by the network device are the key to measure the advantages and disadvantages of a network device. The capacity and coverage of a network device can be adjusted by a network management system (for example, OAM), for example, when the area that can be covered by a network device is larger, the capacity supported by the network device will be reduced accordingly, and when the area that can be covered by a network device is smaller, the capacity supported by the network device will be increased accordingly. The adjustment of the capacity parameter and the coverage parameter of the network device is called CCO.

[0097] The CCO issue can include a capacity issue, a coverage issue, an interference issue, etc., which is not limited by the embodiments of the present application.

[0098] CCO issue prediction refers to that a network device can predict whether a CCO issue is likely to occur in the network device according to a model (for example, an AI model, an ML model, etc.) deployed by the network device or other manners (for example, an algorithm, etc.).

[0099] After the network device determines that a CCO issue is likely to occur in the network device, the network device can solve the CCO issue by adjusting power, adjusting coverage range, adjusting frequency band, etc.

[0100] Referring to FIG. 4a, it is a schematic diagram of a CCO issue provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 4a, there is an overlapping area between the coverage area of network device 1 and the coverage area of network device 2. Terminal device 1, terminal device 2 and terminal device N are located in the overlapping area, terminal device 1 accesses network device 1, and terminal device 2 accesses network device 2. Network device 1 determines that a CCO issue caused by signal interference is likely to occur in the overlapping area, wherein the source of the signal interference can be terminal device 2, but network device 1 cannot perceive it because terminal device 2 does not access network device 1.

[0101] The network device 1 can interact with the network device 2 on the signal interference situation, and avoid the possible CCO problem by negotiating and adjusting the coverage boundary. However, the negotiation and adjustment of the coverage boundary will affect all terminal devices located at the boundary of the network device 1 and the network device 2.

[0102] (3) The movement of the terminal device will cause the signal quality of the serving cell to deteriorate, and the terminal device needs to be handed over to a neighbor cell with better signal quality. It can be understood that due to the movement of the terminal device, the terminal device using the network service can be handed over from a source cell to a target cell. In order to ensure the continuity of communication and the quality of service, the communication link between the terminal device and the source cell needs to be transferred to the target cell. The process of transferring the communication link between the terminal device and the source cell to the target cell is also called the process of cell handover.

[0103] Referring to FIG. 4b, a flowchart of a cell handover provided by an example of the present application is shown. As shown in FIG. 4b, the source cell is the cell of the source network device, and the target cell is the cell of the target network device. The flow of the communication method includes the following steps.

[0104] Step 1: The source network device sends a measurement configuration message to the terminal device, so that the terminal device receives the measurement configuration message.

[0105] The measurement configuration message can include the measurement object, the cell list, and the reporting method, etc. After receiving the measurement configuration message, the terminal device can measure the neighbor cell according to the measurement configuration message to obtain a measurement report.

[0106] Step 2: The terminal device sends the measurement report to the source network device.

[0107] The measurement report can include the reference signal received power of the serving cell, the signal received power or the signal quality of the neighbor cell, etc., so as to facilitate the source network device to determine whether the terminal device performs cell handover according to the measurement report.

[0108] Among them, step 1 and step 2 are optional steps.

[0109] Step 3: The source network device determines the handover decision of the terminal device according to the measurement report.

[0110] The handover decision refers to the decision whether the terminal device performs cell handover. If it is decided that the terminal device needs to perform cell handover, the source network device can send a handover request message to the target network device.

[0111] Optionally, the source network device can also determine the handover decision of the terminal device according to other content.

[0112] Step 4: The source network device sends a handover request message to the target network device.

[0113] The source network device determines that the terminal device needs to hand over the cell according to the measurement report, and sends a handover request message to the target network device. The handover request message is used to request handover of the cell.

[0114] Step 5: The target network device performs admission control.

[0115] Admission control refers to determining whether to access the terminal device.

[0116] Step 6: The target network device sends a handover response message to the source network device.

[0117] If the target network device determines to access the terminal device, the handover response message can include configuration information of the target network device, which can be used for the terminal device to access the target network device.

[0118] Step 7: The source network device sends a handover command to the terminal device.

[0119] The handover command is used to instruct the terminal device to perform cell handover. The terminal device receives the handover command in the source cell, and parses the handover command to obtain the configuration information of the target cell, that is, obtains the configuration of the terminal device in the target cell, so that the terminal device can hand over to the target cell according to the configuration.

[0120] Step 8: The terminal device requests random access to the target network device.

[0121] As can be seen, the network device can currently receive resource information of other network devices, such as resource status, available capacity, etc. If the network device has a deployment model, such as an AI model, an ML model, etc., the network device can use the resource information of other network devices as input information of the model deployed by the network device, to predict the resource information of the network device, so as to manage the resources of the network device. However, if the network device does not have a deployment model, the resource information of other network devices has limited effect on the prediction of the resource information of the network device by the network device, and the resource management efficiency is low.

[0122] In view of this, the embodiments of the present application provide a communication method for improving resource management efficiency.

[0123] In the embodiments of the present application, "when", "if" and "whether" all refer to the device making corresponding processing under certain objective circumstances, and are not limited in time, and do not require the device to have a judgment action when implemented, nor does it mean that there are other limitations. Unless otherwise specified, "if" and "whether" can be replaced, and "when" and "in the case of" can be replaced. "When" and "if" / "whether" can be replaced.

[0124] In the embodiments of the present application, the words "exemplary" or "for example" are used to mean serving as an example or illustration. Any embodiment or design presented as "exemplary" or "for example" in the present application should not be interpreted as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present concepts in a concrete manner.

[0125] In this document, "for indicating" can include "for directly indicating" and "for indirectly indicating". For example, when describing that information I is used for indicating information J, it can include that the information I directly indicates the information J or indirectly indicates the information J, and does not mean that the information J must be carried in the information I.

[0126] The information J indicated by the information I is referred to as to-be-indicated information, and in the specific implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the to-be-indicated information, for example but not limited to, the to-be-indicated information can be directly indicated, such as the to-be-indicated information itself or an index of the to-be-indicated information. The to-be-indicated information can also be indirectly indicated by indicating other information, where the other information and the to-be-indicated information have an association relationship. The to-be-indicated information can also be only indicated in part, and the other part of the to-be-indicated information is known or agreed in advance. For example, the indication of a specific information can also be achieved by means of the arrangement order of various information agreed in advance (for example, specified by a protocol), thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent. At the same time, the common part of each information can be identified and uniformly indicated, so as to reduce the indication overhead caused by separately indicating the same information.

[0127] In addition, the specific indication manner can also be various existing indication manners, for example but not limited to, the above-mentioned indication manners and various combinations thereof. As described above, for example, when multiple information of the same type needs to be indicated, the indication manners of different information can be different. In the specific implementation process, the required indication manner can be selected according to the specific needs, and the selected indication manner is not limited in the embodiments of the present application, so that the indication manner involved in the embodiments of the present application should be understood as covering various methods that can enable the to-be-indicated party to know the to-be-indicated information.

[0128] In the embodiments of the present application, "sending" and "receiving" represent the direction of signal transmission. For example, "sending information to XX" can be understood as that the destination of the information is XX, which can include direct sending through the air interface, or indirect sending through the air interface by other units or modules. "Receiving information from YY" can be understood as that the source of the information is YY, which can include direct receiving from YY through the air interface, or indirect receiving from YY through the air interface by other units or modules. "Sending" can also be understood as "output" of a chip interface, and "receiving" can also be understood as "input" of a chip interface.

[0129] The information can be processed as necessary between the source and the destination of the information transmission, such as encoding, modulation, etc., but the destination can understand the valid information from the source. Similar expressions in the embodiments of the present application can be similarly understood, and will not be repeated here.

[0130] In the embodiments of the present application, the number of nouns represents "singular noun or plural noun" unless otherwise specified, that is, "one or more". "At least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B, which can represent the following cases: A exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " can represent that the associated objects before and after it are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B represents A or B. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions means any combination of these items, including any combination of single item or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c represents a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a and b and c, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0131] The ordinal numbers "first", "second", etc. mentioned in the embodiments of the present application are used to distinguish multiple objects, and are not used to limit the size, content, order, time sequence, priority or importance of the multiple objects. For a technical feature, the technical features in the technical feature are distinguished by "A", "B", "C" and "D", and there is no order or size order between the technical features described by "A", "B", "C" and "D".

[0132] The scheme provided by the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application is applied to the communication system shown in FIG. 1-FIG. 3 as an example. The communication system and application scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are for more clearly illustrating the technical scheme of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation to the technical scheme provided by the embodiments of the present application. Those skilled in the art can know that, with the evolution of the communication system and the appearance of new application scenarios, the technical scheme provided by the embodiments of the present application is also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0133] The communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application will be described below by taking the first communication device and the second communication device as an example.

[0134] When the communication method is implemented by the components in the first communication device and the second communication device, the receiving and transmitting steps therein can be understood as the communication between the components and other components, such as the communication between the baseband chip and the radio frequency circuit, etc. The processing performed by a single execution subject in the embodiments of the present application can also be divided into processing performed by multiple execution subjects, which can be logically and / or physically separated. For example, the processing performed by the first communication device and the second communication device can be divided into processing performed by at least one of the CU and the DU.

[0135] Referring to FIG. 5, FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 5, the flow of the communication method includes the following steps.

[0136] S501, the first communication device determines first information; wherein the first information is used to indicate that the second communication device reserves first resources for at least one terminal device, and the at least one terminal device is to be handed over from the first communication device to the second communication device.

[0137] In the embodiments of the present application, the first communication device can predict the flow direction of the resources required by the at least one terminal device. The resources involved in the embodiments of the present application can be one or more of time domain resources, frequency domain resources or air interface resources, which are not limited in the embodiments of the present application. The "flow direction" involved in the embodiments of the present application can be replaced by "flow", "transfer", "handover", "inter-station throughput" and the like, which are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0138] The resource required by the at least one terminal device can be understood as a resource required by the at least one terminal device served by the first communication device when the at least one terminal device accesses the first communication device, or can also be understood as a resource required by the at least one terminal device served by a specific communication device (or referred to as a reference communication device) when the at least one terminal device accesses the specific communication device. The specific communication device can be preconfigured or defined by a standard, and embodiments of the present application do not limit the same. The other communication device can determine the resource required by the at least one terminal device served by itself based on the resource required by the at least one terminal device served by the specific communication device.

[0139] In the case where the at least one terminal device is to be handed over from the first communication device to the second communication device, the flow direction of the resource required by the at least one terminal device can be understood as that the resource required by the at least one terminal device is provided by the first communication device and is switched to be provided by the second communication device, or can be understood as that the resource required by the at least one terminal device is provided by the first communication device and is transferred to be provided by the second communication device, or can be understood as that the resource required by the at least one terminal device flows out from the first communication device and flows into the second communication device.

[0140] That is, before the at least one terminal device is handed over from the first communication device to the second communication device, the resource required by the at least one terminal device can be provided by the first communication device for the at least one terminal device; after the at least one terminal device is handed over from the first communication device to the second communication device, the resource required by the at least one terminal device can be provided by the second communication device for the at least one terminal device, or the resource required by the at least one terminal device can be provided by the first communication device and the second communication device for the at least one terminal device.

[0141] Therefore, in the case where the at least one terminal device is to be handed over from the first communication device to the second communication device, the first communication device can indicate the flow direction of the resource required by the at least one terminal device predicted by the first communication device to the second communication device, so that the second communication device determines the resource reserved by the second communication device for the at least one terminal device according to the flow direction of the resource required by the at least one terminal device predicted by the first communication device, and then can provide the resource required by the at least one terminal device for the at least one terminal device after the at least one terminal device is handed over from the first communication device to the second communication device.

[0142] In the implementation process, the first communication device can determine the first information according to a model (such as an AI model, an ML model, etc.) deployed by the first communication device and / or other manners (such as an algorithm, etc.).

[0143] In a case that the at least one terminal device is to be handed over from the first communication device to the second communication device, the first information can be used to indicate that the first resource is reserved for the at least one terminal device by the second communication device.

[0144] The first resource reserved for the at least one terminal device by the second communication device can be understood as that the first resource required by the at least one terminal device is provided by the first communication device and handed over to be provided by the second communication device; or can be understood as that the first resource required by the at least one terminal device is provided by the first communication device and transferred to be provided by the second communication device; or can be understood as that the first resource required by the at least one terminal device flows out from the first communication device and flows into the second communication device.

[0145] That is, the first information can be used to indicate the flow direction of the first resource required by the at least one terminal device. Therefore, the first information can also be referred to as resource flow direction information, or also be referred to as resource flow information, or also be referred to as resource transfer information, or also be referred to as resource handover information, or also be referred to as resource inter-station throughput information. The name of the first information is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0146] In a possible implementation, the input information of the model deployed by the first communication device can include one or more of the following: the flow direction of the resource required by the at least one terminal device from other communication devices, for example, the flow direction of the resource required by the at least one terminal device predicted by other communication devices according to the model deployed by the other communication devices; the resource required by the at least one terminal device from the first communication device or the at least one terminal device; the position of the at least one terminal device from the first communication device or other communication devices. The output information of the model deployed by the first communication device can include the flow direction of the resource required by the at least one terminal device.

[0147] In a possible implementation, the first information can be associated with one or more of the following: at least one cell corresponding to the at least one terminal device; at least one network slice corresponding to the at least one terminal device; at least one network slice group corresponding to the at least one terminal device; at least one protocol data unit (PDU) session corresponding to the at least one terminal device; and at least one PDU session group. The embodiments of the present application are not limited in this regard.

[0148] It can be understood that the first resource indicated by the first information is a resource of at least one cell corresponding to the at least one terminal device, for example, a resource of cell 1, a resource of cell 2, a resource of cell 3, and the like; or a resource of at least one network slice corresponding to the at least one terminal device, for example, a resource of network slice 1, a resource of network slice 2, a resource of network slice 3, and the like; or a resource of at least one network slice group corresponding to the at least one terminal device, for example, a resource of network slice group 1, a resource of network slice group 2, a resource of network slice group 3, and the like; or can be a resource of at least one PDU session corresponding to the at least one terminal device, for example, a resource of PDU session 1, a resource of PDU session 2, a resource of PDU session 3; or can be a resource of at least one PDU session group corresponding to the at least one terminal device, for example, a resource of PDU session group 1, a resource of PDU session group 2, a resource of PDU session group 3, and the like.

[0149] That is, the granularity of the first information can be per cell, per network slice, per network slice group, per PDU session, per PDU session group, and the like.

[0150] In a possible implementation, the first information can include one or more of the following: a first time period, a number and / or an identifier of the at least one terminal device, a number and / or an identifier of at least one cell corresponding to the at least one terminal device, a number and / or an identifier of at least one network slice corresponding to the at least one terminal device, a number and / or an identifier of at least one network slice group corresponding to the at least one terminal device, a number and / or an identifier of at least one PDU session corresponding to the at least one terminal device, a number and / or an identifier of at least one PDU session group corresponding to the at least one terminal device, or a number of at least one resource included in the first resource, or a unit of at least one resource included in the first resource. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this. The following will be introduced.

[0151] 1) a first time period, wherein the first time period is a time period in which the second communication device reserves the first resource for the at least one terminal device. It can be understood that the start time of the first time period is the start time in which the second communication device reserves the first resource for the at least one terminal device, and the end time of the first time period is the end time in which the second communication device reserves the first resource for the at least one terminal device. The first time period can be represented by the start time and the end time, or can also be represented by the start time and the duration, or can also be represented by the end time and the duration, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this. For example, the first information can be used to indicate that the second communication device reserves the first resource for the at least one terminal device within 15 minutes.

[0152] 2) the number and / or the identity of the at least one terminal device. For example, the first information can be used to indicate that the second communication device reserves the first resource for 3 terminal devices. For another example, the first information can be used to indicate that the second communication device reserves the first resource for terminal device 1, terminal device 2 and terminal device 3.

[0153] 3) the number and / or the identity of at least one cell corresponding to the at least one terminal device. For example, the first information can be used to indicate that the second communication device reserves the resource of 3 cells for the at least one terminal device. For another example, the first information can be used to indicate that the second communication device reserves the resource of cell 1, the resource of cell 2 and the resource of cell 3 for the at least one terminal device. It can be understood that the granularity of the first information is per cell.

[0154] 4) the number and / or the identity of at least one network slice corresponding to the at least one terminal device. For example, the first information can be used to indicate that the second communication device reserves the resource of 3 network slices for the at least one terminal device. For another example, the first information can be used to indicate that the second communication device reserves the resource of network slice 1, the resource of network slice 2 and the resource of network slice 3 for the at least one terminal device. It can be understood that the granularity of the first information is per network slice.

[0155] 5) the number and / or the identity of at least one network slice group corresponding to the at least one terminal device. For example, the first information can be used to indicate that the second communication device reserves the resource of 3 network slice groups for the at least one terminal device. For another example, the first information can be used to indicate that the second communication device reserves the resource of network slice group 1, the resource of network slice group 2 and the resource of network slice group 3 for the at least one terminal device. It can be understood that the granularity of the first information is per network slice group.

[0156] 6) The number and / or identity of at least one PDU session corresponding to at least one terminal device. For example, the first information can be used to indicate that the second communication device reserves resources for 3 PDU sessions for at least one terminal device. For another example, the first information can be used to indicate that the second communication device reserves resources for PDU session 1, resources for PDU session 2, resources for PDU session 3 for at least one terminal device. It can be understood that the granularity of the first information is per PDU session.

[0157] 7) The number and / or identity of at least one PDU session group corresponding to at least one terminal device. For example, the first information can be used to indicate that the second communication device reserves resources for 3 PDU session groups for at least one terminal device. For another example, the first information can be used to indicate that the second communication device reserves resources for PDU session group 1, resources for PDU session group 2, resources for PDU session group 3 for at least one terminal device. It can be understood that the granularity of the first information is per PDU session group.

[0158] 8) The number of at least one resource included in the first resource. For example, the first information can be used to indicate that the second communication device reserves 1000 resources for at least one terminal device.

[0159] 9) The unit of at least one resource included in the first resource. For example, the first resource is a time-frequency resource, and the unit of at least one resource included in the first resource is any one of the following: resource block (RB), resource block group (RBG), etc. The first information can be used to indicate that the second communication device reserves 1000 RBs for at least one terminal device.

[0160] It can be understood that the first communication device indicates the resource of the network slice (or cell, PDU session, PDU session group, etc.) required by the at least one terminal device to be switched to the second communication device to the second communication device, so that the second communication device determines the resource of the network slice (or cell, network slice, PDU session, PDU session group, etc.) reserved by the second communication device for the at least one terminal device according to the resource of the network slice (or cell, PDU session, PDU session group, etc.) required by the at least one terminal device. Thereby, the second communication device can reserve the resource of the network slice (or cell, PDU session, PDU session group, etc.) for the at least one terminal device to be switched to the second communication device regardless of whether the second communication device has a deployment model. Compared with the first network device only indicating the resource information of the network slice (or cell, PDU session, PDU session group, etc.) supported by the first network device to the second network device, the resource management efficiency is improved. For example, if the second communication device does not have a deployment model, the resource information of the network slice (or cell, network slice, PDU session, PDU session group, etc.) supported by the first network device has limited effect on the second network device to predict the resource information of the network slice (or cell, network slice, PDU session, PDU session group, etc.) supported by the second network device.

[0161] In a possible implementation, as shown in FIG. 5, before performing S501, the present application can further perform the following steps.

[0162] S501a, the second communication device sends second information to the first communication device, and correspondingly, the first communication device can receive the second information from the second communication device; wherein the second information can be used to request the first communication device to predict the resource required to be reserved by the second communication device.

[0163] In the embodiment of the present application, the second information can be encapsulated or carried in a request message, for example, a data collection request (data collection request) message, or can also be encapsulated or carried in other messages, which are not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0164] The second information can directly indicate the first communication device to predict the resource required to be reserved by the second communication device, or can indirectly indicate the first communication device to predict the resource required to be reserved by the second communication device, which are not limited in the embodiment of the present application. For example, the second information can include a first identifier, the first identifier is used to indicate the first communication device to predict the resource required to be reserved by the second communication device, and the first identifier can be pre-configured or defined by a standard, which are not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0165] The second information can be associated with one or more of the following: at least one cell; at least one network slice; at least one network slice group; at least one PDU session; and a number and / or an identity of at least one PDU session group. Embodiments of the present application are not limited in this regard.

[0166] It can be understood that the resource required to be reserved by the second communication device predicted by the first communication device indicated by the second information can be resource of at least one cell, for example, resource of cell 1, resource of cell 2, resource of cell 3, and the like; or can be resource of at least one network slice, for example, resource of network slice 1, resource of network slice 2, resource of network slice 3, and the like; or can be resource of at least one network slice group, for example, resource of network slice group 1, resource of network slice group 2, resource of network slice group 3, and the like; or can be resource of at least one PDU session, for example, resource of PDU session 1, resource of PDU session 2, resource of PDU session 3, and the like; or can be resource of at least one PDU session group, for example, resource of PDU session group 1, resource of PDU session group 2, resource of PDU session group 3, and the like.

[0167] That is, the granularity of the second information can be per cell, per network slice, per network slice group, per PDU session, and the like.

[0168] The second information can include one or more of a second time period, a number and / or an identity of at least one cell, a number and / or an identity of at least one network slice, a number and / or an identity of at least one network slice group, a number and / or an identity of at least one PDU session, or a number and / or an identity of at least one PDU session group. Embodiments of the present application are not limited in this regard. The following is introduced.

[0169] 1) The second time period, wherein the second time period is a time period in which the resource is reserved by the second communication device. It can be understood that the start time of the second time period is the start time at which the resource is reserved by the second communication device, and the end time of the second time period is the end time at which the resource is reserved by the second communication device. The second time period can be represented by a start time and an end time, or can be represented by a start time and a duration, or can be represented by an end time and a duration, and embodiments of the present application are not limited in this regard. For example, the second information can be used to request the first communication device to predict the resource required to be reserved by the second communication device within 15 minutes.

[0170] 2) the number and / or identity of at least one cell. For example, the second information can be used to request the first communication device to predict the resources of 3 cells required to be reserved by the second communication device. For another example, the second information can be used to request the first communication device to predict the resources of cell 1, the resources of cell 2, and the resources of cell 3 required to be reserved by the second communication device. It can be understood that the granularity of the second information is per cell.

[0171] 3) the number and / or identity of at least one network slice. For example, the second information can be used to request the first communication device to predict the resources of 3 network slices required to be reserved by the second communication device. For another example, the second information can be used to request the first communication device to predict the resources of network slice 1, the resources of network slice 2, and the resources of network slice 3 required to be reserved by the second communication device. It can be understood that the granularity of the second information is per network slice.

[0172] 4) the number and / or identity of at least one network slice group. For example, the second information can be used to request the first communication device to predict the resources of 3 network slice groups required to be reserved by the second communication device. For another example, the second information can be used to request the first communication device to predict the resources of network slice group 1, the resources of network slice group 2, and the resources of network slice group 3 required to be reserved by the second communication device. It can be understood that the granularity of the second information is per network slice group.

[0173] 5) the number and / or identity of at least one PDU session. For example, the second information can be used to request the first communication device to predict the resources of 3 PDU sessions required to be reserved by the second communication device. For another example, the second information can be used to request the first communication device to predict the resources of PDU session 1, the resources of PDU session 2, and the resources of PDU session 3 required to be reserved by the second communication device. It can be understood that the granularity of the second information is per PDU session.

[0174] 6) the number and / or identity of at least one PDU session group. For example, the second information can be used to request the first communication device to predict the resources of 3 PDU session groups required to be reserved by the second communication device. For another example, the second information can be used to request the first communication device to predict the resources of PDU session group 1, the resources of PDU session group 2, and the resources of PDU session group 3 required to be reserved by the second communication device. It can be understood that the granularity of the second information is per PDU session group.

[0175] It can be understood that after the first communication device receives the second information from the second communication device, the first communication device can obtain the real-time predicted resources required to be reserved by the second communication device according to the model deployed by the first communication device and / or other manners, or can call the historically predicted resources required to be reserved by the second communication device without predicting the resources required to be reserved by the second communication device again according to the model deployed by the first communication device and / or other manners. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0176] In a possible implementation, the first resource can include all or part of the second resource, and the second resource can be all or part of the resource required by the at least one terminal device according to the model deployed by the first communication device and / or other manners. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0177] Case A: The second resource can be all of the resource required by the at least one terminal device according to the model deployed by the first communication device and / or other manners.

[0178] Specifically, the first communication device can determine that the first resource includes all of the second resource. Alternatively, the first communication device can also determine the first resource from the second resource according to the parameters (for example, the proportion in the second resource, the requirement of the service level agreement (SLA), the confidence of prediction, etc.) of each resource included in the second resource, that is, the first resource includes part of the second resource.

[0179] Case B: The second resource can be part of the resource required by the at least one terminal device according to the model deployed by the first communication device and / or other manners.

[0180] Specifically, the first communication device can predict part of the resource required by the at least one terminal device according to the second information from the second communication device and the model deployed by the first communication device. For example, the second information from the second communication device includes the identification of network slice 1 and the identification of network slice 3, and the first communication device can predict the resource of network slice 1 and the resource of network slice 3 required by the at least one terminal device according to the model deployed by the communication device.

[0181] The first communication device can determine that the first resource includes all of the second resource.

[0182] S502, the first communication device sends the first information to the second communication device, and correspondingly, the second communication device receives the first information from the first communication device.

[0183] In the embodiments of the present application, the first information can be encapsulated or carried in a request message, for example, a handover request message, an auxiliary node addition request message, an auxiliary node modification request message, a terminal context establishment request message, a terminal context modification request message, etc.; or it can also be encapsulated or carried in other messages, for example, a data collection response message, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0184] After the second network device receives the first information from the first communication device, the second communication device can reserve resources for the at least one terminal device according to the first information. Alternatively, if the second communication device has a deployed model (for example, an AI model, an ML model, etc.), the second communication device can also determine that the first information is input information for the model deployed by the second communication device, so as to reserve resources for the at least one terminal device according to output information of the model deployed by the second communication device.

[0185] That is, the second communication device can reserve resources for the at least one terminal device whether or not the second communication device has a deployed model, and the resource management efficiency is improved.

[0186] Referring to FIG. 6, FIG. 6 is a flowchart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 6, the flow of the communication method includes the following steps.

[0187] S601, the first communication device determines third information; wherein the third information is used to indicate a CCO problem predicted by the first communication device.

[0188] In the embodiment of the present application, the third information can include a third time period and / or an identifier of the CCO problem predicted by the first communication device. The third time period is a time period corresponding to the CCO problem predicted by the first communication device. It can be understood that the start time of the third time period is the start time of the CCO problem predicted by the first communication device, and the end time of the third time period is the end time of the CCO problem predicted by the first communication device. The third time period can be represented by the start time and the end time, or can also be represented by the start time and the duration, or can also be represented by the end time and the duration, and the present application is not limited thereto. For example, the third information can be used to indicate a CCO problem that may occur within 5 minutes by the first communication device.

[0189] The third information can be determined by the first communication device according to a model (for example, an AI model, an ML model, etc.) deployed by the first communication device or other manners (for example, a calculation manner), and the present application is not limited thereto.

[0190] It can be understood that the "CCO problem predicted by the first communication device" involved in the embodiments of the present application can be replaced by "current CCO problem of the first communication device", and the present application is not limited thereto.

[0191] S602, the first communication device sends the third information to the second communication device, and correspondingly, the second communication device receives the third information from the second communication device; wherein the third information is contained in a cause value of a first request message, and the first request message is used to request to switch the at least one terminal device from the first communication device to the second communication device.

[0192] In the embodiments of the present application, the first request message can comprise one or more of a handover request message, an auxiliary node addition request message, an auxiliary node modification request message, a terminal context setup request message, or a terminal context modification request message, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0193] It can be understood that after the first communication device predicts the CCO problem of the first communication device, in order to avoid the CCO problem predicted by the first communication device, the first communication device can send a first request message to the second communication device, that is, start a handover process, and include the CCO problem predicted by the first communication device in the cause value of the first request message.

[0194] After the second communication device receives the first request message from the first communication device, the second communication device can determine whether to allow at least one terminal device to be handed over from the first communication device to the second communication device according to the CCO problem predicted by the first communication device in the cause value of the first request message, that is, to perform admission control. For example, in order to avoid the CCO problem predicted by the first communication device, the second communication device can allow at least one terminal device to be handed over from the first communication device to the second communication device.

[0195] Compared with the way in which the first communication device and the second communication device avoid the CCO problem predicted by the first communication device by adjusting power, adjusting coverage, adjusting frequency bands, etc. through negotiation, the way does not affect the normal access of other terminal devices located in the coverage of the first communication device and the second communication device.

[0196] In the implementation process, after the second communication device receives the first request message from the first communication device, the second communication device can adjust the handover strategy of at least one terminal device or all or part of the terminal devices in the area where at least one terminal device is located, in order to avoid the CCO problem predicted by the first communication device.

[0197] Before at least one terminal device is handed over from the first communication device to the second communication device, the second communication device can determine that the reason why the first communication device requests at least one terminal device to be handed over from the first communication device to the second communication device is the CCO problem predicted by the first communication device. Therefore, in order to avoid the CCO problem predicted by the first communication device, the second communication device can adjust the handover strategy of at least one terminal device or all or part of the terminal devices in the area where at least one terminal device is located, so that at least one terminal device or all or part of the terminal devices in the area where at least one terminal device is located can be handed over from the first communication device to the second communication device. For example, the handover priority of at least one terminal device or all or part of the terminal devices in the area where at least one terminal device is located is increased, the handover threshold value of at least one terminal device or all or part of the terminal devices in the area where at least one terminal device is located is reduced, etc.

[0198] After the at least one terminal device switches from the first communication device to the second communication device, the second communication device can determine that the reason for the at least one terminal device switching from the first communication device to the second communication device is the CCO problem predicted by the first communication device. Therefore, in order to avoid the at least one terminal device or all or part of the terminal devices in the region where the at least one terminal device is located switching from the second communication device to the first communication device in a short period of time, exacerbating the CCO problem predicted by the first communication device, the second communication device can adjust the switching strategy of the at least one terminal device or all or part of the terminal devices in the region where the at least one terminal device is located again, so that the at least one terminal device or all or part of the terminal devices in the region where the at least one terminal device is located cannot switch from the second communication device to the first communication device in a short period of time. For example, the switching priority of the at least one terminal device or all or part of the terminal devices in the region where the at least one terminal device is located is lowered, the switching threshold value of the at least one terminal device or all or part of the terminal devices in the region where the at least one terminal device is located is raised, and the like.

[0199] Referring to FIG. 7, FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of another communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application. As shown in FIG. 7, the flow of the communication method includes the following steps.

[0200] S701, the second communication device determines fourth information; wherein the fourth information is used to indicate a CCO problem predicted by the second communication device.

[0201] In the embodiments of the present application, the fourth information can include a fourth time period and / or an identifier of the CCO problem predicted by the second communication device. The fourth time period is a time period corresponding to the CCO problem predicted by the second communication device. It can be understood that the start time of the fourth time period is the start time of the CCO problem predicted by the second communication device, and the end time of the fourth time period is the end time of the CCO problem predicted by the second communication device. The fourth time period can be represented by the start time and the end time, or can also be represented by the start time and the duration, or can also be represented by the end time and the duration, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. For example, the fourth information can be used to indicate a CCO problem that may occur within 5 minutes by the second communication device.

[0202] The fourth information can be determined by the second communication device according to a model (such as an AI model, an ML model, etc.) deployed by the second communication device and / or other manners (such as a calculation manner), which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0203] It can be understood that the "CCO problem predicted by the second communication device" involved in the embodiments of the present application can be replaced by "current CCO problem of the second communication device", which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0204] S702, the second communication device sends fourth information to the first communication device, and correspondingly, the first communication device receives the fourth information from the second communication device; wherein the fourth information is contained in a cause value of a first response message, and the first response message is used to reject switching the at least one terminal device from the first communication device to the second communication device.

[0205] In the embodiments of the present application, the first response message can include one or more of a handover response message, a secondary node addition response message, a secondary node modification response message, a terminal context setup response message, or a terminal context modification response message, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0206] In a possible implementation, as shown in FIG. 7, before performing S702, the present application can further perform the following steps:

[0207] S702a, the first communication device sends a first request message to the second communication device, and correspondingly, the second communication device receives the first request message from the first communication device.

[0208] The first request message is used to request switching the at least one terminal device from the first communication device to the second communication device, and the first request message can include a handover request message, a secondary node addition request message, a secondary node modification request message, a terminal context setup request message, a terminal context modification request message, etc., and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0209] It can be understood that after the second communication device predicts the CCO problem of the second communication device, if the second communication device receives the first request message from the first communication device, in order to avoid deteriorating the CCO problem predicted by the second communication device, the second communication device can reject switching the at least one terminal device from the first communication device to the second communication device, that is, to perform admission control, and contain the CCO problem predicted by the second communication device in the cause value of the first response message.

[0210] After the first communication device receives the first response message from the second communication device, the first communication device can determine, according to the CCO problem predicted by the second communication device in the cause value of the first response message, that the reason why the second communication device rejects switching the at least one terminal device from the first communication device to the second communication device is the CCO problem predicted by the second communication device.

[0211] It can be understood that the above-mentioned embodiments of the present application can be implemented respectively and independently, or can be implemented in combination with each other, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto. For example, the steps shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 can be implemented respectively and independently, or can be implemented in combination with each other.

[0212] For example, in this embodiment of the application, S601 and S602 can be executed after S502. That is, after the first communication device sends the first information to the second communication device, the third information is determined and sent to the second communication device.

[0213] For example, in this embodiment of the application, S702 can be executed after S602. That is, after the first communication device sends the third information to the second communication device, it receives the fourth information from the second communication device.

[0214] In the embodiments provided above, the methods provided by the embodiments of this application are described using the execution of a first communication device and a second communication device as examples. In this application, each embodiment can be implemented independently or in combination based on certain inherent connections; in each embodiment, different implementation methods can be implemented in combination or independently. To achieve the functions in the methods provided by the embodiments of this application above, the steps executed by the terminal device can be implemented by different functional entities constituting the terminal device. The steps executed by the communication device can be implemented by different functional entities constituting the communication device. For example, the communication device can be a CU-DU architecture, where the CU can send first information and the DU can receive first information. To achieve the functions in the methods provided by the embodiments of this application above, the first communication device and the second communication device can include hardware structures and / or software modules, implementing the above functions in the form of hardware structures, software modules, or hardware structures plus software modules. Whether a particular function is executed in the form of hardware structures, software modules, or hardware structures plus software modules depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0215] The methods provided by the embodiments of this application have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings. The apparatus provided by the embodiments of this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0216] Based on the same technical concept, embodiments of this application provide a communication device, which includes a module / unit / means for executing the method performed by the device in the above-described method embodiments. This module / unit / means can be implemented in software, or in hardware, or implemented by hardware executing corresponding software.

[0217] For example, referring to Figure 8, which is a schematic diagram of a communication device 800, the device includes a transceiver module 801 and a processing module 802. This device can be either the first communication device or the second communication device described above.

[0218] When the device 800 is a first communication device, the functions of each module of the device 800 are as follows:

[0219] The processing module 802 is configured to determine first information, wherein the first information is used to instruct the second communication device to reserve first resources for at least one terminal device to be handed over from the first communication device to the second communication device.

[0220] The transceiver module 801 is configured to send the first information to the second communication device.

[0221] In a possible implementation, the first resources include all or part of second resources, wherein the second resources are all or part of resources required by the at least one terminal device according to a model deployed by the first communication device.

[0222] In a possible implementation, the first information is associated with one or more of the following: at least one cell corresponding to the at least one terminal device; at least one network slice corresponding to the at least one terminal device; at least one network slice group corresponding to the at least one terminal device; at least one protocol data unit (PDU) session corresponding to the at least one terminal device; and at least one PDU session group corresponding to the at least one terminal device.

[0223] In a possible implementation, the first information includes one or more of the following: a first time period, wherein the first time period is a time period during which the second communication device reserves the first resources for the at least one terminal device; a number and / or an identifier of the at least one terminal device; a number and / or an identifier of at least one cell corresponding to the at least one terminal device; a number and / or an identifier of at least one network slice corresponding to the at least one terminal device; a number and / or an identifier of at least one network slice group corresponding to the at least one terminal device; a number and / or an identifier of at least one PDU session corresponding to the at least one terminal device; a number and / or an identifier of at least one PDU session group corresponding to the at least one terminal device; a number of at least one resource included in the first resources; and a unit of at least one resource included in the first resources.

[0224] In a possible implementation, the transceiver module 801 is further configured to receive second information from the second communication device, wherein the second information is used to request the first communication device to predict resources required by the second communication device to reserve.

[0225] In a possible implementation, the second information includes one or more of the following: a second time period, wherein the second time period is a time period in which the second communication device reserves resources; a number and / or an identity of at least one cell; a number and / or an identity of at least one network slice; a number and / or an identity of at least one network slice group; a number and / or an identity of at least one PDU session; and a number and / or an identity of at least one PDU session group.

[0226] In a possible implementation, the processing module 802 is further configured to determine third information, wherein the third information is used to indicate a predicted CCO problem of the first communication device; and the transceiver module 801 is further configured to send the third information to the second communication device, wherein the third information is included in a cause value of a first request message, and the first request message is used to request to hand over the at least one terminal device to the second communication device.

[0227] In a possible implementation, the transceiver module 801 is further configured to receive fourth information from the second communication device, wherein the fourth information is used to indicate a predicted CCO problem of the second communication device, and the fourth information is included in a cause value of a first response message, and the first response message is used to reject to hand over the at least one terminal device from the first communication device to the second communication device.

[0228] Alternatively, when the apparatus 800 is a second communication device, the functions of the modules of the apparatus 800 are as follows:

[0229] The transceiver module 801 is configured to receive first information from a first communication device, wherein the first information is used to indicate that the second communication device reserves first resources for at least one terminal device to be handed over to the second communication device.

[0230] In a possible implementation, the processing module 802 is configured to determine that the first information is input information of a model deployed by the second communication device; and / or reserve resources according to the first information.

[0231] In a possible implementation, the first resources include all or part of second resources, wherein the second resources are all or part of resources required by the at least one terminal device according to a model deployed by the first communication device.

[0232] In a possible implementation, the first information is associated with one or more of: at least one cell corresponding to the at least one terminal device; at least one network slice corresponding to the at least one terminal device; at least one network slice group corresponding to the at least one terminal device; at least one protocol data unit (PDU) session corresponding to the at least one terminal device; and at least one PDU session group corresponding to the at least one terminal device.

[0233] In a possible implementation, the first information includes one or more of: a first time period, wherein the first time period is a time period during which the second communication device reserves the first resource for the at least one terminal device; a number and / or an identifier of the at least one terminal device; a number and / or an identifier of at least one cell corresponding to the at least one terminal device; a number and / or an identifier of at least one network slice corresponding to the at least one terminal device; a number and / or an identifier of at least one network slice group corresponding to the at least one terminal device; a number and / or an identifier of at least one PDU session corresponding to the at least one terminal device; a number and / or an identifier of at least one PDU session group corresponding to the at least one terminal device; a number of at least one resource included in the first resource; and a unit of at least one resource included in the first resource.

[0234] In a possible implementation, the transceiver 801 is further configured to send, to the first communication device, second information, wherein the second information is used to request the first communication device to predict a resource required to be reserved by the second communication device.

[0235] In a possible implementation, the second information includes one or more of: a second time period, wherein the second time period is a time period during which the second communication device reserves a resource; a number and / or an identifier of at least one cell; a number and / or an identifier of at least one network slice; a number and / or an identifier of at least one network slice group; a number and / or an identifier of at least one PDU session; and a number and / or an identifier of at least one PDU session group.

[0236] In a possible implementation, the transceiver 801 is further configured to receive, from the first communication device, third information, wherein the third information is used to indicate a CCO problem predicted by the first communication device, and the third information is included in a cause value of a first request message, and the first request message is used to request handover of the at least one terminal device from the first communication device to the second communication device.

[0237] In a possible implementation, the processing module 802 is further configured to adjust a handover strategy of the at least one terminal device or all or part of terminal devices in a region where the at least one terminal device is located according to the predicted CCO problem of the first communication device.

[0238] In a possible implementation, the processing module 802 is further configured to determine fourth information, where the fourth information is used to indicate the predicted CCO problem of the second communication device; and the transceiver module 801 is further configured to send the fourth information to the second communication device, where the fourth information is included in a cause value of a first response message, and the first response message is used to reject the handover of the at least one terminal device from the first communication device to the second communication device.

[0239] In practice, the apparatus 800 can have various product forms. Hereinafter, several possible product forms will be introduced.

[0240] Referring to FIG. 9, there is shown a schematic diagram of another communication device, which is denoted as 900. The communication device 900 includes a processor 901, which is configured to implement the method performed by the communication device or the terminal device in the above method embodiments by means of a logic circuit or an instruction.

[0241] Optionally, the communication device 900 can further include an interface circuit 902, which is configured to receive a signal from another communication device outside the communication device and transmit the signal to the processor 901, or transmit a signal from the processor 901 to another communication device outside the communication device. The processor 901 and the interface circuit 902 are coupled to each other. It can be understood that the interface circuit 902 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface.

[0242] Optionally, the communication device 900 can further include a memory 903, which is configured to store an instruction executed by the processor 901, or store input data required by the processor 901 for running the instruction, or store data generated after the processor 901 runs the instruction.

[0243] It should be understood that the processor mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by hardware or software. When implemented by hardware, the processor can be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, etc. When implemented by software, the processor can be a general-purpose processor, which implements by reading software code stored in a memory.

[0244] Exemplarily, the processor can be a central processing unit (CPU), and can also be other general-purpose processors, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a microprocessor unit (MPU), a microcontroller unit (MCU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an artificial intelligence processor (AI processor), or a neural processing unit (NPU), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be any conventional processor.

[0245] It should be appreciated that the memory mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or can include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory can be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically EPROM (EEPROM) or a flash memory. The volatile memory can be a cache, a random access memory (RAM) used as an external cache. By way of example but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM) and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM).

[0246] It can be understood that when the processor is a general processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a FPGA or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component, the memory (storage module) can be integrated in the processor.

[0247] It should be noted that the memory described herein is intended to include, but not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0248] Based on the same technical concept, the embodiments of the present application also provide a computer readable storage medium, which stores a computer program or instructions, and when the computer program or instructions are executed by a processor, the method executed by the first communication device and the second communication device in the above method embodiment is realized.

[0249] Based on the same technical concept, the embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product, which contains a computer program or instructions, and when the computer program or instructions are executed by a processor, the method executed by the first communication device and the second communication device in the above method embodiment is realized.

[0250] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that embodiments of the present application can be readily used as a method, a system or a computer program product. Accordingly, the present application can take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present application can take the form of a computer program product on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROMs, optical storage devices, etc.) embodying computer readable program code.

[0251] The present application is described in reference to the flow diagrams and / or block diagrams of the methods, apparatus (systems) and computer program products according to this application. It will be understood that each block of the flow diagrams and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flow diagrams and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flow diagrams and / or block diagrams block or blocks.

[0252] These computer program instructions can also be stored in a computer- readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instructions which implement the function specified in the flow diagrams and / or block diagrams block or blocks.

[0253] The computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flow diagrams and / or block diagrams block or blocks.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method is applied to a first communication device, and comprises: determining first information, and sending the first information to a second communication device; wherein the first information is used to instruct the second communication device to reserve first resources for at least one terminal device to be switched from the first communication device to the second communication device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The first resources include all or part of second resources, wherein the second resources are all or part of resources required by the at least one terminal device according to a model predicted by the first communication device.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The first information is associated with one or more of the following: at least one cell corresponding to the at least one terminal device; at least one network slice corresponding to the at least one terminal device; at least one network slice group corresponding to the at least one terminal device; at least one protocol data unit (PDU) session corresponding to the at least one terminal device; at least one PDU session group corresponding to the at least one terminal device.

4. The method according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The first information includes one or more of the following: a first time period, wherein the first time period indicates a time period for the second communication device to reserve the first resources for the at least one terminal device; a number and / or an identifier of the at least one terminal device; a number and / or an identifier of at least one cell corresponding to the at least one terminal device; a number and / or an identifier of at least one network slice corresponding to the at least one terminal device; a number and / or an identifier of at least one network slice group corresponding to the at least one terminal device; a number and / or an identifier of at least one PDU session corresponding to the at least one terminal device; a number and / or an identifier of at least one PDU session group corresponding to the at least one terminal device; a number of at least one resource included in the first resources; a unit of at least one resource included in the first resources.

5. The method according to any of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving second information from the second communication device; wherein the second information is used to request the first communication device to predict resources required to be reserved by the second communication device.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein, The second information includes one or more of the following: a second time period, wherein the second time period is a time period for the second communication device to reserve resources; a number and / or an identifier of at least one cell; a number and / or an identifier of at least one network slice; a number and / or an identifier of at least one network slice group; a number and / or an identifier of at least one PDU session; a number and / or an identifier of at least one PDU session group.

7. The method according to any of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The method further comprises: determining third information, and sending the third information to the second communication device; wherein the third information is used to indicate a capacity coverage optimization (CCO) problem predicted by the first communication device, and the third information is contained in a cause value of a first request message used to request the at least one terminal device to be switched to the second communication device.

8. The method according to any of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving fourth information from the second communication device; wherein the fourth information is used to indicate a CCO problem predicted by the second communication device, and the fourth information is included in a cause value of a first response message used to reject switching the at least one terminal device from the first communication device to the second communication device.

9. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method is applied to a second communication device, comprising: receiving first information from a first communication device; wherein the first information is used to indicate that the second communication device reserves first resources for at least one terminal device to be switched from the first communication device to the second communication device.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein, The method further comprises: determining that the first information is input information of a model deployed by the second communication device; and / or, reserving resources according to the first information.

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that, The first resources include all or part of second resources, wherein the second resources are all or part of resources required by the at least one terminal device predicted according to a model deployed by the first communication device.

12. The method of any of claims 9-11, wherein, The first information is associated with one or more of the following: at least one cell corresponding to the at least one terminal device; at least one network slice corresponding to the at least one terminal device; at least one network slice group corresponding to the at least one terminal device; at least one PDU session corresponding to the at least one terminal device; at least one PDU session group corresponding to the at least one terminal device.

13. The method according to any of claims 9-12, characterized by, The first information includes one or more of the following: a first time period, wherein the first time period is a time period during which the second communication device reserves the first resources for the at least one terminal device; a number and / or an identifier of the at least one terminal device; a number and / or an identifier of at least one cell corresponding to the at least one terminal device; a number and / or an identifier of at least one network slice corresponding to the at least one terminal device; a number and / or an identifier of at least one network slice group corresponding to the at least one terminal device; a number and / or an identifier of at least one PDU session corresponding to the at least one terminal device; a number and / or an identifier of at least one PDU session group corresponding to the at least one terminal device; a number of at least one resource included in the first resources; a unit of at least one resource included in the first resources.

14. The method of any one of claims 9-13, wherein, The method further comprises: sending second information to the first communication device; wherein the second information is used to request the first communication device to predict resources required to be reserved by the second communication device.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein, The second information includes one or more of the following: a second time period, wherein the second time period is a time period during which the second communication device reserves resources; a number and / or an identifier of at least one cell; a number and / or an identifier of at least one network slice; a number and / or an identifier of at least one network slice group; a number and / or an identifier of at least one PDU session; a number and / or an identifier of at least one PDU session group.

16. The method of any one of claims 9-15, wherein, The method further comprises: receiving third information from the first communication device; wherein the third information is used to indicate a CCO problem predicted by the first communication device, and the third information is contained in a cause value of a first request message used to request switching the at least one terminal device from the first communication device to the second communication device.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein, The method further comprises: adjusting a switching strategy of the at least one terminal device or all or part of terminal devices in a region where the at least one terminal device is located according to the CCO problem predicted by the first communication device.

18. The method of any one of claims 9-17, wherein, The method further comprises: determining fourth information and sending the fourth information to the first communication device; wherein the fourth information is used to indicate a CCO problem predicted by the second communication device, and the fourth information is contained in a cause value of a first response message used to reject switching the at least one terminal device from the first communication device to the second communication device.

19. A method of communication, comprising: Applied to a first communication device, comprising: determining third information and sending the third information to a second communication device; wherein the third information is used to indicate a CCO problem predicted by the first communication device, and the third information is contained in a cause value of a first request message used to request switching at least one terminal device from the first communication device to the second communication device.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein, The third information comprises one or more of: a third time period, wherein the third time period is a time period corresponding to the CCO problem predicted by the first communication device; an identifier of the CCO problem predicted by the first communication device.

21. The method of claim 19 or 20, wherein, The third information is determined according to a model deployed by the first communication device.

22. The method of any of claims 19-21, wherein, The method further comprises: receiving fourth information from the second communication device; wherein the fourth information is used to indicate a CCO problem predicted by the second communication device, and the fourth information is contained in a cause value of a first response message used to reject switching the at least one terminal device from the first communication device to the second communication device.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein, The fourth information comprises one or more of: a fourth time period, wherein the fourth time period is a time period corresponding to the CCO problem predicted by the second communication device; an identifier of the CCO problem predicted by the second communication device.

24. The method of claim 22 or 23, wherein, The fourth information is determined according to a model deployed by the second communication device.

25. A method of communication, comprising: Applied to a second communication device, comprising: receiving third information from a first communication device; wherein the third information is used to indicate a CCO problem predicted by the first communication device, and the third information is contained in a cause value of a first request message used to request switching the at least one terminal device from the first communication device to the second communication device.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein, The third information comprises one or more of: a third time period, wherein the third time period is a time period corresponding to the CCO problem predicted by the first communication device; an identifier of the CCO problem predicted by the first communication device.

27. The method of claim 25 or 26, wherein, The third information is determined according to a model deployed by the first communication device.

28. The method of any one of claims 25-27, wherein, The method further comprises: adjusting a handover strategy of the at least one terminal device or all or part of terminal devices in an area where the at least one terminal device is located according to the CCO problem predicted by the first communication device.

29. The method of any one of claims 25-28, wherein, The method further comprises: determining fourth information, and sending the fourth information to the first communication device; wherein the fourth information is used to indicate the CCO problem predicted by the second communication device, and the fourth information is contained in a cause value of a first response message used to reject handover of the at least one terminal device from the first communication device to the second communication device.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein, The fourth information comprises one or more of: a fourth time period, wherein the fourth time period is a time period corresponding to the CCO problem predicted by the second communication device; an identifier of the CCO problem predicted by the second communication device.

31. The method of claim 29 or 30, wherein, The fourth information is determined according to a model deployed by the second communication device.

32. A communications device, characterized by The communication device comprises a module for performing the method of any one of claims 1-8, or a module for performing the method of any one of claims 9-18, or a module for performing the method of any one of claims 19-24, or a module for performing the method of any one of claims 25-31.

33. A communications device, characterized by The communication device comprises a processor for performing the method of any one of claims 1-8, or performing the method of any one of claims 9-18, or performing the method of any one of claims 19-24, or performing the method of any one of claims 25-31.

34. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer readable storage medium is used to store a computer program, which, when running on a computer, causes the method of any one of claims 1-8 to be performed, or causes the method of any one of claims 9-18 to be performed, or causes the method of any one of claims 19-24 to be performed, or causes the method of any one of claims 25-31 to be performed.

35. A computer program product, characterised in that, The computer program product comprises a computer program, which, when running on a computer, causes the method of any one of claims 1-8 to be performed, or causes the method of any one of claims 9-18 to be performed, or causes the method of any one of claims 19-24 to be performed, or causes the method of any one of claims 25-31 to be performed.

Images