Scheduling radio resources for a carrier group by a distributed unit

Abstract

Disclosed herein is an apparatus configured to identify a configured capacity of a fronthaul link between the apparatus and a Radio Unit (RU). The fronthaul link is associated with one or more carriers sharing the fronthaul link and the one or more carriers form a carrier group. Further, the apparatus is configured to determine effective Resource Blocks (RBs) to be scheduled. The determination of the effective RBs to be scheduled is based on the identified configured capacity. Furthermore, the apparatus is configured to schedule a transmission of data packets via the one or more carriers based on the determined effective RBs.

Description

SCHEDULING RADIO RESOURCES FOR A CARRIER GROUP BY A DISTRIBUTED UNIT CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

[0001] This application claims priority based on India Patent Application No. 202411073162 filed September 27, 2024, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to scheduling radio resources for a carrier group by a Distributed Unit (DU). BACKGROUND

[0003] The information disclosed in this background section is only for the enhancement of understanding of the general background of the disclosure and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.

[0004] In wireless communication systems, the Distributed Unit (DU) is usually responsible for managing radio resources for multiple carriers (or cells) in a carrier group. The fronthaul link capacity between the DU and the Radio Unit (RU) limits the data packets transmitted by the carriers in a time slot. The fronthaul link capacity is fixed and is dependent on capacity of the optical fibers and the links present between the DU and the RU. Further, upgrading the fronthaul link capacity is costly for a network operator.

[0005] The conventional techniques are unable to efficiently schedule radio resources among the multiple carriers without exceeding the shared fronthaul link capacity. A single DU may berequired to handle the scheduling for multiple carriers associated with a single cell site, making it crucial to efficiently schedule radio resources among the carriers.

[0006] Thus, there is a need to provide a methodology to overcome the above-mentioned issues in the conventional techniques. SUMMARY

[0007] This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts, in a simplified format, that are further described in the detailed description of the disclosure. This summary is neither intended to identify key or essential inventive concepts of the disclosure nor is it intended to determine the scope of the disclosure.

[0008] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, an apparatus is disclosed. The apparatus is configured to identify a configured capacity of a fronthaul link between the apparatus and a Radio Unit (RU). The fronthaul link is associated with one or more carriers sharing the fronthaul link and the one or more carriers form a carrier group. Further, the apparatus is configured to determine effective Resource Blocks (RBs) to be scheduled. The determination of effective RBs to be scheduled is based on the identified configured capacity. Furthermore, the apparatus is configured to schedule a transmission of data packets via the one or more carriers based on the determined effective RBs.

[0009] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a method is disclosed. The method includes identifying a configured capacity of a fronthaul link between a Distributed Unit (DU) and a Radio Unit (RU). The fronthaul link is associated with one or more carriers sharing the fronthaul link and the one or more carriers form a carrier group. Further, the method includes determining effective Resource Blocks (RBs) to be scheduled. The determination ofeffective RBs to be scheduled is based on the identified configured capacity. Furthermore, the method includes scheduling a transmission of data packets via the one or more carriers based on the determined effective RBs.

[0010] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a non-transitory computer- readable medium is disclosed. The non-transitory computer-readable medium stores instructions. The instructions comprise one or more instructions that are executed by a Distributed Unit (DU). The DU comprises one or more processors. The one or more instructions cause the one or more processors to identify a configured capacity of a fronthaul link between the DU and a Radio Unit (RU). The fronthaul link is associated with one or more carriers sharing the fronthaul link and the one or more carriers form a carrier group. Further, the one or more instructions cause the one or more processors to determine effective Resource Blocks (RBs) to be scheduled. The determination of effective RBs to be scheduled is based on the identified configured capacity. Furthermore, the one or more instructions cause the one or more processors to schedule a transmission of data packets via the one or more carriers based on the determined effective RBs.

[0011] To further clarify the advantages and features of the present disclosure, a more particular description of the disclosure will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which is illustrated in the appended drawing. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting its scope. The disclosure will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

[0012] Features, aspects, and advantages of certain example embodiments of the disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals denote like elements, and wherein: Figure 1 illustrates an example block diagram of a communication environment depicting an Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) architecture, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figures 2A-2C illustrate examples of fronthaul deployment topologies, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 3 illustrates a mapping of one or more carriers to shared fronthaul link capacity, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 4 illustrates scheduling the transmission of data packets for one or more carriers via a shared buffer in a Distributed Unit (DU), in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 5 illustrates a process flow depicting a method for implementing radio resource scheduling for a carrier group by a DU, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; and Figure 6 illustrates an embodiment of a device, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0013] The following detailed description of example embodiments refers to the accompanying drawings. The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the implementations to the precise form disclosed. Modifications andvariations are possible in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from the practice of the implementations. Further, one or more features or components of one embodiment may be incorporated into or combined with another embodiment (or one or more features of another embodiment). Additionally, in the flowcharts and descriptions of operations provided below, it is understood that one or more operations may be omitted, one or more operations may be added, one or more operations may be performed simultaneously (at least in part), and the order of one or more operations may be switched, as long as these modifications may not affect the resulting scope of the invention.

[0014] It will be apparent that systems and / or methods, described herein, may be implemented in different forms of hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. The actual specialized control hardware or software code used to implement these systems and / or methods is not limiting to the implementations. Thus, the operation and behaviour of the systems and / or methods were described herein without reference to specific software code. It is understood that software and hardware may be designed to implement the systems and / or methods based on the description herein.

[0015] Even though particular combinations of features are recited in the claims and / or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of possible implementations. In fact, many of these features may be combined in ways not specifically recited in the claims and / or disclosed in the specification. Although each dependent claim listed below may directly depend on only one claim, the disclosure of possible implementations includes each dependent claim in combination with every other claim in the claim set.

[0016] No element, act, or instruction used herein should be construed as critical or essential unless explicitly described as such. Also, as used herein, the articles “a” and “an” are intended to include one or more items, and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Where only one item is intended, the term “one” or similar language is used. Also, as used herein, the terms “has,” “have,” “having,” “include,” “including,” or the like are intended to be open-ended terms. Further, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean “based, at least in part, on” unless explicitly stated otherwise. Furthermore, expressions such as “at least one of [A] and [B]”, “[A] and / or [B]”, or “at least one of [A] or [B]” are to be understood as including only A, only B, or both A and B.

[0017] The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the implementations to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from the practice of the implementations.

[0018] The present disclosed apparatus and method enable the grouping of one or more carriers sharing a fronthaul link. The present disclosure allows scheduling the data packets to be transmitted for one or more carriers forming a configured carrier group. The transmission is scheduled based on the configured capacity of the shared fronthaul link. The present disclosure enables scheduling the transmission for the carrier group by a single DU configured to be associated with the carrier group. The present disclosure provides a method to determine the effective Resource Blocks (RBs) to be scheduled by the DU in a time slot. The transmission for the carrier group is scheduled to ensure that the data packets to be transmitted at each time slot do not exceed the configured capacity of the shared fronthaul link.

[0019] Now example embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0020] Figure 1 illustrates an example block diagram of a communication environment depicting an Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) architecture 100, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The architecture illustrated is provided as an example and is non-limiting to the scope of the present disclosure. In various embodiments of the present disclosure, the apparatus corresponds to a DU in a network.

[0021] In Figure 1, a Service Management and Orchestration Framework (SMO) 102 provides network management services to the network functions. The SMO 102 allows managed network functions to interoperate and communicate within the O-RAN. The SMO 102 connects to and manages RAN Intelligent Controllers (RICs) 104 and 106, an O-Cloud 118, an O-RAN Central Unit (O-CU), and an O-RAN Distributed Unit (O-DU) 114.

[0022] The RICs may include a non-real-time RIC 104 and near-real-time RIC 106. The RICs are logical functions for controlling and optimizing the elements and resources of an O-RAN. A near-real-time RIC 106 controls and optimizes elements and resources with granular data collection. The interfaces connecting the different components of the O-RAN architecture are not illustrated for the sake of clarity.

[0023] The O-Cloud 118 is a cloud computing platform made up of the physical infrastructure nodes using the O-RAN architecture. The O-Cloud 118 creates and hosts various virtual network functions (VNFs) used by the RICs and other infrastructure elements.

[0024] The O-CU is a logical node that hosts network protocols such as the radio resource control (RRC), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP). The O-CU may be further disaggregated into an O-CU-CP 110 corresponds to the O-RAN control unit for the control plane, and an O-CU-UP 112 corresponds to the O-RAN control unit for the user plane.

[0025] The O-DU 114 (also referred to as DU 114) is a logical node that hosts network protocols such as the radio link control (RLC) protocol, medium access control (MAC) protocol, and the physical interface (PHY).

[0026] The O-RAN Radio Unit (O-RU) 116 (also referred to as RU 116) processes radio frequencies received by the physical layer of the network. The processed radio frequencies are sent to the O-DU 114 through a front-haul interface.

[0027] The present disclosure in some of the non-limiting embodiments illustrates the SMO 102 as the network entity controlling the DU 114. The functions of the SMO 102 may be performed by another Core Network (CN) entity in some embodiments as obvious to a person skilled in the art.

[0028] As used in the present disclosure, the Physical resource blocks (PRBs) correspond to the smallest unit of resource allocation in the frequency domain in a wireless communication system. The resource allocation is associated with scheduling the transmission of data packets for a carrier group. The PRBs may be used for transmitting data packets, control signalling, and reference signals. In an example, a PRB may consist of 12 subcarriers (180KHz) in the frequency domain. Further, a Transmission Time Interval (TTI) may correspond to, but not limited to, 0.125ms or 0.25 ms or or 0.5 ms or 1 ms in the time domain depending on the sub- carrier spacing (120 KHz or 60 KHz or 30 KHz or 15 KHz respectively).

[0029] As used in the present disclosure, the Resource Blocks (RBs) correspond to a logical grouping of PRBs across one or more carriers in a carrier group.

[0030] As used in the present disclosure, the term “carrier” refers to a single frequency band or a subset of frequency bands used for transmitting and receiving data. The data may be transmitted and received between a base station and a User Equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system. Each carrier is usually associated with a frequency band, a bandwidth, a modulation scheme, and a coding scheme. The terms “carrier” and “cell” are used interchangeably in the present disclosure.

[0031] Figures 2A-2C illustrate examples of fronthaul deployment topologies, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0032] Figure 2A illustrates a point-to-point connection between an O-DU 114 and O-RU 116.

[0033] As illustrated in Figure 2A, the O-DU 114 is depicted with three physical ports with fronthaul capacity of 25 Gbps. The three physical ports are depicted as Fronthaul PF 0, Fronthaul PF 1, and Fronthaul PF 2. Further, three O-RUs 116 are depicted as O-RU A, O-RU B, and O-RU C. In the topology, the O-DU 114 is connected via point-to-point connection to each O-RU 116 at a cell site. For instance, the port Fronthaul PF 0 of the O-DU 114 is connected to the O-RU 116 via a dedicated fronthaul link depicted as Link A. The link capacity towards each O-RU 116 is not shared with other O-RU 116. Further, dedicated links depicted as Link A, Link B, and Link C are used for the point-to-point connection. Further, each O-RU 116 supports one or more carriers (or cells in a network).

[0034] Figure 2B illustrates an O-DU 114 connected to multiple O-RUs 116. The O-RUs 116 are present at a cell site and are connected to the O-DU 114 through a fronthaul switched network.

[0035] As illustrated in Figure 2B, the O-DU 114 is illustrated with two physical ports as Fronthaul PF 0, and Fronthaul PF 1 in active mode or standby mode. In Figure 2B, the physicalport Fronthaul PF 0 is in the active mode and the physical port Fronthaul PF 1 is in the standby mode. Figure 2B illustrates three O-RUs as O-RU 1, O-RU 2, and O-RU 3.

[0036] In the topology, the O-DU 114 is connected to the O-RUs 116 at a cell site through a fronthaul switched network. As illustrated, the fronthaul switched network may contain Top of Rack (ToR) switches at a data center where O-DU 114 is deployed. Further, the fronthaul switched network may contain Cell Site Routers (CSR) at the cell site. The three O-RUs at the cell site are illustrated to share the fronthaul capacity of Link A of the O-DU 114. Further, each O-RU 116 supports one or more carriers (or cells in a network).

[0037] Figure 2C illustrates an O-DU 114 connected to multiple O-RUs 116. The O-RUs 116 are present across two cell sites. The O-RUs 116 are connected to the O-DU 114 through a fronthaul switched network.

[0038] As illustrated in Figure 2C, the O-DU 114 is illustrated with two physical port groups. A first physical port group is in active mode and is depicted to include physical ports Fronthaul PF 0 and Fronthaul PF 1. A second physical port group is in standby mode and is depicted to include physical ports Fronthaul PF 1 and Fronthaul PF 2. In Figure 2C, three O-RUs are depicted at site-1 and three O-RUs are depicted at site-2.

[0039] One of the physical ports of the first physical port group (in the active mode) carries all the fronthaul traffic to be transmitted to the O-RUs in site-1. Further, the other physical port of the first physical port group carries all the fronthaul traffic to be transmitted to the O-RUs in site-2. Thus, the O-RUs at a cell site share the fronthaul capacity for all links from O-DU 114 towards each cell site.

[0040] In the topology, the O-DU 114 is connected to the O-RUs 116 across two cell sites (depicted as site-1 and site-2) through a fronthaul switched network. As illustrated, the fronthaulswitched network may contain Top of Rack (ToR) switches (ToR switch 1 and ToR switch 2) at the data center where O-DU 114 is deployed. Further, the fronthaul switched network may contain Cell Site Routers (CSR) at each cell site.

[0041] In the topologies illustrated in Figures 2A-2C, the fronthaul capacity of the physical ports is depicted as 25 Gbps as a non-limiting example. In some scenarios, the fronthaul capacity of the physical ports may be configured as10 Gbps. The fronthaul capacity of the physical ports depends on the carrier bandwidth required to be served across O-RUs 116 at a cell site (e.g. site-1).

[0042] In an embodiment, the apparatus or DU 114 is configured to identify the configured capacity of the shared fronthaul link based on a link with minimum capacity connecting one or more entities between the apparatus and the RU. In an example, consider the link-B in Figure 2C as the least capacity link between the DU and the site-1 with a capacity of 10Gbps. In the example, the carrier group associated with site-1 will have the shared fronthaul link capacity configured as 10Gbps. Therefore, the DU 114 is configured to identify the configured capacity of the shared fronthaul link. The DU 114 is further configured with the configuration data associated with the carrier group and the associated one or more carriers. The details of the configuration data and mapping of the one or more carriers to shared fronthaul link capacity are explained in the description of Figure 3.

[0043] Figure 3 illustrates the mapping of one or more carriers to shared fronthaul link capacity, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0044] Figure 3 illustrates a method for mapping or associating the one or more carriers to the shared fronthaul link capacity. The one or more carriers are configured to form a carrier group based on the shared fronthaul link capacity.

[0045] As already illustrated in Figure 2A-2C, each of the O-RU (interchangeably referred to as “RU” herein) 116 supports one or more carriers or cells in the network. Further, there is an absence of a method to discover and identify the carriers and / or RUs 116 sharing the same fronthaul link towards a cell site. Therefore, the information related to the association of the one or more carriers to a shared fronthaul link is required to be configured in the DU 114. The information related to the association of the one or more carriers is identified and configured in the DU 114 based on the planning data for the cell sites.

[0046] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the DU 114 may be configured to obtain a list of one or more carriers configured to be associated with the carrier group sharing the fronthaul link. The list associated with the carrier group comprises one or more carrier identifiers (IDs) along with a corresponding base station identifier (ID), and a corresponding Distributed Unit (DU) ID.

[0047] As illustrated in Figure 3, carrier list 1, carrier list 2, and carrier list 3 correspond to a list of carrier lists. Further, each carrier list is associated with a corresponding list of carriers. The carriers or cells as illustrated in Figure 3, are further associated with a corresponding base station identifier (ID), and a corresponding Distributed Unit (DU) ID.

[0048] For example, the carrier list 1 includes N cells (or carriers) depicted as cell 1, cell 2..., and cell N. Here, cell 1, cell 2…, and cell N are the cell identifiers (IDs). In an example, the cell IDs may correspond to the New Radio (NR) cell local ID or Evolved Universal Terrestrial Access (EUTRA) cell local ID. Further, each carrier or cell is associated with a corresponding base station identifier (ID) (e.g., gNodeB (gNB) ID or eNodeB (eNB) ID), and a corresponding DU ID.

[0049] Figure 3 further illustrates a list of carrier groups depicted as carrier group 1, carrier group 2, and carrier group 3. Each carrier group in the list of carrier groups is configured with a shared fronthaul link capacity. For example, the carrier group 1 is configured with a shared fronthaul link capacity of 10 Gbps.

[0050] The shared fronthaul link capacity is configured based on the capacity of a link with the least capacity between the DU 114 and a RU 116 at a cell site. For example, based on the topology in Figure 2C, consider the links between the physical port Fronthaul PF 0 of the DU 114 and RUs 116 at site-1. Further, consider link-A is the least capacity link between the DU 114 and the site-1 with a capacity of 10 Gbps. In the example, the carrier group associated with site-1 will have the shared fronthaul link capacity configured as 10 Gbps. It is important to note that the shared fronthaul link capacity in the example is different from the capacity of the physical port (e.g. Fronthaul PF 0) of the DU 114.

[0051] Furthermore, the carrier lists may be configured to be mapped or associated with the corresponding carrier group. As illustrated in Figure 3, the carrier list 1 is configured to be mapped to the carrier group 1. Similarly, the carrier list 2 is configured to be mapped to the carrier group 2. The carrier list 3 is configured to be mapped to the carrier group 3.

[0052] The mapping is performed based on the planning data for the cell sites. The mapping helps configure and determine the shared fronthaul link capacity for the carriers (or cells) in the carrier list. The configuration of the list of carrier lists and the list of carrier groups is configured in the DU 114.

[0053] Figure 4 illustrates scheduling the transmission of data packets for one or more carriers via a shared buffer in the DU 114, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0054] Figure 4 is associated with a method for limiting scheduled resources for a carrier group based on the shared fronthaul link capacity. The one or more carriers associated with the carrier group sharing the fronthaul link are handled by the DU 114. In an example, the method and corresponding steps explained in Figure 4 are performed after the list of carrier lists and the mapping to the carrier groups is configured in the DU 114. The mapping of the one or more carriers in a carrier list to a carrier group has already been explained in Figure 3.

[0055] Based on the identification of the one or more carriers mapped (or associated) with a carrier group, the present disclosure ensures efficient scheduling of the transmission of data packets. The scheduling of the transmission of data packets is performed to ensure that the scheduled transmission does not exceed the shared fronthaul link capacity for the carrier group.

[0056] For example, consider 6 carriers associated with a carrier group. Further, the carriers are assigned IDs as cell 1 to cell 6. Each of the 6 carriers is associated with 100 PRBs and shares a fronthaul link capacity of 10 Gbps. The cell 1 to cell 6 is configured to be associated with the DU 114. In the example, the PRBs to be handled by the DU 114 are equal to the total PRBs associated with cell 1 to cell 6. Thus, in the example, the DU 114 may be required to schedule the transmission of data packets corresponding to 600 PRBs.

[0057] In an embodiment, the DU 114 is configured to determine effective Resource Blocks (RBs) (^^^^^) to be scheduled based on the identified configured capacity. The identified configured capacity corresponds to the configured capacity of the shared fronthaul (FH) link.

[0058] Further, the determination of the effective Resource Blocks (RBs) (^^^^^) to be scheduled may be performed based on the calculation of a number of effective PRBs (^^^). In the embodiment, the DU 114 is configured to determine effective RBs (^^^^^) based on effective Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs) (^^^) associated with the carrier group. Further, the effectivePRBs (^^^) may be computed based on correlating number of PRBs (^^^ோ^) and a corresponding number of layers (^^^) associated with the carrier group.

[0059] In an example, the effective PRBs may be computed using the equation:^^ ோ^ = ^^ ^^ ∗ ^^^

[0060] The description of the variables in the equation is provided in Table 1 of the present disclosure. Further, the DU 114 is configured to determine the effective RBs (^^^^^) based on correlating the number of bits supported by the fronthaul link (ℬ^^i) and the number of bits to be transmitted by the carrier group in a time slot (Ϝ^^i). The equations involved in the determination of effective RBs (^^^^^) are explained in Table 1 of the present disclosure. Description Symbol Used Number of PRBs per (ith) numerology ^^^ோ^r of -µ = 4 for 240 KHz SCS Number of slots per ms 1^^ = 2ఓis repeated at each time slot for scheduling the transmission of data packets associated with the carrier group. Further, the duration of the time slot (^^i) depends on the numerology as provided in the computation explained in Table 1. The numerology, as used herein, is associated with the Subcarrier Spacing (SCS) in each of the one or more carriers. Further, numerology may refer to a set of parameters that define the structure of the physical layer transmission. The SCS corresponds to the frequency separation between adjacent subcarriers in a carrier.

[0062] After the determination of the number of bits supported by the fronthaul link (ℬ^^i) and the number of bits to be transmitted by the carrier group in a time slot (Ϝ^^i), the DU 114 is configured to correlate the (ℬ^^i) and (Ϝ^^i) as follows:

[0063] If Ϝ^^i< ℬ^^i, the fronthaul (FH) link capacity is sufficient to transmit the data packets associated with the carrier group in the ithtime slot.

[0064] If Ϝ^^i> ℬ^^i, then: the DU 114 determines a ratio (^^i) between ℬ^^i and Ϝ^^i,where ℬ^^i is in the numerator and Ϝ^^iis in the denominator. The value of the ratio (^^i) is less than 1.

[0065] Thereafter, the DU 114 determines the number of effective RBs (^^^^^) that may bescheduled based on the shared FH link capacity, using the equation:^^^^^ = (∑ ^^^) ∗ ^^i

[0066] In an embodiment, the DU 114 stores a plurality of tokens in a buffer to schedule the transmission of data packets. The plurality of tokens is stored based on the determined effective RBs at each time slot. The buffer (or shared buffer) is illustrated in Figure 4 and is shared among the schedulers for each of the one or more carriers in a carrier group.

[0067] In an example, consider one or more carriers correspond to cell 1 to cell N in the Figure 3. The one or more carriers are associated with carrier group 1 and the configured capacity of the shared fronthaul (FH) link is 10 Gbps. The DU 114 is configured to schedule the transmission of data packets for the carrier group at each time slot. Figure 4 further illustrates N carrier scheduler corresponding to each of the one or more carriers. In the example, the carrier scheduler 1 may be associated with the cell 1, the carrier scheduler 2 may be associated with the cell 2, and so on. Similarly, the carrier scheduler N may be associated with the cell N of the carrier group 1.

[0068] The DU 114 determines the number of effective RBs using the computation already explained. At every time slot, ^^^^^tokens equal to the determined number of effective RBs (^^^^^) are stored in the shared buffer. The DU 114 uses the token bucket algorithm to schedule the transmission of data packets for the one or more carriers in the carrier group.

[0069] The DU 114 may assign tokens to the carrier schedulers. The tokens are assigned from the stored ^^^^^tokens in the shared buffer. The carrier schedulers are assigned tokens based on the data packets to be transmitted for the corresponding carrier. In the example, the carrier scheduler is assigned tokens from the shared buffer based on the data packets to be transmittedfor the cell 1. Similarly, tokens are assigned to the carrier schedulers for the one or more carriers in the carrier group.

[0070] In an embodiment, the DU 114 may be configured to schedule the transmission of data packets based on the determined effective RBs (^^^^^) at each time slot. In the embodiment, the duration of each time slot may be based onSpacing (SCS) in the carrier group. Further, for multiple SCS in the carrier group, the duration of each time slot is determined based on the highest SCS in the carrier group. Furthermore, the transmission of data packets for a carrier in the carrier group is scheduled based on a correlation between the highest SCS in the carrier group and the corresponding SCS for the carrier.

[0071] In an example, the duration of the time slot (^^i) depends on the numerology (µ) and the SCS of the one or more carriers. The relationship between the time slot and SCS is already provided in Table 1.

[0072] In the example, the one or more carriers in the carrier group may be associated with different numerology and SCS. The duration of the time slot in such case may be determined based on the highest SCS for the one or more carriers. For example, consider a carrier group with carrier 1 and carrier 2 as the one or more carriers. Further, carrier 1 corresponds to an SCS of 15 KHz and carrier 2 corresponds to an SCS of 30 KHz. The SCS for carrier 2 is the highest SCS for the carrier group. Therefore, the duration of time slot is computed based on 30 KHz SCS as 0.5 ms.

[0073] Further, the scheduling for a carrier is based on the correlation of the corresponding SCS with the highest SCS. In the example, SCS of 30KHz is the highest SCS in the carrier group, and the corresponding carrier is carrier 2. Therefore, the DU 114 will allow the carrier 2 to transmit data packets in each time slot (with the duration of the time slot as 0.5 ms).

[0074] Further, the SCS of carrier 1 (15 KHz) is equal to half of the highest SCS (30 KHz). Therefore, the DU 114 will allow the carrier 1 to transmit data packets in every alternate time slot.

[0075] Figure 5 illustrates a process flow depicting a method 500 for implementing radio resource scheduling for a carrier group by the DU 114, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0076] At step 502, the method 500 includes identifying a configured capacity of a fronthaul link between a Distributed Unit (DU) 114 and a Radio Unit (RU) 116 associated with one or more carriers sharing the fronthaul link. The one or more carriers form a carrier group.

[0077] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method 500 includes identifying the configured capacity of the fronthaul link between the DU 114 and the RU 116. The method 500 comprises identifying the configured capacity of the fronthaul link based on a link with minimum capacity connecting one or more entities between the DU 114 and the RU 116.

[0078] At step 504, the method 500 includes determining effective Resource Blocks (RBs) to be scheduled based on the identified configured capacity.

[0079] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method 500 includes determining effective RBs based on effective Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs) associated with the carrier group. The effective PRBs are based on a correlating number of PRBs, and a corresponding number of layers associated with the carrier group. In the embodiment, the method 500 further comprises determining the effective RBs based on correlating the number of bits supported by the fronthaul link and the number of bits to be transmitted by the carrier group in a time slot.

[0080] At step 506, the method 500 includes scheduling a transmission of data packets via the one or more carriers based on the determined effective RBs.

[0081] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method 500 includes scheduling the transmission of data packets based on the determined effective RBs at each time slot. The duration of each time slot is based on the Subcarrier Spacing (SCS) in the carrier group.

[0082] Further, for multiple SCS in the carrier group, the duration of each time slot is determined based on the highest SCS in the carrier group. The transmission of data packets for a carrier in the carrier group is scheduled based on a correlation between the highest SCS in the carrier group and the corresponding SCS for the carrier.

[0083] In some embodiments, the DU 114 stores a plurality of tokens in a buffer to schedule the transmission of data packets. Further, the plurality of tokens is stored based on the determined effective RBs at each time slot.

[0084] In an embodiment, the method 500 includes obtaining a list of one or more carriers configured to be associated with the carrier group sharing the fronthaul link. The list associated with the carrier group comprises one or more carrier identifiers (IDs) along with a corresponding base station identifier (ID), and a corresponding Distributed Unit (DU) ID.

[0085] The steps of the method flow and the embodiments of the disclosure have been explained with the description for Figures 2A-2C, Figure 3, and Figure 4 of the present disclosure. The description has not been repeated for the sake of brevity.

[0086] While the above-discussed steps in Figure 5 are shown and described in a particular sequence, the steps may occur in variations to the sequence in accordance with various exemplary embodiments.

[0087] The implementation of the present disclosure ensures statistical multiplexing based on the shared fronthaul link capacity. The implementation of the present disclosure is further associated with efficient utilization of shared fronthaul link capacity. Further, the presentdisclosure helps in avoiding Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) or Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ) retransmission due to dropped data packets if the DU were to schedule without any restriction of the available fronthaul bandwidth. The data packets are usually dropped when scheduled data packets exceed the shared fronthaul link capacity. The efficient scheduling in accordance with the present disclosure ensures that the scheduled data packets do not exceed the shared fronthaul link capacity. Therefore, the present disclosure avoids HARQ and ARQ retransmissions.

[0088] Further, the present disclosure also describes non-transitory computer program products (i.e., physically embodied computer program products) or non-transitory computer-readable mediums encoded with executable instructions that store instructions. The executable instructions, when executed by one or more processors cause the one or more processors to perform as the methods 500 as described in the present disclosure, as elaborated in the preceding paragraphs. Examples of computer-readable mediums include non-volatile, hard-coded type mediums such as read-only memories (ROMs) or erasable, electrically programmable read- only memories (EEPROMs), and user-recordable type mediums such as floppy disks, hard disk drives and compact disk read-only memories (CD-ROMs) or digital versatile disks (DVDs).

[0089] Figure 6 illustrates an embodiment of a device 600 associated with the apparatus or the DU 114. As shown in Figure 6, the device 600 includes a processor 610, a memory 620, a storage component 630, an input component 640, an output component 650, a communication interface 660, and a bus 670.

[0090] The processor 610, as used herein, means any type of computational circuit that may comprise hardware elements and software elements. The processor 610 may be embodied as a multi-core processor, a single core processor, or a combination of one or more multi-coreprocessors and / or one or more single core processors, a distributed processing system, or the like. The processor 610 may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), an accelerated processing unit (APU), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or another type of processing component.

[0091] The memory 620 includes a non-transitory computer readable medium. The memory 620 includes a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), and / or another type of dynamic or static storage device (e.g., a flash memory, a magnetic memory, and / or an optical memory) that stores information and / or instructions for use by the processor 610. The memory 620 comprises machine-readable instructions which are executable by the processor 610. These machine-readable instructions when executed by the processor 610 cause the processor 610 to perform one or more method 500 steps of an example embodiment described in the present disclosure.

[0092] The storage component 630 stores information and / or software related to the operation and use of the device 600. For example, the storage component 630 may include a hard disk (e.g., a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optic disk, and / or a solid-state disk), a compact disc (CD), a digital versatile disc (DVD), a floppy disk, a cartridge, a magnetic tape, and / or another type of non-transitory computer-readable medium, along with a corresponding drive.

[0093] The input component 640 is configured to receive information, such as user input. For example, the input component 640 may include, but not be limited to, a touchscreen display, a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a button, a switch, and / or a microphone. Additionally, or alternatively, the input component 640 may include a sensor for sensing information (e.g., a global positioning system (GPS), an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and / or an actuator).

[0094] The output component 650 is configured to provide output information from the device 600. For example, the output component 650 may be, but not limited to, a display, a speaker, instructions to an external device, and / or one or more light-emitting diodes (LEDs).

[0095] The communication interface 660 is an interface that provides a communication connection to other devices, such as external devices and internal devices. The connection by the communication interface 660 can be a wired connection, a wireless connection, or a combination of wired and wireless connections, and can be a direct connection or an indirect connection via a communication network that exists between the device 600 and other devices. In other words, the standard of the communication interface 660 is not limited.

[0096] The bus 670 acts as an interconnect between the processor 610, the memory 620, the storage component 630, the input component 640, the output component 650, and the communication interface 660 of the device 600. The bus 670 may include a wired interconnection or a wireless interconnection.

[0097] The number and arrangement of components shown in Figure 6 are provided as an example. In practice, the device 600 may include additional components, fewer components, different components, or differently arranged components than those shown in Figure 6. Additionally, or alternatively, a set of components (e.g., one or more components) of the device 600 may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another set of components of the device 600. Further, one or more method steps described in any of the exemplary embodiments may be performed utilizing a plurality of devices 600 in communication with one another.

[0098] An apparatus configured to identify a configured capacity of a fronthaul link between the apparatus and a Radio Unit (RU). The fronthaul link is associated with one or more carrierssharing the fronthaul link and the one or more carriers form a carrier group. The apparatus is further configured to determine effective Resource Blocks (RBs) to be scheduled. The determination is based on the identified configured capacity of the fronthaul link. The apparatus is further configured to schedule a transmission of data packets via the one or more carriers based on the determined effective RBs.

[0099] The apparatus as described in

[0099] , wherein the apparatus is configured to obtain a list of one or more carriers configured to be associated with the carrier group. The carrier group shares the fronthaul link. Further, the list associated with the carrier group comprises one or more carrier identifiers (IDs) along with a corresponding base station identifier (ID), and a corresponding Distributed Unit (DU) ID.

[0100] The apparatus as described in any of

[0099] to

[0100] , wherein the apparatus is configured to identify the configured capacity of the fronthaul link based on a link with minimum capacity. Further, the link with minimum capacity connects one or more entities between the apparatus and the RU.

[0101] The apparatus as described in any of

[0099] to

[0101] , wherein the apparatus is configured to schedule the transmission of data packets based on the determined effective RBs at each time slot. Further, the duration of each time slot is based on the Subcarrier Spacing (SCS) in the carrier group.

[0102] The apparatus as described in any of

[0099] to

[0102] , wherein for multiple SCS in the carrier group, the duration of each time slot is determined based on highest SCS in the carrier group.

[0103] The apparatus as described in any of

[0099] to

[0103] , wherein the transmission of data packets for a carrier in the carrier group is scheduled based on a correlation between the highest SCS in the carrier group and the corresponding SCS for the carrier.

[0104] The apparatus as described in any of

[0099] to

[0104] , wherein the apparatus stores a plurality of tokens in a buffer to schedule the transmission of data packets. Further, the plurality of tokens is stored based on the determined effective RBs at each time slot.

[0105] The apparatus as described in any of

[0099] to

[0105] , wherein the apparatus is configured to determine effective RBs based on effective Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs) associated with the carrier group. Further, the effective PRBs are based on a correlating number of PRBs and a corresponding number of layers associated with the carrier group.

[0106] The apparatus as described in any of

[0099] to

[0106] , wherein the apparatus is further configured to determine the effective RBs based on correlating number of bits supported by the fronthaul link and number of bits to be transmitted by the carrier group in a time slot.

[0107] The apparatus as described in any of

[0099] to

[0107] , wherein the apparatus corresponds to a DU in a network.

[0108] A method comprises identifying a configured capacity of a fronthaul link between a Distributed Unit (DU) and a Radio Unit (RU). The fronthaul link is associated with one or more carriers sharing the fronthaul link and the one or more carriers form a carrier group. The method further comprises determining effective Resource Blocks (RBs) to be scheduled. The determination is based on the identified configured capacity of the fronthaul link. The method further comprises scheduling a transmission of data packets via the one or more carriers based on the determined effective RBs.

[0109] The method as described in

[0109] , wherein the method comprises obtaining a list of one or more carriers configured to be associated with the carrier group. The carrier group shares the fronthaul link. Further, the list associated with the carrier group comprises one or more carrier identifiers (IDs) along with a corresponding base station identifier (ID), and a corresponding Distributed Unit (DU) ID.

[0110] The method as described in any of

[0109] to

[0110] , wherein the method comprises identifying the configured capacity of the fronthaul link based on a link with minimum capacity. Further, the link with minimum capacity connects one or more entities between the DU and the RU.

[0111] The method as described in any of

[0109] to

[0111] , wherein the method comprises scheduling the transmission of data packets based on the determined effective RBs at each time slot. Further, the duration of each time slot is based on the Subcarrier Spacing (SCS) in the carrier group.

[0112] The method as described in any of

[0109] to

[0112] , wherein for multiple SCS in the carrier group, the duration of each time slot is determined based on highest SCS in the carrier group.

[0113] The method as described in any of

[0109] to

[0113] , wherein the transmission of data packets for a carrier in the carrier group is scheduled based on a correlation between the highest SCS in the carrier group and the corresponding SCS for the carrier.

[0114] The method as described in any of

[0109] to

[0114] , wherein the DU stores a plurality of tokens in a buffer to schedule the transmission of data packets. Further, the plurality of tokens is stored based on the determined effective RBs at each time slot.

[0115] The method as described in any of

[0109] to

[0115] , wherein the method comprises determining effective RBs based on effective Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs) associated with the carrier group. Further, the effective PRBs are based on a correlating number of PRBs and a corresponding number of layers associated with the carrier group.

[0116] The method as described in any of

[0109] to

[0116] , wherein the method further comprises determining the effective RBs based on correlating number of bits supported by the fronthaul link and number of bits to be transmitted by the carrier group in a time slot.

[0117] A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions. The instructions comprising one or more instructions that are executed by a Distributed Unit (DU) in the network. The DU comprises one or more processors. The one or more instructions cause the one or more processors to identify a configured capacity of a fronthaul link between the DU and a Radio Unit (RU). The fronthaul link is associated with one or more carriers sharing the fronthaul link and the one or more carriers form a carrier group. Further, the instructions when executed cause the processor to determine effective Resource Blocks (RBs) to be scheduled. The determination is based on the identified configured capacity of the fronthaul link. Furthermore, the instructions when executed cause the processor to schedule a transmission of data packets via the one or more carriers based on the determined effective RBs.

[0118] The embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented through at least one software program running on at least one hardware device and performing network management functions to control the elements. The elements can be at least one of a hardware device, or a combination of hardware devices and software modules.

[0119] It is understood that terms including “unit” or “module” at the end may refer to the unit for processing at least one function or operation and may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0120] While specific language has been used to describe the disclosure, any limitations arising on account of the same are not intended. As would be apparent to a person in the art, various working modifications may be made to the method in order to implement the inventive concept as taught herein.

[0121] The drawings and the forgoing description give examples of embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of the described elements may well be combined into a single functional element. Alternatively, certain elements may be split into multiple functional elements. Elements from one embodiment may be added to another embodiment. For example, orders of processes described herein may be changed and are not limited to the manner described herein.

[0122] Moreover, the actions of any flow diagram need not be implemented in the order shown; nor do all of the acts necessarily need to be performed. Also, those acts that are not dependent on other acts may be performed in parallel with the other acts. The scope of embodiments is by no means limited by these specific examples. Numerous variations, whether explicitly given in the specification or not, such as differences in structure, dimension, and use of material, are possible. The scope of embodiments is at least as broad as given by the following claims.

[0123] Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have been described above with regard to specific embodiments. However, the benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any component(s) that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become morepronounced are not to be construed as a critical, required, or essential feature or component of any or all the claims.

[0124] The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of at least one embodiment, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.

Claims

We claim:

1. An apparatus configured to: identify a configured capacity of a fronthaul link between the apparatus and a Radio Unit (RU) associated with one or more carriers sharing the fronthaul link, wherein the one or more carriers form a carrier group; determine effective Resource Blocks (RBs) to be scheduled based on the identified configured capacity; and schedule a transmission of data packets via the one or more carriers based on the determined effective RBs.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is configured to obtain a list of one or more carriers configured to be associated with the carrier group sharing the fronthaul link, wherein the list associated with the carrier group comprises one or more carrier identifiers (IDs) along with a corresponding base station identifier (ID), and a corresponding Distributed Unit (DU) ID.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein to identify the configured capacity, the apparatus is configured to identify the configured capacity of the fronthaul link based on a link with minimum capacity connecting one or more entities between the apparatus and the RU.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein to schedule the transmission of data packets, the apparatus is configured to schedule the transmission of data packets based on the determinedeffective RBs at each time slot, wherein the duration of each time slot is based on the Subcarrier Spacing (SCS) in the carrier group.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein for multiple SCS in the carrier group, the duration of each time slot is determined based on highest SCS in the carrier group.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the transmission of data packets for a carrier in the carrier group is scheduled based on a correlation between the highest SCS in the carrier group and the corresponding SCS for the carrier.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus stores a plurality of tokens in a buffer to schedule the transmission of data packets, wherein the plurality of tokens is stored based on the determined effective RBs at each time slot.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein to determine the effective RBs, the apparatus is configured to determine effective RBs based on effective Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs) associated with the carrier group, wherein the effective PRBs are based on correlating number of PRBs and a corresponding number of layers associated with the carrier group.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein to determine the effective RBs, the apparatus is further configured to determine the effective RBs based on correlating number of bits supported by the fronthaul link and number of bits to be transmitted by the carrier group in a time slot.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus corresponds to a DU in a network.

11. A method comprising: identifying a configured capacity of a fronthaul link between a Distributed Unit (DU) and a Radio Unit (RU) associated with one or more carriers sharing the fronthaul link, wherein the one or more carriers form a carrier group; determining effective Resource Blocks (RBs) to be scheduled based on the identified configured capacity; and scheduling a transmission of data packets via the one or more carriers based on the determined effective RBs.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the method comprises obtaining a list of one or more carriers configured to be associated with the carrier group sharing the fronthaul link, wherein the list associated with the carrier group comprises one or more carrier identifiers (IDs) along with a corresponding base station identifier (ID), and a corresponding Distributed Unit (DU) ID.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein for identifying the configured capacity, the method comprises identifying the configured capacity of the fronthaul link based on a link with minimum capacity connecting one or more entities between the DU and the RU.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein for scheduling the transmission of data packets, the method comprises scheduling the transmission of data packets based on the determinedeffective RBs at each time slot, wherein the duration of each time slot is based on the Subcarrier Spacing (SCS) in the carrier group.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein for multiple SCS in the carrier group, the duration of each time slot is determined based on highest SCS in the carrier group.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the transmission of data packets for a carrier in the carrier group is scheduled based on a correlation between the highest SCS in the carrier group and the corresponding SCS for the carrier.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the DU stores a plurality of tokens in a buffer to schedule the transmission of data packets, wherein the plurality of tokens is stored based on the determined effective RBs at each time slot.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein for determining the effective RBs, the method comprises determining effective RBs based on effective Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs) associated with the carrier group, wherein the effective PRBs are based on a correlating number of PRBs and a corresponding number of layers associated with the carrier group.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein for determining the effective RBs, the method further comprises determining the effective RBs based on correlating number of bits supported by the fronthaul link and number of bits to be transmitted by the carrier group in a time slot.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions, the instructions comprising: one or more instructions that, when executed by a Distributed Unit (DU) comprising one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: identify a configured capacity of a fronthaul link between the DU and a Radio Unit (RU) associated with one or more carriers sharing the fronthaul link, wherein the one or more carriers form a carrier group; determine effective Resource Blocks (RBs) to be scheduled based on the identified configured capacity; and schedule a transmission of data packets via the one or more carriers based on the determined effective RBs.

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